The Once Upon A Studio Trailer Brings Together 100 Years Of Disney Characters

Nobody loves celebrating Disney more than, well, the folks who run Disney do, but can you blame them? After 100 years of making animated feature films and shorts, the House of Mouse has amassed an incredible pop cultural cache of iconography and beloved characters. So, what better way to cap off its year-long celebration of Disney Animation's centennial than with a short film that's all about how awesome Disney is?

While it's easy and wholly justified to be cynical about the business side of Disney (especially when you consider what its executives are like when it comes to providing fair treatment and monetary compensation for their employees), it's impossible to put a price on the value of the studio's art itself. That's also why it's difficult not to feel something while watching the trailer for Disney's "Once Upon a Studio," a live-action/animated short that, quite literally, brings treasured animated heroes and villains from across the studio's vast history together to commemorate its 100th anniversary.

Directed by Dan Abraham and Trent Correy ("Once Upon a Snowman"), "Once Upon a Studio" was reviewed by /Film's Rafael Motamayor earlier this year at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. As you can see from the trailer footage, the short maintains the original techniques used for individual animated Disney characters, right down to the sketch marks that give those from the studio's traditional animation era their distinct handmade feel. Calling the short "essentially Disney's 'Night at the Museum,'" Rafael admitted it's "a bit melodramatic and overly self-worshipping, particularly when it comes to Walt Disney," but that it's those small touches — many of which were added by retired Disney animators who came back to work on it — combined with the more emotional elements (like a heartfelt tribute to the animation legend Burny Mattinson) that make the whole thing work.

Here's the synopsis for "Once Upon a Studio":

"An all-star ensemble of beloved characters from Walt Disney Animation Studios come together in 'Once Upon a Studio' for a joyful, entertaining and emotional reunion as they assemble for a spectacular group photo to mark Disney's 100th anniversary. Featuring 543 Disney characters from more than 85 feature-length and short films, 'Once Upon a Studio' welcomes heroes and villains, princes and princesses, sidekicks and sorcerers — in all-new hand-drawn and CG animation — to celebrate 10 decades of storytelling, artistry and technological achievements."

We also have it on good authority from /Film's own BJ Colangelo that there was nary a dry eye in the audience during a Disney press event where "Once Upon a Studio" was shown. Best to remember that, should you choose to catch the short when it premieres on ABC during "The Wonderful World of Disney: Disney's 100th Anniversary Celebration!" on October 15, 2023, at 8 p.m. EST.