From Our Friends at D23:
Suppose we’re going to get through all the characters in Walt Disney Animation Studios’ new short Once Upon a Studio. In that case, we’d better get started, because in its rapid-fire nine minutes, some 543 characters from Disney Animation films and shorts make an appearance. If you spend just 30 seconds reading about each one, you’ll be done in a mere 4 hours and 32 minutes.
But wait! That total doesn’t include the humans with speaking roles. So… 545 characters? Four hours and 33 minutes?
Naturally, we’re just kidding. The fun part of Once Upon a Studio, which honors the 100th anniversary of the founding of both The Walt Disney Company and Disney Animation, is being surprised by all the character cameos. The short film is set in and around the Roy E. Disney Animation Building on The Walt Disney Studios lot in Burbank, California. It imagines what happens on October 16, 2023—the actual anniversary date—after the human cast members have gone home. That’s when all the Disney Animation characters magically emerge from the framed art on the walls to gather for a group photo. Or try to, at least.
Most of these characters need no introduction, but here’s our recap of some stars to look out for (in order of appearance)—with hints about the special moments to expect:
- Burny Mattinson: The Disney Legend appears at the beginning of the short as one of the last cast members to leave the Animation Building. Hired in 1953, Mattinson worked for The Walt Disney Company for nearly 70 years as an animator, story artist, director, writer, and producer. He filmed his cameo last year and was able to see a rough cut of the short before he passed away in February.
- Mickey Mouse: The mouse who set the standard for all Disney Animation to come—the leader of the club—is, along with Minnie Mouse, the instigator and organizer of the reunion. Mickey has gone through several design iterations over the years and appears here in his early 1940s look. Mickey does yield center stage at one point to another classic Disney star, with a gracious and entirely appropriate, “After you.” (Can you guess who?)
- Merlin: The magician from The Sword in the Stone (1963) appears as a barista at a coffee bar inside the building called The Snuggly Duckling—a name borrowed from the pub in Tangled (2010). Merlin has quite a menagerie of beverage-related Disney Animation characters gathered around him, but you’ll have to tally them up quickly, as the magician is soon called upon to use his magic to rescue a “floundering” colleague.
- Anna and Elsa: Once Upon a Studio delights in interactions between hand-drawn animation characters and CG-created characters—and every character of either variety was freshly animated for this short. Thus it is that as Anna and Elsa stroll down a hallway in their Frozen 2 (2019) clothing, they pass Stromboli from Pinocchio (1940) assaulting a vending machine. “Do you think all the villains will show up?” Anna asks—and the answer is soon provided by Elsa, who makes sure at least one schemer isn’t going to make it into the group photo.
- Donald Duck: Who from all of Disney Animation history would most annoy Donald, as he hops inside an elevator to hurry to the ground-floor photo spot? We think the Once Upon a Studio filmmakers hit the nail on its furry head with this memorable gag.
- Antonio: Who should surround the boy from Encanto (2021), blessed with the ability to speak to animals? See whether you can guess which mostly voiceless creature characters Antonio has in his entourage before you see the short, then look fast to try to identify the diverse gang as they pass by in just a couple of seconds.
- Dalmatian puppies: The adorable little dogs from One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961)—a litter’s worth of them, anyway—are seen gathered around a television, just as they do in the original Disney Animation classic. See how quickly you can identify what movie they’re watching and, later on, look out for the jolly group of friends who seem to have adopted the puppies in the final scene.
- Cinderella and Prince Charming: We won’t spoil this couple’s laugh-out-loud moment on the stairs except to say: Pay close attention. Extra Disney fandom points if you can identify the dog who follows them down!
- Goofy: The lovable klutz turns 85 next year, so maybe he shouldn’t be climbing a shaky ladder to serve as photographer for the group portrait. Fortunately, he’ll get a little help from his friends.
- Asha, Snow White, and Mulan: What a joy to see the heroines of Wish (2023), Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), and Mulan (1998) standing side by side in the short’s emotional finale! We won’t give away what unites them, but you should know that two of them are brought to life by their original singing voices: Oscar®-winner Ariana DeBose for Asha and Disney Legend Lea Salonga for Mulan.
- Chip and Dale: By the end of Once Upon a Studio, you may be wondering what these two mischief-makers have been up to. But no worries—there they are, front and center, for the short’s jaw-dropping final shot. You may have to look closely, though, because the cheerful chipmunks are rendered in their actual size, relative to their co-stars, so they’re barely taller than Gus and Jaq, the mice from Cinderella (1950) who stand close by.
So… that’s a sampling. For the remaining 500-plus characters, see Once Upon a Studio on Disney+
