Once Upon a Studio (WDAS Short)

[D23ExpoVisitor25]

Now you're seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

[D23ExpoVisitor25]

Got the logo for Once Upon A Studio, the short that will play before Wish: https://twitter.com/almanaquedisney/sta ... 11267?s=46

[Farerb]

The short's official name is "Once Upon a Studio":


https://twitter.com/DisneyFR/status/166 ... fkt9g&s=19

[D82]

People seem quite excited about this short and I'm sure there'll be lots to discuss about it, so I think it should have its own thread. I took the liberty of creating one. I hope it's OK.

Here are the portions of the Annecy articles Farerb posted on the Wish thread that are about the short. It sounds like the audience reaction was very positive. I'm also glad to hear Richard Sherman makes a cameo. We hadn't heard anything from him in the last two years or so and I was worried about him since he's so old now. I'm glad he seems to be OK.

The 100th-anniversary celebration of Walt Disney Animation Studios is in full effect at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. There was news that 28 restored short films will be added to Disney+, while a brand new short film titled "Once Upon a Studio" debuted on opening night. Still, as incredible as the short is (and believe me, it is pure Disney magic), there was nothing like seeing it play again during a Disney panel, where the short film got an emotional reception and a standing ovation.

Still, that was not the focus of the panel — though audiences did see a couple of behind-the-scene videos showing how directors Dan Abraham and Trent Correy brought back Richard Sherman to play "Feed the Birds" at Walt's office for the short, along with a tribute to the late legend Burny Mattinson. No, the main focus of the presentation was Disney's upcoming centennial celebration animated feature, "Wish."

Source: https://www.slashfilm.com/1315935/disne ... necy-2023/

When Wish arrives in theaters on November 22nd, it will be accompanied by the short Once Upon a Studio, which premiered on the opening night of Annecy. Those who missed it got a second screening, with directors Trent Correy and Dan Abraham there to introduce it. They were emotional afterward when the crowd gave them a standing ovation worthy of Céline Dion after a night in Vegas. The crowd didn’t want to stop cheering for them, and both directors got misty-eyed as they welcomed legendary animator Eric Goldberg to join them on stage, which yielded yet another standing ovation.

We were treated to two behind-the-scenes videos about the making of Once Upon a Studio. The first was set in Walt Disney’s restored office in Burbank with Disney Legend Richard Sherman sitting at the same piano he used to pitch songs for films like Mary Poppins and The Jungle Book to Walt Disney. On Friday nights, Walt would famously call the Sherman Brothers up to his office and say, “Play it.” By that, he meant “Feed the Birds,” a song that so encapsulated his philosophy on life that he liked to wrap up the work week with it. During a touching moment in the short when Mickey walks past a framed portrait of Walt, the melody can be heard. What you’ll hear in the film is from that day, of Richard Sherman back at the piano, the same one he used to introduce the song to Walt Disney. And, it was recorded on a Friday evening.

The other Once Upon a Studio video was about Burny Mattinson, who appears on screen in the short’s introduction. Having passed away just shy of his 70th anniversary with the studio, Burney worked with more of the characters featured in the short than anybody else (Eric Goldberg says there’s over 500). Trent and Dan recalled how excited Burny was to make his big-screen debut. And Eric Goldberg also confirmed that all of the animation in the short is 100% original, with nothing recycled. And any hand-drawn elements are truly hand-drawn, with a pencil on paper.

Source: https://www.laughingplace.com/w/article ... nifer-lee/

[Sotiris]

More articles about the short.

Interview: Disney Animation CCO Jennifer Lee Discusses Honoring 100 Years of History Through “Wish” and “Once Upon a Studio”
https://www.laughingplace.com/w/article ... -a-studio/

Interview: “Once Upon a Studio” Directors Trent Correy and Dan Abraham Geek Out Over Disney Animation History
https://www.laughingplace.com/w/article ... n-history/

Annecy 2023 Recap: “Once Upon a Studio” Directors Dan Abraham and Trent Correy Share Their Paths from Artists to Directors
https://www.laughingplace.com/w/article ... directors/

[PatchofBlue]

Dan Abraham: Yeah. We still, to this day, you'll see Stitch, and you'll see Ariel, and you'll see the Beast and that ...

Okay. So right off the bat they announced my Disney triumvirate would be featured. That bodes well for this project.

Anyways, I do like this concept. Just browsing through their comments, they seem sincere in their intentions, and I hope that translates to the finished product. It's looking to be less "Ralph Breaks the Internet" princesses and more ... anything but that.

[D23ExpoVisitor25]

More information on which characters have speaking roles in the short: https://www.instagram.com/p/CtrJLQTonr5/.

[Sotiris]

I hope Disney didn't cheap out and paid the Edgar Burroughs estate to have Tarzan make an appearance in the short.

[UmbrellaFish]

More information on which characters have speaking roles in the short: https://www.instagram.com/p/CtrJLQTonr5/.

It’s impressive that person could remember so much!

[The Disneynerd]

More information on which characters have speaking roles in the short: https://www.instagram.com/p/CtrJLQTonr5/.

