Beginning next month, Disney will launch a 20-city “Holiday Magic Tour,” an event that kicks off today with a short film directed by Thor: Ragnarok filmmaker Taika Waititi.
According to an announcement, the Holiday Magic Tour will “[spread] cheer through donations, community activations, special surprises, and moments of joy for kids and families.” A Disney Holiday Short: Best Christmas Ever, available today on Disney+, serves as the beginning of a big holiday push for Disney.
“For generations, Disney has been part of how families celebrate the holidays—through the impact we have in communities, the stories we share, and the lifelong memories we help create that bring people together,” said Disney’s Joanna Balikian, Senior Vice President, Brand Management. “This year, Disney is continuing that legacy of making magic during the holidays all over the world.”
At the center of A Disney Holiday Short: Best Christmas Ever is a little girl and her doodle, which comes to life on Christmas Day after Santa mistakes the drawing for a holiday wish. The short follows the friendship between the girl and the animated product of her imagination. Doodle is voiced by Disney Legend John Goodman. Renowned Walt Disney Animation Studios animator Eric Goldberg acted as an advisor on the animation of the short.
This short follows last year’s Emmy-nominated, A Disney Holiday Short: The Boy & The Octopus, also directed by Taika Waititi, who also directed two Thor movies and the Oscar-winning Jojo Rabbit for Disney and/or 20th Century Studios. Last year, he produced Joy is Made, a Christmas-themed short for Amazon, as well.
“What makes this story uniquely Disney is the fact that it’s set in the world of a kid. It’s a kid and her new best friend, navigating the complex world together, and doing it just with the power of friendship and imagination,” said Waititi.
Disney’s Holiday Magic Tour will visit communities across the country and around the world, with events taking place at local schools, children’s hospitals, and nonprofit organizations, as well as VoluntEARS toy deliveries, exclusive movie screenings, a surprise Broadway cameo, and more. Shows across the Disney empire, including ESPN’s First Take and SEC Nation, as well as ABC and ABC News programs like Dancing with the Stars, Good Morning America, The View, Live with Kelly and Mark, Tamron Hall, and Wheel of Fortune, will take part.
Special Disney Store shopping sprees will take place in all 50 states, in cooperation with the Marine Toys for Tots program, with whom Disney has been partnered for 75 years.
Other big holiday events for Disney include an “Unleash the Holidays” event, fronted by Stitch, on behalf of Disney Consumer Products. They’re also rolling out a number of new , holiday-themed premieres including the upcoming A Very Jonas Christmas Movie featuring the iconic trio, Kevin, Joe, and Nick Jonas, available to stream on November 14.
