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Back in the old days, Netflix was, by all metrics, the only streaming service worth anyone’s time or money. Major studios had deals that saw high-profile blockbusters on the Ted Sarandos-owned online service. Fast-forward a few years, though, and times have changed. Studios started their own streaming services. Paramount has Paramount+, NBC\/Universal has Peacock, Warner Bros. has HBO Max, and even Sony has a first-run streaming deal with Starz before their movies can migrate elsewhere.<\/p>\n
But what about the biggest studio of them all, Disney? In 2019, the House of Mouse launched its streaming app, Disney+, with the intent that it would be the permanent online home for everything from the massive media empire. However, there’s a lot more to Disney than classic animated musicals from “Snow White” to “The Lion King” and classic “Hannah Montana” episodes. There’s plenty of value in that type of programming, but it only scratches the surface of everything that’s available on Disney+.<\/p>\n
Over the years, Disney has amassed quite a roster of entertainment brands, a great many of which stream as part of the Disney+ ecosystem. Here are 11 such brands and some of the greatest titles you can currently enjoy on Disney+.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
Hulu<\/h2>\n\nWhen Hulu first launched in 2007, it was an ad-supported streaming platform. In its early days, the streamer was supported by Fox, NBC, Disney, and other major companies, allowing viewers to watch TV shows from various networks over the internet rather than on traditional television. Hulu Plus was introduced in 2010, allowing for paid subscribers to watch most programs without having to sit through dastardly ads.<\/p>\n
In 2019, Disney\u00a0moved to acquire a majority stake in the streamer, and by 2023, it had committed to full ownership of Hulu, bringing it under the Disney umbrella rather than simply being Disney-adjacent. For a time, Hulu was seen as the “adult” version of Disney+, with FX shows like “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” “The Shield,” “Rescue Me,”\u00a0and more recent fare like “The Bear”\u00a0streaming on Hulu, as well as Hulu Originals like “Only Murders in the Building” and “Chad Powers.”<\/p>\n
As of this writing, the Hulu and Disney+ apps are in the process of fully merging<\/a>. If you have both apps, you can stream it all from Disney+ without switching between them. Unless you’re a fan of its Live TV feature, there’s no reason to hold on to the Hulu app at all, at least in the United States, where Disney+ has integrated Hulu into its own app<\/a>. Oh, and if you don’t want your kids accidentally watching something like “Alien:\u00a0Earth,”\u00a0just make sure you enable the Disney+ app’s parental controls for some peace of mind.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\nABC<\/h2>\n\nThe ABC television network has been owned by Disney since the mid-1990s, but the relationship between the two goes back a lot further than that. ABC-Paramount helped fund Disneyland by securing a $4.5 million bank loan and a $500,000 investment in exchange for an ownership stake in the park and TV rights to a Disney TV program. “Walt Disney’s Disneyland,” the show that would ultimately become known as “The Wonderful World of Disney,”\u00a0made its television debut on ABC back in 1954. Likewise, the original version of “The Mickey Mouse Club” (the one with Annette Funicello) first aired on ABC in 1955.<\/p>\n
Decades later, in 1995, Disney would purchase ABC’s parent company, Capital Cities Communications, for $19 billion. This gave Disney complete ownership of one of the “Big Three” television networks (and ESPN, but we’ll get to that in a bit). This purchase was arguably the first major move in Disney’s modern quest to take over the entire entertainment world.<\/p>\n
Thanks to Disney’s complete ownership of ABC, all of its modern original programming can be found on Disney+, from “Will Trent”\u00a0and “The Rookie” to all 22 seasons (and counting) of “Grey’s Anatomy.” It’s also the streaming home for classic ABC shows like “Boston Legal,” “Alias,” “The Wonder Years,” “Lost,” and more.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\nESPN+<\/h2>\n\nHere’s a fun fact for you: Disney+ was not Disney’s first streaming service. That distinction actually goes to ESPN+, which launched in 2018, a year before Disney+. If you’re not a sports enthusiast, you probably don’t watch ESPN, or “Entertainment and Sports Programming Network.” Disney got an ownership stake in the ESPN television network when it purchased Capital Cities Communications. At the time of the 1995 merger, Disney acquired an 80% stake in ESPN. Today, ESPN is only 72% owned by Disney, with the rest split between Hearst Communications and the NFL.<\/p>\n
