The filmmakers behind the movie Wish and the short film Once Upon a Studio, as well as Disney Animation brass, mark a milestone for the Mouse House.
The dream weavers at Walt Disney Animation know what it means to wish upon a star. The concept and accompanying melody, written by Leigh Harline and Ned Washington for the formative 1940 film Pinocchio, has been woven into the very fabric of the movie studio. That gentle, soul-stirring jingle has consistently played over the Disney logo before every one of their movies for decades, to the point where the Mouse House and the tune are now one and the same.
"'When You Wish Upon A Star' was one of the first songs I knew. I don't even know when I first heard it. It just was always there," Jennifer Lee, co-director on Frozen and chief creative officer at Walt Disney Animation, reflects as she considers the studio's centennial. "You can say a wish is passive because you wish and hope this happens, but really it's a declaration of what's driving your heart, and the pursuit of that is important. How can we deconstruct that in a more sophisticated way, but also have a lot of celebration of the 100th?"
That became the goal — and challenge — for Chris Buck (the co-director of Frozen) and Fawn Veerasunthorn (the head of story on Raya and the Last Dragon) on their new film with an incredibly apt title.
Asha, voiced by Ariana DeBose, is determined to save the kingdom of Rosas in 'Wish' | CREDIT: DISNEY
Set in the island kingdom of Rosas, Wish (in theaters Nov. 22) follows the young and willful Asha (Ariana DeBose) as she fights to return all of the citizens' wishes, depicted as glistening blue orbs that have been locked away, never to be fulfilled by the ruling sorcerer, the vain and theatrical King Magnifico (Chris Pine).
Chatting with EW from inside the offices of Disney Animation Studios in Burbank, Calif., on the day they finished the final sound mix in October, Buck recalls feedback from early internal test screenings of their latest animated offering. "It was really hard for people to understand the power of a wish or how emotional a wish could be," he says seated next to Veerasunthorn beneath a framed drawing of Valentino, Asha's talking pet goat (voiced by Alan Tudyk). "That was pivotal. We knew we had to keep working to make it feel powerful."
Wishing seems to be on the minds of everyone at the studio as Disney marks its big double-O, commemorating a legacy that began in 1923 and looking ahead to what comes next. Those two ends of the spectrum have manifested in Wish, which personifies an actual wishing star as an adorable, whizzing-about character named Star, and Once Upon a Studio (on Disney+ tonight), a short film from filmmakers Dan Abraham and Trent Correy that sees Disney's catalog of wishful characters, from Mickey to Moana, mingling together to take a class photo.
"We've really looked at [the anniversary] as a chance to reflect on the incredible resonance these stories have had over the years, to recognize the talented and imaginative people who have made it all possible, and to be grateful to the passionate fans who enjoy it around the world," Alan Bergman, chairman of Walt Disney Studios, writes to EW over email. "There are certainly defining moments through the years, probably too many to name given that we now have seven phenomenal studios — though there have been a lot of 'firsts,' from Snow White to Toy Story to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and beyond. But I honestly think that every film we've ever done is probably someone's favorite, somewhere out there, and that's the point — what these stories mean to people."
Once Upon a Dream
Disney characters past and present assemble for a "class photo" in short film 'Once Upon a Studio' | CREDIT: DISNEY
Trent Correy believes all of Disney's characters are connected by the power of wishing, citing Judy Hopps in Zootopia as she trades farm life for the big city, as well as The Princess and the Frog's Tiana, who dreams of starting her own business. It's a link he noticed through his work with Dan Abraham, his cohort on the 2020 Olaf short film Once Upon a Snowman.
The duo's latest short, Once Upon a Studio, begins with an appearance from Disney's longest-serving employee, Burny Mattinson, who worked there for nearly 70 years and died at the age of 87 in February. As soon as Mattinson and his starry-eyed intern close the doors to Disney Animation HQ for the day, Mickey and Minnie come to life. Leaping out of their framed portraits on the wall, they call on all the other Disney characters past and present to do the same, 543 in total. Dozens of voice actors reprised their roles to record new dialogue, including Idina Menzel (Elsa), Jeremy Irons (Scar), Jodi Benson (Ariel), Paige O'Hara (Belle), and Wish's DeBose. Oscar-winning Mary Poppins composer Richard Sherman also crafted a new rendition of "Feed the Birds" — Walt Disney's favorite song — to play over a scene of Mickey gazing up at a portrait of his creator, while a 54-person choir performed a variation of "When You Wish Upon a Star" for the finale of the 10-minute film.
