23 Unexpected Movies And TV Shows To Stream On Disney+
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1.10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
If you haven't seen 10 Things I Hate About You, that is a beaucoup problemo, Calvin. But luckily for you, the teen rom-com is now streaming on Disney+ so you can be more than just whelmed. You can be overwhelmed with happiness. Starring Julia Stiles and the gone-too-soon Heath Ledger, this '90s classic is a magical remix of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew that takes one of the Bard's worst and creepiest plays (and as an English major, I have the authority to say that) and turns it into gold. When Joseph Gordon-Levitt's Cameron wants to ask Bianca (Larisa Oleynik) to the school dance, her father insists that Stiles' Kat also get an invite despite not wanting to go. Cameron taps Patrick (Ledger) to be her date, and thus begins a long, hilarious (and oh-so-romantic) saga of him trying to woo her into going with him. I promise you'll love it like you love your Prada backpack.
Watch it now on Disney+.
2.America's Funniest Home Videos (1989–Present)
Before you were watching videos of people falling off Jet Skis on YouTube, there was America’s Funniest Home Videos, a compilation of camcorder footage documenting pratfalls, wild dogs, and irreverent children. While the show has taken on many iterations in its three decades, the Tom Bergeron era is preserved here for your perusal, thanks to its airing on ABC (which is owned by Disney). Watch your grandma’s dentures fall into a birthday cake or your cousin get nailed in the face by a pi?ata to your heart’s content while the former Dancing With the Stars host provides amusing commentary in the background. And with the show still airing, there’s a chance you could still win the prize money.
Watch it now on Disney+.
3.Avatar (2009)
Thanks to Disney's recent acquisition of Fox, the mouse's streaming platform now has access to numerous titles from the Fox vault, including this historic mega-blockbuster. While you're waiting for its numerous sequels to make their way to theaters or for your next trip to Walt Disney World to venture into the Pandora-themed section of Animal Kingdom, why not pop on the original film? James Cameron's groundbreaking film not only broke the record for highest-grossing film of all time (overtaking Cameron's previous film Titanic) but was also largely responsible for the birth of RealD 3D (and thus me punching out the lenses and wearing them to high school because I thought it looked badass). While some of the themes of the sci-fi saga have fallen under criticism in recent years, there is no denying what a cultural touchstone this film, the tall blue people, and the jellyfish tree are even to this day.
Watch it now on Disney+.
4.Big Business (1988)
I promise that I am not your AP Lit teacher in disguise, but I do have a second Shakespeare adaptation here for you. This remix of The Comedy of Errors (a thankfully better play) is about two sets of twins separated at birth who reconnect unwittingly as adults, to mass confusion. Comedy legend, LGBTQ icon, and world-class doctor Lily Tomlin stars alongside Grammy, Emmy, Tony, and Best Dancing in a Skirt Suit Award–winning actor Bette Midler as both sets of twins. Of course one set grew up as rich socialites, and the other as country bumpkins, for maximum effect. It's basically The Parent Trap at the Plaza Hotel. This film is also a lesson in FA-SHUN, honey. Forget TikTok OOTDs when you can just take a look at the series of broaches these women wear.
Watch it now on Disney+.
5.Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions (2020)
Hey, Swifties! Once you get done counting fence holes and trying to figure out if a mysterious third folk album is on its way, you can check out Taylor Swift's recording studio documentary about the creation of her album Folklore. During the height of the pandemic, Swift and a small team congregated at a remote recording studio in update New York to work on the stripped-down quarantine album. This documentary not only shows Swift singing all 17 of the album's tracks but also dives into the songwriting and recording process with an intimacy we hadn't seen from Swift before. So while you wait for the Red rerelease or for her next TikTok, you might as well give it a view.
Watch it now on Disney+.
6.Free Solo (2018)
When I saw Free Solo in theaters, I about near threw up from nervousness. The Oscar-winning National Geographic documentary from Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin details Alex Honnold's endeavor to "free solo" El Capitan in Yosemite. For those of you like me who are not climbers, "free soloing" means climbing without a rope (aka you can fall and die at any second), and El Capitan is a 3,000-foot sheer cliff. As someone who was once dragged to a climbing gym by his brother, only to throw out his shoulder climbing the children's wall, I found this TERRIFYING. The entire time, you are worried that he will plummet to his death while you, the kindly camera crew, and his adorable girlfriend look on. The documentary is all-consuming, and the shots of Honnold, alone with the Yosemite vistas behind him, are stunning. You will somehow get goosebumps and intense nausea at the same time (but, like, in a good way).
