PHOTOS FROM LUCASFILM’S “STAR WARS: SKELETON CREW” LAUNCH EVENT AT DISNEYLAND

Disney+ shared photos from Lucasfilm’s upcoming “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew” launch event that took place at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, Calif. Stars Jude Law, Ravi Cabot-Conyers, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Kyriana Kratter, Robert Timothy Smith, Tunde Adebimpe, Nick Frost, Alia Shawkat and Jaleel White joined filmmakers Jon Watts, head writer, executive producer and director; head writer and executive producer Christopher Ford; executive producers Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni and Kathleen Kennedy; and directors Bryce Dallas Howard, David Lowery, Jake Schreier and Lee Isaac Chung to celebrate at the exciting, Star Wars-themed event.

“Star Wars: Skeleton Crew” follows the journey of four kids who make a mysterious discovery on their seemingly safe home planet, then get lost in a strange and dangerous galaxy. Finding their way home—and meeting unlikely allies and enemies—will be a greater adventure than they ever imagined.  

 

The series stars Jude Law, Ravi Cabot-Conyers, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Kyriana Kratter, Robert Timothy Smith, Tunde Adebimpe, Kerry Condon and Nick Frost. Episodes are directed by Jon Watts, David Lowery, the Daniels (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert) Jake Schreier, Bryce Dallas Howard and Lee Isaac Chung.

Jon Watts and Christopher Ford are the head writers and also serve as executive producers along with Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, Kathleen Kennedy and Colin Wilson. Chris Buongiorno, Karen Gilchrist and Carrie Beck are the co-executive producers, and Susan McNamara and John Bartnicki are the producers.  

 

Lucasfilm’s “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew” launched today, with the first two episodes, exclusively on Disney+  

Disney and Pixar’s Cosmic Misadventure “Elio” – Teaser Trailer and Poster

 

What if the thing you were searching for found you first? In Pixar Animation Studios’ big-screen comedic misadventure, alien-obsessed Elio discovers the answer to that question when he is transported to the Communiverse, an interplanetary paradise that is home to intelligent life from galaxies far and wide. But when he’s mistaken as Earth’s leader, he’ll have to form unexpected bonds, navigate a crisis of intergalactic proportions and make sure he doesn’t lose the opportunity to live out his ultimate dream. The new trailer and poster for Disney and Pixar’s “Elio” are now available.  

 

Opening only in theaters June 13, 2025, “Elio” features the voices of Yonas Kibreab as Elio, Zoe Saldaña as Aunt Olga, Remy Edgerly as Glordon, Brad Garrett as Lord Grigon, Jameela Jamil as Ambassador Questa and Shirley Henderson as OOOOO. The film is directed by Madeline Sharafian (“Burrow” Sparkshort), Domee Shi (“Bao” short, “Turning Red”) and Adrian Molina (co-screenwriter/co-director of “Coco”), and produced by Mary Alice Drumm (associate producer of “Coco”). 

DISNEY, ESPN AND THE NBA TEAM UP TO PRESENT DUNK THE HALLS – THE FIRST REAL-TIME, ANIMATED NBA GAME: SPURS VS. KNICKS ON CHRISTMAS

 

Disney, ESPN and the NBA are teaming up to present Dunk the Halls – the first real-time animated NBA game using Sony’s Beyond Sports technology – on Christmas Day, Wednesday, December 25, at noon ET when the New York Knicks – led by Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns – host the San Antonio Spurs and Victor Wembanyama and Chris Paul. Dunk the Halls will be presented on ESPN2, Disney+ and ESPN+. The special alt-cast marks the first animated presentation of an NBA game and the first NBA game to stream on Disney+.

 

The setting

The virtual, live re-creation of the Spurs vs. Knicks game will be set on iconic “Main Street, USA” in Magic Kingdom® Park as the teams play while Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Pluto, Goofy and Chip and Dale cheer them on. Shots of “Main Street, USA” and other famous landmarks within Magic Kingdom® Park will be regularly shown, including Cinderella’s Castle.

 

The story

The storyline behind the Dunk the Halls presentation begins with Mickey’s Christmas wish to Santa Claus to bring the NBA players to “Main Street, USA” at Magic Kingdom® Park at Walt Disney World Resort to play the first animated NBA game on Christmas Day.

 

The first-of-its-kind technology

Each Spurs and Knicks player will appear as a motion-enabled, animated player for the special Christmas matchup. Through state-of-the-art real-time visualization technology enabled by Sony’s Beyond Sports, combined with Sony’s Hawk-Eye Innovations’ optical tracking, fans watching Dunk the Halls will see every three-pointer, dunk, layup, pass and more from the real-life Spurs vs. Knicks game at Madison Square Garden in New York as it happens.  

More production highlights:

• At halftime of the Spurs vs. Knicks game, the Disney characters, led by Mickey Mouse, will compete in a special slam dunk contest;
• Santa’s Elves will operate the cameras for the game while Santa himself will operate ESPN’s “SkyCam” during the game;
• The Disney characters will deliver pregame and halftime speeches to the players and decorate a large Christmas tree during the game;
• Fans will also get to find out if it will snow on “Main Street, USA” and see how many churros Goofy can eat.

 

ESPN commentators

Drew Carter will serve as the play-by-play commentator alongside ESPN basketball analyst Monica McNutt. The duo will be joined by a very special guest – Daisy Duck – who will serve as the sideline reporter. Carter and McNutt will be animated in the style of the telecast and don ESPN Edge Innovation Partner’s Meta Quest Pro headsets to experience the game from “Main Street, USA” thanks to VR technology and Sony’s Beyond Sports’ Virtual Commentator Technology.  