AHHH thanks D23ExpoVisitor for the link!!! Finally I can die in peace knowing that Rapunzel with dialogue is definitely also in focus WITH LONG HAIR (with a "very funny line") (Eugene doesnt speak but I don't care ). Very interesting that Hans also has a voiceover role. It was said that a gag between Elsa and Hans brought one of the biggest laughs in the short, I'm looking forward to it.
And the most interesting thing for me: Asha will also be an important part of the short film??? I thought the movie would be a build up to the movie, but it seems the short sees Wish already as part of the Disney Legacy

It’s impressive that person could remember so much!

totally agree!

[Farerb]

I read that Snow White and Asha hug or something at the end of the short

[Disney's Divinity]

I think it would be lovely for the short to end with SW welcoming Asha by hugging her or shaking hands as part of the anniversary! I hope that's true.

[PatrickvD]

Holding my breath for this. Either way it has traditional animation so that’s a big plus.

Really curious to see how WDAS handles animating some of these characters that haven’t been animated in 60+ years, such as Snow, Merlin or Pinocchio. Do they really still have the artists/skills in-house to pull that off? Aside from Eric Goldberg obviously.

[D82]

I hope Disney didn't cheap out and paid the Edgar Burroughs estate to have Tarzan make an appearance in the short.

In one of the articles it says every protagonist from every WDAS film appears in it. Hopefully, that means he's included.

Alex: Today, Eric Goldberg said there's more than 500 characters in the short. How do you choose who gets to be featured? How do you make the sacrifices of who does and doesn't get to come to this party?

Dan Abraham: Well, we wanted everybody, but that's just not possible. We do have over 500 characters. And every main character from every film is represented, and then a bunch of the shorts. And then we would just come up with gags and ideas and mashups between characters and situations and what would flow into the next thing. And we kept going on and on and on until finally we had a list, like, "You know what? We don't have this movie represented very well yet, where can we get that character?" And we would have a very short list of…

Trent Correy: Yeah, it got shorter and shorter.

Dan Abraham: Yeah. We still, to this day, you'll see Stitch, and you'll see Ariel, and you'll see the Beast and that, but there's somebody out there that loves Johnny Appleseed. 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.

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

I'm personally more excited to see the less well-known characters than the others as they don't usually get much attention.

By the way, at first I didn't know if Burny Mattinson really appeared in the short or if he was just animated, but it seems he does. I'm glad he was able to shoot his part before he passed away. The short will be a nice tribute to him.

I read that Snow White and Asha hug or something at the end of the short

Yes, they hold hands. That was revealed in one of the articles Sotiris posted (spoilers ahead):

Alex: The short ends with a very symbolic handshake. The star of the first animated feature, Snow White, holds hands with Asha, the star of Wish. Can you talk about the profoundness of that moment, and what it means to you to be in the position you’re in as Disney celebrates its 100th anniversary?

Jennifer Lee: Well, we said how far do we go? And the idea of being able to invite Wish into it, and obviously, Snow White was a huge inspiration for Asha. Meaning what it took for Walt to make Snow White, how he had a wish and a dream, and he had to fight through. And there were moments where it wasn't going to happen. The budget was too big. They said no one would come, and he made it, and it made everything possible. A lot of that inspired Asha's journey where she wishes for something, and then she has to try to make it happen. The failures, how far are you willing to go, and what she has to go through. So it was so lovely to be able to put them together. Many of those nods are in our conversations and heads, but hopefully, after people see the film, they will see it more.

Source: https://www.laughingplace.com/w/article ... -a-studio/

[Farerb]

Holding my breath for this. Either way it has traditional animation so that’s a big plus.

Really curious to see how WDAS handles animating some of these characters that haven’t been animated in 60+ years, such as Snow, Merlin or Pinocchio. Do they really still have the artists/skills in-house to pull that off? Aside from Eric Goldberg obviously.

They have Eric Goldberg, Randy Haycock and Mark Henn (who animated half of the Princesses). They also have 6 trainees and they probably hired freelancers.

[Prince Kido]

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!!

[Kyle]

This is going to be one of those "too many characters to appreciate" kind of things isn't it? Sometimes less is more. You'd get to spend more time with the characters that are in it.

[UmbrellaFish]

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

[Disney's Divinity]

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.

Thank you, Prince Kido, for the list. Wow, Joanna! Too bad no Meg (although maybe you missed her). It'll be interesting to see the Tangled characters, Bolt and Mittens, MtR, etc. in hand-drawn form (a higher level than the Tangled series or various coloring book drawings, I mean). I imagine they'll look better here than they ever have, including the original films, tbh. A nice acknowledgment that the Three Good Fairies are the protagonists of SB. Very disappointing if Taran, Pinocchio, Tarzan, and Alice aren't there though.

[The Disneynerd]

I've always loved images and other things that include all the Disney characters together

Me too, my personal favorite poster is the one from Lilo and Stitch where everyone is looking at Stitch with fear

. Prep & Landing
. Nessie

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

It'll be interesting to see the Tangled characters, Bolt and Mittens, MtR, etc. in hand-drawn form

The CG figures still remain 3d in the short film But agree it would have been really interesting