Once Upon a Studio, like Wish, has become a cornerstone for Disney's 100-year anniversary plans, but it wasn't something anyone was asking for. Abraham initially worked in the story department on Wish, helping to develop the look of Star. "We just knew that Wish was going to be more about the future and celebrate themes that Disney has touched on over the years, but it wasn't going to have any of the legacy characters or celebrate the past 100 years," he says. Correy adds: "I remember thinking at that point, Are they just going to release a montage video on YouTube that's like clips? We should do something more."
For eight months during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, including nights and weekends, the duo worked on the pitch for Once Upon a Studio in secret. "Nobody was in the studio at the time," Correy remembers of that era of lockdowns and isolation. "We would get in our separate cars, go through the drive-thru of Taco Bell, park in the parking lot next to each other, roll our windows down, and talk about what this short could be and what we, as Disney fans, would want to see." Without knowing it, they found something other filmmakers at the studio had been trying to pull off but couldn't quite crack: a good enough premise to get all the Disney pantheon together in one place.
Listening to their pitch over Zoom — which involved Abraham performing the voices of each character over scrolling storyboards, and singing a bit too — Lee was brought to tears. "It really captured, to me, how Disney's a part of all of us," the exec recalls. "It's something we share, and that sharing brings a lot of joy and a lot of connection. What they had done was, in such a sweet, little short [film], connected us all. I could see it instantly."
The mission was to maintain the hand-drawn animation of classic Disney characters, such as Cinderella and Aurora, alongside the CG-rendered likes of Mirabel from Encanto and Raya of the Last Dragon. Like Snow White's forest critters poking their heads out from behind trees and logs at the sound of her voice, animators and artists from across the studio came out of the woodwork to help. "We had people coming up to us daily and sending us emails and texts: 'These characters mean so much to me. Even if I work on it for a weekend, I have to be part of this,'" Abraham explains. One of those individuals was Eric Goldberg, a longtime Disney animator whose first job at the studio was drawing the Robin Williams-voiced Genie for 1992's Aladdin. He returned to draw the beloved character once more, having done so multiple times over the years for similar legacy specials. "The Genie and I have been friends for many years, and to revisit him in this film is always a joy," Goldberg remarks. "He's a guy who just kind of flows out of my fingers. It's not that I don't have to think about it, but it's a comfort fit."
Abraham sifted through more than 16 hours of archived recordings of the late Williams to pick a single (previously unused) line for the short, which sees Goldberg's hand-drawn Genie materializing as Josh Gad's Olaf hums "Friend Like Me" and doodles on a sketch table. Goldberg finds the interaction poetic. "Josh Gad spoke about Robin — about how the Genie inspired him to be a voice for a Disney character, and he was thrilled that he and Robin were going to be in the same scene together in this film," Goldberg reveals. "Well, the same thing happened on the animation side," he adds, explaining that Hyrum Osmond, who animated Olaf for Frozen, returned to work on the snowman while he worked on the Genie. "It all came home that way."
Circle of Life
Ariana DeBose's Asha joins Star on a magical adventure in 'Wish' | CREDIT: DISNEY
Goldberg has become a pseudo custodian of hand-drawn animation at Disney, helping preserve the art form's legacy. After the restoration of 1950's Cinderella, which was released on Disney+ in August, the studio announced that Goldberg and Michael Giaimo have been restoring Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the very first feature film released by the Mouse House in 1937. "I make jokes about myself being old, but we remember what these things looked like in a movie theater, and there aren't that many people who can say that," the 68-year-old creative says, chuckling. "There was more subtlety in the original color palette, and I think maybe 40 years of turning up the color knob on your TV got people used to more oversaturated color. But we're trying to get back to what we knew the original artwork looked like and what the intentions were."
