The end of the day at D23 Expo was for me the panel where I had a reservation and the Disney Archives exhibit! A cast member told me that I had enough time after the Studio Showcase to get in line for the Disney Archives: Step in Time before the expo closed at 7 p.m. The Sudio Showcase was at Hall D23 which I had seen the from Hall D23at Hall C. It was at the far end of the convention center down the escalators to Hall E. Then, queues were formed for sections; A, B, and C. The only one left for me was C. After some wait, the sections moved up another escalator. This was unusual for me since plastic bags were handed out to secure cell phones. Not this time, take you pictures! I finally got to my seat, about four rows and in the back from the stage. This is ok, the people on stage were difficult to see even with a cell phone camera at zoom.
Mary Poppins display for Disney Archives: Step in Time, photo by the author.
The executives were introduced, I kept watching the teleprompter screen at the back as they gave their speeches, but it was Disney+ series first. The first movie was Pinocchio with Cynthia Erivo singing live, "When You Wish Upon a Star." Hocus Pocus 2 had Bette Midler Winifred), Mary (Kathy Najimy), and Sarah (Sarah Jessica Parker) returning with the help of some new witches. The actresses gave a video message to fans. Then, there is Disenchanted, the cast is returning with Amy Adams and Maya Rudolph in Disneyland gear. A clip was shown with Rudolph’s character as part of a trio with Jayma Mays and Yvette Nicole Brown’s characters. Giselle and Robert, Patrick Dempsey was on stage with streaks of white hair, have moved to the country specifically Monroeville. Peter Pan & Wendy had director, David Lowery, who also directed the remake of Pete’s Dragon (2016) for Disney. Jude Law as Captain Hook.
Theatrical movies, The Haunted Mansion, the trailer had Danny Devito narrating. The surprise guest was in a Doom Buggy on stage which turned and revealed Jamie Lee Curtis! She will play Madame Leota! Then, there was Mufasa: The Lion King which had Barry Jenkins who said that Mufasa begins as an orphan! The story from the trailer is narrated by Timon (Billy Eichner) and Pumbaa (Seth Rogen). For Snow White (no Dwarfs in the title?), Gal Gadot (Evil Queen) and Rachel Zegler (Snow White) appeared on stage. Zegler also mentioned that she just arrived from Disneyland. Gadot was ready to give her evil laugh. Rob Marshall who directed Mary Poppins Returns (2018) was there for The Little Mermaid. He introduced Halle Bailey. There was an exclusive clip of her singing as Ariel for “Part of Your World.” I liked her reddish hair. Her shell bra is scaled like her tail which is very CGI, no Darryl Hannah tail. There was a strange locking of the camera on Ariel while she is singing about the human world. Then, there is a pull back to the last note. Beautiful singing by Bailey!
Pixar featured Elemental that had the actors, the fiery Ember Leah Lewis, and watery Wade (Mamoudou Athie). They had the audience shouting out their element to get the poster which of course was given to everyone. The posters were handed out in bags which was great with the rain. A Disney+ show was Win or Lose that features middle school softball team called the Pickles. This features an important game with each episode showing the different people. Will Forte who plays Coach Dan introduced a clip of the umpire who wears emotional armor when trying to ask out a barista. The next one was Elio about a boy, eleven years old, taken across space because he is thought to be the ambassador for Earth. America Ferrera talked about playing his mom. Amy Poehler made a surprise announcement on Inside Out 2! She said that Riley is now a teenager and has new emotions! As she was leaving the stage, Poehler kept dropping teaser like its release date in summer 2024.
Zootopia Plus is a Disney+ anthology show of many supporting characters given the spotlight, I recall one was The Godfather’s Day, a fun mash-up of titles. Can’t wait for this one! Host, Jennifer Lee, noted that Walt Disney Animation is colloborating for the first time with Kugali. This had the filmmakers in African dress, awesome!, that has a futuristic Nigeria. This is Iwájú. We see the two young characters, Tola and Kole,who have a robotic salamander called Otin. I think this was mentioned in 2019’s D23 Expo. Then, Strange World was featured about three generations of a family. The father is Searcher (Jake Gyllenhaal) and his father, the famous Jaeger voiced by Dennis Quaid. On stage was also Lucy Liu who plays Callisto Mal. The last movie was Wish which comes out next year. It has Kingdom of Rosas with Asha, a 17 year old princess, making her wish. There was Disney Animation’s good luck charm, Alan Tudyk, who gave an overview of his voices.
Ariana DeBose singing “More of Us” from Wish, author’s photo.
A clip was shown of his character, the goat Valentino, who wishes to be understood by people so then he speaks! Asha’s voice appeared, Ariana DeBose who sung Julia Michael’s song, “More for Us.” She was stunning! I finished the day with the Disney Archives: Step in Time exhibit. This archives features a chronology, but not as comprehensive as other exhibits. It had the artifacts from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) with books, and a commemorative program, plus Snow White’s character costume. Then, the opening of Disneyland in 1955. Next was Mary Poppins (1965) with the carousel horses and Mary Poppins costume. We move to 1971 with Walt Disney Worlds’ Haunted Mansion with the Medusa painting and the beating heart of the Bride. I really like Tron (1982) with video games, the helmet of Sark (David Warner), and Identity Disc and helmet. Then, there was a recreation of Club Ritz from Dick Tracy (1990) including the dress of Breathless Mahoney (Madonna) and the yellow coat of Dick Tracy (Warren Beatty). Then, was the Disney Channel photo op complete with the wand. Finally, Star Wars with BB-8 and the droids. There was a great Studio Showcase presentations and Disney Archives exhibit.
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