Today, the Disney Movie Moments program that provides children’s hospitals with special access to new movie titles from The Walt Disney Studios is expanding to include nearly 100 additional hospitals, more than doubling the current number of program participants.
What’s Happening:
- Building on a longstanding commitment to help reimagine the patient experience in children’s hospitals, the unique program offers opportunities for kids and their families to enjoy first-run movies together—along with other hospitalized children—providing a sense of community during a time in which they may not be able to visit movie theaters.
- Disney is teaming up with long-time collaborator Starlight Children’s Foundation to expand to even more hospitals to deliver on the goal of creating positive memories during a child’s time at a hospital.
- To celebrate the expansion, new and existing participant hospitals kicked off their programs with a special screening of Disney and Pixar’s latest film Lightyear. At the University of New Mexico Children’s Hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on June 23th, and at Valley Children’s Hospital in Madera, California on June 30th, respectively, children and their families watched the new movie title, received giveaways and met with animators.
- To date, the program has streamed 40,000 hours of content. Moving forward, the company will continue to use proprietary technology to deliver first-run titles directly to children’s hospitals from Disney, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm and 20th Century Studios, along with select customized talent video greetings.
- Disney Movie Moments was first established in 48 hospitals in 2014 as part of the company’s commitment to delivering comfort and joy to children and their families.
- The Disney Movie Moments program is part of a larger, global mission to support children’s hospitals and pediatric places of care. In 2018, Disney announced a global commitment of $100 million to help reimagine the patient experience in children’s hospitals. Other efforts include transforming hospital spaces with interactive murals and digital equipment featuring mesmerizing Disney content and familiar characters; creating personalized moments by delivering Disney-themed Starlight hospital wear, care packages, and products; providing engaging content via complimentary access to Disney+ and other digital content; and supporting children’s hospital staff through specially-designed training classes and staff badges globally. This work builds on a legacy of support for kids and families that started in the 1930s when Walt Disney first began visiting hospitalized children.
- To learn more about the program and Disney’s charitable efforts, please visit impact.disney.com.
What They’re Saying:
- Alan Bergman, Chairman, Disney Studios Content, said: “We’ve supported children’s hospitals for many years and are committed to fostering special moments for children and families to bring a little joy into their lives during these tough moments. We are proud to continue that work by expanding our Disney Movie Moments initiative and bringing the magic of our stories to more hospitals.”
- Adam Garone, CEO of Starlight Children’s Foundation said: “Transforming the hospital experience is core to our mission at Starlight of delivering happiness to seriously ill children and their families to reduce the stress of hospitalization and medical procedures. When kids are hospitalized, they miss out on the most important parts of being a kid, like having fun and going to the movies. That’s why we’re grateful for our long-term work with Disney to bring these magical Disney Movie Moments to pediatric patients at our network of children’s hospitals and facilities.”