By the D23 Team
This June, we’re celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Walt Disney Archives—and what better way to kick off the celebration than with a new issue of Disney twenty-three? In our summer 2020 issue, available exclusively to our D23 Gold Members, film critic and historian Leonard Maltin explores five remarkable decades of preserving Disney’s most beloved treasures, starting with what was once a one-man operation run out of an office in the Animation Building on The Walt Disney Studios lot to what has grown into a dedicated team of 30 staff members and a model for archives around the world. Dive in to a closer look at how the Archives serves as a vital resource for writers, directors, and, of course, Disney fans.
It’s once again time to play the music, and it’s time to light the lights. With the premiere of the new series Muppets Now coming soon to Disney+, the team bringing the show to life takes Disney twenty-three behind the scenes for a heartfelt look at the show. And Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy sit down for an exclusive interview to talk about their return to the screen—and the importance of Miss Piggy, of course.
Plus, Sir Kenneth Branagh, Dame Judi Dench, Josh Gad, and newcomer Ferdia Shaw discuss adapting the YA phenomenon Artemis Fowl into an epic feature, premiering this June on Disney+. Director and producer Don Hahn pens an essay on the making of his moving Howard Ashman documentary Howard for Disney+, and illuminates the inside story of the award-winning lyricist responsible for some of Disney’s most beloved songs. And Secret Society of Second-Born Royals star Skylar Astin reveals his Disneyland favorites, with photos shot exclusively for Disney twenty-three earlier this year at the resort.
Also included in the Summer issue of Disney twenty-three:
- Brian Henson takes us on the set of the out-of-this-world Disney+ talk show Earth to Ned, complete with a celebrity-obsessed alien charged with destroying the planet
- Film historian Dan Lanigan gives us an insider look at the making of Prop Culture, his fascinating new Disney+ series that looks at iconic props from timeless films such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Mary Poppins
- From The Sound of Music to The Reluctant Dragon, 10 must-see Disney+ movies selected by members of the Walt Disney Archives team
- Dazzling then-and-now Disneyland park photographs—plus an array of classic merchandise—in honor of the park’s 65th anniversary
- Regular features including From the Desk of, By the Numbers, Character Analysis, D Society, and Ask the Walt Disney Archives
