Disney’s massive Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars libraries make for a wealth of content available for streaming on Disney+. If you’re familiar with classics starring the likes of Mary Poppins and Iron Man, take a look at these 16 other family-friendly films on Disney+ right now that are worth checking out.
James Cameron scored a career-best with this enthralling sci-fi tale about an alien race infiltrated by humans. Going deep undercover as one of the Na’vi, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) soon begins to identify more with them than his military counterparts. Cameron reportedly had a treatment for the film as early as 1994 but had to wait for effects technology to catch up with his ambitions. The long-awaited sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, has already surpassed $1 billion at the box office.
Elisabeth Shue is a babysitter who goes through the wringer corralling her young charges in this ’80s hit. It was later made into a short-lived television series featuring Brian Austin Green.
Fans of Who Framed Roger Rabbit will likely take to this meta reboot of the classic Disney cartoon. Chip and Dale (Andy Samberg and John Mulaney) go off in search of a missing castmate, finding the dark side of the ‘toon world in the process. While one of the villains is a surprise, filmmakers originally had Charlie Brown of Peanuts fame in mind for the role.
Steven Spielberg updates the classic 1957 musical for a modern age, with star-crossed lovers Ansel Elgort and Rachel Zegler igniting a New York City turf war. Rita Moreno, the co-star of the 1961 film version, also appears; Spielberg filmed several scenes in Spanish without subtitles to better represent the culture of the characters.
Ted Danson, Steve Guttenberg, and Tom Selleck star in this ’80s hit about three single guys tasked with caring for a baby that is suddently left on their doostep. The film was the subject of an urban legend early on in which some people believed you could see a ghost in one scene. (The apparition was, in fact, just a cardboard cutout of Danson’s character.) The 1990 sequel, Three Men and a Little Lady, is also on the streamer.
Denzel Washington brings his formidable screen presence to this true story about a racially-integrated high school football team in 1970s Virginia that has to outmaneuver both the opposing teams and the prejudices of a community. While based in fact, the real-life Titans of Alexandria weren’t exactly underdogs. They went undefeated in their 1971 season.
Nicolas Cage is Benjamin Franklin Gates, an amateur cryptologist who discovers the location of a lost treasure is well within reach—if he can manage to steal the Declaration of Independence—in National Treasure. Thanks to events depicted in the movie, some visitors to the National Archives have asked if there really is a secret map on the back of the document. (Answer: nope.) The 2007 sequel, National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets, is also on the service.
Take a road trip with Kermit and company in their first full-length feature, which sees the frog on his way to Hollywood. Steve Martin and Orson Welles make cameos, as does a very young Tim Burton (playing a puppeteer in the film’s finale).
Jeff Bridges finds himself trapped inside a computer in this cutting-edge and neon-lit look at a cyber world that marks some of the first use of computer effects in film. Writer and director Steve Lisberger was inspired by a demo reel of computer animation and the video game Pong. The belated sequel, 2010’s TRON: Legacy, is also available to stream.
This sort-of sequel to 1939’s The Wizard of Oz was considered audacious upon its release. The movie finds Dorothy back in trouble and surrounded by a new group of friends, including Tik-Tok and Jack Pumpkinhead. Star Fairuza Balk was cast after a reported 1000 girls auditioned.
Disney and Warner Bros. properties collide in this live-action and animated hit that features Bob Hoskins as a private detective out to prove the popular ‘toon rabbit is innocent of murder. Charles Fleischer, the voice of Roger, wore a Roger costume on set while providing the voice so that Hoskins and the other actors could react to something.
Fairy tales got a makeover courtesy of screenwriter William Goldman, who adapted his own book about a farmhand named Westley (Cary Elwes) who looks to rescue his sweet Princess Buttercup (Robin Wright) from the clutches of Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon). Encounters with a giant, a Spanish fencing expert, and other colorful characters follow. Elwes was a trooper, filming many of his scenes with a broken toe that he sustained after a bumpy ATV ride on the set.
There are many vintage Kurt Russell films on Disney+, including 1969’s The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes. But the best is probably this rendition of the true story behind the United States hockey team’s unlikely win against the Soviet Union in the 1980 Winter Olympics. The game is considered by some to be the greatest upset in sports history.
Rick Moranis conducts a science experiment that turns his children into ant-sized little people in this family-friendly hit. The idea was courtesy of Stuart Gordon (1985’s Re-Animator), who was slated to direct but fell ill and was replaced by Joe Johnston.
The adventures of one of the most winning horses in racing gets the biopic treatment: Diane Lane stars as a woman who takes over her father’s stable and eventually comes across a horse destined for equine glory. When the great steed’s life ended in 1989, the veterinarian claimed its heart was 22 pounds—twice the size of a normal horse ticker.
George Lucas produced this fable about a man named Willow Ufgood (Warwick Davis), who appears destined to protect a small child and overthrow the reign of the evil Queen Bavmorda. Lucas wrote the film especially for Davis, who starred as Wicket the Ewok in 1983’s Return of the Jedi. It was his first onscreen role out of a costume. A highly anticipated Willow TV series, also starring Davis, premiered on Disney+ in 2022.
A version of this story ran in 2019; it has been updated for 2023.
Jake Rossen
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