As 2019 draws to a close, it also means the end of a decade and Disney has dominated the decade in terms of movies as its franchises continue to pull in big numbers at the box office, due to the success of Marvel, Star Wars and its own animated movies.  So let’s take a look into the Disney+ back catalog and pull out some of the biggest and best movies from the past 10 years.

Toy Story 3

Easily my favourite Toy Story movie from Pixar as its about growing up since Andy’s toys haven’t been played with in years and when Andy goes to college, the gang find themselves accidentally left at a nefarious day care center. The toys must band together to escape and return home to Andy. With one scene that will no doubt bring a tear to your eye, this is a must watch.

Coco

One of favourite movies from recent years, Coco tells the story of Miguel, who dreams of becoming an accomplished musician like his idol, Ernesto de la Cruz, but his family have a ban on music.  Desperate to prove his talent, Miguel finds himself in the stunning and colorful Land of the Dead following a mysterious chain of events. Along the way, he meets charming trickster Hector, and together, they set off on an extraordinary journey to unlock the real story behind Miguel’s family history.   With some beautiful songs and a unique story, this one is well worth checking out.

Wreck It Ralph

As a huge video game fan, this movie is right up my street, with lots of small references to classic video games, that take this to a different level! The story sees Wreck It Ralph travel to other video games because he is fed up with being the villain, which leads him to Vanellope von Schweetz in the kart racing game, Sugar Rush. But the whole game is put at risk from their actions. This is one of the most unique classic animated movies available and certainly one to watch.

Marvel Avengers: Endgame

The biggest blockbuster ever is set after the devastating events of Avengers: Infinity War, the universe is in ruins due to the efforts of the Mad Titan, Thanos. With the help of remaining allies, the Avengers must assemble once more in order to undo Thanos’ actions and restore order to the universe once and for all, no matter what consequences may be in store.     This is the biggest movie of all time according to the box office numbers and there can be little doubt that the Avengers dominated this decade, not even Thanos could stop this juggernaut.

Free Solo

Quite possibly one of the most scariest movies available on Disney+, this Oscar winning documentary tells follows Alex Honnold as he attempts to become the first person to ever free solo climb Yosemite’s 3,000 foot high El Capitan wall. This one will have you watching through your hands as he climbs with no ropes or safety gear, in what would arguably be the greatest feat in rock climbing history.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Possibly the best modern day Star Wars Movie, Rogue One tells the story of a rogue band of resistance fighters unite for a mission to steal the Death Star plans and bring a new hope to the galaxy. This movie perfectly fills in the gaps of what happened just prior to the events of the first Star Wars Movie. With lots of big action scenes, an interesting team of misfits and an epic Darth Vader scene. This is well worth checking out.

Inside Out

Growing up can be a bumpy road, and it’s no exception for Riley, who is uprooted from her Midwest life when her father starts a new job in San Francisco. Riley’s guiding emotions— Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness—live in Headquarters, the control centre inside Riley’s mind, where they help advise her through everyday life and tries to keep things positive, but the emotions conflict on how best to navigate a new city, house and school. Easily one of my favourite Pixar movies of all time, Inside Out delivers on a completely different level than other animated movies, the interactions between the 5 emotions is charming and hilarious.

Guardians Of The Galaxy

While many questioned if these lovable rogue characters could make it on the big screen when it was first announced, this movie started its own superhero team that delivered big on action, drama and comedy. Light years from Earth, 26 years after being abducted, Peter Quill finds himself the prime target of a manhunt after discovering an orb wanted by Ronan the Accuser. This is unlike anything we had seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and a must watch.

Tangled

Disney managed to retell the story of Rapunzel in a unique way that sees her strike a deal with the handsome thief and the unlikely duo sets off on an action-packed escapade, complete with a super-cop horse, an overprotective chameleon and a gruff gang of pub thugs. Personally this is my favourite Disney Princess movie because of the humour that the sidekicks and Flynn Rider bring to the story.

Moana

Easily one of my favourite modern animated movies and sees Moana answer the oceans call, taking to the seas to save her people from a terrible curse. The movie features Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as the Demigod Maui and his character really adds some great comedy moments. Moana delivers a awesome soundtrack including “Your Welcome” and “How Far I’ll Go”.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

The first Star Wars movie under the Disney banner delivers everything you could want from a Star Wars film, it is brand new but also has that nostalgic feel to it. Thirty years after defeating the Galactic Empire, Han Solo and his allies face a new threat from the evil Kylo Ren and his army of Stormtroopers. With brand new characters and fantastic visual effects, this movie reinvented Star Wars for a new generation.

