Best movies on Disney Plus, ranked

Disney Plus launched with a library of nearly 500 movies --  from Star Wars to Mary Poppins. Using review-aggregate data from our sister site Metacritic, we've ranked the absolute best films available on the streaming service as of our publication date.  

Read on for the complete guide.

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This 2011 Jason Segal-hatched reboot, costarring Amy Adams, won an Oscar for Original Song ("Man or Muppet"). NPR's Linda Holmes found it "probably as good a Muppet project as it's possible to make without Jim Henson." 

Metascore: 75 

Tilda Swinton stars as the White Witch in this 2005 rendering of C.S. Lewis' fantasy tale. The Village Voice's J. Hoberman praised the film as "[r]obust, engrossing and surprisingly restrained."

Metascore: 75 

Chris Evans' title hero and Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man clash philosophically and physically in this 2016 Marvel Cinematic Universe entry that ScreenDaily called "an exciting, often giddy pop pleasure."

Metascore: 75 

This 1961 live-action family comedy (remade in 1997 as Robin Williams' Flubber) "is a comedy-fantasy of infectious absurdity," Variety judged. 

Metascore: 75 

This 1953 animated fantasy, featuring the Disney songbook classics "You Can Fly! You Can Fly! You Can Fly!" and "A Pirate's Life," was hailed by the New York Times as a "wholly amusing and engaging piece of work." 

Metascore: 76

This 2016 sequel is the first of 11 Pixar films in our rundown. Empire's Jimi Famurewa hailed it as a "dazzling and technically impressive return to form that delivers a similar high to Finding Nemo without feeling like a retread."

Metascore: 77

Salon's Janelle Brown wrote that where this 1998 favorite was concerned it  was "impossible not to be utterly blown away by Pixar's animation." 

Metascore: 77

This 2001 Pixar entry about the things that go bump in the night was called "charming," "wildly inventive" and "hilarious" by the LA Weekly's Hazel-Dawn Dumpert. 

Metascore: 78

According to Metacritic data, you should probably pass on the 2019 Disney Plus live-action remake, and go directly to the lush, 1955 animated version that modern-day outlets, such as Total Film, have praised as a "true classic." 

Metascore: 78

The Miami Herald's Christine Dolen wrote that Roald Dahl would've approved of this "dark but brilliant" 1996 animated take on the author's children's book. 

Metascore: 78

This epic 2019 culmination of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Infinity Saga was as much a hit with critics as audiences. Wrote Original Cin's Karen Gordon: "In a word, it's terrific." 

Metascore: 78

Released in 2016, this Oscar-winner for Best Animated Feature was praised by critics for offering fun and food for thought. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Sarah Bryan Miller praised the film as "emotionally rich." 

Metascore: 78

This 2018 National Geographic documentary is a look at the high-schoolers who compete at the annual International Science and Engineering Fair. "The adorable nerds featured are as charismatic as they are bright," wrote Danielle White for the Austin Chronicle. 

Metascore: 79 

This 2008 film, the granddaddy of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the third and highest-ranking MCU entry in this list, is "solid gold," per the Philadelphia Inquirer's Carrie Rickey.  

Metascore: 79 

The first Star Wars film of the Disney era blasts off with old favorites, such as Harrison Ford's Han Solo, and new characters, such as Daisy Ridley's Rey. New York Times critic Manohla Dargis praised the 2015 J.J. Abrams entry as "a film for everyone." 

Metascore: 81

This 2016 seafaring tale, featuring songs co-written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, was called a "perfect execution of the Disney formula" by The Verge's Tasha Robinson.  

Metascore: 81

"This beautifully [realized] confection will delight grown-ups of all ages," TimeOut praised of Tim Burton's 1993 Halloween-Christmas mashup. .  

Metascore: 82

The first Star Wars sequel is second to no other. The New Yorker's Pauline Kael judged that the 1980 Irvin Kershner-directed entry "may even have transcended what [George] Lucas had in mind."

Metascore: 82

Robert Zemekis' landmark 1988 animated/live-action hybrid was singled out by the Los Angeles Times' Sheila Benson as a "dense, satisfying, feverishly inventive … technical marvel." It won three Oscars for editing and effects. 

Metascore: 83

James Mason and Kirk Douglas head the cast of this colorful 1954 Disney take on the Jules Verne sci-fi classic. TV Guide praised the Oscar-winning "marvelous sets" and "sharp" special effects. 

Metascore: 83 

In this 1961 adaptation of the same-titled children's book, Disney introduced audiences to its iconic take on Cruella de Vil. Empire's Emma Cochrane praised the film as "remarkably fresh and funny."

Metascore: 83

Per the Toronto Globe and Mail's Katherine Laidlaw, this Oscar-winning 2018 documentary about rock-climber Alex Honnold is less about Honnold's El Capitan venture, and more about "passion, discipline and, ultimately, transcendence." 

Metascore: 83

James Cameron's 2009 sci-fi behemoth about the blue-hued inhabitants of Pandora won three Oscars, and wowed critics with its spectacle. Raved Slate's Dana Stevens: "... Avatar is stupendously friggin' rad."

Metascore: 83 

This 1957 Disney canine tearjerker is, per Variety, "a careful blending of fun, laughter, love, adventure and tragedy."

Metascore: 84 

In this 1945 sequel to the short, "Saludos Amigos," Donald Duck and animated friends traverse Latin America, and, along the way, per TV Guide, pull off "one of the most dazzling achievements of the cartoon genre."

