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Lead Critic for the site, as well as serving as an editor when needed.
This past Tuesday, November 12, Disney officially released their streaming platform, Disney+ in the United States, Canada and the Netherlands.
In this article, as the title suggests, I will present my first impressions of the streaming service and all it offers after playing around with it and viewing a couple shows and movies since launch.
When I first launched the application, right off the bat I was impressed with the simple color scheme of the home screen and the layout of everything offered on the platform.
The home screen is very unique when comparing it to Netflix, Hulu or Amazon Prime Video. At the top of the screen is a sliding view of various shows or films offered on Disney+ and I’ve noticed that the films or shows displayed can be different everyday, while some displayed can be the same as a past day but regardless that is one small thing I really enjoy about Disney+.
On the left hand side of the home screen users can access a side bar which lets them choose from a search bar, the watchlist, movies, series or originals offered on Disney+. Something else I really enjoy is when selecting one of those tabs from the side bar, at the top of the screen is another set of selections to choose from that are the alphabetical order of that section, or various genres in that particular section of the sidebar.
Below the sliding view is five different selections of things available to watch. The selections are “Disney,” “Pixar,” “Marvel,” “Star Wars” and “National Geographic.” Disney+ is very much its own service because Disney did a complete 180 with the way customers pick something to watch. The little things about this service are what I really like about it.
When highlighting one of the five sections, a small animation is shown behind the words that goes in tandem with that particular section. For example, if highlighting over the “Marvel” tab, the comic book introduction that is shown before every MCU film is animated, another small feature I like about Disney+.
When it comes to what is offered on the service, the possibilities are almost endless. Only sixteen of the current twenty-three MCU films are available on the platform for now, due to various streaming agreements with other services that has MCU films not offered on Disney+. Also in the “Marvel” section are various animated TV shows from Disney and Marvel. A few to mention are Ultimate Spider-Man starring Drake Bell, the fan favorite 1990s Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, and the 1990s X-Men TV series.
The “Pixar” tab offers a good amount of Pixar films and shorts as well. Some of the ones I recommend you check out first are Ratatouille, Inside Out, and the Cars films. One thing I really enjoy in this section, along with some of the others, are various shorts and documentaries about those particular sections and history of them.
Another small thing I like about Disney+ is when users pick a show or film to watch there is a scroll bar below the play button. This bar includes suggested viewing of similar shows or films, an extras tab with trailers and my personal favorite, a details tab that displays the premise of the show or film and the cast and crew. It really is the little things with this platform that are going to keep me hooked for years.
I have yet to experience any crashing or bugs in Disney+ which is a huge plus (no pun intended) to the overall experience of the application and viewing experience. The fact that there are no adds is really nice because one of people’s hugest complaints with Hulu is the adds between viewing of shows. I also enjoy the weekly episodes that Disney is doing with The Mandalorian and that they plan to do with other shows they put out on Disney+.
I could go on about how great this application is even with just three days of using Disney+ but for the moment this is all I have to tell. I highly recommend buying this app, or like most people, borrowing a friend or loved one’s login information.
Overall, the content on Disney+ is great and the operation is smooth and easy to use. This was a great addition to the streaming platforms to choose from and I’m not saying you should drop Netflix, Hulu or whatever else you use but what I am saying is that you should try out Disney+ and see how it works for you. I know I’ll be sticking with Disney+ for years to come.
Have you been binging Disney+ since launch or are you still on the fence about buying it? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments and keep it right here for more TV and film news!
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I’m on Twitter and Instagram @zekewestin999 and we are on Twitter @TheCinemaSpot and on Instagram @thecinemaspot_
Lead Critic for the site, as well as serving as an editor when needed.
