Every Disney Fan Needs to Watch ‘Once Upon a Studio’ and Cry

This is a preview of our pop culture newsletter The Daily Beast’s Obsessed, written by editor Kevin Fallon. To receive the full newsletter in your inbox each week, sign up for it here.

This week:

• A truly spectacular acting performance.

• Eight minutes of heartwarming joy.

• The most charming celebrity interview.

• Millie Bobby Brown said what?

• Martin Scorsese speaks for the people.

Finally, a Nice Thing!

I think that if Hercules were around today, one of his labors would be “don’t be cynical for 15 minutes,” and he would just shrug those bulging, muscular shoulders and be like, “You know what, Eurystheus? It was a good run. Slaying the lion was one thing. This one… I can’t make miracles happen.”

Well bless my soul, because I guess ol’ Herc pulled it off. He is one of over 100 Disney characters who appear together in the new Disney short film Once Upon a Studio, which was released this week on Disney+ to commemorate the studio’s 100-year anniversary. There’s been several reasons to roll my eyes over this occasion; in addition to nostalgia and celebration, Disney capitalized on the occasion by raising prices for its streaming service and theme park. But then I watched Once Upon a Studio, and my frozen heart melted. (I always did love that power lesbian Elsa.)

The short has a wonderfully simple premise. The halls of the Roy E. Disney Animation building are lined with production cels from the studio’s movies. Legendary Disney animator Burny Mattinson is leaving the office for the day and says, “If these walls could talk…” When he’s gone, the characters burst from their frames and race through the halls as Mickey exasperatingly tries to corral them all for a 100th anniversary photo.

Moana surfaces from the ocean, and catches Flounder when he emerges. Merlin, Cogsworth, and the Mad Hatter are chatting at the coffee bar, while Mrs. Potts pours a spot of tea. Chicken Little, Gaston, Prince John, Doc the Dwarf, Thomas O’Malley, and the Brooklyn twink from Atlantis: The Lost Empire (edit: apparently his name Milo) are in the men’s bathroom, where the Cheshire Cat pranks them. Donald Duck gets peeved about having to hold the elevator door for the slow-moving DMV sloth from Zootopia.

Because the short uses archival recordings in addition to new material from iconic voice actors, Robin Williams’ Genie and Josh Gad’s Olaf get to pal around, too. “I haven’t seen a fall like that since Rome,” Genie quips after startling Olaf, confirming that even the Genie regularly thinks about the Roman Empire.

It’s just all so… nice. A singalong to “When You Wish Upon a Star” is so corny that it works, especially when the final title card flashes across the screen at the end: “To all who have imagined with us, laughed with us, and dreamed with us, thank you.” No, you cried.

Can I Be Their Friend?

I’m aware that what I’m about to say sounds like an exaggeration, but that’s how much I mean it: Jonathan Groff, Lindsay Mendez, and Daniel Radcliffe’s “Lie Detector” video for Vanity Fair is the most charming celebrity interview I have ever seen. I will not be revealing how many times I’ve watched it.

The three actors are currently starring in the Broadway revival of Merrily We Roll Along, which I hear is sensational and have (very expensive) tickets to see next week. The gimmick of the “Lie Detector” video is that they each take a turn in the hot seat while the other two ask lightly embarrassing questions like, “Do you ever Google yourself?” and “Have you ever looked at your fan accounts?” It’s silly and innocuous, and should be boring. But these three are so clearly great friends who genuinely enjoy each other’s company, and they turn the segment into a laugh riot.

Undeniably, the best bit is when Groff is asked about his propensity for spitting while singing, and can’t stop beginning his answer with the unintentionally vulgar, “I get wet…” Trying to describe why it’s so funny doesn’t do it justice, so just watch it yourself and smile for a few minutes. (Watch it here.)

I Didn’t See That Coming

Sometimes I think that modern celebrities are so self-conscious about their image and afraid of being canceled, and are so guarded by their publicists and teams, that they never say anything interesting in interviews anymore. (Unless they’re being interviewed by me, of course. Then never in the history of Hollywood has anyone said anything more fascinating.)

I was proved wrong this week by Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown. In an interview with Glamour, she was asked about her journey as a feminist. I wouldn’t expect that to be surprising. However, I was alerted to this by a tweet reporting what she said on the topic, and I promise you I could never have imagined how the sentence would end when I began reading it.

I Stand With Marty

In an interview with the Associated Press, Martin Scorsese spoke about how his creative process involves steering clear of computers and shared his thoughts on emails: “Emails, they scare me. It says ‘CC’ and there are a thousand names. Who are these people?”

Sir, I see you. Seriously, WHO ARE THEY?

What to watch this week:

The Persian Version: Fair warning: This Sundance hit will make you want to call your mom. (Now in theaters)

Killers of the Flower Moon: It’s long. It’s good… but it’s long. (Now in theaters)

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills: Bravo’s hour-long Ozempic commercial is finally back! (Wed. on Bravo)

What to skip this week

Old Dads: A comedian complaining about wokeness. Truly groundbreaking. (Now on Netflix)

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