Aside from a prominent cameo in Once Upon a Studio, Snow White remains an inspiration to the current movie-makers at Disney. That includes Buck and Veerasunthorn, who used hand-drawn animation for the environments of Wish alongside the CG-animated Asha and Magnifico as a nod to the watercolors used for the 1937 film. In a slightly more overt nod to the classic, Asha maintains seven close friends in the kingdom of Rosas. Not only do each resemble one of the seven dwarfs, but their names also share the same initials. Dahlia (Jennifer Kumiyama) boasts brains and glasses like Doc, Simon (Evan Peters) is just as fatigued as Sleepy, Gabo (Harvey Guillén) is a tad Grumpy, Safi (Ramy Youssef) is constantly sneezing, Dario (Jon Rudnitsky) has the same wiggling ears and rosy cheeks as Dopey, Hal (Niko Vargas) smiles as much as Happy, and Bazeema (Della Saba) is as painfully shy as Bashful.
"When the idea came up of [Asha] having a group of friends, we thought, 'Well, it's the 100th anniversary. Could we do seven friends? Can we actually do this?'" Buck recalls of concocting just one of dozens upon dozens of similar legacy nods to the Golden Age era of classic Disney sprinkled throughout the film. "This movie has been so much fun to bring out all these things that mean so much to us. And if the audience doesn't pick up on it, that's okay. Hopefully, the characters stand on their own."
Chris Pine voices King Magnifico in 'Wish' | CREDIT: DISNEY
At the start of Wish, Buck and Veerasunthorn, who first worked together on Frozen, pulled one image from each Disney Animation film and placed them together on a bulletin board to see the entire breadth of the studio's work. One could consider Pine's Magnifico to be a legacy nod, as he evokes the same vibe as the Evil Queen in Snow White or Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty. (And the visuals of his dark magic may remind audiences of another classic Disney baddie.) Lee considers Magnifico to be "a real delicious villain," which is something folks at the studio were craving when thinking of a movie that would embody the 100-year legacy. "I was terrified of being a part of creating it, because how do you compete with some of the incredible villains that have been in the cinematic canon across the board? It's a scary undertaking, but who wouldn't want to try?"
If Magnifico represents old-school Disney, then Asha is very much a modern Disney heroine. Living a perfectly content life with her grandfather and mother, years after her dad passed away, she scores an interview to become the king's personal assistant. At first, she aligns with Magnifico's creed, which is to protect the kingdom's wishes. Once you offer up your wish to him, you forget it so that you don't have to suffer the grief of a wish unfulfilled, as Magnifico once did. But when Asha discovers the sorcerer will only use his magic to grant a select few wishes, leaving the rest to waste away in his castle, she sets out to release them with the help of a magical star that comes to life in response to her wish.
Unlike with their villain, the filmmakers didn't base Asha on any past Disney hero. "We wanted her to be her own person," Veerasunthorn says. "We were inspired by Ariana and what she brings to the recording session. Not only her performance, but as a person." For the West Side Story Oscar winner's first recording session, Veerasunthorn and Buck placed a squishy ball on the end of a selfie stick and waved it in front of DeBose's face as a physical reference for Star. "It was so much fun and so quirky," Veerasunthorn recalls. "That's when we got to know what she could really bring to Asha."
Similar to Anna, Mirabel, or Moana, Lee sees Asha as a modern Disney heroine — she doesn't need anyone to save her. "They have to fight their way through," she says. "To me, the greatest power of a fairy tale is when it's giving you ways to cope through something and watching Asha, very relatably, be that kind of person that's like all of us." Reflective of the film's title and Disney's anthem, Lee points to the power of Asha's wish. "[It's] her journey to say, 'I wish for more for my family, for my community,' and she's going to try to make that happen. She's going to suffer the consequences of those choices, as well as discover the true leader she is inside. She's evolving. In the past, what you'd see a lot of is the character stays the same and others are changed by that character. And that's great, but with modern storytelling, we want to give the challenge to that main character and we want to see her triumph. She doesn't do it alone, no one does in life, but she still has to make the hard choices." It may feel like an ambitious task to make a film that bridges the past and present of a 100-year legacy of storytelling, but having worked with Buck directing Frozen 2, Lee says they would often joke, "If we survived our first musical sequel to a project that a lot of people were like, 'How do you dare do another one?' we can't be afraid to do this."
