Following engagements in 13 cities and rave reviews from critics and audiences across North America, experiential projection leader Lighthouse Immersive Studios and the iconic Walt Disney Animation Studios have announced that Los Angeles will be the next city to premiere Immersive Disney Animation on June 23, 2023. The Los Angeles iteration will be housed in Lighthouse ArtSpace Los Angeles — previously home to the popular Original Immersive Van Gogh – in the former Amoeba Music Building at 6400 Sunset Blvd.
Tickets for the Los Angeles presentation of Immersive Disney Animation start at $29.99 and go on sale Friday, May 12 at 10 a.m. PT at lighthouseimmersive.com/Disney.
The creative team behind Immersive Disney Animation is led by Oscar-winning producer J. Miles Dale (Best Picture 2018, The Shape of Water), Disney Animation Special Projects Producer Dorothy McKim (Oscar-nominated short Get A Horse!), who is spearheading the project for the centenarian studio, Lighthouse Immersive’s Global Creative Director David Korins (Tony Award nominee for Hamilton, Emmy Award winner for Grease Live) and Mexico City-based Cocolab.
Described as a “jaw-dropping” (Axios) “peek behind the curtain that you would just never otherwise get” (Boston Globe) and an experience that makes visitors “really feel like [they’ve] stepped inside [their] fave film” (Elite Daily), Immersive Disney Animation made its world premiere in Toronto in December 2022, and is now open in 13 North American cities — including Atlanta, Boston, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, Nashville and San Antonio — and its first intercontinental presentation in Tokyo. Disneyphiles in more cities will get a chance to experience the magic as well, with further destinations soon to be announced.
“The rollout of Immersive Disney Animation has been met with overwhelming positivity and tremendous acclaim in the 13 cities we’ve debuted the show so far,” said McKim. “And we are proud to announce that we will be presenting this spectacular exhibition in the birthplace of Disney Animation, where our studio’s first creations took shape. We can’t imagine a more fitting locale for this celebration of Disney animation, and the incredible artists and animators that bring these worlds to life.”
Immersive Disney Animation presents 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. The goal was to make audiences feel as if they have entered the incredible worlds of these beloved films.
“As a filmmaker, I am always seeking out ideas that can engage an audience in new and interesting ways, and to show them something that they have never seen before,” says producer Dale. “Using the new technology that the immersive experience offers is exciting, but it’s important that it not interfere with the emotional investment that Disney fans have in the characters and storylines that audiences have come to cherish. This groundbreaking approach that Lighthouse Immersive Studios has created does exactly that by giving the viewer the sensation that they are actively sharing the space with the characters they most love from the Disney Animation library. Most of our guests have seen these films multiple times, but they tell me that they feel as though they are seeing them in an entirely new way, and that was always our goal.”
McKim adds, “Having been a part of Disney Animation for over 40 years, I truly consider this one of the great joys within my career, partnering with Lighthouse Immersive to bring our characters, stories and films to audiences in thrilling and new ways. Watching the joy and delight the show brings to audiences is what dreams are made of.”
Beyond the industry-leading projection design that Lighthouse Immersive is known for, Immersive Disney Animation is further enhanced by expansive environmental design by Lighthouse Immersive’s Global Creative Director David Korins.
Additional interactive features within the projection show include responsive floor projection design that moves with the audience and custom bracelets that light up in sync with the projections and based on the audiences’ movements through the galleries. In a particularly show-stopping moment, the “Gazillion Bubbles” special effects team fills the 500,000 cubic feet of galleries with bubbles.
“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 Immersive Disney Animation takes you,” says Lighthouse Immersive Studios Founder & Producer Corey Ross.
“Lighthouse ArtSpace Los Angeles has housed one of the most impressive stagings of Immersive Van Gogh for the better part of two years,” Ross adds. “It is one of the most popular, best-selling venues of the 20+ other Lighthouse ArtSpaces we’ve opened across North America, and Immersive Disney Animation is going to take it to a whole new level.”
Lighthouse ArtSpace Los Angeles is hosting a final slate of showings for Immersive Van Gogh from June 1-11 before Immersive Disney Animation takes over as the standalone experience. Tickets are on sale now at vangoghla.com.
All images courtesy of Lighthouse Immersive Studios.
Disney Animation titles ©2023 Disney.
