The EPCOT International Festival of the Arts begins tomorrow, and preparation has been underway to get EPCOT looking its artistic best. Jeremiah was at the park today and shared some photos of “Chalk Full of Characters,” where guests are encouraged to find charming chalk drawings of Disney characters through the pavilions, some more obvious than others, as they explore World Showcase.
Let’s take a walk around the World Showcase promenade and see what characters we can find!
Two forms of Dante from Pixar’s Coco can be found outside of the Mexico pavilion. Dante is an alebrije who can travel between both the Land of the Dead and the human world, and here at the Festival of the Arts, he can be found in both of his forms.
Snowgies from the animated short Frozen Fever can be found adorning the sides of the buildings of the Norway pavilion near the Somerhaus meet and greet area for Anna and Elsa.
Mushu and Cri-kee from Mulan can be found close to the World Showcase lagoon near one of the food stands in China.
Mulan’s dog, Little Brother, can also be found in the China pavilion.
Do you think you missed something in Germany’s photo above? So did we at first. But there, camouflaged as best he can, you’ll find Pascal the chameleon from 2010’s Tangled. Need a little help? Look toward the word “Clocks.”
A couple other chalk paintings of Pascal can be found elsewhere in the Germany pavilion.
Jiminy Cricket from Pinocchio can be found in a slightly different spot this year in the Italy pavilion, gazing upon stars found in “cracks” in the plaster of the walls.
A new addition this year are the friends Luca and Alberto from Pixar’s Luca, masterfully worked into this faux fountain in Italy.
One of the more obscure characters found on the World Showcase promenade is this little mouse, Amos, from the animated short, Ben & Me. In the short, dating back to 1953, Amos met and befriended Benjamin Franklin, eventually aiding in his publishing, inventions, and political career. Amongst Amos' contributions were bifocals, inspiring Franklin to build the stove, and changing the format of Poor Richard's Almanac to an event-oriented newspaper, the Pennsylvania Gazette.
Just as you’d find them in the real Japan, EPCOT’s Japan pavilion features Duffy the Bear and his pal Gelatoni the Cat. Gelatoni is a perfect character for the Festival of the Arts as the backstory of the character involves Duffy spilling his gelato in the Mediterranean Harbor of Tokyo DisneySea where the aptly named cat showed up and began painting a picture using his tail and the spilled treat.
Abu from 1992’s Aladdin can be found in the alley ways of the Morocco pavilion, causing mischief as usual.
The France pavilion features Duchess’s three kittens from the 1970 classic, The Aristocats. Berlioz, Toulouse, and Marie can be seen on the edge of a building near La Petite Rue.
Elsewhere in the pavilion, other animated friends from France can be found in the form of Remy and Emile, who appear in the new Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure attraction, based on the 2006 Pixar Animation Studios film, Ratatouille. They’re located in a slightly different location than years past, with Remy scurrying up a pipe instead of holding food.
The France pavilion is chock-full of characters, as you can also see Lumiere from Beauty and the Beast perched up high, representing the Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along.
Across the hypothetical Thames river (that in this instance, leads to Crescent Lake) at the UK Pavilion, some Sherwood Forest friends make an appearance, including Skippy, Robin Hood, and Little John.
Across the street, Peter Pan’s shadow can be found approaching an upper level window, perhaps evading being found by Pan himself.
Further down the promenade, we can find Koda the bear from 2004’s Brother Bear catching some salmon under the bridge of the Canada pavilion, though his older counterpart Kenai is nowhere to be found.
If you head to World Showcase during the EPCOT International Festival of the Arts, be on the lookout for these characters hidden throughout the pavilions! Be sure to stay tuned to Laughing Place for continuing coverage from the Festival of the Arts, which runs at EPCOT from January 14th through February 21st, 2022.