D23 Studio Showcase Day 1 Recapped (Disney + Pixar)

The first major panel of D23 has already kicked off, and is bringing with it major announcements for Walt Disney Studios, Disney live-action, and Pixar.

The panel kicked off with the unveiling of the new Walt Disney Studios logo, which features ‘Disney 100’ to celebrate 100 years of movies and more.

After that, Hocus Pocus 2 took the stage and unveiled a new poster and trailer. The film streams on Disney+ on September 30.

Disenchanted was up next, also bringing a poster and trailer. The entire cast was also on stage, with Amy Adams and Maya Rudolph supposedly coming straight from Disneyland.

Peter Pan & Wendy released a poster and played an exclusive trailer for the panel audiences.

Theatrical releases are up: with Haunted Mansion first.

Haunted Mansion delivered with an exclusive look at the film, starring Owen Wilson, Rosario Dawson and LaKeith Stanfield, Winona Ryder, Dan Levy and Jared Leto.

'Mufasa: The Lion King' Releases in theaters, in 2024. The film is directed by Barry Jenkins (Moonlight). “The film is told in 2 different time frames. Pumba, Rafik, and Timon tell the story of Mufasa to a new cub whilst we see Mufasa rise to royalty.” Via @DiscussingFilm on twitter. A logo for the film was also released.

Snow White was the next film up, previewing exclusive footage for attendees, Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot took the stage. Zegler described the film as “made for the modern age.”

Halle Bailey as Ariel in The Little Mermaid (2023)

The Little Mermaid then took the stage. After an exclusive first look, it was revealed that 4 new original songs will be included in the film. They will be written by Alan Menken & Lin Manuel-Miranda. The panel audience then viewed the entire ‘Part Of Your World’ sequence from the upcoming movie. After this, the first look at the film was released online.

Pixar took the stage next, beginning their segment with a new look at Elemental. The film follows the story of a Fire-girl, Ember (Leah Lewis), and a Water-man, Wade (Mamoudou Athie), who can’t touch. “Sometimes you have to step out of your element to discover who you really are.”

After that, we finally got an update on Win Or Lose, a show that follows a softball team but each episode focuses on a different member of the team showing their POV of the same week with different styles of animation. Additionally, Will Forte will voice Coach Dan.

Pixar’s next feature-film Elio will be focused on aliens. It follows an 11 year child who can’t fit in, meets aliens and becomes the ambassador for Earth. Elio (Yonas Kibreab)’s mom Olga will be voiced by America Ferrera.

Inside Out 2 has been officially announced, and follows an all new adventure inside Riley’s head Meg LeFauve is writing and Kelsey Mann is directing. Amy Poehler is back to star in Inside Out 2, while Bill Hader and Mindy Kaling haven’t been confirmed, as it’s been reported that they won’t return.

Zootopia+ is a 6-episode anthology following different members of Zootopia. The series releases on Disney+ this November.

Disney and Kugali’s IWÁJÚ is a “love letter to Lagos and Nigeria.” The series follows a futuristic coming-of-age story about best friends Tola and Kole. The series releases next year on Disney+.

Walt Disney Animation’s Strange World, stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Dennis Quaid, Jaboukie Young-White, Gabrielle Union and Lucy Liu.

Additionally, Walt Disney Animation’s 2023 film is titled Wish, and will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the studio. Jennifer Lee co-wrote the film and Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn directed it. The film will blend a style of watercolor animation with their classic 3D.

The story follows Asha (Ariana DeBose) who sees a darkness in the Kingdom of Wishes and decides to wish on a star, and then the star comes to life. Alan Tudyk will voice Valentino the Goat. Julia Michaels will write all the original songs for the film. The film releases next November, only in theaters.