9 must-watch shows and films on Disney+

Disney+ launched in Singapore on Feb 23 with content from its six brands: Disney, Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, National Geographic and Star. 

With over 650 films and 15,000 episodes of content, subscribers will be spoilt for choice.

To help narrow down your overwhelming options, here are nine shows you should catch on Disney+. 

WandaVision is set three weeks after the events of Avengers: Endgame. 

The show features the couple Wanda Maximoff and Vision, played by their original movie actors Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany respectively. They try to conceal their powers by living the idyllic suburban life in Westview, but things are not as they seem. 

The first episode came out on Jan 15 and the last episode is set to air on Mar 5.

Raya and the Last Dragon is an action-adventure fantasy film set for release on Mar 5. 

Set in the fantasy land of Kumadra, who is inspired by Southeast Asian cultures, the movie features Raya trying to track down the last dragon to stop sinister monsters Druun for good. 

The movie has a predominantly Asian-American cast, including notable names Kelly Marie Tran, Awkwafina, Gemma Chan and Daniel Dae Kim. 

The first live-action series in the Star Wars franchise, The Mandalorian begins five years after the events in the 1983 movie Return of the Jedi and the fall of the Galactic Empire. 

The show follows Din Djarin, a lone reputed Mandalorian bounty hunter, who accepts a mysterious commission to bring a body – yes, that little green fella – back alive.

The reception of the first season was exceptional, winning seven Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards. The show’s third season is currently in the works and three spin-off shows have been announced.

High School Musical: The Musical: The Series is a mockumentary musical drama that takes place in the fictional East High School, the exact same school the High School Musical movies were shot in. 

To celebrate the school’s affiliation with the original film, the new drama teacher stages a production of High School Musical: The Musical. 

Olivia Rodrigo – whose song driver’s license recently went viral – plays the lead role of Nini Salazar-Roberts, alongside co-star Joshua Bassett who plays Ricky Bowen.

The show is set for a second season, where the students will perform the musical Beauty and the Beast.

Not all musicals contain long, drawn-out ballads. Hamilton is a sung-and-rap-through musical that contains genres such as hip-hop, R&B, pop and soul. 

The musical, which is about one of America’s founding fathers Alexander Hamilton, won a total of 12 Tony awards. 

The movie was initially to be released on Oct 15 this year, but its release date was pushed forward to Jul 3, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Instead of watching full-length movies, what about watching some iconic Pixar-original short films?

Disney+ has all Pixar shorts, including Bao, which is about a Chinese-Canadian mother who receives a second chance at parenthood when a bun she made comes to life.

Disney+ also features shorts from Pixar’s SparkShorts programme, which gives Pixar employees six months and a limited budget to develop short films. These shorts have been praised for their more mature themes compared to typical Pixar productions.

For the first and only time so far, singer-songwriter Taylor Swift performed all the songs from her album folklore.

 folklore: the long pond studio sessions is a Disney+ exclusive documentary concert film. She performs stripped-back versions of the songs from her 8th studio album in an intimate setting.  

Just like a real concert, there are breaks in between her performances, where she discusses the meanings behind her songs and talks about her life.

Developed by National Geographic, The World According to Jeff Goldblum is a docu-series where actor Jeff Goldblum “explores the world” without doing any prior research. 

He learns more about various topics – from sneakers to ice cream – by chatting with influencers and experts who have broad knowledge about the subjects.

ABC drama series Big Sky will be released under Disney+ as a “Star Original”. 

 The thriller features private detectives Cassie Dewell and Cody Hoyt, who are joined by Cody Hoyt’s estranged wife and ex-cop Jenny Hoyt. 

The trio are on the search for two kidnapped sisters when they discover that those are not the only girls who have mysteriously disappeared in the area. They must race against time to stop the killer before another woman is taken. 

At $11.98 a month or $119.98 a year, be sure to make the best of your Disney+ subscription by watching these recommendations. Happy streaming!