Disney Unveils ‘Moon Girl’ Musical Shorts Series, ‘Big City Greens’ Season 5 Order and First-Look Clip for ‘Disney Junior’s Ariel’ (EXCLUSIVE)
Disney Branded Television continues its long and fruitful relationship with the Annecy Animation Festival today with an annual presentation of project greenlights and series renewals. The company is also sharing first looks at exciting upcoming shows and specials from its preschool and kid-focused slate.
Detailed descriptions of the titles showcased in this year’s presentation are available below, but highlights from today’s panel include new shorts series announcements for “Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur: Moon Girl’s Lab” and “SuperKitties: Su-Purr Adventure,” a fifth season order of “Big City Greens,” and the second season release date and first look images from “Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures.”
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First looks are also being provided for upcoming series including “Disney Jr.’s Ariel,” “Kindergarten: The Musical,” “StuGo” and “The Doomies,” the latter of which will host an Annecy Work in Progress session on Wednesday morning.
The day’s news is being presented by Ayo Davis, president of Disney Branded Television, alongside DBT animation leaders Meredith Roberts, executive vice president of Disney Television Animation; Alyssa Sapire, senior vice president of Development, Series and Strategy, Disney Jr.; and Orion Ross, vice president, International Animation.
This year is Disney Television Animation’s 40th anniversary, and Annecy is celebrating the occasion with a special panel spotlighting the company’s prolific and impactful output over the past four decades. Disney Jr., Disney Television Animation and International Animation teams will also host several other dedicated panels later in the week.
According to Davis: “Disney Branded Television is proud of our four-decade legacy of creating magical and visually stunning animation beloved by young audiences around the world. It’s a momentous year at Annecy as we celebrate our studio’s milestone anniversary and showcase some of our most exciting new projects and creative talent that are ushering us into a new era of storytelling.”
Greenlights and New Series
“Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur: Moon Girl’s Lab”
One of 2023’s most outstanding kids and family debutants, “Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur” is back with a series of shorts from executive producers Laurence Fishburne, Helen Sugland and Steve Loter. The musical S.T.E.M.-focused series sees its titular protagonist use the power of science to take on a series of comic book villains. Delivered in eight parts, each short will feature an original science-themed song from Grammy-winner Raphael Saadiq, who serves as executive music producer on the series. Shorts will premiere on Friday, Jun. 28, on Disney Channel and Disney Channel YouTube and will be available on Disney+ on that same day.
“Prep & Landing: The Snowball Protocol”
Produced in-house by Disney Television Animation, this new 22-minute holiday-themed installment is written by Hilary Heldin and directed by Shane Zalvin. In the special, a North Pole mission goes haywire and elf Wayne fears he’s going to get in trouble with the boss, Santa. “The Snowball Protocol” will debut next year.
“Superkitties: Su-Purr Adventures”
Sony Pictures Television – Kids in association with Disney Jr. produce this series of animated shorts from creator Paula Rosenthal. Spun off from the popular preschool series “SuperKitties,” the shorts will showcase the feline cast’s superhero skills as they work together to make the town of Kittydale a safer place to live. Shorts will premiere Wednesday, Aug. 7, on Disney Jr. and Disney Channel and the next day, Thursday, Aug. 8, on Disney+ and Disney Jr. YouTube.
Series Renewals
“Big City Greens” Season Five
One of Disney’s hottest animated series, Chris and Shane Houghton’s “Big City Greens,” is officially getting a fifth season. This summer also marks the premiere of “Big City Greens the Movie: Spacecation,” which is playing as part of Annecy’s Le Pâquier lawn screening series. Anna O’Brian, who directed the movie, has joined season five of the show as executive producer.
Premiere Announcement
“Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures” Season Two
Produced by Lucasfilm in collaboration with Wild Canary for Disney+ and Disney Jr., “Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures” is introducing a whole new generation of little Jedi into the order. Season Two of the popular animated series will debut on Aug. 14 on Disney+ and Disney Jr. New first-look artwork is being shared today, seen below.
Annecy First Looks
“Disney Jr.’s Ariel”
Wild Canary, in association with Disney Jr., produces this highly anticipated animated series, which was first announced at last year’s DBT Annecy presentation. Today, the company released an exclusive first-look clip for the show, which debuts on Jun. 27 on Disney Jr. in the U.S. before eight episodes hit Disney+ the following day.
“Kindergarten: The Musical”
Disney will release a new main title theme song for Michelle Lewis and Charlton Pettus’ “Kindergarten: The Musical,” performed by Grammy and Tony-winning actress and singer Eva Noblezada. The series, which follows 5-year-old Berti and her schoolmates, will debut on Disney Jr. and Disney+ later this year.
“StuGo”
Disney has shared the main theme song for “StuGo,” an animated series about six overambitious middle schoolers who are tricked into attending a summer camp run by a mad scientist. The show is produced by Titmouse in association with Disney Channel and will premiere this fall on Disney Channel and Disney+.
“The Doomies”
Announced by Disney at Annecy in 2022, “The Doomies” gets an exclusive first look this afternoon before the show hosts an Annecy Work in Progress session on Wednesday morning at 11:30 a.m. Co-created by director Andrés Fernandez, head writer Henry Gifford and art director Rémi Zaarour, the show follows best friends Bobby and Romy, who accidentally open a portal to the underworld, transforming their serene coastal town into a hotbed of monstrous activity. Leading French indie outfit Xilam produces in association with Disney+.
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