We know just about everything there is to know about Disney+, including that it will cost $7.99 per month, it will stream on a ton of different devices, and now we know what its impressive launch library will look like.
On October 14, the official Disney+ Twitter account had a lot of work to do: it was tasked with unveiling the (frankly ridiculous) list of films and TV shows that will be available on the upcoming streaming service on launch day. It took the Twitter account over six hundred (600!) tweets to get the job done, and during that time it unveiled quite a few previously rare, old, and fan-favorite titles.
Some titles, however, like the “documentary” White Wilderness is getting screen time with Disney+ on launch day. I won’t go into the full backstory on this film, but it does not do great things for lemmings.
However, for the most part the majority of the titles are a trip down nostalgia lane, with the original Old Yeller (1957) on board, Lady and the Tramp (1955), 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954), and many more titles dating that far back. Want some Herbie Rides Again (1974) action? Disney+ will have it. How about Million Dollar Duck (1971)? You got it.
There is content from Disney’s own in-house efforts from over the years, obviously, and a few different Fox titles that the company can now safely slap its name on. Of course, the Star Wars franchise is in there, too. A huge range of films and TV shows, both animated and live-action, touching just about every single genre base imaginable.
And these are just the old/new films and TV shows coming to the service. It doesn’t include the original shows and films that Disney is working on, including The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, WandaVision, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, The Mandalorian, and The World According to Jeff Goldblum, which will have staggered release dates.
Here’s a three hour “trailer” for everything that Disney+ is bringing to the streaming service next month. Yes. Three hours.
It’s a huge list and Disney+ is swinging for the fences right out of the gate, all in an effort to make that $7 per month cost make sense. Of course, whether or not the low monthly fee (or even the Hulu, Disney+, and ESPN+ bundle) makes sense will come down to personal preference.
In related news, The Hollywood Reporter has a pretty in-depth profile (similar to the one it ran about Apple TV+ not too long ago) about the development and upcoming launch of Disney+. The report looks at the groundwork Disney had to put down to make its upcoming streaming platform a reality, including acquiring the technology to launch it, backing out of its deal with Netflix, and acquiring assets from 21st Century Fox.
And money is certainly involved. According to Disney CEO Bob Iger, the company’s budget for original content through 2020 is set at just “short of $1 billion”. It’s a lot of money, but let’s not forget that the last report regarding Apple’s spending for original content with Apple TV+ had it pegged around $6 billion.
Disney+ launches on November 12.
In comparison, the upcoming Apple TV+ launch library is pretty thin. Even at just $4.99 per month (unless you bought a new Apple device that can stream Apple TV+ as of the middle of September, 2019, because then you get a free year of Apple TV+), Apple’s streaming service is obviously going up against a juggernaut.
At launch, Apple TV+ is going to have:
- For All Mankind
- Helpsters
- Dickinson
- The Morning Show
- See
- The Elephant Queen
- Oprah’s Book Club
- Snoopy in Space
- Ghostwriter
And beyond that, shows like Servant from M. Night Shyamalan (The Village, The Sixth Sense), Truth Be Told, The Banker, Little America, and others are set to debut on Apple’s fledgling streaming service soon after launch.
Quality over quantity, right? That could very well be a solid argument to leverage for anyone planning to check out Apple TV+. We’ll get to find out on November 1 when the streaming service goes live.