What We Watched on Disney + in March
We are so grateful that Disney + came out when it did. I love the content that my son has been able to watch while I clean the house, and now that we’re home more often due to COVID-19 I’m even more thankful for the variety of shows that I feel comfortable showing my kids. I’m also loving rediscover old films that I watched as a child and now get to share with our kids.
Our, new, normal routine for TV watching is each weekday the kids get to watch one show while I’m doing some house work. On Friday afternoons, I pick a movie for us to watch together. Together means myself and our two older kids. On Saturday night, it’s Movie Night. We’ve been doing Movie Night for years now, and we used to watch the Disney films in chronological order. But now with all the movies at our finger tips, we are watching movies we’ve never had our hands on before. So take a look at what we’ve been watching on Disney +.
Kids TV Shows
Disney Frozen LEGO Northern Lights.
These are shorts, they run just over 5 minutes. The kids have only watched a couple. Normally we shut off the TV after one episode of a show, but with the Frozen 2 soundtrack on constant rotation I threw these on to mix up the Frozen tale a bit.
Lion Guard.
Our kids LOVE this show. With only three seasons, I’ve had to get them to pull back from watching everyday. They will soon run out of Lion Guard episodes. It’s a great show for our two kiddos because they are a boy and a girl; Lion Guard is gender neutral. They also love the songs that are featured in the show and the adventure. I love that they learn about different animals habits. It’s an entertaining show with a hidden educational element.
Jake and the Neverland Pirates.
This is one that Lincoln, our middle child, has been watching for a few months on his own when his sister is at school. He likes that there’s two stories in each episode, so he feels like he gets to watch two shows in one. He also loves the hilarity of Captain Hook and Smee.
Elena of Avalor.
Our kids have yet to watch this together. Our daughter has chosen it a couple times when her brother hasn’t been around. It has more adventure than the other female dominated shows, with mythical creatures and somewhat dangerous escapades. I like Elena, she’s a strong female lead, learning to lead her own way and trusting her instincts.
The Clone Wars.
This is an animated series is based on the time between Star Wars Episode 2 and Episode 3. It tells of the adventures Anakin and Obi-Wan Kenobi have. They like to watch the shows with their lightsabers and pretend to fight the bad guys when they appear on the screen.
Kids Movie Night.
The kids watched Frozen 2 a bunch of time when it was first released on Blu-Ray and DVD, we didn’t wait for it to be released on Disney +. The kids rationalized that we wouldn’t be able to watch it in the van if we didn’t have a copy. Little did we know that we wouldn’t be able to travel anywhere for a very long time. So we’ve decided, because Frozen 2 has been such a hit, we’re going to watch sequels for the foreseeable future.
Little Mermaid 2.
This was our daughter’s choice. She’s been wanting to watch this since we first got Disney + but none of us were really on board. But with us watching sequels for the next while she finally got to watch this straight to DVD film. To my surprise it wasn’t that bad. The film is about Ariel’s daughter, who longs to become a mermaid. There’s a few new characters and all the old favourites. There’s many of the same vocal talent. It was a hit with our kiddos.
Cars 2.
Our son, Lincoln is a big Cars fan. Cars 3 was the first film he ever saw in theatres and he’s watched it numerous times since. Recently, the kids have watched the first Cars film on a couple of road trips so the love of the Radiator Springs characters has escalated. So when Lincoln was able to pick which movie we’d be watching he jumped at the chance to watch the second Cars movie. Which has so many funny parts, the whole family was laughing.
Family Movie Afternoon
Apple Dumpling Gang.
I had never seen this movie before but was familiar with the title from it being referenced so much in pop culture. I didn’t quite know what to expect but was hoping it was a movie that me and our older two kids could enjoy. The movie is about three young kids who are taken in by a bachelor who knows nothing about kids. The movie is fun and humours with some slapstick humour that the kids laughed along with. A week later, our son is still referring to different scenes that played out in the movie. So I’d say it was a hit.
Swiss Family Robinson.
This was one of my favourites as a child. I have fond memories of watching it on the Disney channel and couldn’t wait to share it with the kids. It’s an adventurous tale of a family who’s shipwrecked on what appears to be a deserted island. The family must build a home to survive while they wait to be rescued. The movie is all about family love and support. The one thing I didn’t expect that I would warn others about when watching this film is the animal cruelty. There are a few scenes where the youngest child captures a wild animal to keep as a pet. Because this film was made in the 60’s it’s very clear that the animals would have been submitted to some harm. This opened up an opportunity to talk to our kids about how times change and we are constantly learning how to be better to each other and to the world around us. This film doesn’t have any music and I wasn’t sure if it would hold our kids attention but it was another hit.
The Love Bug.
We’ve had a book version of The Love Bug for a couple years and it was a popular nighttime story choice for too long. So the first day we sat down for a Family Movie Afternoon, this was the movie I picked. The film differed from the book version we have greatly. There’s more adult content than I expected, with a trip to “lover’s lane” by the two main characters. Nothing happens and that part of the story totally blew over the kids head but I certainly hadn’t expected there to be that much of a love story in a Disney film. The kids were happy to see the actor from Mary Poppins and Bedknobs and Broomsticks to be in the movie. I would certainly only recommend this movie if you are able to sit and watch the movie with your kids. It’s a movie for the whole family not just the kids.
We will certainly be watching a whole lot more Disney + through the month of April. Can’t wait to watch Onward and some other old family favourites.
