“Once Upon a Studio” Celebrates 10 Decades of Disney Animation

Walt Disney Animation’s “Once Upon a Studio” is a tribute to over 10 decades of artists and artistry from Disney Animation. It brings together an all-star cast of animated superstars in an all-new animated short packed with joy, laughter, and emotion. 543 characters from over 85 Disney feature-length and short films are featured or appear in this unique and delightful short.

During the course of production, dozens of voice performers (many of them reprising their famous roles) recorded new dialogue for the film, and a chorus of 54 voices contributed to the song’s finale. Adding to the joy and magic of the film is a newly recorded track of “Feed the Birds” by the Academy Award-winning composer/ songwriter and Disney Legend Richard Sherman, who, in 2022 at age 94, returned to Walt Disney’s office to play piano exclusively for this short.

The setting for “Once Upon a Studio” is the end of the work day at Walt Disney Animation Studios in Burbank, California, as the artists, technicians, and storytellers are headed for home. Disney Legend Burny Mattinson (who worked at the Studio for 70 years and passed away in early 2023) is the last one out the door and, when the coast is clear, Mickey and Minnie step out of a picture on the wall, and put out a call for everyone to assemble for an official 100th Anniversary Studio portrait.

During a recent press conference, we heard from the filmmakers about how this short came to be and what it took to create the animation.

Director and Writer Trent Correy was asked if AI was used to create the voices of the animated characters, and he commented There was no AI in the making of this short. He continued that we were so lucky that everyone we reached out to who was still with us returned.  And then we wanted to infuse the short with some nostalgic voices.

Dan Abraham did mention that some of the folks have passed on, right?  So, we got our best soundalikes that we possibly could, and Trent and I were so persnickety about making them sound good. So, they needed to look and sound exactly how you remember them.  And that was very, very important to us.

Approximately 80 percent of the animated characters in the film are hand-drawn, with Eric Goldberg, a Disney veteran and one of the top animation talents of all time, serving as head of hand-drawn animation. Andrew Feliciano was the head of CG animation and worked with a talented group of Disney animators to give life and personality to a diverse group of characters. Cameos by CG characters run the gamut from some of Disney’s earliest CG features (including Aladar from the 2000 feature “Dinosaur,” and the title character from 2005’s “Chicken Little”) up through such recent blockbuster titles as “Wreck-it Ralph,” “Moana,” “Zootopia” and “Encanto.”

Directors Dan Abraham and Trent Correy dared to dream big in coming up with the idea for “Once Upon a Studio,” and were amazed throughout the production as one dream after another came true. As they contemplated the musical cue that would accompany the tender moment where Mickey Mouse stopped to express gratitude to a portrait of Walt Disney, they knew that it had to be something special in keeping with that emotional moment. Abraham recalls, “We already knew that the Sherman Brothers song ‘Feed the Birds’ had to be heard at that special moment in the short. There was no other song that would fit, as it was Walt’s favorite song and he often asked Richard and Robert Sherman to come to his office and play it for him on a Friday afternoon. One day, we were discussing this with [executive music producer] Matt Walker and he said, ‘What if we got Richard Sherman to actually play ‘Feed the Birds’ for this? And what if we recorded it up in Walt’s office?’

Abraham said “This has been so emotional this whole thing.  Every time we’d see the rough animation come in we were seeing our friends again for the first time.  Oh, it’s Belle and Beast and they’re still together and they’re still in love.  Like, and it’s just that rough animation.  And wait, we can get Richard Sherman to play the what, now?  Like, it’s been unreal.  I think we’ve all cried with happiness while making this.”

“Once Upon A Studio” is now streaming on Disney+.

Let our friends at Destinations to Travel help you book your next Disney Vacation. They are the preferred Travel Agency of Chip and Company and Disney Addicts, and who we use ourselves.

Get started below for your FREE No Obligation Quote.

Book With our friends at Destinations to Travel

Who is your Travel Agent?(Required)

Let us pick for youEric HilesStacy ReedAbbey JohnsonAlisa SullivanAlli WillisAmanda FolsomAmanda VannAmber BrillhartAmber FisherAmy SieburnAndrea SmithAngela AndersonAngie BaycuraAnna PetrilliAnnabelle DuboseApril StefanskiAshley RamseyBeth ParsonsBetsy SantoroBrandie McQueenBrian BuckleyBridget HatchBryan SchwartzCandice SneedCarrie ButlerCarson DockumCasey BoltCharleen HortonChelsea RoyChelsea WuebkerChris BoyerChristie GrubeChristina FratturaChristina SmithCourtney WhiteCraig YoderDan MercedDanielle NorcrossDarby MouritsenDavid ForrestDeborah AlvaradoEmilee BiegelEmily MorrisFaith HakesGail HatchGreg MatzkerHelen HummerHolly CurryJackie CavistonJaclyn PepitoneJamie SwansonJeanine JordanJeff CallahanJenni MaierJennifer BrownJennifer StephensonJennifer StoessnerJessica HatfieldJessica HuffJessica WunderJoe GuertinJon CarpentierJoseph SliwaJulie McCombJustin BrownKat AttridgeKathryn EberhartKathy AndersonKatie HarrellKatie PrevotKayla CookKelsey SullensKim HelmsKimberly HutchinsonKristi GallagherKyle RamsdenLauren DewlenLeanne MonterLinda DurhamLindsay AckermannLindsey VromanLissette BritoLori HardyMallory MorrisonMandi QuinnMaranda PerkinsMarisa AlvaradoMegan TeismannMeghan BlairMelissa ReedMichele KlineMike BeyerMissy McCormickMisty DickersonNancy CasteelNicole ThorntonPatrick O'ConnorPaul SulPeyton Ward-KubikRaylene CooganRegan OstranderRobbie BulusRobert ThomasSara SolbergSarah McCandlishShanna BrowningShelley BennettShelly MetzStacy CristStacy KrzyminskiStacy SmithStephanie DraganoStephanie FerencStephanie WalshSusannah McCordTara SlusserTerri MillerTiffany DobraskiTiffany DrenkhahnTina FarmerTonya LesiukTracy DaneTroy DuncanVeronica RenteriaVicki FesslerWendy CarllWendy HauserWendy KellehanWendy Shelley

Name(Required)

First Last

Email(Required)

Phone(Required)

Destination(Required)

Walt Disney WorldDisneyland ResortDisney Cruise LineAulani, A Disney Resort and SpaAulani, A Disney Resort and SpaUniversal FloridaUniversal HollywoodRoyal Caribbean, Carnival, Norwegian or other Cruise LineI don't know yet

# of Adults(Required)

# of Children(Required)

Check-in-Date(Required)

MM slash DD slash YYYY

Check-out-Date(Required)

MM slash DD slash YYYY

Comments, Questions or Special Requests

Comments

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Δ

For the BEST in Disney, Universal, Dollywood, and SeaWorld Theme Park News, Entertainment, Merchandise & More follow us on, Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube. Don't forget to check out the Chip and Company Radio Network too!