Spend the Holidays Streaming Your Favorites on Disney+
The holiday season has officially arrived!
You’ll likely find yourself with ample free time and more than a few stressful moments over the next two weeks. That’s how the holidays work.
Whenever you want to pass the time or relieve your stress, Disney+ is there for you.
As a subscriber, you can and should spend the holidays streaming your favorites on Disney+. Here are a few recommendations.
Arendelle Castle Yule Log
Sometimes, you’ll want something on the background while you have family and friends visiting.
On other occasions, you may desire the ambiance of a fireplace without all the aggravation of maintaining/cleaning it.
The Arendelle Castle Yule Log is perfect for such instances, as it’ll provide a lovely Frozen backdrop, one that will warm your heart if not your body.
Christmas with Walt Disney
I accidentally watched this the day it came out. When I loaded Disney+, it was one of my suggestions, as I often watch holiday content.Only later did I realize that Christmas with Walt Disney had just debuted on the service. And I strongly encourage you to watch.
I say this because I find Disney+ a bit lacking in Disney/theme park history, a part of its library that should be easy to populate.
Also, where else can you watch Walt Disney fall down while trying to skate? It humanizes the brilliant storyteller to watch him taking a bump on the ice.
Dashing Through the Snow
I’ve been a Ludacris fan for ages, mostly because we root for the same sports teams.
However, I had to laugh when I heard that the musician and Fast and the Furious franchise star was doing a Disney film.
Nothing in his career up until this moment had hinted at this role, but I’m really glad he did it.
Ludacris stars as a father who stopped believing in Santa after a Mall Santa robbed his house.
Now, the parent is struggling through a separation when he and his daughter encounter someone named…Nick. Yeah, you can guess what that stands for.
Sure enough, events unfold that make Ludacris believe again. Yes, it’s corny, but this film co-stars Lil Rel Howerey and Teyonah Parris. And they’re both VERY funny people.
Decorating Disney: Holiday Magic
Each year, as soon as the clock strikes midnight on All Hallow’s Eve, Disney wizards go to work.
No, they’re not doing anything nefarious during the witching hour. In fact, it’s exactly the opposite.
Disney has turned holiday decoration conversion into an art and a science.
People go to sleep on Halloween and then awaken on November 1st to discover Christmas/Hanukkah decorations everywhere.
This overnight transformation is as magical as Disney gets.
During this 45-minute special, you can watch the behind-the-scenes process for Disney cast members to build gingerbread houses and other marvels.
I highly recommend this one for Disney park fans.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Christmas Cabin Fever
A few years ago, a live-action version of Diary of a Wimpy Kid proved popular, but its sequels weren’t as lucrative.
Disney took up the premise of the graphic novels by telling the story in animated form, which works better.
During this Christmas story, Greg and his family get snowed in, forcing them to spend every second of the holidays together. And yes, Rodrick is there, too.
The Disney Holiday Singalong
At a time when Disney was short on new content in 2020, it turned to some of its favorite celebrities to save the day.
Artists like Chloe and Halle Bailey, Andrea Bocelli, and Michael Buble saved the day by performing covers of all your favorite holiday music.
You may think you love Do You Wanna Build a Snowman already, but you’ll adore it that much more when you hear Chloe x Halle sing it.
When you want some background music, THIS is the clear choice.
Disney’s Prep & Landing
This is the fifth Disney+ holiday viewing guide I’ve written, one for each year that the streaming service has operated.
The only title I’ve listed in each one is Disney’s Prep & Landing, which goes a long way in describing how I feel about these two animated episodes.
This life-affirming story involves a noble elf who has provided children with toys for many years.
His name is Wade, and he just found out that he didn’t get a promotion. So, he grumpily has his trainee, Lanny, do all the work on Christmas Eve.
Before the night ends, you can guess what will happen. Wade remembers that he has the best job in the world and wouldn’t trade it for anything.
In a sequel, we meet Wade’s loud-mouthed brother, and the two fight right up until they show how much they love each other.
A cynic would dismiss the stories as predictable, but we watch both every holiday season. They’re our favorites.
Frozen
I don’t want to go overboard on Frozen this year, but let’s be honest. It’s a holiday classic for a reason.
Arendelle comes to life as we meet two princesses forced apart by a quick of nature.
Thanks to an act of true love, they’re able to reunite, thereby saving the kingdom in the process.
During the 21st century, I’d argue that Disney animation has told four perfect stories. They are Lilo & Stitch, Tangled, Moana, and…Frozen.
You gotta watch it during the holidays! It’s the rule!
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has completed the saga, at least director James Gunn’s version.
Before the director left for DC Studios, he left behind this treasure. It evaluates the concepts of the holidays and family through the lens of aliens.
The Old 97’s have created an amazing song that doubles as a takedown of many established pieces of Christmas folklore.
But the story isn’t as silly as you might expect. At its core, this holiday special reveals a truth about Peter Quill’s family that will make you emotional.
Whenever people dismiss the MCU as slipping, they must ignore brilliant storytelling triumphs like this one and Werewolf by Night and Loki season two and…well, you get the point.
Home Alone
During the first week of November, 4.2 million people watched Home Alone on Disney+…and that was early November!
So, you don’t need me to tell you that you’ll maintain a holiday tradition by watching Home Alone. It’s inevitable.
The Muppet Christmas Carol
If I didn’t include The Muppets Christmas Carol on this list, my wife would change the locks on our house.
So, in the interest of holiday peace and love, I’ll encourage you to watch The Muppets Christmas Carol, even if Muppets Haunted Mansion is night and day better.
There. I said it.
The Santa Clauses
This season features the always delightful Eric Stonestreet as a character called – I kid you not – Mad Santa.
I love this concept so much that I’ll probably root for Mad Santa over Tim Allen and the kid intended to replace him as Santa Claus. Not even joking.
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