Should you spend your money on a Disney+ subscription?
In the world of entertainment, heavy hitter Disney has now launched its own streaming service in Canada, Disney+, and it’s expected to give popular competitors like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video a run for their money.
If you’re a fan of classic Disney animated films, pining for the days when you would watch your favourite Disney Channel television series, longing to have a Star Wars or Marvel Cinematic Universe marathon in the privacy of your own home - you may want to consider adding this service to your to your existing group of subscriptions.
The service will house more than 7,500 episodes of television content and 500 movies.
How much does Disney+ cost and how does it work?
Disney+ is $89.99 a year for Canadians, or $8.99 per month. You can subscribe directly through the mobile, gaming consoles, Apple TV or smart TV apps, or on disneyplus.com. They are also offering a 7-day free trial when you sign up.
The service allows members to have unlimited downloads of Disney-owned content on up to 10 devices and you can stream on up to four devices at once.
Unlike Netflix, Disney+ is not being bundled with any Canadian TV and internet service providers at this point.
Comparatively, Netflix costs Canadians $13.99 per month for HD content that can be watched on 2 screens at the same time or $16.99 a month for HD and Ultra HD content that can be viewed on 4 screen simultaneously.
Amazon Prime Video comes with a Prime membership to the online retailer, which costs $79.99 a year or $7.99 per month. Canadians can also subscribe to Crave, owned by Bell Media. Crave with Movies + HBO is $19.98 per month, with various pricing options available through Canadian TV and internet service providers.
Apple TV also recently launched in Canada last week, which costs $5.99 per month and features original content exclusively. Up to six people can share one subscription.
Can I watch all ‘Star Wars’ and Marvel Cinematic Universe content on Disney+?
Currently 16 films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film are now on Disney+, including Avengers: Endgame. But missing from the list at this point is The Incredible Hulk, Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol: 2, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far From Home.
At the D23 Expo earlier this year, Kathleen Kennedy, president of Lucasfilm, announced that “every single film” in the Star Wars catalogue will be available to subscribers in the platform’s first year of operation.
Eight Star Wars films are now available on Disney+: Star Wars: The Phantom Menace; Star Wars: Attack of the Clones; Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith; Star Wars: A New Hope; Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back; Star Wars: Return of the Jedi; Star Wars: The Force Awakens; Star Wars: Rogue One.
Is Fox content on the platform?
Earlier this year, Disney purchased the film and TV assets of 21st Century Fox for US$71.3 billion. The content on the new streaming service is reflective of the acquisition.
Subscribers have access to all 661 episodes of The Simpsons on Disney+, in addition to popular Fox films like Avatar.
Will I get classic animated Disney film?
Yes, the entertainment giant will continue to release many of its classic animated films on its streaming platform, including Beauty and the Beast, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Fantasia, A Goofy Movie and Mary Poppins.
Are Disney Channel series and movies included?
Disney+ will include over 5,000 episodes of Disney Channel and Disney Junior content and well over 100 Disney Channel original movies, with regional differences on when they will all be available to subscribers.
Popular television series like Boy Meets World, Even Stevens, That’s So Raven, Hannah Montana, Smart Guy, Lizzie McGuire and Kim Possible are included, in addition to Disney Channel original films like Halloweentown, Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century and The Cheetah Girls.
What new content is exclusive to Disney+?
Today, Disney+ subscribers can watch the first episode of the highly-anticipated series The Mandalorian. With Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni at the helm, the story follows Jango and Boba Fett as a new warrior develops in the Star Wars universe. It is set after the fall of the Empire and before the emergence of the First Order, and is supposed to “stand side-by-side” with the existing Star Wars experience in a new world.
The live-action version of Lady and the Tramp is also on the streaming platform today, which stars Tessa Thompson and Justin Theroux in the lead roles, and Yvette Nicole Brown as Aunt Sarah.
Several new non-fiction series are already on Disney+, including Encore!, with actress Kristen Bell as executive producer. Bell unites casts from high school musicals across the U.S. to perform together one more time, sometimes even 40 years later.
Jeff Goldblum’s series, The World According to Jeff Goldblum, also premiers today, which chronicles the science and history of “a deceptively familiar object,” including sneakers, ice cream, bikes and RVs.
A new Lizzie Mcguire series is currently in the works, still starring Hilary Duff with original creator, Terri Minsky, leading the project. The premise is that Lizzie is turning thirty and she lives in Brooklyn, New York, working as an apprentice to a New York City decorator and dating a man who owns a restaurant.
“She’s older, she’s wiser, she has a much bigger shoes budget, which is super exciting,” Duff said at the D23 Expo earlier this year. “She has her dream job, she has kind of the perfect life right now.”
“She is still dealing with that 13-year-old, no holds barred animated Lizzie that’s constantly babbling in her adult Lizzie head.”
There will also be a new animated Clone Wars series, something fans have been wanting for over a decade, set to launch in February 2020.
One of the more intriguing projects slated to be released is the WandaVision series, which executives described at the D23 Expo as the Dick Van Dyke show meets a “classic MCU spectacular.” Paul Bettany is Vision, Elizabeth Olsen will return as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch, but there’s also the addition of comedian and actress Kathryn Hahn as a new “nosey neighbour” character.