For all Disney+ subscribers, there’s a selection of ESPN content available to stream.\u00a0For the full ESPN experience, however, you’ll have to invest in the proper ESPN app, called ESPN Unlimited, which includes live access to all of the ESPN networks.<\/p>\n
If you’re into live sports, ESPN Unlimited is the way to go, but if you’re into documentaries, sports history, and profiles on top athletes from both mainstream and relatively obscure sports, the ESPN content available to all Disney+ subscribers<\/a> should be sufficient. Conveniently, there’s a bundle that includes Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN Unlimited, if you want it all packaged together for one unified monthly fee.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\nNational Geographic<\/h2>\n\nWhen Disney purchased the majority of 21st Century Fox (we’ll get to that in a bit), it also gained National Geographic. Disney quickly got to work making Nat Geo one of the pillars of the Disney+ ecosystem. To Disney’s credit, it has gotten a lot of mileage out of National Geographic, all while continuing to publish the monthly National Geographic magazine. Alas, that hasn’t stopped the brand from being affected by layoffs, and it seems no one is safe in that regard.<\/p>\n
After a day of streaming fairy tale musicals and Marvel superhero movies, it’s nice to wind down with a splash of reality in the form of “Secrets of the Whales,” “Playing with Sharks:\u00a0The Valerie Taylor Story,” “OceanXplorers,” or maybe something that’s more Disney-adjacent, like “Limitless with Chris Hemsworth.”<\/p>\n
National Geographic has long had a mission to share the beauty of the world beyond our insular communities, showcasing stories of faraway people and their communities, as well as animals, the oceans, and scientific and medical breakthroughs. A Nat Geo-funded expedition even discovered the largest underwater creature in recorded history<\/a>. Thanks to its prominence on Disney+, National Geographic feels more mainstream now than ever before, even if it seems like, due to economic factors, the brand has pivoted towards unscripted travelogue and reality fare, to the chagrin of purists who prefer more traditional documentaries.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\nFreeform<\/h2>\n\nIf you’re a Disney fan of a certain age, you surely have fond memories of the ABC Family network. If you’re even older than that, you remember the Fox Family Channel, which became ABC Family in 2001. Back in 2016, ABC Family was rebranded as Freeform, and it is still known by that name today.<\/p>\n
As part of ABC, Freeform is fully owned by Disney, which means its original programming, as well as highlights from the old days of ABC Family, is available to stream on Disney+. That means modern series like “Cloak & Dagger,” “Shadowhunters,” and “Cruel Summer,” as well as reality shows like\u00a0“Love Thy Nader” and “Royal Rules of Ohio,” can all be found on Disney+. From before the Freeform days, classic ABC Family shows like “Kyle XY,”\u00a0“Pretty Little Liars,” and “Melissa & Joey” have thrived in this new age of streaming syndication.<\/p>\n
While National Geographic feels more relevant than ever thanks to its inclusion on Disney+, an argument could be made that the opposite is true of Freeform. In another era, perhaps shows like “The Mandalorian” and the various Marvel shows could have thrived on a network like Freeform (their astronomical budgets notwithstanding). Nowadays, however, a TV network aimed at young people just feels redundant and archaic compared to a streaming network like Disney+. Perhaps this is why there’s no dedicated “Freeform” homepage on Disney+, unlike Hulu and National Geographic.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\nFX\/FXX<\/h2>\n\nIf Freeform is for teens, then FX and its sister network, FXX, aim for a more adult audience. Originally a Fox-owned network, FX thrived during the early oughts with award-winning shows like “The Shield” and “Rescue Me,” as well as “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” which,\u00a0at 17 seasons and counting, is the longest-running live-action sitcom still on the air.<\/p>\n
