The Walt Disney Studios announced their slate of 10 new animated feature films this week. Split between Walt Disney Animation studios (4 feature films), Pixar Animation Studios (6 feature films) and DisneyToon Studios (4 direct-to-DVD titles) the films announced cover their releases up to 2012. Dick Cook, chairman of The Walt Disney Studios, and John Lasseter, chief creative officer for Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios led the conference and gave details on the following films:

2008
WALL·E (Pixar), directed & written by Andrew Stanton (”Finding Nemo”).
Bolt (Disney) from the talented new directing team of Chris Williams and Byron Howard
Tinker Bell, the first in a new franchise of original entertainment set in the world of Fairies (DVD)

2009
Up (Pixar) from director Pete Docter (”Monsters, Inc.”)
The Princess and the Frog (Disney) directed by John Musker and Ron Clements (”The Little Mermaid,” “Aladdin,” “Hercules,”)
Tinker Bell North of Never Land (DVD)

2010
Toy Story 3 (Pixar) directed by Lee Unkrich (”Finding Nemo,” “Monsters, Inc.”)
Rapunzel ( Disney) directed by Glen Keane & Dean Wellins
Tinker Bell A Midsummer Storm (DVD)

2011
Newt (Pixar) directed by Gary Rydstrom.
The Bear and the Bow (Pixar) from filmmaker/writer Brenda Chapman (”The Prince of Egypt”)
Tinker Bell A Winter Story (DVD)

2012
Cars 2 (Pixar) directed by Brad Lewis (producer of “Ratatouille”)
King of the Elves (Disney) an adaptation of a Philip K. Dick short story, directed by Aaron Blaise and Robert Walker (”Brother Bear”)

Lasseter says, “This is an amazing time for animation at Disney and Pixar, and it’s a thrill to be working on such a diverse and original group of films with such an all-star team of filmmakers. The thing I love best about my job is that I get to work at both Disney and Pixar with filmmakers who are passionate about their projects and who are the absolute best in the business. We’re excited to be pushing the boundaries of 3-D and computer technology to tell our stories in the best possible way. At the same time, we’re drawing on our past to emphasize memorable characters, original edge-of-your-seat stories, and believable worlds. Walt Disney and his creative team taught us how to blend comedy, powerful emotion, and action-filled excitement in our films, and this group of incredible filmmakers is bringing their own originality and sensibilities to the process.”

I’m personally thrilled that Lasseter is in his position. He’s a true lover of animation, and I always have suspected that he felt a tremendous amount of guilt for possibly being the the one behind the death of traditional animation with Disney after the success of CGI films. Being given his current job put him in position to correct that mistake. All the features from Disney animation will be traditionally made, and continue the Dinsye way of being based on fairy tales.

Some vocal talents they have tapped include: John Travolta and Miley Cyrus (”Bolt”), Reese Witherspoon, Billy Connolly and Emma Thompson (”The Bear and the Bow”), Anika Noni Rose and John Goodman (”The Princess and the Frog”), as well as return engagements by Tom Hanks, Tim Allen and the rest of the “Toy Story” vocal ensemble (”Toy Story 3″)

Starting with the release of “Bolt,” all Disney and Pixar animated features will be presented in state-of-the-art Disney Digital 3-D(TM). Additionally, newly converted 3-D versions of the beloved classics, “Toy Story” and “Toy Story 2,” are set to debut in 2009 and 2010 respectively.

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