Disney's Clay Movie: Kieran Culkin and First Art | Pixel Twelve
Movies
Disney's Clay Movie Stars Kieran Culkin, and the First Art Is Wild
Disneys new original animated movie Clay stars Kieran Culkin, introduces a character named Mooshy, and is planned for theaters in November 2028.
By Pixel Twelve StaffAug 17, 2026
Disney Animation just introduced a movie called Clay, and the first thing it showed us is wonderfully strange. The official Disney Animation post names Clay and Mooshy, puts Kieran Culkin at the center, and promises a theatrical release in November 2028. The concept art is bright, crowded, and full of things that look like they would be difficult to explain to a child before bedtime.
That is almost all Disney has revealed. There is no trailer, exact release day, director announcement, or full synopsis yet. The D23 report confirms the project is an original Disney movie, while the early description places a mentor and an apprentice named Mooshy at its center. For now, the fun is in figuring out what kind of story could grow out of that very odd setup.
Kieran Culkin Is Bringing a Lot of Personality to Disney Animation
Kieran Culkin is not a random name attached to a family movie. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for A Real Pain, and the Associated Press report on that win describes the performance as the culmination of a major awards run. Most fans also know him as Roman Roy from Succession, where his timing could turn a terrible idea into the funniest line in the room. That kind of rhythm is useful in animation, especially when the character has to make a talking lump of clay feel like a person rather than a prop.
Kieran Culkin won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 2025 before joining Disneys new animated movie Clay. Image: Getty Images via NPR.
The official announcement only says Clay is starring Culkin, so it does not yet tell us whether he is playing the mentor, the student, or somebody who wanders into their mess halfway through. That small detail is worth keeping open. Disney is clearly using his name to get attention, but the character should still have a personality of its own once the studio starts showing footage.
The First Clay Art Looks Like a Color Explosion
The concept art released by Disney Animation shows a lush world packed with oversized flowers, bright trees, and small figures moving through the middle of it. The colors are playful without looking soft or empty. There is a lot happening in the frame, which makes sense for a movie that appears to be introducing a new world instead of borrowing a familiar one.
It is also a useful reminder that "Clay" is the title, not a promise that the entire movie will use stop-motion. The image looks like a modern Disney Animation production, with a painted storybook feel layered over a large digital environment. Any guess about the final technique is still guesswork until the filmmakers explain it.
Disney Animations first Clay concept art is full of bright colors, strange creatures, and a very busy forest. Image: Disney Animation.
The art is doing more work than a generic title card would have. It gives the movie a mood before we know the plot: curious, slightly chaotic, and open to the possibility that the smallest character in the frame is about to cause the biggest problem.
What Disney Has Actually Confirmed
The public details are short enough to fit on a notepad. That is better than filling the gaps with rumors, especially for a film that is still more than two years from release. Here is the clean version of what we can treat as confirmed right now:
The movie is titled Clay.
It is an original Walt Disney Animation Studios feature, not a sequel or remake.
Kieran Culkin is attached as the star.
The announcement names a character called Mooshy.
Disney is planning a theatrical release in November 2028.
Everything beyond that should be labeled as an early description, an inference from the concept art, or a fan theory. The official studio site describes Disney Animation as a filmmaker-driven studio built around original worlds and characters, but it has not published a full Clay page yet. That means the next update may answer several basic questions at once—or may simply give us another piece of art.
An Original Disney Movie Has More Room to Surprise Us
Disneys 2027 and 2028 slate is full of recognizable names. Fans already know about Frozen 3, Coco 2, Zootopia 3, and the return of The New Simpsons Movie. Those films have built-in audiences before anyone sees a trailer. Clay has to earn that first click with a title, a cast member, and a visual idea that feels different enough to remember.
That is not a complaint. Original animation is where a studio can still create the next character people dress up as, quote at school, and turn into a Halloween costume before anyone knows whether a sequel is coming. Pixars Ghost Market is taking a similar swing with a new supernatural world, while The Bluey Movie is adapting a beloved show for theaters. Clay is the rare project in this group that arrives with no existing cast of characters attached to it.