Watch it now on Disney+.
7.The Greatest Showman (2017)
The Greatest Showman is an incredibly useful film to watch, and thanks to the ole Disney-Fox merger, it's now available for you on Disney+. Why is it useful? Let me count the ways: 1) The circus-themed musical will teach you all the choreography needed for several different TikTok trends. 2) More than that, it will give you some great dance moves in general. This movie is not short on full-on dance sequences that are annoyingly difficult to find in modern film (I don't see the Na'vi doing group choreo). 3) You will hear "Rewrite the Stars," which Zac Efron and Zendaya (aka Tom Holland's new girlfriend) sing while flying around on a trapeze. This is a VITAL song to have in your repertoire when your crush isn't into you. 4) Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, who only recently realized he looks good shirtless, is in it. 5) It is just an easy movie to watch: Costumes. Dancing. A nice message about inclusivity. Good singer. Michelle Williams doing laundry. A crowd-pleaser for the whole family.
Watch it now on Disney+.
8.Hamilton (2020)
Broadway's biggest hit this millennium is now available to stream without the stress of trying to nab a coveted ticket the day they go on sale or schlepping all the way to the Richard Rodgers Theatre. The famed production about Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton was filmed with the original cast during its initial run back in 2016 and was released on Disney+ during the pandemic, when the world was starving for live theater. Watch the cast of now–household names (including Lin-Manuel Miranda, In the Heights' Anthony Ramos, Girls5Eva's Renée Elise Goldsberry, and Oscar-nominated Leslie Odom Jr.) sing, dance, and act their hearts out telling the story of the American Revolution. I've watched pieces of this ("Non-Stop," "Satisfied," "Wait for It") dozens of time and will continue to do so. Whom do I have to contact on Broadway to get all productions filmed and put on streaming?
Watch it now on Disney+.
9.Hello Dolly (1969)
And while we're talking about musicals, here's another, although this time a film version rather than a stage recording (but if someone would like to get the Bette Midler revival on streaming, I'd be much obliged). This Best Picture nominee stars Barbra Streisand as the titular Dolly, a widow with a penchant for giant hats who decides to add new meaning to her life by becoming a matchmaker. She then sets about working on finding the wealthy Horace Vandergelder (Walter Matthau) a wife. If you've seen about half of a romantic comedy, you shouldn't have much trouble guessing who ends up being the wife. The costumes are gorgeous, the musical numbers are a delight, and it's fun to watch Babs deliver a flawless performance so early in her career. (It was only her second movie!)
Watch it now on Disney+.
10.Hidden Figures (2016)
If you thought those white astronauts made it to space purely because of their own skills and those of their white friends, then you've got the story all wrong. Like many events in our country's history, NASA's space missions in the '60s relied heavily on the work of African Americans who, sadly, were given little to no credit for their vital efforts. This 2016 Best Picture nominee tells the story of three Black women who worked for NASA: Katherine Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer), and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe). The Fox film offers viewers a peek behind the curtain into the computer rooms, engineering labs, and restrooms where, despite facing unending racism, these women worked tirelessly. Spencer is captivating, as she always is (she snagged a Best Supporting Actress nom for the role), and the ensemble (including my beloved Kirsten Dunst) landed the coveted top prize from the Screen Actors Guild.
Watch it now on Disney+.
11.Home Alone (1990) and Home Alone 2 (1992)
I’m gonna give you to the count of 10 to get your ugly, yella, no-good keister over to Disney+ to stream Home Alone, before I pump your guts full of lead! Kidding, of course, but both of the original Christmas classics (and the underappreciated Home Alone 3) are all streaming, and I would argue that late August is the perfect time to start watching holiday films. And these staples about a kid separated from his parents and beset by baddies during Christmas are the perfect beginning to a wintery binge. Watch a pre–Schitt's Creek Catherine O'Hara yell into a pay phone. Watch Macaulay Culkin grill a grocery store employee about mac 'n' cheese. Watch Tim Curry army-crawl through the Plaza Hotel. There is not a single scene in either of these films that isn't iconic. Honestly, if you're not watching this movie, you're what the French call "les incompetents."
