Step aside, Netflix. Move over, Amazon Prime - there's a new streaming giant in town. And this one's a little different - it's for the kids. DisneyLife is, as its name suggests, an on-demand portal for all things Disney. And only things Disney. But that's a lot of Disney.
Surely there can't be enough content from the animation master to warrant a dedicated streaming service through, right? Well, you'd be surprised. This thing's rammed. It builds on the usual movie and Disney Channel TV show offerings with a mass of soundtracks and animated books. It takes you from Mickey's finest outings to Disney Pixar classics via live-action flicks. If it's got the Disney logo on it, it's there. (Except for the bits that aren't, however - and the omissions are biggies.)
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Accessing all this Disney-branded content will cost you, though. Significantly. At £9.99 per month, DisneyLife isn't cheap. You can trial a month for free, but when those 30 days are up it's notably more expensive than the broader streaming services. Many of which are already filled with Disney content. That's a lot of dosh for Goofy's love. But it's the price you'll have to pay for your kids to think you're the best parent EVER.
DisneyLife Features and Performance: Like a sensory sugar hit
Unlike Netflix and Amazon, there's no dark, moody and minimalist design here. It's all bright, bold colours and classic animation. It's pure kid crack. It's not repetitive either. Instead of stoic backgrounds, each movie and character set has its own theme. From The Lion King's Pride Rock to the house from Up, pages are animated around their lead characters and settings. This really helps immerse you in the content and truly get you in the Disney spirit.
DisneyLife doesn't just look good. It works well, too. Well, mostly. Content discoverability is strong thanks to a number of highlighted breakdowns, character pages and content type shortcuts. The apps can be a little flakey at times though. From occasional misfiring searches to random log-outs, there's a number of bugs that need to be ironed out - and quickly.
The apps are key here too. At the moment, DisneyLife is locked pretty much to mobile screens. Sure, if you own the new Apple TV you can cast your content using AirPlay, but there are no dedicated TV or set-top box apps. Given the amount of big screen-friendly content available, this is a major shame.
It's not a deal-breaker though. Being mobile locked has its benefits. All the content is downloadable, meaning your next long-haul flight or 4-hour car journey can be achieved with something to distract from the barrage of 'are we nearly there yet?'. Thanks, Walt.
You don't have to worry about Disney addiction either. Yes, this might be a streaming service geared at the little ones, but if you're worried about the kids getting square eyes, don't. You can restrict viewing times by profile within the app. This is a brilliant addition: "Sorry, love, it only works between 5pm and 7pm..." And cue evil laugh.
DisneyLife Content: A broad range of narrow-focussed content
DisneyLife isn't just about endless Lion King, Monsters Inc and Toy Story re-runs, though. Oh no. For the ultimate Disney fan, or kids that fear the outdoors, there's near endless things to keep you occupied. There's already over 300 films to pick from, with more to be added periodically. That's before you get to the hundreds of TV shows, albums and books, too.
Although this is very much a streaming service geared at the little ones, there's enough content to keep the big ones happy. And the middle ones too. Not night after night, week after week, but certainly enough to warrant the price tag and make those dust-collecting DVDs even more redundant.
For all the hits and highlights though, there's a lot of tat. But then Netflix and Amazon aren't exactly exclusive for AAA material either. The trouble here is that DisneyLife could be so much more. Disney owns the rights to Star Wars and Marvel content and – with DisneyLife setting you back a tenner a month – we'd expect them to be present. Sadly, that's not the case. The franchises that appease kids and grown-ups alike aren't coming any time soon, either.
There are more basic omissions too - namely one of the biggest animated movies of all time - Frozen. Sure, there's plenty of Frozen-themed content. There's mini-movies, books and soundtracks. There's even character pages. Just not the main event. So while the kids can't watch the film, be prepared to hear that Frozen song a good 417 times a week. Frozen will eventually hit DisneyLife, but only when the current licensing deal with Sky has wrapped up.
While you might begrudge what isn't there, there are a number of hidden gems. Films and content you'd either forgotten about or never realised had anything to do with Disney surprise you around every corner. We're talking the complete collection of Pixar shorts, Recess, and everyone's favourite seasonal story of triumphing over bobsleigh-filled adversity – Cool Runnings.
It's not just about TV series and movies though - the books are a surprising hit for the wee ones. These cover all age ranges and there are even a mass of learning-based books that will read kids through the story word-by-word. We don't condone this becoming a parent replacement - well, yet - but as a periodic helper to calm, content kids, it's up there.
Verdict
For Disney fanatics or simply as a way to keep the kids entertained, DisneyLife is brilliant. The depth of content – well beyond the simple movie line-up – offers hours upon hours of not just entertainment, but a bit of learning too.
The thing is, it's not particularly cheap. And if you're just after the flicks and TV hits, you can get much of the same content on services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Instant Video. They're significantly cheaper too. That said, the kids will love it. Even if your bank balance doesn't.
