A star-studded Disney Family singalong featuring a variety of stars from The Mouse House’s long history will air on ABC this week. Despite being the company behind the hugely successful Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Mouse House has long been known for its ability to deliver fantastic musical numbers alongside their films. From classics such as Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and Jungle Book to modern musicals like Frozen, High School Musical, and even Moana, where they managed to show-off Dwayne Johnson’s singing ability. However, since the coronavirus outbreak, a lot of Disney’s activity has been put on hold or delayed, such as their upcoming release Mulan. Although Disney has still found a way to bring something fresh for its audience, with a little help from its musical history.
ABC announced it will broadcast a one-hour special titled The Disney Family Singalong on Thursday, April 16, starting at 8 pm EDT. The report notes that television and radio host Ryan Seacrest will host the special, and it will feature “an unbelievable lineup of celebrities and their families who will take on favorite Disney songs from their own homes.” D23 also listed performances that will take place throughout the special such as Demi Lovato and Michael Bublé performing “A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes,” “Gaston” from Josh Gad, Luke Evans, and Alan Menken, “We’re All in This Together” with High School Musical director Kenny Ortega and his friends from H.S.M, and “How Far I’ll Go” by Auli’i Cravalho.
To Disney’s credit, this is quite the idea that will appeal to its diehard and family-oriented fanbase during this unprecedented situation. The star names are varied, and it also brings nostalgia with names like Evans and Gad once again teaming up to sing “Gaston,” and Cravalho sliding back into her Moana role with “How Far I’ll Go.” However, as noted by Lovato and Buble’s performance, not all the popular songs in the special will be sung by the stars of the films. For High School Musical fans, director Ortega’s performance should be fun as the report does state Vanessa Hudgens and Ashley Tisdale will also be a part of the special. It’ll be interesting to see how the show comes together and whether this will perhaps be a trend that continues for Disney during these times.
Source: ABC