Disney Shareholders Meeting: 2D Animation, Oswald, and ‘Cars 3’

No huge surprises, but several subtle hints took the floor as The Walt Disney Company held its annual shareholders meeting today. In the Q & A session with CEO Bob Iger, several shareholders asked intriguing questions related to Disney and Pixar Animation.

Upon being asked about future 2D animated features, Iger replied that nothing hand-drawn is currently in development. However, he made a point of saying that the medium is not completely or intentionally shuttered. For right now, though, there’s nothing on the books.

Another shareholder inquired about Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Walt Disney’s original cartoon star before Mickey Mouse. Oswald was just acquired from Universal in 2006. Iger cited the use of Oswald in the Epic Mickey video games, but stated that nothing (to his knowledge) is planned for the rabbit at the moment.

Perhaps the most telltale question of all, though, came from an 8-year-old boy who asked if Disney cared more about critics or kids. Iger’s answer was kids, “absolutely,” and asked what the boy’s favorite Disney movie was. (You may want to sit down, this is where it gets pretty intense.) The child replied that his favorite was Cars 2, widely deemed by critics as Pixar’s worst feature to date with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 38%. The boy then went on to say that he and his friends all love Cars 2, and would be thrilled to see a Cars 3.

So while there weren’t any major, official announcements made at the meeting, we now know that Disney has not ruled out the possibility of another 2D feature, the use of Oswald, or (maybe, just maybe) even a third Cars film.

For a complete rundown of the rest of the meeting, visit Laughing Place.