Unlike the original version of OUAS, this version is purposely broken down into four distinct chapters; everything leading up to Mickey's brief reunion with Walt is in a chapter known as ''An Urgent Gathering", Goofy's botched first attempt at the group photo along with the conversation between Cinderella, Rapunzel, Moana and their respective princes are part of the second melancholy chapter called "The Moment of Reckoning", and the intervention by the Princess and Princesses, including the epic new rendition of "When You Wish Upon a Star" falls under a far happier chapter called "Spirits Restored". This is then followed by the Epilogue, set on October 17th, the afternoon after the photoshoot:
An Urgent Gathering:
Taking place in Burbank, California on October 16, 2023, when Walt Disney Animation Studios turned 100 years old, its employees are leaving the Roy E. Disney Animation Building as their usual work day is done and Burny Mattinson (played by himself) imagines about the walls of the studio coming alive after an intern talks with him about the great history it made throughout the century.Inside the studio, after the doors close, all is quiet when suddenly, Mickey Mouse (voiced once again by Chris Diamantopoulos), as seen in a production cel picture for Mickey's Birthday Party, comes to life, and calls Tinker Bell. Mickey questions if all of the employees are gone, in which Tink replies yes with a nod. Excited, Mickey, with his girlfriend Minnie (voiced by Kaitlyn Robrock), jump out of the picture, and Minnie gets many characters from the studio's filmography with her signature "Yoo-Hoo!" signal, whether traditionally or computer animated. Tiana (voiced by Anika Noni Rose), Pinocchio (voiced by Griffen Campbell), Judy Hopps (voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin), Nick Wilde, and Louis are the first to respond to the signal. Mickey calls to Bambi, Flower, and Thumper while the latter calls to Orville, Bernard, and Bianca. Minnie, alongside Rhino, Mittens, and Bolt, enlists Peter Pan to gather everyone from upstairs and he complies and flies off with Wendy, John, and Michael Darling.
During that, several gags of the characters interacting with one another happen all over the studio:
- Sisu runs happily down the hall, followed by Jim Hawkins riding on his Alponian Solar Cruiser, Maui changes into his hawk form and flies into the hall while reminding Aladdin and Abu to meet in the lobby, and the former says he'll see them there while sliding down the railing with them ending up with the rock trolls, Vanellope von Schweetz and Dodger ride on the former's candy kart, Elliott takes Cody on a fun ride, Wayne and Lanny slide down on their ropes, and the Ocean drops Moana into the hall along with Flounder, who needs water.
- Moana searches for water for Flounder. She approaches Merlin (who was at the Snuggly Duckling coffee area with his sugar bowl, the Mad Hatter, the March Hare, Lucille Krunklehorn, Mrs. Potts, Chip, and Cogsworth, who tells the others that they have no time for tea), and with his help, he casts a spell using the magic words, "Chapeaulius Bowlius" to summon water in the Mad Hatter's hat for Flounder to swim in, much to the former's pleasure, who then tells a passing Penguin Waiter with a plate of spaghetti and meatballs that "There's a carp in [his] cap."
- Elsa freezes Hans in his frame after Anna asks her if she thinks that all of the villains will be showing up (most likely because she would be worried about seeing Hans again after he tried to kill them in their film) after seeing an angry Stromboli trying to get a snack from the studio's vending machine.
- Donald Duck steps into an elevator with Carl, Terk, Humphrey the Bear, Ranger J. Audubon Woodlore, and Mother Gothel, when Flash calls from across the hall to hold the elevator as he slowly takes his time walking to them, much to Donald's annoyance.
- Olaf draws on an animator's office desk humming "Friend Like Me" while using a book copy of Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life to boost his height while the Robin Williams Lost Boy, Timon and Pumbaa pass by, with the former telling him to shake a leg (in which Olaf replies that the leg won't make a difference because it's all in the wrist) when the Genie bursts out of the drawing, sending Olaf to pieces and he uses his magic to put him back together.
