The Walt Disney Company & Make-A-Wish® Launch #FriendLikeMe Challenge with Will Smith in Celebration of Studio’s Upcoming ...
April 29 2019 - 3:06PM
Business Wire
Disney to Donate up to $1 Million to Help
Grant Wishes for Children with Critical Illnesses via Global
Challenge
Movie Tickets Now on
Sale
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.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190429005719/en/
PRESS CONTACTS:
Walt Disney Studios Global PublicityGlobal Publicity
(LA)Kara SpectorE-mail: kara.spector@disney.com
Global Publicity (NY)Derek Del RossiE-mail:
derek.del.rossi@disney.com
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