This Mickey Mouse-shaped streaming device will bring Disney to China

The gadget is superficially similar to devices like Google’s Chromecast or Amazon’s Fire TV, plugging into customers’ TVs and streaming digital content from the internet. However, instead of offering TV shows and movies from a range of different publishers, it’s only connected to a single subscription service: DisneyLife. This on-demand digital library first launched in the UK in November, and offers access not only to Disney’s films, cartoons, games, e-books, and songs, but also lets customers buy Disney merchandise and plan trips to Disneyland theme parks.

The devices will ship from December 28th, and the $125 retail price will include a year’s subscription to DisneyLife. Neither Alibaba nor Disney revealed how much subscriptions would cost after this initial period, but in the UK — where the service launched without a Mickey Mouse-shaped streaming box — the fee is $15 a month.