Once Upon a Studio (WDAS Short)

[Disney's Divinity]

Oh, ew. 3D characters mixed with 2D characters, that's going to be so ugly.

[Farerb]

I'm not a fan of having every character from every movie. It could have been fine if they did it in the early 2000s, when they didn't have so much bad or mediocre films, but I guess there wouldn't have been any excitement because it would have been like a House of Mouse episode. Though good for the five people who are Chicken Little fans and now they'll be able to see him again.

[carolinakid]

[Mooky]

In one of the articles it says every protagonist from every WDAS film appears in it.

That reminds me of other anniversary images, like the one for The Fox and the Hound back when that included a character representing every Disney film up to that point sort of in a line together on a poster. Personally, I've always loved images and other things that include all the Disney characters together--not necessarily in a canon way, it's just fun to see them all standing beside one another in an arrangement that is visually organized or whatever, where you have the big names (the villains, princesses, Bambi, etc.) with the smaller characters like Taran and Eilonwy, the Aristocats, Merlin, etc. It has the feeling of a family picture for me. That's not to say I'm guaranteed to always like crossover media or anything, I didn't like House of Mouse, for example.

Back in the late '80s, this magazine for kids and youth my parents used to buy me came with a huge poster of Disney characters. I had it and then I lost it, and I've been searching for it ever since. I found a pic of it online and it's much, MUCH less impressive than I remember it being. It looks cluttered and sloppily thrown together, with no regard for layout and dimensions, but still kind of cool. The magazine came out in 1988, but you'll notice that no movie/character post-1973(ish) is featured.



Anyway, all this to say that I too like group shots of Disney characters when done right. It gives a sense of unity and legacy, which makes it all the more special.

[veu]

I can confirm that at some point :
Snow White appears holding one hand to Mulan, then she extends her other hand to Asha.
We see A LOT of Disney characters!
There are so much that it's complicated to list them all, especially since some have a very brief appearance, or are cut (we can recognize some of them from their head top, or their legs, or a small part of their body).
I read the list that someone shares on his/her Instagram and there are definitively more :
. One hundred Dalmatians
. Aristocats (at least the kittens)
. Joanna , Cody
. Orville, Medusa, Bernard & Bianca
. Tarzan, Jane, Tantor, Terk...
. Quasimodo, Esmeralda (her dress)
. Milo, Kida
. Prep & Landing
. Nessie
. Jim Hawkins, Morph, Captain Amelia (legs)
. Robin Hood and Jean
. Ariel, Eric, Ursula, Flounder, Max
. Belle, Beast
. Aladdin, Genie, Magic Carpet, Jafar
. young Simba and Nala, Scar, Rafiki
. Hades, Hercules
. Mulan, Crikee
. Chicken Little, Runt
. Rapunzel (braided hair with the pan), Eugene, Maximus, Pascal, Gothel
. Ethan Clade, Meridian, Searcher, Splat
. Elsa, Anna, Hans, Kristoff (his face was not in front of the screen but I had the illusion he was wearing a blond beard, not sure at all, lol), Sven, Olaf, Ryder, Honeymaren, Bruni
. Baymax, Hiro, Gogo, Wasabi, Honey Lemon, Fred
. Mirabel, Isabela, Luisa with donkeys, Antonio, (not sure but I think I saw Julieta, Agustin, Dolores, Abuela...)
. Raya, Sisu dragon, Tuktuk, Namaari, Boun, Ongis
. Pocahontas
. Ralph, Vanellope, Taffyta
. Dumbo
. Bambi, Thumper, Flower
. Peter Pan, Tinkerbell, Wendy, John, Michael
.Bolt, Mittens, Rhino
. Clarabelle, Goofy, Donald Duck, his nephews, Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse
. Basil, Olivia
. Gurgi, Eilowni (top head)
. Home on the Range 3 cows
. The 3 Fairies from Sleeping Beauty
. Cinderella and her prince
. Mad Hatter
. Chernabog
. Moana, Maui
. Moogli, Baloo, Kaa
. Judy Hopps, Nick Wilde, Gazelle
. Merlin
. Ichabod & Mr Toad
. Stromboli
. Lilo & Stitch
. Wilbur, Lewis, Lucille, the golden robot
. Elliott the dragon
. Winnie the pooh, Christopher (and the rest of the gang I think)
and more, more, more! For now can't remember more of them but they are much more, definitively!!

Dear Prince Kido, thanks for the information.
So no Aurora, no Jasmine, no Meg? a very sad idea...

[D82]

Prince Kido, thank you for your list. Do you remember the penguins from Mary Poppins making an appearance?

One of the directors confirmed one of the penguins appears in the short:

Dan Abraham: Much like Mary Poppins. Oh, and we got the penguin in there.

Source: https://www.laughingplace.com/w/article ... n-history/

So no Aurora, no Jasmine, no Meg? a very sad idea...