How Far I'll Go
King Magnifico (Chris Pine) oversees the wishes of Rosas in 'Wish' | CREDIT: DISNEY
As much as Disney's anniversary is about looking to the past, Lee has her eyes on the future. Sequels have been announced for both Frozen and Zootopia, but Lee is quick to note that out of Disney Animation's 62 past theatrically released films, only four of them were sequels: 1990's The Rescuers Down Under, 1999's Fantasia 2000, 2018's Ralph Breaks the Internet, and 2019's Frozen II. The priority is still original storytelling. "What we found is if it's driven by the filmmakers and it feels like the right story, it's worth doing," she remarks.
The idea for Frozen 3, she continues, came from Marc Smith, head of story on Frozen II. "Growing it out from there feels right because it's coming with vision, it's coming with purpose." Lee can't say much about what the sequel entails, but when asked if fans should be paying close attention to the current Frozen story being told on the Forces of Nature podcast series, she's hesitant to consider the audio offering canon. "In my head, the films will always stay canon. Anything done outside of that, we give them permission to have their own identity. They may not be canon," she explains. "I still encourage it because I think it's fun to explore. But don't hold us to anything except what we put in those features. That's just me. I don't want to disappoint anyone. But I also want to say I love that other artists get inspired, and I love the idea of the Frozen story."
After Wish, Lee teases further exploration into how hand-drawn animation works alongside CG animation, noting one of her filmmakers is already at work on such a project. But another, perhaps greater experiment is the plan for a Moana animated Disney+ series that acts as a sequel to the 2016 fantasy epic. "One of the things that I don't think is quite what we aim to do here is a Simpsons or a Phineas and Ferb, where it's a series formula," she explains of that project. "The filmmakers tend to work more in a miniseries kind of concept that's closer to features. In some ways, if it's five episodes, I think of it as a five-act play, but that's because of how a lot of us grew up. Some of us here have worked in series, so we help each other. But for me, it's more about the storytelling. No matter what format we're going to do it, it has to be as big, bold, epic, and of the same quality."
"Disney has become one of the most iconic global brands because our stories are made for so many to enjoy, and the elements that help our stories connect, including heart, humor, and optimism, will always be relevant," Bergman adds. "We also have a legacy of innovation to bring that storytelling alive for audiences with so many ways to experience it, whether it's in the movie theater, their home, on stage, through our parks, or with consumer products," the Walt Disney Studios chairman continues. "Technologies will change, the way people consume content will change, but great storytelling is timeless, and that's where we'll continue to see our success come from over the next five or 10 or 100 years."
Appropriately, Lee offers up a wish when thinking about the future of Disney Animation. "My biggest wish is — as I know I'm not that old yet, but I'm getting up there — is that the new generation that we're working with here have everything they need to go to new heights, greater heights," says the 51-year-old. "That's all."
Jennifer Lee has made a Wish, and she—as well as the rest of Disney Animation—is ready for the world to see it.
Wish—Disney’s latest animated film which takes audiences on an adventure with the hopeful Asha as she battles the dastardly King Magnifico—connects the past to the present of the 100-year-old studio. However, it also looks towards Disney Animation’s future.
The film—which is in theaters on Wednesday—brings together the hallmarks that has made Disney storytelling special for the last century: catchy songs, colorful characters and, of course, making wishes. However, this time a star isn’t just something that characters wish upon.
We spoke with Lee—the Chief Creative Officer of Disney Animation and writer/executive producer of Wish—about the highly anticipated film and what its innovations mean for the future of Disney Animation. Oh, and we also touched on a little upcoming film that takes place in the frosty world of Arendelle.
Jennifer Lee, Chief Creative Officer of Disney Animation & writer/executive producer of Wish.
From Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to Beauty And The Beast to Frozen, Disney Animation has always pushed Disney forward for the last 100 years. How does Wish continue that tradition of innovation mixed with classic storytelling?
