The Handmade Magic Behind Disney’s New Princess Campaign

Disney is marking this year’s World Princess Week with a new campaign from Fallon that celebrates the timeless legacy of its Princesses and their connection with generations of fans. At the centre is a brand film, ‘All Princesses Make Magic’, which follows two sisters as they throw a surprise princess party for their mother.

The story is designed to feel universal, showing how Disney Princesses spark creativity across generations. By framing the celebration as a family-built surprise, Disney hopes the film shows that the magic of Disney Princesses isn’t confined to childhood, but something parents and children alike can share, pass down, and recreate together.

“The idea came from wanting to tell a story every family could see themselves in and that sense of creativity and imagination is at the core of what Disney Princesses inspire,” says Joanna Balikian, senior vice president, brand management at The Walt Disney Company. “By framing it as children throwing their mom a homemade birthday party, we could highlight not just the magic of the princesses themselves, but how they spark families to create their own moments of magic together.”

“Our campaign tagline, 'Create Your World’, started from a simple truth,” adds Leslie Shaffer, CCO at Fallon. “Moms are the original world creators for their kids. We plan the birthday parties, pick outfits, and take the photos more often than we’re in them.”

The big spark for the creative team, Kelsey O'Briant and Tanner Uselmann, was asking, 'What if we reversed the roles and let the daughters make her feel like a princess again?' “That question powered the concept,” adds Leslie. “And the final, magical piece that unlocked the rest of the story was the inclusion of 'Be Our Guest,' which proved to be the perfect soundtrack for her princess moment.”

Produced by Stink and directed by The Fridman Sisters, the film’s two leads are sisters in real life. With the Fridman Sisters behind the camera, the theme of family runs not just through the story on screen but through the production itself.

It is also rich with playful details and Easter eggs for Disney fans. The family dog, for example, lets out a ‘roar’ inspired by Rajah, Jasmine’s tiger from ‘Aladdin’, while his casting nods to Max, Prince Eric’s dog in ‘The Little Mermaid’. Blink and you’ll spot dad – played by Tony Award winner Santino Fontana – dressed as sidekicks from across the Disney Princess universe, from Louis in ‘The Princess and the Frog’ to Hei Hei in ‘Moana’.

Behind the scenes, a team of 16 puppeteers brought to life the many ‘guests’ at the table, from the Kakamoras of ‘Moana’ to a full Little Mermaid band. The set was built entirely from mop heads, pool noodles, bubble wrap, and paper. The real-life sisters starring in the film even pitched in, helping to make props like the piano sheet music seen in the final moments when the dog joins in on the fun. And in a sweet finale, the mother rearranges candles on a cake balanced on a broomstick in a direct homage to the birthday cake scene in ‘Sleeping Beauty’.

“That handmade, tactile aesthetic was key because we wanted to see the princesses through the most powerful creative lens there is: a kid’s imagination,” says Leslie. “While we could have gone for perfect costume replicas, the team felt it more authentic to see the girls reimagine those looks themselves. These tactile, crafted details are particularly satisfying on another level in the current onslaught of AI-created images.”

Meanwhile, the costumes weren’t meant to be exact replicas of the Princesses’ gowns, but tributes that feature items kids might already have in their or their parents’ closet.

“The intention was to keep it true to how kids create,” add The Fridman Sisters. “We didn’t want polished perfection, we wanted crazy DIY, karaoke, and imagination running wild, lots of things everywhere. Our intention was to mix in a cinematic style with real, childlike play, so the audience feels like they’re inside the girls’ world, seeing it as they see it.”

Craft wise, The Fridman Sisters made conscious choices to keep it as authentic as possible. In terms of cinematography they wanted it to feel intimate and human, handheld and close to the action, so the audience feels like it’s discovering each moment alongside the family. “The production design had to be as rich and full of wonders as these little girls’ imaginations are,” they say.

With only a few seconds per princess, Leslie and the team at Fallon had to be efficient with their references. “The strategy was a balance,” she says, of hitting the super clear nods – the iconic colours and plot details – alongside those deeper moments for the true fans, like the melting ‘Sleeping Beauty’ cake near the end. “We packed the spot with so many Easter eggs, you simply can’t catch them all the first time,” says Leslie. “That’s by design. It makes it highly rewatchable and interactive. The more you know the princesses, the more you're rewarded.”

What’s more, these princesses live in totally separate universes, which marked a creative challenge to authentically piece them all together. Luckily, says Leslie, there’s one special ingredient that solved it. “A little girl’s imagination.”

She adds, “Something one of our lead creatives, Kelsey kept repeating: Kids don't worry about brand guidelines. They naturally bring everyone together: their Tiana and Cinderella dolls are instant playmates; they’ll wear a Belle dress with a mermaid tail. That wonderful, rule-breaking logic is exactly what inspired the way we built this whole spot.”

Food also plays a starring role in the spot, with the table transformed into a feast of Princess-inspired creations. Each cake and sweet treat was designed with colours and themes drawn from the Princess universe – Cinderella’s mice hidden in a shimmering blue jelly, a Jasmine cake featuring Rajah, and many more. The girls roll in a pumpkin of soup as a nod to Cinderella’s carriage, while in Moana’s moment, a spoonful of ocean leaps across the table before a Motunui-inspired cake spins in front of the mother.

For food stylist Sue Li, the process was about channelling the joy and imagination at the heart of the brand. “I started each princess project through the eyes of my current adult self,” says Sue, “but then had to sort of time travel back to my inner child and then deconstruct each creation and make them playful and even more princess-like. I loved living in this fantastical world, and I love that I get to live in it again, and bring others along, as the campaign launches.”

Built around a song from ‘Beauty and the Beast’, the score was another element reimagined to reflect each Princess, shifting in style as the story unfolds. Grammy-winning artist Jacob Collier arranged it in his family home studio, where he has been making music since childhood.

Ultimately, the campaign is about celebrating both the legacy and the ongoing relevance of its Princesses. “Disney Princesses are timeless – their stories and character traits have endured for generations – and it was important for us to show how they remain relevant today,” says Joanna. “The result is a one-of-a-kind musical compilation and brand spot that has a fresh voice while honouring the Princess legacy.”

“Life gets complicated once you become a parent,” adds Leslie, “and you stress about what you bring into your kids’ worlds and why. We wanted to remind parents what they loved about the Princesses in the first place.

“These gals are fearless. And a little wild. A little goofy at times. Imperfect and messy. And those films are filled with full worlds of details that we all knew and appreciated as kids, but forget over time. We wanted to flood their senses and trigger those memories and that magic.”

For my campaign deep dives, click here.

​Read more from Addison Capper here.