Disney has been laying the foundation for its own streaming service for years, and after building up its technology, making plans to pull content from Netflix, and filming originals of its own, Disney+ is ready to go live today, Nov. 12.
Expect shows directly from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (no more of that tangential sorta-in-the-MCU stuff that ABC, Hulu and Netflix got stuck with). But the initial draw is from the Star Wars franchise, with the premiere of The Mandalorian, a good old-fashioned space-western that happens to feature a bounty hunter who looks like Boba Fett, but is less dented and competent enough not to digest in a sarlacc pit.
There's also Noelle, with Anna Kendrick as Santa's daughter, and the live-action remake of Lady and the Tramp, all on day one.
However, the majority of Disney+'s launch day titles—over 600—are Disney-owned/created movies and shows that reach deep into the vault. We're talking streaming access to classics going back to Snow White, the first Disney animated feature film from 1937, tons of live-action family films, and of course films from Pixar, the MCU, and Star Wars. TV shows too, like an animated Marvel series you probably forgot even existed.
So what should you absolutely not miss (in-between episodes of The Mandalorian)? We asked the PCMag staff at large. These are their picks.
The World According to Jeff Goldblum
MCU fan Kristen Welling, our Senior Manager of Digital Analytics said, "Obviously I will be watching The World According to Jeff Goldblum (pay tribute to your Grandmaster!) while I (im)patiently wait for Falcon and the Winter Soldier," referring to one of the new MCU shows, which is currently in production. This new documentary show from Goldblum is a true Disney+ Original (available in full 4K HDR, with new shows weekly) and perhaps destined to be a classic. It stars the actor at his most Goldblum-y, as he explores the world after doing as little research as possible on what he'll encounter.
Candleshoe
I remember being thoroughly entertained by this as a kid, so I hope it holds up. A teenage Jodie Foster is being used to pull a scam on an old lady (Helen Hayes, in her last film) who lives in an English country estate called Candleshoe. This was from a time when David Niven was a big deal for Disney—he also starred in No Deposit, No Return the previous year. Both films had the same director, Norman Tokar, who also helmed lots of Disney classics in the 1970s like The Apple Dumpling Gang and The Cat from Outer Space.
Escape to Witch Mountain
A real Housewives of Beverly Hills star got her start in this 1975 sci-fi/fantasy for kids: Kim Richards stars as Tia with Ike Eisenmann as brother Tony, who are orphans with super-powers and no memory of where they came from. The pretty horrible 1978 sequel, Return from Witch Mountain, is also streaming on Disney+. The 2009 remake with The Rock, Race to Witch Mountain , however, is not.
Flight of the Navigator
A kid lost for eight years awakens in 1986 and is taken by a space ship (voiced by Pee Wee Herman) full of tiny aliens. Where was the kid for all those years? And why does the ship need him? It's fun to find out. Sum this one up with: time travel + grand theft spaceship + cute creatures.
Return to Oz
Were you terrified by anything in the original Wizard of Oz? Then you're going to be wetting yourself in fear in this much darker sequel, in which Dorothy is treated with electroshock therapy when she starts telling tales of Oz. In 1985, it was a box-office failure, but has since become something of a cult classic. It hews much closer to the books by L. Frank Baum, but I don't remember them having sanitariums for kids in the books.
The Black Hole
Wondering what it would have been like if Disney tried to make an edgy Star Wars/Battlestar Galactica pastiche in the 1970s? It really happened, in The Black Hole —the first rated PG film in Disney's history. But that was because some characters said "hell" and "damn," not because of the horrible murder perpetrated on-screen by the malevolent robot Maximilian. He looks especially bad next to super cute robots (don't call 'em droids) like V.I.N.CENT and Old B.O.B. If you grew up watching this, it probably (wrongly) informs you to this day how black holes and singularities actually function.
The Great Muppet Caper
The second ever Muppet feature movie from 1981 got a double recommendation from Senior Features Writer Chandra Steele and Executive Editor Chloe Albanesius, and for got reason. It's arguably the strongest feature Jim Henson (who directed) and company ever put out, even over the classic The Muppet Movie, which is also available on Disney+. So is A Muppet Christmas Carol, Muppet Treasure Island, and 2011 Oscar winner for Best Original Song, The Muppets. Sadly, the original The Muppet Show is not.
The Rocketeer
While you wait for the original MCU shows, or go back and watch all the Marvel movies, remember that the super-hero movie renaissance that Iron Man kicked off probably should have happened back in 1991 with the release of The Rocketeer. Director Joe Johnston's take on the stunt pilot with the jet pack fighting Nazis taken right from the graphic novel of the same name was pitch perfect in every way. He nailed super-heroics in the WWII era so well, he later took on the helm of Captain America: The First Avenger.
The Simpsons
PCMag News Reporter Michael Kan is ready to relive some good times. "I need to bask in the glory of seasons 3 to 9, the golden age of the TV show," he says. If you liked a few years beyond those episodes from 1998 (!), you're in luck. Disney's purchase of the assets of 21st Century Fox mean all 30 existing seasons—667 episodes in total—will be streaming on Disney+.
Three Men and a Baby
The biggest box office hit of 1987—back when comedies could do that—this film directed by Leonard "Mr. Spock" Nimoy features three guys trying to raise one baby. Our camera analyst Jim Fisher said this film, "like all 1980's family comedies, involves Steve Guttenberg and a ton of drugs." Said drugs gets confused with powdered milk. These things happen.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
That's right, there's no question mark in the title! Overlook that by knowing this Oscar-winning Robert Zemeckis masterpiece from 1988 was and is the ultimate match-up of 1947's greatest animated characters. In this movie, toons are actors like everyone else. Watch as they collide with real-life people like Bob Hoskins and Christopher Lloyd. It all happens because of Roger Rabbit (Charles Fleischer), a toon with a gorgeous wife and a lot of problems. The ending may scar you, and will especially make you appreciate mass transit. This was one of the last times you'll hear Mel Blanc himself as the voice of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and the other Looney Tunes characters.
The Full List of Disney+ Debut Content
Wondering what else to watch on Disney+? Go read the full list of available content on day one.