This weekend, Disney opened the Annecy Annual International Animation Festival by premiering its latest animated short, Once Upon A Studio.
Directed by Dan Abraham and Trent Correy (Once Upon A Snowman), the 9-minute film is said to bring more than 400 characters from Disney's animated history back to life in a live-action setting (comparisons have been made to Night at the Museum).
With a combination of hand-drawn and CG animated characters, Abraham described Once Upon A Studio as a "love letter to the medium, to Disney animation, and really a thank you to anyone in the audience that’s ever connected with a film over the last hundred years."
Among the characters you can expect to see are Peter Pan, Moana, and Flash, though the biggest news is that the late Robin Williams will be heard reprising his iconic role as Genie.
Taking to Instagram, Olaf voice actor Josh Gad said, "Now that it’s premiered at Annecy, I’m so excited to finally have the world see what [Disney Animation] has created to celebrate the incredible 100 year legacy of the studio."
"I nearly cried when I was told Olaf would appear alongside the Genie, utilizing previously unheard audio from my idol."
While Genie has become one of Williams' most iconic roles, a contract dispute between the actor and Disney saw him depart the role after the 1992 classic was released in theaters. As a result, Homer Simpson voice actor Dan Castellaneta later took over for the sequel and future tie-in material. Will Smith, meanwhile, played Genie in live-action.
The fact there's never-before-heard material featuring Williams' work is very exciting, however, and we can't wait to see how many cameos this short actually contains!
While not confirmed, the expectation is that Once Upon a Studio will play in front of Wish later this year.