The Duchess of Sussex is to narrate a Disney film that documents the journey of a family of elephants across the Kalahari Desert in southern Africa, which is to launch three days after she and Prince Harry “step back” from being senior royals.
Meghan is to voice the Disneynature documentary Elephant, which would be available on Disney+ from Friday next week and is her first major acting role since becoming a royal.
A trailer says that the film is to follow “one family’s extraordinary 1,000-mile journey across Africa on an adventure that will change their lives.”
Photo: AFP
IGER SANCTION
At the London premiere of Disney’s remake of The Lion King in summer last year, Prince Harry was overheard speaking with then-Disney CEO Bob Iger about the idea of his wife doing voiceovers.
In 2017, the royal couple traveled to Botswana, which, along with South Africa and Namibia, is one of the three countries which contain parts of the Kalahari Desert, to help Elephants Without Borders equip a bull elephant with a satellite collar.
‘MORBIDLY PERFECT’
The timing of the launch of the Disney+ online streaming service, which also announced that Natalie Portman would narrate a film called Dolphin Reef, has been described as “almost morbidly perfect,” coming just as the UK enters a period of lockdown to stem the spread of COVID-19, which would keep millions indoors and in search of entertainment.
Offering 450 films from Disney’s back catalogue and more than 200 TV series, Disney+ launched with slower speeds in the UK to reduce congestion on broadband networks as millions stay home and stream over Wi-Fi.
In France, the streaming service complied with a request from the government to delay its launch until April 7 because of concerns over broadband infrastructure.
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