ONE YEAR OF DISNEY+

Today (March 25th 2021) marks one year since I signed up to Disney+, a streaming service that features a wide range of films and television series. Growing up, Disney’s films, both live action and animated, and their original series that were on Disney Channel, were a big part of my childhood. When I first signed up to Disney+, the United Kingdom had just gone into their first lockdown with many being told to stay at home by Prime Minister Boris Johnson. With nothing to do but watch films at home, I didn’t have to debate over whether or not I wanted to sign up to Disney+ as I knew I would need something to keep me occupied. In this blogpost, I’ll be sharing my favourite aspects of the streaming service.

Reliving my childhood 

I spent the first few weeks of lockdown reliving my childhood by watching a lot of Disney’s live action and animated films including The Parent Trap, George of the Jungle, The Princess Diaries, Freaky Friday, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella and many more. I also really enjoyed watching the original series that I used to watch on Disney Channel, including Hannah Montana, The Wizards of Waverley Place and The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. The High School Musical films were a big part of my childhood as well. While the first two films were released on Disney Channel in 2006 and 2007, I remember watching the third High School Musical film when it was released in cinemas in 2008 when I was 11. Although I’m 23 years old, I still enjoy watching a lot of my favourite films from my childhood as it brings back fond and happy memories and makes me feel nostalgic. 

Binge watching the Marvel Cinematic Universe

With there being no upcoming releases of films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I decided to binge watch all of their films which were available on Disney+. The only two MCU films not available on the streaming service were Spider-Man: Homecoming and its sequel, Far From Home, as they’re owned by Sony, meaning Disney don’t have the rights to have the films in their library. However, I was able to watch  the vast majority of films in the MCU, including the epic conclusion, Avengers: Endgame. In 2012 and 2013, during my GCSEs, one of my subjects was Film Studies and the genre my class focused on was superhero films. This meant I spent most of my classes watching clips and writing essays in depth about superhero films. Because of this, when I left school in 2014, I had lost interest in them. It wasn’t until early 2018 when I watched Black Panther that I decided to watch more of the films in the MCU as I was pleasantly surprised by Black Panther. Watching the MCU films during the lockdown made me realise how great the majority of them are and I can understand why they’re so successful and received so well by, not only fans of the comic books they’re based on, but critics and audiences in general as well. All of the films in the MCU feature a star studded cast, iconic characters, fast-paced and thrilling action and a coherent storyline. At the time of writing this, the highly anticipated Black Widow, which was meant to be released in May 2020, is being released in cinemas and on Disney+ In July. However, those who aren’t ready to return to cinemas, will have to pay a Premier Access fee in order to watch it on Disney+. I’m hoping to see Black Widow in cinemas if they’re open by July. I’m planning on watching the films that feature the character, Black Widow, before it’s released. 

WandaVision

Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) are, in my opinion, two of the most interesting side characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe so when it was announced that the pair would be appearing in an upcoming spin off mini series, I couldn’t have been more excited. The premise sounded it could make for a fun watch as it focused on Wanda and Vision living as a married couple in a sitcom-like setting. The first episode was released on Disney+ near the beginning of the year and was a good start. However, I think that the quality of each episode increased as they revealed clever twists and ended on surprising cliffhangers. WandaVision came to an end last month, however, Wanda will be returning to the MCU in the sequel to Doctor Strange which is titled Doctor Strange In The Multiverse and will hopefully be released in cinemas next year.

Premier Access

Although my overall opinion of Disney+ is mostly positive, if there’s one aspect of the streaming service I’m mixed on is the Premier Access fee. Mulan, which was the live action remake of Disney’s 1998 animated feature of the same name, was due to be released in cinemas in summer 2020, however, it was released on Disney+ and was made available to subscribers who paid a Premier Fee. This decision was controversial as people didn’t like they were having to pay extra on top of their subscription fee. In the UK, the monthly subscription fee is £5.99 and the Premier Access fee is £19.99. I think that this cost is expensive as I know that a lot of people won’t be able to afford to pay that much. In my opinion, I think that maybe £5/£10 would have been a more acceptable cost. I understand that the budget for the live action Mulan was very high and that Disney have to make the money back some way but they also have to understand that £20 is too much to pay for something someone is probably only going to watch once. Another film that was recently released on Disney+ through their Premier Access was their latest animated feature, Raya and the Last Dragon. While the reception towards the live action Mulan was mixed, Raya was better received. Because Raya was one of my most anticipated films, I didn’t mind paying the Premier Access fee. Although Black Widow will be available to Disney+ subscribers who pay the extra Premier Access fee, I’m still planning on watching it at the cinema if they’re open when it gets released on July 9th. 

Star

Although the majority of their content includes feature films and television series that are aimed at younger viewers, on February 23rd 2021, Disney+ launched the new content hub known as Star which includes an impressive wide range of films and television series that are aimed at older viewers. These include The Favourite, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Braveheart, Good Morning Vietnam, Grey’s Anatomy, Family Guy and Lost. Although a lot of people binge watching television series, I was one of the few people who didn’t do that, however, following the release of Star, I decided to watch all of Lost. I had briefly watched the final series when I was in my early teens, however, I had mostly forgotten all about it which is why I wanted to watch Lost. Although I knew that the final series was disappointing, I still wanted to watch the series from the beginning as it had a really interesting premise with memorable characters and a story filled with surprising twists. Despite the confusing final series, I still enjoyed watching Lost. The first three series were the best as it focused on the characters who find themselves trapped on an island following a plane crash. It had a lot of action and the story frequently used flashbacks in order to give the characters more background.  

Overall, I think that Disney+ is a great streaming service as it has a wide range of content from Disney’s live action and animated feature films and television series to Pixar’s animated films, the action packed Marvel films, the epic Stat Wars films and the newest addition of Star which includes films and television series for older viewers and even National Geographic documentaries, there’s something for everyone. Like Netflix, subscribers can create additional profiles and share Disney+ with their family and friends.