Disney Branded Television announces new animation titles at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, as well as several series renewals.
Today, during the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, Disney Branded Television (DBT) announced a lineup of new animated projects and shared first looks from its industry-leading preschool and kids-focused slate. The announcements were made 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.
Additionally, Disney Television Animation commemorated its illustrious 40-year anniversary at the festival with a special panel highlighting the studio’s dominance in kids’ animation over four decades — with beloved titles like “Phineas and Ferb,” “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse,” “Monsters at Work,” “The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder,” “Sofia the First” and more — as well as current and future hits ranging from “Kiff” to “Big City Greens,” “ZOMBIES: The Re-Animated Series,” “Hamster & Gretel,” and “StuGo.”
Disney Jr., Disney Television Animation and International Animation teams will feature several additional panels throughout the week, including one that highlights the power of storytelling through music and features “Disney Jr.’s Ariel,” “Kindergarten: The Musical,” “ZOMBIES: The Re-Animated Series,” “Kiff” and “Big City Greens,” as well as a panel for the upcoming global series “The Doomies.”
“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.”
Ayo Davis
New Disney Branded Television Series
PREP & LANDING: THE SNOWBALL PROTOCOL
22-minute special
In this new installment of the Emmy®-winning holiday specials, the high-tech team of elves from the elite unit known as Prep and Landing is back! When their holiday missions go awry, Wayne thinks he is in BIG trouble with Santa, which opens a vault of merry mishaps from the past. It’s going to be hard to dig their way out of the snowbank this time in “Prep & Landing: The Snowball Protocol.”
The special will debut next year.
MARVEL’S MOON GIRL AND DEVIL DINOSAUR: MOON GIRL’S LAB
Shorts
“Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur: Moon Girl’s Lab” is a new musical S.T.E.M.-focused short-form series in which Moon Girl is dropping knowledge AND dropping bars as she uses the power of science to take down some serious baddies. Each of the eight shorts will feature a new song by GRAMMY Award® winner Raphael Saadiq, who serves as executive music producer on the series, and a science theme, including adaptations, states of matter, plants, force and motion, light, echolocation, and coding.
The shorts will premiere Friday, June 28, on Disney Channel and Disney Channel YouTube. All eight shorts will be available on Disney+ the same day.
SUPERKITTIES: SU-PURR ADVENTURES
Shorts
“SuperKitties: Su-Purr Adventures” is a new short-form series inspired by 2023’s No. 1 new preschool series, “SuperKitties.” It features Bitsy, Ginny, Sparks and Buddy as they showcase their superhero skills and kitty kindness that they use to work together as a team to make their town of Kittydale a great place to live.
The shorts will premiere Wednesday, Aug. 7, on Disney Jr. and Disney Channel and next day, Thursday, Aug. 8, on Disney+ and Disney Jr. YouTube.
Big City Greens Renewed For Season Five
Greenlit for a fifth season today, “Big City Greens” was the No. 2 most-watched kids animated series of 2023, with more than 2 billion hours watched across linear and streaming since it debuted in 2018. The series follows the offbeat adventures of 10-year-old Cricket Green (voiced by Chris Houghton), a mischievous and optimistic country boy who moved to the big city with his wildly out-of-place family.
The show is heavily influenced by the brothers’ childhood growing up in St. Johns, Michigan, a small rural town north of Lansing, also known as the mint capital of the world. Many of the characters are inspired by real-life family members and childhood townsfolk.
This summer also marks the premiere of “Big City Greens the Movie: Spacecation,” which will be screened at Annecy as part of the prestigious Le Pâquier lawn screening series. Additionally, Anna O’Brian, director of the movie, has joined the series for season five as executive producer.
STAR WARS: YOUNG JEDI ADVENTURES Season Two Gets Premiere Date
Season two of “Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures” will premiere Wednesday, Aug. 14, on Disney+ and Disney Jr. In the new season, Kai Brightstar, Lys Solay and Nubs are ready for more adventures! Dressed in their new mission gear, the young heroes will embark on even bigger missions across the galaxy as they continue their Jedi training.
Disney Branded Television First Looks
DISNEY JR.’S ARIEL
An exclusive first-look clip from the highly anticipated new series “Disney Jr.’s Ariel” was released today. Inspired by the beloved story of “The Little Mermaid,” the series debuts Thursday, June 27, on Disney Jr. in the U.S. with an initial batch of eight episodes available on Disney+ the following day, Friday, June 28. The series follows 8-year-old mermaid princess Ariel as she and her friends embark on fun-filled, action-packed underwater adventures throughout their Caribbean-inspired fairytale kingdom of Atlantica and beyond.
KINDERGARTEN: THE MUSICAL
The main title theme song — performed by GRAMMY Award-winning and Tony® Award-nominated actress and singer Eva Noblezada (“The Great Gatsby”) — and key art for Disney Jr.’s upcoming new series “Kindergarten: The Musical” was also released today. The series follows 5-year-old Berti, who, along with her new friends, is navigating all the exciting and emotional experiences that come with starting school for the very first time.
Taking place in a kindergarten classroom at Porter Elementary, the series features fantastical Broadway-style song and dance numbers that help kids express their big feelings and provide a peek into their incredible imaginations. The series is set to debut on Disney Jr. and Disney+ later this year.
STUGO
The main title theme song for “StuGo” was also released today. The series follows six overambitious middle schoolers tricked into attending a fake academic summer camp by a mad scientist. Now they’re stuck for three months on a wild tropical island with mind-reading manatees, giant fighting fungi and fashion-forward mutants ― less academia than they’d hoped for but a lot more adventure. The series is set to premiere this fall on Disney Channel and Disney+.
THE DOOMIES
An exclusive first look of Disney’s new spooky comedy animated series, “The Doomies,” was released today. The chilling series follows best friends Bobby and Romy, who mistakenly open a gateway to the underworld and turn their sleepy coastal town into a hotspot for terrifying creatures of doom. As they try to cover up their mess, they get roped into an epic monster mystery, which will see them battle both literal and inner demons.