Disney+ Disney+ Streaming Service (Official Thread) (1 Viewer)

[Jeff Adkins]

They did not indicate which of these would be at launch and which would be year one:

Fox Films Confirmed
Miracle On 34th Street (1947)
Journey To The Center Of The Earth (1959)
The Sound Of Music (1965)
Hello Dolly (1969)
Breaking Away
Gods Must Be Crazy, The
Princess Bride, The
Rookie Of The Year
Far From Home: The Adventures Of Yellow Dog
Home Alone 3
Dr. Dolittle (1998)
Bend It Like Beckham
Garfield: The Movie
Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium
Horton Hears A Who!
Fantastic Mr. Fox

 

[Jeff Adkins]

I think that's everything confirmed so far. If anyone sees any typos or questionable entries, please feel free to comment and I'll fix it.

I've only included theatrical films here. There is plenty of other content coming in terms or original series, original movies, as well as movies/series that are produced exclusively for Disney +.

Also, there will be some National Geographic content. Free Solo will be there and that's a theatrical feature film, but I'm not familiar enough with their library to figure out which of the other titles shown are theatrical features, so I didn't do a National Geographic list.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Thank you @Jeff Adkins for taking the time and making the effort to type this out.

Looking over the lists, it reinforces to me how much of this content I actually own on disc, so the appeal of Disney+ for me will largely be the new and original content.

Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe
Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian

Interestingly, after Disney declined to make the third Narnia film, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader was produced by Fox. That means that with the Fox acquisition, Disney now owns all three Narnia theatrical releases. It would make sense, since they own it now, to go ahead and dump Dawn Treader onto Disney+ as well, where it would certainly fit in with the other two already being there.

In terms of the confirmed Fox films, it's interesting that they confirmed Home Alone 3 but not the first two, which are likely to be of more interest to most people. Also, I would guess that The Sound of Music will probably be available at launch, because I definitely saw it in a screenshot of their app demo.

It's particularly interesting to me that the Marvel films available at launch will be such a nominal portion of the MCU slate. Obviously, the 2017-18 releases have to wait out the expiration of their Netflix license, but you'd think more of the older MCU titles would be available at launch. Guardians of the Galaxy and Winter Soldier currently have their over-the-air TV deals with FX, but FX is now a Disney subsidiary too, so you'd think that Disney could just take those now. For whatever reason, Iron Man 2 is currently streaming on Prime, although it appears to be the only MCU title available with that subscription. They must have to wait for the rights to revert back to them on that one. But like, why are the older titles not there? That's weird. It's not by any means a dealbreaker for me at all, but it's weird.

If anyone sees any typos or questionable entries, please feel free to comment and I'll fix it.

Well, I think qualifying the new Lion King remake as "live-action" is extremely questionable. But Disney is calling it that in error, so I know why you listed it as such, and I'm half-kidding here.

 

[Mark-P]

I was surprised to see Princess Bride on that list considering that home video rights currently reside with MGM, however a little research shows that Disney did in fact acquire the title.

 

[Jeff Adkins]

Interestingly, after Disney declined to make the third Narnia film, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader was produced by Fox. That means that with the Fox acquisition, Disney now owns all three Narnia theatrical releases. It would make sense, since they own it now, to go ahead and dump Dawn Treader onto Disney+ as well, where it would certainly fit in with the other two already being there.

I forgot all about that, but yes that would make total sense. Especially since these titles will comprise only about 1/3 of what will be available, I'd expect that will likely be included.

In terms of the confirmed Fox films, it's interesting that they confirmed Home Alone 3 but not the first two, which are likely to be of more interest to most people.

I noticed that too. It has to be a licensing thing. I know the cable channels like HBO and Showtime (and likely others) have movies available for streaming on demand each month. I'm wondering if some of these films are already committed to.

