There’s even more great content hitting Disney+ this autumn

Well this was quite the coup. Disney bagged the rights to stream the biggest musical of recent years (ever?) and did what so many have failed to do: deliver a filmed version that genuinely does the stage show justice. Given the scramble for tickets, you probably didn’t get to see it in the theatre. Make sure you don’t miss it here. 

Ah Woody, Buzz, Jessie, Andy! It feels like we grew up with these guys. And look, you’re likely to have seen all of these films before – maybe some of them a few times – but if any films warrant repeated viewing it’s these. And if you’re an adult able to hold in tears at the passing of Andy’s childhood in ‘Toy Story 3’ well then are you even human, quite frankly.

We wholeheartedly recommend ‘Frozen’ but it comes with this caveat: if you are introducing it to kids, you will be forever subjected to the theme song. Out of nowhere it will come. There is no escaping it. But what the hell, it’s worth it. A film full of character and panache, and with an empowering message that your little ankle-biters will love. The (not-quite-so-excellent) sequel is on Disney+ now, too.

It’s a ‘tale as old as time’ alright. Well, the bit about beauty only being skin deep is. The bits about imprisoning someone in your castle until they realise this fact? Maybe not. Anyway, this Oscar-nominated musical romantic comedy is as about as heartwarming as heartwarming gets. Plus it’s got some great tunes from the legendary musicals man, Alan Menken.  

We quite liked the remake but the original 1964 version is a classic for a multitude of reasons. It’s aged brilliantly, has dancing penguins, a quite-superb Julie Andrews and one helluva score (including ‘supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’, obviously). It’s only flaw? Dick van Dyke’s much-mocked cockney accent. But to be quite honest with you, it is hilarious, so is it really a flaw? We’ll leave that one for you.

With all nine of the ‘Skywalker Saga’ films – plus the ‘Clone Wars’ animated series and the ‘origin’ films – there sure is a lot of ‘Star Wars’ to explore. But crikey, ‘The Mandalorian’ is right up there with the best of the canon and no, not just because of Baby Yoda. Plus! The new season starts on October 30. Grab a glass of thala-siren milk and settle in.

Blimey, this is quite the finale. Representing the culmination of a 22-film story, this three-hour Marvel epic sees  the – spoiler alert! – remaining Avengers join up to take on the quite-frankly-rather-naughty demigod Thor to basically save the universe and all the superhero stuff. That three hour runtime flies by quicker than a suited-up Tony Stark. Action! 

This absolute classic Disney animation from 1967 really does stand the test of time. The songs are belters (you’ll know them all...) and it’s chock-full of laughs that have totally carried… kids find Baloo scratching his back on half of the jungle hilarious, even today. Plus it’s all packed into an hour and 18 minutes. Punchy and brilliant. And if you want to watch the recent live-action version? Of course that’s on Disney+, too.

The new film is a sublime and stunning visual treat for the eyes and has some incredible battle scenes but if you want something with a little more heart? Give the 1998 animation a go. It’s beautiful to look at, has a great score and has Eddie Murphy in glorious form as the dragon Mushu. Plus it’s all about female empowerment. What’s not to love?

This brand new Disney+ series is inspired by Tom Wolfe’s 1979 novel of the same name. It’s a gritty and fascinating look at the birth of the United State’s space program, focusing on the Mercury Seven astronauts and their families as they pave the way for the Apollo 11 moon landing. Inspiring and, if you’re American, probably chest-pumpingly patriotic. 

It’s been heralded as Pixar’s best film in years and to be perfectly honest with you, we can totally see why. It’s full of very decent gags and given the main premise involves half a dad (just the legs work) then surely you’ve got to be at least a little bit curious as to what the hey this film is all about. We’ll leave it to you to discover in all its magical glory. Great ending too, by the way.

This film is worth watching... for… the… sloth… scene… alone… but beyond that particular slice of comedy genius this Oscar-winning animated Disney flick is one of the best releases of recent years. Kids love it but it’s also a fun watch for the adults in the room, too. Great cast, great buddy-cop story and great message: you can be anything you want to be if you work at it.

The Pixar canon really is full of corkers (we couldn’t fit in the likes ‘Wall-E’, ‘The Incredibles’, ‘Cars’ or ‘Coco’ into this list) but this one is right up there. From forgetful Dory (catch her in the sequel!) and the ‘reformed’ shark Bruce to stoner turtles and greedy seagulls, it’s a rip-tide-roaring road trip through the oceans – but with a lot of warmth. 

In classic Beyonce form she dropped this on the world with barely any warning. And boy did it have an impact. Loosely based on ‘the lessons from ‘Lion King’’ it’s a stunning visual feast full of symbolism and imagery set to incredible music. Well, what else did you expect? Must-see stuff.

Is more than 600 episodes of ‘The Simpsons’ not quite enough for you? Well, don’t worry, Season 31 of the longest-running cartoon in television history is hitting Disney+ on November 6. Our favourite from the new season? ‘The Incredible Lightness of Being a Baby’. Very different from the Milan Kundera novel that it kind of takes its name from but much, much funnier.

Sure ‘The Lion King’ is amazing, as is ‘Lion King 2’ – and the criminally underrated ‘Lion King 1 ½’ for that matter – but this very cute spin-off TV series is definitely worth getting your kids into. It tells the story of Simba’s son, Kion, and his gang of cohorts defending the Pride Lands. It’s a lot of fun and features a honey badger, which is definitely the best animal on god’s green earth.  

Do you need much more than that title? This National Geographic series gives possibly the coolest man on the planet the chance to take something simple, like a shoe, and extrapolate from that simple thing all manner of insights into history, science and many, many Big Ideas. He’s so cool.

Hahaha a Jamaican bobsleigh team competing in the Winter Olympics absolutely hilarious only in Hollywood amiright? Well no, actually. This brilliantly cheering and very funny film is actually based on the true story of the 1988 Jamaican bobsleigh team. So there. Bittersweet fact: this was John Candy’s last film (he’s excellent in it, obviously).

This Nat Geo series is fronted by the excellent Neil deGrasse Tyson, and given it’s essentially a follow up to Carl Sagan’s seminal ‘80s series, ‘Cosmos: A Personal Voyage’, it’s got some pretty big boots to fill. And fill them it does, with Tyson taking you through all the big stuff with incredible enthusiasm and knowledge. Prepare to have your tiny little minds blown.