- ‘May Your Wishes Come True’ holiday campaign launch helps to culminate a year of celebration for Disney100
- Includes brand-new, live-action, global ad 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 ad represents six geographical locations and languages, plus family festive traditions
- This campaign supports Make-A-Wish® with donations that will help grant wishes for children living with critical illness
November 2, 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 ad, 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 ad is directed by Grammy Award-winning Nigerian/British director Meji Alabi and features 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, recognizing 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 ad includes the globally recognizable 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 it in other languages.
The ad 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 Walt Disney Animation Studios’ new movie ‘Wish,’ the advertisement 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 long-standing collaboration with Make-A-Wish®. For more than 40 years, Disney and Make-A-Wish have worked together to bring joy when it’s needed most to children with critical illnesses and their families around the world. This year’s support closes with Disney’s holiday campaign.
To add even more magic to the enchanting new product collection inspired by Disney’s new animated film Wish, Disney is supporting Make-A-Wish to help grant even more wishes. For each sale of an item from this Wish film collection, Disney will donate 10% of the sales price, up to $1 million, to Make-A-Wish. The donation only applies to sales at US Disney stores, shopDisney.com, Disney Cruise Line ships and Disney owned locations at Disneyland® Resort and Walt Disney World® Resort. To learn more, visit disney.com/wish-together.
Furthermore, in honor of the campaign and the Nov. 22 theatrical release of Disney Animation’s Wish, set in a magical kingdom where wishes come true, enter the “Wish Together Sweepstakes”* for a chance to win a dream come true on land and sea with a very special family vacation for four. Prize includes a three-night stay in a Club Level Concierge room at a Disney Deluxe Resort hotel at Walt Disney World® Resort along with a Disney Cruise Line® vacation to The Bahamas aboard the Disney Wish in a 1-bedroom Concierge Suite with veranda and an array of merchandise from shopDisney and more. For every entry received now through Jan. 31, 2024, Disney will donate $5 to Make-A-Wish, up to $1 million.**
Leslie Motter, President and CEO at Make-A-Wish America, said: “It speaks volumes about our friends at Disney that they’ve decided to use their 100th anniversary to deliver unprecedented levels of impact in the lives of wish kids and their families. This holiday campaign is the perfect way to end a banner year by giving people a sense for the power that wishes have to change lives and deliver hope.”
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 jewelry, technology and consumables.
---
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.
*NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Enter the Sweepstakes between 10/4/23 at 2:00 AM PT and 1/31/24 at 11:59 PM PT. Open to legal residents of the 50 U.S./D.C.; 13+. Limit 1 entry per person per day. GRAND PRIZE WINNER MUST BE ABLE TO TRAVEL MAY 3, 2024 – MAY 10, 2024 OR AUGUST 23, 2024 – AUGUST 30, 2024. Maximum donation is $1 million dollars. Donation by Disney to Make-A-Wish Foundation of America. Visit http://disneywishtogether.com/rules for full details on how to enter, eligibility requirements, odds of winning, prize descriptions and limitations. Void where prohibited. Sponsor: ABC, Inc., d/b/a Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, 500 S Buena Vista St., Burbank, CA 91521.
**Donation will be made directly to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America on or before March 31, 2024 following completion of Sweepstakes period on January 31, 2024. No fees or other amounts will be deducted from donation by Disney.