Disney+ Releases 'Frozen 2' Early to Help Out Parents During "This Challenging Period"

From Good Housekeeping

• Disney+, the new streaming service from Disney, launched on November 12, 2019.

• The price is $7 per month, with some bundles also available.

• Disney is also developing lots of new family-friendly movies and TV shows for the streaming service.

In a world of Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, HBO Go, CBS All Access, Apple TV+, and many others, is there really room for another streaming service? When it's Disney+, the answer is yes — especially if you have kids, or if you're a fan of Marvel, Star Wars, and Pixar.

Wait a minute, you might be thinking. Aren't all of the Disney movies on Netflix anyway? Why would I need to subscribe to another service? Check again, because Disney ended its relationship with the streaming giant at the end of 2018, and titles like Moana and Coco are leaving the site as Disney ramps up offerings on Disney+.

So, what's available now that Disney+ is officially rolling? Here is everything we know so far.

Disney+ has launched, and you get a lot for your money.

Disney+ launched November 12, 2019. At the time, Disney CEO Robert Iger said on a previous investor call that the "plan on the Disney side is to price this substantially below where Netflix is,” MarketWatch reports. And they stayed true to their word: The price for the streaming service is $7/month. Right now, the most basic Netflix plan is $9/month, and that doesn't come in HD.

Bundles are even better.

Right now is the best time to sign up, because Disney is running a bunch of deals to get things started. If you're a sports fan or addicted to The Handmaid's Tale, the streaming service will be bundled with Hulu and ESPN+ for just $13/month. This makes sense because Disney already owns ESPN, and, after acquiring 20th Century Fox, it also took on a controlling stake in Hulu.

It's even better if you're a Verizon customer: Verizon will be offering all new and existing wireless customers on unlimited-data plans a free year of Disney+. A whole year! For free! In addition, Verizon is giving new Fios broadband or 5G home wireless internet customers the same deal. (After a year, customers will be charged the regular monthly fee, unless they cancel.)

You can watch it on most of your devices.

Once you get your account up and running, you'll be able to watch it on your devices from Apple (iPad, iPhone, the Apple TV app, and the like); Google (Android phones, Chromecast, etc.); Roku (both streaming players and TVs); Sony (Sony TVs and Playstation), Microsoft (Xbox One); and Smart TVs by LG and Samsung, among others. Originally, it seemed like Amazon devices wouldn't be able to carry the service, but Disney and Amazon were able to work out a deal, and you can also watch Disney+ on Fire TV Devices, Fire TV Edition Smart TVs, and Fire Tablets.

But expect some glitches at first.

There are reports that the service is experiencing some first-day growing pains. When the service went live, "People mentioned problems signing up, logging in, and streaming," The Hollywood Reporter notes. "Downdetector.com showed 6,900 reports of problems with the service around 7:30 a.m. ET and slightly more than 7,000 later before problem reports dropped off." The company responded via Twitter that the hiccups were due to high demand.

And apparently, if you're one of the unlucky ones to get an error message on the first day, you're greeted with an image of Wreck-It Ralph and Vanellope from Ralph Breaks the Internet. How fitting!

Almost every Disney movie you can think of will be on there.

So, once you get it up and streaming, what can you actually watch? At this point, it's almost easier to talk about what's not going to be on Disney+.

In a phone call with shareholders, The Verge reports, Disney CEO Robert Iger said Disney+ will carry the entire catalog of animated films — including titles that have been in "The Vault." This is a huge departure from company policy. In the past, Disney has had this infuriating-for-collectors tradition of only making a few of its animated movies available for purchase at a time. The ones that weren't currently in print were said to be in "The Vault." It was always a big deal when a movie came out of "The Vault" — meaning if you wanted it, you'd spend big bucks on a clamshell VHS or a shiny new DVD or a Blu-Ray, whatever format happened to be in use at the moment.

In addition, Disney tweeted out a list of everything else that will be available on the site, and it's amazing how many original movies you haven't thought about in years are on there. Think back to your most neon Disney Channel days — it's all coming back to haunt you.

Flight of the Navigator? The Black Hole? Mr. Boogedy? The Suite Life Movie? Snow Dogs? Zapped? If some of these don't bring up memories of running to the children's section of your brick-and-mortar video store, nothing will.

It'll have plenty of new releases, including original shows and movies.

In addition to the old favorites leaving Netflix, Disney has a lot of shows and movies coming up that'll really beef up the streaming offerings. Here is what's been confirmed up until launch day (click on our stories about the service's original shows and original movies for more up-to-date lists):

Disney Live Action and Pixar

• According to Variety, all new Disney live-action and animated movies, starting with this year's Dumbo, will be available through the site.

• Pixar movies starting with Toy Story 4 will be on the service.

• There will also be a Pixar short animated series, Forky Asks a Question, starring the new Toy Story 4 character, and the short film Lamp Life.

• There will be a TV series based on Monsters, Inc. called Monsters at Work, with the voices of Billy Crystal and John Goodman. Monsters At Work, will premiere on Disney+ in 2020.

Marvel

• Captain Marvel will be the first MCU film to be featured on the site.

• The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, starring Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan, will follow some of Captain America's buddies. It'll be the first series up, in fall 2020.

• WandaVision, starring Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany, will focus on the adventures of The Vision and the Scarlet Witch. It'll debut spring 2021, and Game of Thrones' Matt Shakman will direct the series.

• Marvel's What If... will be an animated series. "Each episode will explore a pivotal moment from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and turn it on its head, leading the audience into uncharted territory," Disney said in a statement. The first one, in summer 2021, is said to feature a huge number of the MCU actors, IGN reports.

