Each month, new films and TV shows are added to Disney+‘s UK library. Here’s Eliza Janssen’s recommendations for the titles most worth watching. Scroll down for the full list of everything arriving on the platform.
Top picks
The Last Duel (December 1)
Sir Ridley Scott’s stormy costume drama faced an almighty duel of its own in cinemas this year. Released around the same time as a new Bond movie, two CGI-laden Marvel hits, and delayed Halloween programming, this steely reconstruction of a historical rape trial may have failed to attract audiences as a fun opportunity to share popcorn with mates.
Which is a damn shame! Because, as Fatima Sheriff’s thoughtful review highlights, The Last Duel is only superficially interested in Ye Olde Timey Machismo. Damon, Driver, and Affleck ultimately bow down before a tremendous Jodie Comer in her biggest feature role yet: “Comer’s nuanced performance reveals the extent of Marguerite’s trauma down to minute trembles in her eyes, and is just as crushing as the film’s broken bones and beheadings.”
Diary of a Wimpy Kid (December 3)
Feels extremely surreal that I’ve lived long enough to outgrow the Diary of a Wimpy Kid tween books, and to then see them get adapted twice: first in a live-action 20th Century Fox trilogy, and now in this expensive-looking Disney animated feature. Such is the life of a Wimpy Late-Stage-Capitalist Millennial.
Viewers of basically any age should find some laughs in Jeff Kinney’s middle school saga, now rendered in slick 3D style similar to the Peanuts screen adaptation. You probably had all the same schoolyard fixations as poor Greg: those annoying kids you can’t get shake off…desperation to be crowned “Class Clown” in the yearbook…the ancient slice of cheese on the basketball court that’s taken on near-religious significance…
The Rescue (December 3)
It’s hard to say who was working harder during the Tham Luang cave rescue saga: the 10,000-strong international team of divers, soldiers, and volunteers working to save the lives of thirteen young men from the rising waters, or Hollywood producers rushing to adapt the story into an inspirational money-maker.
If you don’t care to see those fictionalised takes, The Rescue may be your most straight-forward option. It’s directed by the gutsy documentarians behind Free Solo plus the bonafide credentials of National Geographic: expect to swim deep below the surface of a sensationalised news item.
All new titles arriving on Disney+ UK in December
December 1
The Last Duel
The Big Leap
Gabby Duran and the Unsittables: Season 2
India From Above: Season 1
Devs
Da Vinci’s Demons: Seasons 1-3
Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi: Season 1
December 3
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
The Rescue
Pearl Harbor
Die Hard
Christmas Again?!
Mickey & Minnie Wish Upon a Christmas
The Day After Tomorrow
December 5
The First Wave
December 8
Welcome to Earth
Black-ish: Season 7
Brickleberry: Seasons 1-3
Big Sky: Season 2
December 10
The Last Ice
Juno
From The Ashes
Disney Holiday Magic Quest
No Sleep Til Christmas
The Heat
What A Man
December 15
Foodtastic: Season 1 Premiere
Ron’s Gone Wrong
Gigantosaurus: Season 3
Disney Magic Bake-Off: Season 1
Sonny with a Chance: Seasons 1-2
Gordon Ramsay: Unchartered: Season 2
Atlas of Cursed Places: Season 1
Malcolm in the Middle: Season 1-7
December 17
Being the Queen
Eyewitness D-Day
Jojo Rabbit
King Arthur
Ghosting: The Spirit of Christmas
The Joy Luck Club
Arendelle Castle Yule Log
December 22
The Wonder Years: Premiere
Made in a Day
Dian Fossey: Secrets in the Mist
Dog with a Blog: Season 1-3
The Con: Season 1
December 24
Encanto
Life and Death in Paradise: Crocs in the Caribbean
Downhill
Life of Pi
The Man with One Red Shoe
Same Time Next Christmas
Fantastic Lies
Silly Little Game
This Magic Moment
Al Davis and the NFL
Big Shot
Bryan and the Boz
Hawaiian: The Legend of Eddie Aikau
Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett: Premiere
Club Mickey Mouse: Season 4
The Ghost and Molly McGee: Season 1
T.O.T.S.: Season 3
Ice Road Rescue: Season 5
Airport Security Brazil: Season 5
The Salisbury Poisonings
Bless This Mess: Seasons 1-2
The Choe Show
December 31
Derek DelGaudio’s In & Of Itself
Surviving the Mount St Helens Disaster
A Hidden Life
Paddington
Paddington 2
No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson
The Best That Never Was
Run Ricky Run
Small Potatoes: Who Killed The USFL?
See also
* Best new movies and TV series on Netflix
* Best new movies and TV series on Stan
* Best new movies and TV series on Prime Video
* All new streaming movies & series
