Walt Disney and Lighthouse Immersive partner for immersive animation experience That Will Tour Globally

Walt Disney announced it will partner with Lighthouse Immersive Studios, the same company that created the Immersive Van Gogh, to develop a Disney Animation Immersive Experience, a traveling experience of Disney animation which will world premiere in Toronto this December before heading across the U.S. and other territories in 2023.

Disney Animation: Immersive Experience will debut at Lighthouse ArtSpace Toronto in December 2022, and will subsequently be seen in Cleveland, Nashville, Detroit, Denver, Boston, San Antonio, Las Vegas, Minneapolis and Columbus in the first four months of 2023. Additional cities are currently being scheduled and Tokyo will be the first city outside of North America to receive Disney Animation: Immersive Experience.

“The collaboration with Lighthouse Immersive is a first for Disney Animation,” said Clark Spencer, president, Walt Disney Animation Studios and two-time Academy Award®-winner (Encanto, Zootopia). “It’s a dream to bring the best of animated storytelling together with the top experts in the immersive art experience. We can’t wait for audiences around the world, of all ages, to experience the great moments from our legacy of feature films in this incredible way.”

“Like so many of us, I have a life-long love of Disney films,” said Lighthouse Immersive founder Corey Ross. “I’ve grown up with them since childhood and so has my family. The work lends itself brilliantly to the immersive experience and I am confident this program will give our guests the opportunity to be engulfed in the world of Disney, making them feel like they’re standing next to their favorite characters and seeing the world through their eyes.”

The creative team for the Disney Animation Immersive Experience is led by Oscar®-winning producer J. Miles Dale(Best Picture 2018 -The Shape of Water) who said, “Trailblazing in a new medium is always exciting, and this is truly going to be the most challenging and rewarding project of my career. Being entrusted with Disney’s rich archive of animation is a great honor, but also a tremendous responsibility. With such a wealth of material and a treasure trove of memorable characters, it will be a thrill to bring the work of all the great Disney animators and performers to life in a 360-degree immersive environment.”  Mexico City-based Cocolab is working with Dale and the Creative Legacy team at Walt Disney Animation Studios to develop the program for Lighthouse Immersive Studios. Special Projects ProducerDorothy McKim (Oscar-nominated, Get A Horse!) is spearheading the project for Disney Animation.

Lighthouse’s global creative director David Korins is leading development on new interactive lobby elements for ticket holders to participate in both before and after their time in the immersive gallery.