• Jeremy Renner will return as Hawkeye for a series coming fall 2021.

• There are also plans for a live-action Loki series starring Thor's Tom Hiddleston for spring 2021. (And maybe a show for Lady Sif, too? Though that hasn't been officially announced.)

• There will be two documentary series: Marvel 616 will be a nonfiction show about Marvel creators, while the Marvel Hero Project will focus on real-life kids and the heroic things they do in their communities.

• Down the line, there will also be a series based on Ms. Marvel. Though there have been many Ms. Marvels over the years, according to The Hollywood Reporter, the show will focus on the current comics' version of the character: Kamela Khan, a Pakistani-American living in a religious family in New Jersey.

• Plans for series based on She-Hulk and Moon Knight have been announced, though there are currently no details about casting or release dates.

• People are hoping that, in the future, Disney+ will also revive the Marvel shows that Netflix canceled, like Daredevil, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist, but there is something in the contracts that prevents those characters from showing up for two years.

Star Wars

• Though none of the Star Wars movies released before 2019 will make it to the site before launch, all of the movies starting with Star Wars: Episode IX will be there.

• A big-budget, limited-episode, live-action show called The Mandalorian will be shepherded by The Lion King remake director Jon Favreau. It will be available to stream on the first day.

• Star Wars: The Clone Wars will be revived with a new season, much to the delight of fans devastated by its cancellation. It will return in February 2020.

• Diego Luna will star in a live-action Rogue One prequel series about Cassian Andor.
  

• Ewan McGregor is also returning for a series about Obi-Wan Kenobi.

New TV Series

• Hilary Duff will be return to her star-making role in an all-new Lizzie McGuire series. The original series creator, Terri Minsky, is returning, too. According to Deadline, the new series will follow a 30-year-old Lizzie living in New York City, and will still include the animated cutaways.

• If there are any Wildcats fans still on the prowl, a new show, High School Musical: The Series, will also launch on the site's first day.

• National Geographic will make two series: The World According to Jeff Goldblum, which will look into the science of everyday objects, and Magic of the Animal Kingdom, a documentary series about the animals at Disney parks. The World According to Jeff Goldblum will be available at launch.

• Another series, Earthkeepers, will also focus on conservationists' attempts to help animals.

• Encore, with executive producer Kristen Bell, reunites the casts of high school musicals and has them put on a reunion performance. This will also be available on the first day of the service.

• The Muppets will return in an unscripted (?!) series called Muppets Now. It promises to feature rotating guest stars, and it'll begin in 2020.

• In addition, the Jim Henson Co. is working on a puppet-based series called Earth to Ned. In the half-hour comedy, an alien hosts a late-night-style talk show.

• Gina Rodriguez is executive-producing Diary of a Female President, a 10-episode series about a Cuban-American middle school girl on a journey to become the President of the United States.

• Michael Cimino leads the cast of a series based on the YA teen romance, Love, Simon.

• The Office's Angela Kinsey will host a cooking competition called, fittingly, Be Our Chef, while Shop Class pits students who design, engineer, and build things against each other in engineering challenges. Bob Woodruff and his 27-year-old son, meanwhile, will host an off-the-beaten-path travel show called Rogue Trip.
  

• Cinema Relics: Iconic Art of the Movies looks at classic props, costumes, and other memorabilia from beloved Disney movies, while another still-untitled docuseries will look at the impressive feat of Disney "imagineering."

• (Re)Connects follows families attempting to improve their homes lives. "Every episode focuses on one family with a modern-day, relatable issue that’s driving a wedge between them," Disney said in a statement. "Issues range from workaholic parents or overly competitive siblings to technology addiction or a family secret that has recently been revealed."

• Other docu-series in the works include The Imagineering Story, about 65 years of Disney innovation; Into the Unknown, about the making of Frozen 2; Ink and Paint, about Disney's trailblazing female animators; and Behind the Attraction, about different areas of the theme park.

New Movies

• A remake of Lady and the Tramp, which will feature a mix of CGI and live action and will star Justin Theroux and Janelle Monae, will be available on Disney+'s first day.

• For those looking for a little holiday spirit, Disney+ will also debut with Noelle, starring Anna Kendrick as Noelle Claus, daughter of Santa. Bill Hader and Billy Eichner co-star.

• Pitch Perfect's Skylar Astin will star in a movie called The Secret Society of Second-Born Royals. It'll come to the site in 2020.

• Disney plans on rebooting Home Alone, Cheaper By the Dozen, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and Night at the Museum for the service.

• Togo, an action movie about dog sledding, will star Willem Dafoe.
  

• Tom McCarthy, the director of Spotlight, is developing a live action movie based on the Timmy Failure books.

• There's also a possible remake of The Sword in the Stone.

• A Stargirl movie, starring Grace VanderWaal, winner of America's Got Talent, is also planned.

• There will be a Phineas and Ferb movie, called Phineas and Ferb: Candace Against the Universe, with much of the original cast returning.

• South Carolina Clemson Tigers safety Ray McElrathbey is the subject of Safety, a movie about how McElrathbey's faith helped him as he raised his younger brother while on the path to playing college football.

• Natalie Portman narrates Dolphin Reef, the next film in the Disneynature series, about a young Pacific bottlenose dolphin named Echo.

• A writer has been hired to create a sequel to Hocus Pocus, though the stars have not yet signed on. It's unclear if it'll follow the plot of the Hocus Pocus sequel novel.

Every Episode of The Simpsons

• All 30 seasons of The Simpsons will be available on the service starting on the first day, now that Disney has absorbed Fox.

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