''Once Upon a Studio'' is a 2023 American live-action/animated

crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Albums and songs * ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album) * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album) * ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album) * ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...

fantasy comedy Fantasy comedy or comic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy that is primarily humorous in intent and tone. Typically set in imaginary worlds, fantasy comedy often involves puns on and parodies of other works of fantasy. Literature The subgenre rose ...

short film produced by

Walt Disney Animation Studios Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS), sometimes shortened to Disney Animation, is an American animation studio that creates animated features and short films for The Walt Disney Company. The studio's current production logo features a scene fro ...

in celebration of

the Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Disney Stud ...

centennial {{other uses, Centennial (disambiguation), Centenary (disambiguation) A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century, a period of 100 years. Notable events Notable centennial events at a ...

. Written and directed by Dan Abraham and Trent Correy, it aired on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

on October 15, 2023. In the film, Disney characters come to life from pictures hanging on the walls of the

Roy E. Disney Roy Edward Disney KCSG (January 10, 1930 – December 16, 2009) was an American businessman. He was the longtime senior executive for the Walt Disney Company, which was founded by his father, Roy O. Disney, and his uncle, Walt Disney. At the ...

Animation Building following the end of a usual work day. The short's art style combines

computer graphics Computer graphics deals with generating images with the aid of computers. Today, computer graphics is a core technology in digital photography, film, video games, cell phone and computer displays, and many specialized applications. A great deal ...

traditional animation Traditional animation (or classical animation, cel animation, or hand-drawn animation) is an animation technique in which each frame is drawing, drawn by hand. The technique was the dominant form of animation in cinema until computer animation. ...

and live-action, and features characters from the majority of the studio's works made up to that point, including all 62 feature films at the time of the short's release (including the then-forthcoming ''

Wish A wish is a hope or desire for something. In fiction, wishes can be used as plot devices. In folklore, opportunities for "making a wish" or for wishes to "come true" or "be granted" are themes that are sometimes used. In fiction In ficti ...

''), numerous short films, and some live-action Disney films featuring animation produced by the studio such as ''The Reluctant Dragon'' (1941), '' Mary Poppins'' (1964), ''

Bedknobs and Broomsticks ''Bedknobs and Broomsticks'' is a 1971 American live-action animated musical fantasy film directed by Robert Stevenson and produced by Bill Walsh for Walt Disney Productions. It is loosely based upon the books '' The Magic Bedknob; or, How to ...

'' (1971), and ''

Pete's Dragon ''Pete's Dragon'' is the title of two Disney live-action films: * ''Pete's Dragon'' (1977 film) * ''Pete's Dragon'' (2016 film) {{Short pages monitor

Archival recordings

Production

Development

''Once Upon a Studio'' was created spontaneously in preparation for

's centennial in October 2023; directors Trent Correy and Dan Abraham discussed ideas during their free time for approximately eight months. The duo called the film a "love letter" to

as well as "a thank you to anyone in the audience that's ever connected with a film over the last hundred years." The short film includes 543 characters from the studio's feature and short films, up to ''

'' (2023), and vocals from more than 40 voice actors. Archival recordings were used for certain actors who died before production or were unavailable to do so, this included the

Genie Jinn ( ar, , ') – also romanized as djinn or anglicized as genies (with the broader meaning of spirit or demon, depending on sources) – are invisible creatures in early pre-Islamic Arabian religious systems and later in Islamic m ...

's dialogue which was sourced from previously unused audio recorded by

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and comed ...

according to

Josh Gad Joshua Ilan Gad (born February 23, 1981) is an American actor. He is known for voicing Olaf in the ''Frozen'' franchise, playing Elder Arnold Cunningham in the Broadway musical ''The Book of Mormon'', and playing Le Fou in the live-action adap ...

