Disney's own streaming service Disney+ is here, and the volume of content available at your fingertips may feel overwhelming. Indeed, Disney Plus launched with hundreds of movies and thousands of hours of TV shows to watch, all from Disney's library of titles—and from Disney's brand new, Disney Plus-exclusive content. The studio dug deep into its archives for this one, making available forgotten live-action films from the 60s, 70s, and 80s alongside a ton of Disney Channel Original movies. And that's not to mention the catalogue titles from Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm and the growing library of new original films you can only find on Disney+.
So with a robust lineup of movies available to stream on Disney Plus, we felt it necessary to help whittle down your choices of what to watch on the new streaming service. We've gone through the library and plucked out some of the best movies Disney+ has to offer, from animated classics to Marvel superhero movies to Star Wars films to even surprising live-action titles. There's a little something for everyone in this list, further proof that Disney+ is not just programming for kids. They're targeting the entire family. So below, peruse our list of the best movies to watch on Disney Plus.
Editor's note: This article was last updated on July 9th to add X2 and Isle of Dogs.
X2
Director: Bryan Singer
Writers: Michael Dougherty, Dan Harris, and David Hayter
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Anna Paquin, Halle Berry, James Marsden, Rebecca Romjn, Famke Janssen, Brian Cox, and Alan Cumming
One of the best X-Men movies ever made, 2003’s X2 is a fairly epic sequel that delves deeper into Wolverine’s (Hugh Jackman) past while also fleshing out the world of the X-Men with a story involving mutant-hating General William Stryker (Brian Cox) and a program designed to target mutants all over the world. This one boasts some big, colorful action and committed performances from its cast, and holds up quite well. – Adam Chitwood
Isle of Dogs
Director/Writer: Wes Anderson
Cast: Koyu Rankin, Bryan Cranston, Greta Gerwig, Edward Norton, Liev Schreiber, Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Kunichi Nomura, Ken Watanabe, Akira Ito, and Tilda Swinton
Thanks to Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox, Wes Anderson’s two stop-motion animated movies (distributed by Fox Searchlight) are streaming on Disney+. You’ll find a blurb for Fantastic Mr. Fox further down the page, but Anderson’s 2018 film Isle of Dogs is also well worth checking out, and a treat for all dog lovers. Set in the fictional city of Megasaki, an outbreak of canine influenza results in all dogs being banished to Trash Island. When a young boy sneaks onto said island to search for his dog Spots, he begins an adventurous journey full of whimsy and comedy. The highlight of Isle of Dogs is seeing the likes of Bryan Cranston and Edward Norton voicing adorable dogs, and as always Anderson’s eye for production design and detail is immaculate. – Adam Chitwood
The Kid Who Would Be King
Director/Writer: Joe Cornish
Cast: Louis Ashbourne Serkis, Tom Taylor, Rebecca Ferguson, Patrick Stewart, and Angus Imrie
One of the good things about Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox is that it can now showcase films that got a bit lost in the shuffle on its big fancy streaming service. That’s certainly the case with The Kid Who Would Be King, an excellent younger-skewing fantasy adventure film that was released by Fox in 2019. Inspired by Arthurian legend, the story takes place in the London suburbs and follows a young boy who finds King Arthur’s sword Excalibur and is thrust into an adventure that finds him squaring off against an enchantress who threatens to destroy the world. What sets The Kid Who Would Be King apart is writer/director Joe Cornish, who previously helmed the excellent Attack the Block and brings a degree of authenticity to the proceedings. The movie feels tactile, but from an aesthetic perspective but also an emotional one. This is an inspiring, exciting, fantastical story that will play particular well for young adults. – Adam Chitwood
Raya and the Last Dragon
Director: Don Hall and Carlos López Estrada
Writers: Qui Nguyen and Adele Lim
Cast: Kelly Marie Tran, Awkwafina, Gemma Chan, Daniel Dae Kim, Benedict Wong, Sandra Oh, and Alan Tudyk
While Raya and the Last Dragon kind of flew under the radar given the circumstances of its pandemic release, now’s a great time to catch up with what is honestly one of Walt Disney Animation Studios’ best films in the last few years. This is an epic fantasy story with incredible world building, as it revolves around a young woman named Raya who journeys to find a missing dragon and undo a cataclysmic event that fractured the world of Kumandra into five separate tribes, each with their own territory. It’s not only fun and thrilling, but really funny as well thanks to Awkwafina’s co-starring role as the dragon Sisu. – Adam Chitwood
