continuing the coverage of Disney’s upcoming animated features started in this post

Disneytoon Studios is the producer of mostly direct-to-video releases, usually sequels.   We were given a brief update of their upcoming animated features.

Disneytoon has been doing a series of Tinkerbell friends involving Tink and her fairy friends (not that there’s anything wrong with that).    We were shown preview information about the next two entries.

Legend of the Neverbeast is an action-adventure story, coming in Spring 2015.   We were given some story details but honestly, given that I’m not exactly the target demographic for these movies, I didn’t make any note of the details.

The second Tink film looked a little more interesting, simply because it begins to tie Tink’s story in to what we already know about the character.   (We, in this case, mean those of us that haven’t been following the Disneytoon films of Tink’s adventures in Pixie Hollow).   In The Pirate Fairy,  Tinkerbell leaves Pixie Hollow and encounters more of Neverland.   She meets Zarina (the titular Pirate Fairy, voiced by Christina Hendricks), and James, voiced by Tim Hiddleston.

Both Christina and Tim were on hand to talk about their characters.    James, a cabin boy on a pirate ship, turns out to be more than he appears … he is the character who will eventually become Captain Hook  (this story takes place in his two-handed days).

Tom treated us to an a capella rendition of The Bare Necessities.    A very un-Loki moment.

After the Tinkerbell series, we moved on to the Planes series of films.   The first film in this series released Friday (the same day as the presentation).    They are already at work on the second film in the series, Planes: Fire and Rescue, about a wildfire air attack team working out of Piston Peak National Park.    It features Dusty Crophopper, the character introduced in the first Planes film, working as part of a wildfire fighting unit.   Julie Bowen will voice Dipper.    We saw the first footage ever presented from this film, in rough form, and it definitely fits into the world introduced in the Cars films and now being continued with the Planes series.

That concluded the DisneyToon Studios portion of the Animation presentation.   Next up, Walt Disney Animation Studios.   That’s for another post.

Related articles

• ‘The Pirate Fairy’: Christina Hendricks and Tom Hiddleston join newest Tinkerbell movie (family-room.ew.com)
• D23 Recap: DisneyToon Studios Presentations for Tinkerbell Films LEGEND OF THE NEVERBEAST and THE PIRATE FAIRY, Plus PLANES: FIRE & RESCUE (collider.com)
• D23 Expo: Disneytoon Studios Announces New Films (animationfascination.wordpress.com)
• Tom Hiddleston Voicing Young Captain Hook in DisneyToon Studios Film ‘The Pirate Fairy’ (slashfilm.com)