The 7D

A new Disney TVA series is close to launch.

Disney's "The 7D," a contemporary, comedic take on the WORLD of the Seven Dwarfs, will premiere MONDAY, JULY 7 (10:00 a.m., ET/PT) on Disney XD and will debut on Disney Channel and Disney Junior later this year.

Joining The Voice cast are Jay Leno and Whoopi Goldberg in the recurring roles of Crystal Ball and Magic Mirror, respectively. The series' previously announced voice cast includes Kelly Osbourne as the comically evil villain Hildy Gloom. ...

The 7D has been in work at the Yahoo building near Bobo Hope airport for awhile now. Over a year ago, production top-kick Tom Reugger told me about all the testing and focus groups the show (and other Disney TVA shows) went through. (The Channel believes devoutly in lots of focus groupings among target audiences.)

The artists have found the board-work challenging; I have yet to meet a director or storyboard artist on the project who doesn't think it's a funny show. As we've mentioned before, many Warner Bros. Animation veterans are working on this project, so it will be interesting to see how it fares in the Disney universe. Certainly Diz Co. and the channel are pulling out the various marketing stops.

... This June, Disney Publishing Worldwide will release "The 7D Mine Train" app, a side-scrolling adventure that introduces users to the re-imagined Seven Dwarfs and allows them to choose one of the characters to pilot a mine cart through a variety of Jollywood locales including the 7D's mine, the Gloom's Grotto and the Queen's Treasure Room ...

If a Disney Channel/TVA animated series makes it to air, that means the Channel is confident they have a winning show on its hands.