Maybe The Lion King 1½ wont be such a fluke decent sequel after all. One story doing the rounds today, and highlighted by Showbiz Data, sees the animators laid off from Disney’s Paris, Tokyo, Toronto, Florida and California studios finding their way back to the Mouse House – this time down under, at the Australian DisneyToon Studios facility, where the majority of the “better” video follow-ups have been made. Work on a theatrical Lilo And Stitch 2 is currently underway, so at least many of the same artists who worked on the first film may find themselves animating familar characters, and to the same high standard. “We are now [Disney’s] primary traditional animation studio in the world”, says the studio’s general manager Philip Oakes, “and that just shores up our future”. Er, I wouldn’t be so sure Phil… wait until those sequels dry up. Next: Bambi, the Sequel…