Disney Confirms They’re Changing How Their Animated Movies Look

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As a huge Disney fan, I’m so excited to hear they’re looking at a new direction for how their animated movies look! They’ve always been pioneers – starting with the incredible hand-drawn style of Snow White way back in 1937. Then, we saw them brilliantly transition to computer animation with films like Tangled, Frozen, and Zootopia – and I can’t wait to see what they come up with next! It’s amazing to see them constantly pushing the boundaries of animation.

An executive at Walt Disney Animation Studios hinted that the studio is planning a new visual style for its future films. Jared Bush, the studio’s Chief Creative Officer, recently discussed the success of Zootopia 2 and other Disney projects on The Town podcast. The conversation turned to anime, and Bush then suggested that Disney is working on “a really exciting evolution in the way that [their] movies look.”

I remember reading about a conversation between Belloni and someone at Disney – Belloni floated the idea of Disney getting into anime. The Disney exec totally acknowledged anime’s influence, especially pointing to the incredible work of Hayao Miyazaki. But they also made a really interesting point: they framed anime not as a style necessarily, but as a medium, just like CG animation is a medium. It’s about how something is made, not just what it looks like, which I thought was a smart way to look at it.

Many of our artists are heavily influenced by anime. I personally study the work of Hayao Miyazaki, and I think it’s important to remember that ‘anime’ covers a wide range of styles and storytelling approaches – it’s simply another form of animation, much like computer-generated imagery. I’ve found there are countless ways to tell stories through it.

Continuing the discussion, Bush mentioned he particularly enjoys anime films that are grand in scope and feature impressively detailed and beautiful settings.

What really gets me excited about many anime movies is their grand scale and epic storytelling. They create these incredibly detailed and beautiful worlds that are just amazing to experience.

Disney isn’t planning to suddenly start making anime, according to Bush. Instead, they’re looking at how anime styles could inspire the look and stories of their future animated films.

Creating content like anime requires a unique production process. Typically, anime relies on 2D artists and a very particular workflow, which differs from our own. However, we are interested in taking inspiration from anime’s style and storytelling as we plan future projects over the next few years.

Looking to the future, Bush hinted that significant changes are coming, stating that over the next five years, Disney movies will undergo a noticeable and exciting transformation in their visual style.

Things are changing rapidly, and I find that really exciting. In the next few years – even just the next five – we’re going to see a significant and exciting improvement in how movies are made and what they look like. I believe audiences will be thrilled with these changes.

These remarks follow Disney Animation’s announcement several months ago of their new movie, Hexed, scheduled to come out on November 25, 2026. Even without seeing any clips, fans are already talking about the film’s animation style.

Disney has so far only shown a logo and one piece of artwork for the new film. The artwork is bright, colorful, and hand-drawn, creating a classic fairy-tale feel – a departure from the computer-generated style of their recent movies. Fans are hoping for more traditional or mixed animation styles, and this artwork might be an early sign of the changes the director has hinted at.

Will Disney Change Its Animation Style?

Even with upcoming sequels like Moana 2 and Zootopia 2 – both huge box office successes with traditional computer-generated imagery – some viewers feel Disney is already shifting its approach to animation, especially after the release of the 2023 film Wish.

The movie Wish used a unique animation style, combining modern 3D technology with the classic, storybook look of older Disney films. It drew inspiration from the hand-drawn and watercolor techniques used in Disney’s early movies. Characters were created with noticeable outlines, and the backgrounds were painted with detailed watercolors, giving the world a beautiful, fairy-tale feel similar to films like Sleeping Beauty.

The movie Wish was created as a celebration of Disney’s 100th anniversary. It featured many hidden references and nods to classic Disney films, woven into the story, though fan reactions were varied.

While Hexed might signal a new artistic direction for Disney Animation, the studio is expected to continue using 3D animation for now, likely because it’s proven to be successful, particularly with upcoming Frozen sequels like Frozen 3 and Frozen 4.

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2026-02-07 12:36