100 years of Disney magic comes together.
Once Upon a Studio is a 2023 short animated musical fantasy comedy film directed by Dan Abraham and Trent Correy, written by Dan Abraham and Trent Correy, produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Walt Disney Animation Studios, and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It stars Chris Diamantopoulos and Kaitlyn Robrock.
"Boy. If these walls could talk." - Burny Mattison
Plot
On the one hundredth anniversary of Walt Disney Animation Studios, Mickey Mouse gathers all of the Disney characters ever created for a picture.
The Sweet
Before I dive into this I just want to provide a quick life update: I am currently applying to colleges because I am a senior in high school and I don't have a ton of time to be pumping out content for the blog, so that's why things have been slow recently and they will most likely continue to be slow until January rolls around.
And, to be clear, I wasn't planning on writing about this, but after I watched it, I realized I had to.
For those of you who don't know, today is the one hundredth anniversary of Disney. Crazy, right? In honor of the anniversary, Disney released this short film (which will also play in front of Wish, Disney's upcoming movie in November).
I've seen a solid amount of Disney short films. This is the best. And it isn't even close.
Whoever wrote and directed this short film has a clear love and passion for Walt Disney Animation, because this is an absolutely beautiful tribute. There was clear hard work and care put into this thing, and it shines through. It's only about eight minutes long, but it is a powerful, nostalgic little short that will remind you of how much you love Disney. I don't even know how to write about this, because I was so thrown off by how much I loved it.
It seems like a cheap gimmick to bring together one hundred years of Disney characters, but each character brought in is given a great little moment. I absolutely loved that they used the real voices for this film. If the actor is living, they are in it. Jodi Benson voices Ariel. The Rock voices Maui. It's all real. If the actor is dead, they used archive voices. I'm not going to spoil the character appearances here, but there are some that were genuinely surprising and just warmed my heart.
The film also manages to pack a great comedic punch in here. The interactions between some of these Disney characters are great. They're done in a really clever way and definitely brought a smile to my face. The writers of this film need to be put on more Disney projects. They clearly, clearly understand the magic.
But the comedy and crossover and voice acting is not what makes this short great. It is the true recapturing of the Disney magic. This short made me cry twice. There are two times where it just hit me. Neither will be spoiled here, because I highly recommend everyone who is reading this review watch this short, but there's a specific quieter moment with Mickey that sent chills down my spine and tears rolling down my face. The second moment is the ending. I will say no more. I don't have words to describe it. It's perfect. It is the quintessential encapsulation of the Disney magic.
Final Thoughts and Score
I skipped the Sour section because this short is perfect. It's an incredible tribute to everything that Walt Disney has done.
And I just want to say thank you. I want to say thank you to the animators and creators that work or have worked at Disney. I want to say thank you to the people who have brought magic into my life for seventeen years. And I want to say thank you to Walt Disney himself. Disney has been such a huge part of my life, and this short just reminded me why I love it. It's magical.
Without question, this gets a Sweet. There's no age range. Everyone should watch this short.
SWEET N' SOUR SCALE
Sweet (Great) Savory (Good) Sour (Bad) Moldy (Terrible)
"Once Upon a Studio"
Fun Factor: 10/10
Acting: 10/10
Story: 10/10
Characters: 10/10
Quality: 10/10
Directed by Dan Abraham and Trent Correy
Released on October 16, 2023
Not Rated
8 minutes
Chris Diamantopoulos as Mickey Mouse
Kaitlyn Robrock as Minnie Mouse
Renika Williams as The Intern
Burny Mattison as Burny Mattison
Scott Adsit as Baymax
Tony Anselmo as Donald Duck
Awkwafina as Sisu
Jason Bateman as Nick Wilde
Kristen Bell as Anna
Jodi Benson as Ariel
Robby Benson as The Beast
Ravi Cabot-Conyers as Antonio Madrigal
Griffen Campbell as Pinocchio
Auli'i Cravalho as Moana
Jim Cummings as Baloo, Winnie the Pooh
Ariana DeBose as Asha
Richard Epcar as Little John
Bill Farmer as Goofy, Pluto
Keith Ferguson as Prince CHarming
Santino Fontana as HAns
Josh Gad as Olaf
Ginnifer Goodwin as Judy Hopps
Jonathan Groff as Kristoff
Jennifer Hale as Cinderella
Jess Harnell as Scuttle
Tom Hulce as Quasimodo
Jeremy Irons as Scar
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as Maui
Bob Joles as Cogsworth
Judy Kuhn as Pocahontas
Nathan Lane as Timon
Luke Lowe as Flounder
Idina Menzel as Elsa
Jim Meskimen as Eeyore, Merlin
Piotr Michael as Iago
Mandy Moore as Rapunzel
Paige O'Hara as Belle
Raymond S. Persi as Flash
Ian R'Mante as Thumper
John C. Reilly as Wreck-It-Ralph
Phoenix Reisser as Mowgli
Anika Noni Rose as Tiana
Lea Salonga as Mulan
Lee Slobotkin as Peter Pan Natalie Babbitt Taylor as Snow White
Josh Robert Thompson as Grumpy
Kelly Marie Tran as Raya
Alan Tudyk as The Mad Hatter
Scott Weinger as Aladdin
Richard White as Gaston
Harland Williams as Carl
James Woods as Hades
Michael-Leon Wooley as Louis
Stan Alexander as FLower
Stephen J. Anderson as Bowler Hat Guy
Bill Baucom as Trusty
Peter Behn as Thumper
Eric Blore as Mr. Toad
Pat Carroll as Ursula
Bobby Driscoll as Peter Pan
Cliff Edwards as Jiminy Cricket
Verna Felton as Flora
Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Jim Hawkins
Robert Guillaume as Rafiki
Sterling Holloway as Cheshire Cat, Kaa, Winnie the Pooh
Billy Joel as Dodger
Charles Judels as Stromboli
Barbara Luddy as Merryweather
James MacDonald as Jaq, Gus
Bob Newhart as Bernard
Robin Williams as The Genie
Clarence Nash as Donald Duck
Adam Ryen as Cody
Chris Sanders as Stitch
Sarah Silverman as Vanellope von Schweetz
David Spade as Kuzco
Mark Walton as Rhino
Frank Welker as Abu, Joanna
Alan Young as Scrooge McDuck