- While Prince John, Thomas O'Malley, Chicken Little, Milo Thatch, Happy, the Headless Horseman, and Gaston are freshening up in the men's room for the picture, the Cheshire Cat appears in front of his face, laughing, when Minnie comes in while covering her eyes and tells them to move it.
- While Christopher Robin, Kanga, and Eeyore try to free Winnie the Pooh from his picture, Antonio Madrigal speaks with Cinderella's bird friends, Meeko, Cri-kee, Pascal, and Pua about meeting in the lobby while stopping Joanna the Goanna from eating Jaq and Gus before getting spooked by an angry barking Pluto.
- While Angus MacBadger, Ratty, Mole, Ryder, Honeymaren, Sven, and Kristoff walk by, Kristoff warns some Dalmatian puppies, who are watching "Night on Bald Mountain" on a TV, that they'll give themselves nightmares when Chernabog pops out of the TV, scaring the puppies and they run away and, in the process, run over Scrooge Mcduck, who had just came out from his picture, causing him to drop his money bags, which Robin Hood and Little John grab.
- At this point, Flash finally makes it into the elevator, much to the exasperation of the others, especially Donald who he thanked for holding the elevator. Baymax then squeezes into the elevator after he makes it, increasing Donald's frustration and resulting him to be thrown into a quacking fit when the fully-occupied elevator closes it's doors.
- While Ursula is being followed and annoyed by a lovestruck Splat, Cinderella (voiced by Jennifer Hale) and Prince Charming (voiced by Christopher Daniel Barnes) follow down the stairs as they eagerly greet Mickey. This time, the Prince the one to drop his shoe, much to their humor. Max picks up the shoe and runs off with it. An indignant Charming calls for Eric while Cinderella keeps laughing and cheers for Max.
- Mickey is amused by this when he sees Kaa leading Clarabelle Cow with his hypnosis. He tries to snap him out of it, but Rapunzel says she has it covered, whacking Kaa with her frying pan offscreen to save her.
While all of this is happening, Mickey looks up at a portrait of the late company founder, Walt Disney, and takes his hat off to pay respects and fondly remember his legacy. Minnie reminds Mickey that everyone is in the lobby as Mickey speaks to the picture saying that he has to go and thanks him declaring, "On with the show.", foreshadowing The Walt Disney Company's bright future ahead.
The Moment of Reckoning:
Mickey flies down the lobby stairs amongst some of the other characters to the entrance on Dumbo while Toby Turtle, Bowler Hat Guy, and DOR-15 avoid them. After Raya tells Mickey that the coast is clear, everyone goes outside to take the group photo. During the outside gathering, Wreck-It Ralph bumps in front of the door, but is okay while Scar (voiced by a returning Jeremy Irons) comes out feeling annoyed by those he refers to as "idiots" around him while Mr. Toad flies around the area on the Magic Carpet. Meanwhile, Ichabod Crane ducks from a ladder being held by Goofy. After Jock and Trusty walk by, Flora turns the building's hat structure pink while Merryweather quickly changes it back to blue. Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, (in black and white), is the last to arrive for the photo as he positions himself next to Pacha and Kuzco (in llama form), in which Mickey allows Oswald to do so. Oswald tips his ears to say thank you to Mickey, but Kuzco warns him to keep a distance.Everything is all set as Rafiki hands Goofy an old fashioned camera. However, things backfire as Goofy tries to find the timer button for the camera, he accidentally falls off the ladder, breaking it, shorty after Iago timed it with a three second countdown. Stitch chews on a part of the camera, but Lilo drags him away. Grumpy expresses a sarcastic comment saying "Well, that was fun." and Eeyore states that they might try again next century. Hiro, Go-Go, Honey Lemon, Wasabi, and Fred along with Friar Tuck, the Big Bad Wolf, Professor Ludwig Von Drake, Arthur Pendragon, and King Leonidas, among many of the others, leave in disappointment as the group photo is cancelled and ruined. Mickey tries to assure everyone that everything will be fine, but soon loses hope. Tarzan, however, decides it may be best to simply postpone the photo for a day or two to iron out the kinks. On the spiral staircase leading to the studio's main reception, Cinderella, Prince Charming, Rapunzel and Eugene observe this scene with pained expressions, as Cinderella and Rapunzel discreetly admit that since all the Disney characters are under such tremendous pressure on this day, a mishap of some kind was pretty much inevitable, but that it's nothing they truly cannot fix. As Moana, Maui and Chief Tui (voiced once again by Temuera Morrison) arrive on the scene, Cinderella and Rapunzel quickly decide to intervene in an effort to lift everyone's spirits, feeling a growing sense of urgency.
