For animation fans, one of the most anticipated parts of the D23 Expo is the presentation detailing the upcoming projects from Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios. Below, see a recap of everything we learned about the upcoming projects from Walt Disney Animation Studios:
Frozen
The Frozen section of the presentation kicked off with a new scene from the upcoming short Olaf’s Frozen Adventure. This short film, directed by Kevin Deters and Stevie Wermers, will run a total of 21 minutes and will be released in theaters with Pixar’s Coco this November.
The premise of the short is that Anna and Elsa throw a holiday party for everyone in their kingdom, only to find that everyone is too busy with their own family holiday traditions to stay and enjoy the party. When Olaf sees how sad Anna and Elsa are that they don’t have their own family holiday traditions, he sets out to find some for them.
The short will include new songs written by Elyssa Samsel and Kate Anderson.
The Frozen news continued, turning from Olaf’s Frozen Adventure to Frozen 2. John Lasseter started off by saying that Frozen 2 will likely not be the final tile of the sequel (although he did not reveal what the new movie’s official title will be).
Frozen 2, directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, will open November 27, 2019. While no animation, art, or plot details were revealed at the presentation, Disney did share a video, which featured the directors, along with producer Peter Del Vecho, traveling in Norway and Iceland. As part of their research for the new film, the team is seen entering a giant volcano and sailing by a huge glacier. With so little new information released about the Frozen sequel, fans are left to wonder: will these elements come into play in the new film in some way?
Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2
Wreck-It Ralph 2 will open November 21, 2018 and is directed by Rich Moore and Phil Johnston. The Wreck-It Ralph segment of the presentation started off with a new teaser trailer, in which Ralph and Vanellope Von Schweetz leave the arcade and enter the Internet for the first time in search of a new part for Vanellope’s game, Sugar Rush, which has broken down.
Following the teaser trailer was a clip from the new movie. For me, this clip was the most unexpected announcement of the entre presentation. The clip showed Vanellope and Ralph traveling the Internet with one of the sequel’s new characters, Yesss (voiced by Taraji P. Henson). They end up stopping at a very familiar website, OhMyDisney.com. Here, Vanellope meets Every. Disney. Princess. Ever.
Each one of the official Disney princesses is featured in this scene, from Snow White to Moana. Even more surprising, almost every princess is voiced by her original voice actress. Jodi Benson, Paige O’Hara, Linda Larkin, Irene Bedard, Ming-Na Wen, Anika Noni Rose, Mandy Moore, Kelly Macdonald, Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, and Auli’I Cravalho will all reprise their roles for the film.
While I love Disney princesses, my initial reaction to this news is that I don’t love them in Wreck-it Ralph. I’ve never seen so many different Disney movies mixed together and the result feels very non-cohesive. Overall, the presentation left me with very mixed feelings about Wreck-It Ralph 2.
