By Courtney Potter
There’s a partridge in Freeform’s proverbial pear tree, and Disney fans are invited to #ShareYourEars for Make-A-Wish… Read more, along with other news from around Disney, in this week’s news briefs!
Freeform’s 25 Days of Christmas—Coming Soon!
It’s true—Halloween was only last week, and we’re still finishing up some leftover candy… but we’d be lying if we didn’t admit we’ve already donned some jingle bells and are ready for the holidays to begin! So we were tickled red and green to see all the amazing holiday-related news coming from Freeform this week, including a brand-new trailer for their upcoming original movie Life-Size 2—part of their 25 Days of Christmas programming event. Thankfully, D23 has the clip; click here to check it out!
But the return of Eve (Tyra Banks, reprising her role from the 2000 TV movie Life-Size) on Sunday, December 2, at 9 p.m. EST/PST, isn’t the only merry magic we can expect from Freeform in December! Look for the Pop Up Santa Holiday Special, a heartwarming 90-minute event hosted by Disney’s Fairy Tale Weddings’ Stephen “tWitch” Boss and Allison Holker on Monday, December 3; the debut of Freeform’s original holiday romantic comedy No Sleep ’Til Christmas on Monday, December 10; and make sure to put the “holla” in holidays with Freeform Santa (Shadowhunters star Isaiah Mustafa) by following his hilarious exploits on social media.
For more on 25 Days of Christmas, visit Freeform.com.
Save the Date!
Be sure to mark these upcoming Disney events on your calendar:
| D23 and Walt Disney Archives November 10, 2018 The Official Walt Disney Studios Tour—Presented by D23 November 16-18, 2018 Destination D: Celebrating Mickey Mouse November 18, 2018 Celebrate Mickey’s 90th birthday in NYC! December 8, 2018 Mickey’s of Glendale – Holiday Shopping 2018 December 9, 2018 D23’s Light Up the Season – 2018 December 15, 2018 D23’s Grand Gingerbread Workshop August 23-25, 2019 D23 Expo 2019 Parks August 30-November 12, 2018 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival Summer 2019 Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Opening at Disneyland Resort Fall 2019 Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Opening at and Walt Disney World Resort |
Studios November 21, 2018 Ralph Breaks the Internet opens in U.S. theaters December 19, 2018 Mary Poppins Returns opens in U.S. theaters March 8, 2019 Marvel Studios’ Captain Marvel opens in U.S. theaters March 29, 2019 Dumbo opens in U.S. theaters April 19, 2019 Penguins opens in U.S. theaters June 21, 2019 Toy Story 4 opens in U.S. theaters Television November 29, 2018 The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration airs on ABC (9–11 p.m. EST) December 1, 2018 Disney Parks Presents a 25 Days of Christmas Holiday Party airs on Disney Channel (8-8:30 p.m. EST) December 2, 2018 Life Size 2 premieres on Freeform (9–11 p.m. EST/PST) December 8, 2018 Disney’s Fairy Tale Weddings: Holiday Magic airs on Freeform (8–9 p.m. EST/PST) December 25, 2018 Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade airs on ABC (10 a.m.–12 p.m. EST, 9–11 a.m. CST/MST/PST, airtimes vary, check local listings) |
Dreams Realized with Make-A-Wish® and #ShareYourEars
For the last four decades, Disney has partnered with Make-A-Wish to grant wishes for hundreds of thousands of kids—and now, you can once again be part of the magic! Disney’s Share Your Ears campaign is back; through November 17, for every public photo posted on social media of you donning some kind of Mickey Mouse ears—using the hashtag #ShareYourEars—Disney will make a donation to Make-A-Wish. Read more about this fun (and truly meaningful) initiative right here at D23.com.
Ralph Breaks the Internet: Go Inside “BuzzzTube” with Yesss
Wreck-It Ralph (voice of John C. Reilly) and Vanellope von Schweetz (voice of Sarah Silverman) are almost ready to take audiences on a hilarious trip down the information superhighway in Ralph Breaks the Internet—coming to a theater near you in just a few weeks. We’ve got another fun sneak-peek clip to help tide us over; this time, we (along with Ralph and Vanellope) meet Yesss (voice of Taraji P. Henson), the head algorithm of trend-making website “BuzzzTube.” Check it out, above.
Ralph Breaks the Internet follows along as Ralph and Vanellope leave the safe, comfortable confines of Litwak’s Arcade in an attempt to save Vanellope’s “Sugar Rush” game. Their quest takes them to the vast, uncharted world of the Internet, where they rely on that world’s unique (and often hilarious) “Netizens” to help navigate their way. Also featuring the voices of Gal Gadot, Alan Tudyk, Jane Lynch, and Jack McBrayer, Ralph Breaks the Internet beams into a theater near you November 21. And don’t forget: Tickets are already on sale, so go ahead and make those Thanksgiving weekend movie plans now!
Jingle All the Way with New Holiday Specials on ABC and Disney Channel
Fire up the hearth and put some extra marshmallows in that mug of hot chocolate… December will be positively chockablock with Disney holiday fun! Case in point: Three all-new holiday specials coming to ABC and Disney Channel, beginning Thursday, November 29. Stay off the naughty list by checking out what you can expect from said specials here at D23.com.
Bobby Bones Joins ABC’s American Idol as In-House Mentor
He’s a fan favorite on this season of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars, and now he’s becoming a more permanent member of the ABC family!
Radio personality Bobby Bones is set to join ABC’s American Idol as the show’s in-house mentor. Last season, Bobby joined the Top 24 Idol hopefuls as they prepared to take the stage with their all-star celebrity duet partners. In his expanded role this coming season, the National Radio Hall of Fame inductee will offer his industry expertise throughout the competition—helping contenders reach the next level of their artistry and performances.
Auditions to find the next go-round of American Idol are currently underway, overseen by returning judges Lionel Richie, Luke Bryan, and Katy Perry. Look for more American Idol news as it becomes available…
ICYMI: All the Best Moments from Mickey’s 90th Spectacular
D23 was lucky enough to help celebrate Mickey Mouse’s 90 years of magic by attending the taping of ABC’s recent Mickey’s 90th Spectacular television special. Access all our behind-the-scenes goodies by checking out our rundown of the special’s most memorable moments.
Making Spirits Bright—Overnight!—at Magic Kingdom Park
It won’t surprise you to learn that, once Halloween is through, the good folks at Walt Disney World Resort (and all Disney Parks, in fact) set to work immediately to prepare for the holidays. It takes literally thousands of cast members to make spirits bright in just a few nights! Wondering how they do it? Thanks to our friends at the Disney Parks Blog, we have a glimpse of just what went into switching from “Halloween” to “holidays” this year. Take a look, above.
Don’t forget that you can see the Magic Kingdom sparkle and shine in person by attending Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, the incredible special event kicking off this week and running (on select nights) through December 21. For more information on all the (separately-ticketed) fun, visit DisneyWorld.com.
