18 Things To Watch On Disney+
Black Is King
Black Is King, written – directed and executive produced by 28-time Grammy award-winner Beyoncé – was released on Disney+ last summer, hot on the heels of the one-year anniversary of the release of the live-action remake of The Lion King. The visual album reimagines the lessons of the Disney classic for today’s young kings and queens in search of their own crowns. The film was in production for one year with a cast and crew that all represented diversity and connectivity. Epic’s not a word we use often, but Black Is King deserves it.
Watch here: DisneyPlus.com
Into The Unknown: Making Frozen 2
With the clock ticking and less than a year until the world premiere of Frozen 2, the filmmakers, artists, songwriters and cast opened their doors to cameras for a six-part documentary series to reveal the hard work, heart and collaboration it takes to create one of the most highly anticipated films in Walt Disney’s history. For the first time, cameras were there to capture the challenges and the breakthroughs, the artistry, creativity and the complexity of creating the number-one animated feature of all time. The series follows directors Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck, actors Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Josh Gad, Jonathan Groff and Evan Rachel Wood, and the talented artists and technicians of Disney Animation as they race against time to finish the film, with both creative breakthroughs and frustrations along the way.
Watch here: DisneyPlus.com
Hamilton
Hamilton is as revolutionary as its subject: the poor kid from the Caribbean who fought the British, defended the Constitution, and helped to found the United States. From Tony Award-winning composer, lyricist and star Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton used hip-hop, pop, R&B and the best traditions of theatre, to create a once-in-a-generation show that broadened the sound of Broadway, revealed the storytelling power of rap and claimed the origins of the United States for a diverse new generation.
Watch here: DisneyPlus.com
Mulan
Acclaimed filmmaker Niki Caro brings the epic tale of China’s legendary warrior to life in this live-action remake of Mulan, in which a fearless young woman risks everything out of love for her family and her country to become one of the greatest warriors China has ever known. When the Emperor of China issues a decree that one man per family must serve in the Imperial Army to defend the country from Northern invaders, Hua Mulan, the eldest daughter of an honoured warrior, steps in to take the place of her ailing father. Masquerading as a man, Hua Jun, she is tested every step of the way and must harness her inner-strength and embrace her true potential.
Watch here: DisneyPlus.com
On Pointe
This six-part docu-series captures a season in the School of American Ballet (SAB) in New York City. Featuring unprecedented access to the famous ballet institution, the series follows the lives of the students – aged 8 to 18 – as they pursue their dreams to become ballet dancers. It’s inspiring stuff.
Watch here: DisneyPlus.com
The Mandalorian
The Mandalorian is an American space Western television series created by Jon Favreau (Chef, The Lion King). It is the first live-action series in the Star Wars franchise, beginning five years after the events of Return of the Jedi. After the defeat of the Empire at the hands of Rebel forces, a lone bounty hunter operating in the Outer Rim, away from the dominion of the New Republic, goes on many surprising and risky adventures. Don’t look away if Star Wars isn’t usually your thing: the two series include meme machine ‘Baby Yoda’, and has converted legions of sci-fi sceptics along the way.
Watch here: DisneyPlus.com
The World According To Jeff Goldblum
Through the prism of Jeff Goldblum's inquisitive mind, nothing is as it seems. In The World According to Jeff Goldblum, each episode is centred around something people all love – like trainers or ice-cream – as Jeff pulls the thread on these deceptively familiar objects and unravels a wonderful world of astonishing connections that are both surprising and exciting. Through fascinating science and history, amazing people, and a whole lot of big ideas and insights, Goldblum provides an interesting take on the world.
Watch here: DisneyPlus.com
WandaVision
WandaVision is a new series from Marvel Studios. But this isn’t your usual superhero fare. Instead, the nine-episode series is a blend of classic television and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in which Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) – two super-powered beings living idealised suburban lives – begin to suspect that everything is not as it seems. Also stars the excellent Kathryn Hahn and Kat Dennings.
Watch here: DisneyPlus.com
The Favourite
Surrealist Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos reunited The Lobster’s Olivia Colman and Rachel Weisz for this witty Oscar winner. It’s the early 18th century, England are fighting the French and Queen Anne is fighting poor health. Away from the divisions in parliament, another war is taking place – between Lady Sarah and new servant Abigail, who both vie to become Queen Anne’s favourite employee. What follows is a riotous game of one-up-womanship, as the pair go to great lengths to curry favour with the queen – ranging from sexual favours to slipping poison into cups of tea. This is no buttoned-up corset drama: with sumptuous shots, swoon-worthy costumes and more inclusions of the C-bomb that we can remember in any other recent film, The Favourite adds a contemporary edge to this backstabbing drama.
