This morning at the D23 Expo, Walt Disney Animation Studios unveiled sneak peeks of its upcoming slate of animated movies. Here is a quick summary of what is in store of the next few years!
Toy Story OF TERROR! - This is a half hour made of TV special to be screened on ABC America in October this year and is about our favourite toys going on a road trip which is detoured into a creepy roadside motel - where one of the toys goes missing... Sounds like fun - I hope one of our local networks here pick it up (I'm sure they will).
Frozen - lead character Anna goes looking for her sister Else whose powers have trapped the kingdom of Arendelle in a winter. Anna is joined by Kristoff - a mountain man and his reindeer Sven in their quest to break the winter spell. Opens December 26 here in Australia.
Get a Horse! - this is the 'new' Mickey Mouse cartoon short that features the voice of Walt Disney himself! Apparently the recordings existed but no animation had been done, so the current team of animators at the studio have finished the movie at last! It will show as the short in front of Frozen.
The Pirate Fairy - this is the next entry into the Disney Fairies movie portfolio. A new fairy is introduced - Zarina - steals the blue pixie dust and joins forces with the pirates of Skull Rock. Tinker Bell and her friends have to recover the dust and return it to Pixie Hollow, however the dust effects each of the fairies talents which get swapped around. Movie also introduces young pirate "James" who grows up to be Captain Hook. This movie will be released second quarter 2014.
The Good Dinosaur - Pixar's next cinema release. The premise being - What would have happened if a cataclysmic event hadn't wiped out the dinosaurs? Arlo is the good dinosaur of the title, and after a traumatic event in his community, he teams up with a boy called Spot to right the wrongs and restore peace. Opens May 2014 in the US (no Australian date as yet but I'd imagine it will be sometime near then for mid-year school holidays)
Party Central - The Monsters University crowd is back in this short that will be attached to The Good Dinosaur. Mike and Sully join their Oozma Kappa fraternity brothers to plan the most epic party the University has ever seen.
Planes: Fire & Rescue - This sequel from Disney Toon Studios features a team of elite firefighting aircraft setting out to protect Piston Peak National Park from a wildfire. Air racer Dusty ends up joining the team when he finds his engine is damaged and he can no longer race. Dusty then learns what it takes to become a true hero. This movie is slated to be release on July 18, 2014 in the US.
Big Hero 6 - Walt Disney Animation Studios big film of 2014 and their first use of Marvel characters. Hiro Hamada is a robotics prodigy who finds himself involved in a plot to destroy San Fransokyo by a group of criminal masterminds. Hamada is joined by a robot companion called Baymax and a group of first-time crime fighters to save their city. To be released on November 7, 2014 in the US.
Legend of the NeverBeast - Fairy Fawn (the animal Fairy for those who don't know) befriends a huge mysterious creature known as the NeverBeast, however the elite Scout Fairies of Pixie Hollow set out to capture the NeverBeast. Tinker Bell and her friends have to put trust in Fawn that she is right about the NeverBeast having good intentions and they rally together to save it. This will be the second quarter 2015 Disney Fairies movie.
Inside Out - Disney-Pixar's film following The Good Dinosaur takes everyone on a journey through the human mind. The film takes place in the mind of Riley - an 11 year old girl who recently moved to San Francisco. It explores how a mixture of five emotions - Joy, Disgust, Anger, Fear and Sadness define life experiences - those five emotions are the characters in the film, and Riley is the movie's set. Sounds strange but could be (and probably will be) wonderful. Set to open in the US in June 2015.
Zootopia - a working title only at this point. Zootopia is an animal city where a fast-talking fox has to go on the run for a crime he didn't commit. The top cop of Zootopia, a self-righteous rabbit is hot on his tail, but when the rabbit is also framed in the conspiracy, the two mortal enemies - fox and rabbit - have to team up to solve the crime and discover mortal enemies can become best friends. Sounds like a lot of fun and is scheduled for release in 2016.
So what do you think? Sounds like a pretty good slate of films?