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Slam Dunk! Disney, ESPN and the NBA Team Up to Present Dunk the Halls – the First Real-Time, Animated NBA Game: San Antonio Spurs vs. New York Knicks on Christmas Day

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, Wednesday, December 25, at noon ET 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 be presented on ESPN2, Disney+ and ESPN+. The special alt-cast marks the first animated presentation of an NBA game and the first NBA game to stream on Disney+.

The setting

The 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 story

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.

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.

Miranda’s All-Star Sports

ESPN Sets ‘The Simpsons Funday Football’ For December 9 on Disney+ and ESPN+

ESPN, Disney, The Simpsons, and the National Football League will premiere The Simpsons Funday Football on Monday, December 9, an animated Monday Night Football game transformed in real-time into the iconic Simpsons world using Sony’s Beyond Sports Technology. Atoms Stadium in Springfield will host the fully immersive fan viewing experience featuring the Cincinnati Bengals at the Dallas Cowboys, ESPN’s Monday Night Football game that evening.

The Simpsons Funday Football alternate viewing presentation will stream on Disney+ and ESPN+, and, on mobile, with NFL+. The traditional Monday Night Football telecast will be available on ESPN, ABC, and ESPN Deportes, with Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli on ESPN2. Both the traditional telecast and Peyton and Eli will also be on ESPN+, making each distinct presentation available in the ESPN App. All telecasts will begin at 8 p.m. ET.

A Myriad of Simpsons Characters: The telecast will feature dozens the show’s iconic characters, with each playing into their well-known persona.

Authentic Simpsons Voices:Hank Azaria, Nancy Cartwright, Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, and Yeardley Smith will voice several of their characters in prerecorded bits and skits.

Picking Sides: Homer and Bart will rally their supporters who will join them on their respective sidelines throughout the matchup. Lisa, Krusty, Nelson, Milhouse, and Ralph will be with Bart (Bengals), while Carl, Barney, Lenny, and Moe will be with Homer (Cowboys).

Custom Simpsons Scenes and Writing: Outside of the live game, Simpsons producers have written original content for the telecast that will be utilized before, during, and after the game.

The Simpsons Music: The timeless theme song and more jingles from the show will be employed.

The Simpsons and ESPN: Animated segments incorporating Stephen A. Smith, Peyton and Eli Manning, and others will appear in the telecast, with their segments written by the Simpsons creators.

Bengals and Cowboys Players: Players from both teams will have pre-recorded segments which include interactions with Simpsons characters.