It was an unspeakable tragedy. As the community tried to make sense of it all, the Annecy International Animation Festival began with a moment of hope and healing.
Annecy's Mayor, Francois Astorg, took the stage and told the audience:
The best response to this tragedy is to live even more forcefully and more intensely. With this conviction art and culture celebrates life, and enables us to change the world to make it a better place.
In Annecy, France, four children, and two adults were stabbed on a playground last week. The perpetrator gave no reason for the attack, but it was clear that he intended to harm children. Police and other adults at the playground were able to subdue him, and he was immediately taken into custody.
In an arena that faced the playground just days after the attack, the Annecy International Animation Festival began with moments of hope. And it was the Disney Animation Studios that brought the audience to its feet.
Disney premiered its nine-minute short Once Upon a Studio, which brought together more than 40 voice actors from the past for this project. The highlight was the return of the late Robin Williams. Using outtakes from his Aladdin (1992) filming, he reprised his role as the Genie.
So excited to finally have the world see what the @DisneyAnimation has created to celebrate the incredible 100 year legacy of the studio. I nearly cried when I was told Olaf would appear alongside the Genie, utilizing previously unheard audio from my idol #RobinWilliams https://t.co/9rhfnw8QRQ
— Josh Gad (@joshgad) June 11, 2023
The film starts with Disney veteran animator Burny Mattinson musing, “Boy, if these walls could talk.” It was Mattinson's final on-screen role. He passed away this February, shy of his 70th anniversary with the Walt Disney Animation Studios.
No sooner did Mattinson finish his monologue, the walls did come alive. Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse jump out from a photo and begin to rouse other characters from Disney and Pixar animation films.
Direct Dan Abraham told the crowd:
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 100 years.
“Once Upon A Studio,” a short celebrating Disney’s 100th anniversary, will be attached to Wish when the movie hits theaters on Nov. 22.
The short features Mickey Mouse gathering Disney characters for a group photo. Forty voice actors returned to record dialogue for the short. pic.twitter.com/L2DGOL0mIZ
— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) June 12, 2023
The short film encompasses characters from all of Disney's 100 years; from the early Walt Disney years to the more recent Pixar and Disney Studio films. The largest laugh came from Flash Slothmore of Zootopia.
Shortly after the film premiered at the Annecy Intl Festival, Disney announced an American premiere date for the short. It will show this fall just before Disney's latest animated film, Wish, which will premiere November 22.
