Disney+ has added another recent animated favorite to its library earlier than expected to help subscribers ride out the quarantine. After previously making Frozen II available ahead of schedule, on April 3 Disney’s streaming service debuted Onward early as well.
The Disney/Pixar animated feature first hit theaters back on March 6, but ended up with a limited run due to the ramping up of temporary business closures and extended social distancing guidelines, which are currently in place through the month of April. It stars MCU favorites Tom Holland and Chris Pratt as brothers who reside in a land filled with mythical, magical creatures. While they don’t have much of a relationship, they end up bonding after they try to resurrect their dead father but only manage to get halfway there.
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Two brothers, one epic journey. #PixarOnward is now streaming on #DisneyPlus in the U.S. and Canada! pic.twitter.com/QpyIXVdtxT
— Disney+ (@disneyplus) April 3, 2020
You’ll need a Disney+ account to stream Onward, though the service is currently offering a seven-day free trial before the $7.99 monthly fee kicks in.
It’s the latest recently-released film to make its way to the home video market in one way or another, with films like The Way Back and The Invisible Man already on-demand due to their March debuts getting cut short as more theaters temporarily closed down to help slow the spread of coronavirus.
Additionally, networks like HBO and AMC have each released hundreds of hours of content that can be streamed without a subscription. AMC will offer the first half of The Walking Dead Season 10, which is currently on the air, as well as Baroness von Sketch Show, Birthday Boys and Spoils of Babylon. Meanwhile, HBO has a number of its most renowned series, from The Sopranos to Six Feet Under, available to stream for free as well.
Along with all those options, there are quite a few streaming platforms that are offering 30-day free trials to help encourage people to stay home as much as possible until coronavirus is better contained.
There has been a downside to all this increased demand, however. Netflix and Disney+ have each lowered their streaming quality in some countries to avoid outages, and YouTube has implemented a similar measure to keep up with everyone who’s stuck in social isolation for the time being.