Queen of Katwe
Director: Mira Nair
Writer: William Wheeler
Cast: Madina Nalwanga, David Oyelowo, Lupita Nyong’o, Esteri Tebandeke, Peter Odeke, and Sheebah Karungi
2016’s Queen of Katwe is a bit of a hidden gem, as this true-story drama flew almost completely under the radar and was one of the last theatrically released “live-action drama” movies from Disney. The story follows a young girl living in Uganda who learns to play chess and becomes a Woman Candidate Master. It’s precisely the kind of feel-good sports drama the world could use more of, but it’s made with tact and emotional complexity as director Mira Nair simultaneously captures the harsh realities of life in a Kampala slum. The film is also incredibly emotional, and is also anchored by a pair of terrific adult performances from Lupita Nyong’o and David Oyelowo. - Adam Chitwood
Soul
Disney+ had a great 2020 and Soul was handily our favorite Disney+ movie of the year. Originally intended for a theatrical release (following a splashy debut at the Cannes Film Festival), Pixar’s latest masterpiece instead debuted quietly on the streaming platform on Christmas Day. That actually made a lot of sense, because the movie covers universal themes of life, death, and what it truly means to find your spark. Joe Gardner (Jamie Foxx) is a middle school band teacher in New York who loves jazz and dreams of playing with his favorite band. That opportunity arises on the same day that he accidentally falls down an open manhole. Winding up in the fanciful Great Before, he teams up with a precocious soul named 22 (Tina Fey), and together they embark to reunite his spirit with his body. Saying anything more would ruin the movie’s many surprises but rest assured that Soul is arguably one of Pixar’s greatest accomplishments; it’s visually stunning and deeply philosophical, beautifully directed by Pixar’s headiest filmmaker Pete Docter (the same mind behind Inside Out and Up). And unlike most Pixar films, which are relentlessly focused on the intricacies of the story, Soul allows itself to wander – to dip into a local barbershop for no discernable plot reason, except to hear snippets of dialogue from the neighborhood, or to occasionally cut away to jokes or gags that are seeming unrelated to what is going on in the narrative – in other words, it’s a movie about engaging with the messiness of life that actually allows for some of that messiness to seep into the film. Cue up the movie, crank up your sound system (all the better to hear Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ amazing score and the jazz compositions by Jon Batiste) and let Soul wash over you. – Drew Taylor
Togo
If you’ve ever seen the 1995 animated feature Balto (produced by Steven Spielberg through his short-lived Amblimation shingle), then chances are that you have at least a cursory awareness of a 1925 serum run to Nome, wherein several groups of sled dogs worked to relay precious medicine to a remote community beset by diphtheria. (There is also a statue in Central Park dedicated to this amazing accomplishment.) What most don’t know is that Balto wasn’t read the star sled dog; he was just the one who led the back on the last leg of the journey. The dog that covered the most distance, in truly horrendous conditions, was named Togo. Willem Dafoe stars as Leonard "Sepp" Seppala, an insanely interesting true-life historical figure who introduced the Siberian Husky to the English-speaking world and, following the events depicted in Togo, competed in the 1932 Olympics. Structured around the harrowing journey, Togo flashes back to see the relationship between Sepp and Togo, from when Togo was a precocious puppy to the relay itself, which was undergone while the dog was quite old and ill. Full of breathless action and suspense set pieces (you know they have to go across ice and you know it gets hairy), Togo slowly reveals itself to be about the unspeakable bond between man and animal, a wordless, hugely emotional connection that few films have dramatized as well as this one. Be sure you’re watching Togo with someone you’re comfortable crying in front of. – Drew Taylor
