Disney announces animated film to celebrate centenary in 2023

“Wish” is Disney’s next animated film, written to celebrate the company’s 2023 centenary, Walt Disney Animation Studios creative director Jennifer Lee announced this morning during the D23 Expo.

“How did the wishes begin?”, asked Jennifer Lee, explaining that this question was the starting point for the creation of the film. The executive is co-writer along with Chris Buck, reviving the duo that made the two films “Frozen”.

“This movie means a lot to all of us at the studio”said Lee, describing the world of “Wish” as a fairy-tale realm where the idea of ​​wishing on a star originated, a classic Disney image.

The film, starring the heroine Asha, will be full of references for fans and will be a musical with songs composed by Julia Michaels. In the North American version, actress Ariana DeBose – who won an Oscar in 2022 for “West Side Story” – voices Asha.

“Wish” will be released in November 2023, marking 100 years of Walt Disney Studios, founded on October 16, 2023.

The announcement was made on the first day of the D23 Expo, the biggest annual event for fans of the studios, in a session where never-before-seen footage from several other new Disney and Pixar films was revealed.

One of the biggest reactions came when the Pixar movie sequel “Inside Out” was announced, which will premiere in the summer of 2024. Amy Poehler, voice of the character Joy, said that the action will take place in Riley’s head as a teenager and will be introduced new emotions.

“This is a time of great change in the world”, said Pete Docter, creative director at Pixar. The executive said that the purpose of the studio is “telling good animated stories”that help people connect to their own and other cultures.

“Storytelling is fundamental to who we are as people,” said Docter. “We want to make films that entertain, surprise and speak authentically”🇧🇷

The statements preceded the reveal of the first images of “Elemental”, which will hit theaters in June 2023 and will be Pixar’s 27th film.

The studio is also gearing up to release its first series, “Win ​​or Lose,” about a softball team on its way to the championship game in the fall of 2023.

Carrie Hobson, who co-produces with Michael Yates and David Lally, said at the event that the series runs over a single week, but each episode will show that time period from a different character.

A few months later, the feature film “Elio” will be released, which centers around an 11-year-old boy who comes into contact with an alien species and is taken into space.

The audience at the Anaheim Convention Center also saw footage of “Strange World”, which shows the misadventures of three generations of explorers on an alien planet, and whose English version has actor Jake Gyllenhaal as the protagonist.

The film is scheduled for a theatrical release on November 23, 2022, a few weeks after the release of another novelty, this time for the Disney+ platform.

This is the limited series “Zootopia+”, which follows the characters from the 2016 film of the same name and will be available for streaming on November 9.

In addition to animation productions, Disney also has a series of “live action” films in the pipeline for 2023, which will embody classic stories. This is the case with “Snow White”, starring Rachel Zegler and with Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen, and “The Little Mermaid”, with Halle Bailey as Ariel.

Before that, on September 30th of this year, “Hocus Pocus 2” will premiere, the sequel to the 1993 film that reunites Sarah Jessica Parker, Bette Middler and Kathy Najimy.

In November will come “Disenchanted” with Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, James Marsden and Idina Menzel, and then “Peter Pan and Wendy” with Jude Law as Captain Hook.

And in November of next year, movie theaters will host Justin Simien’s “The Haunted House,” inspired by the eponymous fun that Disney theme parks have, from California to Paris.

The D23 Expo, which brings together the biggest Disney fans from around the world, runs in Anaheim until Sunday.