Disney+ may not offer the wide selection of originals that it once had, but it still has one of the most impressive collections of family-friendly movies in the streaming-verse. In other words, Disney+ is an excellent choice if you’re looking for movies to watch this Thanksgiving.
There are so many to choose from that it’s hard to go wrong, especially if you love animated films. For this year’s list of five great Disney+ movies to watch this Thanksgiving, we’re going with three animated flicks as well as two live-action films that share a connection to one of the top movies currently playing in theaters.
Need more options? We also have guides to the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, the best movies on Max, and the best movies on Disney+.
Moana (2016)
If you’re a Disney+ subscriber, then chances are very good that you’ve already seen Moana plenty of times. The film’s popularity is why Disney rushed Moana 2 into theaters instead of going forward with it as an original series on Disney+. But since the sequel has now arrived, there’s no time like the present to revisit the hits.
Before he wore out his welcome with turkeys like Red One, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson gave a very enjoyable vocal performance as Maui, a demigod whose decision to steal the heart of the goddess Te Fiti has grave consequences for humanity. A thousand years later, a young girl named Moana (Auliʻi Cravalho) is chosen by the ocean itself to restore Te Fiti’s heart and save her people. First, she’ll need to find Maui and convince him to help her fix his mistake.
Watch Moana on Disney+.
Inside Out 2 (2024)
Pixar completed its comeback with Inside Out 2, the animated film that is currently 2024’s biggest hit… and it’s very unlikely to be dethroned by the end of the year. Most of the story takes place inside the mind of Riley Andersen (Kensington Tallman), a 13-year-old girl who is largely ruled by her emotions.
Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Disgust (Liza Lapira), Anger (Lewis Black), and Fear (Tony Hale) thought they figured out how to help Riley navigate the world. Yet all of a sudden, Anxiety (Maya Hawke), Envy (Ayo Edebiri), Ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos), and Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser) come along and make their lives a lot more difficult. These new emotions are so overpowering that Joy and her companions may soon find themselves in the backseat of Riley’s mind.
Watch Inside Out 2 on Disney+.
Oz the Great and Powerful (2013)
Disney may not have Wicked, but it does have a few Wizard of Oz-related films of its own. Oz the Great and Powerful serves as an alternate prequel to the original story, with James Franco as Oscar Zoroaster, a mere con artist who finds himself transported to Oz. The good witch Theodora (Mila Kunis) believes Oscar is the wizard who has been sent to free Oz from the evil witch Glinda (Michelle Williams). And he doesn’t exactly dissuade her of that mistaken assumption.
Neither Oz nor Theodora realize that they are being manipulated by Evanora (Rachel Weisz), the Wicked Witch of the East. Evanora plans to use them to depose Glinda, who isn’t actually evil at all. But once Evanora lays the seeds of wickedness in Theodora’s heart, there may be no turning back for the young witch.
Watch Oz the Great and Powerful on Disney+.
Return to Oz (1985)
If you didn’t grow up in the 1980s, then you may not be familiar with the horrors of a headless woman screaming “Dorothy Gale!” Return to Oz might have been a little too frightening for ’80s kids, but this sequel to The Wizard of Oz is actually more faithful to the tone of the novels that inspired the initial movie.
Dorothy Gale (Fairuza Balk) made the mistake of telling her aunt and uncle about her time in Oz, and now they think she’s crazy. Poor Dorothy is sent to an asylum and nearly subjected to nasty experiments before she finds herself back in Oz. However, the fantasy land has become a terrifying wasteland since the Nome King (Nicol Williamson) deposed her friend, Scarecrow (Justin Case). To save Oz and herself, Dorothy needs to make some new friends and allies, and fast.
Watch Return to Oz on Disney+.
Encanto (2021)
Not many of Disney’s non-Pixar animated films have been hits over the last few years, but Encanto blew up on Disney+ thanks to its catchy tunes by Lin-Manuel Miranda. The story follows a Colombian family, the Madrigals, each of whom have been gifted with a magical ability. Except of course for Mirabel Madrigal (Stephanie Beatriz), a painfully ordinary 15-year-old girl who has no powers of her own.
Mirabel has trouble fitting in with her parents and her extended family, while her uncle, Bruno (John Leguizamo), has also been ostracized from the Madrigals. But when the family begins to lose their magical powers, Mirabel takes it upon herself to find out why. And if possible, she’ll bring the magic back to the Madrigals.
Watch Encanto on Disney+.
