Add These 20 Critically Acclaimed Films to Your Disney+ Watchlist
Disney+ is now the most subscribed streaming platform in the world, surpassing Netflix, and it's no surprise why. Disney owns an unparalleled library of critically acclaimed titles from its giant studios and production houses.
Apart from films produced by Walt Disney Studios, Disney+ also offers movies produced by studios it has bought through the years. These include Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, 20th Century Studios, 20th Century Animation, and Searchlight Pictures.
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Below are 20 critically acclaimed films you should add to your Disney+ watchlist.
The French Dispatch (2021)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 75 percent
Directed by Wes Anderson, this star-studded film (Timothee Chalamet, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody) is Anderson’s tribute to the field of journalism. It is his love letter to journalists set in 20th-century France.
The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 75 percent
More than 16 years after its theatrical release, The Devil Wears Prada has become a landmark film, with scenes such as Miranda Priestly’s (Meryl Streep) cerulean sweater speech defending the significance of the fashion industry. Or Nigel Kipling’s (Stanley Tucci) sarcastic reply toward Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) about fashion: “That’s what this multi-billion dollar industry is all about anyway, isn’t it? Inner beauty.” Directed by David Frankel and based on Lauren Weisberger's 2003 novel of the same name, this comedy-drama film has been described as “A rare film that surpasses the quality of its source novel.”
The Help (2011)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 76 percent
Set in 1960s Jackson, Mississippi, Skeeter (Emma Stone) interviews Aibileen (Viola Davis) about her life as a domestic helper for white people for a book she is writing (“The Help”). As more abuses on the black community occur that year, more household helpers composed of black women agree to contribute their own stories. Friendships are forged, but not before the white Jackson residents realize it was them who are being talked about in the bestselling book.
The Revenant (2015)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 78 percent
The film that gave Leonardo Di Caprio his first Academy Award, The Revenant is an adventure-drama that tells of the struggle and survival of Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) in the 1823 wilderness of North America. Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, the film received 12 nominations for the 88th Academy Awards, winning the Academy Awards for Best Director (Iñárritu’s second consecutive in this category), Best Actor (DiCaprio, his first after five previous nominations), and Best Cinematography (Emmanuel Lubezki, his third consecutive in that category).
Saving Mr. Banks (2013)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 79 percent
Saving Mr. Banks is the story of how Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) persevered for 20 years just to obtain the movie rights to “Mary Poppins.” However, the author of Mary Poppins, P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson), proves to be adamantly uncompromising and has no intention of letting Hollywood destroy her creation.
Jojo Rabbit (2019)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 80 percent
A lonely German boy named Jojo (Roman Griffin Davis) discovers that his single mother Rosie Betzler (Scarlett Johansson) is hiding a Jewish girl in their attic. Jojo’s imaginary friend Adolf Hitler creates the perfect foil to this comedy-drama set in the worst part of World War II in Europe. Jojo Rabbit won 14 awards, including the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, won by director Taika Waititi. It received six nominations at the 92nd Academy Awards, including Best Supporting Actress for Johansson and Best Picture.
Dead Poets Society (1989)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 84 percent
John Keating (Robin Williams) is the new English teacher in an all-boys preparatory school notorious for being extremely traditional and demands exceedingly high standards from its students. With his unorthodox methods, Keating touches the lives of his students, who face tremendous pressures from their parents and the school.
The Joy Luck Club (1993)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 86 percent
A group of aging Chinese women living in San Francisco regularly gather to play mahjong and exchange stories about their families. Joy Luck Club is based on Amy Tan's bestselling novel of the same title. It explores the cultural conflicts and relationships between four first-generation Chinese-American women and their mothers. In 2020, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress because it is "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
Life of Pi (2012)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 86 percent
After deciding to sell their Zoo in India and move to Canada, Pi’s family moves their entire zoo on a sea vessel but tragedy strikes at sea. The vessel is sunk, leaving Pi and the Tiger on a single boat. Pi and the Tiger must learn to trust each other to survive.
The Last King of Scotland (2007)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 87 percent
Scottish doctor Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy) is in Uganda on a medical mission when becomes the personal physician and close confidante of dictator Idi Amin (Forest Whitaker). Garrigan feels flattered by his new position of power but realizes the brutality and bloodshed of that Amin's rule, so he tries to escape. Whitaker won in the best leading actor category at the 79th Academy Awards.
