Unexpected “Star” of Disney+ is… Fox?
“When you wish upon a star…” Who knew, that the classic Pinocchio song would be the inspiration behind Disney+ most compelling offering when it launched in ASEAN last week?
Courtesy of NordVPN, I have been watching Disney+ from Singapore, since the November 2019, D23 launch. As a Disney Shareholder, D23 Member and Disney Premium Chase Visa cardholder, since Day 1, I have no qualms about using a VPN to access geo-restricted content, when I am legally paying for it.
As a former entertainment industry executive producer and artist manager, I abhor content piracy, so while I traverse the globe, live in two countries… I legitimately pay for both my US & Singapore telcos, as well as, streaming providers from Amazon to Netflix. Licensing aside, I employ the use of NordVPN, which I highly recommend, to have full access to the content that I pay for, in addition to the protection it offers, across my devices and accounts from hackers, corporations and governments, who delight in steal our data.
Alright, sorry for that tangent, back to my overview of the Disney+ ASEAN / Singapore launch… Due to COVID-19 lockdowns Disney+ (like most studios) has not offered all of the content that I originally signed-up for in October of 2019, when I took advantage of the 3-year D23 offer. While I was able to catch first-run, original offerings such as The Mandalorian Season 1, Live-Action,Lady and The Tramp, The Imagineering Story, delightful The One and Only Ivan, and Magic of Disney’s Animal Kingdom, there was not many new offerings, outside of the highly compelling Disney Animation, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and National Geographic legacy content.
It was not until 2020 that the final season of The Clone Wars, Onward, Artemis Fowl, Mulan (Premier Access), Soul and Season 2 of The Mandalorian treated fans to a bit more, original offerings. 2021 brought subscribers WandVision, soon Falcon and The Winter Solider, Raya and The Last Dragon (Premier Access) – don’t get going on these costly add-ons…
And now, outside of the US, STAR – is perhaps the greatest 2021 addition to the platform, to date. Finally, something that will keep me browsing and watching on a more regular basis.
Please don’t get me wrong, Disney+ was a compelling streaming App on its own, with the massive Disney – Pixar – Marvel – Lucasfilm – NatGeo vault, but for my household, it was typically for “destination” viewing-only. What do I mean by this? Well… you had to be, “in the mood” for that content, whereas, AppleTV+, Netflix, Prime Video & Tubi have such diverse offerings, that when one opens those Apps, you end up discovering or watching something…unexpected. Suppose, it depends on the type of consumer you are, but I prefer that type of content.
With the addition of STAR, when I open Disney+, for the first time in a year and a half, I’m ready to be surprised by highly familiar and some unfamiliar, yet welcome action-drama-sci-fi-thriller content. These offerings range from Planet Of The Apes, JoJo Rabbit and What Lies Beneath to Ford vs Ferrari, Deadpool and Unbreakable. Once blockbusters like Alien(s) and Predator as well as some more gritty ABC / Fox TV series or more Fox / Touchstone films drop, the App will go from being the king of Singapore’s Bukit Timah Hill, to reaching the peak of (Expedition) Everest.
Tip: Keep in mind, when using a VPN, your Watchlists get messed up, due to regional content licensing agreements. For example, while Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker is available in USA, at the time of writing, it is not in Singapore.
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I’d love to hear your thoughts, what do you think about Disney+ offering STAR outside of the USA? Do you subscribe to Disney+? Did you just sign-up during the ASEAN launch? I look forward to your JoulePepper rating of my JouleView about “Unexpected “Star” of Disney+ is… Fox?” and I want to read your comments in the JouleStream section, below. Let’s make it a discussion! Based on what I shared above, while I have enjoyed the Disney – Pixar – Marvel – Star Wars – NatGeo tabs since November 2019, I give the February 2021 addition of the STAR tab, 5 out of 5 JoulePeppers – they’re Spicy!
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