, the voice of

Olaf Olaf or Olav (, , or British ; Old Norse: ''Áleifr'', ''Ólafr'', ''Óleifr'', ''Anleifr'') is a Scandinavian and German given name. It is presumably of Proto-Norse origin, reconstructed as ''*Anu-laibaz'', from ''anu'' "ancestor, grand-father" ...

, under acceptance from Williams' estate. Other archive recordings taken from their original films include

Bobby Driscoll Robert Cletus Driscoll (March 3, 1937 – March 30, 1968) was an American actor known for his film and television performances from 1943 to 1960. He starred in some of the Walt Disney Studios' best-known live-action pictures of that period ...

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythi ...

and

Cliff Edwards Clifton Avon "Cliff" Edwards (June 14, 1895 – July 17, 1971), nicknamed "Ukulele Ike", was an American singer, musician and actor. He enjoyed considerable popularity in the 1920s and early 1930s, specializing in jazzy renditions of pop standar ...

Jiminy Cricket Jiminy Cricket is the The Walt Disney Company, Disney version of the "Talking Cricket" (Italian language, Italian: ''Il Grillo Parlante''), a fictional character created by Italian writer Carlo Collodi for his 1883 children's book ''The Adventu ...

, as the filmmakers were intended not to recast those characters.

Animation

''Once Upon a Studio'' combines

computer animation Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating animations. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both static scenes ( still images) and dynamic images ( moving images), while computer animation re ...

, and

live-action Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ga ...

footage, with Eric Goldberg serving as the head of hand-drawn animation, while Andrew Feliciano worked as head of computer animation. Among the hand-drawn animators recruited for the short was current Disney animators

Mark Henn Mark Alan Henn (born April 6, 1958) is an American animator and film director. His contributions to animation have included several Walt Disney Animation Studios leading or title characters, most notably heroines. His work includes Ariel in ''The ...

, Randy Haycock, Alex Kupershmidt, and Bert Klein also provided animation for the short, as did former Disney animators James Baxter, Ruben Aquino, Tony Bancroft, Nik Ranieri, and

Will Finn William Snelgrove Finn (born November 1, 1958) is an American animator, voice actor, storyboard artist, and director. Career His work in animation includes characters from Disney, Warner Bros., DreamWorks, and Don Bluth films such as '' Th ...

; the animators worked both on characters they have previously animated in addition to other classic characters; Baxter requested the directors to work on characters from ''

Bambi ''Bambi'' is a 1942 American animated drama film directed by David Hand (supervising a team of sequence directors), produced by Walt Disney and based on the 1923 book '' Bambi, a Life in the Woods'' by Austrian author and hunter Felix Sal ...

'' (1942), having been a fan of the film while growing up. Goldberg recruited CG animators in the studio who also had experience in hand-drawn animation. Hand-drawn apprentices were also hired to provide animation for the short. The characters were animated in a way that replicated their original films' art style. Almost 80% of the short's animation is hand-drawn. By the directors' insistence, the hand-drawn animation was done with ink and paper, which Goldberg approved of. Goldberg made the scenes entirely hand-drawn, after which Feliciano would create CG animation that would match the hand-drawn characters' movement. He also personally animated the scene where Mickey approaches a photo of

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

, as he was interested in the scene because of its emotional tone, as well as the

, which he originally animated in ''

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part o ...

'' (1992), and characters originally drawn by

Ward Kimball Ward Walrath Kimball (March 4, 1914 – July 8, 2002) was an American animator employed by Walt Disney Animation Studios. He was part of Walt Disney's main team of animators, known collectively as Disney's Nine Old Men. His films have been honored ...

. CG animators had to rebuild the character models for CGI characters from films created before ''

Tangled ''Tangled'' is a 2010 American 3D computer-animated musical adventure fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Loosely based on the German fairy tale ''Rapunzel'' in the collection ...

