LIGHTHHOUSE IMMERSIVE STUDIOS AND WAKLT DISNEY ANIMATION ARE BRINGING A NEW IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE TO 9 LIGHTHOUSE ARTSPACES ACROSS NORTH AMERICA
TORONTO–Walt Disney Animation Studios recently announced that it will collaborate with Lighthouse Immersive Studios, the producers of the blockbuster Immersive Van Gogh, to develop Disney Animation: Immersive Experience, which is going to Lighthouse ArtSpace venues across North America in late 2022/early 2023. Tickets to this one-of-a-kind immersive experience start at $39.99 and went on sale at the following local times in each market at disneyimmersive.com on Wednesday: Disney Animation: Immersive Experience – Courtesy of Lighthouse Immersive Studios
Toronto | 10 a.m. ET
Denver | 10:30 a.m. MT
Cleveland | 11 a.m. ET
Detroit | 11:30 a.m. ET
Boston | 12 p.m. ET
Nashville | 12:30 p.m. CT
Columbus | 1 p.m. ET
Minneapolis | 1 p.m. CT
San Antonio | 1:30 p.m. CT
Creating iconic animated stories for all ages for nearly a century, Walt Disney Animation Studios will join forces with North America's top creator of experiential projection exhibitions to present the music and artistry within Disney Animation's canon of films—from hits of today like Encanto, Zootopia and Frozen, to all of the classics including The Lion King, Peter Pan and Pinocchio. Audiences will feel like they've entered the incredible worlds of beloved Disney characters and become one with them.
The opening dates for each city are as follows:
Toronto | Dec. 21, 2022
Cleveland | Jan. 19, 2023
Nashville | Feb. 9, 2023
Detroit | Feb. 9, 2023
Denver | Feb. 16, 2023
Boston | Feb. 23, 2023
San Antonio | Feb. 28, 2023
Minneapolis | March 23, 2022
Columbus | April 6, 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 Producer Dorothy McKim (Oscar-nominated, Get A Horse!) is spearheading the project for Disney Animation.
The audience experience will be further enhanced by Lighthouse Immersive's Global Creative Director David Korins, (Tony Award®-nominee whose credits include more than 20 Broadway shows including Hamilton, and an Emmy Award® winner for Grease Live). Korins will develop never-before-seen interactive lobby elements that guests can enjoy before or after entering the gallery.
Ross captures the excitement both Disney and Lighthouse Immersive feel for the project as he describes how it begins: "Just imagine journeying through Zootopia with Judy Hopps, diving to the ocean floor with Ariel, flying on a magic carpet with Aladdin, and stepping into Casita with Mirabel and the family Madrigal. This is where the Disney Animation: Immersive Experience will take you."
Collaborating with Lighthouse Immersive is the Creative Legacy team of Walt Disney Animation Studios, helping bring their library of films to audiences in a manner never before experienced.
ABOUT WALT DISNEY ANIMATION STUDIOS: Combining masterful artistry and storytelling with groundbreaking technology, Walt Disney Animation Studios is a filmmaker-driven animation studio responsible for creating some of the most beloved films ever made. WDAS continues to build on its rich legacy of innovation and creativity, from the first fully-animated feature film, 1937's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, to 2019's Frozen 2, the biggest animated film of all time, to our 60th animated feature, the Academy Award®-winning Encanto. Among the studio's timeless creations are Pinocchio, Sleeping Beauty, The Jungle Book, The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Frozen, Big Hero 6 and Zootopia.
ABOUT LIGHTHOUSE IMMERSIVE: Lighthouse Immersive creates, produces and distributes innovative digital immersive art experiences through its experiential multiplex digital art galleries, aiming to cultivate community and creativity through large-scale events and exhibitions of all art forms. Lighthouse Immersive has produced the world premieres of Immersive Van Gogh, Immersive Frida Kahlo, Immersive King Tut and Immersive Klimt: Revolution in more than 21 North American cities, including Toronto, New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Boston and Denver, and is currently expanding into additional markets. To date, they have sold over 5 million tickets to Immersive Van Gogh across North America, with Artnet calling it "one of the largest coordinated art phenomena of all time."