It's particularly interesting to me that the Marvel films available at launch will be such a nominal portion of the MCU slate. Obviously, the 2018 releases have to wait out the expiration of their Netflix license, but you'd think more of the older MCU titles would be available at launch. Guardians of the Galaxy and Winter Soldier currently have their over-the-air TV deals with FX, but FX is now a Disney subsidiary too, so you'd think that Disney could just take those now. For whatever reason, Iron Man 2 is currently streaming on Prime, although it appears to be the only MCU title available with that subscription. They must have to wait for the rights to revert back to them on that one.

I'm guessing licensing is the issue here too. I can't imagine them placing the entire Pixar library and the entire Star Wars library, but only giving us about half of the MCU. I wasn't aware that Iron Man 2 was on Prime, but that's a great example of why only parts 1 and 3 would on there at launch. The MCU films are in such high demand that I guess it shouldn't be surprising that so many are already tied up with other services.

Well, I think qualifying the new Lion King remake as "live-action" is extremely questionable. But Disney is calling it that in error, so I know why you listed it as such, and I'm half-kidding here.

Good point, but I'm not sure what other terminology to use.....maybe "remake"?

 

[Jake Lipson]

Good point, but I'm not sure what other terminology to use.....maybe "remake"?

As far as I am concerned, it is a computer-generated animated remake of the original film -- admittedly which was made with the intention of it looking as photorealistic as possible, but it's still CGI. There aren't any live actors in it because it's all animals, so unlike The Jungle Book (which at least had Neal Sethi as Mowgli even if everything around him was CGI), there won't be a single frame of it that is actually live-action footage.

Disney is calling it live-action because, to the uninformed public, "We made a live-action remake of The Lion King!" sounds better than "We made The Lion King again, but with fancier animation!" If it was being marketed as an animated remake, more people would ask, "Why would you do that?", so calling it live-action invites less scrutiny.

Also, a technical distinction on The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. In November 2006, Disney re-released the DVD as a double dip with an extended cut that added nominally to the film's running time. The theatrical release is 2 hours 22 minutes, and the extended cut is 2 hours 30 minutes. The extended cut was a deluxe four-disc DVD set that was modeled after New Line's extended versions of The Lord of the Rings, but it didn't make that much difference to the film. Disney then took the extended DVD out of print shortly after it was released. I think (although can't confirm since I don't own it) that the Blu-ray is the theatrical release only. It would be kind of neat if Disney+ were to include the extended cut in HD, since that hasn't been made available yet, although probably most people wouldn't notice either way.

Also, on the Disney side animated side of things, there are multiple cuts for Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King and Pocahontas. Currently, the streaming version available for purchase on Vudu includes both the theatrical and extended versions of Beauty and the Beast, and there's a work-in-progress version too that's on the Blu-ray. So it would be nice to know what's going to be on Disney+.

Sadly, Pocahontas has only ever been available in its extended form on the 10th Anniversary DVD, and the current Blu-ray is the theatrical cut only, so I'd be very surprised if the extended cut was on Disney+. But the extended cut is the directors' clear preference -- if you listen to their commentary, they make it quite clear how much it means to them to have the If I Never Knew You sequence back in -- so I do hope Disney corrects this error and makes the extended cut available. I'm not counting on it though.

Oh, and the 2003 Platinum Edition DVD included an alternate cut of The Lion King with The Morning Report song from the Broadway show replacing an existing dialogue sequence for some reason. No one seemed to like it, and it hasn't shown up integrated into the film on either of the Blu-ray versions (which would suggest that the directors probably regret doing that), but it is something that they could dump on Disney+ if they wanted to.

 

[Mark-P]

Can I just say that the excitement generated around the launch of Disney+ is very reminicent of the launch of The Disney Channel back in 1983. We were excited that the treasure trove of Disney classics would be mined for regular airings. I don't remember how much it cost to subscribe TDC back in 1983 but I bet it was more than $5.83 a month!

