The Walt Disney Company returned to the 2026 Annecy International Animation Film Festival, celebrating the artists, storytellers, and creative innovation driving animation forward globally. The company showcased a curated lineup of announcements, upcoming projects, exclusive footage and special screenings from Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, 20th Television Animation and Disney Kids & Family.
Walt Disney Animation Studios
On Friday, June 26, directors Fawn Veerasunthorn, Jason Hand and Malcon Pierce took the Bonlieu Grand Theater main stage to present two projects on behalf of Walt Disney Animation Studios’ upcoming slate.
Veerasunthorn and Hand led an onstage presentation on behalf of Disney’s Hexed, which included the first-ever public debut of select scenes from the upcoming November 25, 2026 theatrical release. The all-new magical coming-of-age saga follows an impulsive and unconventional teenage girl named Billie (voiced by Hailee Steinfeld) who discovers secret magical abilities that, once unleashed, hurtle her into a spectacle-filled journey out of suburbia and into a vast witch realm called Hexe. Forced to team up with her cautious mother, Alice (voiced by Rashida Jones), they uncover family mysteries that could change the world of witches forever. Disney’s Hexed is directed by Veerasunthorn and Hand, co-directed by Josie Trinidad, and produced by Roy Conli and Yvett Merino. The film is Walt Disney Animation Studios’ 65th animated feature.
Directors Veerasunthorn and Malcon Pierce also announced the all-new animated short Lilo & Scratch, which debuts in theaters this November with Disney’s Hexed. This is the first project starring Stitch from Disney Animation since the 2002 original animated feature Lilo & Stitch. The directors gave a sneak peek at the new short, which features the voices of Chris Sanders, reprising his role as Stitch, and Maia Kealoha, reprising her role as Lilo from the 2025 live-action version of the film. In the short, Stitch may have finally met his match in Scratch, a mischievous and mysterious cat who Lilo introduces as the newest member of their ‘ohana. While Lilo runs off to do some errands, Stitch is left in charge of this chaotic creature who leaves a wake of destruction in its path. The short is authentic to the look and style of the beloved 2002 feature and combines techniques from both hand-drawn and CG animation, along with rich watercolor backgrounds, in an innovative new way. The short was announced on “626 Day,” a playful nod to the mischievous blue alien Stitch, also known as Experiment 626.
Pixar Animation Studios
For Pixar Animation Studios’ presentation today, Oscar®-nominated director Enrico Casarosa revealed new plot details for the original film Gatto and showed never-before-seen artwork showcasing the unique visual style of the upcoming animated adventure. Additionally, Casarosa debuted three Annecy-exclusive sequences highlighting the comedy and emotion in the film. In Disney and Pixar’s Gatto, the scrappy black cat Nero (voiced by Mark Ruffalo) begins to question whether he’s lived the right lives after years of maneuvering the canal-ridden, superstitious city of Venice, Italy. Indebted to Rocco (voiced by Laurence Fishburne), the ruthless local feline mob boss, Nero finds himself in a quandary and is forced to forge a truly unexpected friendship that may finally lead him to his purpose — unless Venice gets the better of him first. Gatto is directed by Enrico Casarosa and produced by Andrea Warren, the filmmaking team behind Disney and Pixar’s Oscar®-nominated feature Luca. Gatto releases exclusively in theaters March 5, 2027.
Disney and Pixar announced the title of the upcoming animated short Loving Dory, set in the world of Finding Nemo, and plot details were revealed for the first time by director Lou Hamou-Lhadj and producer Mary Alice Drumm. In the new short, Dory confuses a plastic bag for a gentle jellyfish and is moved by its curious nature. She falls head-over-fins in love, but it doesn’t take long for her new romantic entanglement to escalate from a little clingy to outright toxic — and in desperate need of intervention.
20th Television Animation
One of the standout moments of this year’s festival was the presence of Emmy Award®-winning animation legend Mike Judge, co-creator of the Hulu original series King of the Hill. On Wednesday, June 24, Judge was awarded with the Honorary Cristal in recognition of his outstanding career, joining the prestigious circle of artists celebrated by the Annecy Festival. To commemorate the occasion, he presented an exclusive episode from the upcoming 15th season of King of the Hill ahead of its premiere on Hulu in the US and Disney+ internationally this summer, and was joined on stage by co-creator Greg Daniels and showrunner Saladin Patterson for a Q&A. He also led an animation masterclass with Daniels and Patterson on Thursday, June 25. A new trailer for season 15 of King of the Hill is now available.
Additional 20th Television Animation presentations included The Simpsons interactive live drawing panel hosted by Emmy Award®-winning animator and director David Silverman on Thursday, June 25.
Disney Kids & Family
Disney Kids & Family showcased several projects from its global slate of preschool, kids and family animation through festival events, official competition selections, and major announcements. Highlights included a live drawing session for the new Disney+ series Dragon Striker; an exclusive first look and Work In Progress panel for Disney Jr. and Pixar’s upcoming Cars: Lightning Racers; as well as multiple screenings for the upcoming Disney+ series The Doomies, an official selection in the festival’s TV and Commissioned Films category.
The festival also served as the backdrop for several major announcements, including series greenlights for Journey (working title), which is currently in production from Disney Kids & Family and Higher Ground; Warrior Cats, based on the bestselling children’s book series; and a new full-length Christmas special Mickey’s Home Alone coming this holiday season. Also announced: the fourth and final season of global hit series The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder, as well as A Proud Family Wizmas, a new stop-motion, musical holiday special debuting this winter.