FX programming proved a great fit for Hulu, to the point where the brands are arguably interchangeable. There was a sub-brand, “FX on Hulu,”\u00a0to which shows like “The Bear,” “Alien: Earth,”\u00a0and “The Old Man” belonged, but that moniker is being phased out in favor of just\u00a0“FX,”\u00a0which is generally seen as a brand within Hulu, which itself is now a brand within Disney+. Moving forward, these shows will debut simultaneously on traditional TV and streaming.<\/p>\n
It might seem a little confusing, but since Disney now owns both Hulu and FX, it makes sense for FX and Hulu to slowly merge as a studio, just as Hulu and Disney+ have been merging in the streaming sense. Nevertheless, the end result is that both Hulu and FX, along with their respective rosters of top-shelf programming, all have a place as arrows within the Disney+ quiver.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n20th Century Studios<\/h2>\n\nIn 2017, Disney made the moves necessary to purchase Fox’s media assets. By March 2019, the deal was sealed, and Disney gained ownership of the entire catalog of Fox movies and TV shows, while Rupert Murdoch and his company maintained control over Fox’s sports and news channels. All told, Disney spent $71.3 billion to secure the rights to Fox’s catalog. The studio, 20th Century Fox, was renamed to 20th Century Studios, and the various programs slowly began moving to Disney+ and Hulu, a process that is still ongoing due to licensing deals with various other streamers. That’s likely why, in the U.S., only “Live Free or Die Hard” is streaming on Disney+, while the other films in the legendary action series must be sought out elsewhere (for example, “A Good Day to Die Hard” is on HBO Max).<\/p>\n
Even so, a ton of Fox movies and shows are currently streaming on Disney+, from James Cameron’s “Avatar” films, the “Home Alone” movies, and Fox’s Marvel slate, which includes the “X-Men”\u00a0and “Fantastic Four” movies, as well as “Daredevil” and “Elektra.”<\/p>\n
In the years following the sale, some 20th Century Studios films went straight to Hulu. One has to wonder if movies like “Prey” and “Eenie Meanie” would have been box office hits if they had the chance to play at 2,500 theaters across the country instead of being relegated to streaming. There are also a ton of Fox TV shows that now live on Disney+, such as “The Simpsons,” “24,” “Family Guy,” and “Hell’s Kitchen,” among many others.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\nSearchlight Pictures<\/h2>\n\n20th Century Studios wasn’t the only movie studio Disney purchased during its Fox acquisition. It also got Fox Searchlight, which is now known as Searchlight Pictures. This was Fox’s “indie” studio, which focused on quirkier films that were less expensive than the average blockbuster and had more arthouse sensibilities, targeted towards niche demographics. Even so, the studio had both critical and commercial success with movies like “Slumdog Millionaire,” “12 Years a Slave,” “Birdman,”\u00a0and “The Shape of Water,” all of which won the Oscar for Best Picture and were global box office hits.<\/p>\n
Due to licensing deals with other streamers, not every Searchlight movie is on Disney+ (“The Shape of Water,” for example, is on HBO Max), but there is a healthy selection of new and classic Searchlight movies that can currently be streamed on Disney+ and Hulu, including “Napoleon Dynamite,” “Bend It Like Beckham,” “Rental Family,”\u00a0and “The Roses,” among others. Presumably, as the aforementioned licensing deals expire, more and more Searchlight films will make their way home to Disney+ and Hulu.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\nMarvel<\/h2>\n\nWhen the Marvel Cinematic Universe began, Marvel Studios produced its films independently, with distribution help from outside partners. To this day, if you watch any MCU film from 2008’s “Iron Man” all the way through 2013’s “Iron Man 3,” they all begin with the Paramount logo, even on Disney+. The only exception to this rule is “The Incredible Hulk,” which was distributed by Universal.<\/p>\n
