The occasion is exceptional, so it was necessary to gather the whole family to celebrate. Disney Studios has reached its 100th year, and is this event more important than this to summon its heroes from the heart of films, series and pictures?
As part of the celebrations of the first centenary of its studios, Disney began showing a short film no more than 10 minutes in length, on both its platform and the Hulu platform. The work, titled “Once Upon a Studio,” comes as a tribute to a company that has grown without aging, bringing together 543 characters from more than 85 long and short Disney films.
Mickey, Bambi, Moana and the rest of the team
It is the story of a memorial photo that brings together heroes with extras, princesses with witches, and good people with bad guys. As soon as the last employees leave the company’s headquarters in California and close the door behind them after work, the characters begin to emerge from their pictures hanging on the walls of the place where they were born. Mickey Mouse leads the happy meeting, full of feelings and nostalgia.
“Minnie” and the little witch “Tinker Bell” join him, and they are joined by “Peter Pan”, “Bambi” the deer, and others from the new generation, such as “Moana”, “Nemo” the fish, “Elsa”, and “Anna” from the movie “The Snow Queen” ( Frozen) and others. The animated characters, with their colors, laughter, and acrobatics, roam the company’s corridors and climb its stairs. In a gesture to the founding father, Walt Disney, “Mickey Mouse” stops in front of a picture of him, raising his hat, and greeting the man who created him: “I have to go; But thanks! We have to keep the show going,” he told him.
Peter Pan and his companions tour the company’s offices in California (Disney)
The film is not devoid of poignant gestures. The employee who closed the door behind him, leaving the company in charge of the trips and tours of “Mickey” and his companions, is Barry Mattinson, the company’s oldest employee, who served in it for 70 years, before he died in early 2023 at the age of 87 years.
Among those who left, the curators recovered the voice of actor Robin Williams as the “Blue Genie” in the movie “Aladdin,” by using old recordings of him. As for the actors who are still alive, about 50 of them returned to lend their voices to the project, led by Jeremy Irons as the character “Scar” from “The Lion King.” Among those returning are: Jodi Benson and Paige O’Hara, to play the characters “Ariel” from “The Little Mermaid” and “Belle” from “Beauty and the Beast.”
The company restored the voice of the late actor Robin Williams as the character “The Blue Genie” from the movie “Aladdin” (Disney).
The Disney team made the film without resorting to artificial intelligence. Under the supervision of directors Dan Abraham and Trent Currie, 80 percent of the characters were drawn by hand, and the remaining few were used on the computer.
The final scene, in which the characters gather to take the memorial photo, is played in a funny way by the dog “Goofy”, who is the character closest to Walt Disney’s heart. As for the conclusion, it includes a greeting to the audience spread around the world: “To everyone who imagined with us, laughed with us, and dreamed with us, thank you.”
The team made the film without resorting to artificial intelligence (Disney)
Magic maker
Walt Disney was 22 years old when he moved to Hollywood, and founded with his brother Roy the “Disney Brothers Studio,” which later became “The Walt Disney Company.” This happened in 1923, and the first production was the series “Alice in Wonderland,” which lasted 4 years.
The founding father or “magic maker” behind the Disney legend was born with an extraordinary talent for drawing, which first appeared when he was five years old. He painted a horse for a family neighbor in Chicago, USA, in exchange for his first salary. To develop his talent, he began copying cartoons from his father’s newspaper daily.
Walt and his brother Roy Disney in front of the studio they founded in 1923 (Disney)
Walt Disney’s childhood was not easy. He worked day and night delivering newspapers between the ages of 10 and 16. He and his brother would wake up every day at four in the morning to deliver the newspapers before going to school. This had a negative impact on his academic results, and he was falling asleep in class. But what is harmful may be beneficial. In return, he enrolled in an institute to teach the art of drawing, and took correspondence lessons in animation.
After holding several jobs in the field, and opening his first studio when he was twenty years old, Walt Disney moved to Hollywood. Where it was the actual beginning.
Walt Disney and the character “Pinocchio” that he created in 1940 (Disney)
Animation empire
It was not easy for a 22-year-old to lay the foundation for what would later become an animation empire. But Disney did it. He is the owner of the old saying: “You can achieve all your dreams, if you have the courage to pursue them.” From his dreams, countless characters emerged, taking children and adults alike into a world of beautiful imagination.
Just as he opened Once Upon a Studio, so “Mickey Mouse” opened the path to fame and popularity for Walt Disney. The little mouse represented a good omen for the American artist. It is said that he was inspired by a pet mouse he had adopted, and he loved “Mickey” so much that he lent him his voice for about 20 years (1928-1947).
“Mickey” and “Minnie” are among the characters dearest to Walt Disney’s heart (Disney)
“Mickey” did not stay alone for long, as his companion dog “Pluto” joined him in 1930, and “Goofy” joined them two years later. As for the most famous duck, Donald Duck, he joined the group in 1934. In that year, Disney was determined – despite many criticisms and warnings – to launch the production of his first feature film, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.”
Contrary to expectations, the film achieved resounding success, and earned Disney its first Oscar, followed by 21 awards and 59 nominations, making him the artist most honored by the American Academy.
One of the clips from the short film marking the first centenary (Disney)
After his death in 1966, Disney preserved the legacy of its founding father. During the past century, its studios produced about 500 films, not all of them animation. The company has 30 films in preparation until 2026.
