Media giant Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS) is using the Annecy International Animation Film Festival to highlight upcoming new animated series that will hit Disney+ and other Disney platforms in 2023. Here’s a look at what was unveiled.
What Happened: Disney used the festival as a place to highlight upcoming new original animated shows and announced some increased episode orders, according to a report from Variety.
Among the shows getting additional seasons included “Monsters at Work,” “Chip ‘n’ Dale: Park Life,” “Marvel’s Spidey and his Amazing Friends” and “Mickey Mouse Funhouse.”
A new animated series based on the movie franchise “Zombies,” which has aired on Disney’s television channels was announced as in production at Disney Television Animation.
Disney announced a new season is coming for hit series “PJ Masks: Power Heroes” with the heroes joined by an “expanded crime-fighting team.”
Disney also announced the new series “Dragon Striker,” which it calls its first serialized anime-style show in Europe.
In the EMEA region, Disney will partner with other companies for series such as “Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir,” “Ghost Force,” “The Unstoppable Yellow Yeti” and “Viking Skool.”
Disney also showed off a sneak peek of “Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures,” a Star Wars animated series aimed at preschoolers set for a 2023 premiere on both Disney Junior and Disney+.
Related Link: The Force Is Strong With Obi-Wan Kenobi, Streaming Series Breaks Disney+ Records
Why It’s Important: Disney used the event to highlight its strength in the animation and family segments amongst streaming platforms.
“The announcement out of Annecy today further cements Disney as the leader in animation,” Disney Branded Television President Ayo Davis said. “These new series represent the very best from our teams at Disney Television Animation and Disney Junior.”
Rivals such as Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) are increasing the amount of family content they have on their platforms. Netflix recently devoted an entire day of its Geeked Week highlighting upcoming content to focus on animation, both for kids and adults.
Disney ended the most recent quarter with 137.7 million subscribers for its Disney+ streaming platform worldwide.
While the company has strong brands such as Disney, Marvel and Pixar to leverage for the streaming platform, Wednesday’s presentation showed it has many original and partnered shows planned outside its large franchises to beef up its animated content.
DIS Price Action: Disney shares are up 1.85% to $95.96 on Wednesday at publication.
Photo: "Chip ‘n’ Dale: Park Life," Courtesy Disney
