DISNEY UK has launched a Christmas ad that not only has all the hallmarks of a tearjerker holiday ad, but also pays homage to the Filipino Christmas and diaspora while supporting the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

The three-minute ad, called “From Our Family to Yours,” starts in a town in the Philippines in 1940 where a young girl is given a Mickey Mouse doll by her father.

The opening scene would be familiar to Filipinos as the town is decked in colorful parols or Christmas lanterns. The girl also greets her father with a mano — the sign of respect given to an older person by bringing the back of their hand on one’s forehead.

The ad then moves on to 2005, to a snowy town in the United Kingdom when the girl is now a lola or grandmother. She gives her treasured Mickey Mouse doll to her granddaughter while together they make a parol.

The ad skips forward to the future where the granddaughter, now an adult,  decides to repair the well-worn Mickey Mouse doll as a present to her lola and decorates the house with parol to bring the lola back to her younger days celebrating Christmas in the Philippines.

While highlighting some Filipino Christmas traditions, the ad also put the spotlight on the Filipino diaspora, seeing that the young girl’s family is now in the UK. According to the Commission on Filipinos Overseas, there are more than 10 million Filipinos living outside the country.

Disney UK is also celebrating a partnership with the Make-A-Wish Foundation by selling the vintage-inspired Mickey Mouse soft toy featured in the ad campaign. The toy is available for purchase at Disney Stores and shopDisney across Disney Europe, Middle East, and Africa. Twenty-five percent of the retail price of every toy purchased until April 29, 2021 will be donated to the Make-A-Wish organizations to help grant wishes for children.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in the United States that helps fulfill wishes of children with critical illness between the ages of 2 ½ to 18.

Those who want to support the Make-A-Wish Foundation can also do so by purchasing and downloading the charity single “Love is a Compass,” sung by English singer Griff, which is featured in the ad. — ZBC

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