In 2009, Disney purchased Marvel Entertainment\u00a0for $4 billion, which meant that the House of Mouse had full distribution rights to all MCU films from 2013’s “Thor: The Dark World” onward. Well, mostly. There are a few characters whose rights are tied up with other studios. Spider-Man, for example, is partially owned by Sony Pictures, which is why the MCU Spider-Man movies are technically co-productions while other Spider-Man projects, like Spider-Noir, are solo Sony ventures<\/a>.\u00a0Then there’s the X-Men and Fantastic 4, the rights to which sat with Fox for the longest time. However, when Disney bought Fox’s assets, they got those characters back, which led to the release of 2025’s “Fantastic Four:\u00a0First Steps” and the slow introduction of Mutants into the MCU.<\/p>\nIn any case, there’s a ton of Marvel movies, TV shows, and animation streaming on Disney+, including the entire MCU, classic cartoons like the ’90s “Spider-Man” series, and even 2005’s “Elektra,” which few would argue is a classic, but it’s still nice that it’s there. “Deadpool &\u00a0Wolverine,” released in 2024, poked fun at the whole situation in a meta way, even going so far as to have Jennifer Garner return as Elektra alongside Aaron Stanford, Tyler Mane, and \u2014 of course \u2014 Hugh Jackman from the “X-Men” movies as Deadpool made his proper MCU debut, crossing over from the Fox universe.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\nPixar<\/h2>\n\nBack when Pixar made “Toy Story,”\u00a0the first feature-length movie made entirely using computer animation, the studio was not owned by Disney, but worked alongside them to develop the project. Following the smashing success of “Toy Story,”\u00a0Pixar quickly signed a five-movie deal with Disney, which carried the studio through to “The Incredibles.”\u00a0After the deal ended (and following the critical failure of Disney Animation’s “Chicken Little”), Disney purchased Pixar outright.<\/p>\n
For a time, Pixar created hits like “Wall-E” and “Up” while Disney Animation Studios struggled with middling performers like “Bolt” and “Meet the Robinsons.” These days, thankfully, Disney Animation has found its footing with movies like “Frozen,” “Zootopia,” and “Coco” (which is getting a sequel)<\/a>, while Pixar just released “Toy Story 5,”\u00a0which opened to a stellar $312 million during its global opening weekend.<\/p>\nPretty much every Disney Animation and Pixar movie ever made can be found streaming on Disney+, along with a ton of Pixar shorts from across the studio’s history and Disney+ exclusives like “Forky Asks a Question.” So, if you want to catch up on the entire “Toy Story” saga, you can do so from the original “Tin Toy” short all the way through to the often-overlooked “Lightyear.” Curiously, the cult-classic Disney Channel series, “Buzz Lightyear of Star Command,” is nowhere to be found on any streaming service. Perhaps, as a traditionally animated spin-off series produced entirely by Disney without Pixar’s input, that series may represent a contentious chapter in the occasionally tense relationship between Pixar and Disney.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
When Hulu first launched in 2007, it was an ad-supported streaming platform. In its early days, the streamer was supported by Fox, NBC, Disney, and other major companies, allowing viewers to watch TV shows from various networks over the internet rather than on traditional television. Hulu Plus was introduced in 2010, allowing for paid subscribers to watch most programs without having to sit through dastardly ads.<\/p>\n
In 2019, Disney\u00a0moved to acquire a majority stake in the streamer, and by 2023, it had committed to full ownership of Hulu, bringing it under the Disney umbrella rather than simply being Disney-adjacent. For a time, Hulu was seen as the “adult” version of Disney+, with FX shows like “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” “The Shield,” “Rescue Me,”\u00a0and more recent fare like “The Bear”\u00a0streaming on Hulu, as well as Hulu Originals like “Only Murders in the Building” and “Chad Powers.”<\/p>\n