Metascore: 85

In 1959, Disney's animated version of the classic fairy tale was a box-office flop. Today the film is recognized as the forerunner to the live-action Maleficent franchise, and, per the Chicago Reader's Dave Kehr, "[the] masterpiece of the Disney Studios' postwar style."  

Metascore: 85 

The Disney standard "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo" made its debut in this 1950 retelling of the age-old fairy tale that Time praised was made anew with "comic verve."

Metascore: 85

Per the Washington Post, this Oscar-winning film is a "magic carpet ride" -- a film that allowed Robin Williams to cut loose as the voice of Genie, and introduced audiences to the ballad "A Whole New World." 

Metascore: 86

Two dogs and cat embark on a, well, incredible journey in this 1963 live-action Disney film that the New York Times' Howard Thompson wrote was "as gentle, warm and lovely a color movie as any pet owner could wish."

Metascore: 87

The Seattle Times' Moira Macdonald wrote that Jane was "most evocative as a memorable portrait of a woman … [who] helped make the world a better place."

Metascore: 87

The first of three Toy Story movies in this rundown, this 1999 sequel is about Buzz Lightyear's mission to rescue an abducted Woody. The film is "funnier, more thoughtful and more grown-up" than its predecessor, judged Salon's Janelle Brown.

Metascore: 88

This holiday tale, starring a young Natalie Wood, is not a Disney-made movie, but it's at home in the family-friendly Disney Plus lineup. "It is light, it is charming, it is delightfully funny and completely captivating," praised the New York Daily News' Kate Cameron.

Metascore: 88

This 1964 musical about a magical nanny won five Academy Awards, including the Best Actress Oscar for Julie Andrews. TV Guide called the movie "[o]ne of the greatest children's films ever."    

Metascore: 88

The modern Disney renaissance began with this animated fairy-tale rendering that introduced the Oscar-winning "Under the Sea." Chicago Sun-Times critic Roger Ebert recognized it as a film "so creative and so much fun it deserves comparison with the best Disney work of the past."

Metascore: 88

According to Metacritic data, this double-Oscar-winning animated tale, called a "mystical, thrilling and breathtaking coming-of-age movie" by the Associated Press' Dolores Barclay, has it all over Disney's 2019 photo-realistic remake.  

Metascore: 88

Disney's 1950 take on the classic Robert Louis Stevenson adventure story was the studio's first live-action feature film. The New York Times called it a "grand and glorious entertainment." 

Metascore: 89

The first Star Wars movie, hailed back in 1977 by Time's Gerald Clarke as a "grand and glorious film," is the highest-rated Star Wars movie in this rundown. 

Metascore: 90

Brad Bird's 2004 animated superhero tale won two Oscars, including Best Animated Feature, and praise from the Washington Post's Jennifer Frey as a movie "full of wonderful little touches."

Metascore: 90

Another Oscar-winning Pixar film, this 2003 fish tale was hailed by Total Film's Neil Smith as the studio's "most effective amalgam of comedy, artistry and emotional pull."

Metascore: 90 

Disney's gentle, if occasionally harrowing, look at woodland creatures is an animated classic: The 1942 film is a tale "full of tenderness, and the characters tickle the heart," per Variety. 

Metascore: 91

This 2010 Oscar-winning Pixar tearjerker is the only sequel in our top 10. "It honestly earns its emotion, moment by painstakingly executed moment," raved the A.V. Club's Tasha Robinson. 

Metascore: 92

This 2015 Pixar entry, an Oscar-winner for Best Animated Feature, is another heart-tugger about childhood's end. The Seattle Times' Moira Macdonald praised it as a film that "leaves you changed, entertained, nostalgic, dazzled," 

Metascore: 94

A lonely robot on a lonely Earth finds love in this 2008 Pixar entry that won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. New York Magazine's David Edelstein raved the film was "one for the ages, a masterpiece to be savored before or after the end of the world."

Metascore: 95

Pixar's first feature-length film, released in 1995, was feted with an honorary Oscar. Michael Rechtshaffen of the Hollywood Reporter called it an "instant classic." 

Metascore: 95

As Toy Story was the brand-maker for Pixar, Snow White was the brand-maker for Disney. Reflecting on the 1938 film and its impact, critic Roger Ebert wrote that it was the work of genius and that "every animated feature made since owes it something." 

Metascore: 95

This tuneful double-Oscar-winner is yet another animated Disney film that lords it over its live-action remake with glowing reviews like this one, from the Boston Globe's Jay Carr: "It's an instant classic, in every way the equal of the great Disney animations of the past."

Metascore: 95

This Oscar-winner for Best Animated Feature is the highest-rated Pixar film on this list. The New York Times' A.O. Scott called the 2007 film about a culinary-minded rat a "nearly flawless piece of popular art."

Metascore: 96

Walt Disney's ambitious marriage of orchestral music and animation earned two honorary Academy Awards. Praised the Los Angeles Times shortly after the film's 1940 release, "... [I]t is the noblest experiment of a wizard in his bright field of artistry and creativeness."

Metascore: 96

Of the two Dumbo titles available on Disney Plus, this classic Oscar-winner is the one to go with -- and it's not close. In a review of Tim Burton's 2019 live-action remake, the Wall Street Journal's Joe Morgenstern bemoaned that the newer film "created such a downer from [such] a long-beloved source of delight."

Metascore: 96

Per Metacritic data, Disney's take on the classic children's tale is a nearly perfect film -- and the best-available watch on Disney Plus. The film introduced "When You Wish Upon a Star," and prompted the New York Daily News' Kate Cameron to call it "the most enchanting film ever brought to the screen."

Metascore: 99