Over the weekend, I had the pleasure of attending the 2nd happiest place on Earth, D23 Expo at Aneheim, California! It was a truly magical experience! For those of you unfamiliar with it, it's a convention held once every two years at Anaheim, California right by Disneyland, and it's a celebration of all things Disney. Think of it as Disney's Comic Con. And since Disney has pretty much dominated geek culture in recent years, first with Marvel and soon with Star Wars, why wouldn't they have their own Comic Con?
I have been to three D23 Expos in my life, and this one blew all of them away! I saw and did so much cool stuff, I can't describe it all in one breath! Just like Disneyland itself, the D23 Expo is full of so many fun things to do, you can't do it all in one day! So, I've decided to write a list of some the best moments I'll remember forever from my D23 experience.
5. Cosplay galore!
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| If only Elsa could have used her powers to make us cool off from that heat! |
Like every convention, the D23 Expo was swarming with fans cosplaying as their favorite characters, raging from Star Wars to Marvel to Disney!
The most interesting cosplayed I encountered was Captain Jack Sparrow.
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| Could this have been the REAL Capt. Jack Sparrow? Or was I just drinking too much rum? |
Johnny Depp actually was at D23 two days in a row, to receive a Disney Legend Award (more on that later) and to promote the 5th installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, and he did so by dressing up as Captain Jack Sparrow on stage! After that panel was over, I went to the food trucks to have lunch with a group of people, and one of them told me he took a selfie with Captain Jack Sparrow, and said that it was Johnny Depp in person! Someone sitting next to him said her friend who works at Disneyland told her that it was, in fact, Johnny Depp being in character. So after lunch, I walked in the convention center looking for my sister, and I walked into Capt. Jack Sparrow. I thought to myself, "Could that be Johnny Depp?" I couldn't tell, really. He was so into character. He looked like Johnny Depp, he sounded like Johnny Depp, I figured "It must be Johnny Depp!" So I took a selfie with him, and I asked for his autograph. He said "I don't think we're allowed to sign autographs." I said "Please?" And he got a sharpie from his pocket, and signed my Souvenir Guide.
I was so convinced that was Johnny Depp, that I announced it on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram! I got so excited! But then, I compared the signature from my book to Mr. DEPP's signature online, and it looked slightly different.
I guess I'll never know if that actually was Johnny Depp. If it was just a cosplayer, then he must be one do the best cosplayers I ever saw! He actually fooled
me into thinking he was Johnny Depp!
But my favorite Cosplay moment involved not one, but a group of cosplayers! At some time around Noon, a group of people, which included cosplays such as Aladdin, Aurora, and Ariel, came together to sing one of my favorite Disney songs, The Circle of Life! (Link to video below picture)
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=arAAvbW9LT4
As for my Cosplay, well since it was a Disney convention, I thought this would be appropriate.
4. Disney Animation Panel
The heart of the Walt Disney Company is without a doubt their animated films. From the very firstfull length animated feature Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to the latest Pixar film, Inside Out. Disney has a rich 78 year animation library. And they have even more gems to fill it with!
At the Disney Animation presentation, hosted by the legendary John Lasseter (who gave some of his signature Hawaiian shirts to some lucky audience members through a shirt cannon), we got some juicy details from some of their upcoming films. The Good Dinosaur, which could be The Land Before Time for a new generation.
Moana, which is like a Hawaiian Pocohantis, and even has Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in the cast, who
Made a suprise appearance!
Coco, a film about the Mexican holiday, Dia De Las Muertos, which could also be Pixar's answer to Book Of Life.
Finding Dory, the sequel to the beloved classic, Finding Nemo, that follows Dory (Ellen Degeneres, who also
Made a suprise appearance, and got a standing ovation), as she suddenly
Remembers her parents, and swims across the ocean to find them.
Albert Brooks returns, along with new cast including
Embers Ed O' Neil, Ty Burell, and the great Diane Keaton.
My favorite bit of footage was from Zootopia!
I have to be honest, when I first saw the teaser for Zootopia in front of Inside Out, I was kind of skeptical. I thought it looked cute, but nothing more. But then I saw the footage at D23, and it was absolutely hilarious! I don't want to describe any of the footage because
I want you to see it for yourself! But I will say that it follows the adventures of
Nick Wilde (Jason Batemen) and Lt. Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) as they put aside their differences to save Zootopia.
The presentation ended with John Lasseter giving a special announcement about the plot summary of the highly anticipated Toy Story 4!
It will be directed by John Lasseter, with a script written by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack. And it will be a love story about Woody and Buzz Lightyear going to search... For Bo Peep!
The audience errupted in applause at the announcement, because let's face it. We all secretly rooted for Woody and Bo Peep to get together!
And to send us off on a high note, the great Randy Newman played one of his greatest hits, You've Got A Friend In Me. It made my heart soar to infinity and beyond!
3. Eric Goldberg
That's right. Eric Goldberg! The supervising animator of one of the all time great Disney characters, Genie from Aladdin!