As of this writing, the Hulu and Disney+ apps are in the process of fully merging<\/a>. If you have both apps, you can stream it all from Disney+ without switching between them. Unless you’re a fan of its Live TV feature, there’s no reason to hold on to the Hulu app at all, at least in the United States, where Disney+ has integrated Hulu into its own app<\/a>. Oh, and if you don’t want your kids accidentally watching something like “Alien:\u00a0Earth,”\u00a0just make sure you enable the Disney+ app’s parental controls for some peace of mind.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n The ABC television network has been owned by Disney since the mid-1990s, but the relationship between the two goes back a lot further than that. ABC-Paramount helped fund Disneyland by securing a $4.5 million bank loan and a $500,000 investment in exchange for an ownership stake in the park and TV rights to a Disney TV program. “Walt Disney’s Disneyland,” the show that would ultimately become known as “The Wonderful World of Disney,”\u00a0made its television debut on ABC back in 1954. Likewise, the original version of “The Mickey Mouse Club” (the one with Annette Funicello) first aired on ABC in 1955.<\/p>\n Decades later, in 1995, Disney would purchase ABC’s parent company, Capital Cities Communications, for $19 billion. This gave Disney complete ownership of one of the “Big Three” television networks (and ESPN, but we’ll get to that in a bit). This purchase was arguably the first major move in Disney’s modern quest to take over the entire entertainment world.<\/p>\n Thanks to Disney’s complete ownership of ABC, all of its modern original programming can be found on Disney+, from “Will Trent”\u00a0and “The Rookie” to all 22 seasons (and counting) of “Grey’s Anatomy.” It’s also the streaming home for classic ABC shows like “Boston Legal,” “Alias,” “The Wonder Years,” “Lost,” and more.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n Here’s a fun fact for you: Disney+ was not Disney’s first streaming service. That distinction actually goes to ESPN+, which launched in 2018, a year before Disney+. If you’re not a sports enthusiast, you probably don’t watch ESPN, or “Entertainment and Sports Programming Network.” Disney got an ownership stake in the ESPN television network when it purchased Capital Cities Communications. At the time of the 1995 merger, Disney acquired an 80% stake in ESPN. Today, ESPN is only 72% owned by Disney, with the rest split between Hearst Communications and the NFL.<\/p>\n For all Disney+ subscribers, there’s a selection of ESPN content available to stream.\u00a0For the full ESPN experience, however, you’ll have to invest in the proper ESPN app, called ESPN Unlimited, which includes live access to all of the ESPN networks.<\/p>\n If you’re into live sports, ESPN Unlimited is the way to go, but if you’re into documentaries, sports history, and profiles on top athletes from both mainstream and relatively obscure sports, the ESPN content available to all Disney+ subscribers<\/a> should be sufficient. Conveniently, there’s a bundle that includes Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN Unlimited, if you want it all packaged together for one unified monthly fee.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n When Disney purchased the majority of 21st Century Fox (we’ll get to that in a bit), it also gained National Geographic. Disney quickly got to work making Nat Geo one of the pillars of the Disney+ ecosystem. To Disney’s credit, it has gotten a lot of mileage out of National Geographic, all while continuing to publish the monthly National Geographic magazine. Alas, that hasn’t stopped the brand from being affected by layoffs, and it seems no one is safe in that regard.<\/p>\n After a day of streaming fairy tale musicals and Marvel superhero movies, it’s nice to wind down with a splash of reality in the form of “Secrets of the Whales,” “Playing with Sharks:\u00a0The Valerie Taylor Story,” “OceanXplorers,” or maybe something that’s more Disney-adjacent, like “Limitless with Chris Hemsworth.”<\/p>\n National Geographic has long had a mission to share the beauty of the world beyond our insular communities, showcasing stories of faraway people and their communities, as well as animals, the oceans, and scientific and medical breakthroughs. A Nat Geo-funded expedition even discovered the largest underwater creature in recorded history<\/a>. Thanks to its prominence on Disney+, National Geographic feels more mainstream now than ever before, even if it seems like, due to economic factors, the brand has pivoted towards unscripted travelogue and reality fare, to the chagrin of purists who prefer more traditional documentaries.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n If you’re a Disney fan of a certain age, you surely have fond memories of the ABC Family network. If you’re even older than that, you remember the Fox Family Channel, which became ABC Family in 2001. Back in 2016, ABC Family was rebranded as Freeform, and it is still known by that name today.