Olaf Draws! Animation Experience Coming To Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Disney is adding something exciting to the new “Magic of Disney Animation” experience coming to the old Launch Bay at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

The original plans sound like fancy meet-and-greets and a playground, but now Disney has unveiled something that is a bit more exciting–an animatronic Olaf.

Olaf Draws!

This new show features an Audio-Animatronic Olaf as guests explore the art of animation.

You are seated in a space made to look like an animator’s studio, with Frozen-themed sleigh-tables and animator desk-style workstations.

Here you will learn about animation with the help of “some legendary Disney Animation artists” through a pre-recorded, step-by-step show.

It reminds me of the old drawing “Animation Academy” classes they offered in the building years ago.

Take a look!

Josh Gad has returned to voice Olaf for this attraction.

Throwback to the past

This one hits home for me. Once upon a time, I wanted to be a Disney animator so badly. When my family went to Walt Disney World, we would always visit the Animation building and watch the animators work. Back when the park was called Disney’s MGM Studios. (It took me forever to stop calling it MGM Studios).

For those who don’t remember, the building was originally a working animation studio. You toured and could look down into the room while animators worked on “Mulan” and “Lilo and Stitch”.

Here is a list of films they worked on at the Florida studio, according to Cartoon Research.

• The Little Mermaid (1989) — Florida artists contributed ink and paint support to the film
• The Rescuers Down Under (1990) — About 10 minutes of the 77-minute sequel to 1977’s The Rescuers was animated in Florida, as well as 10 minutes of the Mickey Mouse short feature The Prince and the Pauper double-billed with the movie.
• Beauty and the Beast (1991) — Florida animators assisted in the “Be Our Guest” sequence.
• The Lion King (1994) — Florida animators provided about 20 minutes of the film, including the “I Just Can’t Wait to be King” sequence
• Pocahontas (1995) — Florida animators contributed about 18 minutes to the film, including scenes involving Pocahontas’ father, Chief Powhatan.
• The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) — Florida animators were only responsible for about 4 minutes of this movie, including scenes involving both Quasimodo and the villain Judge Frollo.
• Mulan (1998) — This was the first animated feature film produced primarily by Walt Disney Feature Animation Florida at Disney-MGM Studios, all while theme park guests watched. It is also the first Disney animated feature made outside of Burbank.
• The Emperor’s New Groove (2000) Additional Animation Production Services
• Dinosaur (2000) Additional Animation Production Services
• Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) Additional Animation Production Services.
• Lilo and Stitch (2002) — Made almost entirely in Florida, this film was nominated for an Academy Award for best animated feature.
• Brother Bear (2003) — The last major film to be released by the Florida studio.

It’s exciting to see animation return to the “Animation Courtyard”.

What do you think? Comment and let us know!