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story still kicks ass. The story of Rogue One’s production is now legendary (or perhaps infamous); after completing principle photography, the film was heavily reworked, with whole swaths of the movie rewritten and shot again, leading to one of the weirder promotional rollouts for a major studio movie wherein almost none of the footage from the early marketing materials actually made it into the final film. But despite all of that, the movie is a total triumph. Director Gareth Edwards brings a level of tactile realism that has been missing in the Star Wars movies since the original trilogy, fitting, perhaps, because this is a movie that is set right before the events of the first film. Featuring dazzling visual effects (the final battle on and above beach planet Scarif is one of the best in franchise history) and a cast full of wonderfully diverse talent, Rogue One clearly proved that there was inherent value in some of these side stories and led the way for the success of the similarly in-between-y Disney+ original series The Mandalorian. (Tellingly, Rogue One will soon be resurrected as a 12-episode Disney+ original series called Andor, set to debut in 2022.) Sure, you can occasionally see Rogue One’s seams, but it’s also undeniably one of the most exciting and emotionally resonant projects to come out of the Disney Star Wars era. – Drew Taylor
Ralph Breaks the Internet
Directors: Rich Moore and Phil Johnston
Writers: Phil Johnston and Pamela Ribbon
Cast: John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Gal Gadot, Taraji P. Henson, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch, Alan Tudyk, Alfred Molina, Ed O’Neill, and Bill Hader
While Wreck-It Ralph delved into the world of arcade and classic gaming to tremendous results, the sequel Ralph Breaks the Internet turns its focus to an entirely different kind of beast: the internet. In the mold of successful Disney sequels, this film maintains the core characters that mean so much to audiences while evolving and challenging them to compelling results. Here, we see Ralph and Vanellope potentially going separate ways as they enter the massive world of the internet, and the film explores themes of toxic masculinity and online culture—though never in a preach-y manner. There’s plenty of time for fun as well, and while one could see the Star Wars and Disney Princess references as shameless cross-promotion, that doesn’t mean they aren’t wonderfully delightful. Thankfully, this is a sequel with a story worth telling. – Adam Chitwood
Guardians of the Galaxy
Director: James Gunn
Writers: James Gunn, Nicole Perlman
Cast: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, John C. Reilly, Glenn Close, Benicio del Toro
Snuck in among the many jokes in the MCU’s game-changing Guardians of the Galaxy, Star-Lord (Chris Pratt forever changing how we see him) makes a comment that a black light examination of a room will result in a Jackson Pollock painting. That’s right, friends. In the middle of a Disney-funded, four-quadrant, PG-13 rated superhero blockbuster that every child in America will see opening weekend, is a gnarly riff about semen. That requires a basic understanding of art to understand. And now, you can stream it anytime you want on Disney+. What a time to be alive! To be fair, the many charms of Guardians of the Galaxy aren’t exclusively in the gutter. But director/co-writer James Gunn and co-writer Nicole Perlman’s iconoclastic vision soars to the stars because it’s so rooted in the earth. We’re headed to outer space, where refreshingly brightly colored aliens blast the heck out of each other with lasers. But we’re centered by a capital H Human, who loves rock music, wisecracking, and dope/cheesy facial hair. It’s such a smart way to introduce a new tone into the MCU, and it’s such a smart way to ensure the film maintains one of the MCU’s most smartly self-contained pleasures. — Gregory Lawrence
Newsies
Director: Kenny Ortega
Writers: Bob Tzudiker and Noni White
Cast: Christian Bale, Bill Pullman, Ann-Margaret, and Robert Duvall
If you’re wondering why Christian Bale starred in a Disney musical, you’re not alone. When Bale originally signed on to star in Newsies, it was a straightforward drama—it was rather late in the game that Disney decided to Disney-fy the film by bringing in legendary musician Alan Menken to write original songs for the 1899-set movie. The story follows a group of teen and pre-teen newspaper hawkers barely scraping by in New York City whose livelihood is threatened when a rivalry breaks out between publishers. It’s an oddly political film for Disney, but of course all of that takes a backseat to the tremendously catchy musical numbers and dance sequences. The charm of Newsies remains, even if Bale himself still seems somewhat embarrassed by the mark on his filmography. – Adam Chitwood
Mary Poppins Returns
Director: Rob Marshall
Writers: David Magee, Rob Marshall, John DeLuca
Cast: Emily Blunt, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ben Whishaw, Emily Mortimer, Julie Walters, Dick Van Dyke, Angela Lansbury, Colin Firth, Meryl Streep
