Studios Arena Presentation at the D23 Expo 2011
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Lasseter smiled as he urged the crowd to sit down. He thanked them for the welcome, saying, "It's awesome to be at D23." He described it as his opportunity to give back to the fans. The first order of the business, he went on, was to show the shirt he had selected for the day. Cars 2 was the theme of the colorful shirt, which wife Nancy had paired up with a more sober sport jacket.

"I love animation." As Lasseter delivered these words, three logos filled the screen, one each for Pixar, Walt Disney Animation, and Disneytoon Studios. Lasseter went on to describe all three as filmmaker driven studios. He lauded their output since the first D23 convention in 2009: Princess and the Frog, Toy Story 3, the Tinker Bell series, Tangled, and Winnie the Pooh. "Go see Winnie the Pooh," he urged. He went on to say how proud he was of Cars 2, the latest Pixar release.

First up was a new project, suggested by Cars. Lasseter claimed that since making the two films, every thing, every vehicle, suggested a new set of characters. Pixar's Planes, coming in spring of 2013 was the result. Directed by Klay Hall, Lasseter described the film as "really fun" and "hilarious." Set in the town of Propwash Junction, Planes tells the story of Dusty Cropper, a simple crop duster. Lasseter introduced the voice of Dusty, Jon Cryer, humorously intoning, "Jon Cryer, D23. D23, Jon Cryer." There was a warm round of applause as Cryer surveyed the crowd and exclaimed, "I am so geeked out!" He discussed the recording process enthusiastically, winding up with how "geeked" he was to take his two-year-old to see the film. A clip was rolled, in which the basic premise of the film was introduced. Dusty Cropper, a small town plane, dreams of flying with the big planes.

Although the initial audience reaction to Planes had been somewhat reserved, Lasseter and Cryer's enthusiasm, bolstered by the clip, brought about a strongly positive response. As Cryer waved a farewell to the crowd, Lasseter proclaimed, "That is your morning cup of coffee!"