During the Disney Villains: Icons of Evil panel at Destination D23, it was announced that legendary Disney animator Andreas Deja has joined the Villains Land project team as a consultant.
Animator Andreas Deja on Villains Land
Deja has been an animator on Disney classic films like The Black Cauldron, Beauty and the Beast, and Hercules. He specifically referenced the time he spent animating iconic Disney Villains such as Gaston and Jafar, making some jokes about where he drew occasional inspiration for the characters.
When asked how he felt on returning to the world of villains, Deja shared he was excited to return to “familiar turf” and he was ready to expand upon their universe, where we’ll get to “amplify the way we see them.”
You can check out the whole interview video from Disney Parks below:
Villains Land at Destination D23
The Disney Villains land will be an expansion to Magic Kingdom beyond Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. The Evil Queen and Maleficent are expected to be represented in the land, along with the Queen of Hearts, Jafar, Lady Tremaine, Yzma, Cruella, Captain Hook, Gaston, Mother Gothel, Ursula, Hades, and Chernabog.
As part of the same Destination D23 presentation, Imagineers revealed they recently took a research trip to Paris, France and Barcelona, Spain to learn about each city’s architecture and its unique attributes. They created the term “conjured architecture” to describe some of the shapes and details we will find in the upcoming land.
Stay tuned to WDWNT for the latest Destination D23 updates.
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