New Disney and MediCinema Campaign Spotlights the Magic of Movies for NHS Patients
Today sees the launch of a new campaign in partnership with MediCinema and The Walt Disney Disney Company UK and Ireland, designed to help audiences truly understand the impact that our service can have for NHS patients.
The Magic of Movies tells a heartfelt story of three children in hospital and the joy, excitement, and escapism they feel from the big screen experience within a MediCinema. Set in a hospital the short film takes viewers on a journey as they see each child’s imagination come to life, as they are transported into their favourite film’s world. The powerful story shows each patient escaping into the world of three of some of the most-anticipated releases this Spring Summer – Disney’s “Lilo and Stitch”, Marvel Studios “Fantastic 4: First Steps” and Disney and Pixar’s “Elio”.
Vue Cinemas, another long-standing partner of MediCinema, will generously showcase The Magic of Movies short film to their audiences.
In celebration of our partnership, and this new campaign, MediCinema subscribers are also being given the chance to win some fantastic Disney prizes.
Find out how to enter: www.medicinema.org.uk/disneymagic
25 Years of Movie Magic
MediCinema has been building and running cinemas in the heart of NHS hospitals for 25 years. Since the first MediCinema opened at St Thomas’ Hospital in London in with Disney’s 1999 movie, Inspector Gadget, Disney have been an important part of our story to bring movie magic to children at their most challenging times.
We are proud of our long-term strategic partnership with Disney, where together we create Moments that Matter for children at our sites, from film character visits, music and movement sessions and Fun in the Foyer events in our MediCinemas with balloon and face painting artists.
In 2024 we designed and distributed just under 32,000 Disney activity packs to children across 66 UK hospitals. These packs are specially created to increase the resilience and confidence of paediatric patients and are used in conjunction with the hospitals’ Play Teams.
Last year an exclusive screening of Disney’s epic animated musical Moana 2 and a special visit from its star, Moana, opened our newest MediCinema at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool for which Disney was one of the funders. Children and young people were invited from the wards in their beds and wheelchairs to see this special preview before even the red-carpet premiere in Leicester Square had taken place.
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Young patients and their families enjoying a special visit from Moana at the opening of MediCinema at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital. Photo Credit: Anthony Devlin
In this short film we wanted to tell a powerful story about how transformative cinema can be. The work of MediCinema and the remarkable experiences that they create help hospital patients truly escape into other worlds, where they can feel the physical and mental benefits of immersing themselves in stories and films that are transportive when experienced on the big screen. At Disney we wanted to bring some of the most beloved characters and stories in our most anticipated titles of the year into MediCinema and this wonderful short film features Lilo and Stitch, The Fantastic Four: First Steps and introduces Elio in one heartwarming piece.
Lee Jury, Senior Vice President, Studios Marketing at The Walt Disney Company EMEA
Our charity is there to help patients at their most challenging times. We are so grateful to our partners at Disney for this wonderful short film. It brings to life how stories, characters and our unique cinema experiences can make such a difference to being in hospital, helping to change children’s perceptions of being in a clinical environment and giving them and their families the opportunity to enjoy some normality together.
Colin Lawrence, CEO MediCinema
As a longstanding partner of MediCinema, we’re proud to showcase this touching film across our sites. It beautifully reflects our shared belief in the power of big screen storytelling as a means of escapism. We look forward to bringing this inspiring story, created by MediCinema and The Walt Disney Company UK, to our audiences.
Narinder Shergill, General Manager Vue UK and Ireland
Building Moments that Matter for the Future
Last year we announced that The Walt Disney Company will provide funding for the creation of a new MediCinema at London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children (GOSH). As a future development in the hospital, the MediCinema will allow thousands of seriously ill children and those closest to them to fully immerse themselves in the escapism and shared experience of cinema while being cared for at GOSH.
![get_sub_field('image')['alt']](https://www.medicinema.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/DisneyGOSHEdit_07-1440x960.jpg)
From left to right: Louise Parkes, CEO of GOSH Charity, Joy and Sadness from Disney’s Inside Out, Bob Iger, CEO of Disney, Colin Lawrence, CEO of MediCinema Photo credit: Belinda Jiao/PA Media Assignments
