During the Disney Branded Television panel at the D23 Expo, Three new holiday specials were unveiled, set to make their debut on Disney+ later this year.
What’s Happening:
- Three new unscripted holiday specials have been announced for Disney+ streaming this holiday season at the D23 Expo: Best in Snow, an action-packed winter competition event hosted by Titus Burgess; Pentatonix: Around the World for the Holidays, following the superstar a cappella group as they work to find inspiration for their annual holiday album; and The Hip Hop Nutcracker, a modern reimagining of a holiday classic that fuses the worlds of hip-hop and classical music to put a fresh spin on a beloved tale.
- Best in Snow
- Coming This Holiday Season to Disney+, Best in Snow is a festive holiday special, hosted by Tituss Burgess, featuring teams from around the world transported to a magical snowy village, Snowdome, and thrown into a spirited competition to compete for the title of Best in Snow.
- With the help of Snowdome’s finest carvers, teams will transform their 10-foot, 20-ton blocks of snow into beautiful creations inspired by Pixar, Marvel, Walt Disney Animation, Walt Disney Studios and The Muppets Studio. The teams will take family favorites such as Moana, Coco and The Lion King, and bring the characters to life in a way you’ve never seen before – in snow! Spectacular snow sculptures and lively musical performances from Tituss Burgess, Kermit the Frog and DCappella make this an action-packed winter event for the entire family.
- Produced by Six West Media and Milojo Productions. Executive producers are Kelly Ripa, Mark Consuelos, Steve Ascher, Albert Bianchini, Allie Breslin, Jessica Conway, Josh Greenberg (and showrunner) and Tabitha Hanson-Obtulowicz. Michael Halpern is a producer, and the special was directed by Sam Wrench.
- Cast includes Tituss Burgess as Mayor Frostifer von Fjord, Kermit the Frog and Disney’s DCapella as the Town Carolers.
- Pentatonix: Around the World for the Holidays
- Coming This Holiday Season to Disney+, superstar a capella group Pentatonix is struggling to find inspiration for their annual holiday album, and the clock is ticking. To make matters worse, their well-intentioned but misguided manager mistakenly locks them in a magic mailroom. But with the help of some Disney magic, we’re soon on a whirlwind tour around the world, discovering holiday traditions and inspiration from Pentatonix fans all around the globe: from Tokyo to Grenada, Ghana to Mexico and Iceland. The fun-filled journey leads the group to realize that wherever we find ourselves, the holidays offer the perfect opportunity to discover how much we have in common and that it really is a small world after all!
- Produced by Done+Dusted, executive producers are Ashley Edens, David Jammy, Katy Mullan.
- Cast includes Pentatonix – Mitch Grassi, Scott Hoying, Kirstin Maldonado, Kevin Olusola, Matt Sallee and Nico Santos as manager.
- The Hip Hop Nutcracker
- Coming This Holiday Season to Disney+, Run-D.M.C.’s Rev Run brings us along for a hip-hop reimagining of The Nutcracker ballet set in New York City. It’s the night of the annual New Year’s Eve block party and Maria-Clara’s (Caché Melvin) mom and pop (Allison Holker Boss and Stephen “tWitch’ Boss) aren’t getting along … and it’s bringing her down. Maria-Clara embarks on a holiday adventure to bring her parents back together, finding help along the way from the magical toymaker, Drosselmeyer (Comfort Fedoke), and the Nutcracker (Du-Shant “Fik-shun” Stegall) whom she brings to life.
- Maria-Clara’s journey takes her from the streets of New York to fantasy worlds where she battles with mice and toy soldiers (Viktor White, BDash, Kevin “Konkrete” Davis”), and back in time to the Land of Sweets in order to find the key to unlock her holiday wish. Will it be enough to rekindle her parents’ lost love before the clock strikes midnight? The special features best-in-class dancers Mikhail Baryshnikov, Tiler Peck, KidaTheGreat AKA Kida Burns, the Jabbawockeez as magical snowflakes, and more.
- Produced by Done+Dusted, executive producers are Raj Kapoor, Katy Mullan, Jennifer Weber, Eva Price and NappyTabs. Choreographers include NappyTabs, Hokuto “HOK” Konishi, Phillip Chbeeb, Makenzie Dustman, Luther Brown, D-Trix and Jennifer Weber.
- Nikki Parsons is director. The Disney+ Original special “The Hip Hop Nutcracker” is inspired by the live stage phenomenon touring America this holiday season.
- Cast:
- Rev Run – Neighborhood MC/Narrator
- Caché Melvin – Maria-Clara
- Du-Shaunt “Fik-Shun” Stegall – Nutcracker
- Stephen “tWitch” Boss & Allison Holker Boss – Mom and Dad
- Comfort Fedoke – Drosselmeyer
- Jabbawockeez – Snowflakes
- Jaja Vankova – Marionette Toy
- Tiler Peck – Ballerina Toy
- Nicholas “Slick” Stewart – Jack in the Box Toy
- Robert Green – Violinist, Ensemble
- BDash, Kevin “Konkrete” Davis, Viktor White – Soldiers
- Jean Sok – Mouse King
- KidaTheGreat AKA Kida Burns – Reed Pipes, Ensemble
- Alex Wong, Simrin Player – Sweets, Ensemble
- Ray Basa – Chocolates
- D-Trix – Piano Player
- Bailey “Bailrok” Munoz, Dustin “D” Payne, Randi “Rascal” Freitas, Rudy Reynon, Tre De Rego, Ethan Evaro, Elyssa Cueto, Angel Gibbs, Alexis Shon, Brynda Rowen, Shannon Kelly, Maycee Steele, Winnie Chang, Jordan Laza, Dayne Sempert, Alex Palaez, Hugh Aparente, Chris Andrews, Noelle Rodriguez, Taylor Thomas – Ensemble
- Marisa Kouroubacalis – Bucket Drummer
- Mikhail Baryshniikov – Cameo
- Kurtis Blow – Cameo
- Phil Wright – Cameo
2022 D23 Expo coverage is presented by shopDisney
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