Disney Animation Immersive Experience Debuts in Detroit in February

Walt Disney Animation Studios has announced it will team with Lighthouse Immersive Studios, the producers of “Immersive Van Gogh” and similar shows, to develop “Disney Animation Immersive Experience,” which will have its Detroit premiere on Feb. 9 and run through May 14.

The multi-media event will take place at downtown Detroit’s Lighthouse Artspace at 311 E. Grand River in the Harmonie Club set in Paradise Valley (formerly Harmonie Park). It’s one block south of the Detroit Athletic Club.

Creating iconic animated stories for all ages for nearly a century, Walt Disney Animation Studios will join forces with North America’s top creator of experiential projection exhibitions to present the music and artistry within Disney Animation’s canon of films — from hits of today like “Encanto,” “Zootopia,” and “Frozen,” to such classics as “The Lion King,” “Peter Pan,” and “Pinocchio.”

Audiences will feel like they’ve entered the incredible worlds of beloved Disney characters and become one with them.

“Disney Animation: Immersive Experience” will debut at Lighthouse ArtSpace Toronto on Dec. 21, and will subsequently be seen in Cleveland, Nashville, Detroit, Denver, Boston, San Antonio, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, and Columbus in 2023.

Additional cities currently are being scheduled, and Tokyo will be the first city outside of North America to receive Disney Animation: Immersive Experience.

“The collaboration with Lighthouse Immersive is a first for Disney Animation,” says Clark Spencer, president of Walt Disney Animation Studios and two-time Academy Award-winner (“Encanto,” “Zootopia”). “It’s a dream to bring the best of animated storytelling together with the top experts in the immersive art experience. We can’t wait for audiences around the world, of all ages, to experience the great moments from our legacy of feature films in this incredible way.”

Mexico City-based Cocolab is working with J. Miles Dale and the Creative Legacy team at Walt Disney Animation Studios to develop the program for Lighthouse Immersive Studios. Special Projects Producer Dorothy McKim (Oscar-nominated, “Get A Horse!”) is spearheading the project for Disney Animation.

“Like so many of us, I have a life-long love of Disney films,” says Corey Ross, founder of Lighthouse Immersive. “I’ve grown up with them since childhood and so has my family. The work lends itself brilliantly to the immersive experience and I am confident this program will give our guests the opportunity to be engulfed in the world of Disney, making them feel like they’re standing next to their favorite characters and seeing the world through their eyes.”

The creative team for the “Disney Animation Immersive Experience” is led by Oscar-winning producer Dale (Best Picture 2018 — “The Shape of Water”) who says, “Trailblazing in a new medium is always exciting, and this is truly going to be the most challenging and rewarding project of my career.

“Being entrusted with Disney’s rich archive of animation is a great honor, but also a tremendous responsibility. With such a wealth of material and a treasure trove of memorable characters, it will be a thrill to bring the work of all the great Disney animators and performers to life in a 360-degree immersive environment.”

The audience experience will be further enhanced by Lighthouse Immersive’s Global Creative Director David Korins, (Tony Award-nominee whose credits include more than 20 Broadway shows, including “Hamilton,” and an Emmy Award winner for “Grease Live”). Korins will develop never-before-seen interactive lobby elements that guests can enjoy before or after entering the gallery.

Ross captures the excitement both Disney and Lighthouse Immersive feel for the project as he describes how it begins: “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 Disney Animation: Immersive Experience will take you.”

Collaborating with Lighthouse Immersive is the creative legacy team of Walt Disney Animation Studios, helping bring their library of films to audiences in a manner never before experienced.

Lighthouse Immersive creates, produces, and distributes innovative digital immersive art experiences through its experiential multiplex digital art galleries.

Lighthouse Immersive has produced the world premieres of “Immersive Van Gogh,” “Immersive Frida Kahlo,” “Immersive King Tut,” and “Immersive Klimt: Revolution” in more than 21 North American cities, including Detroit, Toronto, New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Boston, and Denver, and is currently expanding into additional markets.

To date, the company has sold more than 5 million tickets to Immersive Van Gogh across North America, with Artnet calling it “one of the largest coordinated art phenomena of all time.”

For showtimes and tickets to “Disney Animation Immersive Experience” in Detroit and other cities, visit here.