With the news breaking that the new, highly anticipated short from Walt Disney Animation Studios, Once Upon A Studio, will debut on ABC as part of The Wonderful World of Disney on October 15th, the studio also shared a trailer to get animation aficionados/Disney Adults even more excited than they already are. So of course I took a frame by frame look at the thing, so let’s dive in. First of all, I must add that the short has already been screened to audiences, however I have not been present in those audiences, so I’m going in with no knowledge of what this short entails. If you would like to know more 100% sure specifics, be sure to check out Alex’s review here.
The official description reads: “An all-star ensemble of beloved characters from Walt Disney Animation Studios come together in Once Upon a Studio for a joyful, entertaining and emotional reunion as they assemble for a spectacular group photo to mark Disney’s 100th anniversary. Featuring 543 characters from more than 85 Disney feature-length and short films, Once Upon a Studio welcomes heroes and villains, princes and princesses, sidekicks and sorcerers—in all-new hand-drawn and CG animation—to celebrate 10 decades of storytelling, artistry and technological achievements.” Let’s see what we find in the trailer!
The trailer opens up looking at the Roy E. Disney Animation building, located across from the main Walt Disney Studios lot in Burbank. Colloquially referred to as “The Hat Building” by many animators, artists, and fans, the building opened in the 90’s, reportedly announced at a wrap party for Beauty and the Beast. (More about this can be seen in the documentary, Waking Sleeping Beauty, which I highly recommend). The first film produced at this studio was The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and every full-length Walt Disney Animation Studio feature that followed has been made here, save for Mulan, Lilo & Stitch, and Brother Bear, which were made at the now shuttered Florida animation studio that was located in what is now Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World.
This shot could just be a passive shot showing the multi-generational aspect of artists at the studio, with students fresh out of college joining in various productions, to highly respected industry veterans who created the films of our youth that are still present at the studio. However, there is a high chance this is a known person, but we won’t know for sure (at least I won’t) until we see their face.
Of course, the studio famously “was started by a Mouse” so it is absolutely no surprise that he has a prominent role (at least in the trailer). As Tinker Bell flies by, who apparently summons everyone out of the art as the last of the artists leave the studio, Mickey and Minnie spring to life from some nearby art.
The art tells us that we will see Mickey and Minnie as they appeared in Mickey’s Birthday Party, a short film from the studio dating back to 1942, and the 114th short to feature the iconic character.
Together they round up a who’s who of characters that was an onslaught in just the trailer so I can’t even fathom what the full short entails. Bambi, Thumper, Flower appear, and as Peter Pan himself flies through the halls of the studio, uttering the all-but-trademarked “Here we go,” we see him, Minnie, and the cast of Bolt all in the hallway before he takes flight.
This is clearly a world-mashing bit of magic, as evidenced almost immediately by Moana catching a falling Flounder from The Little Mermaid. A bit of fun since both of their films were helmed by the legendary duo of John Musker and Ron Clements.
We see the fairies from Sleeping Beauty arguing over the color of the landmark hat on the building outside, but they’re also joined by Jock and Trusty from Lady and the Tramp.
And while we see Winnie the Pooh and his friends struggling a la Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree, we see Antonio from Encanto running down the hall surrounded by his animal friends. Oh wait, those aren’t his animal friends. That’s Pua from Moana, Pascal from Tangled, Meeko from Pocahontas, Cri-Kee from Mulan, and some dressmaking bluebirds from Cinderella.
Villains will clearly be present too, considering we’ve seen Hades from Hercules with Cruella De Vil from 101 Dalmatians in the background, but oddly alongside John Henry from his short film, also produced at the now defunct Florida studio. A bit of fun with the sisters from Frozen was had, as Anna asks if ALL the villains will be there, and Elsa freezes an incoming Hans saying “Not all of them.” Kind of a villainous move herself, and some may remember that Elsa herself was originally set to be the villain of Frozen when the film was in development.
And finally – the most show stopping bit of the trailer that leads me to know that Once Upon a Studio will really be something special – was this frame.
Not only do we see the Three Little Pigs, Captain Hook, Phil(octetes), Colonel Hathi’s Elephants, and Cinderella’s Step-Sisters, we also see Kuzco, Pacha, Louis from The Princess and the Frog (or is that Tick Tock from Peter Pan, we can’t see the face), and Luisa from Encanto replace the donkeys she normally carries with the cows from Home on the Range, Rutt and Tuke from Brother Bear, and possibly Cyril from The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad. But right next to them is Ben Franklin and a Mouse? WHAT?
A blink and you’ll miss it shout out to Ben & Me, a short film dating back to 1953 that tells the tale of a mouse named Amos (the one in his hat) who moved into the founding father’s apartment and may or may not have been responsible for his invention of the bifocals, the success of his newspaper, The Pennsylvania Gazette and eventually (after being a test subject for electricity), the opening lines of the Declaration of Independence. This oft-overlooked short (it’s not even on Disney+) being represented in this is surely a sign of more fun that will be found when Once Upon A Studio arrives on ABC on October 15th. That, and Goofy is behind the camera? Oh the hijinx.
