Disney announced Friday a new short at Annecy: “Lilo & Scratch.”
“For the first time in five years, we have a new theatrical short,” said director Fawn Veerasunthorn, adding: “We are in this room because every single one of us loves animation.”
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It takes place shortly after the first film, and everyone’s favorite troublemaker Stitch is doing fine with his new family. But then Lilo brings home a new family member: a cat.
Chris Sanders, responsible for the original voice of Stitch, will voice him again.
What happens next is a “wild, chaotic chase around the island. This is the kind of mayhem we love with this character,” added Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Malcon Pierce after showing the audience its first two minutes. It will be released in the fall.
Disney’s new feature “Hexed” is also on its way.
“It’s our 65th animated film,” noted “Hexed” director Jason Hand.
“We love exploring magic and those who can make impossible possible,” added Veerasunthorn, also a director on “Hexed.” The team presented first work-in-progress footage.
Focusing on Billie, a girl who discovers magical abilities, it’s voiced by Hailee Steinfeld – “She’s so funny and full of heart,” said Hand – Rashida Jones, Tracey Ullman, Alan Tudyk and Stephen Fry.
The style of the film “allows for a lot of physical humor,” said Veerasunthorn.
“Billie’s powers are wonderful, but they invite danger. Her mother gives her a special bracelet [when she’s a child] – it limits her magic, ensuring she will never open another portal and endanger herself again,” noted Hand.
Years later, Billie keeps on rebelling – against everything. But she still doesn’t remove her bracelet. Until an accident happens, and she finds out who she really is.
“This creates a bit of a situation. But its draw is undeniable,” laughed Veerasunthorn.
But Billie doesn’t know anything about magic, which is a bit of a problem in Hexe, a realm of actual witches where she ends up. Luckily, she soon meets new friends: like Beef Roger Crummchuk.
“He’s a bit of a drinker, but in a Disney magical way. She’s able to convince him to help her and to rescue her mum,” she said.
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Eventually, Billie will be able to unlock her family’s secret.
Talking to Variety after the presentation, Veerasunthorn noted: “It became one of our True North goals as I joined this project. Have you ever been curious about your mom? And parents as people who live their life, just like us? As a kid, you don’t really see them that way.”
Hand noted: “It’s the core of the movie: it’s a mother-daughter love story.”
“Obviously, that means they don’t always start out where it feels like they’re in love. I think we all have the experience with our parents where we grow up and we see them first as these superheroes. And then you realize they’re people and they’re fallible.”
They wanted Billie to look like a “rebellious spirit,” said Hand.
“It really stems from this idea of feeling like she’s limited and she doesn’t quite know what to do with that, so it comes out in different ways,” he said, with Veerasunthorn recalling: “I went to school with uniforms when I was younger. Even to wear different shoes felt like I won the day by sneaking this one aspect in. It helps us honing in on the feeling of witchiness of this movie.”
Hand said: “She’s trying to figure out who she is, too. And that’s such a ripe age for a teenager to go through. Also, she’s not like our regular Disney characters. It’s a fascinating thing because we do a lot of very noble characters at our studio. I love that we’re not doing that this time.”
“If she breaks something, she doesn’t apologize. She would just sweep it under the rug. She’s the kind of character that pushes against limits. But sometimes, there’s a danger that comes with that,” added Veerasunthorn.
They wanted to create a universe with a new set of rules, she noted.
“Billie might think: ‘Oh, if I’m a witch, I would do this.’ And people go: ‘What are you talking about? We don’t do that here.’ We’re flipping the expectations.”
Hand said: “There’s this element of persecution [associated with witches] and that’s what Billie feels like she’s going through. It really speaks to who she is as a character and who she is as a person. She feels very connected to that world, and she has obviously a lot to learn about it. We get to learn it too, through her eyes.”
Or through the eyes of her new companions, like Beef Roger Crummchuk.
“Cats are such a huge thing with witches, so we loved playing with that idea, but there’s so much more to him. There’s a lot of fun to be had, but Beef’s sense of humor is definitely on the edge,” he noted.
Continuing Disney’s legacy of telling magical stories was a bit daunting at first.
“When we look into what magic means emotionally to people throughout time, it’s this yearning for an ability to do something about your situation that you might not feel like you have control over. This conversation was all really interesting to us,” said Veerasunthorn, with Hand noting: “It took us a long time to get to that point where it feels right. But now that we have it, it’s so cool. It’s really exciting when Billie’s able to finally figure out how to actually control it. It’s really satisfying.”
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