Watch Home Alone and Home Alone 2 now on Disney+.
12.Isle of Dogs (2018)
I regret to inform you that I am not a dog person. BUT even I, who would NEVER let a dog anywhere near my bed, would be greatly disturbed if my mayor banished every dog in the city to "Trash Island," as is the plot of Wes Anderson's most recent film (though not for long). The stop-motion masterpiece (which earned several Oscar noms) then follows a boy named Atari who hijacks a plane and flies to Trash Island in order to search for his beloved Spots. Anderson's usual cast of characters, including Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, and Tilda Swinton, lend their voices to the film, and the shot compositions are the typically whimsical, symmetrical, could-all-be-beautiful-prints-to-hang-on-your-wall images we expect from his work. I dare say that even if you are a cat person or an "If I am forced to get a pet, I suppose I'll do a goldfish" person, this will still be an enjoyable watch.
Watch it now on Disney+.
13.National Geographic Documentaries
As part of the Disney-Fox merger, Disney also got access to the entire catalog of National Geographic shows and documentaries, many of which are on Disney+. Leonardo DiCaprio's climate change documentary Before the Flood is available, as are films about Mount Everest expeditions, whales, sharks, and even Viking warrior women. Exploring seemingly every topic of science and history, the impressive Nat Geo archive will present you with numerous hours of education and satisfying content. Wow your trivia league or the people you meet at your next office mixer (whenever those come back) with your endless knowledge of bats, coral reefs, and deciduous trees, all thanks to Disney+.
Watch Before the Flood and dozens of other National Geographic shows now on Disney+.
14.Mr. Holland's Opus (1995)
The power that our teachers can have on our lives cannot be overstated. How many adults chose the careers they did solely because they had one teacher who took a shine to them, encouraged them, and pointed them on the path to success? One such life-changing mentor is Richard Dreyfuss's titular character in Mr. Holland's Opus. Retiring from a life as a professional musician, Holland becomes a high school music teacher, and over the film's 30 years, we see the impact he creates in his community one student at a time. The heartwarming film was nominated for several Golden Globes, and some of the beautiful orchestral music will leave you asking yourself, Should I get my old oboe out of my parents' attic and start taking lessons again?
Watch it now on Disney+.
15.Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)
She's the "hip old granny who can hip-hop, bebop, dance till ya drop, and yo, yo, make a wicked cup of cocoa." The incomparable Robin Williams stars in this '90s classic comedy as Daniel Hillard, who, after a divorce, dresses up as an older British nanny in order to spend more time with his kids. Williams, Sally Field, and Pierce Brosnan all deliver pitch-perfect performances, and the thing is BURSTING with quotable lines ("Oh, the terrorists! They ran that way. It was a run-by fruiting!"). I rewatched this during quarantine multiple times, and the whole movie still slaps. The makeover montage with Harvey Fierstein? Delightful. The whip cream face mask? A delight. Also, there has NEVER, NEVER, NEVER been a better line reading then when Field says, "The whole time, the whole time, THE WHOLE TIME." To see those lines written in a script and then deliver them in such a way is why this woman has two Oscars (and, honestly, probably deserves at least two more).
Watch it now on Disney+.
16.Night at the Museum (2006)
It is an underreported story what an incredible director Shawn Levy is. I mean, have you all seen Free Guy yet? He is also the man behind this 2006 comedy set inside New York City's American Museum of Natural History. Ben Stiller plays a nighttime security guard at the museum who realizes that the exhibits come alive when the museum closes. The stacked cast includes Robin Williams, who has traded in his granny wig for a Teddy Roosevelt military ensemble; Owen Wilson as a mini cowboy; and the legendary trifecta of Dick Van Dyke, Mickey Rooney, and Bill Cobbs as the veteran security guards. Nothing has ever made me want to visit a museum of wax historical figures more than this film.
Watch it now on Disney+.
