Disney's Once Upon A Studio 100th Anniversary Short Brings Back That Classic Magic [Annecy 2023]

It is not shocking to say that Walt Disney Animation has been going through a bit of a slump in recent years. Since 2018, the studio has released a spate of largely underwhelming sequels, experienced pandemic-related decisions which led audiences to expect to see new animated movies on streaming rather than in theaters, and films like "Raya and the Last Dragon" and "Strange World" tried new (yet overly familiar) things without much in the way of public attention. We're in the middle of the acclaimed, iconic studio's 100th-year celebration. Still, while a lot of attention has been given to the parks and the merch, it feels as if the animation side of the company isn't being celebrated quite like it should. Sure, later this year we'll see "Wish," the studio's 62nd feature about the wishing star that appears in many of their classic movies, but both visually and creatively, it feels neither innovative nor like it's really echoing the history of the studio (I could be wrong, but the trailer isn't very encouraging). 

But lucky audiences at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival got to see the premiere of Disney's latest short, "Once Upon a Studio," a 100th-anniversary celebration directed by Dan Abraham and Trent Correy (who directed the Olaf short "Once Upon a Snowman"). Thankfully, this is just the kind of nostalgic, visually impressive, emotionally-laden short you'd hope to see from such a storied animation studio. It's a short that celebrates every single one of the 61 features and countless short films Disney animators have made in the last century. It's a short so good, it is kind of baffling that it was the product of Abraham and Correy brainstorming a way to celebrate the studio's centenary for eight months on their own time.

The short film is essentially Disney's "Night at the Museum." It begins with a lovely live-action segment that pays tribute to the late animator Burny Mattinson, before transitioning into an animated story about all the animated characters from throughout Disney's history gathering together to celebrate with a group photo at the Roy E. Disney animation building on the studio lot. The nine-minute short brings hundreds of characters from every era of Disney's history, from the classic princesses tales to the dark times of the '70s and '80s, all the way to the last vestiges of the renaissance and the more recent CG films.

The short combines hand-drawn and CG animation effortlessly, even bringing back the techniques for individual characters — like Mowgli from "The Jungle Book" having rough sketches in his animation, a nod to the original style of the film. More impressively, the team, led by Abraham and Correy, brought back retired animators to participate in the short, including Eric Goldberg (lead animator on Genie in "Aladdin") leading the hand-drawn animation for the short, and you can definitely tell. There's a timelessness to the movements, and a peculiarity to the character acting that comes directly from having people familiar with those characters return to breath life into them again. 

The short is a bit melodramatic and overly self-worshipping, particularly when it comes to Walt Disney. But overall, it works as a celebration of 100 years of animated characters, and the people who brought them to life. "Once Upon a Studio" even brings back more than 40 original voice actors from across the studio's history to voice their characters. By the time they all get together and sing "When You Wish Upon a Star," it's hard not to be overwhelmed with emotions.

"Once Upon a Studio" debuted at the 2023 Annecy Film Festival, and will reportedly play in theaters attached to "Wish" starting on November 22, 2023.