Disney+ News

[Karin1984]

I finally started watching Hamilton (first had to finish a school assignment ) Love the music, I used the music to run my half marathon in Disneyland Paris, the beat is perfect for running. I lost out on the lottery when I was in London.

Now finally watching it. And it is as great as I imagined it.

I only have one thing to remark: They should have left out the Disney castle logo. They put the intro music over it with the warning message regarding strong language, sex and substance abuse, plus not advised for kids younger than 12. That so doesn't match with the Disney castle

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I watched Hamilton last night and honestly wasn't crazy about it. I did listen to the soundtrack a few times beforehand and I watched it with subtitles so feel like I tried to give it a fair chance but just didn't enjoy it much. I respect the talent involved and appreciate the positive impact to the theater community and stuff and am happy for all those that enjoy it but I guess just not for me

 

[skeeter31]

I watched Hamilton last night and honestly wasn't crazy about it. I did listen to the soundtrack a few times beforehand and I watched it with subtitles so feel like I tried to give it a fair chance but just didn't enjoy it much. I respect the talent involved and appreciate the positive impact to the theater community and stuff and am happy for all those that enjoy it but I guess just not for me

Unfortunately, I felt the same way. I was very excited to see it and hadn’t listened to the soundtrack previously (other than the ubiquitous Kelly Clarkson version of Its Quiet Uptown). It was interesting, but a one and done for me. Now, just got done watching 1776 on TCM and that’s a musical I could watch year after year.

 

[GPC0321]

It is addictive.

It is! And somehow I'd mistakenly thought it was only going to be available one day (yesterday). I didn't realize it's basically here to stay! I've watched it again today, and look forward to watching it many more times. It's mesmerizing to me!

 

[insideguy]

I know there are issue with some movies and why Disney plus doesn't have them yet. But they seem to be missing many movies that they own from the 40s,50 and 60s. Are these being shown on some other streaming service? I guess thats possible but they are missing many shorts as well. I can't believe some the reason these are not on Disney + is because some other site is running them

 

[LoganBrown1990]

It is addictive.

When it first came out and we were listening to it nonstop () to learn all of the words, we had to make a rule that we couldn’t listen to it after a certain time because my wife and I would wake up in the middle of the night with chunks of raps on speed mode in our heads

 

[NWOhiogal]

It was interesting, but a one and done for me. Now, just got done watching 1776 on TCM and that’s a musical I could watch year after year.

I've been a "1776" fan since I first saw it in 1975 (and totally fell in love with Ken Howard's red-headed tombstone Thomas Jefferson!). I think "Hamilton" is great too, and what I'm enjoying is seeing more people giving "1776" a look because of "Hamilton." I saw a lot of posts on Twitter yesterday from people saying they'd watched both "Hamilton" and "1776" and that would be their new July 4th tradition, to watch both. Me, I'm going to join them with "Gettysburg" and have a movie marathon trifecta.

 

[maverik85]

I know there are issue with some movies and why Disney plus doesn't have them yet. But they seem to be missing many movies that they own from the 40s,50 and 60s. Are these being shown on some other streaming service? I guess thats possible but they are missing many shorts as well. I can't believe some the reason these are not on Disney + is because some other site is running them

Not sure about one from those specific decades as they likely wouldn't bring people in, but a lot of stuff they have that could be added on is probably being held to be able to slowly keep adding more stuff to the service. If they had everything from day one people would pick it up and then drop it. if they continually add to it it keeps people invested in it. Older stuff could be added with other more popular items to bulk up the additions.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I watched Hamilton last night and honestly wasn't crazy about it. I did listen to the soundtrack a few times beforehand and I watched it with subtitles so feel like I tried to give it a fair chance but just didn't enjoy it much. I respect the talent involved and appreciate the positive impact to the theater community and stuff and am happy for all those that enjoy it but I guess just not for me

Glad to hear I’m not alone. I made it about half way, but I just didn’t love it.

I generally like musicals, but I’m used to them slowing down a bit between songs, and I think having the whole thing be in song or rap was a little overwhelming.