17.The Sandlot (1993)
The movie that single-handedly taught a generation of kids who "the Great Bambino" (not "the Great Bambi") is. This nostalgic film about nine boys who spend a summer playing baseball together is another quotable classic come to the Disney streamer by way of Fox. Even as someone who played only one year of T-ball, I gained a reverence for America's favorite pastime from watching this film, and it made me wish I'd spent summer breaks trying chewing tobacco, riding carnival rides, and hitting home runs into dog-guarded backyards. I can't watch 4th of July fireworks without thinking of this movie. I can't see a public pool without thinking of this movie. And of course, I can't hear "Tequila" without getting vivid images of the gang vomiting off a a fair ride. If you don't give this a watch, you're probably one of those people who "play ball like a girl" (even though that is admittedly a sexist phrase you shouldn't say anymore).
Watch it now on Disney+.
18.Schoolhouse Rock
It's time to brush up on your parts of speech and the three branches of government, because everyone's favorite educational cartoon is now on Disney+. "Conjunction Junction, what's your function" is now ready to be chiseled into the minds of a whole new generation of children. Learn about how Congress passes bills. Learn your multiplication tables. Learn about a stock exchange. And do it all with fun songs and silly cartoons. Teachers can try as they might, but there is no better weapon than Schoolhouse Rock when it comes making every elementary school subject stick in the brain.
Watch it now on Disney+.
19.The Simpsons
There is no higher name in television animation than The Simpsons, and now, thanks to the Disney-Fox merger, all 32 seasons of the Fox classic are on Disney+. The show — which became a bona fide hit in the '90s and has continued to truck along, scooping up accolades and records on its journey — follows Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie through their lives in Springfield. A satire that often parodies pop culture and current events, the show has created countless classic moments over the years, and seemingly every celebrity has lent their voice at one point or another. It may take you a while to get through, but it’s all here for the viewing.
Watch it now on Disney+.
20.Sister Act (1992) and Sister Act 2 (1993)
I mean, this premise: A Reno, Nevada, lounge singer witnesses a mob murder and must go into witness protection AS A NUN. And then she turns the dingy old choir into a soulful Motown cover band! Come on. This is genius. Plus we've got Whoopi Goldberg doing some of her best work, Kathy Najimy dancing in a habit, and Dame Maggie Smith serving us Dowager Countess–lite as Reverend Mother. "I Will Follow Him" from the first film is breathtaking. That high note in "Oh Happy Day" gives me chills. And THE Lauryn Hill slays "Joyful, Joyful." Even Pope Francis is vibing.
Watch Sister Act and Sister Act 2 now on Disney+.
21.The Sound of Music (1965)
It's hard to find a film more deserving of the word "classic" than Julie Andrews' musical about a nun turned nanny who turns her wards and their father into a group of traveling folk musicians (who knew Disney+ had such a thing for singing nuns?). The soundtrack is a no-skips lineup of musical numbers so pervasive in culture that even people who've never seen the film know "Do-Re-Mi," "Sixteen Going on Seventeen," and "My Favorite Things" (which is now a Christmas song for some reason; can someone explain that to me?). The late, great Christopher Plummer and Andrews have flawless onscreen romantic chemistry as the leads, and who doesn't love a singing-children-in-matching-outfits vs. evil-Nazis showdown?
Watch it now on Disney+.
22.Splash (1984)
Watch out, Ariel, because you're not the only mermaid on Disney+ now. Daryl Hannah's Madison, a mermaid masquerading on land as a real woman, is here to steal your spotlight. Tom Hanks's Allen, who works in the fruit-and-veggie business, loses his wallet, only to have Madison swim to New York City (exposing herself at the Statue of Liberty, as mermaids do) to return it to him. With Allen not knowing that she is indeed half fish, a romance starts. Comedy legends John Candy and Eugene Levy show up in fun supporting roles, and the screenplay was so inventive, it got an Oscar nom. Your move, Little Mermaid.
Watch it now on Disney+.
23.Three Men and a Baby (1987)
My roommate and I can barely figure out how to assemble our Ikea furniture. For us, raising a child would be catastrophic, but thankfully, neither of us has had a love child with a female actor at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival (or at least we don't know about it yet). When Ted Danson's Jack is bequeathed a child on his doorstep because he did, in fact, have a love child with a female actor at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, however, he and his two roommates (Tom Selleck and Steve Guttenberg) must try their darndest to keep the new baby alive. It's a goofy yet heartwarming film that will somehow leave you wishing a baby would show up on your doorstep.
Watch it now on Disney+.
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