Joy, Sadness and their other anthropomorphic emotional pals are getting ready to take to the ice.
ESPN and the National Hockey League will present the “Inside Out Classic,” an animated version of a real-time hockey match between the Washington Capitals and the New York Rangers on Sunday, April 5 at 7 p.m. across ESPN+, Disney+, Disney Channel and Disney XD. The game is the latest attempt by the league and Disney to lure younger fans to hockey via special “alterna-casts” that make use of the company’s famous roster of characters.
The game will feature virtually created real-time animation of the action between the two teams –I all from Hockey Island, inside the mind of Riley, the main protagonist of “Inside Out” — and her Emotions will skate alongside animated versions of the NHL players.
The intriguing team up is part of a broader bid at Disney to take ESPN’s live sports coverage beyond its immediate pockets of fandom and get it in front of kids and families. In recent years, ESPN has enlisted young announcers for its annual Little League World Series coverage and even transformed a 2021 NBA game between the Golden State Warriors and the New Orleans Pelicans into a battle royale involving Marvel superheroes. Others have tested these waters as well, including Paramount Global’s Nickelodeon, which has gained some traction for NFL games that feature a bespoke group of announcers, animated overlays and plenty of the network’s signature green slime.
Three ESPN commentators, Drew Carter, Kevin Weekes and Arda Öcal, will wear virtual reality headsets for motion capture, provided by Sony’s Beyond Sports, immersing them in the animated environment. Meanwhile, actors who provided the voices of the “Inside Out” cast will take part, including Phyllis Smith, Lewis Black, Tony Hale, and Maya Hawke. Maybe Joy got stuck in the penalty box.
In 2023, Disney, ESPN and the NHL presented a “NHL Big City Greens Classic” that featured the Capitals and the Rangers.
