Disney+ Day brings first look at Hocus Pocus 2, Baymax, Rescue Rangers & kid-friendly surprises

Disney is dipping deep into its big-brand catalog of animated favorites to bring a chill mix of fresh animated and family-friendly content to the small screen in the coming months. During today’s blowout Disney+ Day, the Mouse House teased a slew of new animated movies and series bound for its TV platform, unthawing the Ice Age franchise alongside Big Hero 6, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and — in a big nod to longtime fans of classic Disney fare — a cheeky new chipmunk project based on Chip ‘n Dale.

Before we get to any of that, though, magic was in the air once again as Disney shared its first look at the hugely hyped sequel — one almost two decades in the making — to 1993’s fantasy classic Hocus Pocus. Original stars Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy must be drinking a witches’ brew of ageless awesomeness, because they’re looking wickedly familiar in the first set photo the studio shared to tease the fall 2022 debut of Hocus Pocus 2.

Check it out:

As the image reveals, production on Hocus Pocus 2 is already underway, but it’s not the only piece of family-friendly fun stuff bound for Disney+. Things are heating up in the frozen world of Ice Age once again with The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild, a full-length animated followup to 2009’s Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs.

This time out, Buck (Simon Pegg) weasels his way to the front of the pack as possum siblings Crash and Eddie (Seann William Scott and Josh Peck) intrepidly head back underground. Pegg shared a playful tease of the commemorative ice sculpture he swears he carved a day too early, only to have it melt in time for its big reveal. No matter, though: It’s crystal clear he’s stoked to be bouncing back to the prehistoric past. The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild is set to unthaw at Disney+ with a premiere date of Jan. 28, 2022.

Next up is a chipmunk comeback in live action, with stars John Mulaney and Andy Samberg teasing their feature-length revival of an old-school Disney duo. The newly-minted Chip n’ Dale stars made sure fans will know to take a bite out of the upcoming Rescue Rangers original movie with the understanding it’s a fresh installment in the decades-old classic franchise and not, of all things, a reboot — and it’s coming to Disney+ in the spring of 2022

Cinematographer Larry Fong told SYFY WIRE earlier this year that the new live-action movie will delight fans who grew up with the animated Chip n’ Dale every bit as much as the younger kids who’ll be making their first-ever acquaintance with the pair of chatterboxes.

“I never thought it would be this funny,” Fong confessed. “I’m looking at the animatics and I’m still laughing at the lines and the situations. It’s one of those movies where the kids watch it, but the adults, who are in the kitchen watching, are going to be laughing too. You can’t say that for a lot of the animation things, but this is definitely like that. [It also has] a lot of Easter eggs and it’s also a love letter to animation because there’s different — I probably shouldn’t say too much — but there’s definitely nods to many, if not all, animation techniques and characters if that makes any sense.”

Following close on the heels of Chip n’ Dale’s spring premiere will be a Big Hero-based series that Disney puffed up with a proper trailer, giving the world its first lengthy look at the upcoming Baymax! original series. Baymax may do things his own slow and poky way, but hey — he’s only lookin’ out for ya, as the funny new trailer shows:

Get ready to hit the streets of San Fransokyo once again when the series spinoff makes its Disney+ debut in the summer of 2022.

Before this year is done, though, Disney’s getting wimpy with the first-ever Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie made for the small screen. Simply titled Diary of a Wimpy Kid, the new animated feature got a first look at Greg Heffley and pals in a new poster, ahead of the movie’s Dec. 3 premiere at Disney+. Check it out:

Finally, the Cars franchise is firing on all cylinders once again with some high-octane star power just revvin’ to make its return. Get set to hit the gas when Owen Wilson and Larry the Cable Guy kick into gear as Lightning McQueen and Mater in Cars on the Road, an original series heading to Disney+ next year.

Phew! If all that family-friendly goodness isn’t enough for one day, Disney also revealed when fans can expect its previously-announced live-action retelling of Pinocchio. Starring Tom Hanks, Cynthia Erivo, Luke Evans, and the voices of Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Keegan-Michael Key and Lorraine Bracco, the Robert Zemeckis-directed remake is heading to Disney+ in the fall of 2022.