Yesterday, Disney’s D23 Expo and the Disney/Pixar Animations Panel started out with a bang. Everything from Ellen DeGeneres giving a sneak peek of the Finding Nemo sequel, Finding Dory, to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson getting emotional over his project Moana. The panel gave exclusives on brand new Disney and Pixar movies including The Good Dinosaur, Toy Story 4, Zootopia, Gigantic, Coco, and many more. Here’s the Disney and Pixar animations panel recap, along with a highlights reel at the end!
FROZEN 2
You could argue that Frozen 2 is probably the most anticipated Disney movie. While Alan Horn, the Disney chairman, stated that Frozen 2 is in the works, there was no news regarding the sequel to the wildly popular Frozen.
ZOOTOPIA
A huge presentation of the panel was Zootopia. While it may bear a striking resemblance to Dreamworks’ Madagascar, Zootopia is anything but that. The directors of the movie, Bryan Howard and Rich Moore, and the producer, Clark Spencer, discussed that Zootopia is essentially two very different characters, Judy Hopps and Nick Wolfe, coming together to solve a missing persons (animals?) case.
From the clips that were shown a the panel (one of Judy and Nick at an ice cream parlor and the other taking place at the animal world equivalent of a DMV) shows that the directors and producer of this movie don’t want “this [to be] just another animal movie.”
Additionally, at the panel, it was announced that Shakira would be voicing a gazelle in the movie named Gazelle (creative isn’t it?). But she won’t just be voicing Gazelle; she’ll also be singing. In a video message, Shakira played an excerpt from the song, titled “Try Everything” that will be featured in the movie.
GIGANTIC
Gigantic, Disney’s rendition of Jack and the Beanstalk, also got a place on the stage. An image from the movie was released with a short synopsis.
Adventure-seeker Jack discovers a world of giants hidden within the clouds, hatching a grand plan with Inma, a 60-foot-tall, 11-year-old girl. Directed by Nathan Greno (“Tangled”) and produced by Dorothy McKim (“Get A Horse!”), “Gigantic” hits U.S. theaters in 2018.
Check out our post on Gigantic here.
MOANA
Moana is a highly anticipated film that takes place in the South Pacific several thousand years ago. The panel showcased some awesome test footage from the film, and it is absolutely GORGEOUS. In addition to the footage, Dwayne Johnson hopped up onto the stage and got emotional discussing his involvement and experience with his “Disney family.”
Even more amazing #Moana artwork from the #D23Expo 2015: http://t.co/BAVwmYzgse pic.twitter.com/GQXF3XnR7Z
— Inside the Magic (@InsideTheMagic) August 15, 2015
THE INCREDIBLES 2
The Incredibles 2 rivals Frozen 2 for the most anticipated film. However, with the exception of a poster, The Incredibles 2 was noticeably absent from D23.
INSIDE OUT
Inside Out was a huge box office success for Pixar. So, with the movie coming out soon on Blu-ray and DVD, Pixar announced that there would be an Inside Out short included called “Riley’s First Date.” While most everyone else has to wait until the release of the movie on DVD, the panel’s audience was treated with the full short. According to the Nerdist, the short was “short, sweet, and decidedly funny.”
THE GOOD DINOSAUR
The Good Dinosaur, which releases on November 25, also had quite a few clips debut at the panel. In fact, a total of 4 different clips were shown. One clip shows Arlo, the protagonist of The Good Dinosaur, lamenting the death of his parents in a beautiful and touching scene. The others were much more lighthearted.
FINDING DORY
With Ellen DeGeneres taking the stage, how could a presentation for Finding Dory be anything but fabulous? The panel discussed additions to the cast and a short synopsis of the movie.
Dory with friends Nemo and Marlin on a search for answers about her past. What can she remember? Who are her parents? And where did she learn to speak Whale?
In addition to DeGeneres, Albert Brooks, Hayden Rolence, Ed O’Neill, Ty Burrell, and Kaitlin Olson joined the cast.
Check out our full article on the Finding Dory news here.
COCO
Before the panel, not much was known about Coco— including the movie’s name. Coco will be directed by Lee Unkrich (Toy Story 3) and produced by Darla K. Anderson. The Nerdist gives an insight into what the movie will be about:
Coco centers on a 12-year-old boy named Miguel, who is adept at playing the guitar. The clip we saw featured plenty of dancing skeletons and a rockin’ mariachi band that seemed straight out of Book of Life or Guacamelee. Honestly, though, we don’t know a heck of a whole lot about this flick just yet.
TOY STORY 4
As you’ve probably seen all over the internet, Toy Story 4 will be a love story between Bo Peep and Woody. While we don’t know where exactly this story will fall in the Toy Story universe timeline, we do know that Buzz Lightyear will be helping Woody track down Bo Peep.
What movie are you most excited for?
