By Courtney Potter
Adventure Awaits—Disneynature’s Polar Bear Coming Soon to Disney+
Are you ready to meet an adorable (albeit powerfully protective) polar bear mom and her cute, inquisitive cubs? Earlier this week, Disney+ debuted a new trailer for Disneynature’s all-new feature film Polar Bear, which premieres exclusively on the streamer beginning April 22, as part of their big Earth Day celebration.
Narrated by two-time Academy Award®–nominee Catherine Keener, Polar Bear tells the story of a new mother whose memories of her own youth prepare her to navigate motherhood in the increasingly challenging world that polar bears face today. Directed by Alastair Fothergill and Jeff Wilson, the team behind Disneynature’s Penguins, and produced by Fothergill, Wilson, and Roy Conli, Polar Bear, along with Explorer: The Last Tepui and The Biggest Little Farm: The Return from National Geographic, will debut on Earth Day and take Disney+ viewers on a journey around the world—from the rainforests of Guyana to the farms of California to the icy tundras of the Arctic—to witness and celebrate the diversity and resilience of our planet and the species that inhabit it.
But that’s not all: Disneynature also revealed that in honor of the film’s majestic and extraordinarily resilient stars, Disneynature and the Disney Conservation Fund will continue their longstanding commitment to caring for wildlife and their habitats by supporting Polar Bears International (PBI) in their efforts to help protect polar bears as well as their Arctic home.
So mark those calendars, and join the Earth Day celebration beginning April 22.
5 Fantastic Things to Watch This Weekend Presented by State Farm®
Don’t forget to spring forward this Sunday—you may lose an hour of sleep, but there’s still plenty of time to watch some favorites from around the worlds of Disney, including Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Big Hero 6. Plus, celebrate Stargirl’s second anniversary with a viewing on Disney+. And there’s more where that came from…
First Look: Disney The Little Mermaid Stage Show Aboard the Disney Wish
Get ready to be a part of Ariel’s world in an all-new way! The good folks at Disney Cruise Line have joined forces with a team of top Broadway talent to develop a brand-new stage adaptation of The Little Mermaid exclusively for the Disney Wish. In this modern-day retelling, audiences will rediscover the iconic scenes, beloved music, and colorful characters of the film, as a cast of contemporary storytellers put their own spin on the timeless tale.
Disney The Little Mermaid will feature innovative theatrical design, dazzling special effects, artistic choreography, and a reimagined script and score that will surprise and delight guests of all ages. Take a look at an artist’s rendering of the big “Under the Sea” number in the image above. Incredible scenic designs and state-of-the-art video projections will transform the Walt Disney Theatre into a 360-degree undersea environment.
Guests attending Destination D23 last year, or those who tuned in virtually, got a sneak peek at the show’s take on “Poor Unfortunate Souls”—a soulful version of the classic tune, filled with all of Ursula’s confidence and glamour.
Stay tuned for more info about Disney The Little Mermaid as we sail ever closer to the big debut of the Disney Wish!
Disney+ Drops Teaser Trailer for Obi-Wan Kenobi
We’ve been looking forward to this limited series since it was first announced at D23 Expo 2019… and now, we only need wait a couple more months for Obi-Wan Kenobi’s debut. Celebrate with a first—or 51st—viewing of the brand-new teaser trailer, revealed by Disney+ and Lucasfilm at The Walt Disney Company’s recent Annual Shareholders Meeting.
French Comedy Series Weekend Family Now Streaming on Disney+
Take in the sights—as well as the comedy—of France without ever leaving the comfort of your couch… All eight episodes of the first French Disney+ Original series, Weekend Family, are now streaming exclusively on the service. Disney+ also debuted the official trailer for the series, above.
The series follows the exploits of a chaotic, endearing “super-blended” family. Every weekend, fun-loving Fred (Eric Judor) has custody of his three very different daughters—idealistic Clara (Liona Bordonaro), quirky Victoire (Midie Dreyfus), and demanding Romy (Roxane Barrazuol). This would be complicated enough, but their three mothers (Annelise Hesme, Jeanne Bournaud, and Annabel Lopez) and Fred’s best friend Stan (Hafid F. Benamar) are always on the scene as well—making the weekends even more frenetic. But Fred has fallen in love again, and he wants his girlfriend Emmanuelle (Daphné Côté Hallé)—a Canadian emigrant with no experience of parenting and only a half-finished Ph.D. in child psychology—to move in with him. With the support of Fred and the not-so-helpful advice of her own best friend, Cora (Sephora Pondi), Emmanuelle will have to put her books and theories aside and find her own way as stepmother to this crazy weekend family.
Directed by Pierre-François Martin-Laval and Sophie Reine, the series was created by Baptiste Filleul.
ICYMI: Meet the Women of Walt Disney Imagineering
Peggie Fariss, Becky Bishop, Maggie Elliot… This Women’s History Month, learn about the incredible, decades-long contributions of these women at WDI—and a whole lot more—in the new book Women of Walt Disney Imagineering, which hits store shelves (real and virtual) on March 15. To help celebrate the book’s debut, find out some fun facts about these Imagineers right here at D23.com.