Aurora and Jasmine are mentioned in the comment section of the Instagram link D23ExpoVisitor25 shared:

Princess Aurora and Princess Jasmine appear at all?

They are there - all princesses from Disney are there (so no Merida since she is a Pixar character) I just don't recall do they have any solo lines/moments but they where there.

Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/CtrJLQTonr5/

Its cool that also short film characters are brought back, HOPEFULLY theyll bring back the Paperman characters too

I agree, it's nice that some of those characters are included.

[UmbrellaFish]

Thank you for sharing that confirmation about the Poppins penguin, D82!

[Disney's Divinity]

@Mooky: Oh, nice, I've never seen that one! One of my favorite combo images that I've seen out there is this puzzle picture. (Hopefully the link works, it was the first that come up on Google. I thought it was such a neat structure to feature so many different famous characters in the same picture by having the core characters (Mickey, Donald, etc.) visiting a museum dedicated to the films. Portraits on the wall of the best villains, the stained glass with the Walt princesses at the back, paintings, statues, it's very well-done to me.

But there are a lot of images, puzzles, and so on that do the combination of all the characters really well.

[D82]

You're welcome, UmbrellaFish.

Here's the whole comments section of the Instagram post shared by D23ExpoVisitor25, where the person who attended the screening answers some questions about the short, in case anyone's interested in knowing more (spoilers):

I hope Penny or Bernard & Biancia from "The Rescuers" or Taran from "Black Cauldron", Oliver, Basil
I don't remember about all you mention BUT Bernard and Miss Biancia do make an apperance
I did even spot Madame Medussa
Oh! I did remember that main dog from "Oliver" has a cameo

How long does each character talk? Is it just a 1 second for each character so everyone can get a chance?
and did you notice Boun/ Namaari, maybe next to Raya?
Aside for Mickey who have a big role most characters have one line [usualy a quick joke] but few have more like Moana has a longer scene interacting with Flounder (which is pretty fun since she is CGI and he is handdrawn) I don't remember Namaari or Boun but odds are she is somewhere there - the short is like watching "Where is Waldo" book in some shots.

Omg! I hope Hans gets to talk to someone finally, maybe Gaston?theyd be nice friends
Sadly no (you have to see it ) but Gastone has a very funny moment awith a very unexpected character and even get's to humn his song
Oh great!! and um…did they finally kill hans permanently?
Well, can't say pernamently but he was in lots of pain for sure ^_^

…we’ll have Hans but Not Eugene fitzherbert!!!???? THATS A CRIMEEEE…I hope Mr Hans gets his punishment
I'm almost sure you can spot Eugene at some point but there was so much going on... I was amazmed when they had the main dog from "Olive and Company" appear (sadly no lines)
omg and rapunzel says anything???
Yes, she has a funny line. I listed her above
i hope she has a new outfit or sth
Nope, she was in the same dress she was in "Tangled" - they tried to have all characters as close to their movies as possible so no variation on them
ooo thats great i cant wait to see it! btw i hope her hair is still brown cause yk what happened in the series. I hope they made her have the short hair
Sorry again, but her hair is gold and long. But remember this short isn't canonical and more treating characters like their just came alive from pictures on the wall of Dinsey studio. Kuzko is still a Llama, Pinocchio is a wooden boy etc.

Where's Pumbaa.
He is in the movie (Timon rides on him) but I don't recall him having any lines
Timon get's to talk with Olaf so that is fun

Was it all new dialogue (aside from Genie obviously being reused)?
As far I can tell it was all new. Eric Golberg who was on presentation said they got over 40 voice actors from their movies to reprise their roles and that there is ZERO reused animation and all is 100% new and hand drawn (aside for CGI characters). The Only ones that felt reused (but I can be wrong) where the Faries from "Sleeping Beauty". Genie's dialog is NEW (sort of) as it was unuse line from William's improvisation for the role. I'm also curious about Iago and Ursula as their lines where clearly new but the actor died recently (Did they used unused material or did they recod it before deaths?) Few lines felt lines from the movies - Rafiki say "It is time" but I don't know did they got the actor or sound alike or just reused line from the movie.

Please tell me Anna and Elsa are in their Frozen 1 outfits and braided hairstyles. I’d be really disappointed if they don’t use their OG looks
I honestly don't remember such detail but I recall Elsa was dress as she was in Frozen 1.

Thank u for the info!!! I love Rapunzel and I was wondering does she look EXACTLY like in the 2010 movie or more rendered/detailed after 13 years?
The short try to have characters as close their looked in their movie as possible so she looks as if she just walk out middle of "Tangled". She has her trusty pan

Do Princess Aurora and Princess Jasmine appear at all?
They are there - all princesses from Disney are there (so no Merida since she is a Pixar character) I just don't recall do they have any solo lines/moments but they where there.

HANS IS THERE... I KINDA EXPECTED THIS...
I won't spoil it but it's honestly the second most funny gag in the short. People where claping from laughter

haha so did they hurt him again?or maybe he got hit by a huge snowabll again?
Let's just say Elsa gives him a cold welcom...

