By Prabhnoor Singh
Just like seemingly everything else Disney does, from Avengers: Endgame to Rise of Skywalker to Galaxy’s Edge to Rise of the Resistance, its new streaming service is a phenomenon. Disney Plus launched on Nov. 12 of 2019 and quickly amassed more than 10 million subscribers. Its marquee original series, The Mandalorian, has already given fans Baby Yoda theories, merchandise and memes. And its success has Netflix and other big names in streaming taking notes. Not bad for $6.99 a month.
The big question: Is it worth the money to you? If you’re a cord-cutter, especially one with children, then Disney Plus is likely a must-have. With only a few notable exceptions, Netflix is losing a host of Disney content to the new service, meaning if you or the little ones want to watch Moana, for example, you’ll need a Disney Plus subscription.
Whether it allows you to ditch Netflix, Amazon Prime Video or Hulu depends on your budget and priorities. But one thing is clear: Disney Plus already belongs in the top tier of streaming services, with a massive catalog of TV shows and movies, a well-designed app available on pretty much every streaming platform and an affordable price.
The content
In contrast to the meager selection of nine shows offered by Apple TV Plus, Disney hit the ground running with 500 movies and 7,500 TV shows on its first day. There’s a ton of Marvel, Star Wars, and a healthy sprinkling of National Geographic (which is owned by Disney). Depending on the content and device, there is support for both 4K HDR video and Dolby Atmos surround sound.
With so many movies and TV shows already online, it’s likely that if you can think of a Disney movie or TV show, it’s there. Even before you try searching, the interface serves up plenty of suggestions, including a great mix of nostalgia and princess movies.
The interface
If you’ve used any streaming service at all, especially Netflix, then the interface of Disney Plus will be instantly familiar. The very top of the home screen is a web-like carousel with a selection of Disney’s biggest hits.
Underneath this, the brand’s most popular properties appear across the page as static icons: Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and National Geographic. Hover over each and the icon will animate, and if you click on it a short animation will appear before the branded page appears.
On the branded pages as well as the home page, the rows of icons are titled according to the genre and help to hone the content to your requirements. Disney told us that, like the Netflix engine, the Disney Plus interface will adapt to the types of content that you watch over time.
At the left of the screen is a Netflix-like sidebar that lets you search for content or choose from your preselected profiles.
The only real way to configure Disney Plus is through user profiles, and by default, your Primary profile offers access to all of the content. It can’t be set to a kids profile, but you can turn autoplay off or on, or alter the main language. In comparison kids profiles work to surface content suitable to younger viewers (5 and under) and have a brighter, blue background.
The biggest problem I found with the interface is that some popular things might be hidden — you may not know The Muppets is there, for example. But this is an issue that larger services such as Netflix also suffer from.
Which devices can you watch it on?
Pretty much everything. In the weeks before launch, it was touch and go whether Amazon’s Fire TV would support Disney Plus, but thanks to an 11th-hour make-up, Disney Plus now has one of the widest distributions of any app.
With a Disney Plus subscription you can watch up to four different shows on four different devices at once — whether they are on the go (with offline downloads supported) or on TV at home.
The chart above doesn’t include proprietary smart TV systems but they’re well covered too: there’s a Disney Plus app on Samsung, LG and Sony smart TVs.
Should you get it?
For Disney’s legions of Star Wars, Marvel, and Pixar fans who want to enjoy those movies, and their extra features, the service is easily worth the monthly fee. The same goes for parents who want their kids to enjoy Disney’s myriad family movies and TV shows. And ditto for anybody who wants to follow the latest adventures of Baby Yoda.
Are people going to quit other services to afford this one? Possibly. If it’s a choice between this or Apple TV Plus then get this. If it’s a choice between Disney and Hulu and you have kids? Get this.
Original programs like The Mandalorian and The World According to Jeff Goldblum are fun, but it’s the programming spanning almost 100 years that will likely encourage users to renew their subscriptions each month. Disney Plus is fun, easy to use and relatively affordable.
