In 2023, Disney fans will meet Asha (Ariana DeBose), a 17-year-old girl whose wish calls down an adorable nonverbal star, aptly named “Star,” from the sky. Also starring Alan Tudyk as Valentino the goat and with an original song by Julia Michaels, Walt Disney Animation Studios’ WISH will share the origin of the wishing star.
At D23 Expo, Walt Disney Animation Studios revealed that WISH would premiere to celebrate 100 years of Disney animation. From journalist Scott Gustin:
Disney Animation will celebrate its 100th anniversary with an original film — Disney WISH set to release in 2023. The film will focus on the origin of the Wishing Star. #D23Expopic.twitter.com/mZolIJ5gJu
Disney also shared another image from the film on Twitter:
Walt Disney Animation Studios revealed a FIRST LOOK at “Wish,” their all-new animated feature film that explores how the iconic wishing star came to be. (1/2) #D23Expopic.twitter.com/LWOy7X5JLM
The Disney Legends Committee named a “secret agent” to its roster of 2022 Disney Legends, but the honoree died before he could accept the prestigious award.
Newscaster Paul Harvey hosted a radio program called “The Rest of the Story,” during which he endeavored to enlighten listeners about different viewpoints and additional details surrounding current events, news, topics of human interest, and more. It was successful because–truth be told–most people like to know more, rather than less.
After all, who doesn’t love a backstory?
During the first day of the 2022 D23 Expo held at the Anaheim Convention Center in California, thousands of Disney superfans who doubled as backstory lovers were served a real treat–the opportunity to be present as the Disney Legends Class of 2022 was honored during a ceremony that kicked off the Ultimate Disney Fan Event.
During the ceremony held in Hall D23 at the convention center in Anaheim, actors, actresses, and Imagineers were honored as the newest Disney Legends. But one honoree was neither an actor nor an actress. In fact, he wasn’t a celebrity at all. But his contributions to the Disney Empire are wholly responsible for the development of the Walt Disney World Resort in Central Florida.
His name was Robert Price Foster.
Foster began his Disney career in the 1950s, and per D23’s website, he was the man who carried out the task of securing land on which Walt Disney’s “Project X” would be built. Today, fans know the project by its more popular name: the Walt Disney World Resort.
[Foster] began at Walt Disney Productions in 1956, working in real property law and as a legal counsel for Disneyland. He later headed the property search and land acquisition for Walt Disney World and managed the legislative package that established the Reedy Creek Improvement District. In 1970, he was named president of the Buena Vista Land Company, which developed the 4,000-acre community of Lake Buena Vista. He left the company in 1975.
Walt Disney found the perfect spot for his new family park in the swamplands of Central Florida, but Foster knew that if Walt Disney’s name were any part of the transactions that resulted in acquiring the land on which to build the visionary’s newest project, the cost of that land would be, well, astronomical. So, instead of proposing to buy land from owners as Disney’s proxy, he transacted business using fictitious entity names, and in doing so, he saved Disney millions upon millions of dollars.
For his efforts and accomplishments, Foster was often called a “secret agent,” and his work yielded him a place of honor among the windows of Main Street, U.S.A., at Magic Kingdom.
And this year, he was also named among the list of honorees to receive the coveted title of Disney Legend.
On Friday morning, during the 2022 D23 Expo Disney Legends Ceremony, however, Foster was absent. As he had acted on behalf of Walt Disney so many years before, Foster’s daughter acted on his behalf, standing in for her father and graciously accepted the award.
Robert Price Foster being honored as a Disney Legend. His daughter is accepting the award in his place. #D23Expopic.twitter.com/s36hCo01cE
During her acceptance speech, Robert Price Foster’s daughter shared stories of her father taking her and her friends to Disney World, and she talked about people referring to him as a “secret agent.” Sadly, however, she said that just after Foster was told he had been chosen as a Disney Legend, he passed away.
As Foster’s daughter accepted the award on her father’s behalf, she expressed her approval of the honor, saying that long before her father became a Disney Legend, he was first a legend to her.
Disney D23 is “The largest Disney fan event in the world,” and this year’s expo will be no different. This year’s D23 Expo celebrates the wonderful worlds of The Walt Disney Company, including Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars, across film, television, theme parks, and more!
