“Dunk The Halls” Returning On Disney+ For A Third Year

After the success of the previous live “Dunk The Halls” special events on Christmas Day, Disney has announced that it will be returning for a third time, offering an animated version of the live NBA game New York Knicks verses San Antonio Spurs.

“Dunk The Halls” will be taking place on Christmas Day at noon ET on ESPN2, Disney+, Disney Channel and the ESPN App.

The virtual, live re-creation of the Spurs vs. Knicks game will once again unfold on “Main Street, U.S.A.” in Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Goofy, Pluto, Chip and Dale and Stitch will return, joined for the first time by Angel, Stitch’s intergalactic bestie from Disney’s “Lilo & Stitch: The Series”, who makes her “Dunk the Halls” debut.

Shots of “Main Street, U.S.A.” and iconic landmarks like Cinderella Castle will appear throughout, transformed with festive décor, snowfall and other Disney-inspired surprises.

In this special, Mickey’s Christmas wish to Santa Claus once again brings the NBA to Magic Kingdom for a magical, animated matchup. This year, Angel, also known as Experiment 624, joins Stitch and the rest of the Disney crew for the Christmas Day celebration, bringing even more out-of-this-world fun to the latest Dunk the Halls adventure.

There will be new content added this year, including:

• Angel makes her first-ever “Dunk the Halls” appearance and headlines Angel’s Halftime Video Dance Party.
• Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Donald Duck, Angel and Stitch will take part in the game.
• New “Main Street Memories” will revisit the dunk contest from the original “Dunk the Halls” and last year’s Christmas Parade.
• New Hidden Mickeys, visual gags and Christmas memories from NBA stars will appear throughout the presentation.

Each player will appear as a motion-tracked animated version of themselves, captured live through Sony’s Beyond Sports real-time visualisation technology. Its advanced player modelling translates the live action into natural, authentic character movement within the animated world. Optical tracking data is provided by Sony’s Hawk-Eye Innovations. Viewers will see every dunk, layup and pass from the actual game at Madison Square Garden as it happens.

Disney has also confirmed some of the production highlights

• Angel’s Halftime Video Dance Party will feature a large video screen in the middle of Main Street, U.S.A., with Disney characters and dancing gingerbread people joining the fun.
• Santa’s elves will return as camera operators, with Santa operating ESPN’s “SkyCam.”
• Disney friends will deliver locker room speeches and decorate a massive Christmas tree during the broadcast.
• NBA Commissioner Adam Silver returns to Dunk the Halls to make a special appearance.
• Fans can look forward to Disney and NBA trivia, sideline antics from the Disney crew and finding out how many churros Goofy can eat this year.

Disney has announced that the special will see Drew Carter, Monica McNutt and Daisy Duck reprise their roles from last year’s “Dunk the Halls” presentation. Carter will once again serve as play-by-play commentator alongside ESPN basketball analyst McNutt, while Daisy Duck returns as sideline reporter.

Carter and McNutt will again be animated in the style of the telecast and don ESPN Edge Innovation Partner Meta Quest Pro headsets to experience the game from “Main Street, U.S.A.” through VR technology and Sony’s Beyond Sports Virtual Commentator Technology.

The traditional Spurs vs. Knicks game will also air live on ABC and ESPN will feature Mike Breen and Richard Jefferson and Tim Legler on commentary with Lisa Salters reporting from courtside.

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