The holidays in Montreal just got more magical! Following celebrated engagements in 16 cities and rave reviews from critics and audiences across globe, Lighthouse Immersive Studios and Walt Disney Animation Studios have announced that Immersive Disney Animation is coming to Montreal at the Arsenal Contemporary Art for a limited engagement beginning December 15. Tickets go on sale November 10, 2023 at lighthouseimmersive.com/Disney for both French and English versions of the experience. “We received such high demand from the public to bring the Immersive Disney Animation to Montreal, so it was the ideal next stop for us in Canada and we look forward to spending the holidays in such a magical city”, said Corey Ross, producer and founder, Lighthouse Immersive Studios.
Immersive Disney Animation was called “Jaw-dropping” by Axios, “a peek behind the curtain that you would just never otherwise get” by the Boston Globe, with Elite Daily remarking, “you really feel like you’ve stepped inside your fave film.”
Tickets can be purchased at lighthouseimmersive.com/Disney.
Creating iconic animated stories for all ages for nearly a century, Walt Disney Animation Studios has joined forces with North America’s top creator of experiential projection exhibitions (including The Original Immersive Van Gogh, which never traveled to Atlanta, but opened in over 20 cities across North America) to present the music and artistry within Disney Animation’s canon of films—from hits of today like Encanto, Zootopia and Frozen, to all of the classics including 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.
“We had Immersive Disney Animation in 16 cities so far, with our Montreal opening right around the corner,” said Corey Ross. “And while we expected a positive reception, we have really been blown away by just how incredibly excited audiences are with this experience, a testament to the timeless legacy of Disney Animation’s worlds, stories and characters.”
“Like so many of us, I have a life-long love of Disney films,” said Ross. “And it has been quite a nostalgic rush seeing those films come to life in our venues across North America. I’ve grown up with these characters and worlds since childhood and so has my family. The work lends itself brilliantly to the immersive experience. Our team has created something truly special here.”
The creative team for Immersive Disney Animation is led by Oscar®-winning producer J. Miles Dale (Best Picture 2018 –The Shape of Water) who said, “As a filmmaker, I am always seeking out ideas that can engage an audience in new and interesting ways, and to show them something that they have never seen before. Using the new technology that the immersive experience offers is exciting, but it’s important that it not interfere with the emotional investment that Disney fans have in the characters and storylines that audiences have come to cherish. This groundbreaking approach that Lighthouse Immersive Studios has created does exactly that by giving the viewer the sensation that they are actively sharing the space with the characters they most love from the Disney Animation library. Most of our guests have seen these films multiple times, but they tell me that they feel as though they are seeing them in an entirely new way, and that was always our goal.”
Dale and the Creative Legacy team at Walt Disney Animation Studios worked 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.
“Having been a part of Disney Animation for over 40 years, I truly consider this one of the great joys within my career, partnering with Lighthouse Immersive to bring our characters, stories and films to audiences in thrilling and new ways,” said McKim. “Watching the joy and delight the show brings to audiences is what dreams are made of.”
Beyond the unparalleled projection design that Lighthouse Immersive is known for, Immersive Disney Animation is further enhanced by expansive environmental design 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® for Grease Live).
Additional interactive features within the projection show include responsive floor projection design that moves with the audience and custom bracelets that light up in sync with the projections and based on the audiences’ movements through the galleries. In a particularly show-stopping moment, the Gazillion Bubbles special effects team fills the 500,000 cubic feet of galleries with bubbles.
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 Immersive Disney Animation takes 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.
ABOUT WALT DISNEY ANIMATION STUDIOS
Combining masterful artistry and storytelling with groundbreaking technology, Walt Disney Animation Studios is a filmmaker-driven animation studio responsible for creating some of the most beloved films ever made. WDAS continues to build on its rich legacy of innovation and creativity, from the first fully-animated feature film, 1937’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, to 2019’s Frozen 2, the biggest animated film of all time, to our 60th animated feature, the Academy Award®-winning Encanto. Among the studio’s timeless creations are Pinocchio, Sleeping Beauty, The Jungle Book, The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Frozen, Big Hero 6 and Zootopia.
ABOUT LIGHTHOUSE IMMERSIVE
Lighthouse Immersive creates, produces and distributes innovative digital immersive art experiences through its experiential multiplex digital art galleries, aiming to cultivate community and creativity through large-scale events and exhibitions of all art forms. 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 Toronto, New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Boston and Denver, and is currently expanding into additional markets. To date, they have sold over 6 million tickets to Immersive Van Gogh across North America, with Artnet calling it “one of the largest coordinated art phenomena of all time.”
ABOUT ARSENAL CONTEMPORARY ART
Arsenal Contemporary Art is a private contemporary art and cultural initiative founded by patrons Pierre and Anne-Marie Trahan. It is devoted to the support, promotion and development of Canadian contemporary art through diverse endeavors, including the showcase of Canadian contemporary artists, alongside international artists, in exhibitions that are curated in-house and by invited international curators. Opened in 2011 in Montréal, Arsenal Contemporary Art has since expanded to include locations in Toronto (2013) and New York (2017). Although some exhibitions travel from one location to another, the programming of each location is tailored to its respective community, space and audience.
