Once Upon a Studio (2023)

Once Upon a Studio Review

Once Upon a Studio is a 2023 animated short film that celebrates Walt Disney Animation Studio’s centennial. It’s a beautiful film.

Disney characters come to life from pictures hanging on the walls of the Roy E. Disney Animation Building following the end of a usual work day. This movie features the mixture between live-action and animation that consist of both hand-drawn and CGI techniques. The mixing of these different mediums was impressively done and the short looked polished throughout. The highlights were superb character movements and faithful recreations of their original designs.

This is such a wonderful project that offers so much fan service that isn’t forced, but genuinely heartfelt and enchanting. All 62 animated features from the Disney canon were pretty much represented here with some exceptions, but for the most part every major character was depicted. The highlights were the comedic interactions between these characters from all the different Disney eras. The movie is way too short at just eight minutes, thus it felt a bit rushed. More meaningful and/or fun interactions were needed here.

Scar being annoyed with Ralph was hilarious, Donald being frustrated with the sloth from ‘Zootopia’ was also amusing and Elsa freezing Hans in his frame was another nice touch. Goofy’s signature clumsiness was well incorporated into the ending itself while different characters’ abilities and powers also impacted the environment in a very unique way.

There are numerous notes from some classic songs used here, but the main motif was ‘Pinocchio’s When You Wish Upon a Star, which was fitting for the studio’s centennial. The music and animation worked in tandem to recreate some of that glorious Disney magic along with very charming humor, making for a truly timeless experience. The emotional levity was unprecedented as seeing this big cartoon family that we all know and love together in one frame touched my heart. The highlight was that heartwarming scene where Mickey acknowledges Walt’s legacy. This moment was so genuinely powerful that it almost made me cry.

Once Upon a Studio is a bit too short for its scope, but it works as the studio’s centennial celebration due to superb animation, score and humor. Seeing all these classic characters from all eras together was truly touching and the movie has such a big heart.

My Rating – 4.5