Disney to Donate up to $1 Million to Help Grant Wishes for Children
with Critical Illnesses via Global Challenge
Movie Tickets Now on Sale
BURBANK, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) and Make-A-Wish® launched the
#FriendLikeMe Challenge today – World Wish Day® – to celebrate the May
24, 2019 release of the studio’s much anticipated new movie, “Aladdin.”
Movie tickets are on sale now.
The #FriendLikeMe Challenge is part of a global cause marketing campaign
supported by two Make-A-Wish wish granters, Disney and Will Smith. The
actor/recording artist, who stars in Disney’s “Aladdin” as the
wish-granting Genie, encourages fans and celebrities to participate in
the campaign and help show the world: Where there’s a wish, there’s a
way. The campaign poses the question: “If you were the Genie in
Disney’s ‘Aladdin’ and had the chance to grant three heartfelt wishes
for someone, who would you share them with? Tag a friend on Twitter
and/or Instagram. For every public post with #FriendLikeMe from
April 29 through May 24, 2019, Disney will donate $5 up to $1
million to Make-A-Wish to help grant life-changing wishes to children
battling critical illnesses all over the world. For more information, go
to FriendLikeMe.org.
See Disney’s ‘Aladdin’ in theaters May 24.”
“The release of ‘Aladdin’ presents an authentic opportunity to connect
the film’s powerful theme of wish-granting to the wonderful work
Make-A-Wish does in support of children dealing with serious illnesses
around the world,” said Elissa Margolis, senior vice president,
Enterprise Social Responsibility for The Walt Disney Company. “Wishes
are all about hope and we’re so glad to be able to continue our work
with Make-A-Wish and invite fans to join us in helping grant more
wishes that will bring hope into the lives of deserving kids and their
families.”
Since 1980, Disney and Make-A-Wish have helped grant life-changing
wishes for more than 130,000 children with critical illnesses around the
world. Today, one out of every two wishes granted in the U.S. is a
Disney wish. When a wish is granted, a child replaces fear with
confidence, sadness with joy, and anxiety with hope.
Granting wishes is a part of The Walt Disney Company’s philanthropic and
outreach initiative, Disney Team of Heroes, which delivers comfort and
inspiration to families with children facing serious illness.
“The #FriendLikeMe Challenge unites two of our longest-tenured and most
passionate wish granters in Disney and Will Smith,” said Richard Davis,
president and CEO of Make-A-Wish America. “Both Disney and Will have
forever transformed the lives of countless wish kids by allowing them to
experience the hope and healing of a wish come true.”
Michel Rudolphie, president and CEO of Make-A-Wish International added,
“By participating in the challenge, members of the global community can
do their part to bring the life-changing impact of a wish to more
children. We are grateful to Disney and Will Smith for joining us on
this journey to transform the lives of more children, families,
volunteers, supporters, medical professionals and entire communities
worldwide.”
About The Walt Disney Company:
Disney, together with its subsidiaries, is a diversified worldwide
entertainment company with operations in four business segments: Media
Networks; Parks, Experiences and Products; Studio Entertainment; and
Direct-to-Consumer and International. Disney is a Dow 30 company and had
annual revenues of $59.4 billion in its Fiscal Year 2018. For more
information about Disney, please visit www.thewaltdisneycompany.com.
About “Aladdin”:
A thrilling and vibrant live-action adaptation of Disney’s 1992 classic,
“Aladdin” is the exciting tale of the charming street rat Aladdin, the
courageous and self-determined Princess Jasmine and the Genie who may be
the key to their future. Directed by Guy Ritchie, who brings his
singular flair for fast-paced, gritty, visceral action to the fictitious
port city of Agrabah, “Aladdin” is written by John August and Ritchie
based on Disney’s “Aladdin.” The film stars Will Smith as the
larger-than-life Genie; Mena Massoud as the lovable street urchin
Aladdin; Naomi Scott as Jasmine, the beautiful, self-determined
princess; Marwan Kenzari as Jafar, the Royal Vizier and a powerful
sorcerer; Navid Negahban as the Sultan concerned with his daughter’s
future; Nasim Pedrad as Dalia, Princess Jasmine’s free-spirited best
friend and confidante; Billy Magnussen as the handsome and arrogant
suitor Prince Anders; and Numan Acar as Hakim, Jafar’s right-hand man
and captain of the palace guards. “Aladdin” is produced by Dan Lin,
p.g.a., and Jonathan Eirich, p.g.a., with Marc Platt and Kevin De La Noy
serving as executive producers. Alan Menken provides the score, which
includes new recordings of the original songs written by Menken and
lyricists Howard Ashman and Tim Rice and new music written by Menken and
songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. “Aladdin” opens in U.S. theaters
nationwide May 24, 2019.
About Make-A-Wish:
Make-A-Wish® creates life-changing wishes for children with critical
illnesses. We seek to bring every eligible child’s wish to life because
a wish is an integral part of a child’s treatment journey. Research
shows children who have wishes granted can build the physical and
emotional strength they need to fight their illness. Headquartered in
Phoenix, Arizona, Make-A-Wish is the world’s leading children’s
wish-granting organization, serving children in more than 50 countries
worldwide. Together, generous donors, supporters, staff and more than
45,000 volunteers grant a wish every 17 minutes, on average, somewhere
in the world. Since 1980, Make-A-Wish has granted nearly 480,000 wishes
to children; more than 30,000 in 2018 alone. For more information about
Make-A-Wish America, visit wish.org
and for more information about Make-A-Wish International, visit worldwish.org.
Contacts
PRESS CONTACTS:
Walt Disney Studios Global Publicity
Global Publicity (LA)
Kara
Spector
E-mail: [email protected]
Global Publicity (NY)
Derek Del Rossi
E-mail: [email protected]