Disney Animation has used D23 to introduce original worlds before; Clay was the studios new original reveal in 2026. Image: Laughing Place.
Jared Bush, who introduced Clay at D23, has previously described Disney Animation as a place built around comedy, emotion, unusual characters, and fantastical worlds in his D23 storytelling profile. Clays first image seems to be aiming at that exact mix. It is not enough to know whether the film will be good, but it is a more interesting starting point than another title that only exists because the last one made money.
November 2028 Is a Window, Not a Full Release Date
Disney has said Clay is coming to theaters in November 2028. That is a real release window, but it is not the same as a specific Friday. The official announcement gives the month, and D23 coverage repeats it. Until Disney publishes a day, it is safer to say November 2028 than to turn a calendar slot into a promise.
A lot can change in two years. Animation schedules move, marketing plans get reshuffled, and a studio may decide that a different holiday weekend makes more sense. The useful news is that Clay is being treated as a theatrical feature and has a place on Disneys long-range slate. The exact date can come later.
The timing puts the movie in a busy conversation with Disneys other upcoming animation projects, including Ice Age 6: Boiling Point and the already announced Pixar films. Pixel Twelves D23 guide has the wider event schedule if you want to see where Clay fits among the bigger franchise announcements.
Mooshy Might Be the Character Everyone Remembers
The name Mooshy is doing a lot of work before we have heard the character speak. It sounds soft, silly, and a little bit impossible to take seriously, which may be exactly why it sticks. The concept art places a small figure inside a huge world, and the mentor-and-apprentice setup gives the movie an easy comic engine: one character is supposed to know what they are doing, while the other is made of clay and probably does not follow instructions.
That is an interpretation, not a confirmed plot summary. Disney has not explained what Mooshy wants, what kind of mentor is involved, or why this pair has to travel through the world in the first place. Still, the setup has room for the kind of relationship that makes animated movies work: somebody impatient, somebody curious, and a problem neither of them can solve alone.
If Culkin is voicing the more frustrated half of that pair, the movie could have a strong contrast between dry sarcasm and bright visual chaos. If he is Mooshy, the whole thing gets even stranger. I would happily watch either version, but Disney should probably tell us which one before the first teaser arrives.
The Next Clay Update Should Answer the Basic Questions
Clay has the rare advantage of being new enough that every small reveal will matter. The next update does not need to show a three-minute trailer. A short clip, a director credit, or a proper character image would give fans something more concrete to discuss.
Who is directing and writing the film?
Which character is Kieran Culkin playing?
What does Mooshy look and sound like in motion?
Is November 2028 the final month, or will Disney announce a specific day?
Those answers will tell us whether Clay is a quiet character story, a full fantasy adventure, or something that keeps changing shape between the two. For now, the title and art are enough to make the movie stand out in a crowded Disney lineup.
Clay Is Still a Mystery, and That Is the Good Part
Disneys new movie has a title, a November 2028 theatrical window, Kieran Culkin in the lead, and a character named Mooshy. The first concept art gives it a colorful world that does not look like another trip through the same familiar franchise. It is early, but it is not empty.
The studio can take its time with the next reveal. Give us one good teaser, let Mooshy do something ridiculous, and explain just enough of the mentor story to make people curious. Would you watch Clay in theaters, and does the first art make you want to know more?
Jerry Bruckheimer says he is talking with Johnny Depp about Pirates 6. Here is what is confirmed, what is still only a script, and why Jack Sparrow would change the franchise all over again.
Ice Age 6 is officially called Boiling Point, brings back the original herd and introduces Baby Scrat. Here is what Disney has confirmed about the 2027 movie.
Anne Hathaway gave Princess Diaries 3 fans a D23 update, confirming the sequel is still moving forward while Disney keeps the release date and story details private.
