Disney+ Streaming Starts Now: Here's What You Need to Know
Your one-stop-shop for your family's favorite Disney TV and movies is here: Disney+, Disney’s new streaming platform launching November 12, 2019.
Disney’s answer to streaming giants like Netflix, Amazon, and HBO Now will be the exclusive home to not only Walt Disney Studios’ complete library of content but also all things Lucasfilm (Star Wars), Marvel and Pixar, plus recently acquired 20th Century Fox assets like The Simpsons and National Geographic. Perhaps the biggest reasons to get excited about Disney+ though are all of the new original films and series that are promising to deliver blockbuster film–quality programming for kids and grown-ups alike to your small screens and devices (read: endless entertainment for you AND your kiddos whenever, and wherever you need it most).
Pricing
Disney+ pricing starts at $6.99/month with a bundled option to include Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu for $12.99/month, the same price as Netflix’s standard monthly subscription. There's also the option of an ad-free streaming subscription for $69.99 per year. Right now, you can get the service on Android and Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV and iOS, Google Chromecast, PlayStation 4, Roku, and Xbox One. You can stream on up to four devices at once, so if the younger kiddos want to watch Moana for the millionth time, the big kids can catch up on Star Wars without anyone being kicked off their screen.
How It Works
It works similarly to familiar streaming services like Netflix: There are different user profiles so each person watching has their own list of recommendations, can build a watchlist, and can pick up watching whatever series they're currently binging. For younger users, there are parental controls such as an age filter to show only content appropriate for kids. And to prep for your next family travels, you can download movies or TV episodes to view offline.
What to Watch
So yes, the pricing is decent, the personal user profiles are great. But the real reason everyone is so excited about Disney+? The shows and movies, of course! We hit up the D23 Expo 2019 to get a sneak peek earlier this year of what's coming our way, and here's what we're looking forward to watching most on Disney+.
#1 Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi
Let’s start with the biggest news first. To close out Friday’s epic panel, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy invited Ewan McGregor to the stage to give Star Wars fans the news they’ve been looking for. McGregor will finally return to the Star Wars universe to reprise his fan-favorite role as young Obi-Wan Kenobi in an original series.
#2 Lizzie McGuire 2.0
It’s no surprise that Disney Channel would want to include a reboot of this popular series in their Disney+ offerings. The original live-action sitcom starred Hilary Duff as a popularity-seeking 13-year-old (with viewers getting a glimpse into her mind’s inner workings via an animated version of Lizzie). When it came time for a reboot, creator Terri Minsky decided the only person who should play Lizzie is, well, Lizzie. So, Hilary Duff is back in a 13-going-on-30 riff on the show that grown-up millennials are going to love. Lizzie McGuire 2.0 is 29-years-old, living in NYC, working her dream job and dating her dream guy, but she just can’t kick that 13-year-old animated Lizzie babbling in her head…
The Walt Disney Company/Image Group LA
#3 New "High School Musical" Numbers
If you think the title "High School Musical: The Musical: The Series" sounds like someone was overserved when they came up with it, we can’t disagree. But, after getting more scoop, we’re thinking the creators will be laughing their way to the bank with this one. This is the story of the actual students of East High—the school where the original High School Musical was filmed—who end up as stars of East High’s production of “High School Musical: The Musical.” Are you following? It doesn’t really matter—with a dynamic new cast and reinterpretations of classic songs woven together with new ones, any fan of the original is going to want to watch this one.
#4 Forky Asking All the Questions
Forky, the lovable spork from Toy Story 4, is getting his own show. In “Forky Asks A Question,” the absolutely hilarious Tony Hale of Arrested Development and Veep fame is back to reprise the role in this hilarious short series where Forky gets to ask all of his burning questions like “What is love?” “What is a friend?” “What is money?” and “What is the internet?”
The Walt Disney Company/Image Group LA
#5 More Lovable Pixar Monsters
Pixar has another exciting project headed to Disney+ too: "Monsters At Work." Picking up where Monsters Inc. left off, the company has just transitioned from scream power to laugh power, and recent Monsters University “scarum cum laude” graduate Tylor (Ben Feldman) is ready to head to work as a scarer. It’s a rude awakening when he learns he needs to find a way to produce laughter instead. Aisha Tyler also joins the cast as Tylor’s mom, Millie.
