Come Christmas day, we will officially be two Pixar films deep into quarantine.
Way back in March, right before the pandemic made the idea of going to see a movie in the theater as laughable and ill-advised as trying to have a reasonable discussion about politics with your in-laws, Disney released Pixars Onward, a very cute movie about two elf brothers on a quest through a modern, monster-filled world in search of a way to bring their dead dad back to life, if only for a day. It underperformed at the box office, which will happen when all the box offices are closed, but served as a nice treat when Disney decided to drop it onto its Disney+ streaming service a few short months later.
With disease levels spiking and theaters still closed, the Mouse has made the no-doubt painful decision to drop its big winter animated release, Pixars Soul, straight to Disney+, forgoing theaters (and hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue) entirely. Its hard to be too happy about the circumstancesbut on the other hand, maybe now is exactly the time for a movie with this message.
Soul (premiering Dec. 25) stars Jaimie Foxx as a talented musician who dies suddenly and accidentally winds up not in the afterlife, but in the beforelifethe place where souls hang out until they are born on Earth. There, he has to convince a reluctant soul that its life-to-come will be worth the struggle. (Considering the year weve had, Im not so sure I agree.)
Otherwise, Disney+ is adding a few more original films to its meager content lineup this month, celebrating the season with a Frozen-themed Yule Log, and finishing off the second season of The Mandalorian. Heres the full rundown.
Series with new episodes premiering weekly in December
- The Mandalorian (Season finale 12/18)
- On Pointe (Docu-series premiere 12/18)
- The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse
Movies and complete series coming in December
December 4
- Anastasia
- Big
- Big Sharks Rule
- Godmothered (Disney+ Original premiere)
- Man vs. Shark
- The Nutcracker and the Four Realms
- Sky High
December 11
- Disney Channels Epic Holiday Showdown
- Disney Holiday Magic Quest
- Gender Revolution: A Journey with Katie Couric
- High School Musical: The Holiday Special (Disney+ Original premiere)
- Ralph Breaks the Internet
- Safety (Disney+ Original premiere)
December 18
- Arendelle Castle Yule Log
- Buried Truth of the Maya
- Cosmos: Possible Worlds (Season 1)
- Disney Channel Holiday House Party
- Disney Parks Sunrise Series (Season 1)
- Disney Rapunzels Tangled Adventure (Season 3)
- Dorys Reef Cam
- Eddie the Eagle
- Into the Woods
- Miraculous World: New York, United Heroez
December 25
- Burrow (Disney+ Original Pixar short film premiere)
- Max Keebles Big Move
- Soul (Film premiere)
This post is updated every month with new Disney+ listings.read more
