With the release of Disney+, Disney has emerged as a contender in the current “streaming war.” Overall, Disney+ is a very impressive streaming service and, despite one or two flaws, should be considered comparable to streaming giants like Netflix and Hulu. As streaming services go, Disney+ hits all the marks.
When it comes to the content currently available on Disney+, shows and movies are abundant. Viewers can choose older content as well as Disney+ Originals.
To start with, there is a large number of hit movies to watch, from action-packed features like Marvel and Star Wars films to more family-friendly choices like Pixar and other Disney classics. All of these movies are right there, available to stream. In the past, the only way to watch these movies at home would be to rent or purchase them.
There are also many Disney Channel classics available to stream as a full series, such as Wizards of Waverly Place and The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. All of these shows will evoke a sense of nostalgia in any viewer who watched these classics when he or she was a child.
As far as original shows go, Star Wars: The Mandalorian is a fantastic addition to the Star Wars universe. It’s incredibly enjoyable to watch. In my opinion, The Mandalorian feels more like a Star Wars movie than any one of the recent sequels does.
The Mandalorian is a Star Wars spin-off series that takes place in the Star Wars universe four years after the ending of the original trilogy. The show follows an unnamed bounty hunter as he travels the galaxy as he attempts to make enough money to survive by performing various jobs.
The show has plenty of fantastic action scenes as well as great acting and dialogue. This series truly feels like a return to form for Star Wars, and is the TV series that fans have been waiting for.
In addition to The Mandalorian, there are two additional Star Wars Disney+ originals planned for release. At the moment they are unnamed and not much information is known about them. One will be a story centered around Obi-Wan Kenobi, while another will follow Cassian Andor, a rebel intelligence officer in the Star Wars universe.
As well as The Mandalorian, Disney+ offers another original series to watch: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. The series takes place after the events of the High School Musical movies and introduces a new story for fans of the series to enjoy.
There is also a Disney+ original movie, which is a live action version of the Disney classic Lady and The Tramp.
Disney+ will also give production companies like Marvel and Star Wars the chance to expand their series with original shows to stream. Included in the planned upcoming originals are Marvel series such as The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki, Wandavision, What if…?, and Hawkeye, which will all continue and add to the current Marvel Cinematic Universe.
When it comes to its interface, Disney+ is very reminiscent of other similar streaming services of the past. You begin on a home page containing different shows and movies sorted under different topics. Disney+ offers you the ability to organize your watchlist according to what you want to watch, and a “Recommended For You” topic appears right at the top of the page.
Along with all that, you also can sort what you want to watch by company, selecting from Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars or any other of Disney’s many subsidiaries. Any user will be able to find what he or she wants to watch with ease.
Disney+ is also much more affordable than other streaming services like Netflix, Hulu or HBOGo. It can also be streamed on more devices for a cheaper price when compared to the other streaming sites.
Let’s break that down. For $6.99/month, you get all of Disney+'s content available to stream in 4K HD with no advertisements interrupting your streaming. You can also stream it on up to 4 devices at one time.
That is a much more affordable price and better plan when compared to either Netflix’s standard plan ($12.99/month with 2 devices at a time) or Hulu+ ($11.99/month with 2 devices at a time and no ads).
Although Disney+ is overall a fantastic streaming service, it isn’t without its flaws.
While there is a ton of content to watch on Disney+, most of it is just older movies or shows, save for the more recent Marvel or Star Wars movies. Though it’s nice to be able to stream these at any time without having to purchase them, it would be nice to have some more original content to watch at launch.
Disney+ currently has very few original shows to watch, due to the fact that it’s a new streaming service that has just been released. However, it’s lack of original content is extremely noticeable when looking at other streaming service’s original content, such as Netlflix’s many original series such as Stranger Things or Bojack Horseman, or Amazon’s original shows like Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan or The Man in The High Castle.
Though Disney+ has plans to add more original shows based on Marvel and Star Wars and other series, they aren’t scheduled to release until late 2020-2021.
In addition to that, the currently available content is mostly for kids or those looking to go on a trip down memory lane. There are very few choices that will appeal to teens and adults.
Despite those few personal issues, Disney+ is a very good service and I can’t wait to see what additions come next.