#6 "The Mandalorian"
The massive news of the new Obi-Wan Kenobi series may have stolen the spotlight from the other Star Wars news shared at the panel, but that show is a long way off and there’s lots to get excited about in the meantime, starting with John Favreau and Dave Filoni’s “space western” "The Mandalorian," set just after the events of The Return of the Jedi. Fans were treated to a trailer and an appearance by the star-studded cast, including Pedro Pascal, Gina Carano, Taiko Waititi and Carl Weathers. The show will be available to stream on the Nov. 12 launch date.
#7 Anna Kendrick as Santa's Daughter
With Disney+ launching just in time for the holidays, it would only make sense to introduce a big holiday film to the mix. Noelle is the story of Santa’s daughter (Anna Kendrick) and her brother, Nick Kringle (Bill Hader). Nick is set to succeed his father as the big guy in the red suit, but he cracks under the pressure. Noelle tells him to go take a quick breather, but when he instead goes AWOL, Christmas hangs in the balance. Also starring Shirley Maclaine and hilarious “scene stealer” Billy Eichner, this one might just become your family’s new annual tradition.
#8 The "Lady and the Tramp" Live-Action Remake
ICYMI, Disney is really into live-action remakes of their classic animated films right now, so who could be surprised that they’d bring one straight to Disney+? Lady and the Tramp, starring Tessa Thompson and Justin Theroux as the voices of the canine stars, will be available on Disney+ Nov. 12. Check out the adorable trailer here.
#9 Marvel's "She-Hulk," "Ms. Marvel," and "Moon Knight"
Marvel president and producer Kevin Feige dropped an epic amount of news at San Diego Comic-Con 2019 last month, but he did save a few big reveals for the Expo.
First up, Bruce Banner isn’t the only hulk in town anymore. "She-Hulk" is coming to Disney+ as an original series centered around the comic-book character Jennifer Walters, a lawyer by day who also happens to be a hulk—let’s see if she can keep her cool in that courtroom.
Disney+ subscribers will first meet Kamala Khan, the Muslim-Pakistani teen from Jersey City and Carol Danvers protege, as the star of her own original series, "Ms. Marvel." After her small-screen introduction, Feige says Marvel’s first Muslim character will find her way to the big screen in future MCU films.
A former mercenary, Mark Spector was left for dead in an Egyptian desert. Spector ends up not only surviving, but also nabbing some superhero powers from the Egyptian moon god Khonsu.
The Walt Disney Company/Image Group LA
#10 Jeff Goldblum Playing Himself
If you’re a fan of magnetically quirky Jeff Goldblum (and how could you not be?), you’ll want to queue this one up. In “The World According to Jeff Goldblum,” the pop-culture icon explores a whole range of random topics, from ice cream to tattoos to sneakers. Here’s the gist, according to Jeff Goldblum: “I know nothing. That’s the premise. I’m a humble student, and a late bloomer—a late Goldblum-er.” We’re already laughing.
#11 Kristen Bell's New Reality Series
In reality series “Encore!” executive producer Kristen Bell wants grown-ups to give high school a second chance. The show explores the universal experience of the awkwardness of navigating high school as an uncertain teenager and sets out to see what happens when high school musical casts are reunited on stage as adults for their encore performance, having shed the limitations of high school labels. This one looks like quite the feel-good tear-jerker.
#12 Muppets!
Details were sparse, but the Muppets will definitely be on the Disney+ scene in “Muppets Now,” an unscripted short-form series.
The Walt Disney Company/Image Group LA
#13 The Return of Phineas and Ferb
What would Phineas and Ferb be without some sister-related hijinks? In their new film, Phineas and Ferb The Movie: Candace Against the Universe, Phineas and Ferb embark on an adventure through space to rescue sister Candace, “who has been abducted by aliens and has found utopia in a far-off planet, free of pesky little brothers.”
