With less than two months to go before the Annecy International Film Festival, attendees are busy filling out their diaries with coffee meetings and can’t-miss events.
Along with its recently unveiled competition selections (which you can catch up on here and here), the annual festival is where plenty of kids studios build buzz for their upcoming productions with screenings, behind-the-scenes looks and creative panels. Occasionally, studios may even drop major news announcements during their sessions.
Here are some of the hottest special events announced for the festival so far. We’ll be sure to keep this list updated as the event approaches.
There’s a lot in store at the studio’s showcase, led by president and creative chief Bill Damaschke. Expect updates and exclusive footage from upcoming films (The Cat in the Hat, Bad Fairies) and a look at a brand-new Looney Tunes short called Daffy Season.
Minions & Monsters, the latest installment of the Despicable Me franchise, will hold its world premiere at the opening night of the festival on June 21 before its July 1 theatrical release. CinemaCon recently got an early look at the film’s old-Hollywood-inspired shenanigans.
Forgotten Island is already earning some early award-season buzz, so take a trip to the island in this presentation. Writers/directors Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado will provide a detailed look at the behind-the-scenes making of the film that’s inspired by Filipino mythology and the six-year journey to bring it to the screen.
The studio will be spotlighting the creative process behind the upcoming Gatto (pictured above; March 5, 2027) with Oscar-nominated director Enrico Casarosa (Luca). The film, about a black cat in Venice, is pivoting away from Pixar’s usual CG look for a more painting-inspired style of animation.
The fellow Mouse House banner will debut exclusive footage (and “a few surprises”) from Hexed on June 26 at the Bonlieu Grand Theatre stage. This fantasy pic revolves around a teen girl with magical abilities and her type-A mother.
Don’t miss the small-screen side of things as Disney’s TV animation division shares a work-in-progress look at preschool toon Cars: Lightning Racers on June 25. Before that, the buzzy new series Dragon Striker will be featured in a live drawing session on June 23.
Peter Lord, Nick Park, David Sproxton and special guests will take to the stage to look back on Aardman’s iconic stop-motion history, how their process has changed over the years and details on upcoming productions.
Director Brad Bird will appear to talk about Skydance Animation’s sci-fi film Ray Gunn, his longtime passion project that’s launching on Netflix later this year. The streamer will also preview its Ghostbusters toon with showrunners Ben Hibon and Elliott Kalan and a previously announced work-in-progress of Steps.
The stop-motion studio will provide a sneak peek at its adventure film Wildwood with studio boss and director Travis Knight. He’ll be attending the festival to celebrate a special Wildwood exhibition at Annecy’s new theater Cité Internationale du Cinéma d’Animation.
Threequel PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie will be featured in a sneak preview, offering a closer look at the new film that sees the crew stumble onto its biggest mission yet on an island of dinosaurs.
The long-anticipated Peanuts movie Snoopy Unleashed will be a part of the work-in-progress feature line up. Directed by Steve Martino and heading to Apple TV, it’s the first feature film in the franchise in a decade since The Peanuts Movie released in 2015.
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