Disney+: best new shows & films streaming this week

Discover the best new shows & films to stream from 23 to 29 December 2024 on Disney+ with this guide.
John Williams in Tokyo. Image: Disney+.

Disney+: new to streaming

John Williams in Tokyo (27 Dec)

Documentary. The award-winning composer behind iconic scores for Harry Potter, Indiana Jones and Star Wars returns to Japan for the first time in 30 years, invited by his friend, the late great conductor Seiji Ozawa.

Disney+ recently added

The Simpsons: O C’mon All Ye Faithful (17 Dec)

Special of the season 36 episode of The Simpsons.

Ilana Glazer: Human Magic (20 Dec)

Ilana Glazer: Human Magic. Image: Disney+.
Ilana Glazer: Human Magic. Image: Disney+.

Special. A brand-new stand-up comedy special from Ilana Glazer of Broad City fame. Watch the trailer.

What If…? Season 3 (22 Dec)

Series. Marvel’s animated series returns in Season 3 for its culminating adventure through the multiverse. Watch as classic characters make unexpected choices that will mutate their worlds into spectacular alternate versions of the MCU.

The Watcher (voice of Jeffrey Wright) will guide viewers as the series traverses new genres, bigger spectacles, and incredible new characters.

Dream Productions (11 Dec)

Dream Productions. Image: Disney+.
Dream Productions. Image: Disney+.

Series. Taking place in between the events of Inside Out and Inside Out 2, an all-new series about the studio inside Riley’s mind where dreams really do come true, every night, on time and on budget. Riley is growing up and when her memories need some extra processing, Joy and the rest of the Core Emotions send them to Dream Productions.

Acclaimed director Paula Persimmon (voice of Paula Pell) faces a nightmare of her own: trying to create the next hit dream after being paired up with Xeni (voice of Richard Ayoade), a smug daydream director looking to step up into the big leagues of night dreams. Pixar Animation Studios’ hilarious, mockumentary-style series is written and directed by Mike Jones and produced by Jaclyn Simon.

Elton John: Never Too Late (13 Dec)

Elton John: Never Too Late. Image: Disney+.
Elton John: Never Too Late. Image: Disney+.

Documentary. Directed by R.J. Cutler and David Furnish, the documentary follows Elton John as he looks back on his life and the astonishing early days of his 50-year career in this emotionally charged, intimate and uplifting full-circle journey.

As he prepares for his final concert in North America at Dodger Stadium, Elton takes us back in time and recounts the extraordinary highs and heartbreaking lows of his early years and how he overcame adversity, abuse and addiction to become the icon he is today. Watch the trailer.

Invisible (13 Dec)

Invisible. Image: Disney+. New shows to stream.
Invisible. Image: Disney+.

Series. inspired by the bestselling book of the same name, a 12-year-old boy suffers severe PTSD following a terrible accident, and receives guidance from a psychologist, to whom he admits he has the power every child (and probably adult) would choose as their superpower: invisibility.

Skeleton Crew (3 Dec)

Skeleton Crew. Image: Disney+. Streaming December 2024.
Skeleton Crew. Image: Disney+.

Series. Let’s be honest, none of us have had enough of the Star Wars franchise yet. The screeds of spinoffs are by no means grating. We can’t wait till that little monkey-lizard thing who works as Jabba the Hutt’s annoying jester in Return of the Jedi gets its own eight-part mega-budget series because no amount of Star Wars is enough, even if the number of new takes rivals the number of stars in the galaxy itself.

Starring Jude Law, this new series tells the story of four kids searching for their home planet after getting lost in the Star Wars galaxy, and the strange aliens and dangerous places they encounter on their adventure, and … look, if you’re into it you’re into it, if you’re not, you’re not. Watch the trailer.

Discover more recent Disney+ streaming highlights on ScreenHub …

Paul Dalgarno is author of the novels A Country of Eternal Light (2023) and Poly (2020); the memoir And You May Find Yourself (2015); and the creative non-fiction book Prudish Nation (2023). He was formerly Deputy Editor of The Conversation and joined ScreenHub as Managing Editor in 2022. X: @pauldalgarno. Insta: @dalgarnowrites