Mary Poppins Returns is the Force Awakens of the Mary Poppins-verse, and I mean that as a sincere compliment. Emily Blunt steps into Julie Andrews’ iconic role as the nanny who can do literally anything with prim-and-proper playfulness, pivoting perfectly between tough love and whimsical singing on a moment’s notice. Rob Marshall’s widescreen compositions hearken back to the golden days of Disney’s live-action extravaganzas, and the script gives us musical set piece after set piece that, um, also happens to map over the original script and purpose of each set piece in the original. But when the craft is this good, the songs this catchy, and Lin-Manuel Miranda this “rapping in a cockney accent,” it is simply too fun not to allow yourself to be swept up in its earnest glory. Plus: The emotional underpinnings of the picture, and the familial strife going on with Ben Whishaw, Emily Mortimer, and the younguns hits you hard, giving it the stakes it needs. I cry just thinking about Whishaw’s solo song in the attic. - Greg Smith
The Black Hole
While it had been in development for years before Star Wars took the world by storm, the 1979 release date of The Black Hole makes it feel like a direct response to George Lucas’ intergalactic adventure. And that makes The Black Hole seem even weirder. Originally intended as a kind of space-set Poseidon Adventure (which you can see in the oddball B-list grab-bag of the film’s cast), The Black Hole turned out much stranger. It’s concerned with space ship that docks at a space station, poised at the edge of the titular galactic anomaly, and the zealot in charge of the space station who definitely has some sinister plans of his own. It’s a movie you have to experience for yourself, not only for its admirably gonzo, WTF-worthy qualities but also just in terms of how Disney thought this was really going to compete with Lucas’ cheery juggernaut. (The Black Hole might have the strangest ending for any Disney movie.) Mercifully, the Disney+ presentation of The Black Hole maintains its static opening overture with John Barry’s breathtaking musical suite although you’ll have to search online for the even-bleaker alternate ending that was included in original home video editions of the movie. It’s worth falling into this Black Hole. – Drew Taylor
Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas
Directed by: Henry Selick
Written by: Caroline Thompson
Cast: Danny Elfman, Chris Sarandon, Catherine O’Hara, William Hickey, Glenn Shadix, Paul Reubens, Ken Page, and Ed Ivory
It’s not fall/winter without Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, which is technically a Disney movie (it was originally released through Disney’s Touchstone Pictures banner). The perfect film to transition from that Halloween spirit into the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season, director Henry Selick’s macabre and lovely 1993 stop-motion animated film still stands as a classic today. Spooky but not scary, moody but not gloomy. The tone is pitch-perfect, and the songs are downright addicting, as Nightmare Before Christmas tells the story of an outsider looking for a place to belong, but going about it in all the wrong ways. And while Jack Skellington may be the star of the movie, Sally is its beating heart. – Adam Chitwood
The Santa Clause
Director: John Pasquin
Writers: Leo Benvenuti and Steve Rudnick
Cast: Tim Allen, Wendy Crewson, Judge Reinhold, Eric Lloyd, Larry Brandenburg, and David Krumholtz
This 1994 family comedy is a staple of the holiday season, but it’s a swell watch at any time of the year. The Santa Clause stars Tim Allen as a single father who startles Santa Claus on his roof, killing him (in the most delicate of ways) and then inadvertently donning the suit to become the new Santa Claus. As hard as he tries to resist, his body begins morphing into Jolly Old Saint Nick as the elves at the North Pole try to ready the new Santa for his first Christmas. Along the way, he grows closer to his son and sheds some of the selfishness that made him kind of a crappy dad. It’s all in all a pretty heartwarming story with a really terrific Christmas spirit. There’s a reason it’s a holiday classic. – Adam Chitwood
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Director: Wes Anderson
Writers: Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach
Cast: George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, and Owen Wilson
Rarely has a filmmaker been more attuned to a specific medium than Wes Anderson and the world of stop-motion animation, as exemplified in his brilliant 2009 film Fantastic Mr. Fox. The Rushmore and Royal Tenenbaums filmmaker tries his hand at making a childrens film by way of a Roald Dahl adaptation, and the results are hilarious and delightful and slightly melancholy. The story of Fantastic Mr. Fox finds a fox (George Clooney) putting everything on the line to steal from three mean farmers, which in turn puts his family and friends in danger. The soundtrack is jubilant, the voice actors are perfectly dry, and the aesthetics are picturesque. This is one of Wes Anderson’s best films. – Adam Chitwood
Toy Story 4
Director: Josh Cooley