Spirits Restored:
Cinderella, Rapunzel, Moana and their respective Princes then arrive in the courtyard, along with several other characters who weren't initially present such as Ariel, Eric, Belle, the Beast, Pocahontas and John Smith, to the surprise of those who were about to depart. Rapunzel and Eugene quickly check up on Goofy and find, to their relief, that he has only sustained minor injuries. Cinderella then gives a heartwarming speech, tuning into the collective pressure everyone is feeling to live up to Walt's legacy, but assuring them that their dreams are never out of reach. Inspired by Cinderella's idea, Fairy Godmother uses her wand to conjure a guitar for Rapunzel, which she happily takes. She then begins playing a brand new rendition of "When You Wish Upon a Star", as everyone tunes in intently, as Cinderella eagerly whispers "here we go".Cinderella is the first to sing, before handing over to Belle and the Beast's duet as Lewis and Wilbur Robinson, the Queen of Hearts, Penny, Pecos Bill, and Widowmaker listen, much to Hades' annoyance, before Aurora apologizes for his dismay. Quasimodo, Pocahontas, Snow White (voiced once again by Katie Von Till), Baloo, and Mowgli also join in singing along. As Jiminy Cricket (now voiced by his current actor, Joe Ochman), Fairy Godmother, Asha (voiced by Ariana DeBose) and the rest of the cast sing the bridge, the other characters help undo Goofy's mistake with the magic brooms sweeping up his camera in a pile, Fix-It Felix Jr. fixing it with his magic hammer, Hercules putting the ladder back in position with his super strength, and the Fairy Godmother using her magic wand to lift Goofy up over the ladder, allowing him to set up the camera safely. Ariel and Eric, Aladdin and Jasmine, and Rapunzel and Eugene then begin singing the final verse of the song, followed by Tarzan and Jane, with Cinderella and Prince Charming gently finishing it off.
With the camera's timer slowly ticking down, and everyone now in position (including Chief Tui standing inbetween Cinderella and Moana), Mickey and Cinderella eagerly invite all the other characters, along with the audience, to join in. All the characters then begin singing the final verse jubilantly as a collective whole. Cinderella and the Prince then gently cap it off with the first line of her tune; "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes", followed by Rapunzel and Eugene singing the first chorus line of "I See The Light" with even more gusto, and Aladdin and Jasmine doing the same for "A Whole New World". The entire cast then triumphantly sing the final line of the song one last time; "Your dreams come true!", and smile for the photo, now including the spirit of Mufasa, along with Yo-Yo Flamingo and the Spring Sprite from Fantasia 2000, on the roof of the studio building. Tinker Bell then uses her wand to cut from the scene to where the group photo on the wall is taken.
Epilogue:
The following afternoon (October 17, 2023), Mickey, Cinderella, Prince Charming and Fairy Godmother send the audience off with a heartwarming address about the Walt Disney Company's bright and promising future. Timon, Pumbaa, Rapunzel, Eugene, Aladdin and Jasmine also drop in to bid their respective farewells, and the film ends with the tagline, "To all who have imagined with us, laughed with us, and dreamed with us, Thank You."At the end of the credits, a dedication to Mattinson reads "For our pal Burny and his 70 years of legendary storytelling at Disney Animation."
