I know this isn’t my normal post about Disney World topics. But since we are all looking for a way to “make it through” to our next Disney trip, I figured I’d make this post seeing that I’m sure you love Disney programming as much as I do. The Walt Disney Company has officially detailed its upcoming Disney Plus streaming service which will launch in late 2019. The three and a half-hour panel included presentations from all of Disney’s subsidiary brands and entertainment groups. Of course, they dropped plenty of new announcements and nuggets of information along the way.
I’ve compiled all the major information and reveals in this one tidy little package to help you out. We’ll start by taking a look at Disney Plus in general. Disney Plus will be the official streaming platform for all things Disney. This will include Disney Motion Pictures, Disney Animation, Disney Television, Disney Channel, Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, Star Wars, and National Geographic.
It will also officially include a substantial amount of family-friendly content from Disney’s latest acquisition of 21st Century Fox.
When Will Disney Plus Launch?
Disney Plus will launch in the US on November 12, 2019, though it has been revealed to be a global platform which will “rapidly expand across nearly all major regions between the end of 2019 and the end of 2021”.
Following the USA Disney Plus will launch across Western Europe between the first and second quarters of 2020. Across the Asia Pacific Market between the first quarter of 2020 and the fourth quarter of 2021; in a Latin America in the first quarter of 2021 and across Eastern Europe between the first and fourth quarter of 2021.
Disney Plus is said to be THE PLACE for Disney content as Disney finally aims to have global control over all of its content can allow the consumer unprecedented access to their back catalog. New release movies from Captain Marvel on will have their streaming debut on Disney Plus. But these films will still receive traditional home media releases slightly earlier than the digital launch.
How Much Is Disney Plus Going To Cost?
Disney Plus will launch at $6.99 per month with an option for an annual subscription which will cost $69.99 per year. This breaks down to $5.93 per month. This honestly isn’t too bad when we look at how much Netflix is costing these days.
Not only that but we don’t expect that this price will change much in the coming months or possibly even years so that people can get comfortable with the platform before they start charging you an arm and a leg.
What Will Disney Plus Be Compatible With?
Disney Plus will be available across all platforms including smart TVs, computers, smartphones, gaming consoles, and all major streaming devices. Including Apple TV, Amazon Fire devices as well as Google Chrome. Disney Plus content will be available in 4k Ultra High Definition with HDR and will be completely ad-free.
The service will also allow you to download content which you can keep for an unlimited amount of time as long as you are a subscriber. Disney showed off a prototype layout of the streaming service which might I add a looks fantastic. It will allow access to all content via a primary hub area with specific sections for each of the separate properties. This will house all the content from each brand and there will be an option to filter titles by movies series or original content.
From what we’ve seen so far Disney Plus looks very simple, very streamlined, and incredibly convenient. If you are in Europe this layout may look fairly similar to the current Disney
live-streaming app that has been offered over there for a number of years now. We are seeing many improvements over Disney life though, including the overall layout and accessibility of it.
Disney Animation
The content offerings on Disney Plus will be the permanent home for their animated films. Disney’s animation library has never been as conveniently or permanently available. The entire 13 film Signature Collection will be available from day one of launch and will stay on the service for perpetuity. This will finally bring an end to the decades-old Disney Vault structure that everyone has been so upset about.
It’s also said that from day one a vast majority of the studio’s recent animated films will be available to stream as well we select classics from the various Disney eras. From what we know, Disney Plus will offer 39 animated titles on launch day this leaves 18 other animated titles which won’t be available on launch day. Fear not though, we have been promised that there will be many more titles that will come over at the beginning of 2020.
Disney Live Action
Disney Plus will offer at least 37 titles on launch day including vintage classics like Mary Poppins, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Treasure Island, Parent Trap and Tron. They will also give us modern classics like Pirates of the Caribbean, National Treasure, Alice in Wonderland, The Princess Diaries and The Santa Clause.
More films will show up over the course of the first year. Including Beauty and the Beast, Christopher Robert, and Maleficent which likely have their rights tied up in some other distributor at the moment.
Pixar
It was announced that eighteen of the Pixar films will be available from day one of launch. Toy Story 1 and 2, Cars 3 with the remaining three films launching throughout the first year allowing access to the entire Pixar film canon. Every one of Pixar’s theatrical shorts will also be available from day one of a launch as well. But of course a few days ago we got word that Monsters Inc. sequel-spinoff series “Monsters At Work” will launch on the surface which will be produced by Disney television animation.
Marvel
The selection of MCU films at first seems to be rather random. Quite a few available from day one, including Captain Marvel and two of the Iron Man movies. From what we know right now the first year we’ll also see the addition of eight more MCU titles including Avengers Endgame and Avengers Infinity War. This will leave 10 films still to be added in the future; including the first two Avengers films and Captain America Civil War.
Right now there’s no word on when these will launch or if the service will ever offer access to Incredible Hulk or the two Spider-Man MCU films.
Star Wars
On the Star Wars end of things, it was announced that from launch day 1, the original two Star Wars trilogies, plus The Force Awakens and Rogue One will be available to stream. The last Jedi, Solo and Episode 9 will be available throughout the first year. It was also announced that Jon Favreau’s, 8 episode, the Mandalorian Series; will be available to stream on launch day. The series is described as familiar but cutting edge and as the recent films combine animatronics and puppetry with state-of-the-art technology.
The Mandalorian will soon be followed by a rogue one prequel series. Which focuses on Cassian Andor and K2SO’s adventures which will officially star Diego Luna and Alan Tudyk
in their respective original roles. It was also noted that there will be plenty more live-action series to come. The new series of the Clone Wars as briefly touched on but no expected release date was announced. Lucasfilm also announced that they will produce a number of exclusive nonfiction programs which will bring viewers inside Lucasfilm and Star Wars. The first series of which will focus on legendary master craftspeople who brought the Star Wars galaxy to life.
Disney Channel
With Disney Plus we get 5,000 episodes of Disney Channel original series and 100 Disney Channel Original Movies on launch day. This will include the likes of Mickey
Mouse Club House, Lizzie McGuire, Hannah Montana, and High School Musical.
National Geographic
National Geographic will also home content on Disney plus. Upon launch, we’ll get 250 hours of premium National Geographic series and films. This includes the academy award-winning documentary film “Free Solo”. National Geographic will also offer a brand-new exclusive series titled “The World According To Jeff Goldblum.” Jeff Goldblum was described as one of the most curious people you will ever meet and the series is set to be viewed through the prism of his always inquisitive and highly entertaining mind.
Fox Content
Finally, a small spotlight was put on the Fox content that is expected to be available on launch which includes many of their family-friendly film titles. Including Bend It Like Beckham, Dr.
Dolittle, Garfield, Home Alone 3, The Princess Bride, Miracle on 34th Street, and The Sound of Music. But this isn’t enough right, you’ll also get the first 30 seasons of The Simpsons… which will be available on the platform from day one.
Conclusion
Disney Plus promises to launch at least 10 exclusive movies per year well into the future. Ok, yes, this is a far stretch from “everything” that we were promised. But I think we can rest assured that there is a LOT more coming down the pike. So hang in there folks, this is going to prove to be very interesting indeed. I’m hoping this is just another great thing I can add to my list of ways to avoid post-Disney depression.
