· ‘May Your Wishes Come True’ holiday campaign helps to culminate a year of celebration for Disney100
· Includes brand-new, live-action, global advert titled ‘A Wish For The Holidays’ inspired by Walt Disney Animation Studios’ upcoming movie Wish and featuring the voice of Ariana DeBose
· Directed by Grammy Award-winning Nigerian/British director Meji Alabi, the advert represents six geographical locations and languages, and family festive traditions
· Fans can spot hidden ‘Easter Eggs’ in the advert
· This campaign supports Make-A-Wish® with a donation which will help grant wishes to children living with critical illnesses
Official Advert Embed Code:
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2 November 2023: Disney has today launched a holiday campaign called ‘May Your Wishes Come True’ focusing on the power of wishes for its 100th anniversary. The campaign includes the first live-action festive advert, titled ‘A Wish For The Holidays,’ which takes inspiration from the soon-to-be released Walt Disney Animation Studios’ movie Wish, and will launch in more than 50 countries.
The advert is directed by Grammy Award-winning Nigerian/British director Meji Alabi and was fully shot in South Africa, with scenes representing six geographical locations and languages. It tells the stories of families and friends from around the world, who are united by a universal wish to be together with their loved ones during the Holidays, recognising a range of festive traditions.
Director Meji Alabi said: “I feel lucky to have collaborated with such a diverse group of people on Disney’s Holiday campaign this year. There were so many stand-out moments for me during the filming, but I think the most memorable was watching the South African kids choir sing their lines. It truly gave me goosebumps.”
The advert includes globally recognisable song ‘A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes’ from Cinderella, rearranged to enable multiple performers to come together with one united voice. English-language voice of Asha and Academy Award-winning actress and singer Ariana DeBose delivers the opening line in the English version, and voice actresses in markets around the world sing them in other languages.
The advert has been globally produced by Ridley Scott Associates across the US, UK and South Africa and developed in collaboration with the Disney Parks, Experiences and Products internal advertising agency Yellow Shoes.
Joss Hastings, VP Global Marketing, Disney Consumer Products, Games & Publishing, said: “Holiday traditions may look different around the world but however and wherever you’re celebrating, we all share the wish to be with the ones we love during this special time of year. Inspired by Disney Animation’s new movie ‘Wish,’ the advert brings voices from around the world together as a global choir for a powerful rendition of the iconic ‘A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes’. We hope fans enjoy the new twist on a Disney classic as we celebrate 100 years of storytelling and the integral role that music has played.”
Throughout Disney’s 100th-Anniversary celebrations, Disney has continued its collaboration with long-standing charity alliance Make-A-Wish® and its network of Affiliates around the world. For more than 40 years, Disney and Make-A-Wish have worked together to bring joy when it’s needed most to wish kids and their families through life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses. This year’s support closes with Disney’s Holiday campaign, which includes Make-A-Wish items featured in the advert as ‘Easter Eggs’ for fans to spot. In addition, to celebrate the release of Disney’s Wish and the launch of the shopDisney Wish collection Disney has donated $300,000 USD to Make-A-Wish® International and its Affiliates to help grant even more wishes around the world. In addition, Mattel is donating a share of proceeds* from every Disney Wish Star Reveals Mini Doll Surprise toy to Make-A-Wish®.
Luciano Manzo, President and CEO at Make-A-Wish® International, said: “This is a special year for Disney and our long-standing collaboration with them. We are delighted that Disney has once again chosen to celebrate the holiday season by helping make wishes come true for children living with critical illnesses.”
Nearly 300 global retailers are joining Disney’s 2023 Holiday campaign, bringing stories and characters to life through innovative products across multiple categories: from toys and apparel, to jewellery, technology and consumables. Retailers supporting Disney’s 2023 Holiday campaign in the UK include Amazon, Smyths, ASDA & George, Tesco, Sainsburys, Argos, Next, Game at House of Fraser and The Entertainer.
In addition to featuring in ‘A Wish For The Holidays,’ Pandora will also launch bespoke retail activations and short spin-off advertising spot, while Disney has supported Baby licensees with a bespoke commercial toolkit.
ENDS
For more information, contact: disneyholidays@taylorherring.com
NOTES TO EDITORS
* For every Disney’s Wish Star Reveals Mini Doll Surprise (HPX30) sold between 1st October to 31st December 2023 (with a maximum donation of 50,000 EUR), Mattel EMEA will donate 10% of the Recommended Retail Price to Make-A-Wish (excluding VAT/sales tax). These proceeds will help grant life-changing wishes for children living with critical illnesses. Learn more at worldwish.org
About Disney Consumer Products, Games and Publishing
Disney Consumer Products, Games and Publishing (CPGP) brings the magic of The Walt Disney Company’s brands and franchises—including Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, and more—into the daily lives of families and fans around the world through products and experiences across more than 100 retail categories from toys and t-shirts to apps, books, video games, and more. A division of the Disney Parks, Experiences and Products segment, CPGP’s global operations include: the world’s largest licensing business, one of the biggest children’s publishing brands, a leading licensor of interactive games across platforms, and the shopDisney e-commerce platform.
About Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Wish”
In “Wish,” Asha, a sharp-witted idealist, makes a wish so powerful that it is answered by a cosmic force—a little ball of boundless energy called Star. Together, Asha and Star confront a most formidable foe—the ruler of Rosas, King Magnifico—to save her community and prove that when the will of one courageous human connects with the magic of the stars, wondrous things can happen. Featuring the voices of Academy Award®-winning actor Ariana DeBose as Asha, Chris Pine as Magnifico, and Alan Tudyk as Asha’s favorite goat, Valentino, the film is helmed by Oscar®-winning director Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn, and produced by Peter Del Vecho and Juan Pablo Reyes Lancaster Jones. Jennifer Lee executive produces—Lee and Allison Moore are writers on the project. With original songs by Grammy®-nominated singer/songwriter Julia Michaels and Grammy-winning producer/songwriter/musician Benjamin Rice, plus score by composer Dave Metzger, “Wish” opens only in theaters on Nov. 22, 2023. Access available press materials here.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@disneyanimation
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DisneyWishMovie / https://www.facebook.com/DisneyAnimation/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/disneywishmovie/ / https://www.instagram.com/disneyanimation/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DisneyWishMovie / https://twitter.com/DisneyAnimation
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@disneyanimation
Hashtag: #WishMovie
About Make-A-Wish®
Make-A-Wish creates life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses. Founded in 1980, Make-A-Wish is the world’s leading children’s wish-granting organization, having granted more than 500,000 wishes in nearly 50 countries worldwide. Together with generous donors, supporters, staff and more than 30,000 volunteers around the globe, Make-A-Wish delivers hope and joy to children and their families when they need it most. Make-A-Wish aims to bring the power of wishing to every child with a critical illness because wish experiences can help improve emotional and physical health. For more information about Make-A-Wish International, visit worldwish.org or follow @makeawishintl on social media.
Disney’s Social Purpose
At The Walt Disney Company, our purpose is to inspire a better world through the power of stories. Disney’s partnership with Make-A-Wish and other not-for-profit partners across Europe is an example of how, working with others, we help build emotional resilience. Together we bring the power of our brand, stories, and characters to inspire and create Moments that Matter for children and those closest to them when they need it the most. In 2021, we created over 58,000 life-changing moments across Europe. Our commitments, goals and progress is reported annually in The Walt Disney Company CSR report here. For more information on our programmes and our long-standing charitable partners please visit www.thewaltdisneycompany.eu.