UPTATED:
I forgot to mention Stich who clearly has dialog. Lilo is with him but I don't remember is she has a line or not.

did Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and Roger Rabbit make a appearance?
Oswald yes (you can clearly spot him in one shot) but not Rogger - not part of this studio/legacy. For same reason there is no Pixar characters.
When I say "studio" I specificly mean Disney's animation unit.

Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/CtrJLQTonr5/

[Disney's Divinity]

I hope the short will be on Wish's Blu-ray release next year--the short that plays before is usually on the film in question's Blu-ray, right?--I'm sure it's one I'll want to watch many times to catch them all.

*spoilers* Somehow I'm picturing Gaston with Maui ("You're Welcome"). I would've liked to see him and Hans interact though. I hope Pat Carroll and Gottfried had been able to record before they died (I would've said the same for Lansbury, but doesn't sound like Mrs. Potts features?). That said, if they've managed to find replacements that sound so much like them the person couldn't tell anything new, I'll be happy about that, too. I hope they can find someone to do Ursula decently the way Maleficent's usual VA does a pretty great job.

[Kyle]

I hope the short will be on Wish's Blu-ray release next year--the short that plays before is usually on the film in question's Blu-ray, right?--I'm sure it's one I'll want to watch many times to catch them all.

I can't think of an example where it wasn't, yeah.

[D23ExpoVisitor25]

Once Upon A Studio officially rated G: https://www.filmratings.com/Content/Dow ... lletin.pdf

[blackcauldron85]

Dan Abraham: And there's somebody that loves Gurgi and Chicken Little, and they don't get to see those guys very much. So we wanted everybody to see their pals because that's what this was. It's a family reunion that hopefully you want to go to.

I was wondering if any TBC characters would be represented!

since some have a very brief appearance, or are cut (we can recognize some of them from their head top, or their legs, or a small part of their body).
...Esmeralda (her dress)
...Captain Amelia (legs)
...Rapunzel (braided hair with the pan), ...Kristoff (his face was not in front of the screen but I had the illusion he was wearing a blond beard, not sure at all, lol)
...Gurgi, Eilowni (top head)

It's better than not being represented at all, but a little bit of a bummer that some characters will only show up partially!

[D82]

Dan Abraham: And there's somebody that loves Gurgi and Chicken Little, and they don't get to see those guys very much. So we wanted everybody to see their pals because that's what this was. It's a family reunion that hopefully you want to go to.

I was wondering if any TBC characters would be represented!

When I read that part, I thought of you. I'm also glad The Black Cauldron will be represented.

[blackcauldron85]

Aww!! We'll all be pausing this with our remotes to try and see each and every character that comes up on the screen!

[D82]

Definitely! It'll be fun to discover all the references.

[Disney's Divinity]

I hope the short will be on Wish's Blu-ray release next year--the short that plays before is usually on the film in question's Blu-ray, right?--I'm sure it's one I'll want to watch many times to catch them all.

I can't think of an example where it wasn't, yeah.

Thank you, that's good to know! Looking forward to it.

[JTurner]

I can't think of an example where it wasn't, yeah.

Thank you, that's good to know! Looking forward to it.

More like "IF" there's a Blu-Ray release of Wish. The recent report I heard of them halting physical media releases in Australia is worrying to me. I fear Wish might not get one. But I hope I'm wrong about that.

That said, as weary as I am of theses CG features, I'm actually looking forward to this one and especially this short. I can agree that Ralphs Wrecks the Internet was horrible, and I didn't even bother with the Rescue Rangers movie. It looked crappy from the start. But this one sounds most promising. That it features actual handdrawn animation intrigues me. I wonder what changed at Disney to get them to redo handdrawn animation?

[D23ExpoVisitor25]

Thank you, that's good to know! Looking forward to it.

More like "IF" there's a Blu-Ray release of Wish. The recent report I heard of them halting physical media releases in Australia is worrying to me. I fear Wish might not get one. But I hope I'm wrong about that.

That said, as weary as I am of theses CG features, I'm actually looking forward to this one and especially this short. I can agree that Ralphs Wrecks the Internet was horrible, and I didn't even bother with the Rescue Rangers movie. It looked crappy from the start. But this one sounds most promising. That it features actual handdrawn animation intrigues me. I wonder what changed at Disney to get them to redo handdrawn animation?

Bob Chapek, if you were around the mini-panel Eric Goldberg and Mark Henn did at the 2022 D23 Expo at the Walt Disney Animation Studios booth where he said, pre-Chapek firing, that "the current regime was open to the return of hand-drawn animation at Disney."

[D23ExpoVisitor25]

The weekend is here, folks. Since it’s that time again, here’s my newest post 4 my blog 4 this week, this time about Walt Disney Animation Studios’ new short #OnceUponAStudio and how it’ll be crucial to the box office success of #Wish: http://alsaysall.com/2023/07/28/why-dis ... neys-wish/.