WALT DISNEY and PIXAR Animation Studios Announces Multi Year Slate at D23 Expo

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Category: Entertainment News

Published on Friday, 14 August 2015 18:38

Written by Janet Walker

WALT DISNEY ANIMATION Studios unveiled its upcoming slate staying close to the tried and true and keeping with tradition presented stories with heart, captivating audiences by voicing innate objects and maintaining the family theme. 

RILEY’S FIRST DATE

WALT DISNEY ANIMATION Studios has announced RILEY’S FIRST DATE, a working title, is also on the upcoming slate and capitalizes on the overwhelming success of this summer’s box office smash INSIDE OUT.

First look scenes from the next chapter in young Riley’s life include Anger, Joy, Sadness, Fear and Disgust as our guides who return to chaperon our young charge through the treacherous waters of puberty and beyond.

Pixar Animation Studios heads back inside the mind with an all-new short, Riley’s First Date, which made its world premiere this afternoon at D23 EXPO 2015.

Director Josh Cooley, along with INSIDE OUT filmmakers Pete Docter (Up, Monsters, Inc.) and Jonas Rivera (Up), introduced the short, which revisits Riley, now 12, who is hanging out with her parents at home when potential trouble comes knocking.

Mom’s and Dad’s Emotions find themselves forced to deal with “Riley’s First Date?” The short will be included as a bonus feature in the digital HD & Blu-ray releases of Disney·Pixar’s  INSIDE OUT, which will be available digitally Oct. 13 and on Blu-rayNov. 3, 2015. 

With the imagination of WALT DISNEY ANIMATION Studios and the genius of John Lasseter, known for making sequels better with each installment, we can expect Riley and family to tug our emotions, touch our hearts and leave us laughing until long after final credits fade.

THE GOOD DINOSAUR

An Apatosaurus named Arlo must face his fears and three impressive T-Rexes in Disney/Pixar’s THE GOOD DINOSAUR.

T-REXES SPOTTED AT D23 EXPO 2015 – Anticipation for Disney·Pixar’s THE GOOD DINOSAUR was amplified when directorPeter Sohn and producer Denise Ream shared breathtaking sequences with fans, including never-before-seen footage of a trio of T-Rexes in action. In theaters onNov. 25, 2015, THE GOOD DINOSAUR features Arlo, a sheltered Apatosaurus who finds himself far from home among a host of intimidating creatures.

Featuring the voices of AJ Buckley, Anna Paquin and Sam Elliott as the T-Rexes, THE GOOD DINOSAUR opens in theaters nationwide Nov. 25, 2015.

GIGANTIC - Things are looking up at Walt Disney Animation Studios – way up.  GIGANTIC, Disney’s unique take on Jack and the Beanstalk, will feature music from Oscar®-winning songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, who greeted D23 EXPO fans in signature style, with song, alongside director Nathan Greno (Tangled) and producer Dorothy McKim (Get A Horse!).

Set in Spain during the Age of Exploration, Disney’s Gigantic follows adventure-seeker Jack as he discovers a world of giants hidden within the clouds. He hatches a grand plan with Inma, a 60-foot-tall, 11-year-old girl, and agrees to help her find her way home. But he doesn’t account for her super-sized personality—and who knew giants were so down to earth?  

Gigantic hits theaters in 2018. 

ZOOTOPIA - International superstar Shakira is lending her Grammy®-winning voice to Gazelle, the biggest pop star in Zootopia, D23 EXPO fans learned via a taped message from Shakira today. Ginnifer Goodwin (ABC’s  Once Upon a Time,   Something Borrowed,  Walk the Line ), the voice of the film’s rookie rabbit officer Judy Hopps, saluted fans alongside directors Byron Howard  (Tangled ) and Rich Moore ( Wreck-It Ralph ), and producer Clark Spencer ( Wreck-It Ralph ).

Hilarious new scenes from the film were unveiled, plus a tease of the all-new original song, Try Everything, written by singer-songwriter Sia and songwriting duo Stargate, and performed by Shakira.

Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Zootopia opens nationwide March 4, 2016.

MOANA ROCKS D23 EXPO 2015 Dwayne Johnson ( San Andreas,   Furious 7,  HBO’s  Ballers ), who lends his voice to the mighty demi-god Maui in Walt Disney Animation Studios’  Moana,  hit the stage at D23 EXPO 2015 this afternoon.

Renowned directors John Musker and Ron Clements ( The Little Mermaid,   The Princess and the Frog,   Aladdin ), and producer Osnat Shurer (Oscar®-nominated Pixar shorts  One Man Band,   Boundin’ ) shared dazzling early test footage and revealed plans for the film’s inspired music and the extraordinary team behind it.

Tony®-winner Lin-Manuel Miranda (Broadway’s hottest new hit Hamilton,  Tony-winning  In the Heights ), Grammy®-winning composer Mark Mancina ( Speed ,  Tarzan   The Lion King ) and Opetaia Foa’i (founder and lead singer of the world music award-winning band Te Vaka) blend their diverse and dynamic talents to help tell the tale of a spirited teenager who sets out to prove herself a master wayfinder. Foa’i capped the presentation with a show-stopping performance illustrating the magic of the movie’s music.

Moana introduces a spirited teenager who sails out on a daring mission to fulfill her ancestors’ unfinished quest. She meets the once-mighty demi-god Maui (voice of Dwayne Johnson), and together, they traverse the open ocean on an action-packed voyage. Directed by the renowned filmmaking team of Ron Clements and John Musker ( The Little Mermaid,   Aladdin,   The Princess & the Frog ). 

Moana  sails into U.S. theaters on Nov. 23, 2016.

DORY DIVES IN -- Ellen DeGeneres (The Ellen DeGeneres Show), the voice of everyone’s favorite forgetful blue tang, took a dip with D23 EXPO attendees this afternoon, celebrating Disney·Pixar’s upcoming film Finding Dory.

Joining DeGeneres on stage this afternoon were Ed O’Neill (Modern Family), who lends his voice to Hank, a cantankerous octopus; Ty Burrell (Modern Family), the voice of Bailey, a misguided beluga whale; and Kaitlin Olson (Always Sunny in Philadelphia), who voices Destiny, a kind-hearted whale shark.

Oscar®-winning director Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo, WALL•E), co-director Angus MacLane and producer Lindsey Collins (co-producer WALL•E) offered new details of the all-new story, which reunites 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? Also featuring the voices of Albert Brooks, Diane Keaton and Eugene Levy, Disney·Pixar’s

Finding Dory swims into theatersJune 17, 2016. 

WOODY AND BUZZ MARK TWO DECADES – Pixar Animation Studios’ John Lasseter, who’s one of Pixar’s three founders, was joined on stage by several award-winning artists and filmmakers, including Pete Docter (Inside Out, Up), Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo, WALL·E), Lee Unkrich (Coco, Toy Story 3), Josh Cooley (Cars 2, Ratatouille) and Galyn Susman (Toy Story 4, ABC’s Toy Story OF TERROR!).

Celebrating 20 years since Toy Story transformed the animation industry and the art of storytelling, the Pixar team welcomed iconic two-time Oscar®-winning songwriter and longtime Pixar collaborator Randy Newman, whose Pixar credits include Toy Story, A Bug’s Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc. and Cars. Also joining in the celebration were writers Rashida Jones and Will McCormack (“Celeste & Jesse Forever”), who are part of the Toy Story 4 team, though details of Buzz and Woody’s return to the big screen were mysteriously missing. 

Toy Story 4, which will be directed by Lasseter and produced by Susman, is slated for release onJune 16, 2017.