In honor of Walt Disney’s centenary, Walt Disney Animation Studios is revisiting its roots.
There are few fandoms as fierce as Disney’s, and that’s a force developed over time. Multigenerational fans have grown up watching Disney films. Laughing, crying, and marveling at emotive characters on screens big and small, Disney fans have been craving a comeback for some of their favorite animated icons.
At the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, Disney enthusiasts got their wish. Aptly debuting next to the highly-anticipated animated film Wish on November 22, Disney’s Once Upon a Studio will enchant audiences of all ages. While the nine-minute short got a rousing reception at the festival, those who haven’t seen it have wondered if their long-lost Disney favorites will appear in Once Upon a Studio.
Director Dan Abraham shared some good news for the true-blue Disney fans on the edge of their seats.
An All-Star Assembly
The lead animator of Genie from Aladdin (1992), Eric Goldberg, joins forces with the supervising animator from Raya and the Last Dragon (2021), Andrew Feliciano, to bring Once Upon a Studio to life. The short is shaping to be a Disney fan’s dream, featuring more than 40 voice actors reprising their roles in addition to previously unheard dialogue from Robin Williams as the Genie.
In the century-long legacy tribute, a heartfelt cameo from veteran animator Burny Mattison, who passed away just before his 70th anniversary with Walt Disney Animation Studios, leads into a scene with Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse rousing an all-star crew of characters for a group photo. While the cast includes Disney Park favorites like Goofy, Ariel, and Stitch, some have wondered if popular characters from the past will be included in the 100th anniversary short.
In a post on Twitter by @DisneyAPromos, Disney fans got an exciting answer:
‘ONCE UPON A STUDIO’ director Dan Abraham on the inclusion of less popular characters: “You’ll see Stitch, Ariel, the Beast and that, but there’s somebody out there that loves Johnny Appleseed, Gurgi and Chicken Little, and they don’t get to see those guys very much…
‘ONCE UPON A STUDIO’ director Dan Abraham on the inclusion of less popular characters:
“You'll see Stitch, Ariel, the Beast and that, but there's somebody out there that loves Johnny Appleseed, Gurgi and Chicken Little, and they don't get to see those guys very much… (1/2) pic.twitter.com/FbiRonA019
— Disney Animation Promos (@DisneyAPromos) June 22, 2023
While Pixar-era Disney fans might not be as familiar with Johnny Appleseed, Gurgi, and Chicken Little, die-hard Disney enthusiasts can look forward to reuniting with those old friends on screen in Once Upon a Studio.
A Big ‘Little’ Comeback
With an underwhelming theatrical debut in 2005, Chicken Little didn’t measure up to Monsters Inc. and Finding Nemo as Disney had hoped. But the Chicken Little fans originated long before the CGI film when Walt Disney released an animated short in 1943 directed by Clyde Geronimi.
Based on the folk tale “Henny Penny,” Chicken Little was an anti-Nazi film portraying the evils behind mass hysteria. In a time when Neo-Nazis waved flags outside of Walt Disney World, Chicken Little’s rebound in Once Upon a Studio could hold a deeper meaning than Disney animators intended.
As anticipation builds for the short film’s debut, it’s refreshing for longtime fans to see Disney looking out for the nearly-forgotten little guys in the Disney sphere. According to Variety, Abraham had this to say about the short film’s meaning:
This is a love letter to the medium, to Disney animation, and really a thank you to anyone in the audience that’s ever connected with a film over the last hundred years.
On November 22, staunch Disney audiences can see the magic come to life in Once Upon a Studio.