On the last day of D23, Eric Goldberg led a presentation called The Appeal of Animation, where he talked about the appeal of animated characters through their movements and facial expressions. He showed us a little bit of For The First Time In Forever from Frozen, and put it on mute, so we can describe Ana's personality through her movements and expressions. Like she's happy, upbeat, entranced, and a dreamer. Goldberg said this fascinating qute from an animator on Looney Tunes. "If you can tell what's hap pinging with just image, it's animation. If you can tell what is happening with just the sound, it's radio."
Aftr the presentation, I got to meet and get an autograph from Eric Goldberg. I asked him if it was hard to keep up with Robin Williams in the animation process. He replied "It's a good thing we didn't animate while he was talking!" Indeed!
2. Disney Legends Awards
The Disney Legend Awards is a prestigious honor in the Walt Disney Company. It is a special honor given to those who have contributed the most to the legacy of the House that Walt built. Whether it be through films, television, theme parks, or consumer products. This year, the honorees included:
George Bodenheimer, former Executive Chsirman of ESPN
Andreas Deja, Character Animator of Gaston in Beauty and the Beast, Jafar in Aladdin, Scar in The Lion King, etc.
Eyvind Earle, the Background Aniator on Sleeping Beauty
Susan Lucci, the Emmy Award-Winning star of All My Children.
Julie Reihm Casaletto, former Disneyland Ambassador
Carson Can Osten, former Vice President of Creative Resources for Consumer Products
Danny Elfman, the composer of The Nightmare Before Christmas (and the singing voice of Jack Skellington), Alice In Wonderland, Batman, and so much more!
And of course, George Lucas! The creator of two of the most beloved franchises of all time, Indiana Jones and Star Wars! And with anticipation for The Force Awakens intensifying, it appears the love the world has for George's vision won't fade away any time soon!
And there was a last minute Disney Legend Homoree announced! He had appeared in three of the highest grossing films of all time for Disney, and had redefined pirates for this generation! That's right, Johnny Depp!
When he walked on stage, he received a standing ovation, and squeals from girls.
"There's a word I don't like, and that's 'fan'. To me, it means one is above, and another is below. I prefer to call you my employers."
The ceremony also had appearances from other past Disney Legends such as Richard Sherman, and Dick Van Dyke, who was in the audience!
There was even a special tribute to the irreplaceable Robin Williams by Ne-Yo, who performed Friend Like Me. If only Robin were there to see it. He would have loved it. We ain't never had a friend like him.
1. Live Action Panel (WITH STAR WARS THEME PARK ANNOUNCED!!!)
Of all the things I went to at D23, the biggest highlight was hands down the Live Action Presentstion, hosted by Disney Chairman Alan Horn! Where do I start?
We got cool concept art from Doctor Strange (starring Benedict Cumberpatch) which feels like a cosmic Inception. We even got exciting new footage of Captain America: Civil War! And it doesn't look like Captain America and Iron Man are getting along!
We even got cool Pirates 5 up. Such as the return of Will Turner (Orlando Bloom)! And Johnny Depp even came out on stage dressed as his most popular character, Captain Jack Sparrow! And be was totally in character! It's not everyday you get to see Johnny Depp on stage. But TWO days in a row? Now that's something to treasure!
We even got behind the scenes footage of Beauty and the Beast, and saw a photo of Emma Watson as Belle! And she looks like she'll nail the part, as we all knew she would. Josh Gad and Luke Eveans even sang What A Guy That Gaston!
The live action film footage that stood out the most for me was The Jungle Book.
Directed by Jon Favreau (Iron Man, Elf, Chef, etc.) and with a dream cast including Bill Murray as Balloo the Bear, Ben Kingsley as Baghera, Scarlett Johansson as Kaa the Snake, and Christopher Walken as King Louie, The Jungle Book will have all the elements that made us fall in love with the original classic, but also feel fresh and exciting enough for a new generation.
But, surprising nobody, it was Star Wars that won the convention. And they did so without any Force Awakens footage! They announced the cast of Star Wars: Rogue One, which included Felicity Jones, announced that Collin Terrevarro (Jurassic World) will direct Star Wars Episode IX, had J.J. ABRAMS come on stage, followed by John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Oscar Isaac, and Lulita N'yongo, unveiled a new teaser poster drawn by Drew Struzan, and gave every guest one to take home,
introduced Harrison Ford on stage, who received the bigger standing ovation from the D23 audience all weekend! (And yes, that includes Dwayne "The Rock"
Johnson)!
But the grand daddy announcement was a brand new Star Wars theme park! That will take place in Florida... And Aneheim!!!!
Fans will get to actually feel like they are in the Star Wars Universe! There will be droids, aliens, and even a real Cantina! Visitors will even get to ride the Millenium Falcon!
Bob Iger said it should cover 14 acres of land, the biggest expansion in Disney Park's history! Where it will be in disneyland is unconfirmed as of right now. But one thing's for sure. Tbe day that Star Wars Park opens, I will be first in line! Annual Pass or not!
And that was my D23 Expo experience! Did you go to D23 Expo? If yes, what was your favorite part? Let me know. Hope you have a magical day, may the Force be with you, and may all your dreams come true!
