The new short film 'Once Upon A Studio' captures the magic and joy of 100 years of Disney
ABC will air 'Once Upon A Studio' on Oct. 15, as the company celebrates a century of wonderful storytelling.
On Sunday morning my husband and I were treated to pure joy.
‘Once Upon A Studio’ — the short film produced by Disney to commemorate 100 years of Disney animation — is the masterpiece brainchild of our dear friend Dan Abraham, and his colleague Trent Correy.
In nine minutes, the vision of these two brilliant, creative men — as well as everyone who supported the project — captures 100 years of magic from Disney. Using a storytelling device that brings everyone inside the heart of animation at Walt Disney Studios, we are treated to a whirlwind tour of the Disney characters who have blessed all of our lives.
We’re even given a few moments to visit with the legacy of the man himself, Walt Disney.
Living in Los Angeles, we eagerly bought our tickets for a showing of Pinocchio Sunday morning at El Capitan. The real draw was (what the usher said) the first public viewing of ‘Once Upon A Studio’ before the main feature.
I won’t share any of the specific details here. No spoilers included.
What I can say (this has been reported widely) is that hundreds of Disney animated characters are included.
Bambi. Snow White. Ursula. Goofy. Moana. Minnie. Thumper. Hercules. Peter Pan. Cheshire Cat. Mad Hatter. Alan-a-Dale. Belle. Dalmatians. The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Even Oswald the Lucky Rabbit — the precursor to Mickey and the character who put Disney on the map — makes an appearance.
My favorite part? After 90 years of playing second fiddle to Mickey, Donald Duck steals the show.
Even with Donald’s grumbles, the show is nine minutes of pure joy. The audience at El Capitan Sunday morning laughed and applauded. As we left the theater — no, we didn’t stay for Pinocchio — we saw a couple dozen other people leaving, all there simply to experience ‘Once Upon A Studio.’
Many of them — including grown men — were wiping away tears.
I was emotional. The climax of those nine minutes will be emotional for just about any Disney fan, as well as many who have simply been touched by the joy of 100 years of Disney.
After a couple years when the company has seemed to flounder a bit — some high-profile strategic choices gone awry — ‘Once Upon A Studio’ is just what the studio needs. Ahead of ‘Wish’ — the next big tentpole movie that offers the potential of recapturing Disney’s storytelling promise — it couldn’t come at a better time.
My pride for our good friend, Dan, who is part of the team that created this, couldn’t be more profound. Any of us should be so blessed as to give perfect strangers nine minutes of pure joy in their lives.
There is no bigger compliment than that. Dan, Trent and the rest of the team have accomplished it.
The short ‘Once Upon A Studio’ will air on ABC on Oct. 15. It will be in a handful of theaters before then. I hope everyone whose life has been touched by the magic of Disney is able to check it out.