For this year’s ever-inspiring Annecy International Animated Film Festival, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios and Disney Branded Television will unveil a handpicked selection of new releases that promise to bring fresh, captivating adventures to all the family:
Walt Disney Animation Studios, which has been part of the festival since its inception, will be gracing this year’s edition with a sneak peek of its upcoming theatrical release, Moana 2, presented by the film’s director, Dave Derrick Jr., and co-director, Jason Hand. A highly anticipated sequel to Moana, the studios’ latest epic animated musical reunites Moana and Maui three years later for an expansive new voyage alongside a crew of unlikely seafarers. After receiving an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancestors, Moana must journey to the far seas of Oceania and into dangerous, long-lost waters for an adventure unlike anything she’s ever faced.
Annecy 2024 will also celebrate the 30th anniversary of Disney’s The Lion King with an open-air screening of the film on Le Pâquier, on the evening of June 14. Disney Legend Mark Henn, who was the supervising animator of young Simba, will be there to introduce the film. Meanwhile, as part of its CSR commitments, Disney France will also be organizing a special screening of The Lion King at the Annecy hospital, to give children and hospital staff the chance to experience “moments that matter to those who need it most.”
At a ceremony to be held beforehand, Kelsey Mann, in his role as Disney Art Challenge jury president, will hand out prizes to the winners of the 12th Annual Disney Art Challenge. The theme of this year’s edition was “Adolescence: So many emotions.”
Disney Branded Television will bring together creatives from across Disney Television Animation, the acclaimed animation studio behind some of television’s most iconic and award-winning animated properties for kids, tweens and families, and Disney Junior, the global preschool brand of The Walt Disney Company, to present several offerings this year.
On Tuesday, June 11, Disney Branded Television will present “40 Years of Disney Television Animation: Past, Present, and Future” — a look at how, since its launch in 1984, Disney Television Animation has been at the forefront of creating iconic animated content for kids. The panel will feature:
- Meredith Roberts, Executive Vice President, Disney Television Animation
- Rob LaDuca, executive producer, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and the upcoming Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 2.0 (working title)
- Stevie Wermers-Skelton, supervising director Monsters at Work
- Kevin Deters, executive producer, Monsters at Work
- Bruce W. Smith, creator and executive producer, The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder
- Ralph Farquhar, executive producer, The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder
- Dan Povenmire, co-creator and executive producer, Phineas and Ferb and Hamster & Gretel
- Jeff “Swampy” Marsh, co-creator and executive producer, Phineas and Ferb
A second panel session, “Storytelling Through Music,” will be presented on Thursday, June 13. Moderated by Jay Stutler, Senior Vvice President, Music, Disney Television Animation. This panel will feature a discussion on how music sparks happiness and joy in kids and family content with:
- Lynne Southerland, executive producer, Disney Junior’s Ariel
- Kay Hanley, executive producer and songwriter, Kindergarten: The Musical
- Aliki Theofilopoulos, executive producer, ZOMBIES: The Re-Animated Series
- Nic Small, creator, executive producer and songwriter, Kiff
- Chris Houghton, creator and executive producer, Big City Greens
Additionally, on Wednesday, June 12, creators of The Doomies, an original spooky comedy produced in France for Disney Branded Television by Xilam Animation Studio, will give an exclusive first look at the series during a Work In Progress session.
Introduced by Orion Ross, Vice President, International Animation, Disney Branded Television, and Marc du Pontavice, series producer and CEO, Xilam, the panel will feature series director and co-creator Andrès Fernandez, writer and co-creator Henry Gifford, animation director Lucie Arnissole, Xilam CCO Caterina Gonnelli-Linden and executive producer for The Walt Disney Company EMEA, Calvin Dyson.
An open-air screening of the new movie, Big City Greens the Movie: Spacecation. based on the Disney Channel hit series Big City Greens, will take place on Friday, June 14 at Le Pâquier.
20th Television Animation, a part of Disney Television Studios, joins Annecy with the studio’s inaugural presence in 2024. The studio is currently producing over a dozen animated shows across broadcast, cable and streaming platforms, including the longest-running primetime scripted series in the history of television, The Simpsons, which recently celebrated its 750th episode; Hulu’s hit revival of Futurama and original Solar Opposites, heading into its fifth season; Emmy Award-winning Bob’s Burgers, from Loren Bouchard; culture piercing Family Guy, currently celebrating its 25th Anniversary, from Seth MacFarlane and showrunners Rich Appel and Alec Sulkin; American Dad!, created by Mike Barker, Matt Weitzman and Seth MacFarlane; and The Great North from from Lizzie and Wendy Molyneux.
For the first time, Bob’s Burgers will join the festival lineup with a panel titled “Bob’s Burgers: In Conversation with Creative Team Behind the Emmy-Winning Series.” Join Creator and executive producer Loren Bouchard alongside director Bernard Derriman, executive producer Jannelle Momary-Neely and supervising director Simon Chong as they discuss what it takes to cook up this fan-favorite series Friday, June 14 at 9:15 a.m. at Salle de la Volière. Panelists will draw, take questions and discuss how the show has evolved into one of the premiere adult animation series currently on air.
