This review was made possible due to an advanced footage screening of Wish and Once Upon A Studio provided to Streamr by Disney for review. Once Upon a Studio debuts October 15th on ABC, while Wish opens exclusively in theaters on November 22nd. This review includes some minor spoilers.

Important Note: This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the projects being covered here wouldn’t exist.

In a big year for the Walt Disney Company, the world-famous studio continues its centennial festivities with a celebration of animation, culminating in the releases of a fun animated short, Once Upon A Studio, and the studio’s newest theatrical release, Wish. Upon an invitation to an extra special presentation of the projects in Los Angeles, I made my way to the El Capitan Theater, not knowing what a magical time I would have. From crying over the new short, fawning over an original Mary Blair piece, and asking the creatives of Wish about their own Walt Disney wishes, I definitely walked away from the event inspired and excited for Disney’s upcoming animated releases!

ONCE UPON A STUDIO: A LOVE LETTER TO WALT DISNEY’S ANIMATED LEGACY

After some time to eat, explore, and settle in, we were first shown the upcoming short Once Upon A Studio, directed/written by Dan Abraham & Trent Correy, and produced by Yvett Merino & Brad Simonsen. In a Night At The Museum-esque turn of events, Mickey, Minnie, and a whole host of Disney animated characters roam around the halls of Disney’s Animation building, getting ready to celebrate 100 years of the studio. With the inclusion of classic characters and niche favorites (including Milo from Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Jim Hawkins from Treasure Planet, and Oswald The Lucky Rabbit!), it was so fun to see all sorts of personalities interact with one another. Especially given the diverse range of 2D and 3D characters, I felt like I was playing “I Spy” throughout the short and can’t wait to see what new surprises I’ll notice when rewatching!

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 21: (L-R) Brad Simonsen, Yvett Merino, Dan Abraham and Trent Correy speak onstage for “Once Upon A Studio” at the Long Lead Press Day & In-Person Presentation for WISH and ONCE UPON A STUDIO at El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles, California on September 21, 2023. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney)

Though the characters’ appearances were certainly fun, there was clear evidence of a truly heartfelt approach from the filmmakers themselves. From discussing their inclusion of Disney Legends Burny Mattinson and Richard M. Sherman in the short, to their passion for the Disney Animation Legacy of Walt Disney, the artists and creatives’ excitement when creating this passion project was truly palpable. This was especially expressed when explaining the voice actors that they were able to bring back to voice their characters, as well as the pickiness when selecting soundalikes (no AI here!). This love for Walt and his characters is definitely felt when watching, truly touching this Disney fan’s heart and bringing me to tears!

WISH: A NEW MUSICAL HOMAGE OF ADVENTURE

Following a short intermission, Disney geared up to show us a sneak peek at their newest animated film, Wish. Set in the Kingdom of Rosas, a magical land inspired by the Iberian Peninsula and Mediterranean, the film follows the passionate and empathetic Asha, played by Ariana DeBose. After realizing the wishes made by the people of Rosas on their 18th birthdays are forgotten and hoarded (with no guarantee of their being granted), Asha wishes on a star that aids her in her fight against King Magnifico (Chris Pine). Though a bit confusing when initially explained, I was quickly drawn into the gorgeous story when we were presented with ~30 minutes of exclusive footage! From beautiful forests inspired by the hand-drawn art of Disney legend, magnificent music, and a cute little Mickey Mouse-inspired Star, I just loved this new fantasy world!

Visual development art of Star from Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Wish” by art director of characters, Bill Schwab. The artists found inspiration for Star’s facial features from the mask found lining Mickey Mouse’s face. © 2023 Disney Enterprises Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Following our visual and musical trip to the Kingdom of Rosas, we were soon joined by Peter Del Vecho (Producer), Fawn Veerasunthorn (Director), Jennifer Lee (Writer/Executive Producer & Animation CCO), Chris Buck (Director) and Juan Pablo Reyes Lancaster-Jones (Producer) for a fun Q&A! Having worked on a host of Disney animated classics like Frozen and Tarzan, it was truly inspiring to hear their excitement for this wonderful addition to their impressive resumes. Relating to the day’s thematic idea of Walt’s 100-year storytelling legacy, I became super curious about what these creatives wished they could ask Walt Disney himself! When asking them about this, I was very touched by Lee and Buck’s answers, especially as a filmmaker and creative myself:

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 21: (L-R) Peter Del Vecho, SVP, Feature Film Production, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Fawn Veerasunthorn, Jennifer Lee, CCO, Disney Animation Studios, Chris Buck and Juan Pablo Reyes Lancaster-Jones speak onstage for “Wish” at the Long Lead Press Day & In-Person Presentation for WISH at El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles, California on September 21, 2023. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney)

NOT JUST ANY PRESS DAY

Outside of the exciting footage and short we got to view, members of the press were also given a number of fun opportunities to truly realize the art of these creative projects. After being treated to a fun breakfast (where I got to snack on some thematic star fruit slices!), I was thrilled to view selections of The Walt Disney Research Library Archives that filmmakers specifically used as inspiration for Wish! When touring this collection, I got to see the classic screen-used backgrounds from classics like Sleeping Beauty (the forest and castle), Snow White (the Dwarves’ cottage), and Pinnochio (the starlit town). I also viewed the original handpainted concept art for Honest John and Gideon’s meeting Pinnochio, as well as my favorite – Mary Blair’s concept testing for the Golden Afternoon sequence in Alice in Wonderland! It was such a special experience to see these amazing pieces, as well as to chat with the wonderfully kind and knowledgeable art handlers!

Visual development by Mary Blair for the “All in the Golden Afternoon” sequence of “Alice in Wonderland” (1951) inspired the tone of one of the musical sequences of Walt Disney Animation Studios’ film, “Wish” which hits the big screen on Nov. 22, 2023. © 2023 Disney Enterprises Inc. All Rights Reserved.

After viewing these wonderful artifacts of Disney history, as well as some concept art from Wish, I made my way to find a seat and was pleasantly surprised by the El Capitan’s organ player appearing from the stage! Having always wanted to see one of these performances, I was overjoyed as we were serenaded with childhood favorites like “Feed The Birds” and “Be Our Guest”. The organ also reappeared during the event’s intermission, in which we were treated to some fun Wish-decalled popcorn and adorable Star cookies. At the end of the event, we were even given a warm farewell with some fun Disney Animation Studio treats!

FINAL THOUGHTS

In true Disney fashion, this Presentation Press Day for Wish and Once Upon A Studio was truly a magical experience. As a big Disney fan (I learned to walk at Disneyland), I felt like I was on an emotional rollercoaster seeing these heartfelt homages to Walt Disney’s work, as well as the special artifacts from my favorite childhood films! I particularly loved Once Upon A Studio with its emotional nod to Walt Disney and ode to its prior animated films, so I know I’ll definitely be tuning in when it airs. I also loved what I saw from Wish and think that it has the potential to become an iconic classic as well – with some incredible music and ornately lush production design, I really can’t wait to watch more! All in all, I had so much fun at the event and am excited to see what others think when they see these fun Disney projects.

Check out the trailer for Once Upon A Studio below…:

…And check out our coverage of the Wish teaser here!

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A Magical Morning: ‘Wish’ & ‘Once Upon A Studio’ Press Day