It has been announced that a price rise will be coming to Disney+ in New Zealand in March 2021 – pricing will be $12.99 per month or $129.99 annually.

Part of the reason for this price release is due to Star coming to Disney+ in New Zealand. Star will include a lot of the content that is currently considered too mature for Disney+, resulting in almost double the content catalogue size.

In addition Disney+ is going to be updated to enable Family Friendly controls, including the ability to PIN lock profiles, and set limits on content based on the profile. (As compared to the current ‘Kids’ which only displays G content).

In addition to all this, there have been announcements about a range of new shows / series currently in production with all the related studios, full details of which can be found in the press release:
The Walt Disney Company Surpasses 137M Paid Subscriptions Across Its Direct-To-Consumer Services, Shattering Previous Guidance; Increases Paid Subscriptions Target To 300-350M By 2024 – The Walt Disney Company

Disney has published a video of content coming soon to Disney+ – unlike other videos that specify specific months, this video just says coming soon 2020, so could be released any time between now and the end of the year.

The list of content in this video (in order shown in the video) is:

• The Mandalorian (presumably this is referring to season 2, but is not specified).
• Once Upon a Snowman (Frozen)
• Eddie the Eagle (already available on Disney+ in New Zealand)
• The Right Stuff (season 1 coming to NZ 9 October)
• Ever After (no specified release date)
• X2: X-Men United (already available on Disney+ in New Zealand)
• Black Beauty (no specified release date)
• Big (no specified release date)
• Bend it Like Beckham (no specified release date)
• Clouds (no specified release date)
• On Pointe (no specified release date)
• Hidden Figures (no specified release date)
• Planes (already available on Disney+ in New Zealand)
• Maleficient (already available on Disney+ in New Zealand)
• Into the Woods (already available on Disney+ in New Zealand)
• Simpsons Season 31 (no specified release date)
• Secret Society of Second Born Royals (coming 25 September)
• The Fault in our Stars (no specified release date)
• Wandavision (no specified release date)

There were three new movies released on Disney+ last night, and one expected movie ‘The One and Only Ivan’ that was not released, and has instead been moved to next Friday. The movies that have been released are:

• Magic Camp
  A group of misfit campers help a down-on-his-luck magician rediscover his love of magic.
• Upside-Down Magic
  Nory enters the Sage Academy for Magical Studies
• The Greatest Showman
  A bold and original musical celebrating the birth of show business and dreams coming to life.

In addition to these movies, some new shows have been released. These are:

• Nature Boom Time
  Charlie, Kirby, and Patrick travel around the U.S. to learn about what makes nature awesome.
• Sam’s Zookeeper Challenge
  Sam is put to the test to care for animals in “Zookeeper’s Challenge.”
• Scrapyard Supercar
  From acceleration to braking, the series gets under the hood of supercar engineering.
• Scuba Sam’s World
  Take a deep dive and learn all about the beloved sea animals in our oceans!
• Spaced Out
  Learn about our universe through imagery taken from the Hubble Space Telescope.

And then a number of new episodes have been released for existing shows.

Tonight 31 July 2020 on Disney+ in New Zealand 5 new movies have been released, and 9 new shows.

The movies released are:

• Hunt for the Abominable Snowman
  Across the Himalayas are stories of the yeti, or abominable snowman. Half man, half ape, the yeti is said to roam only the most remote peaks, where people rarely venture.
• Cradle of the Gods
  In the heart of South-Eastern Turkey, a team of international scientists have started uncovering a temple site known as Göbekli Tepe.
• Big Cat Games
  Which big cat is the best? Big Cat Games pits lions, tigers and cheetahs against each other in a series of challenging sporting events. When the tests have been completed, one species will be crowned the big cat champion.
• 27 Dresses
  Heigl stars as Jane, a romantic, completely selfless woman who’s been a happy, helpful bridesmaid no less than 27 times. But her own fairy-tale wedding seems to be nowhere in sight.
• Black is King
  This visual album from Beyoncé reimagines the lessons of “The Lion King” for today’s young kings and queens in search of their own crowns. 

