The A-list stars added to Disney’s hall of fame – and what that means for the studio’s future

Some 17 years ago, D23 was the name of a Disney-branded booth at San Diego Comic-Con. Almost two decades later, the three-day marketing-meets-merchandise super-convention which now bears its name pushed more than 100,000 attendees through its turnstiles.

The convention’s closing event – the Disney “legends” ceremony – inducts career trailblazers who have worked with or at the studio into their in-house hall of fame. This year’s inductees included Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, actress Anne Hathaway, musical trio the Jonas Brothers, animator Eric Goldberg and composer Lin-Manuel Miranda.

But the biggest applause was reserved for the company’s former CEO, Bob Iger. A studio executive who is bigger than the A-listers who star in his studio’s films? It seems odd, but that’s how the House of Mouse works. Iger, along with the company’s animators, ‘Imagineers’ and other behind-the-scenes personalities, have fan followings of their own.

“What executives typically do is they sign cheques, turn the lights on in the morning, occasionally I made coffee … but more than anything else, we’re around to support creators, the true talent that drives this company forward,” Iger told the audience who gave him not one, but two standing ovations. His successor, Josh D’Amaro, clearly has his work cut out for him.

Unsurprisingly for a blue-chip stadium presentation from a Hollywood studio, the event was a parade of A-list stars, including Emily Blunt, who introduced Johnson, and Orlando Bloom who introduced another award recipient, producer Jerry Bruckheimer. Iger’s award was introduced by no less than five stars: actors Harrison Ford, Robert Downey Jr and Ellen Pompeo, journalist Diane Sawyer and sports broadcaster Al Michaels.

But the show was almost stolen by legendary Vogue editor Anna Wintour, who shared her thoughts on The Princess Diaries and The Devil Wears Prada star Anne Hathaway with the 12,000-strong crowd at the Honda Centre stadium, in Anaheim, California.

Wintour described Hathaway as “an ideal [fashion show] front-row companion as well as the perfect theatre date”. Wintour also praised Hathaway for “her work ethic, her talent, her versatility, but most of all it is her kindness that is so impressive.”

Disney’s three-day event included two other stadium presentations, which included musical performances from Sheryl Crow, Beck, Los Lobos and Gloria Gaynor.