Disney Unveils Fall Premieres, More ‘Spidey,’ Overall Deal with Travis Braun & ‘Pupstruction’ Greenlight

During the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour today, Disney Branded Television unveiled its fall and winter premiere dates for new original movies and series on Disney Channel and Disney Junior — including two new Mickey Mouse holiday specials and the new supernatural buddy comedy The Ghost and Molly McGee. Young web-slingers will also get a second season of Marvel’s Spidey and His Amazing Friends, and meet a new canine pre-k hero in Pupstruction from Emmy nominee Travis Braun under his new overall deal with DBT.

The Ghost and Molly McGee (Friday, Oct. 1, 9:35 p.m. EDT/PDT on Disney Channel) – The animated buddy-comedy follows tween optimist Molly (voiced by Ashly Burch), who lives to make the world a better place, and grumpy ghost Scratch (voiced by Dana Snyder), whose job is to spread misery. When one of Scratch’s curses backfires, he finds himself forever bound to Molly. A production of Disney Television Animation, the series was created by Emmy Award-winning writing and producing duo Bill Motz and Bob Roth (LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures), who both also serve as executive producers alongside Emmy Award winner Steve Loter (Kim Possible). Britta Reitman (Star vs. The Forces of Evil) serves as producer. (Read more about the new series in the Sept./Oct. issue of Animation Magazine, available soon!)

Mickey’s Tale of Two Witches (Thursday, Oct. 7, on Disney Junior) – On Halloween, Mickey tells Pluto a story about two witches-in-training, Minnie the Wonderful and Daisy Doozy, who must pass four tests to graduate from the Witch Academy in Happy Haunt Hills. While Daisy isn’t confident about passing, she and Minnie join forces, along with Count Mickula and the gang, to defeat a mischievous ghost. Minnie and Daisy learn that working together makes their magic and their friendship stronger. Rob LaDuca and Mark Seidenberg (both from Emmy Award-nominated series Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Mickey and the Roadster Racers) are executive producers. Produced by Disney Television Animation.

Mickey and Minnie Wish Upon a Christmas (Thursday, Dec. 2, on Disney Junior) – After a series of mishaps, Mickey, Minnie and the gang are separated all over the world and must try to get back to Hot Dog Hills by Christmas Eve. A mysterious and jolly stranger shows up to tell them about The Wishing Star, which could be the secret to bringing everybody home in time to celebrate together. LaDuca and Seidenberg are executive producers. The movie is a production of Disney Television Animation.

Viewers can also catch the live-action remake of 1997 Halloween comedy classic Under Wraps (Oct. 1, 8 p.m., Disney Channel), directed by Alex Zamm (R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour); and original movie Christmas Again (Dec. 3, 8 p.m., Disney Channel), starring Scarlett Estevez from BUNK’D and directed by Andy Fickman (Race to Witch Mountain).

Travis Braun (Vampirina, Puppy Dog Pals, Muppet Babies), Emmy Award-nominated writer and producer, has extended his overall deal with Disney to develop and produce both animated and live-action content across linear and streaming platforms for Disney Branded Television. The deal also includes a first look at any of Braun’s projects for other Disney-owned platforms, including additional streaming and theatrical releases. Additionally, Pupstruction, a new series from Braun for the preschool audience, has been given a greenlight for Disney Junior, and a Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM) is also in development.

“I’m thrilled to continue to call Disney my home and bring imaginative, new worlds to life under the thoughtful leadership of Peter Rice, Gary Marsh, Joe D’Ambrosia, Ayo Davis and their teams,” said Braun, who currently serves as creator/EP on Disney Junior’s T.O.T.S. “We share a passion for telling rich stories that matter to audiences around the world in the way that Disney’s content always has. It is truly a privilege to help write this next chapter of the magic that I grew up on.”

Pupstruction follows the adventures of the world’s first all-dog construction company, Pupstruction. It centers on Phinny, an innovative young corgi, who might be the smallest pup on the crew but proves that you don’t need big paws to have big dreams or big ideas. Braun is the series creator and executive producer. Vic Cook (T.O.T.S.) also serves as executive producer and Robyn Brown (Muppet Babies) is co-producer/story editor. Abigail Nesbitt (T.O.T.S.) is supervising director. The series is produced by Titmouse in association with Disney Junior and is slated to premiere on Disney Junior and Disney+ in 2023.

Braun’s past animation writing credits include Netflix’s original series Turbo FAST and the animated short Charlie and Mr. Two, which he created for Nickelodeon. He previously worked on the CBS drama Criminal Minds. Braun is repped by Echo Lake Entertainment and Cheryl Snow at Gang, Tyre, Ramer & Brown.

A second season of Marvel’s Spidey and His Amazing Friends, the first full-length Marvel series for preschoolers, has been greenlit into production after its impressive debut on Disney Channel, Disney Junior and DisneyNOW earlier this month. The first seven episodes will be available Wednesday, Sept. 22, on Disney+, and new episodes will continue to roll out Fridays on Disney Channel (9:00 a.m. EDT/PDT) and Disney Junior (12:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. EDT/PDT).

Since launch, Marvel’s Spidey and His Amazing Friends ranks as the #1 series on Disney Junior, the Disney Junior block on Disney Channel with kids 2-5, and on DisneyNOW. Series content has garnered nearly 84 million views and over 2.3 million watch time hours across Disney Junior and Marvel HQ YouTube channels.

Joe D’Ambrosia, SVP Original Programming and General Manager, Disney Junior, said, “After just a week and a half into the launch of ‘Marvel’s Spidey and his Amazing Friends,’ we are already seeing how well the series is resonating with preschoolers and their families. With this season two order, we’re excited to continue our collaboration with Marvel and bring even more stories of friendship and cooperation, and of course, exciting adventures with Team Spidey, to our young audience.”

“The premiere of Marvel’s Spidey and His Amazing Friends has been a seminal moment in our journey to bring Marvel’s stories to preschool audiences,” said Dan Buckley, president of Marvel Entertainment. “Spider-Man has always been a character to break new ground for Marvel in every medium, so we’re thrilled Peter, Gwen and Miles are resonating with so many fans. We can’t wait to continue bringing that joy and experience to young kids and their families with a second season.”

Extensions for the series include an assortment of children’s books from Disney Publishing Worldwide and the upcoming “My First Comic” from Marvel Press; playsets, figures, apparel, plush, home décor and more from shopDisney.com and licensees including Hasbro, Centric Brands, General Mills and more; and a digital soundtrack Disney Junior Music: Spidey and His Amazing Friends from Walt Disney Records, releasing Sept. 17.

Marvel’s Spidey and His Amazing Friends follows the adventures of Peter Parker (voiced by Benjamin Valic), Gwen Stacy (Lily Sanfelippo) and Miles Morales (Jakari Fraser) as they team up with Hulk, Ms. Marvel and Black Panther to defeat foes like Rhino, Doc Ock and Green Goblin and learn that teamwork is the best way to save the day. Geared towards preschoolers and their families, the Spidey Team models the importance of helping others and highlights themes of friendship, cooperation and problem-solving.

For season one, Harrison Wilcox (Marvel’s Avengers: Black Panther’s Quest) is executive producer, Steve Grover (Hello Ninja) is supervising producer, Chris Moreno (Muppet Babies) is supervising director, Chris Gilligan (T.O.T.S.) is consulting director and Bart Jennett (Gigantosaurus) is story editor. Patrick Stump (Fall Out Boy) is the series’ composer and also performs the theme song. The series is produced by Disney Junior and Marvel Entertainment in association with Atomic Cartoons.