 

[BrianL]

Not sure about one from those specific decades as they likely wouldn't bring people in, but a lot of stuff they have that could be added on is probably being held to be able to slowly keep adding more stuff to the service. If they had everything from day one people would pick it up and then drop it. if they continually add to it it keeps people invested in it. Older stuff could be added with other more popular items to bulk up the additions.

Also, I noticed that most of that kind of stuff that was on D+ from day one were things that had been on DVD already so they had an easy digital source. They have since added a lot of things that were never released on DVD so I think there is a process they need to go through. I am glad that the copies on D+ are generally very high quality.

 

[kbelle8995]

I love Hamilton. Anything that brings to light to a younger generation part of our history and it's issues is worth having. I loved 1776 (the musical) and still do. While move mature in subject matter and language, I'm glad its on Disney +.

Also Christopher Jackson as Washington is phenomonal. One Last time is my favorite song. IT makes me very emotional

 

[dclpluto]

Seen Disney is very pleased with the amount of people watching Hamilton. Maybe we can get some more broadway shows like frozen, lion king,etc.

 

[SaintsManiac]

Seen Disney is very pleased with the amount of people watching Hamilton. Maybe we can get some more broadway shows like frozen, lion king,etc.

I would LOVE it. The Lion King is an amazing show, but my seats were terrible. The close ups in Hamilton were priceless.

Problem is they have to run the show to film it and they won't be doing that anytime soon.

 

[Mit88]

Not for Disney+, but Josh Gad said theres a recording of early shows of Book of Mormon. Its a phenomenal show, got to see it out in Denver like 6 years ago and would love to see it on streaming. Maybe Disney could still buy the rights and put it on Hulu, but theres no way they could get away with it on Disney+.

I think theres a lot more broadway shows cinematically shot than we might think. I could see this becoming a big thing over the next few years, and I’m all for it. Hamilton took nothing away from the experience of being there in person.

I want the Sara Bareilles and Jason Mraz version of Waitress. Saw that combo live in NYC a couple years ago and its still my favorite broadway production ive ever seen

 

[maverik85]

Yea I'm betting many Broadway shows have recordings to some degree. Maybe not quite to the same level as a planned one like Hamilton but even if it was a good quality one with a static full stage image that'd be cool. Be great for them to put up all of the other former Disney Broadway shows, and do special recording of current and future ones to release at a later date.

 

[Mit88]

People criticizing Lin Manuel for “over acting” not realizing that this production wasnt recorded with an empty audience and all of the actors on stage acting to the camera. Lin Manuel’s facial expressions are geared towards the fans in the back seats that cant see. Everything in the production is perfectly staged and choreographed. But haters are going to find problems with everything. I’m not surprised that people are finding the smallest details to nitpick just so they can be the outlier in a very well received production

 

[The Expert]

Not for Disney+, but Josh Gad said theres a recording of early shows of Book of Mormon. Its a phenomenal show, got to see it out in Denver like 6 years ago and would love to see it on streaming.

I had the privilege of seeing BOM with the original cast twice! My husband and I are huge fans of Matt and Trey and I just had a gut feeling about the show, so we bought tickets when they went on sale but before anybody had really heard about it. We've seen the touring production several times now, but would love to relive those shows with Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells!

I do think the success of this type of production will mean more shows do it. I suspect they've hesitated, thinking it will reduce seat sales. But let's face it, most people who watched this probably weren't ever going to pay for seats to a live show. And in actuality, I can see this sparking an interest in live theatre for people who don't have regular access or never considered going to see a live show.

 

[chasgoose]

Yea I'm betting many Broadway shows have recordings to some degree. Maybe not quite to the same level as a planned one like Hamilton but even if it was a good quality one with a static full stage image that'd be cool. Be great for them to put up all of the other former Disney Broadway shows, and do special recording of current and future ones to release at a later date.

