Hélène Etzi
During MIFA's second day, Disney Television Animation, Disney Junior, and Disney Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) took to the stage to announce new productions, and show sneak peeks at the upcoming slate of new original animated series to air on Disney+ and other Disney-owned platforms in 2023 and beyond.
The presentation was led by Hélène Etzi, The Walt Disney Company France and managing director of Disney Channels France, along with Orion Ross, vice president of Original Programming – Animation for The Walt Disney Company EMEA. They welcomed Ayo Davis, president of Disney Branded Television, Meredith Roberts, executive vice president of TV Animation, Disney Branded Television, and Alyssa Sapire, senior vice president of Original Programming, Disney Junior, to present on some of the Disney Branded Television projects that are currently in production.
"The announcements out of Annecy today further cement Disney as the leader in animation," said Davis. "These new series represent the very best from our teams at Disney Television Animation and Disney Junior. They build upon Disney Branded Television's commitment to work with incredible storytellers, whose diverse voices not only allow our young audiences to see themselves reflected on screen but help them better navigate their world," she added.
Titled "Everyone Has a Story," the presentation included announcing a season two greenlight for the hit Disney+ series "Monsters at Work." The new season is set to debut in 2023 and will feature the return of the series' star-studded voice cast, including Billy Crystal (Mike Wazowski), John Goodman (James P. "Sulley" Sullivan), Ben Feldman (Tylor Tuskmon), Mindy Kaling (Val Little), Henry Winkler (Fritz), Lucas Neff (Duncan) and Alanna Ubach (Cutter). Season two is executive produced by Emmy Award winner Kevin Deters ("Prep & Landing," "Olaf's Frozen Adventure"). Moreover, "Chip 'n' Dale: Park Life," which features Chip and Dale and their adventures living in the big city, has also been renewed for a second season, which will find the much-loved duo joined by other iconic Disney characters, including Donald and Pluto, in bigger and bolder stories.
Additionally, it was revealed that a new animated series inspired by Disney's popular music-driven movie franchise "Zombies" is in production at Disney Television Animation and the EMEA Original Productions team announced the greenlight for the epic adventure series "Dragon Striker" and spooky comedy "The Doomies."
The presentation also included the announcement of season three renewals for Disney Junior megahits "Marvel's Spidey and his Amazing Friends" and "Mickey Mouse Funhouse" and additional episode orders for some of Disney Television Animation's upcoming series, including "Hamster & Gretel," "Kiff," "Hailey's On It" and "Primos."
Additional announcements and first looks included the upcoming Disney+ African sci-fi anthology "Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire"'s exclusive new artwork reveal and casting, including Florence Kasumba ("Black Panther: Wakanda Forever"), Nigerian star Kehinde Bankole ("Blood Sisters") and South African rapper Nasty C ("Blood & Water"); an exclusive first look at the new preschool series "Kiya and the Kimoja Heroes," about community heroes inspired by the traditions and cultures of southern Africa and produced by Entertainment One, Frogbox and Triggerfish Animation; and the announcement that after five hit seasons, "PJ Masks: Power Heroes" will feature preschool icons Catboy, Gekko and Owlette as they are joined by an expanded crime-fighting team to take on even more significant challenges in an all-new series.
During the presentation, Ayo Davis gave Annecy attendees sneak peeks at the recently announced "Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures," the first full-length Star Wars series for preschoolers premiering on Disney Junior and Disney+ in spring 2023, as well as "Marvel's Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur," which follows the adventures of 13-year-old super-genius Lunella Lafayette and her 10-ton T-Rex, Devil Dinosaur. She also showed a clip from the upcoming Disney Original Documentary "Mickey: The Story of a Mouse."
Alyssa Sapire gave an update on the upcoming Disney Junior slate, which includes "Eureka!," "Firebuds," "SuperKitties," "Kindergarten: The Musical," "Hey A.J.," and "RoboGobo"; and Meredith Roberts spoke about some of the current hits for Disney Television Animation including "Big City Greens," "The Owl House," "The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse" and "The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder."
Orion Ross spoke about the ongoing importance of co-productions and creative partnerships with leading independent studios across the EMEA region on current and upcoming series, including "Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir" and "Ghost Force," "The Unstoppable Yellow Yeti" and "Viking Skool."