The NFL has recruited Woody and Buzz Lightyear to help it age down football viewing, partnering with Disney and ESPN for a kid-centric alternate telecast of an October 1 match between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Atlanta Falcons. 

While the actual game takes place in London’s Wembley Stadium, every move made on the field will be replicated in the animated world of Pixar’s Toy Story movie franchise—specifically in Andy’s room (pictured). Disney+ plans to stream this alternate feed, known as Toy Story Funday Football, at the same time as the real-life ESPN+ telecast. 

Funday Football will air live on ESPN+, Disney+ and NFL+, with replays available for a limited time on Disney+ and NFL+. Globally, 95 territories will have access to either the live feed or the catch-up viewing.

This move is just the latest push to draw more kids into at-home sports viewing. Just last month, the NFL and Nickelodeon partnered to air a kid-friendly edition of next year’s Super Bowl LVIII game for the first time, featuring virtual filters and guest announcers from Nick. The initiative builds on three kid-friendly versions of wild card games the partners have already produced together, including one in 2021 that attracted more than two million viewers. 

But Funday Football is taking a very different approach by recreating every element of the game in animation. Achieving this ambitious goal will involve using real-time animation and player-tracking technology from a number of companies, including the NFL’s Next Gen Stats and Beyond Sports, ESPN’s Edge Innovation Center and New York-based virtual production house Silver Spoon. 

The announcers, graphics, scoreboard, penalty announcements, celebrations and even the halftime show will all be animated in the Toy Story setting. And the game will feature franchise favorites like Woody and Buzz Lightyear cheering from the sidelines, in an effort to amp up the immersion for young viewers.

While it’s a first-of-its-kind project for the NFL, this Toy Story telecast strategy is similar to a previous effort made by Disney and ESPN to age down hockey viewing. In March 2023, the companies partnered with the NHL to provide an animated telecast of a game between the Washington Capitals and the New York Rangers. In this case, real-time animation was used to recreate the players as characters from Disney’s animated series Big City Greens.