‘It’s less than 2% of our total titles’: Disney responds to fan ire over axing of highly-rated Disney Plus shows and movies, including A Small Light and Togo
Disney Plus just lost a bunch of acclaimed movies and shows – and Disney claims it ‘makes the most sense for the business’.
Disney has responded to fan complaints over the removal of multiple Disney Plus movies and shows, many of which were highly rated.
As first reported by What’s on Disney Plus on Sunday (September 29), the entertainment giant axed numerous Disney Plus Originals from the streaming service’s library. Critically-acclaimed projects, such as historical drama A Small Light, which holds a perfect 100% critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and the Willem Dafoe-starring adventure-drama film Togo (92% critical score on Rotten Tomatoes) are among the 25 productions that are no longer available to stream.
Here’s the full list of titles that have been consigned to the streaming scrap heap:
America’s Funniest Home Videos: Animal EditionA Small LightThe Biggest Little Farm: The ReturnCesar Millan: Better Human, Better DogFarm DreamsFreeksGenius MLX/XGoing Fur GoldHailey’s On ItHome In The WildLiving For The DeadLocked Up: AbroadLove & WWE: Bianca & MontezLove In FairhopeNarco WarsNever Say Never with Jeff JenkinsPretty Freaking ScarySaturdaysSuperhot: The Spicy World Of Pepper PeopleScience Fair: The SeriesScience FairTogoTop Ten: 80’sWicked TunaWicked Tuna: Outer Banks Showdown
It isn’t just certain nations that have been impacted by this latest back-catalog culling, either. I’ve checked Disney Plus’ library in the US, UK, and Australia, and I can confirm that none of these films or TV series are now viewable in these countries. It appears, then, that they’ve been permanently removed worldwide. It also appears that projects like A Small Light, which debuted exclusively on Hulu in the US, have been axed from Disney Plus’ sister streamer, too.
Comment from r/DisneyPlus
Unsurprisingly, this latest streaming cull has created a furore online. Threads on forums and social media platforms, including ResetEra and Reddit, are full of users who are angry at the sudden removal of these projects.
Given the ire that this axing has created, I reached out to Disney for an official comment on the matter. A spokesperson told me: “Like all media companies, we regularly review our titles and make assessments and content decisions based on what makes the most sense for the business. Collectively, it is less than 2% of our total titles globally. Fans still have unprecedented access to a wide variety of Disney’s film and television entertainment.”
So, if you’re a fan of Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, and Disney’s classic movies collection, you can rest easy in the knowledge that Disney’s biggest franchises are safe. Almost all of the best Disney Plus movies and best Disney Plus shows are still available to watch to your heart’s content, too. Even so, I suspect that’s scant consolation to subscribers who enjoyed any of the 25 productions they can no longer stream.
Another kick in the teeth for Disney Plus’ userbase
Disney Plus users aren’t impressed by this latest round of movie and TV show culling (Image credit: Shutterstock / Ivan Marc)
This isn’t the first time that furious Disney Plus users have lashed out at Disney for unceremoniously dumping TV and Movie Originals.
In May 2023, we reported that Disney Plus and Hulu’s libraries were about to get a lot smaller, with shows including Willow, Pistol, and Y: The Last Man being removed from these platforms. A few weeks later, we covered the news that Disney was looking to cut more content from its streaming back catalogs in the coming months. Then, in late August, two highly anticipated Disney Plus Originals were shelved just months before their own debuts – that duo being The Spiderwick Chronicles and Nautilus, which have found new homes on The Roku Channel and Prime Video in the past year.
On the movie front, things haven’t been as severe from a culling perspective. However, one of 2023’s new Disney Plus movies – Crater – was dumped just two months after it debuted on the streaming giant, which proves the House of Mouse isn’t averse to permanently deleting films from its streaming library if they don’t perform well.
Comment from r/DisneyPlus
This latest jettisoning of content comes at something of an awkward time for Disney. Indeed, with rumors of another Disney Plus price hike circulating online, plus the recent confirmation about how much it’ll cost you to share your Disney Plus password with people outside of your household, further fan outrage is the last thing that the entertainment titan and one of the world’s best streaming services needs right now. Still, at least Inside Out 2 was a massive it for the platform, eh Disney?
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