Disney is going deep into its bag today to make sure fans are in a total tizzy for Disney Plus Day. Sure, it’s not quite auto-populated onto your phone’s calendar yet, but Disney is banking (key word there) on the mammoth amount of fan-favorite and heavily-anticipated assets it has in store to get fans on board with the second annual event.
In its press release unveiled today, we’ve learned that, among many other things, that Disney Plus Day will feature the streaming premiere of Thor: Love and Thunder, Obi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi’s Return, a new The Simpsons short focused on Lisa Simpson, and sing-alongs for both Frozen and Frozen 2.
Following in the footsteps of their first event last year, which coincided with the debut of major trailers and other announcements, this year’s Disney Plus Day will also feature “celebrations across Disney Parks, Experiences and Products,” according to the release.
Announced previously but nonetheless exciting still, the streaming network unveiled images for the Robert Zemeckis-directed live-action Pinocchio, which will release on Disney Plus Day, as well as serial episodes of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (seems the Mouse House sure is all about those colons), Cars on the Road with Owen Wilson back in his role of Lightning McQueen, Growing Up (created by Brie Larson), and a National Geographic special called Epic Adventures with Bertie Gregory.
There is also scheduled to be a new behind-the-scenes featurette on Thor: Love and Thunder in addition to the behind-the-scenes-and-more Obi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi’s Return releasing on Disney Plus Day.
When is Disney Plus Day exactly?
The date to mark down in whatever format you keep track of things is Sept. 8, mere weeks away. However, the celebrations extend both before and after that date, depending on your involvement level in all things Disney.
Lead up
From Aug. 29 to Sept. 5, Disney announced that those on the Disney Vacation Club Member Cruise will be treated to “special gifts from Disney+ and 9 exclusive shows and experiences supporting current and upcoming Disney+ programming.”
The day of
And on Sept. 8 both renowned resort parks, Walt Disney World in Florida and Disneyland in California will have character-inspired meet-and-greets, and loads of other perks for Disney Plus subscribers. There will also be limited time PhotoPass lenses that folks can use on-site or anywhere else via Snapchat and the My Disney Experience app.
Furthermore (and farther away), Disneyland Paris will also get in on the fun with perks and special experiences, while Hong Kong Disneyland will celebrate the event on Sept. 10.
Other things hitting the streaming airwaves include: Remembering, which is an original short film from Emmy-winning director Elijah Allan Blitz — which stars Brie Larson — explores the theme of, “Where do ideas come from? And where do they go when they’re forgotten?” according to the release; Tierra Incógnita, an original series produced in Latin America; and Dancing with the Stars: The Pros’ Most Memorable Dances.
And then
On top of all that, some special Disney films will be coming back to theaters, they announced. From Sept. 8-19, people can check out some familiar hits at AMC Theaters, including Thor: Ragnarok, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Cars, Encanto, and Newsies, with tickets going for just $5 and available to everyone, going on sale Sept. 1. For Disney Plus subscribers, there will be special concessions as well.
After all that, the Disney Plus Day and surrounding festivities are meant to — other than boost Disney Plus subscriptions — lead into the D23 Expo: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event (there’s that patented colon again) in Anaheim, Calif. from Sept. 9-11.
The full Disney Plus Day lineup
A quick run-down of the full lineup in handy list form:
Thor: Love and Thunder — The fourth installment in the Thor series and second one with Taika Waititi at the helm. Streaming in IMAX Enhanced with up to 26 percent more picture for the at-home movie experience, the 15th such Marvel Cinematic Universe film to get the treatment.
Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Thor: Love and Thunder — In-depth interviews and unseen footage from both the set and the film.
Obi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi’s Return — An exploration of both Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) returning to their Star Wars roles, along with behind-the-scenes footage. The story is said to discuss the characters’ narratives and saga through the eyes of director Deborah Chow and the cast and crew.
Frozen and Frozen 2 Sing-Alongs — A karaoke-style full immersion into the films’ music with on-screen lyrics
Remembering — A journey through the “World of Imagination,” that is the “first of its kind” featuring the Augmented Reality app companion that is triggered by the “film’s moving image” with which viewers in the U.S. can interact with the story.
Welcome to the Club (a new short from The Simpsons) — A Lisa Simpson story of her exploring becoming a princess, and maybe deciding she’d rather be “bad”
Dancing with the Stars: The Pros’ Most Memorable Dances — The 20 most memorable dances from the show’s 30 seasons, which is also a lead-up to the 31st season debuting on Disney Plus.
Tierra Incógnita — Follows a teenager who is searching for the truth behind the disappearance of his parents eight years earlier.
Pinocchio — The live-action adventure from Zemeckis, with Tom Hanks, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Cynthia Erivo, Luke Evans, Lorraine Bracco, and Keegan-Michael Key all in tow to bring the original story and animated movie to life.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law — Episode four of the current series focused on the titular character, aka Jennifer Walters, played by Tatiana Maslany.
Cars on the Road — A series based on Lightning McQueen and Mater (Larry the Cable Guy) on a cross-country road trip, set to introduce new characters as well through nine episodes.
Growing Up — A hybrid docuseries from Brie Larson that explores the complexities of adolescence through 10 coming-of-age stories following individuals from ages 18 to 22, with each of the 10 installments coming in the form of 30-minute episodes.
Epic Adventures with Bertie Gregory — Is said to be “epic and nail-biting journeys that push into the most spectacular and secretive corners of our wild world.”
