Ottawa Int'l Animation Festival Celebrates Disney at OIAF 2014

Disney's Feast.

It might be time to declare the Ottawa International Animation Festival the happiest place on the festival circuit this fall. OIAF announced today that the 2014 edition of the festival includes a spotlight celebration of the world’s most beloved and prolific animation studios, Walt Disney Animation Studios. “It’s only natural,” says OIAF Artistic Director, Chris Robinson, in a press release from OIAF, “that we debut our new Pioneers of Animation series with a tribute to the most successful, innovative and influential animation studio in the world. Founded in 1923, the 91-year old studio has had a profound and widespread impact on animation and global culture.” The tribute, presented with the support of Celebrate Ontario and Walt Disney Animation Studios series includes screenings, talks, exhibitions, and legendary Disney animators.

OIAF keeps it Disney this year by presenting Disney’s Feast from director Patrick Osborne, which premiered to great acclaim earlier this year at the Annecy Animation Film Festival. Osborne will attend the festival and provide an in-depth, behind-the-scenes talk on the creative process. Other shorts from the Mickey Mouse club hitting festival come from a specially curated programme from two of the world’s most renowned Disney historians, Jerry Beck and Leonard Maltin. Both writers comprise part of the beat on the IndieWire network with Beck at Animation Scoop and Maltin at his self-named blog. Beck and Maltin’s programmes include a roster of films from Disney’s heyday 1930s-1950s including Skeleton Dance and Hockey Homicide. Finally, the OIAF Disney magic includes a special 25^th anniversary screening of the Disney landmark The Little Mermaid. OIAF proudly welcomes directors and writers Ron Clements and John Musker to the festival to share their experience with The Little Mermaid and other Disney features such as Aladdin and Hercules.

OIAF also invites some local filmmakers to the party, as part of the Disney spotlight includes an art exhibit from Ottawa-area artists. Disney Made Me Do It, as OIAF notes, is “ a call to arms, circumventing what is already known about the Disney brand. These artists reflect their own understanding of the lasting impact of Disney’s animation on visual culture.“ The local artists participating in the event are Barry Ace, Danny Hussey, Barbara Ochman, Phil Osbourne, Rah, Christopher Rohde, Alison Smith-Welsh, Guillermo Trejo, and Michael Zavacky.

Bring your best set of Mickey Mouse ears and get ready to enjoy the show! OIAF 2014 is just a month away!

The Ottawa International Animation Festival runs September 17-21.

Please visit www.animationfestival.ca for more information.