Our team compiled the best movies on Disney Plus and here is what they came up with
Finding something the whole family can watch when planning a movie night can take time and effort. The good news is that Disney movies can be an easy choice when trying to appeal to every family member. They have a slew of different types of films ranging from animated comedies to sci-fi adventures that can appeal to any age. Check out twelve of the best movies on Disney Plus streaming on all devices.
Here are the 12 best movies on Disney Plus to check out on the streaming service.
1. Best movies on Disney+ – Turning Red
Taking place in early 2000s Canada, Turning Red is a groundbreaking coming-of-age comedy. Mei is a 13-year-old student that can’t wait to grow up. What she doesn’t count on is inheriting her family’s curse that transforms all the women into giant pandas. Struggling with this new development, Mei seeks comfort from friends and family while indulging in teenage antics. With unique animation by Pixar and a highly personal story crafted by director Domee Shi, this is easily one of Pixar’s top-tier animated films. The voice cast includes Rosalie Chiang, Sandra Oh Ava Morse, Hyein Park, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Orion Lee, Wai Ching Ho, and James Hong.
2. Encanto
Winner of the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, Encanto is a highly musical and colorful tale of family and trauma. Mirabel resides in an eccentric Columbian home where her entire family has amazing superpowers. Even the house itself is magical as it grants each member of the family their powers. The problem is that Mirabel is the black sheep for not having any powers. Slowly, she gets the family to be more open and honest through the power of togetherness and music. Directed by Jared Bush (Moana) and Byron Howard (Zootopia), this fantasy musical features the voices of Stephanie Beatriz, María Cecilia Botero, John Leguizamo, Mauro Castillo, Jessica Darrow, Angie Cepeda, Carolina Gaitán, Diane Guerrero, and Wilmer Valderrama.
3. Beauty and The Beast (1991)
As the first animated movie ever to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, Beauty and the Beast remains one of the brightest highlights of the Disney Renaissance. It’s the classic story of the beautiful Belle being held captive by the reclusive Beast in his desolate castle. Slowly, they understand each other through touching and comical moments of wonder. The castle is also a delight with its many halls of cursed people transformed into anthropomorphic items, charming Belle with all manner of songs. While the forming romance could lift the curse from the Beast, the misunderstood monster is also threatened by the people of the nearby town. Featuring breathtaking music and memorable musical numbers, directors Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise delivers a classic animated fantasy with a voice cast that includes Paige O’Hara, Robby Benson, Richard White, Jerry Orbach, David Ogden Stiers, Angela Lansbury, Rex Everhart, and Jesse Corti.
4. Star Wars: A New Hope
There’s a host of Star Wars movies on Disney Plus, but it’s hard to beat the adventure and allure of the 1977 original movie that started it all. Later noted as the fourth chapter of the Star Wars saga, the film tells the tale of Luke Skywalker, a farm boy on the desert planet Tatooine. He soon finds that he is bound for bigger things when he joins the Rebellion, fighting against the evil galactic Empire led by the masked villain Darth Vader. Even for its age, the film’s stunning special effects of starship battles, lightsabers, and daring shootouts are wondrous to audiences of all ages. It’s hard not to be won over by the classic battle against the Death Star. Directed by George Lucas himself, the film stars Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Peter Cushing, and Alec Guinness.
5. Inside Out
The internal struggle of the preteen Riley is explored in this cerebral Pixar animated comedy. The emotions of Joy, Sadness, Disgust, Fear, and Anger all vie for control of Riley’s reactions as she moves from Minnesota to California. But Riley’s mindset is changing, and parts of her emotions start to whither as she ages. This leads to Joy realizing that Sadness might have a bigger place in Riley’s life as she grows older. Peppered with deeply sad moments, this unorthodox coming-of-age adventure is a deeply emotional experience from director Pete Docter (Up) that would win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. The voice cast includes Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Richard Kind, Bill Hader, Lewis Black, Mindy Kaling, Kaitlyn Dias, Diane Lane, and Kyle MacLachlan.