<\/p>\n As part of ABC, Freeform is fully owned by Disney, which means its original programming, as well as highlights from the old days of ABC Family, is available to stream on Disney+. That means modern series like “Cloak & Dagger,” “Shadowhunters,” and “Cruel Summer,” as well as reality shows like\u00a0“Love Thy Nader” and “Royal Rules of Ohio,” can all be found on Disney+. From before the Freeform days, classic ABC Family shows like “Kyle XY,”\u00a0“Pretty Little Liars,” and “Melissa & Joey” have thrived in this new age of streaming syndication.<\/p>\n While National Geographic feels more relevant than ever thanks to its inclusion on Disney+, an argument could be made that the opposite is true of Freeform. In another era, perhaps shows like “The Mandalorian” and the various Marvel shows could have thrived on a network like Freeform (their astronomical budgets notwithstanding). Nowadays, however, a TV network aimed at young people just feels redundant and archaic compared to a streaming network like Disney+. Perhaps this is why there’s no dedicated “Freeform” homepage on Disney+, unlike Hulu and National Geographic.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n If Freeform is for teens, then FX and its sister network, FXX, aim for a more adult audience. Originally a Fox-owned network, FX thrived during the early oughts with award-winning shows like “The Shield” and “Rescue Me,” as well as “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” which,\u00a0at 17 seasons and counting, is the longest-running live-action sitcom still on the air.<\/p>\n FX programming proved a great fit for Hulu, to the point where the brands are arguably interchangeable. There was a sub-brand, “FX on Hulu,”\u00a0to which shows like “The Bear,” “Alien: Earth,”\u00a0and “The Old Man” belonged, but that moniker is being phased out in favor of just\u00a0“FX,”\u00a0which is generally seen as a brand within Hulu, which itself is now a brand within Disney+. Moving forward, these shows will debut simultaneously on traditional TV and streaming.<\/p>\n It might seem a little confusing, but since Disney now owns both Hulu and FX, it makes sense for FX and Hulu to slowly merge as a studio, just as Hulu and Disney+ have been merging in the streaming sense. Nevertheless, the end result is that both Hulu and FX, along with their respective rosters of top-shelf programming, all have a place as arrows within the Disney+ quiver.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n In 2017, Disney made the moves necessary to purchase Fox’s media assets. By March 2019, the deal was sealed, and Disney gained ownership of the entire catalog of Fox movies and TV shows, while Rupert Murdoch and his company maintained control over Fox’s sports and news channels. All told, Disney spent $71.3 billion to secure the rights to Fox’s catalog. The studio, 20th Century Fox, was renamed to 20th Century Studios, and the various programs slowly began moving to Disney+ and Hulu, a process that is still ongoing due to licensing deals with various other streamers. That’s likely why, in the U.S., only “Live Free or Die Hard” is streaming on Disney+, while the other films in the legendary action series must be sought out elsewhere (for example, “A Good Day to Die Hard” is on HBO Max).<\/p>\n Even so, a ton of Fox movies and shows are currently streaming on Disney+, from James Cameron’s “Avatar” films, the “Home Alone” movies, and Fox’s Marvel slate, which includes the “X-Men”\u00a0and “Fantastic Four” movies, as well as “Daredevil” and “Elektra.”<\/p>\n In the years following the sale, some 20th Century Studios films went straight to Hulu. One has to wonder if movies like “Prey” and “Eenie Meanie” would have been box office hits if they had the chance to play at 2,500 theaters across the country instead of being relegated to streaming. There are also a ton of Fox TV shows that now live on Disney+, such as “The Simpsons,” “24,” “Family Guy,” and “Hell’s Kitchen,” among many others.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n 20th Century Studios wasn’t the only movie studio Disney purchased during its Fox acquisition. It also got Fox Searchlight, which is now known as Searchlight Pictures. This was Fox’s “indie” studio, which focused on quirkier films that were less expensive than the average blockbuster and had more arthouse sensibilities, targeted towards niche demographics. Even so, the studio had both critical and commercial success with movies like “Slumdog Millionaire,” “12 Years a Slave,” “Birdman,”\u00a0and “The Shape of Water,” all of which won the Oscar for Best Picture and were global box office hits.