Most Broadway shows are recorded for posterity (and a lot of non-Broadway shows in NYC as well), but typically they are only available for viewing on-site at the New York Public Library's Performing Arts Branch in Lincoln Center (and you need a NYPL library card) and also they aren't filmed as dynamically as Hamilton was. The big issue is that the producers of many Broadway shows don't want to pay what Hamilton paid for a professional recording and also don't want to cannibalize the ticket sales of the show on Broadway and in tours. Most shows still stand to make a lot more from ticket sales than they ever could with selling the film rights (and remember, Hamilton's rights were sold with the understanding that it would be released in theaters instead of streaming). Hamilton is an outlier because it still makes a ton of money in ticket sales and was able to sell the film rights for a lot more than most shows would be able to. Another problem is that a lot of big shows (Wicked comes to mind) have movie deals in the works (albeit not filmed live production deals) that might limit the ability to sell filmed versions of the live production to content providers.

Basically, Hamilton on Disney+ was a huge experiment that had never really been attempted on that scale (aside from like a PBS recording or two). I think a lot of producers going forward are going to see the value in what Hamilton did and we will see more shows in the future spend the money to make a full-scale recording, but I don't think that's happening until Broadway reopens and producers have the ability to do so, and even then they will still hold off on releasing it while the show is still running and a hot ticket. It is also possible that Disney+ and other content providers might start going in and seeing about buying rights to recordings of older productions that have closed/are no longer on tour, but I wouldn't expect that for anything that is still running on Broadway or actively touring right now any time soon.

 

[Mit88]

I do think the success of this type of production will mean more shows do it. I suspect they've hesitated, thinking it will reduce seat sales. But let's face it, most people who watched this probably weren't ever going to pay for seats to a live show. And in actuality, I can see this sparking an interest in live theatre for people who don't have regular access or never considered going to see a live show.

These are my exact feelings. Let’s not sugarcoat it, there have been times where tickets for Hamilton have been upwards of $500 per person, and at times even higher. Its not a cheap show. Its gone down to a more tolerable price over the last 18 months, but its still expensive.


Doing this production on Disney+ was for both the people that cant afford to see the show, and people that were on the fence. They’ll get people that loved this version that now want to see it live. I dont think many people that loved watching Hamilton at home, that have the monetary means to see it live will say “I saw it at home, I dont need to see it in person”

 

[maverik85]

Most Broadway shows are recorded for posterity (and a lot of non-Broadway shows in NYC as well), but typically they are only available for viewing on-site at the New York Public Library's Performing Arts Branch in Lincoln Center (and you need a NYPL library card) and also they aren't filmed as dynamically as Hamilton was. The big issue is that the producers of many Broadway shows don't want to pay what Hamilton paid for a professional recording and also don't want to cannibalize the ticket sales of the show on Broadway and in tours. Most shows still stand to make a lot more from ticket sales than they ever could with selling the film rights (and remember, Hamilton's rights were sold with the understanding that it would be released in theaters instead of streaming). Hamilton is an outlier because it still makes a ton of money in ticket sales and was able to sell the film rights for a lot more than most shows would be able to. Another problem is that a lot of big shows (Wicked comes to mind) have movie deals in the works (albeit not filmed live production deals) that might limit the ability to sell filmed versions of the live production to content providers.

Basically, Hamilton on Disney+ was a huge experiment that had never really been attempted on that scale (aside from like a PBS recording or two). I think a lot of producers going forward are going to see the value in what Hamilton did and we will see more shows in the future spend the money to make a full-scale recording, but I don't think that's happening until Broadway reopens and producers have the ability to do so, and even then they will still hold off on releasing it while the show is still running and a hot ticket. It is also possible that Disney+ and other content providers might start going in and seeing about buying rights to recordings of older productions that have closed/are no longer on tour, but I wouldn't expect that for anything that is still running on Broadway or actively touring right now any time soon.

I mean to do it strictly for the ones they themselves are doing and own the rights to so that wouldn't be an issue. I also wound't expect it to be added while the show is going strong but something to be added later after it's off Broadway. With them owning it they wouldn't have to pay for the rights like Hamilton, just for the filming itself. I just think doing it ahead of time allows them to have it on hand if they decide they want to. Their older shows can't really have it done now with the sets being struck. Sometimes can happen unexpectedly too like with Frozen now.