Virtual Presentation of Game Set in Magic Kingdom® Park at Walt Disney World® Resort to Feature Iconic Disney Characters: Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Goofy, Pluto, Chip and Dale, Plus Santa Claus and Elves from ‘Prep and Landing’
Disney, ESPN and the NBA are teaming up to present Dunk the Halls – the first real-time animated NBA game using Sony’s Beyond Sports technology – on Christmas Day 2024, when the New York Knicks – led by Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns – host the San Antonio Spurs and Victor Wembanyama and Chris Paul. Dunk the Halls will air live across Africa on ESPN2 (DStv 219, Starsat 249) on 25 December at 19:00 (CAT). This special marks the first ever animated presentation of an NBA game.
The setting and the storylineThe virtual, live re-creation of the Spurs vs. Knicks game will be set on iconic “Main Street, USA” in Magic Kingdom® Park as the teams play while Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Pluto, Goofy and Chip and Dale cheer them on. Shots of “Main Street, USA” and other famous landmarks within Magic Kingdom® Park will be regularly shown, including Cinderella’s Castle.
The storyline behind the Dunk the Halls presentation begins with Mickey’s Christmas wish to Santa Claus to bring the NBA players to “Main Street, USA” at Magic Kingdom® Park at Walt Disney World Resort to play the first animated NBA game on Christmas Day.
View the video here: https://youtu.be/ZFtaqoLJ2D0
The first-of-its-kind technology
Each Spurs and Knicks player will appear as a motion-enabled, animated player for the special Christmas matchup. Through state-of-the-art real-time visualization technology enabled by Sony’s Beyond Sports, combined with Sony’s Hawk-Eye Innovations’ optical tracking, fans watching Dunk the Halls will see every three-pointer, dunk, layup, pass and more from the real-life Spurs vs. Knicks game at Madison Square Garden in New York as it happens.
More production highlights:
At halftime of the Spurs vs. Knicks game, the Disney characters, led by Mickey Mouse, will compete in a special slam dunk contest;
Santa’s Elves will operate the cameras for the game while Santa himself will operate ESPN’s “SkyCam” during the game;
The Disney characters will deliver pregame and halftime speeches to the players and decorate a large Christmas tree during the game;
Fans will also get to find out if it will snow on “Main Street, USA” and see how many churros Goofy can eat.
ESPN commentators
Drew Carter will serve as the play-by-play commentator alongside ESPN basketball analyst Monica McNutt. The duo will be joined by a very special guest – Daisy Duck – who will serve as the sideline reporter. Carter and McNutt will be animated in the style of the telecast and don ESPN Edge Innovation Partner’s Meta Quest Pro headsets to experience the game from “Main Street, USA” thanks to VR technology and Sony’s Beyond Sports’ Virtual Commentator Technology.