 

[Jeff Adkins]

Can I just say that the excitement generated around the launch of Disney+ is very reminicent of the launch of The Disney Channel back in 1983. We were excited that the treasure trove of Disney classics would be mined for regular airings. I don't remember how much it cost to subscribe TDC back in 1983 but I bet it was more than $5.83 a month!

It was.

By the spring of 1985, according to the Associated Press, the channel had attracted 1.8 million subscribers who were paying $7 to $15 a month, and had reached break-even faster than the company expected.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/peek-bob-iger-online-strategy-090000436.html

 

[Jake Lipson]

Another thought I had: Disney hasn't really been promoting it because they don't really need another animation studio, but the Fox acquisition also gives them Blue Sky (home of the Ice Age and Rio franchises, plus Robots, Epic and The Peanuts Movie.) Deadline said in an article around the time of the acquisition that Blue Sky would remain open to complete two films they currently have in production, but after that their future is unclear. Since Disney already has Disney Animation and Pixar, plus Lucasfilm Animation which can be sustained by Star Wars projects, I suspect Blue Sky will end up being closed whenever their last films get done. Disney can cherry-pick the animators they like to offer them jobs at one of the other studios they own and will probably pink-slip everybody else.

But my larger point is that Disney, through Fox, now also owns the Blue Sky film library. Although it is much less distinguished than Disney or Pixar, content is content and Disney appears to want to provide as much of it as possible. There's no question that the Blue Sky stuff is family friendly, so I'd bet that stuff will find its way onto Disney+ at some point too. They might just fold it in under the Fox stuff though, rather than giving it a dedicated Blue Sky section, since roping it off as its own thing would draw attention to a brand I'd be shocked if they continue.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I think that's everything confirmed so far. If anyone sees any typos or questionable entries, please feel free to comment and I'll fix it.

I've only included theatrical films here. There is plenty of other content coming in terms or original series, original movies, as well as movies/series that are produced exclusively for Disney +.

Also, there will be some National Geographic content. Free Solo will be there and that's a theatrical feature film, but I'm not familiar enough with their library to figure out which of the other titles shown are theatrical features, so I didn't do a National Geographic list.

A great job Jeff! I'm sure all of us are grateful for your time and effort in listing out those film titles. Again, thank you so much.

 

[Matt Hough]

I'm very grateful for the time and effort it took to transcribe all of that content into very excellently defined groupings. Sadly, as for the films, as others have noted, I have almost all of it on disc that I would want. And many of the things I was really hoping for from the 1940s and 1950s weren't there. That doesn't mean they won't be, but not to see them mentioned was a bit of a letdown.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I'm very grateful for the time and effort it took to transcribe all of that content into very excellently defined groupings. Sadly, as for the films, as others have noted, I have almost all of it on disc that I would want. And many of the things I was really hoping for from the 1940s and 1950s weren't there. That doesn't mean they won't be, but not to see them mentioned was a bit of a letdown.

Matt,

Which of such titles are you talking about? Fox stuff?

 

[Worth]

Not sure if this has been mentioned yet, but it looks like it's official...

There are no plans to make Song of the Southavailable on the $7-per-month offering...The company also doesn't plan to include a scene from the 1941 animated film Dumbo featuring a crow named Jim Crow, a reference to a 19th century blackface character that later became the name of the segregation laws enacted following the Reconstruction era.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/song-south-dumbos-jim-crow-scene-will-not-be-disney-1203624

 

[David Weicker]

Not sure if this has been mentioned yet, but it looks like it's official...


https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/song-south-dumbos-jim-crow-scene-will-not-be-disney-1203624

I understand about Song Of The South, but does this mean they will be censoring Dumbo?
Will they cut the entire “When I See An Elephant Fly” scene? That would be close to 5% of the film.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Will they cut the entire “When I See An Elephant Fly” scene? That would be close to 5% of the film.

I don't understand this either for a couple reasons. First, that's the scene where we see Dumbo fly for the first time, and the crows are an essential part of the plot in that section. I'm not sure how you could edit them out and have the scene still make sense.

