Why Disney+ is the streaming service you never knew you needed

Having grown out of DuckTales around 18 months ago (what?), I had genuine doubts about the need for a dedicated Disney+ streaming service. Especially after Blu-ray hoarder, Craig Grannell, suggested the platform’s problems stemmed from a catalogue of shows that didn’t really offer anything new.

Perhaps that was down to subscription fatigue after all, because having spent a month in the company of Disney+, at a time when we’re all in need of never-ending home entertainment, the choice of content – from Star Wars, Pixar, Marvel, National Geographic and Disney itself – has been plentiful.

Take May 4th; Star Wars Day. You can now stream all of the Skywalker Saga, including Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. There’s the finale episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and the first season of Star Wars Resistance.

I’ve not even mentioned The Mandalorian yet, so not only is there the entire first season of that to gorge on, but the global premiere of Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian too. And yes, I’ve selected a custom Star Wars avatar for my lockdown login profile – Jabba the Hutt seems appropriate right now.

On Marvel, the astronomical price of purchasing any of the Avengers movies alone makes the £5.99 monthly fee worthwhile. The same goes for Pixar films, and being able to drip feed Disney movies at will to an entire household.

Over 50m subscribers in just five months shows the magic of Disney clearly hasn’t dissipated, even if Nat Geo shows like World’s Greatest Dogs are now part of the spell.

Somehow, though, Disney+ gives Nat Geo more focus. Before, I skipped past it on the EPG without a second glance, but now it’s in my face, there really are some truly killer shows.

The World According to Jeff Goldblum is a must-watch. Like a Louis Theroux doc only the presenter is stranger than the subject matter, Goldblum goes in search of the conventional in his own unconventional style.

Sneakers, tattoos and gaming are among the topics covered in a first series where it feels as though Goldblum has turned up on the day, Googled it, and relied on his charm to get by. It’s a ballsy way of covering up the fact you can’t be bothered, but it totally works.

Of course, if you don’t consider Disney, Marvel or Pixar et al to be your ‘universe’, there’s a toe-dipping seven-day trial to help you discover one, plus an intuitive app and UI available across multiple platforms and devices to help you narrow down your preferences. If you don’t try, you won’t know.