Disney+ Is More Than Just The Mandalorian or Star Wars. Here Is Their Latest Content.
The best of what is coming this month.
Disney+ has reportedly been surging since the coronavirus social distancing began. Multiple reports have stated that the massive amounts of people at home, many of them with children, have subscribed to the family-friendly streaming service in recent weeks. Throughout April, there will be more things for Disney+ subscribers to enjoy.
- Doctor Doolittle (April 1.) No, not the Robert Downey, Jr., movie from earlier this year, which wasn't a Disney production, and not the 1967 version either, which was somehow nominated for a Best Picture Oscar. This is the 1998 edition, with Eddie Murphy, which hit Disney+ on the first of the month along with a massive cache of new titles on the National Geographic tab (Earth Live, Giants of the Deep Blue, and lots of kingdoms-Monkey Kingdom, Kingdom of the Blue Whale and Kingdom of the White Wolf.)
- Onward (April 3.) Barely a month after it hit theaters, the latest Pixar Animation Studios film arrives on Disney+. It's the story of two brothers, living in a modern world in which there are still vestiges of a magical past, who go on a quest to bring their late father back from the dead, just for one day.
- The Straight Story (April 3.) David Lynch, known for much darker material, made this G-rated film in 1999, based on the true story of an old man (Richard Farnsworth) who rode a lawnmower across two states to visit his long-estranged brother. Despite all that, it feels very much like a David Lynch movie.
- Sonny With a Chance (April 3.) The Disney Channel series, which starred a young Demi Lovato between 2009 and 2011, finally reaches Disney+. The guide lists three seasons while only two aired, so perhaps the "third season" is So Random, the single-season sketch series that starred most of the show's cast.
- A Celebration of the Music From Coco (April 10.) Disney+ will release a concert film, recorded at the Hollywood Bowl in November, featuring songs from Pixar's 2018 hit. Benjamin Bratt and Eva Longoria hosted the concert, which featured performances by Miguel, Carlos Rivera, Natalia Jiménez, and more.
- Brain Games, season 8 (April 17.) For the kids, it's the latest season of the educational series, its first new one since 2016. The season debuted in January on National Geographic but hits Disney+ this month.
- National Treasure (April 30.) At the end of the month comes the hit Nicolas Cage adventure, from 2004. Co-starring Harvey Keitel Jon Voight, Sean Bean, and Christopher Plummer, National Treasure was a Disney production, but it's streamed on Netflix of late, hasn't been available on Disney+ until the end of this month.
Stephen Silver, a technology writer for The National Interest, is a journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to Philly Voice, Philadelphia Weekly, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Living Life Fearless, Backstage magazine, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons.