Subscribing to Disney+ just to watchTheMandalorian,Wandavision, orLokiis understandable, but once you’ve joined, there are tons of other great things to check out on this streamer. Sure, do a Disney classics marathon, check out the newest animated films, re-watch all the Marvel and Star Wars stuff, etc. Once you’re done with all of that, though, dive into a couple of these imaginative and wonderful Disney+ Originals.
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Prop Culture
Both casual and diehard movie fans alike will find a lot to love aboutProp Culture. Whether it’s just getting a chance to feast your eyes on some incredible pieces of film history, learning more about the movies that defined your youth, or discovering exactly how extensive the Disney archives are, having a chance to see that such valuable items exist is a great idea for a Disney+ original series.
In the first season, we get to see props fromMary Poppins,Tron,The Nightmare Before Christmas,Pirates of the Caribbean,Honey, I Shrunk the Kids,The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,Who Framed Roger Rabbit, andThe Muppet Movie. They vary from handcrafted props made specifically for the films to items used for production like scale models, clay figures, etc. It’s a remarkable way to look into the past, and hopefully there will be many more seasons of this fun show to come.
Foodtastic
A new addition to the Disney+ original slate,Foodtasticis a fun show highlighting the art of food sculpting. It’s a cooking show that has no interest in cooking, instead focusing on the artistic side of food. Contestants are challenged to put together entire scenes, including beloved characters from Marvel, Pixar, the Muppets, and Disney movies new and old. They utilize fruits, vegetables, breads, cakes, and more when sculpting these masterpieces. Delicate arts of ice carving, hand-drawn decorations, and more adorn these giant scene-scapes.
Whether these creations are accurate or fantastical, it’s always amazing to watch these pieces take shape. And all the unused food is donated to local shelters to help feed the hungry, so nothing goes to waste. It’s amazing the things these contestants think to do with food. The imagination on display inFoodtasticis stunning.
Welcome to Earth
Will Smith hosts this unique series looking into some of Earth’s most unbelievable phenomena. Not only does this show follow Smith as he’s led into the wild, but this show also highlights other experts doing incredible work in their fields. Diving deep into the depths of the ocean, trekking across rocky terrain, repelling into icy caverns, and traversing stark desert sandscapes are all expeditions taken during for this documentary series.
Each episode takes on a theme, from explaining the science behind infra sound, to how the indescribable single mind of a hive or swarm works. The episodes are expertly crafted and easy to watch, even if nature documentaries are not usually your thing.Will Smith, as a host, is engaging and relatable as he stares in awe at nature’s power unfolding before his eyes with each new experience.
Pixar Shorts
Pixar has mastered the art of the short over the years. Now it’s really easy to get your hands on every short ever made, all in one place. Works from before they were calledPixarare there for the watching, even their very first short titledThe Adventures of André & Wally B. There are classics likeGeri’s Game,Presto, andDay & Night, as well as brand-new works like theLuca-set shortCiao Alberto. There are Oscar winners, passion projects, and everything in between. So take an afternoon and dive deep into one of Pixar’s specialties.
If you have ever stepped on stage and taken part in a group effort to entertain, then you will probably loveEncore!This show has been on the streamer ever since Disney+ launched a few years ago.Kristen Bellhosts, and the show is all about high school stage production casts reuniting after years, sometimes decades. They reunite, re-learn their parts, and re-take the stage for an encore performance of the musicals that shaped their youth. The first season includes shows likeAnnie,Grease,The Sound of Music,Anything Goes,High School Musical, andGodspell.
Encore!offers so many great shows, but also so many great stories told through revisiting old times. Learning how and why these thespians took to the stage way back when, as well as why they agreed to retake the stage in their later years presents a wonderful look into how spending your formative years onstage can affect you years and years later.
The Right Stuff
This scripted version of the events of the late ’50s space race is one of the best things to ever come out of the National Geographic Channel. This show is slightly different from their normal fare, and it allows National Geographic to reach an even wider audience than simply catering to those willing to watch documentary-type programming.The Right Stuffis superbly cast. The show is a great help in understanding the interpersonal dynamics at play within the Mercury 7 and the other astronauts that were in contention for space flight.
Starring some pretty talented actors,Jake McDorman,Patrick J. Adams, andColin O’Donoghue, amongst others, this series leans heavily on the men involved. It’s such a hopeful time to put on film, and this series gets that across with ease. There really aren’t words to recommend this series highly enough, especially if you’re at all interested in the history of space travel.
Mighty Ducks: Game Changers
And finally, let’s talk aboutMighty Ducks: Game Changers. This super fun series following a mother and her son who just wants to play hockey with his friends. It explores how Gordon Bombay is kind of the only way the kids on this team will survive playing actual games. As fans of the original series of films, we really don’t know how anyone alive during the ’90s can resist getting back into this world. Especially becauseEmilio Estevezisn’t the only star to make a re-appearance in this series.
We get a chance to spend some time with Averman, Connie Moreau, Guy Germaine, Fulton Reed, Kenny Wu, and Adam Banks, too. It’s a thrill for the kids in the show because these are the Minnesota kids who rose from District 5 to successful Olympic champions, but it’s a thrill for us, too, because these characters are beloved by those who grew up watching them. And it’s good to know they’re up to many of their same antics. They may have grown up, but they never grew out of the fun they had together. Quack, quack, quack, quack, quack… Go Ducks!
