This week, Disney announced specifics regarding its global roll-out of Star — a “general entertainment” slate of films and series that will bring mature content to Disney+ in most countries worldwide.

Among the biggest surprises: over 80 family-friendly titles long requested by U.S. subscribers, such as comedian Steve Martin’s Father of the Bride franchise, ABC’s Galavant musical series, and Disney’s big-budget take on King Arthur, are being released on Star while still missing from Disney+ in the U.S.

Disney’s “Mature Content” Strategy

It underlines how confusing Disney’s streaming strategy for mature titles has become. All global subscribers of Disney+ will pay for Star titles, as monthly subscriptions fees will increase in tandem with Star’s rollout. Subscribers who choose not to opt-in and unlock Star titles, which include some rated-R films and TV-MA series, will still have to pay the higher monthly subscription fee.

In the U.S., Hulu is currently the streaming home for Disney-owned mature titles. Now that Star release lists for various nations are out, the crossover of Hulu content with Star can be readily seen. However, hundreds of mature titles on Star are not releasing concurrently on Hulu. Further, and more concerning to Disney+ U.S. subscribers, over 80 family-friendly films and series included in the Star list remain unavailable on Disney+ in the U.S.

Importantly, Disney+ has already defined what sort of titles are acceptable on their family-friendly service: action films like James Cameron’s Avatar, rom-coms like 10 Things I Hate About You, mature science-fiction fare like Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, suspenseful soap opera/dramas like Once Upon A Time, and comedies like Three Men and A Baby.

All of those titles have some explicit language or violence or mature situations. Families that don’t want young children to access these titles can switch them over to a Kids profile, where these films or series don’t appear.

Coming to Star, Missing On Disney+ U.S.

With the global rollout of Star, Disney is essentially telling U.S. subscribers: “We’re throwing a party, but you’re not invited.”

The most egregious aspect is how many family-friendly films and series, requested since launch by loyal Disney+ subscribers, are now rolling out via Star. In a few cases, titles are currently licensed out to HBO Max or another service, but other streaming contracts don’t affect most of these titles.

Using the Australia/New Zealand Star launch list as a starting point, here are 85 films and series still inexplicably missing on Disney+ in the U.S. (Note: see the full list of Over 700 Missing Disney+ Titles.)

Movies

  • 27 Dresses (20th Century, 2008)
  • 500 Days of Summer (2009) Searchlight Pictures
  • A Gift of Miracles (ABC, 2015)
  • The Alamo (20th Century, 2004) Produced by Ron Howard, Directed by John Lee Hancock
  • Anna and the King (20th Century, 1999)
  • Antwone Fisher (2002)
  • Armageddon (1998) Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer
  • The Book Thief (2013)
  • Breakthrough (2019)
  • The Call of the Wild (2020)
  • Cocoon: The Return (1988)
  • The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008) Directed by Scott Derrickson
  • The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
  • Edward Scissorhands (1990) Directed by Tim Burton
  • The Family Stone (2005)
  • Father of the Bride (Touchstone, 1991) Starring Steve Martin, Martin Short, Diane Keaton
  • Father of the Bride, Part II (Touchstone, 1995)
  • The Fault In Our Stars (2014)
  • Flight of the Phoenix (2004)
  • Hidalgo (2004)
  • Hope Floats (1998)
  • The Hundred-Foot Journey (Touchstone, 2014) Produced by Steven Spielberg
  • Jingle All the Way (1996)
  • Just Wright (2010) Starring Queen Latifah, Common
  • King Arthur (2004) Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer
  • Like Mike (2002)
  • The Martian (2015) Starring Matt Damon
  • The Maze Runner (2014)
  • Megan Leavey (2017)
  • Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie (1995)
  • Mission to Mars (2000)
  • The Newton Boys (1998)
  • Paper Towns (2015)
  • Pearl Harbor (2001) Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer
  • The Preacher’s Wife (1996) Starring Denzel Washington, Whitney Houston
  • The Proposal (Touchstone, 2009)
  • Quiz Show (1994) Directed by Robert Redford
  • Rebound (2005)
  • Rio (Blue Sky Studios, 2011)
  • Rio 2 (2014) Produced by Blue Sky Studios
  • Sea of Shadows (NatGeo, 2019)
  • The Secret Life of Bees (2008)
  • The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013)
  • A Simple Twist of Fate (1994) Starring Steve Martin
  • Spies in Disguise (2019) Produced by Blue Sky Studios
  • Step (2017, Searchlight Pictures)
  • Sweet Home Alabama (2002)
  • Titan A.E. (2000) Directed by Don Bluth
  • Tolkien (2019) Released by Searchlight Pictures
  • Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie (1997, 20th Century)
  • Viva Zapata! (1952)
  • Walk the Line (2005)
  • War Horse (2011) DreamWorks/Touchstone

