Today at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, Disney Branded Television (DBT) announced a lineup of new animated projects and shared first looks from its industry-leading preschool and kids-focused slate.
The announcements were made by Disney Branded Television president Ayo Davis, alongside DBT animation leaders Meredith Roberts, executive vice president of Disney Television Animation; Alyssa Sapire, senior vice president of Development, Series and Strategy, Disney Jr.; and Orion Ross, vice president, International Animation.
DBT also presented a special panel commemorating its 40th anniversary with highlight of its contribution to kids’ animation over four decades, including Phineas and Ferb, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Monsters at Work, The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder, Sofia the First and others. Also presented were current and future titles ranging from Kiff to Big City Greens, ZOMBIES: The Re-Animated Series, Hamster & Gretel, and StuGo.
Disney Jr., Disney Television Animation, and International Animation teams are hosting several additional panels throughout the week, including one highlighting the power of storytelling through music and its features Disney Jr.’s Ariel, Kindergarten: The Musical, ZOMBIES: The Re-Animated Series, Kiff, and Big City Greens, as well as a panel for the upcoming global series The Doomies.
“Disney Branded Television is proud of our four-decade legacy of creating magical and visually stunning animation beloved by young audiences around the world,” said Davis. “It’s a momentous year at Annecy as we celebrate our studio’s milestone anniversary and showcase some of our most exciting new projects and creative talent that are ushering us into a new era of storytelling.”
Among the new Disney Jr. and Disney Television Animation titles and first looks announced at Annecy are the following:
Greenlights / New Series Announcements:
Prep & Landing: The Snowball Protocol (22-minute special) – debuting next year.
- Produced by: Disney Television Animation
- Executive Producers: Kevin Deters and Stevie Wermers-Skelton
- Story Editor/Co-Producer: Colleen Evanson
- Producer: Melissa Kurtz
- Director: Shane Zalvin
- Writer: Hilary Helding
In this new holiday special, the high-tech team of elves from the elite unit known as Prep and Landing is back! When their holiday missions go awry, Wayne thinks he is in BIG trouble with Santa, which opens a vault of merry mishaps from the past. It’s going to be hard to dig their way out of the snowbank this time in Prep & Landing: The Snowball Protocol.
Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur: Moon Girl’s Lab (Shorts)
Debuts June 28, on Disney Channel and Disney Channel YouTube. All eight pairs of shorts are available to stream the same day on Disney+.
- Produced by: Disney Television Animation
- Executive Producers: Laurence Fishburne, Helen Sugland, and Steve Loter
- Co-Executive Producers: Rodney Clouden and Pilar Flynn
The new animated musical S.T.E.M.-focused short-form series in which Moon Girl is dropping knowledge AND dropping bars as she uses the power of science to take down some serious baddies. Each of the eight shorts will feature a new song by GRAMMY Award winner Raphael Saadiq, who serves as executive music producer on the series.
Check out the clip Moon Girl’s Lab Shorts #1 “Adaptations:”
Superkitties: Su-Purr Adventures (Shorts)
Premiering August 7 on Disney Jr. and Disney Channel and on August 8 on Disney+ and Disney Jr. YouTube.
- Produced by: Sony Pictures Television – Kids in association with Disney Jr.
- Creator: Paula Rosenthal
- Executive Producers: Sarah Mullervy, Kirk Van Wormer, and Audu Paden
- Supervising Producer: Bryan Korn
The new short-form animated series inspired by the 2023 popular preschool series, SuperKitties features Bitsy, Ginny, Sparks, and Buddy as they showcase their superhero skills and kitty kindness that they use to work together as a team to make their town of Kittydale a great place to live.