While the 9 new shows released are:

• Animal Showdown
  Animals face-off in this surprising competition of the toughest and biggest in the animal kingdom.
• Best Job Ever
  Check out the cool jobs Nat Geo explorers do every day!
• Destination World
  Check out the continents and find out what makes them unique from each other!
• Fearless Adventures with Jack Randall
  Check out Jack Randall go head-to-head with all kinds of critters.
• King Fishers
  With so many fishermen and so many fishing disciplines, who is best?
• Marvel Funko Shorts
  Marvel and Funko present Pop! style Marvel heroes.
• Muppets Now
  The Muppets have a brand-new series ready to stream but only if they can upload it in time.
• Weirdest, Bestest, Truest
  Siblings Kirby and Charlie share strange discoveries and fun facts from the world of Weird But True!
• What Sam Sees
  Join Sam on an underwater journey and learn about sharks, eels, and more!

It has been announced that Upside-Down Magic, a movie based on the series by Sarah Mlynowski, Lauren Myracle, and Emily Jenkins will be coming to Disney+ in New Zealand on 14 August 2020.

Nory and her best friend Reina enter the Sage Academy for Magical Studies, where Nory’s unconventional powers land her in a class for those with wonky, or “upside-down,” magic. Undaunted, Nory sets out to prove that that upside-down magic can be just as powerful as right-side-up.

The whimsical summer adventure fantasy for kids and families is based on the New York Times-bestselling children’s book of the same name from authors Sarah Mlynowski, Lauren Myracle and Emily Jenkins, and also stars Vicki Lewis, Kyle Howard, Max Torina, Elie Samouhi, and Alison Fernandez. It was directed and executive produced by Joe Nussbaum, along with executive producers Suzanne Farwell and Susan Cartsonis.

Constantin Film and JB Pictures production of Black Beauty is coming to Disney+ later this year. The film is a contemporary adaption of Anna Sewell’s 19th-century novel, with the screenplay written by Ashley Avis.

The main roles in the adaption are played by Mackenzie Foy, Iain Glen, and Claire Forlani, with Kate Winslet lending her voice to Black Beauty.

Black Beauty is a wild horse born free in the American West. When she is rounded up and taken away from her family. Her story intertwines with Jo Green who also mourns the loss of her beloved parents. The two quickly develop a tight bond that is formed out of love, trust and healing.

‘Black is King‘ is coming to Disney+ this Friday at 7 pm New Zealand Time. visual album from Beyoncé reimagines the lessons of “The Lion King” for today’s young kings and queens in search of their own crowns.

The premise of this movie is a young African king undergoes a journey “through betrayal, love and self-identity” to reclaim his throne, utilizing the guidance of his ancestors and childhood love. The story is told through the voices of present-day Black people.

Disney+ have released a rather short video this month for what is coming in August. Once again, a large number of the items in the clip are already available on Disney+ in New Zealand, and this time the video does not share specific dates.

The clips shown are:

• Beauty and the Beast (2017) – Already available in NZ
• Phineas and Ferb The Movie – Already available in NZ
• Ant-Man and The Wasp – Already available in NZ
• The One and Only Ivan – Announced as being available August 14
• Alice Through the Looking Glass – Already available in NZ
• The Greatest Showman – Available 14 August

Two new items have been released relating to the recent release of Hamilton on Disney+. These are ‘The Undefeated Presents Hamilton In-Depth’ and ‘Hamilton: History has it’s eyes on you’

These two additional items present additional information around the film, with ‘The Undefeated Present Hamilton In-Depth‘ being a round table discussion hosted by The Undefeated’s Kelley Carter.

‘Hamilton: History has its eyes on you‘ has details around the shows creation, along with it’s relevance to todays Social and Political realities.

The One and Only Ivan is inspired by a true and beautiful story about how a mighty gorilla wins his freedom, and will be coming to Disney+ on 14 August 2020. This will probably mean it will be released 7 pm on the 14th in New Zealand.

Based on the #1 New York Times besteselling novel by Katherine Applegate, this story tells the tale of an easy-going gorilla who has spent his life performing for the crowds at a shopping mall. He rarely misses life in the jugle. In fact he hardly thinks about it at all. But everything changes when a baby elephant called Ruby arrives and Ivan realises he must find a new life for them both.