Faith & Family News: Big-Screen 'Bluey'; Ventimiglia Joins 'Imagine 2'

In this month's faith & family media news: beloved pup Bluey heads to the big screen; This Is Us star Milo Ventimiglia joins I Can Only Imagine sequel; The Unbreakable Boy, with Zachary Levi, gets a premiere date; and Hallmark Christmas films to stream next-day on Hallmark+.

Bluey Hits the Big Screen in 2027

Beloved by kids and parents (and our freelancer Josh M. Shepherd), the animated Australian series Bluey -- available in the U.S. on Disney+ -- is spawning a feature film.

From The Hollywood Reporter:

The smash-hit Disney+ animated series is getting its own feature film from The Walt Disney Co. and BBC Studios, to be written and directed by Bluey creator Joe Brumm. The film will “continue the adventures of Bluey, a loveable, inexhaustible, blue heeler dog, who lives with her Mum, Dad and her little sister, Bingo,” per the studios.

The CG-animated film will hit theaters in 2027 under the Disney banner, and will stream on Disney+ after its debut. The film will star vocal talent from the series including Melanie Zanetti and David McCormack as Bluey’s mum and dad, Chilli and Bandit Heeler, and music created by Bluey composer Joff Bush.

... Disney and BBC Studios will produce the film with Ludo Studio, with veteran animation producer Amber Naismith (The Lego Movie, Happy Feet) producing. David Greenbaum, who lead’s Disney’s live action and 20th Century Studios team, will oversee the production for Disney.

And, in true Disney fashion, the Bluey franchise is coming to the company's theme parks.

Also from The Hollywood Reporter:

The addition of Bluey to the Disney theme parks and Disney Cruise Line comes amid an expanded partnership between Disney and BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC that distributes the popular Australian animated series, and Ludo Studio, which produced the program.

... Bluey and her younger sister Bingo will make her debut next month on Disney Cruise Line voyages originating in Australia and New Zealand, with meet-and-greets, games, and dance parties planned. Specifics of how the Bluey characters will appear at Disneyland and Disney World will be released in the coming months, with Ludo and the BBC working with Disney to develop the experiences.

Here's a taste of a Bluey Christmas:

I Can Only Imagine ... Again, This Time With Milo

Known as the star of the hit NBC series Heroes and This Is Us, Milo Ventimiglia has joined the cast of a sequel to the hit 2018 faith-based film, fact-inspired film I Can Only Imagine ... the success of which spurred the creation of Kingdom Story Company, the faith-based arm of Lionsgate.

John Michael Finley reprises his role as Bart Millard, founder of the Contemporary Christian band MercyMe, alongside Reagan star Dennis Quaid, back as Millard's father; and country singer Trace Adkins, returning as MercyMe manager Scott Brickell.

Ventimiglia will play Christian singer-songwriter Tim Timmons.

From The Wrap:

Andrew Erwin, who directed “I Can Only Imagine” with his brother, Jon, returns to direct the sequel with screenwriter Brent McCorkle. Erwin will also produce with Millard, Kevin Downes, Cindy Bond, Daryl Lefever, and Joshua Walsh.

Adam Fogelson, chair, Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, said, “We’re excited to be partnering once again with Kingdom on this continuation of Bart’s incredible story and are confident its winning combination of emotional truth and pure heart will connect with audiences everywhere.”

“I Can Only Imagine” retells the story of Millard’s life and career with MercyMe, culminating in the writing of the titular song which still stands as the most successful Christian music single of all time.

Here's Millard's performance of the song from the first movie:

The film continues Evangelical-led Kingdom Story Company's usual pattern of fact-inspired stories, especially those having to do with Christian Contemporary Music.

One exception to that is The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, directed by The Chosen creator Dallas Jenkins, based on a 1973 novel about a rowdy clan of neglected children that has an unexpected effect on a small-town Christmas pageant. Still in theaters, it's also available on digital-on-demand.

Following that film's successful opening weekend in early November (the box-office tally currently stands at $37.5M worldwide, against a roughly $10M budget), Kingdom renewed its first-look deal with Lionsgate, through 2027.

From The Wrap:

In addition, Kingdom Story’s president/COO Brandon Gregory has been named as a partner at the production outlet.

“Over the past decade, Kingdom films have established a unique ability to connect with their audiences in the faith community and beyond through high quality storytelling and exceptional productions, like their holiday hit ‘The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,’” said Lionsgate Motion Picture Group chair Adam Fogelson. “We’re proud to continue to collaborate with Kevin, Andy, Brandon and the entire team and thrilled that we are their creative home.”

Also, from The Wrap, up next on Kingdom's slate, a film originally slated to release in early 2022:

With “Pageant” aiming for long legs as a Christmas offering for families, Lionsgate and Kingdom are next preparing to release “The Unbreakable Boy,” a true story inspirational film starring Jacob Laval as Austin LeRette, an autistic boy with brittle bone disease. Zachary Levi also stars as the boy’s father, Scott, who wrote the book about Austin’s life upon which the film is based. It is set for release on Feb. 21, 2025.

Hallmark Increases Streaming Offerings on Hallmark+

While still keeping its wildly successful Countdown to Christmas programming event on the Hallmark Channel, in the new year, those new films will also be available for next-day viewing on the new lifestyle streamer Hallmark+.

From Variety:

Effective in 2025, all new Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Mystery original movie premieres will be streaming the next day on Hallmark+. A dozen were added on Dec. 17, with 24 more being added on Dec. 20.

Hallmark+ members will have access to over 40 Hallmark original holiday movies, including all 2024 holiday content from the linear networks. Hallmark currently has a deal with Peacock, in which original “Countdown to Christmas” movies are available to stream for three days after they air. (This is likely why “Trading Up Christmas” which airs Dec. 19 and is not hitting the app quite yet.)

Image: Bluey/Disney+, Ludo Studio

Kate O’Hare, a longtime entertainment journalist, is Social Media Content Manager and Blog Editor at Family Theater Productions.