Disney Jr. to premiere brand-new isiZulu dub of Sofia the First

Acclaimed filmmaker Alex Prager combines heartfelt storytelling and extraordinary practical craftsmanship in the Once A Princess, Always A Princess: A Disney Short Film on Disney+ and YouTube

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, August 18, 2026  – This week, Disney kicked off World Princess Week with the release of the all-new Once A Princess, Always A Princess: A Disney Short Film from acclaimed filmmaker Alex Prager on Disney+ and YouTube, bringing together remarkable storytelling and craftsmanship as the heartfelt centerpiece of the week-long celebration.

World Princess Week is an extraordinary global celebration honouring one of the world’s most beloved and enduring storytelling franchises. World Princess Week invites fans of all ages to experience new stories, incredible entertainment, special events, consumer products, and more to celebrate Disney Princess characters whose stories have inspired generations through confidence, compassion, courage, and creativity. Fans around the world can stream Disney Princess: The Ultimate Concert Celebration – the largest gathering of Disney Princess talent ever assembled – on Disney+, discover new episodes and specials featuring some beloved Disney Princess characters, and participate in retail.

Anchored by the spirit of “Once a Princess, Always a Princess,” the celebration highlights a simple but powerful truth: the spirit of Disney Princesses stays with fans throughout every stage of life. Whether reliving a favourite childhood story, sharing beloved characters with a new generation, or finding inspiration to pursue new adventures, Disney Princesses continue to create meaningful connections that resonate far beyond the screen.

“The enduring strength of Disney Princesses lies in its ability to evolve with each new generation while remaining rooted in stories that inspire courage, compassion, and possibility. That’s what makes these characters so meaningful to fans around the world. This year’s World Princess Week celebrates this legacy,” said Lee Jury, SVP, Marketing for The Walt Disney Company EMEA.

Original Content and Entertainment for Fans of All Ages

The emotional centerpiece of this year’s World Princess Week celebration is the all-new Once A Princess, Always A Princess: A Disney Short Film, available today on Disney+ and YouTube. Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Alex Prager, the short film follows two young girls living in neighboring apartment buildings whose shared love of Disney Princess stories sparks an instant friendship. As their imaginations transform everyday moments into magical adventures inspired by the spectacular worlds of some beloved Disney Princesses, the short film celebrates a universal truth: Disney Princess stories provide a shared language that brings people together and creates connections that can last a lifetime. Years later, the friends are shown passing those same stories and traditions on to their own daughters, illustrating how the magic of Disney Princesses endures across generations.

“I grew up with the Disney Princesses and their colorful, weightless worlds, full of beauty and drama, adventure, friendship, and true love,” said director Alex Prager. “One of the things that drew me to making the Disney Princess film is at its heart, it’s about relationships and human connection. The film highlights that Disney stories give kids a shared language through which they can connect and play and imagine together.”

Created as a love letter to the Disney Princess franchise and the art of filmmaking itself, the short film blends timeless storytelling with extraordinary practical craftsmanship. The production employed handcrafted “bigature” castles inspired by Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), and The Little Mermaid (1989); custom puppets representing some cherished Disney characters; hand-painted matte backdrops; and a custom score performed by a 56-piece live orchestra. Many effects, from floating magic carpets to underwater adventures, were brought to life through practical techniques and physical artistry, reinforcing the short film’s celebration of imagination and creativity.

Disney Jr. is inviting young viewers and families across South Africa to tune in for the premiere of the isiZulu dub of Sofia the First starting today on Disney Jr. (DStv, Channel 309). The EmmyⓇ Award-winning series tells the magical story of Sofia, an ordinary girl who becomes a princess in the kingdom of Enchancia, learning that honesty, loyalty, compassion, and grace are what make someone truly royal. Bringing the magical story to life in isiZulu is a talented local cast, including Busisiwe Mhlanga (Sofia), Monde Msutwana (King Roland), Cebile Mlaba (Queen Miranda), Senzeka Mnguni (Princess Amber), Nozizwe Zulu (Prince James), and Brian Mkhombe (Baileywick).

Additional new content arriving during World Princess Week includes the airing of Disney and Pixar’s Brave on Friday 21 August on Disney Channel (17:00, DStv Channel 303), new episodes of Sofia the First: Royal Magic on Disney Jr. (DStv, Channel 309) and the Disney+ debut of LEGO Disney Princess: Magical Mayhem on August 21. The animated special brings together some iconic Disney Princess characters, including Ariel, Jasmine, Mulan, Moana, Rapunzel, Snow White, and Tiana, along with some favorite sidekicks, in an all-new adventure.

