Once Upon a Studio

My dirty little secret is that I've always loved crossovers. Who Framed Roger Rabbit was one of my favourite movies as a kid. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein is one of my favourite movies as an adult.

I've been thinking more about crossovers lately because of the Walt Disney Company's upcoming short film, Once Upon a Studio, which is said to include characters from every one of the company's animated features. The idea has potential. We've already heard that Olaf will interact with the Genie. What else? Will Hercules meet Maui? Winnie the Pooh meet Kenai and Koda? Peter Pan meet John Silver?

Obviously, this isn't the first time Disney characters have crossed over with each other--House of Mouse and Kingdom Hearts both come to mind. It's not even the first time that the portion of the Walt Disney Company responsible for theatrical animation, Walt Disney Animation Studios, have created their own crossover--Ralph Breaks the Internet did it earlier.

One thing I like about crossovers is seeing characters interact with someone who looks and feels like they belong in different universes; it's less interesting when the characters are changed to "fit" their new setting. I love Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein precisely because Bud and Lou act like comedians and Dracula, Larry Talbot, and Frankenstein’s Monster act like horror movie monsters. In Once Upon a Studio, the animators are apparently mixing different types of animation. I like that. Nothing against the way Ralph Breaks the Internet rendered all the princesses with computer animation, but I think that a traditionally-drawn Snow White meeting a CGI Elsa will be more interesting to watch.

For all their faults, Disney can make good—even great—movies. A number of their short films from the 21st century (especially Paperman and Get a Horse!) have been excellent, too. So, as a fan of both animation history and crossovers, I'm looking forward to this one.


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