More Content that Should Go On Disney+ May 1, 2021

Contrary to the popular theory, not everything that Disney (and the studios it now owns) has ever produced is on Disney+. A few months ago, we listed a group of television shows, shorts, and specials that, for one reason or other, was not on Disney+. Well, we’re currently in a bit of a lull for gaming news, and some of the things we mentioned in that article (particularly the Marvel One Shots) were added to Disney+ since we published it, so we decided to make a new list.

Unlike the last list which would not include Disney-owned content we knew for sure was licensed for other streaming platforms, we will be including ALL Disney-owned content we feel deserves to go on Disney+, regardless of who currently owns the streaming rights. However, we will not include content Disney has flagged as “coming to Disney+” like Loki, since that content IS coming to Disney+, it just hasn’t been released yet.

So, with that all out of the way, let’s get started with the earliest Disney content we can think of.

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Shorts – The modern myth is that Disney was a company that “all started with a mouse”. That story is a complete lie, the animal is that Walt Disney actually started with was a rabbit named Oswald. Disney regained the rights to Oswald some time around 2008, as well as the rights to his original animated shorts. The shorts were included on a DVD bundled with the Epic Mickey Collector’s Edition, but I haven’t seen them anywhere else since. These shorts are a piece of Disney history and should be offered on Disney+.

Runaway Brain – Produced in 1995, the short film follows Mickey Mouse as he tries to earn some money volunteering for a scientific experiment. He ends up unleashing a terrifying creature, and must find a way to save Minnie from its path of destruction. The short film was darker than anything Disney had attempted up to that point (Mickey’s animator for the short had previously had experience animating the Disney villains during Disney’s renaissance era). It would get attached to a film called A Kid in King Arthur’s Court (which ironically enough IS on Disney+), and from what I heard it would get RE-attached to other later Disney films when they were in theaters (depending on region), but I can’t confirm that. It’s a great short with incredible animation and should be featured on Disney+.

Cloak and Dagger – Prior to Wandavision, a now defunct arm of Marvel labeled Marvel Television produced several television shows featuring auxiliary characters from the Marvel Universe. However, unlike the current Disney+ shows, there was absolutely no reason to watch the old shows since they would never be referenced in the Avengers films. That, plus, well, many of them (like Inhumans or early episodes of Agents of SHIELD) were just terrible. In fact, most people have argued they would not get good until Marvel Television started producing series for Netflix. Well, Forget about Daredevil, Agents of SHIELD, or Defenders, my absolute favorite show from the Marvel Television era was Freeform’s Cloak and Dagger. Starring the titular characters and taking place in New Orleans, the show is about two young people from different walks of life who gain complementary superpowers. Once they rediscover each other years later, they must learn to use their abilities to stop the company responsible for their powers from causing a disaster.

Building Wild – Building Wild was a National Geographic television show which followed the Cabin Kings, a group of cabin builders who every week would build a brand-new unique log cabin for a happy customer. Hosted by Paul and Tuffy, two men with VERY different personalities, they must plan out and construct the perfect cabin based on the environment and the personality of the customer. It’s a great show, and I honestly believe the only reason it hasn’t ended up on Disney+ already was the show’s need to add bleeps to nearly every time Tuffy spoke.

Springfield of Dreams – Directed by Super Size Me’s Morgan Spurlock and Produced by FOX SPORTS, Springfield of Dreams was a monumentary made in tribute to one of the best episodes of The Simpsons ever made, “Homer at Bat”, which got Homer Simpson inducted in the real-world Baseball Hall of Fame. The documentary treats the episode as if it really did take place when it aired back in 1992, and featured a mix of live-action interviews with the real baseball players who appeared in the episode and animated interviews with the characters from the show. It’s a great nostalgia trip and since it was pulled from FOX SPORTS Video on Demand (VOD) I haven’t been able to rewatch it.

Miss Fritter’s Racing Skool – This Cars 3 short film was included on the Cars 3 Blu-Ray Disc…and no where else. As we stated above, Disney+ has had no problem including short films along their lineup, including animated shorts that were included for home video release (like Auntie Edna from the Incredibles 2 Blu-Ray), so why isn’t this Cars 3 short film included?

Muppets Go to Disney World – This Muppets special was produced in either the late-80s to early-90s and featured the Muppets getting into hi-jinx on a trip to Walt Disney World. I first saw it on the Disney Channel back when it was a premium station and I just assumed it was a Disney Channel made for TV movie. It is currently unavailable on any streaming platform. SOMEBODY Disney owns seems to own this, so other than the fact the version of Disney World featured in the show is out of date (and Mickey Mouse is played by a 2D animated character) I see no reason it can’t be brought to Disney+.