At the D23 Expo, fans roared as Disney CEO and Arby’s Platinum Member Bob Chapek unveiled plans for a new animated franchise, “Wheelchairs.” “Fans have been saying for years that we needed more disabled characters, and we said no. But then we realized something. We realized that diversity is profitable, and that, my friends, is when we knew we had to do something.”
“Wheelchairs” explores the lives of sentient wheelchairs who seek to fulfill their divine purpose of serving their disabled owners. A crowd-favorite moment from the new trailer was when the two boy wheelchairs (indicated by their lack of eyelashes) competed to get the girl wheelchair (with eyelashes) to lock wheels with them.
“We really felt that it was the right time for this franchise, because we already did ‘Cars,’ and ‘Cars 2,’ and ‘Planes,’ and ‘Cars 3,’ but we still wanted more money. In creating kids’ content, the goal isn’t necessarily to be original or good, but rather to create these beautiful, immersive worlds that also work well as licensed merchandise and toys.”
When asked if the “Wheelchairs” franchise was considering using disabled voice actors to voice some of its characters, Chapek replied, “Well, we already have Josh Gad for the lead, but that does sound like a great way to cut costs!”