The Big Short (2015)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 89 percent
This biographical comedy-drama follows the events leading up to the 2007 Global Recession, which was rooted in America’s subprime lending on mortgages. Although it tackles extremely complicated financial instruments, the film breaks these down with the use of cameos by Hollywood A-listers who break the fourth wall to unmask Wall Street lingo in uncomplicated terms. The film won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay in addition to nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Christian Bale), and Best Film Editing.
Isle of Dogs (2018)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 90 percent
Directed by Wes Anderson, Isle of Dogs is a stop-motion animation film set in the fictional retro-futuristic Japanese city of Megasaki, where Mayor Kenji Kobayashi has banished all dogs to Trash Island due to the canine influenza pandemic. Although it is an animated film, it still bears the hallmarks of a Wes Anderson film: the eccentricity, the symmetry in camera shots, and the combination of the silly and the serious, the outlandish and the outstanding. Isle of Dogs was nominated for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Score at the 2019 Academy Awards.
The Martian (2015)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 91 percent
Dr. Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is accidentally stranded on Mars after a dust storm forced his crew to abandon him on the planet. Earth has presumed him dead. Alone and with only a bunch of potatoes he must grow on Martian soil, he struggles to survive and find a way to communicate with Earth. A gripping tale that’s as imaginative as it is realistically bound by science, The Martian explores the challenges of humans colonizing a dead planet.
Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 91 percent
Little Miss Sunshine is a tragicomedy revolving around the story of Olive, who learns she has qualified for the "Little Miss Sunshine" beauty pageant, being held in Redondo Beach, California in two days. Her family races against the clock to arrive at the pageant, where they find other contestants being overly sexualized. Everything comes to a head during the talent portion when Olive performs a secret dance number her grandfather taught her, which turns out to be a lewd number.
Birdman (2014)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 91 percent
Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton) is a faded Hollywood actor best known for his role as the superhero Birdman. He struggles to land another project and is continually tormented throughout the film by the mocking voice of Birdman.
Ford v Ferrari (2019)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 92 percent
In 1963, Ford Motor Company Vice President Lee Iacocca proposes to Henry Ford II to boost their car sales by purchasing Italian car manufacturer Ferrari, dominant in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Enzo Ferrari uses Ford's offer to secure a deal with Fiat that allows him to retain ownership of the firm's racing team, Scuderia Ferrari. An intense rivalry ensues.
The Shape of Water (2017)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 92 percent
This award-winning film directed by Guillermo del Toro is set in the 1960s, when Elisa, a cleaner at a secret government laboratory, discovers a captured creature from a South American river. She learns it is a humanoid amphibian and forms a bond with the creature, visiting him in secret. The Shape of Water was nominated for a historic thirteen awards at the 90th Academy Awards, winning four, including Best Picture and Best Director for del Toro.
The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 92 percent
Another masterpiece by Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel is arguably Anderson's most beautiful film yet. Set in 1932, protagonist Zero is hired as lobby boy at the prestigious Grand Budapest Hotel. Zero becomes the protege of Monsieur Gustave H., the hotel's concierge, who seduces old, wealthy clients. When one wealthy client dies, the two are embroiled in a dispute with the surviving family’s estate.
Hidden Figures (2016)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 93 percent
As NASA eats the space dust left by the Russians as they beat them in earth orbit, a group of black women at Houston work silently to make sure the Americans quickly follow suit. But they meet a lot of hurdles because of their color and gender. Directed by Theodore Melfi, Hidden Figures is a period film based on a true story and has maintained a steady 93 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Soul (2020)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 95 percent
Soul is a dissection of the purpose of life, a meditation on humanism and existence. The film does not preach about the meaning of life, but asks you whether you are living enough. If you knew when you would die, how would you want to spend your life? Soul was not created for kids. It has mature thematic elements and strong language. Even its jazz-infused musical score lacks that characteristic feel of Disney theme songs. Just like in Toy Story 3 and 4, Pixar created Soul for Millennials—an aging audience who found love with Pixar 25 years ago. It is a love letter to their generation reminding them that no matter how meaningless you might feel, your life has a purpose and can be found in the people around you.
