Disney's Top Creatives Unite at D23 to Discuss Bringing Stories to Life

At D23, Disney's top creatives gathered to discuss their work in bringing beloved stories to life. The panel featured Josh D'Amaro, CEO of Disney; Jared Bush, chief creative officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios; Dave Filoni, president and chief creative officer of Lucasfilm; Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios and chief creative officer of Marvel; Pete Docter, chief creative officer of Pixar Animation Studios; Jon Favreau, a filmmaker and Disney Legend; and Leslie Iwerks, the director of Disney Worldbuilders. The documentary explores the process of turning Disney stories into immersive experiences at its theme parks. Each panelist shared their experience of seeing their work come to life in the parks.

The discussion touched on how different parts of the company can inspire one another. Jon Favreau mentioned Walt Disney's creative flywheel, where a movie can become a theme park attraction and technology created for a theme park can eventually make its way back into a movie. Pete Docter emphasized the importance of collaboration and finding a 'creative North Star' to guide each project.

The panel also discussed how technology has improved over the years, with Kevin Feige pointing out that early versions of swinging Spider-Man were little more than a figure attached to a flipping stick. Today, guests at Avengers Campus can watch Spider-Man perform flips and fly high above the land.