Disney+: What to Watch

Have you taken the plunge into Disney+ yet? If your answer is no, let us tell you why it’s a must! All of our favourite Disney movies in one place AND everything that was newly acquired from 20th Century Fox at the touch of a button. It can be paralyzing to see all of the choices available on Disney+. What do you watch first? The classics? Those that went into the vault and never came out again? Or do you start watching the new content that is available? Hopefully we can help narrow it down a bit more for you. We’ve compiled our individual Top 5 things that you need to watch on Disney+.

Erica

I was really excited about Disney+, particularly that when you pay for a subscription you get full access to the library AND every single thing is downloadable. Brilliant for plane rides and road trips! I do find the library to be very overwhelming, and not super organized, which is against my fabric… I think linear. So while we’ve watched some shows willy-nilly, we’ve actually gone back to the very beginning and started watching from Snow White to see how far we can get chronologically before we get to WDW in May 2020 (see the post and download Every Disney Movie Ever Made here!) I’m definitely a sentimental Disney fan, so my picks are based on what my family enjoys, and things I enjoyed in the past or things that I have looked forward to watching with my kids for the most part. My favourites on Disney+ up to this point are:

1. Mickey Mouse (Shorts): We own the first season of this, and were so sad when seasons 2-5 only seemed to be available on iTunes in the States (boooo Canada!), so this was the first thing I hoped would be on Disney+ and it IS! These shorts are only a few minutes long and absolutely hysterical for the whole family! I really recommend them.

2. The Reluctant Dragon: This movie is one of the first 10 movies made by the Walt Disney Company; I thought I had seen it, but I definitely hadn’t. It was absolutely FASCINATING; taking the viewer on a walk-through of the (what was new at the time) Walt Disney Studios in Burbank and showing how an animated feature film is made. It captured every single one of us from Lexie (almost 7) to Audrey (12 and a half), plus Addie (in between at 10) as well as my husband and I. It’s a must watch for any Disney fan!

3. Aladdin (Live Action): It’s fun that the remakes are on Disney+ and this was one of our favourite remakes. For our review of the movie check out our post here.

4. Cinderella (Live Action): I don’t know why this didn’t get a lot of love, but it’s my favourite remake. It gives purpose to Cinderella, and also a reason why she weathered the abuse of her step family for so long. “Have courage and be kind.” ‘Nuff said.

5. Pooh’s Heffalump Movie: There’s just something about Winnie the Pooh, and this was a movie I wanted to watch with the girls and could never find. It doesn’t disappoint!

Honourable Mentions (for Christmas): I really enjoyed Noelle! It was lovely, and fun for the whole family. Also, Pluto’s Christmas Tree is an older Disney short that is my absolute favourite and I must watch it every Christmas!

Things I hope get added soon:
– Summer Magic… Hayley Mills is classic and we have the songs from this movie on a CD from when we were young and they are hysterical.
– Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore… If you’ve never seen the gang play Pooh Sticks, it’s just the cutest.

Things I’m looking forward to watching (but haven’t gotten to yet):
– The Imagineering Story… Can’t wait.
– The World According to Jeff Goldblum… Looks excellent.
– Encore!… Anything with Kristen Bell peaks my interest!

Things to skip (IMO):
– Pixar In Real Life… Was excited, fun concept, just not that fun to watch.
– Lady and the Tramp (Live Action)… Just didn’t like it. Not a fan.

 

Heidi

There are no words to describe my excitement level when we heard we were getting Disney+ at the same time as our American friends. There had originally been rumours that we wouldn’t be getting it right away so this came as a pleasant surprise! I’m a Disney classics girl through and through, but there have been a couple of pleasant surprises along the way. Right now my family is big on series; we started with Star Wars and now we are on to Marvel. It’s so nice having the whole series right there (well… almost)! What makes this streaming service unique is the wide arrange of content. There truly is something for everyone I believe. Our kids are 9 & 12 and they have been loving it, so it’s not just for small kids. 

1. Star Wars: We recently introduced our kids to watching the whole series from start to finish (including Solo). This is the first time I’ve watched the whole series together and it made so much more sense (LOL!). I highly recommend watching them in chronological order, which is as follows:
– Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace
– Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones
– Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith
– Solo: A Star Wars Story (coming July 10, 2020 to Disney+)
– Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
– Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope
– Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back
– Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi
– Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens
– Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi
– Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker

Naturally we are also huge Mandalorian fans as well! If you like Star Wars, chances are you will love it too.

2. Marvel Cinematic Universe (also in chronological order):
– Captain America: The First Avenger
– Captain Marvel
– Iron Man
– Iron Man 2
– The Incredible Hulk (not on Disney+… we had to rent it on Google)
– Thor
– The Avengers
– Iron Man 3
– Thor: The Dark World
– Captain America: The Winter Soldier
– Guardians of the Galaxy
– Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
– Avengers: Age of Ultron
– Ant-Man
– Captain America: Civil War
– Black Panther
– Spider-Man: Homecoming (not on Disney+ either unfortunately)
– Doctor Strange
– Thor: Ragnarok
– Ant-Man and the Wasp (coming August 14, 2020 to Disney+)
– Avengers: Infinity War (coming June 26, 2020 to Disney+)
– Avengers: Endgame
– Spider-Man: Far From Home (not on Disney+ either unfortunately)

3. Lady and the Tramp (Live Action): This was a Disney+ original and the first movie I streamed. It did not disappoint; I thought it was enchanting.