Walt Disney himself said we have to keep evolving our storytelling and always innovate. With Wish, we are looking to our incredible legacy of films for inspiration to create an original fairy tale with new characters and songs. Storytelling is what connects us all, and at Disney Animation we are all inspired by Walt and the artists of his day and what they created. And we honor that legacy with an incredible first-of-its-kind visual watercolor storybook CG look for this film made to be seen on the big screen.
Wish is blending 3-D animation with watercolor style that was seen in the earliest films from the studio.
We were inspired by the watercolor paintings of our earliest films from Snow White and Pinocchio brought to life through the innovations that we’ve been developing in-house, experimenting within our short films, like Paperman, Feast and the watercolor style of Far From The Tree. The combination of artistry and innovation has been with us since our earliest days, and the look of this film is something our production design team achieved so beautifully.
Disney’s Wish opens in theaters on November 22.
You’ve worked on some of Disney’s most beloved animated films. What make Wish special?
We really fell in love with each of these characters as we were creating the film, and absolutely loved the music Julia Michaels and her collaborator Ben Rice, were creating. Asha is such a special character. She begins the film in a good place — loving where she lives, feeling supported by her friends and family. But like so many people in their late teens, she learns the world around her is not perfect, and instead of turning a blind eye she confronts the wrong and inspires her whole community.
It’s Disney’s 100th anniversary, and Disney Animation has been there since the start. How does Wish celebrate Animation’s evolution over the last century?
Five years ago, my fellow Frozen director Chris Buck had placed one image from each of our studios’ films on a storyboard, and it was so inspiring to see how many of our films are about characters who wish upon a star. For Wish, we hope people will watch the film, and think of their own wishes and pursue them. After all, there is no greater power in the universe than someone with a true wish in their heart.
As we celebrate Disney’s past with its 100th anniversary this year, let’s chat about its future. Where do you want to take Disney Animation?
We are working on so many exciting new, original projects we hope to share soon as well as the continuations of stories from characters and worlds we love like Zootopia and Frozen. We have about ten projects currently in development, and each of them is so exciting.
Wish blends 3-D animation with watercolor style.
You directed Frozen and Frozen 2, and this year is its 10th anniversary. Not to mention, the opening of World of Frozen at Hong Kong Disneyland. Ten years later, what has made Frozen everlasting?
I believe it’s both the story of familial love with these two sisters, and the idea of love conquering fear. I recently visited World of Frozen, and it is awe-inspiring. You are a citizen of Arendelle the moment you walk into the land.
Is there anything you can tell us about Frozen 3?
Only what we have already shared, which is the team is hard at work, we are deeply excited about the story we are shaping together, and it’s so epic it may not fit into just one film.
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Princess Meg Modérateur
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Ça veut dire qu'on aura potentiellement un Frozen IV. C'est bon signe dans un sens si ils sont suffisamment inspirés pour une bonne histoire d'envergure. Et si les deux suites sont préparées en même temps comme ce fut le cas pour Pirates des Caraïbes ce ne peut-être qu'une bonne chose (ce serait une première pour un film de WDAS d'ailleurs).
~ "Nous sommes tous à la recherche de notre destin. Certains ne le trouvent jamais. D'autres ont la chance d'être guidés vers lui..." ~
Disney parle beaucoup de Frozen 3, 4 mais on a des pistes pour le film de l'année prochaine ? Je me doute qu'en pleine promo de Wish, ils vont pas forcément l'aborder mais il y a des rumeurs là-dessus ?
Disneyland Paris : déc. 1997/avr. 1998/juil. 1999/avr. 2005/aoû. 2005/oct. 2005/fév. 2006/avr. 2006 - Cast Member 2006-2011 - visites régulières jusqu'à aujourd'hui Walt Disney World Resort : nov. 2008/mai 2011/fév.-mars 2018/sep. 2019/oct. 2022 Disneyland Resort : sep. 2009/mai 2013/nov. 2015/août 2019/déc. 2023 Tokyo Disney Resort : juin 2015/avr. 2016 Hong Kong Disneyland Resort : mars 2016 Shanghai Disney Resort : mai 2016 / juin 2016 / juil. 2016 Disney Cruise Line : mars 2018 (Disney Dream) / sep. 2019 (Disney Fantasy) / oct. 2022 (Disney Wish) / nov. 2023 (Disney Magic) / sep. 2024 (Disney Wonder)
Après avoir confirmé le futur planning des années à venir :
Moana 2 - 2024 Zootopia 2 - 2025 Frozen 3 - 2026
Bob Iger enfonce le clou et rappelle "they are leaning a bit more into sequels and franchises."