Check out SuperKitties Su-Purr Adventures Short | “Dress Like a SuperKitty:”
Series Renewal Announcement:
Big City Greens Season 5
- Produced by: Disney Television Animation
- Creators/Executive Producers: Chris and Shane Houghton
- Executive Producer: Anna O’Brian
- Co-Executive Producer: Stephen Sandoval
- Producer: Michael Coughlin
The popular series follows the offbeat adventures of 10-year-old Cricket Green (voiced by Chris Houghton), a mischievous and optimistic country boy who moved to the big city with his wildly out-of-place family. The show is heavily influenced by the brothers’ childhood growing up in St. Johns, Michigan, a small rural town north of Lansing, also known as the mint capital of the world. Real-life family members and childhood townsfolk inspired many of the characters.
Big City Greens the Movie: Spacecation, coming this summer, is screening at Annecy 2024 as part of the prestigious Le Pâquier lawn screening series.
- Director Anna O’Brian has also joined the series Season 5 as executive producer.
Premiere Date Announcement:
Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures Season 2 - Premieres August 14 on Disney+ and Disney Jr
- Produced by: Lucasfilm in collaboration with Wild Canary for Disney+ and Disney Jr.
- Showrunner/Executive Producer: Michael Olson
- Executive Producers: James Waugh, Jacqui Lopez, and Josh Rimes
- Supervising Director/Co-Producer: Elliot M. Bour
- Consulting Producer: Lamont Magee
Season 2 Kai Brightstar, Lys Solay, and Nubs are ready for more adventures! Dressed in their new mission gear, the young heroes will embark on even bigger missions across the galaxy as they continue their Jedi training.
First Looks Released at Annecy:
Disney Jr.’s Ariel
It debuts on June 27 on Disney Jr. in the U.S., with an initial batch of eight episodes available on Disney+ the following day, June 28.
- Produced by: Wild Canary in association with Disney Jr.
- Executive Producer: Lynne Southerland
The highly anticipated new series animated series inspired by the beloved story of The Little Mermaid follows 8-year-old mermaid princess Ariel as she and her friends embark on fun-filled, action-packed underwater adventures throughout their Caribbean-inspired fairytale kingdom of Atlantica and beyond.
Exclusive first-look clip released today:
Kindergarten: The Musical
- Produced by: Oddbot Entertainment in association with Disney Jr.
- Creators: Michelle Lewis and Charlton Pettus
- Executive Producers: Tom Warburton, Michelle Lewis, Kay Hanley, Charlton Pettus, and Dan Pettyo-Executive Producer/Story Editor: Laurie Israel
The all-new animated musical series follows 5-year-old Berti, who, along with her new friends, is navigating all the exciting and emotional experiences that come with starting school for the very first time. Taking place in a kindergarten classroom at Porter Elementary, the series features Broadway-style song and dance numbers that help kids express their big feelings and provide a peek into their incredible imaginations.
Also announced, GRAMMY Award-winning and Tony Award-nominated actress and singer Eva Noblezada (The Great Gatsby) performs the main title theme song. Also today, key art was released for the upcoming Disney Jr.’s series
Check out Kindergarten: The Musical Theme Song!:
StuGo
Premieres Fall 2024 on Disney Channel and Disney+.
- Produced by: Titmouse in association with Disney Channel
- Creator/Executive Producer: Ryan Gillis
- Co-Executive Producer: Sunil Hall
- Story Editor: Craig Lewis
The series follows six overambitious middle schoolers tricked into attending a fake academic summer camp by a mad scientist. Now they’re stuck for three months on a wild tropical island with mind-reading manatees, giant fighting fungi, and fashion-forward mutants ― less academia than they’d hoped for but a lot more adventure.
Check out the StuGo Main Title song - released today:
The Doomies
- Produced by: Xilam in association with Disney+
- Co-Creator/Director: Andrés Fernandez
- Co-Creator/Head Writer: Henry Gifford
- Co-Creator/Art Director: Rémi Zaarour
The chilling series follows best friends Bobby and Romy, who mistakenly open a gateway to the underworld and turn their sleepy coastal town into a hotspot for terrifying creatures of doom. As they try to cover up their mess, they get roped into an epic monster mystery, which will see them battle both literal and inner demons.
Source: Disney Branded Television
Debbie Diamond Sarto is news editor at Animation World Network.