'' (2010) due to updates made to animation technology over the years, with rigging and rendering being reworked so that they could be used with modern technology. The CG animators worked closely with the hand-drawn team, with Goldberg and Feliciano, the latter a fan of ''Aladdin'' since childhood, inspecting the short to determine whether a scene would be led by a hand-drawn or CG character, after which they would evaluate whether a hand-drawn or CG character should be animated first in the scene. Animators with experience in hand-drawn and CG animation, such as Tyler Pacana and Anthony DeRosa, worked on scenes combining both formats; Pacana used a technique named "2D puppetry" to help rig the final photo shot. Many of the props that the animated characters interact with are CG, including the vending machine that Stromboli shakes and Goofy's camera and ladder. An early idea the filmmakers received from studio employees multiple times was to include a scene of a room full of all the characters voiced by

Alan Tudyk Alan Wray Tudyk ( ;; born March 16, 1971) is an American actor. His film work includes roles in '' 28 Days'' with Sandra Bullock (2000), '' A Knight's Tale'' with Heath Ledger (2001), '' Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story'' with Vince Vaughn (2 ...

since he has voiced a character in every Disney Animation film since ''

Wreck-It Ralph ''Wreck-It Ralph'' is a 2012 American Computer-animated film, computer-animated comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The List of Walt Disney Animation Studios films, 52nd Disney animated f ...

'' (2012). This idea was abandoned, but Tudyk was included in the short as the voice of the

Mad Hatter The Hatter is a fictional character in Lewis Carroll's 1865 book ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' and its 1871 sequel '' Through the Looking-Glass''. He is very often referred to as the Mad Hatter, though this term was never used by Ca ...

Music

Dave Metzger David "Dave" Metzger (born December 12, 1960) is an American orchestrator and composer who has orchestrated many Disney feature animation films, including ''Frozen'', '' Moana'', ''Planes'', '' Wreck-It Ralph'', '' Tarzan'', '' Haunted Mansion'', ...

composed the score for the short, which was composed so that it would feel reminiscent of each character's debut appearance. In the scene where Mickey approaches a photo of Walt Disney, the song " Feed the Birds" from '' Mary Poppins'' (1964) is heard, which was chosen due to being Disney's favorite. As they discussed the idea with executive music producer Matt Walker, he suggested bringing in song co-writer Richard M. Sherman to perform a new rendition of the song. Sherman recorded the song on August 22, 2022 at Disney's original office and using the same piano the

Sherman Brothers The Sherman Brothers were an American songwriting duo that specialized in musical films, made up of Robert B. Sherman (December 19, 1925 – March 6, 2012) and Richard M. Sherman (born June 12, 1928). Together they received various accolades inc ...

used to perform the song for Disney. The song, " When You Wish Upon a Star" from ''

Pinocchio Pinocchio ( , ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a woodcarver named Geppetto in a Tuscan vil ...

'' (1940), was sung by the cast in the finale.

Release

''Once Upon a Studio'' had its world premiere at the

Annecy International Animation Film Festival The Annecy International Animation Film Festival (french: Festival international du film d'animation d'Annecy, officially abbreviated in English as the Annecy Festival, or simply Annecy) was created in 1960 and takes place at the beginning of J ...

during the opening day celebration on June 11, 2023. It was also screened for attendees at the Walt Disney Studios panel at Destination D23 on September 10, where it received a standing ovation, and as the BFI Special Matinee of the

BFI London Film Festival The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival founded in 1957 and held in the United Kingdom, running for two weeks in October with co-operation from the British Film Institute. It screens more than 300 films, documentaries and shor ...

Opening Day event on October 14. It had its first public showing on

on October 15 (as part of ''

The Wonderful World of Disney The Walt Disney Company has produced an anthology television series since 1954 under several titles and formats. The program's current title, ''The Wonderful World of Disney'', was used from 1969 to 1979 and again from 1991 to the present. The p ...

: Disney's 100th Anniversary Celebration'', hosted by

Kelly Ripa Kelly Ripa (; born October 2, 1970) is an American actress and talk show host. Since 2001, she has been the co-host of the syndicated morning talk show '' Live! with Kelly and Ryan'' in various formats. As an actress, Ripa's best known roles i ...