However, when Disney CEO Bob Chapek took the stage earlier today, some Guests in attendance gave him a not-so-warm welcome.
You can check out the short video down below, thanks to a tweet from Thomas Lipscomb (@tmmylps):
Out of the sea, wish I could be… part of that world. Disney’s The Little Mermaid is coming to theaters May 26, 2023.
“The Little Mermaid,” visionary filmmaker Rob Marshall’s live-action reimagining of the studio’s Oscar®-winning animated musical classic, opens exclusively in theaters nationwide May 26, 2023. “The Little Mermaid” is the beloved story of Ariel, a beautiful and spirited young mermaid with a thirst for adventure. The youngest of King Triton’s daughters, and the most defiant, Ariel longs to find out more about the world beyond the sea, and while visiting the surface, falls for the dashing Prince Eric.
While mermaids are forbidden to interact with humans, Ariel must follow her heart. She makes a deal with the evil sea witch, Ursula, which gives her a chance to experience life on land, but ultimately places her life – and her father’s crown – in jeopardy.
The film stars singer and actress Halle Bailey (“grown-ish”) as Ariel; Tony Award® winner Daveed Diggs (“Hamilton,” “Snowpiercer”) as the voice of Sebastian; Jacob Tremblay (“Luca,” “Room”) as the voice of Flounder; Awkwafina (“Raya and the Last Dragon”) as the voice of Scuttle; Jonah Hauer-King (“A Dog’s Way Home”) as Prince Eric; Art Malik (“Homeland”) as Sir Grimsby; Noma Dumezweni (“Mary Poppins Returns”) as Queen Selina; with Oscar® winner Javier Bardem (“No Country for Old Men,” “Being the Ricardos”) as King Triton; and two-time Academy Award® nominee Melissa McCarthy (“Can You Ever Forgive Me?” “Bridesmaids”) as Ursula.
“The Little Mermaid” is directed by Oscar® nominee Rob Marshall (“Chicago,” “Mary Poppins Returns”), and written by two-time Oscar nominee David Magee (“Life of Pi,” “Finding Neverland”), with a live-action story adaptation by David Magee, Rob Marshall, and two-time Emmy winner John DeLuca (“Tony Bennett: An American Classic”), based on the short story by Hans Christian Andersen, and the Disney animated film by Ron Clements and John Musker. The film is produced by two-time Emmy® winner Marc Platt (“Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert,” “Grease Live!”), three-time Tony Award® winner Lin-Manuel Miranda (“Hamilton,” “In the Heights”), Rob Marshall, and John DeLuca, with Jeffrey Silver (“The Lion King”) serving as executive producer. The score is by multiple Academy Award® winner Alan Menken (“Beauty and the Beast,” “Aladdin”), who won two Oscars® for the music in the animated version of “The Little Mermaid,” with music supervised and produced by Mike Higham (“Mary Poppins Returns,” “Into the Woods”). Music is by Alan Menken, lyrics are by Howard Ashman and new lyrics are by Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Walt Disney’s Gulf Stream I plane, affectionately known as “The Mouse,” is currently on display at the D23 Expo. After painstakingly dismantling it in Florida and lovingly piecing it back together after transporting it to California, it has delighted Expo guests. Many have marveled at the opportunity to see such an iconic piece of Disney history up close. Recently we’ve learned the fate of Walt’s beloved plane, and it’s perfect.
Walt Disney Company CEO, Bob Chapek, took the stage Thursday evening during a media preview to announce that at the conclusion of the D23 Expo, the plane would be headed to Palm Springs, California, to be displayed, beginning October 15, as part of the Palm Springs Air Museum collection.
Then on December 4 (Walt Disney’s birthday), a brand new exhibit at the museum will open featuring the plane and showcasing its significance to the history of the Walt Disney Company.
Walt Disney Archives director Rebecca Cline said, “We are so happy to have Walt’s plane make a ‘landing’ at the Palm Springs Air Museum, just a few miles from where Walt and his family had vacation homes at Smoke Tree Ranch. It is the ideal setting for this incredible icon.”
The plane, which was recently refurbished to include new paint, wing edges and windows, will be on long term loan to the museum. The museum is looking forward to having such a lovingly restored plane on display. The exhibit will also feature the instrument panel, which sports some rare navigational instruments that are increasingly hard to find in good condition. This is a monumental addition to aviation history.
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