[Annecy 2025] The Walt Disney Company’s Greatest Talents

This year, the Festival welcomes studio leaders Pete Docter (Pixar Animation Studios’ Chief Creative Officer) and Jared Bush (Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Chief Creative Officer), special honourees including celebrated Disney Animation director Ron Clements (The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, The Princess and the Frog) and The Simpsons creator Matt Groening, and renowned filmmakers and creative executives behind highly anticipated titles including Disney Animation’s Zootopia 2, Pixar’s Elio, Marvel Animation’s Eyes of Wakanda and 20th Television Animation’s The Simpsons.

Festival attendees will be treated to behind-the-scenes details, insight and a pair of exclusive screenings, including a new short and a full episode.

Jared Bush (Encanto, Zootopia, Moana) will unveil a sneak peek of the upcoming theatrical release Zootopia 2. The sequel to the global phenomenon sees detectives Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde on the twisting trail of a mysterious reptile who turns the animal metropolis upside down. The film is set for a theatrical release on November 26, 2025.

Pixar’s Chief Creative Officer Pete Docter (Monsters, Inc., Up, Inside Out, Soul) will host an exclusive presentation on Friday, June 13 showcasing Pixar’s upcoming slate of animated titles.

Docter will be joined on stage by Elio directors Madeline Sharafian (Burrow Spark Short) and Domee Shi (Bao short, Turning Red), and Producer Mary Alice Drumm (Coco). They will offer a sneak peek of footage from the 2025 Summer Pixar Animation Studio feature, which follows Elio, a young boy and space fanatic with an active imagination and a huge alien obsession.

Following Elio, Docter will continue to explore Pixar’s upcoming films, including first looks at the studio’s 2026 releases Hoppers, a heartwarming story about Mabel, an animal lover who seizes an opportunity to use new technology to ‘hop’ human consciousness into life-like robotic animals; and Toy Story 5, in which the Toys encounter new challenges when technology enters the picture.

2025 is Toy Story‘s 30th anniversary, and in celebration of this milestone, Docter will share little-before-seen footage of Pixar as a nascent studio working to create this film that would forever change animation. In recognition of his contributions to animation, Oscar®-winning Director Pete Docter will also be inducted into Annecy’s Walk of Fame.

On Monday, June 9, Marvel Animation will host an exclusive premiere screening of the first episode of the action-adventure series Eyes of Wakanda. The story follows the adventures of brave Wakandan warriors throughout history. In this globe-trotting adventure, the heroes must carry out dangerous missions to retrieve Vibranium artifacts from the enemies of Wakanda. Director and Executive Producer Todd Harris will be on hand for a conversation about the four-episode series event, which premieres August 6, 2025, exclusively on Disney+.

During a Studio Focus session on Tuesday, June 10, attendees will get an exclusive look at the upcoming anime-inspired Disney+ Original series Dragon Striker. Set in a world where sports and magic combine, the creative team at Chouette Studios, including Executive Producer and Co-Creator Sylvain Dos Santos, Director and Co-Creator Charles Lefebvre, Head Writer Paul McKeown, and Art Director Claire Sun, will take audiences through the creative development journey of the series, from the genesis of the project to the international music studio sessions and the artistic complexities involved in the production process, accompanied by stunning visuals.

Additionally, animated buddy comedy, Kiff, will compete as an official TV Films selection at this year’s festival.

Matt Groening, creator and executive producer of The Simpsons, along with Executive Producer and Showrunner Matt Selman and consulting Producer/Animator David Silverman, will attend the Festival. Annecy will honor Groening’s extraordinary contributions to animation and pop culture this year and will provide fans and professionals with the rare opportunity to experience unique moments with Groening, Selman and Silverman, who all bring The Simpsons to life.

The trio will participate in several key events during the Festival, including an exclusive Screening Event on June 10, where they will share insights into the creation of The Simpsons and its impact on the animation industry. That same day, an Honorary Cristal will be presented to Groening in recognition of his outstanding contribution to animation. On June 11, Silverman will take part in a live drawing session at the Campus Mifa.

Lucasfilm will present the world premiere of Black, a brand-new Star Wars: Visions short from David Production as part of the Short Films competition. Black is written and directed by legendary animator Shinya Ohira, who also served as character designer, animation director and a key animator. The short follows a psychedelic battle between past and present, light and dark, and life and death that plays out in the haunted psyche of an Imperial trooper who is on the cusp of defeat. The third volume of Star Wars: Visions, comprising of nine shorts by nine visionary Japanese anime studios, will be streamed on Disney+ later this year.

Lucasfilm will also present Devotion, an episode from the critically acclaimed Star Wars: Tales of the Empire, in the Official Selection TV Films Competition. Created by Supervising Director Dave Filoni (The Clone Wars, The Mandalorian) and directed by Saul Ruiz, this chapter follows former Jedi Barriss Offee, once an enemy of the Republic, who is inducted into the New Galactic Empire’s division of Inquisitors.