) in front of the TV premiere of ''

Encanto ''Encanto'' is a 2021 American computer-animated musical fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The 60th film produced by the studio, it was directed by Jared Bush ...

'', before streaming on October 16 on

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October 1 ...

and

Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television seri ...

, and aired on the same date on Disney Channel (as part of ''Once Upon a Monday Movie Marathon'') in front of an airing of ''

Frozen II ''Frozen 2'' (stylized as ''Frozen II'') is a 2019 American computer-animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The 58th animated film produced by the stud ...

'',

Disney Junior Disney Junior is an American pay television network owned by the Walt Disney Television (part of Disney General Entertainment Content) unit of The Walt Disney Company through Disney Branded Television. Aimed mainly at children two to seven ...

, FX, FXM, and Freeform. The short was later released on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

on December 24. In

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

, it premiered on

CTV 2 CTV 2 is a Canadian English-language television system owned by the Bell Media subsidiary of BCE Inc. The system consists of four terrestrial owned-and-operated television stations (O&Os) in Ontario, one in British Columbia and two regional cab ...

the same day as the ABC broadcast. Unlike the American broadcast, which featured a host and an intro, CTV 2 only aired the short and ''Encanto'' afterwards. On October 18, 2023, Disneyland Resort announced that a short film, '' Once Upon a Studio'' was added inside the cinema in

Main Street Cinema The Main Street Cinema is a small movie theater currently located on Main Street, U.S.A. at Disneyland and previously at the Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland. Disneyland Version When the theater opened on the park's opening day on July 17, 1955 ...

at Disneyland, since the beginning of the 100th anniversary celebration of the Walt Disney Company and Walt Disney Animation Studios on October 16, 2023. There was a discussion of pairing it with the theatrical release of ''

'' (2023), but Disney decided to release it in a more accessible format. However, it was theatrically released alongside ''Wish'' in Japan on December 15, 2023. It was also screened in theaters with a Disney100 limited engagement re-release of '' Moana'' (2016), and for one week at the

El Capitan Theatre El Capitan Theatre is a fully restored movie palace at 6838 Hollywood Blvd. in Hollywood. The theater and adjacent Hollywood Masonic Temple (now known as the El Capitan Entertainment Centre) is owned by The Walt Disney Company and serves as the ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

, where public screenings were held to qualify it for the

Best Animated Short Film The Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film is an award given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) as part of the annual Academy Awards, or Oscars, since the 5th Academy Awards (with different names), covering the year 1 ...

shortlist for the 96th Academy Awards. It would ultimately make the shortlist on December 21.

Home media

''Once Upon a Studio'' was released on digital platforms on January 23, 2024, followed by

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of s ...

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

, and

4K UHD 4K resolution refers to a horizontal display resolution of approximately 4,000 pixels. Digital television and digital cinematography commonly use several different 4K resolutions. In television and consumer media, 38402160 (4K UHD) is the dominan ...

releases on March 12, 2024.

Reception

Critical response

The short received positive reviews from critics, who called it an "emotional and nostalgic experience."

Ratings

The short became a commercial success and premiered on ABC as a "sustainer" to the network television premiere of ''

'' from 8:00pm to 8:11pm, in which it received 2.57 million total viewers in 1.736 million households, with a 1.39/4 HH rating. It also received a 0.45/4 adults 18–49 rating/share, which was equivalent to 0.587 million viewers watching in that demographic. Its premiere on Disney Channel on Monday, October 16, 2023 at 6:05pm (serving as a sustainer to a "Disney Channel Movie") received 0.349 million viewers, making the highest rated program on the network that week and the 343rd most viewed program on all of cable television. It received a 0.11 P2+ rating, and 0.10 rating with adults 18–49, equivalent to 0.131 million viewers in that demographic.

Accolades

Notes

References

External links

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