D23 2022: Top Ten Things We LIKED this Year

Nobody is walking away from this year’s D23 and seriously thinking Disney has got their groove back. But even in down times, sparks are out there.

It was a lackluster D23. Let’s just say it and move on. From one of the worst Disney Parks presentation you could have imagined to a frankly ugly Splash Mountain redo, there wasn’t much to be excited about on the parks side. In fact, even a “reveal” for a new Avenger’s ride at Disneyland was little more than a tease of a bad guy. No ride system, timeline or budget was announced. That seemed to be the theme of this year’s display. And on the movies and streaming side, almost everything we had the chance to see was rehashed or previously known.

Yet despite such a bad D23 for Disney this year, there is still much to be excited about. After chatting with some of our more Disney-centric staff and writers, here is our Top Ten from this year’s D23 that is worth a bit of buzz going forward:

10. Indiana Jones 5

Yes, it was only shown behind closed doors. However, we’ve talked to someone who saw the trailer and everything has been described in a very positive light. It definitely puts us in a better mood believing that Harrison Ford and John Williams may get a swan song befitting of their legendary status. If they can pull off a great Indy movie, it will have been a herculean effort that we’ll be ecstatic to see. As for when everyone else gets to see the trailer, we’re betting on Wakanda Forever.

9. Iwájú

Sometimes you need a third party to help jog your creativity. That certainly seems to be the case here with what was, stylistically, one of the only things announced at D23 that really raised our eyebrows. We’re hoping that they can capitalize on the marvelous artistic direction with a worthy story centered in Africa.

Multibillion dollar American animation company, Disney, will release their first Nigerian animation series called , Iwájú, in 2023. It’s a animation series set in a futuristic Lagos city with dominating skyscrapers akin to the Eko Atlantic masterplan . pic.twitter.com/QY9catSvJG

— ᴏᴠɪᴇ ᴀʟɪ ᴏnovwo-ᴏᴍᴀsᴏʀᴏ ™🇳🇬 (@OvieNews) September 10, 2022

8. Ke Huy Quan Joins Loki Season 2

Not only did we get a fabulous reuniting of Harrison Ford and Ke Huy Quan after thirty-eight years, but we also got the great news that the actor famous for eighties hits is off and running with a Loki Season 2 role. Loki had some of the best highs we’ve seen in any Marvel show, even if it was also one of the most uneven. So consider us excited for Quan to join the rest of the cast!

7. Secret Invasion

Of all the new stuff coming out of Marvel, this is perhaps one of two properties that we’re not worried about. Surely they can’t screw up a show with this kind of cast! Plus, the bad guys here are actually interesting — something that is at times difficult for Marvel and the MCU to nail down. Let’s hope they pull it off well.

6. Disney Enchanted Leaves and Happily Ever After Returns

Disney really screwed the pooch with the 50th Anniversary offerings. Disney Enchanted was a severe downgrade from the prior fireworks show and it’s nice to know they’re dumping this stinker as soon as possible. Here’s a guideline for future Disney shows: if you’re going to feature Disney songs, make sure they are at least of similar quality as the originals. Also, some sort of narrative to a show is important or else you end up with a sing-along. People aren’t paying thousands of dollars for a sing-along.

5. Figment Meet and Greet Returns to Epcot

It’s about time. Figment is coming back as a Meet and Greet opportunity at Disney World’s second theme park. This is no doubt driven by just how popular the popcorn bucket was last spring. Now if only there was an attraction worthy of this fandom…

4. Disenchanted

It could easily go either way. Can the original cast come back together and create something even half as charming and fun as the original Enchanted from fifteen years ago? The trailer has some arguing for both ways. But given some of the writers behind the project, we’re really crossing our fingers that this can be good. At the least, a great soundtrack would be a welcome addition.

3. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

Full disclosure: we’re actually pretty pumped for this one. Paul Rudd seems like a sure bet in every single thing he goes after. Add to that equation another Rudd and Bill Murray collaboration and we are jazzed to get in on opening night. Plus, this is one example where an actor was allowed to take a “controversial” opinion without being thrown off the project. We’re happy to support Evangeline Lilly for sure!

2. Avatar 2

Dismiss James Cameron at your own peril. Sure, he could flub the thing, miss the landing, make another derivative tale that steals too heavily from older tropes. But he’s also James freakin’ Cameron. He finds the real Titanic in his spare time while making movies about Titanic. He helped design Pandora for Animal Kingdom… and that may be one of the greatest theme park lands of all time. We’ve even heard that he can do five-part harmony on a kazoo — a single kazoo.

Seriously though, this is probably going to either be the biggest movie of the winter or an unbelievable failure. And at least that is exciting to find out very soon!

1. Harmonious Is Dead

It was so, so ugly. It was so devoid of creativity. Now it’s leaving.

Harmonious replaced Illuminations: Reflections of Earth and it’s saying sayonara in record time. Yes, the ugly barges will remain and it still looks like a portal is being opened up to another dimension in the middle of World Showcase Lagoon. But at least we have a shot at something more artistically meaningful.

You know it’s bad when Disney spends a hundred million on a show and throws it away in a year. Harmonious was that bad.

So what did you think? Was there anything that excited you about D23 this year? Let us know in the comments below. And, as always, keep reading That Park Place for all the