Movies

Johnny Depp, The Rock and More Lead Day 1 Surprises at D23 Expo

The first full day of the bi-annual Disney fan event otherwise known as D23 Expo is in the books and as usual, there are more than a handful of surprises to recount.

It all began in the morning at the Disney Legends Event, which included the induction of eight Disney legends including George Lucas who received a standing ovation from the crowd.

johnnydepp

“One more. There’s nothing D23 fans like more than a surprise,” Disney chairman Bob Iger said before introducing Johnny Depp as the ninth member to be honored that morning. “I’m thrilled to call Johnny a member of the Disney family, and today, Johnny Depp becomes a Disney Legend.”

Robin Williams was also honored with a performance by Ne-yo (yes, odd choice)

RobinWilliams

The other big panel event in Hall D23 was the Disney Animation presentation, which included the surprise appearance of The Rock who will voice Maui in the upcoming movie Moana.

TheRock

The songwriters from Frozen were revealed as the songwriters for what John Lasseter called Disney Animation’s attempt to “create the definitive version of Jack and the Beanstalk, with Gigantic.

ANAHEIM, CA - AUGUST 14:  XXX of FILM TITLE took part today in "Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios: The Upcoming Films" presentation at Disney's D23 EXPO 2015 in Anaheim, Calif.  (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney)

ANAHEIM, CA – AUGUST 14: XXX of FILM TITLE took part today in “Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios: The Upcoming Films” presentation at Disney’s D23 EXPO 2015 in Anaheim, Calif. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney)

Ellen DeGeneres, Ed O’Neill, Kaitlin Olson, and Ty Burrell appeared on stage for Finding Dory. O’Neill will be playing Hank the Octopus, Olson will voice Destiny the Whale Shark, and Burrell will voice Bailey the Beluga Whale. The sequel to Finding Nemo also showcased it’s first batch of footage.

Animation

Other surprises included movies that weren’t promoted including The Incredibles 2 and Cars 3, both of which had teaser posters revealed on the Expo show floor.

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