Walt Disney Animation and Pixar Panel Amazes Including Announcements of 'Gigantic' and 'Coco'

The Walt Disney Animation and Pixar Panel was hosted by John Lasseter started off with a bang as he began firing Hawaiian shirts out of a canon into the audience. This was just the beginning as Walt Disney Animation and Pixar previewed their upcoming films.

Zootopia:

Walt Disney Animation began with their preview of their next animated film, "Zootopia." Directors Byron Howard and Richard Moore along with producer Clark Spencer arrived on stage with Ginnifer Goodwin who voices Judy Hopps. Goodwin greeted fans with saying, "I'm not a Disney fan, I'm a Disney addict." Some casting notes singer, Shakira, will voice the role of Gazelle. Other notes included about the film include that sloths will run the DMV (Department of Mammal Vehicles) in the film. "Zootopia" opens up in theaters March 4, 2016.

Gigantic:

Clearly the breaking news of this part of the presentation was Lasseter announcing that Disney would be making its own version of the fairytale classic Jack and the Beanstalk with a film called "Gigantic." The film will take place in Spain during the 'age of discovery.' The film is set to debut in theaters in 2018. At the Animation pavilion they even hinted at the film with a giant beanstalk model. 

Songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, Oscar-winning writers from "Frozen," will also give a hand in writing songs for the film.

Moana:

"Moana" was the next film to be previewed. Directors John Muskar and Ron Clements as well as producer Osnat Shurer took the stage. The surprise guest however was Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson who will be lending his voice for the demigod Maui in the film. He greeted fans inside the panel by saying, "We're All Family." "Moana" will be about wayfinder in the South Pacific searching for a long-lost island. Footage was shown as well as a song from the film performed by Te Vaka as Johnson the led the audience in an ancient Samoan call. The film is due out in theaters on November 23, 2016.

Next up in the panel was the Pixar preview of the presentation. Some notes included for the first time ever two Pixar animated originals will be released this year with recently "Inside Out" being the first and "The Good Dinosaur" set to be released on Thanksgiving.

Fans were treated first with Joy, Sadness, Pete Docter, and Jonas Rivera took to the stage. They started off with a premier of their new animated short, "Riley's First Date." The short features our favorite "Inside Out" emotions as it ventures into the minds of Riley's parents when a boy shows up on their front door to see Riley. The short will be part of the bonus features when "Inside Out" is released digitally on October 13 and on Blu-Ray on November 3. 

The Good Dinosaur:

"The Good Dinosaur" is due out in theaters this Thanksgiving and Director Pete Sohn and Producer Denise Ream were there on stage previewing the film. Ream said, "In our story, nature is a character itself." Arlo, an apatosaurus, must face his fears and 3 t-rexes in the upcoming film. The three t-rexes will be voiced by AJ Buckley, Anna Paquin, and Sam Elliot. "The Good Dinosaur" premieres November 25, 2015.

Finding Dory:

Tons of news for "Finding Dory" with so much casting news. Director Andrew Stanton and Producer Lindsey Collins were welcomed to the stage by Lasseter. "On a deeper level, I felt Dory needed more development," Andrew Stanton said on what brought on the sequel. A hilarious montage of Ellen DeGeneres (Dory) complaining that their needed to be a sequel to "Finding Nemo" and to the crowds surprise Ellen shows up to the expo. In casting news, Diane Keaton and Eugene Levy will voice Dory's parents in the sequel. Ed O'Neill (Modern Family) will voice Hank, a grumpy septopus. Ty Burrell (Modern Family) will also voice a character in the movie as a beluga whale. Also joining the cast will be Kaitlin Olson. "Finding Dory" will be released in theaters in the Summer of 2016. 

Coco:

Pixar's version of the Mexican holiday Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) now has a name in "Coco" this was the breaking news from Pixar along with "Gigantic" from Walt Disney Animation. Lee Unkrich (Toy Story 3) will direct and Darla K. Anderson will produce the film. The story line will be about 12-year old Miguel (a spirited boy) growing up in rural Mexico with a big family. A clip was shown with people lighting candles in a cemetery, when suddenly dancing and singing skeletons appear to begin a party. A skeleton mask falls off of Miguel and the other skeletons gasp. No release date has been set but Pixar has slots for November 2017 and November 2018.

Toy Story 4:

It is the 20th Anniversary of "Toy Story" and what would the expo be without news about "Toy Story 4." Lasseter introduced himself as the director of the film. Galyn Susman will be the producer and she said, "It's going to take Toy Story in a very new and exciting direction." Co-writer Rashida Jones said it was a dream come true to be writing this film. It was then revealed that "Toy Story 4" will be a love story between Woody and Bo Peep. Music will be written by Randy Newman (You've Got a Friend in Me). Newman was then joined on stage by Toy Story characters as he performed the song "You've Got a Friend in Me" to end the presentation. 

OH Wait there's more, Pixar revealed it is working on sequels to these Pixar films, FINALLY:

Posters in the Pixar pavilion show Pixar is working on sequels with "Cars" and "The Incredibles" in "Cars 3" and "Incredibles 2" both coming soon.