Writer: Andrew Stanton, Stephany Folsom
Cast: Tim Allen, Tom Hanks, Keanu Reeves, Jordan Peele, Keegan-Michael Key, Annie Potts, Tony Hale
When we recently ranked the Toy Story films, shorts and holiday specials, Toy Story 4 came out on top. And for good reason – this is the most sophisticated, both technologically and from a storytelling standpoint, that the franchise has ever been. And yes, it will make you cry your eyes out. In the fourth installment, Woody, Buzz and the gang head out on a pre-school year road trip, an idyllic getaway complicated by the introduction of Forky (Tony Hale) a toy Bonnie made in orientation that is dealing with what it means to be a toy, and the reintroduction of Bo (Annie Potts), Woody’s long lost flame. Everything is more complicated and emotionally messy in Toy Story 4, including the villain (or is she?), an attention-starved antique doll (Christina Hendricks) who just wants to belong. With an insane cast of new supporting toys, including standouts Ducky and Bunny (Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michael Key) and 70s Canadian stuntman extraordinaire Duke Caboom (Keanu Reeves), some of the most amazing visuals Pixar has ever cooked up (in beautiful widescreen, a first for the Toy Story franchise) and a truly surprising ending that shifts the entire franchise into a different direction – for real this time, Toy Story 4 is (already) an unforgettable favorite. To infinity and beyond. – Drew Taylor
The Greatest Showman
Director: Michael Gracey
Writers: Jenny Bicks and Bill Condon
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson, and Zendaya
Who’d have thought a musical about P.T. Barnum would be one of the most joyously entertaining films of the last couple of years? Yes The Greatest Showman is wildly inaccurate and more than a little cheesy, but the original songs (by the songwriters behind La La Land and Dear Evan Hansen) are straight-up bops and Hugh Jackman is clearly having the time of his life singing and dancing alongside Zac Efron and Zendaya. Watch the circus musical, people! It’s a good time! – Adam Chitwood
National Treasure
Director: Jon Turteltaub
Writers: Jim Kouf, Cormac Wibberley, and Marianne Wibberley
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Diane Kruger, Justin Bartha, Sean Bean, Jon Voight, Harvey Keitel, and Christopher Plummer
If you’re looking for a movie that’s just undeniably watchable, look no further than National Treasure. This is a film that has no pretensions about what it is or what it wants to be. It knows the plot is kinda preposterous, but Nicolas Cage sells the heck out of it anyway. Cage plays an American historian and treasure hunter who, following a series of unfortunate events, ends up stealing the Declaration of Independence, which just so happens to include a secret treasure map that no one’s found over the last couple centuries. The film moves with a flighty, fun pace that’s reminiscent of Ocean’s Eleven, and while history buffs may have qualms with some of the specifics, it’s undeniably a blast to follow these characters as they search for clues. – Adam Chitwood
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
Director: Joe Johnston
Writers: Ed Naha, Tom Schulman
Cast: Rick Moranis, Matt Frewer, Marcia Strassman, Kristine Sutherland
There’s a reason a Honey, I Shrunk the Kids legacy sequel is a top priority when everything is back up and running (sets were being built when the shutdown happened). The original Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, based on a story by horror masters Stuart Gordon and Brian Yuzna (Gordon bailed as director last minute after Jeffrey Katzenberg gave him a heart attack – literally), is still a total blast. The original film wound up being the directorial debut of animation and design master Joe Johnston, who brought a playfulness and visual sophistication to the story of the children of a mad scientist who accidentally shrink themselves down. (Phil Tippett’s jaw-dropping stop-motion effects were no doubt a Johnston call.) The other MVP of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, who will mercifully be returning for the new movie, is Rick Moranis. Moranis’ run in the 1980s, when he starred in two Ghostbusters movies, Streets of Fire, Little Shop of Horrors and Spaceballs is totally unparalleled, and his performance in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids is often overlooked but just as electric and vitally alive as any of these other greats. From the opening moments of the movie, with that killer early CGI title sequence and dynamite James Horner score, you’ll be hooked … again. – Drew Taylor
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By: Collider Staff
Title: Best Movies to Watch on Disney Plus Right Now (July 2021)
Sourced From: collider.com/best-movies-on-disney-plus/
Published Date: Fri, 09 Jul 2021 20:11:00 GMT
