New to Disney+ in November

Disney+ today dropped a trailer for The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse, which premieres on November 18 (which just happens to be Mickey’s birthday).

It teams the Disney icon with Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy and Pluto in a series of seven-minute shorts that blends timeless stories in modern settings with new music and the unmistakable classic art style of vintage Mickey Mouse shorts.

Two new shorts will roll out every Friday from November 27, with 10 more due next year.

Meanwhile, Auckland-based Flux Animation Studios has partnered with Disney to launch its 2020 Christmas campaign F​rom Our Family to Yours with a new animated short, which will debut on Disney+ on Friday.

Starting in 1940, it introduces to audiences two new characters – a grandmother, Lola, and her granddaughter – alongside a very familiar friend – Mickey Mouse, in toy form – gifted to Lola as a young child by her father.

With each passing year, Lola’s Mickey plush reminds her of her childhood and the short evolves into a present day, showing the connection she has to her granddaughter, which ultimately goes on to inspire Lola’s granddaughter to throw a festive surprise for her on Christmas morning.

Disney+ also has announced the December 18 launch of an original six-part documentary series about a season in New York City’s world renowned School of American Ballet .

On Pointe will feature follow the lives of students aged 8 to 18 as they pursue their dreams to become ballet dancers.

While older students from all over the country rigorously train for professional careers, younger students from New York City are put through their paces as they rehearse and perform in New York City Ballet’s holiday classic George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker onstage at Lincoln Center. The series is produced by Imagine Documentaries and DCTV, with Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Sara Bernstein and Justin Wilkes executive producing from Imagine Entertainment; Matthew O’Neill serves as executive producer from DCTV.

Also new from November 17 will be the LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special.

The new animated special from LEGO is the first to debut on Disney+ and follows the events of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

Rey leaves her friends to prepare for Life Day as she sets off on a new adventure with BB-8 to gain a deeper knowledge of the Force. At a mysterious Jedi Temple, she is hurled into a cross-timeline adventure through beloved moments in Star Wars cinematic history, coming into contact with Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Yoda, Obi-Wan and other iconic heroes and villains from all nine Skywalker saga films. But will she make it back in time for the Life Day feast and learn the true meaning of holiday spirit?

New from November 20 will be Marvel’s 616 anthology documentary series that explores the creative world of the comic book icon.

Marvel’s 616 explores Marvel’s rich legacy of pioneering characters, creators and storytelling to reflect the world outside your window. Each documentary, helmed by a unique filmmaker, showcases the intersections of storytelling, pop culture, and fandom within the Marvel Universe. Episodes in this anthology series will cover topics including Marvel’s world-spanning artists, the trailblazing women of Marvel Comics, discovering the “forgotten” characters of Marvel, and much more.

Here are the episode titles (and directors):

• Japanese Spider-Man (David Gelb)
• Higher Further Faster (Gillian Jacobs)
• Amazing Artisans (Clay Jeter)
• Lost and Found (Paul Scheer)
• Suit Up! (Andrew Rossi)
• Unboxed (Sarah Ramos)
• The Marvel Method (Brian Oakes)
• Marvel Spotlight (Alison Brie).

This month’s also notable for three other debuts: the movie Black Beauty (November 27), Inside Pixar (November 13) and the documentary The Real Right Stuff, which pulls hundreds of hours of archival film and radio broadcasts, interviews, home movies and other rare and never-before-seen material to tell “the remarkable true story of the nation’s first astronauts, the original Mercury 7”.

It will premiere on November 20, the same day as the season finale of The Right Stuff lands.

Black Beauty is a “contemporary reimagining” of the Anna Sewell classic in which Kate Winslet voices the wild horse that forges an unbreakable bond with a spirited teenager (Mackenzie Foy).

Inside Pixar consists of four collections with five short stories in each, centred around a central theme. The first collection releasing on Friday is “Inspired,” exploring what sparks inspiration and the journey from idea to execution within Pixar Animation Studios..