4. Out of the Vault: This is where you can find all those old classics. I’m happy to watch any of these oldies, especially on sick days.

5. The Imagineering Story: This is a documentary about the Disney Parks and it pleasantly surprised me! There is so much behind the scenes information from rides to nightmares about the opening day of Disneyland. If you are a Disnerd like me, it’s worth the watch.

 

Elisia

Honestly, I have a really hard time getting into new content. I have a teeny, tiny rebellious streak, and every time I see Netflix add new content that is all original, I rebel and go back to my tried-and-true shows. The reason I pay for Netflix is because I want to watch the movies that I saw trailers for in the theaters. I don’t want to see the dang originals. Just let me watch Brooklyn Nine Nine, How I Met Your Mother, and The Office on repeat, and we can still be friends.

However, I can recognize my own bias. When it comes to Disney, I am *slightly* less cynical. So I haven’t exactly ventured out and watched all of the new content, but I plan to… maybe. If I get done re-watching The Office first. Jokes, guys. So I’m not going to lie, I haven’t watched *everything* on my list, but these are the ones that I will watch.

1. The Mandalorian: It has some slow moments, but overall the story is interesting. I like that the episodes vary in length. Some episodes are only half an hour long. To me it shows commitment to the story and not the episode length.

2. The Imagineering Story: Confession, I’ve only seen the first episode. But I did really like it! The footage from the opening day of Disneyland was incredibly cool to see. I felt really encouraged by the end of the episode. It can be difficult when people are pushing you to always go further, and always reach higher… but look at how Disneyland turned out.

3. Forky Asks a Question: These shorts are just that… but they’re also pretty hilarious. We like to put one or two on right before bed once a week. As a teacher, I also feel like there are several that I could use for class discussion (“What is a Leader”, “What is Art”, “What is Reading”) or a hook for a lesson. Also, while I’m at it, I’m just going to throw all of the shorts in. I particularly enjoy using them in my short stories unit to demonstrate the skills I want them to apply to the short story.

4. Descendants: Now, I know they’ve been out for awhile. But this is my 100% guilty pleasure. It’s the children of the major players from my childhood (Sleeping Beauty, Maleficent, Belle/Beast, etc.) and it is a cute movie to watch. Think High School Musical. My son really enjoys the soundtrack and was obsessed last year with the second movie because, pirates.

5. High School Musical: The Musical: The Series: This is the one that I haven’t watched any of yet. But I loved Glee, and I like HSM, so I feel like this could be a good fit for me. It has gotten solid reviews from several people I follow on Instagram, so it’s gotta be good right?

Danielle

I wasn’t so sure of Disney+ at first. I mean, I LOVE Disney, but I didn’t think I would get that much more out of yet another subscription service. But so far I have been blown away by the options that are available! I love having access to some of the classic “vault” movies, and also getting the newest additions. Their originals have proven to be the kind of quality that I would expect to see from Disney and in topics that interest me. I currently have several on my watchlist (looking at you Imagineering Story!) that I haven’t had a chance to see, but here are what I’ve been loving so far! 

 

1. Pick of the Litter: I am a huge animal fan, not gonna lie. I also follow a blind YouTuber and love hearing her stories about her guide dogs, so how excited was I to find out Disney made a whole docu-series about how guide dogs are specifically raised up in order to help out entire communities! (Did you know they start preparing their puppies from only a few days old to get them used to varying environments and textures?) So interesting following along and learning about each dog’s personality and background, and rooting for them to pass their assessments and get paired with their Handler. 

2. Short Circuit: A collection of original shorts. Each is only a few minutes long and includes a short introduction by the producers. I love the varying styles of artwork and stories that people have and share!

3. Tinkerbell – The Collection: I have long been a fan of the Tinkerbell movies, and I was SO EXCITED to see that they had all of them on Disney+! I love the world that they created, so I’ve been introducing them to my 2 and a half year old daughter (who may not be as into them as I am). 

4. The Lion King (Live Action): Now, I know I was a bit of a downer for this one coming into theaters (read our blog post about that here ). I still don’t love how they decided to essentially make a frame-by-frame remake as opposed to some of the other live actions which branch out a bit more. That said, there were some small dialogue changes and cinematic choices that I did enjoy. I am glad this was added as I don’t think it would be one that I would buy for myself, but am happy to have seen it (plus bringing back James Earl Jones as Mufasa was everything). However, Jeremy Irons will forever and always be the best Scar.

5. The Mandalorian: I know, I know, Elisia already mentioned this one. But I, as someone who has never really been a Star Wars fan, did find this to be much more enjoyable than I ever expected it to be. Though that might just be because of Baby Yoda, I’m not doing to lie. I was grateful that I didn’t need to remember a TON about the movies in order to follow along with the story and feel like I knew what was going on.

6. Lady and the Tramp: I’m cheating here and adding a 6th. I looooved this movie. They did such a beautiful job in modernizing it just enough to be relevant (goodbye Siamese Cats song), while still sticking true to the feel of the movie. I also really loved that the dog they used for “Tramp” was actually a real shelter dog they rescued (as an adult) and trained up for the role, which goes to show you that you CAN teach an old dog new tricks.

We hope this gives you some ideas of what to watch!

Have a magical day!
Erica, Heidi, Elisia and Danielle