Frozen

Anna, a fearless optimist, sets off on an epic journey – teaming up with rugged mountain man Kristoff and his loyal reindeer Sven – to find her sister Elsa, whose icy powers have trapped the kingdom of Arendelle in eternal winter. Encountering Everest-like conditions, mystical trolls and a hilarious snowman named Olaf, Anna and Kristoff battle the elements in a race to save the kingdom. From the outside Anna’s sister, Elsa looks poised, regal and reserved, but in reality, she lives in fear as she wrestles with a mighty secret-she was born with the power to create ice and snow. It’s a beautiful ability, but also extremely dangerous. Haunted by the moment her magic nearly killed her younger sister Anna, Elsa has isolated herself, spending every waking minute trying to suppress her growing powers. Her mounting emotions trigger the magic, accidentally setting off an eternal winter that she can’t stop. She fears she’s becoming a monster and that no one, not even her sister, can help her.  This movie was a juggernaut for Disney in the past decade, from the box office, merchandise, music and even on Broadway.  Frozen is one of the biggest hits for Disney in the past 10 years.

Marvel Avengers: Infinity War

It took 10 years and 18 movies to build towards this, but this movie brings together Earth’s Mightiest Heroes to battle Thanos and his Black Order, who plans on wiping out half the universe’s population, by uniting the 6 Infinity Stones and clicking his fingers!   A true epic and one that had an ending no-one expected.

(NOTE – Infinity War isn’t available on Disney+ in the US, but is available in some other countries).

Saving Mr Banks

This charming movie tells the story of Mary Poppins author, P.L Travers travelling to Hollywood as Walt Disney Pictures adapts her classic book into the movie we all know. It stars Tom Hanks as Walt Disney and Emma Thompson as P.L Travers. While it might sugar coat over the real story a little, it’s really enjoyable film and I loved the scene where they visited Disneyland.

Brave

Set in Scotland in a rugged and mythical time, “Brave” features Merida, an aspiring archer and impetuous daughter of royalty. Merida makes a reckless choice that unleashes unintended peril and forces her to spring into action to set things right.  Brave is often overlooked, but its easily one of my favourite Pixar movies, with the music especially standing out as a highlight.

The Muppets

When Kermit the Frog and the Muppets learn that their beloved theater is slated for demolition, a sympathetic human, Gary, and his puppet roommate, Walter, swoop in to help the gang put on a show and raise the $10 million they need to save the day.  After years of being away from the mainstream, Disney brought back the Muppets with this movie, its just a shame the TV series and sequel never managed to capture what this movie did.

Black Panther

One of the most important superhero movies to ever be made, with a awesome soundtrack and an impressive cast, this movie redefined origin stories.  The movie is set in the African country of Wakana and when King T’Challa returns home,  he soon finds that he is challenged for the throne by factions within his own country as well as without.  The Black Panther has to prevent Wakanda from being dragged into a world war.

(NOTE – Black Panther isn’t available on Disney+ in the US, but is available in some other countries).

Alice In Wonderland

Alice, an unpretentious and individual 19-year-old, is betrothed to a dunce of an English nobleman. At her engagement party, she escapes the crowd to consider whether to go through with the marriage and falls down a hole in the garden after spotting an unusual rabbit. Arriving in a strange and surreal place called ‘Underland,’ she finds herself in a world that resembles the nightmares she had as a child, filled with talking animals, villainous queens and knights, and frumious bandersnatches. Alice realizes that she is there for a reason – to conquer the horrific Jabberwocky and restore the rightful queen to her throne.  This movie is one of the major reasons we’ve seen so many live-action remakes in the past decade, because this one was so successful.

Zootopia

This is another fantastic modern Disney animated classic, it tells the story of Officer Judy Hopps, who is the first bunny on Zootopia’s police force, who jumps at the chance to crack her first case – even if it means partnering with scam-artist fox Nick Wilde to solve the mystery. The underlying story of how racism is represented by different animals and the relationship between predators and prey is really interesting.

What movie from the last 10 years did you enjoy the most?  Comment below:

Roger Palmer

Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom. Email: Roger@WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com Twitter: Twitter.com/RogPalmerUK Facebook: Facebook.com/rogpalmeruk

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