Secondly, I have Dumbo on Blu-ray, and the scene is completely intact. The Blu-ray is currently available and has been since its release in 2011. Prior to that, it was available on DVD, also unedited. So why is it okay for this to be available on the physical home releases but not the streaming version? Is Disney going to also remove the Blu-ray from the market? If so, anyone who doesn't have it might want to run and get it. If Disney is so concerned about this, just hire a film historian -- Leonard Maltin would probably do it, he loves Dumbo -- to film an introduction saying "Dumbo is from 1941. Disney would not make the crow scene like this again in the modern era, but this was reflective of the culture back when the film was made" and leave it like that. At least, that's what I would do.

 

[Bryan^H]

Not sure if this has been mentioned yet, but it looks like it's official...


https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/song-south-dumbos-jim-crow-scene-will-not-be-disney-1203624

No Disney+ for me.

Un fucking belieavable.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

If Disney is so concerned about this, just hire a film historian -- Leonard Maltin would probably do it, he loves Dumbo -- to film an introduction saying "Dumbo is from 1941. Disney would not make the crow scene like this again in the modern era, but this was reflective of the culture back when the film was made" and leave it like that. At least, that's what I would do.

Here's the thing, though.

Disney's intellectual property has remained so valuable precisely because it's timeless. If they were to simply present the offensive material intact with an introduction saying "This is how things used to be, we'd never do it now," then it instantly dates Dumbo to 1941 and the film loses it's timeless appeal, and with that, it's financial value. Most media consumers in any era are more interested in contemporary material than classic or archival material. That's just the way it's always been. People look to entertainment that seems relevant to the lives they're leading, not for historical seminars.

I don't mean for that to sound harsh or to sound like I'm picking on you. But I think you might be missing the big picture for what Disney is trying to do here. They are trying to build a service that will fundamentally change the way their consumers interact with media. Part of that entails keeping the most valuable bits of their content culturally relevant and appropriate for their consumer base. There's a long history of Disney making changes to their films to keep them relevant to the times at hands; look no further than the original Fantasia being altered to remove racially insensitive stereotyping. Disney's goal has never been to make a film once and have it remain static for all time, like a museum piece. Their goal is to make films that remain relevant for generations. In 2019, showing young kids stereotypical material about Jim Crow as entertainment is probably an option that many parents would be uncomfortable with. That means that Dumbo is no longer appropriate for most children, and therefore, no longer a valuable property.

While I'm clearly in favor of film preservation, this is something different. Disney is not suggesting that they're going to throw these trims into a dumpster. They're simply tweaking the film to modern standards for their modern service. I honestly think it's an interesting approach. They own the content, they're clearly within their rights to treat it however they'd like. High quality home video versions already exist with the original version, so it remains available to consumers who wish to view the film from a historical lens.

I think this is a wholly different manner than releasing a censored version for physical purchase. This, to me, is no different than a TV station editing a film for content, which happens every day of the week already.

 

[Jason_V]

Not sure if this has been mentioned yet, but it looks like it's official...


https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/song-south-dumbos-jim-crow-scene-will-not-be-disney-1203624

This kinda makes me smirk and I don't mean to be a jerk or anything. Y'all know I'm signing up Day One.

But know where that scene will always live? On my BD and DVD copies on the shelf...

 

[Cranston37+]

That news shouldn't be a surprise to anybody and certainly shouldn't keep them from enjoying a great service. Hell I posted the news last Friday and it didn't rile anybody up enough to even comment.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

It just seems like such a non-issue to me.

Subscription streaming services are in 2019 what television and cable channels were in previous decades.

We don't get upset when a cable or broadcast channel edits a film for length, for content, or for any other reason. We understand that if we want to see the full, uncut version, that the option to do so is to either rent or purchase the title, not to seek it out on television.

So I just don't get why we're not so quick to understand that about streaming.