<\/p>\n Due to licensing deals with other streamers, not every Searchlight movie is on Disney+ (“The Shape of Water,” for example, is on HBO Max), but there is a healthy selection of new and classic Searchlight movies that can currently be streamed on Disney+ and Hulu, including “Napoleon Dynamite,” “Bend It Like Beckham,” “Rental Family,”\u00a0and “The Roses,” among others. Presumably, as the aforementioned licensing deals expire, more and more Searchlight films will make their way home to Disney+ and Hulu.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n When the Marvel Cinematic Universe began, Marvel Studios produced its films independently, with distribution help from outside partners. To this day, if you watch any MCU film from 2008’s “Iron Man” all the way through 2013’s “Iron Man 3,” they all begin with the Paramount logo, even on Disney+. The only exception to this rule is “The Incredible Hulk,” which was distributed by Universal.<\/p>\n In 2009, Disney purchased Marvel Entertainment\u00a0for $4 billion, which meant that the House of Mouse had full distribution rights to all MCU films from 2013’s “Thor: The Dark World” onward. Well, mostly. There are a few characters whose rights are tied up with other studios. Spider-Man, for example, is partially owned by Sony Pictures, which is why the MCU Spider-Man movies are technically co-productions while other Spider-Man projects, like Spider-Noir, are solo Sony ventures<\/a>.\u00a0Then there’s the X-Men and Fantastic 4, the rights to which sat with Fox for the longest time. However, when Disney bought Fox’s assets, they got those characters back, which led to the release of 2025’s “Fantastic Four:\u00a0First Steps” and the slow introduction of Mutants into the MCU.<\/p>\n In any case, there’s a ton of Marvel movies, TV shows, and animation streaming on Disney+, including the entire MCU, classic cartoons like the ’90s “Spider-Man” series, and even 2005’s “Elektra,” which few would argue is a classic, but it’s still nice that it’s there. “Deadpool &\u00a0Wolverine,” released in 2024, poked fun at the whole situation in a meta way, even going so far as to have Jennifer Garner return as Elektra alongside Aaron Stanford, Tyler Mane, and \u2014 of course \u2014 Hugh Jackman from the “X-Men” movies as Deadpool made his proper MCU debut, crossing over from the Fox universe.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n Back when Pixar made “Toy Story,”\u00a0the first feature-length movie made entirely using computer animation, the studio was not owned by Disney, but worked alongside them to develop the project. Following the smashing success of “Toy Story,”\u00a0Pixar quickly signed a five-movie deal with Disney, which carried the studio through to “The Incredibles.”\u00a0After the deal ended (and following the critical failure of Disney Animation’s “Chicken Little”), Disney purchased Pixar outright.<\/p>\n For a time, Pixar created hits like “Wall-E” and “Up” while Disney Animation Studios struggled with middling performers like “Bolt” and “Meet the Robinsons.” These days, thankfully, Disney Animation has found its footing with movies like “Frozen,” “Zootopia,” and “Coco” (which is getting a sequel)<\/a>, while Pixar just released “Toy Story 5,”\u00a0which opened to a stellar $312 million during its global opening weekend.<\/p>\n Pretty much every Disney Animation and Pixar movie ever made can be found streaming on Disney+, along with a ton of Pixar shorts from across the studio’s history and Disney+ exclusives like “Forky Asks a Question.” So, if you want to catch up on the entire “Toy Story” saga, you can do so from the original “Tin Toy” short all the way through to the often-overlooked “Lightyear.” Curiously, the cult-classic Disney Channel series, “Buzz Lightyear of Star Command,” is nowhere to be found on any streaming service. Perhaps, as a traditionally animated spin-off series produced entirely by Disney without Pixar’s input, that series may represent a contentious chapter in the occasionally tense relationship between Pixar and Disney.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n
<\/p>\nABC<\/h2>\n
ESPN+<\/h2>\n
National Geographic<\/h2>\n
Freeform<\/h2>\n
FX\/FXX<\/h2>\n
20th Century Studios<\/h2>\n
Searchlight Pictures<\/h2>\n
Marvel<\/h2>\n
Pixar<\/h2>\n