Ca ne concerne pas que les films d'animation j'imagine, mais, sans être surpris, ça fait un peu peur d'imaginer jusqu'où il va creuser pour tirer des suites. Encanto 2 ? Raiponce 2 ? Depuis son retour, Iger est un président peu imaginatif et finalement tout aussi rationnel et terre à terre que Bob Chapek. Les suites annoncées seront peut-être des bons films, je l'espère vu que j'ai adoré les 3 films concernés. Mais Disney ne cache vraiment pas son jeu. Savoir qu'on va enchaîner 3 années de suites. Du jamais pour les Classiques Disney.
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En même temps, avec son retour à la tête de TWDC, Bob Iger constitue lui-même sa propre suite, pas étonnant qu'il l'applique également aux films Disney.
Et comme souvent avec les suites, Bob Iger 2 est moins bien que Bob Iger 1...
Disney, dans sa globalité, est actuellement dans une situation bien complexe. Et du côté de Walt Disney Animation Studios, les derniers films Encanto, Strange World et Wish n'ont pas déplacé les foules dans les cinémas (et on sent au travers de sa promotion qu'ils avaient pourtant beaucoup misé sur le dernier).
Ce sont très certainement les résultats de Wish qui poussent Bob Iger à miser sur les suites (qui sont déjà annoncées depuis un moment, en dehors de la surprise Vaiana qui passe de série streaming à film pour le cinéma). Comme il l'a plutôt clairement déclaré durant Disney’s Q1 FY24 Earnings Results Webcast, il espère que les franchises pousseront les spectateurs à (re)sortir pour les découvrir.
“I’d say we’re leaning a little bit more into sequels and franchises. I think given the environment and given what it takes to get people out of their homes to see a film … leaning on franchises that are familiar is actually a smart thing.”
Je préfère quelques années d'enchainements de suites (qu'honnêtement j'ai hâte de découvrir) plutôt que de voir le studio fermer ou réduire drastiquement ses effectifs. Ce temps sera probablement bénéfique pour développer conjointement des idées nouvelles, mais également attiser l'envie du public pour de nouveaux univers.
Il semble également y avoir l'envie de produire moins, mais mieux.
“In our zeal to greatly increase volume partially tied to this wanting to chase more global subs for our streaming platform, some of our studios lost a little focus. So the first step that we’ve taken is that we’ve reduced volume, we reduced output, particularly in Marvel”
Malgré mon agacement, ça rappelle tout de même que Disney a bel et bien connu une décennie florissante dans l'animation et peut compter sur des personnages populaires. Après une année 2023 catastrophique au ciné et face à des investisseurs - les annonces interviennent dans un bilan financier après tout - il y avait peu de doute que Bob Iger se retranche pas là-dessus. Même en regardant les plus gros succès de 2023, on en revient à des franchises et des icones déjà connues : Barbie, Mario. Par "chance", j'aime Zootopia et Frozen 2 m'a plutôt frustré donc je suis pas contre un 3ème qui corrige le tir.
Le cinéma US s'est enfermé dans une logique de franchises. Un système implacable que personne ne veut mais que tout le monde consomme. La preuve, j'irais bien voir les 3 suites annoncées au final. Mon seul blocage se fait sur les remakes live. Hors de question que je vois Moana, surtout quand on a désormais une suite en animation à côté.
Edit : d'ailleurs, en lisant certains commentaires sur des forums anglophones, l'annonce de Moana 2 est étonnamment bien accueilli avec plus de curiosité que pour Wish qui s'est vite fait démolir là-bas.
Walt Disney Animation Studios - De 1923 à nos jours
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Dim 20 Aoû 2023 - 12:20
