The Walt Disney Company UK and Ireland has released a brand-new short film, ‘The Magic of Movies: Jessie Saves the Day’, as part of its ongoing campaign to bring the joy of big-screen storytelling directly to children in hospitals.
The short is the latest addition to Disney’s long-running “The Magic of Movies” initiative, which helps ill and isolated children, along with their families, escape the day-to-day reality of hospital stays by immersing them in familiar stories, characters, and a little bit of Disney magic.
Arriving ahead of Disney and Pixar’s ‘Toy Story 5’ landing in UK cinemas this month, ‘The Magic of Movies: Jessie Saves the Day’ encourages fans to nominate a hospital for the chance to receive some Disney magic, including bespoke Toy Story-themed artwork as seen in the short.
Fans can nominate a hospital via the Disney EMEA website here: https://thewaltdisneycompany.eu/moviemoments/
Selected hospitals will be considered as part of Disney’s wider hospital programme, with some locations receiving Toy Story: Take a Look Disney Hospital prints. The artwork uses character-led X-ray imagery to help demystify medical procedures and make hospital environments feel a little less daunting for young patients.
Since 2020, Disney’s Moments That Matter programme has created over 550,000 moments of joy, comfort, and togetherness for children across EMEA. That forms part of the company’s wider ambition to create one million Moments that Matter by 2030.
The hospital work goes beyond screenings too. Across EMEA, Disney works with healthcare professionals and charity partners to help reimagine care journeys for children and their families. That includes immersive installations, creative workshops, hospital visits, Disney-themed murals, and clinical spaces designed to reduce stress and fear.
In the UK, Disney has also continued its long-running partnership with MediCinema, which builds and runs cinemas inside hospitals, with space for beds, wheelchairs, and medical equipment. Birmingham Children’s Hospital recently opened a new fully accessible 84-seat MediCinema, the largest in the UK, following support from Disney, the Julia Rausing Trust, Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, and MediCinema.
To celebrate, patients were treated to a special opening screening of Disney and Pixar’s upcoming film ‘Hoppers’, ahead of its national cinema release, with Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse also on hand to add some extra red-carpet magic.
Across EMEA, Disney is also celebrating the release of ‘Toy Story 5’ with a range of hospital experiences, including screenings, visits from Woody, Buzz and Jessie, and the wider rollout of Toy Story: Take a Look. The programme was developed in partnership with Disney Ireland and Children’s Health Ireland at Crumlin, and will offer nearly 400 hospitals the opportunity to install character-led X-ray imagery.
For families spending time in hospital, familiar faces like Jessie, Woody and Buzz can offer more than just a distraction. They can bring comfort, joy, and a much-needed sense of normality during some of the toughest moments imaginable.
‘Toy Story 5’ arrives in UK cinemas Friday, 19th June 2026.
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