Consumer Products and Retail Offerings

Disney Consumer Products (DCP) will extend World Princess Week through retail and also debut an all-new Moana docu-series on 18 August, highlighting the creativity and imagination of young fans through LEGO Disney play. This LEGO Disney episode gives audiences a look into the creative world of young girls at play, capturing the unscripted process of imagining and building a Moana x LEGO world. In addition, a vast selection of Disney Princess toys, games, fashion, and accessories will be available at leading retailers across South Africa.

From the debut of the emotionally resonant Once A Princess, Always A Princess: A Disney Short Film and the largest Disney Princess concert celebration ever assembled to new Disney+ content and all-new consumer products and experiences, World Princess Week demonstrates the enduring power of Disney Princess storytelling. By bringing together beloved characters, timeless values, and unforgettable experiences across Disney’s unmatched global ecosystem, the celebration reinforces a message that continues to resonate with fans of all ages: once a princess, always a princess.

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Johannesburg, 9 April 2025: 14 April 2025 marks the 113^th anniversary of the R.M.S. Titanic’s sinking – an event that has fueled global fascination for over a century. National Geographic presents TITANIC: THE DIGITAL RESURRECTION, a groundbreaking 90-minute documentary that offers an unprecedented look at history’s most infamous maritime disaster. Using exclusive access to cutting-edge underwater scanning technology, including 715,000 digitally captured images, the special unveils the most precise model of the Titanic ever created: a full-scale, 1:1 digital twin, accurate down to the rivet. From award-winning Atlantic Productions, TITANIC: THE DIGITAL RESURRECTION premieres across Africa on Sunday, 13 April at 21:00 (CAT) on National Geographic (DStv 181 and Startimes 220).

In 2022, award-winning and pioneering filmmaker Anthony Geffen and his team followed deep-sea mapping company Magellan as they undertook the largest underwater 3D scanning project of its kind, mapping the wreck 12,500 feet below the North Atlantic. Over three weeks, they worked around the clock, producing 16 terabytes of data, 715,000 still images, and 4K footage, capturing the Titanic in unparalleled detail. After nearly two years of analysis, a team of leading historians, engineers, and forensic experts, including Titanic analyst Parks Stephenson, metallurgist Jennifer Hooper, and master mariner Captain Chris Hearn, come together in TITANIC: THE DIGITAL RESURRECTION to reconstruct the ship’s final moments—challenging long-held assumptions and revealing new insights into what truly happened on that fateful night in 1912.

Stephenson, Hooper and Hearn dissect the wreckage up close on a full-scale colossal LED volume stage, walking around the ship in its final resting place. From the boiler room where engineers worked valiantly to keep the lights on until the bitter end to the first-class cabins where the ship ripped in two, the scan brings them face-to-face with where the tragedy unfolded.

Notable insights include the following:

• Visible Open Steam Valve
  The team discovers a steam valve in the open position, validating eyewitness accounts that the ship’s engineers remained at their posts in boiler room two for over two hours after impact, keeping the electricity on and allowing wireless distress signals to be sent. The 35 men may have saved hundreds of lives while sacrificing their own.
• Hull Fragments

Sifting through the hull fragments scattered across the wreck site, the team reconstructs them like a puzzle, providing a startling glimpse into the ocean liner’s final moments. The Titanic didn’t split cleanly in two—it was violently torn apart, ripping through first-class cabins where prominent passengers like J.J. Astor and Benjamin Guggenheim may have sought refuge as the ship went down.

• First Officer William Murdoch

Further analysis of the digital scans adds to the evidence exonerating First Officer Murdoch, long accused of abandoning his post. The position of a lifeboat davit—seen in new hi-res detail—suggests his crew was preparing a launch moments before the starboard side was engulfed, corroborating Second Officer Charles Lightoller’s testimony that Murdoch was swept away by the sea.

The 90-minute special also examines in stunning detail the 15-square-mile debris field, rich with hundreds of personal artifacts, including pocket watches, purses, gold coins, hair combs, shoes and a shark’s tooth charm, offering a poignant glimpse into the lives lost. Historian Yasmin Khan and the team connect these items to their original owners. Scans also reveal the wreck’s alarming deterioration, with iconic areas of the wreck already collapsing. However, thanks to this digital twin, the Titanic is preserved in perfect detail as it appeared in 2022, securing its place in history for generations to come and marking a new era in underwater archaeology.

For more on these latest developments and a look at the Titanic’s digital twin, read the full story on NatGeo.com HERE.

TITANIC: THE DIGITAL RESURRECTION is produced by Atlantic Productions for National Geographic. For Atlantic, Anthony Geffen produces, Lina Zilinskaite is the senior producer and Fergus Colville is the director. Simon Raikes and Chad Cohen serve as executive producers for National Geographic.

#NatGeoAfrica | #TitanicDigitalResurrection | #DisneyPlusSA

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