 

All five NBA Christmas games on December 25 will be available on ABC, ESPN, Disney+ and ESPN+. The traditional broadcast of the Spurs vs. Knicks game will be called by Ryan Ruocco, analyst Cory Alexander, and reporter Cassidy Hubbarth. For more details on the schedule, visit ESPNPressRoom.com. 

 

Dunk the Halls continues ESPN and the NBA’s well-documented history innovation, including alt-cast executions that utilize the unmatched depth and scope of The Walt Disney Company.

WALT DISNEY ANIMATION STUDIOS’ “MOANA 2” SMASHES BOX OFFICE RECORDS

 

With a 5-day domestic debut of $221M, Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Moana 2” is shattering numerous box office records including the biggest 5-day opening of all time, the biggest Thanksgiving debut and Thanksgiving weekend (3-day and 5-day), the biggest Thanksgiving day, and the biggest Black Friday ever. The film, which reunites Moana (voice of Auli‘i Cravalho) and Maui (voice of Dwayne Johnson) three years later for an expansive new voyage, opened in most markets around the world with $165M internationally, bringing its global cume to date to $386M, the second biggest global debut of 2024. 

 

“‘Moana 2’ has far surpassed our high expectations this weekend and is a testament to the phenomenon that ‘Moana’ has become,” said Disney Entertainment Co-Chairman Alan Bergman. “We’re fortunate to have an incredibly talented and hard-working creative team at Disney Animation who brought this new adventure to life, alongside our wonderful stars Auli’i and Dwayne and great new music. This is a moment to celebrate, and we’re thankful to all the moviegoers and fans who’ve helped make this a record-breaking debut.”

Domestic records include:

• Biggest 5-day opening of all-time (surpassing “The Super Mario Bros. Movie”/$204.6M)
• Biggest Thanksgiving weekend of all time by far ($221M 5-day, $135.5M 3-day, surpassing “Frozen 2”/$125M 5-day and $94M 3-day)
• Biggest Thanksgiving debut by far (more than doubling “Frozen”/$94M 5-day and $67M 3-day)
• Thanksgiving Day of $28M (nearly doubling “Frozen 2”/$15M) 
• Highest ever Black Friday at the box office with $54.5M (exceeding “Frozen 2”/$34.2M)
• Biggest Walt Disney Animation Studios debut of all time.
• Disney now holds the top 7 Thanksgiving debuts of all time and 9 of the top 10. 

 

This is Disney’s third film this year to surpass $150M domestically in its opening weekend, alongside Marvel Studios’ “Deadpool & Wolverine” ($211M) and Pixar’s “Inside Out 2” ($155M), marking the three biggest openings of 2024.

“Moana 2” is off to a strong start internationally as well, driven by No. 1 openings around the world. 

• Highest animated opening weekend of all time in France
• Second highest animated weekend of all time in Italy and Brazil
• Highest WDAS opening weekend of all time across the Latin American region and in nearly 30 individual markets worldwide, including France, Italy, Australia, Brazil and Mexico

 

It is now open in all markets except Japan, Thailand, and Hong Kong, releasing in all three in the coming week. 

New Verse to “It’s a Small World” Featured in New Disney Short Paying Tribute to the Sherman Brothers

 

The Walt Disney Company premiered a poignant short film debuting a new verse to the iconic song, “It’s a Small World,” written by Richard Sherman before his passing in May of 2024. Sherman, who along with his late brother Robert wrote the song’s original verses from 1964 and many other timeless classics from some of Disney’s most celebrated films, shared the new verse with The Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger in the summer of 2023 as his final gift to the studio that he so deeply cherished. The three-minute and 30-second short film, The Last Verse, premiered Wednesday as part of an ABC News Studios' two-hour documentary event, The Untold Story of Mary Poppins: A Special Edition of 20/20, which commemorates the 60th anniversary of Walt Disney Studios’ Mary Poppins (1964), for which the Sherman Brothers earned Academy Awards® for Best Original Song and Best Original Score.

 

"As the legendary creators of some of the most cherished music of the past century, the Sherman brothers will be remembered for their profound impact on our global culture,” said Bob Iger. “Hearing Richard Sherman recite the final verse to ‘It’s a Small World’ before he died will be a moment I will carry with me forever. This beautiful short film is our tribute to their immeasurable musical contributions, their memory, and to the countless memories they helped create for generations of people around the world.” 

The Last Verse serves as a tribute to the remarkable impact of the Sherman Brothers during their decades-long musical collaboration with Disney, ranging from “It’s a Small World,” to the timeless songs and scores from enduring Disney classics like, Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book (1976), Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971), and many more.

 

“It's a Small World” was written for the attraction of the same name, which was created for the 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair. Personally overseen by Walt Disney in support of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the attraction was a major success and after two seasons, it was moved to Disneyland Park, where it opened on May 28, 1966. Today, the attraction and the Sherman Brothers’ original song are part of five Disney Parks around the world, including Disneyland Park, the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World® Resort, Tokyo Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, and Hong Kong Disneyland.

 

This touching short film takes viewers on a journey through the past 60 years of the song's history, showcasing its impact on global pop culture. Renowned director Henry Alex Rubin, best known for his award-winning documentary Murderball, helmed the project for Disney and creative partner adam&eveDDB.

 

Richard Brim, Global Chief Creative Officer for adam&eveDDB said, “It’s hard to truly capture the influence and impact that Disney has had on our lives over the past century. With this film, we wanted tap into those feelings of nostalgia that are so often associated with the iconic brand, whilst paying homage to the legends that are the Sherman brothers.”