6. The Little Mermaid
As one of the first major films of the Disney Renaissance, The Little Mermaid launched a newfound animated wonderment with the studio that had been struggling throughout the 1980s. Based on the classic fairy tale, Aerial is a mermaid who desires to live above the water and fall in love with a prince. Making a deal with a witch, she sacrifices her voice for the chance to be human. She’ll only regain her voice if she can convince the prince to fall in love with her. Written and directed by John Musker and Ron Clements, the film features jaw-droppingly gorgeous animation that is as powerful as the iconic music numbers by Alan Menken. The voice cast includes Jodi Benson, Christopher Daniel Barnes, Pat Carroll, Kenneth Mars, Samuel E. Wright, Jason Marin, and Buddy Hackett.
7. The Fantastic Mr. Fox
Based on the book of the same name by Roald Dahl, this dry comedy centers around the criminal adventures of the crafty Mr. Fox. Among his animal community, he stages plenty of robbery attempts at local farms. But the farmers grow wise, and the animals soon find themselves running and hiding when a dangerous hunter becomes involved. The film is a real charmer of its stop-motion animation and comedic style, with director Wes Anderson’s iconic style. The voice cast is also worth watching for such talents as George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe, and Owen Wilson.
8. Fantasia
While there are plenty of classic Disney animated movies on Disney Plus, one of the most essential to watch is Fantasia. This musical animated anthology features notable concert songs given new life with stunning animation. In addition to being one of the most dazzling movies of Disney’s golden age, it was also one of the most ambitious for being built as a festival-style movie experience that would be updated ever so often. While those plans fell through, Fantasia did receive a vibrant continuation decades later with Fantasia 2000, also on Disney Plus. Both are worth checking out for the ultimate double feature of an animated concert experience.
9. Flight of the Navigator
David is a 12-year-old boy longing for something more in the 1970s. Through an alien abduction, David is flung into the 1980s, discovering that his parents have aged and that his younger brother is now his older brother. As NASA investigates this strange phenomenon, David comes into contact with a strange alien starship that responds to him. Aboard the craft, he befriends the quirky alien computer he dubs Max. What follows is a high-flying adventure of a boy and his spaceship, presented with charming special effects and an engrossing musical score. The film still holds up thanks to the delightful direction by Randal Kleiser and stars Joey Cramer and Sarah Jessica Parker.
10. Best Disney movies – Toy Story 3
The Toy Story franchise has been one of the most successful Disney Pixar series. While every entry in this animated story has been brilliant, Toy Story 3 remains one of the best. Taking place many years after Toy Story 2, the toys in Andy’s room realize that their time with Andy is coming to a close. As Andy goes to college, the toys are donated to a preschool. The school’s toy community is managed by the bear Lotso, a kindly old bear with a darker side beneath the surface. It’s up to the cowboy toy Woody to save his friends and find them a new home once more. Nominated for the Academy Awards of Best Animated Feature and Best Picture, Toy Story 3 comes from director Lee Unkrich (Toy Story 2) and features the voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Don Rickles, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Estelle Harris, Ned Beatty, Michael Keaton, Jodi Benson, and John Morris.
11. Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Groundbreaking for its era and still a marvel to this day, Who Framed Roger Rabbit mixes the mystery of noir detective narratives with the absurdity of classic cartoon characters. The down-and-out detective Eddie doesn’t enjoy working with the cartoon characters of Hollywood but reluctantly accepts a case involving the star Roger Rabbit. After tracking down his girlfriend to reveal an affair, the cartoon rabbit is soon accused of murder. This sends Eddie on the trail of a giant conspiracy to wipe out cartoon characters. Portrayed with an astounding level of integration for 2D cartoons and live-action settings of the 1940s, director Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Futures) crafts one of the most masterful movies that blend mediums. The live-action cast includes Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, Charles Fleischer, Stubby Kaye, and Joanna Cassidy, while the cartoon characters include Bugs Bunny, Mickey Mouse, Daffy Duck, Donald Duck, Betty Boop, and many more.
12. West Side Story (2021)
Stephen Spielberg directs this wondrous and operatic remake of the classic musical. The story remains in the same era as 1957 New York, where the rival gangs of the Jets and Sharks clash on the streets in musical and violent exchanges. The iconic music by Leonard Bernstein remains mostly untouched with nostalgic covers. The central conflict of starcrossed lovers is also reprised as Tony and Maria fall for each other, despite the misgivings and racism of the gangs. Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, this dazzling depiction of tragic romance is a beautiful musical with a cast that includes Ansel Elgort, Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez, Mike Faist, Rita Moreno, and Rachel Zegler.