Series 

  • 10 Things I Hate About You (ABC Family, 2009-2010)
  • 8 Simple Rules (ABC, 2002-2005, 3 seasons)
  • The 80’s Greatest (NatGeo, 2018)
  • The 90’s Greatest (NatGeo, 2019)
  • The ’90s: The Last Great Decade? (NatGeo, 2014)
  • According to Jim (ABC, 2001-2009)
  • Army Wives (ABC/Lifetime, 2007-2013)
  • The Astronaut Wives Club (ABC, 2015)
  • Black-ish (ABC, 2014-present)
  • Blossom (Touchstone TV, 1990-1995)
  • Brothers & Sisters (ABC, 2006-2011)
  • Buried Secrets of World War II (NatGeo, 2019)
  • Castle (ABC, 2009-2016, 8 Seasons) Starring Nathan Fillion, Stana Katic, Susan Sullivan
  • Firefly (20th Century TV, 2002-2003) Starring Nathan Fillion
  • Fresh off the Boat (ABC, 2015-2020)
  • Galavant (ABC, 2015-2016)
  • Genius: Einstein (NatGeo, 2017) Co-produced by Imagine Entertainment
  • Genius: Picasso (NatGeo, 2018) Co-produced by Imagine Entertainment
  • Heroes of the Long Road Home (NatGeo, 2017)
  • Inside North Korea’s Dynasty (NatGeo, 2018)
  • Kyle XY (ABC Family, 2006-2009)
  • Last Man Standing (20th Century TV, 2011-Present)
  • Mars (NatGeo, 2016-2018)
  • Marvel’s Cloak And Dagger (2018-2019)
  • My Wife And Kids (ABC, 2001-2005)
  • North Korea: From the Inside (NatGeo, 2019-2020) with Michael Palin
  • The Orville (20th Century TV, 2017-present)
  • The Real O’Neals (ABC, 2016-2017, 2 Seasons)
  • Single Parents (ABC, 2018-2020)
  • Son of Zorn (20th Century TV, 2016-2017)
  • Witness to Disaster (NatGeo, 2019-2020)
What films and series do you hope will soon release on Disney+? Join the dialogue and leave a comment below.
For the latest Disney+ news, follow us on TwitterFacebook, and Instagram.



Josh Shepherd

Freelance journalist Josh M. Shepherd covers culture and family entertainment for several media outlets. A graduate of the University of Colorado, he lives in the Washington, D.C. area.

Related Article

7 Comments

  1. Michael January 28, 2021

    Nice list, Josh. You think you could add Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Futurama, Bob’s Burgers, and movies from Planet of the Apes. Those contents are rated PG-13 and it will very much appeal to older but appropriate audiences.

    1. Philip February 27, 2021

      And How I Met Your Mother, Maclolm in the Middle, the Taken trilogy, Grey's Anatomy, etc

  2. Ernesto Chacon January 29, 2021

    I don't think ALL of these family-friendly titles will be available on Star, in fact, some of these family-friendly titles are already on Disney+ in the US and especially International markets. Even the Book of Life which was heavily featured under the Star promotion is coming to the standard Disney+ in the United States.

    1. Philip February 27, 2021

      I think thats the point hes mabye also trying to make, Disney is being very confusing with their advertising, and Book of Life was quite literally just added, but yeah, there are plenty of kid freindly titles advertised for Star. And theres a difference between "kid friendly" and "family friendly" which Disney hasnt figured out yet, and so far Disney+ is only "kid friendly" and not "family friendly"

  3. Ernesto Chacon January 29, 2021

    I also would like to let you know that Glee and Kyle XY will be available on Disney+ Latin America instead of Star+ for Latin America, so some series and titles won't be exclusives via the Star add-on in international Disney+ services. https://twitter.com/DisneyGrillasLA/status/1352788241230012416

  4. Kallis January 30, 2021

    I'm eagarly waiting for The legend of tarzan, Aladdin animated series, goosebumps,buzz lightyear ,lyod in space

  5. Philip February 27, 2021

    Its very freaking simple Disney, grow some goddamn balls, if its TV-14, PH-13 or under, it goes to Disney+, if theres an extended cut of one of those films, it goes to to Disney+ uncensored. And if its Marvel or Star Wars, it goes to Disney+ no matter the rating. And uncensor all of the censored content on Disney+, its stupid and fix the ratings, if its a short or a movie, it should be rated Unrated, G, PG, or PG-13, if its a show, or shorts series, it should be rated TV-UN, TV-Y7-FV, TV-Y7, TV-Y, TV-G, TV-PG, or TV-14. Theres already TV-14 content on Disney+ which is more mature than TV-PG, which means that all of the TV-PG shows and below sure as hell better go to Disney+ and not to Hulu