Watch here: DisneyPlus.com
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel recounts the adventures of Gustave H, a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel between the wars, and Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend. Starring Ralph Fiennes, Edward Norton, Saoirse Ronan, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Léa Seydoux, Jeff Goldblum, Jason Schwartzman, Jude Law, Tilda Swinton, Harvey Keitel, Bill Murray and Owen Wilson, this is one of our favourite Anderson films. Ideal for anyone still longing for the new release date for his latest film, The French Dispatch, starring Timothée Chalamet and Saoirse Ronan.
Watch here: DisneyPlus.com
Soul
Released on Disney+ on Christmas Day last year, Pixar’s latest creation is Soul. Meet Joe Gardner (voiced by Jamie Foxx) – a middle-school band teacher who gets the chance of a lifetime to play at the best jazz club in town. But one small misstep takes him from the streets of New York City to The Great Before – a fantastical place where new souls get their personalities, quirks and interests before they go to Earth. A touching film.
Watch here: DisneyPlus.com
Modern Family
Missed Modern Family the first time around, and looking for a new comedy to get stuck into? Disney+ has all 11 series available to stream. The show focuses on three modern-day families from California try to deal with their kids, unusual spouses and jobs in their own ways, often falling into sticky situations. Together, the blended Pritchett-Dunphy-Tucker clan gives viewers an honest, hilarious look into what family looks like today.
Watch here: DisneyPlus.com
Free Solo
From award-winning documentary filmmaker E. Chai Vasarhelyi and world-renowned photographer and mountaineer Jimmy Chin, Free Solo is an intimate and unflinching portrait of free soloist climber Alex Honnold, as he prepares to achieve his lifelong dream: climbing the face of the world’s most famous rock – the 3,200-foot El Capitan in Yosemite National Park – without a rope. Celebrated as one of the greatest athletic feats of any kind, Honnold’s climb set the ultimate standard: perfection or death.
Watch here: DisneyPlus.com
Atlanta
Three-series strong, Atlanta follows Earnest 'Earn' Marks (Donald Glover) during his daily life in Atlanta, Georgia. Having dropped out of Princeton University, Earn has no money and no home, and consequently switches between staying with his parents and his on/off girlfriend, Van. But once he realises his cousin Alfred ‘Paper Boi’ Miles is on the verge of musical stardom, he desperately seeks to reconnect with him in order to improve his life and that of his young daughter. Although his plan is initially met with resistance, Alfred agrees to the set-up after Earn gets a Paper Boi track played on the radio. From here on in, Atlanta focuses on the pair’s newly rebuilt relationship (alongside their offbeat friend and collaborator Darius) and Alfred’s rise to the top, exploring issues such as depression, blackness, police brutality, homophobia, transphobia and drug culture along the way.
Watch here: DisneyPlus.com
Mary Poppins Returns
Nearly three decades after her first visit to London, the enigmatic Mary Poppins (Emily Blunt) soars back into the capital to look after the Banks children in their time of need. The now grown-up Jane (Emily Mortimer) and Michael Banks (Ben Whishaw) are living in the same house on Cherry Tree Lane, along with Michael’s three children and their housekeeper Ellen (Julie Walters). The family are in danger of losing their home and Michael is struggling after a personal loss, but the practically perfect nanny returns just in time to rekindle the fun and wonder missing from their lives – with a little help from street lamplighter Jack (Lin Manuel Miranda) and her eccentric cousin Topsy (Meryl Streep).
Watch here: DisneyPlus.com
OJ: Made In America
This five-part series – and winner of the 2017 Academy Award for Best Documentary – chronicles the rise and fall of OJ Simpson. To many observers, the story of the crime of the century is a story that began the night Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were brutally murdered outside her Brentwood condominium. But as the first episode lays bare, to truly grasp the significance of what happened not just that night, but the epic chronicle to follow, one has to travel back to points in time long before that.
Watch here: DisneyPlus.com
Black Panther
Marvel Studios’ Black Panther follows T’Challa (the late Chadwick Boseman) who, after the death of his father, the King of Wakanda, returns home to the isolated, technologically advanced African nation to succeed to the throne and take his rightful place as king. But when a powerful old enemy reappears, T’Challa’s mettle as king – and Black Panther – is tested when he is drawn into a formidable conflict that puts the fate of Wakanda and the entire world at risk. Faced with treachery and danger, the young king must rally his allies and release the full power of Black Panther to defeat his foes and secure the safety of his people and their way of life.
Watch here: DisneyPlus.com
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