To celebrate Mickey Mouse’s 88th Birthday (this Friday, Nov. 18th) Fathom Events held a sneak preview this past Saturday of the upcoming Disney Junior animated series “Mickey and the Roadster Racers”. The show debuts in January and centers on Mickey and pals Minnie, Goofy, Donald, Daisy, Pluto and Pete as racecar drivers, with the most “awesome” rides imaginable.
I had no idea what kind of crowd there would be for the Saturday morning 10am mid-November screening, but the turnout confirmed that the Disney brand is still running on all cylinders. Around 250 people filled the theater – a combination of kids pre-school to second grade and parents/grandparents. At 18, I was the youngest non-parent in the audience – by 10 years!
For many of the little ones it was their first time ever in a movie theater. And what a way to begin that experience. The 75-minute presentation included two twenty-minute episodes of “Mickey and the Roadster Racers” – one set in their hometown of Hot Dog Hills, the other in Italy.
Prior to each episode, characters from other popular Disney Junior shows lead audience-participation games and sing-a-longs, included a very well-done autotune with Mickey and his friends. The youngest moviegoers were awed at seeing the stars of “Miles from Tomorrowland”, “Elena of Avalor”, “PJ Masks”, “The Lion Guard” and “Sofia the First” on such a big screen. The atmosphere was one of pure excitement and awe – two Disney staples – with everyone cheering, clapping, dancing in the aisles and playing along.
Each child was given a “Happy Birthday Mickey” button, “Roadster” stickers, and a $5 coupon to the Disney Store coupon (which, at the mall I was at, was just a short stroll from the theater down the mall’s “Main Street”).
While kids loved the colorful characters and wacky action of “Mickey and the Roadster Racers”, adults will also find the show worth watching, thanks to some surprise star power. Car aficionado Jay Leno has a recurring role as the news reporter/race commentator. And he puts his full personality into the character: “It looks like Piston Pete is making one of his classic moves. That’s right…HE’S CHEATING!”
In the first episode, NASCAR legend Jimmie Johnson voiced celebrity racer Jiminy Johnson, who was in town to visit Mickey & Co. And when Minnie and Daisy serve as tour guides in Italy, you can hear “Project Runway”‘s Tim Gunn (who also voices Bailywick on “Sofia the First”) as travel writer and critic, Robby Roberts.
This sneak preview was a win/win for everybody, including Fathom events. With a child’s ticket price of $10, and adults $12.50, this single screening grossed nearly $3,000. Multiply that by the approx. 400 theaters around the country that held this event, and it easy to see why Mickey won’t be the only one celebrating this week. No doubt studio execs are already thinking about other Disney Junior-related Fathom Events they can hold.
And, if you missed this one, they’ll be repeating it in theaters across the country on Saturday January 14, prior to the “Mickey and the Roadster Racers” Disney Junior debut later that month.