Disney and Pixar’s New Animation Slate Has Us Crying Already

We got a lot, and I mean A LOT of news from the Disney Investor Day presentation that … yup, still going on. We got confirmation of Hocus Pocus 2. We got an Ahsoka series. But the thing that excited this nerdy heart was all the news from Disney Animation.

First off, we got an update on Raya and the Last Dragon, which will hit both theaters and Disney plus premiere access, on March 5th.And we did get to meet the cast of characters which includes a thieving toddler?

We also got confirmation about the next Disney animated feature, Encanto, which will be inspired by magical realism and will feature songs by Lin Manuel Miranda.

Oh and we’re getting a combination live-action and animated Rescue Rangers! Starring John Mulaney and Andy Samberg and Seth Rogen.

But the real excitement is in the new series coming out of the animation division and onto Disney +. We’re getting Zootopia +. which will have shorts focusing on some of the characters we know and love. A Baymax series And there will be more animated series which will include, yes two new Disney Princess series: Tiana and Moana.

Tiana will follow the characters of The Princess and The Frog in both New Orleans and with Tiana, as a new princess in a country, she has never been to before alongside Prince Naveen. Moana will draw on the rich oral storytelling tradition of Oceania and Polynesia. And yes, both will be musicals!

I cannot say how excited I am for both of these iconic characters to get their own series. But perhaps the series I am most excited for is Iwájú, a first of it’s kind collaboration with Pan-African entertainment company Kugali, that will tell a futuristic African story as only Disney animation can.

Oh, did you think we were done? There’re more coming from Pixar including, Turning Red, where a girl turns into red panda, a Dug series, a Lightning McQueen Series, a softball series and I kid you not, a Buzz Lightyear origin movie–about the space ranger, not the toy–with Chris Evans doing the voice of Buzz Lightyear!

What Disney animation offerings are you most excited about, Suvians?

(image: Disney)

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Jessica Mason

Jessica Mason (she/her) is a writer based in Portland, Oregon with a focus on fandom, queer representation, and amazing women in film and television. She's a trained lawyer and opera singer as well as a mom and author.

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