It’s not surprising that there are several Disney Plus movies with that coveted 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes—the streaming platform not only has a monopoly on classic titles from the House of Mouse but also on any property owned by Disney, including beloved tentpoles like the Marvel movies, the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchise, and National Geographic documentaries.
With all of that choice, a 100% Rotten Tomatoes approval rating helps to siphon out the best of the bunch. And with acclaimed, Oscar-winning films like Finding Nemo, Summer of Soul and Inside Out hitting just below that top Tomatometer score, you know the quality level is sky-high with these five picks. From all-time classic animated features to a revealing documentary on the world’s biggest pop star, these are five Disney Plus movies with 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Pinocchio
One of the oldest films to have a perfect Certified Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the 1940 fantasy favorite — centered on an endearing puppet created by an elderly woodcarver named Geppetto and brought to life by the Blue Fairy — was also the first animated feature ever to win a competitive Academy Award. (It nabbed trophies for its gorgeous Original Score and Original Song for “When You Wish Upon a Star.”) Even beyond the technical feat of the film, a groundbreaking marvel of effects animation and visual artistry, the real staying power of the film is the emotional resonance of its story, a moving, moralistic parable about all that it takes — honesty, loyalty, courage — for a little puppet to become a real boy.
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Toy Story
This 1995 computer-animated comedy, the first feature film from Pixar, ushered in an entirely new era of animation and subsequently changed film as we know it. Voiced by an all-star comedic cast including Tom Hanks, Tim Allen and Don Rickles, among others, the film focuses on the rivalry-turned-friendship between an old-school pull-string cowboy doll, Sheriff Woody, and a snazzy space ranger action figure named Buzz Lightyear. When the twosome become separated from their human owner Andy Davis and the rest of the boy’s toy collection (Mr. Potato Head, Slinky Dog, Bo Peep and the like) during a family move, the adversaries need to work together to make it home, with enough humor and heart to take you to infinity and …well, you know the rest.
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Dolphin Reef
Narrated by Natalie Portman and directed by Alastair Fothergill (Blue Planet, Planet Earth) and Keith Scholey (Our Planet), this 2018 nature documentary gives the Disney treatment to a real-life young bottlenose dolphin named Echo, who lives in the coral reefs of French Polynesia in the South Pacific. Playful and plucky, he’s the perfect protagonist to guide viewers through waters both familiar — Echo experiences growing pains just like any youngster, including when his mom, Kumu, “grounds” the three-year-old mammal for hanging out with whales miles from home — and far-flung, expanding into the stunning oceanic ecosystem where Echo’s pod resides via lovable sea creatures like a baby humpback named Fluke and Mr. Mantis, the colorful peacock mantis shrimp that lives “next door."
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Toy Story 2
Consider it The Godfather Part II of animated sequels: this 1999 Toy Story follow-up is regarded as highly as its predecessor, reuniting movie lovers with Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), Rex (Wallace Shawn) and the rest of the toy-chest crew, as well as introducing new characters like cowgirl ragdoll Jessie (voiced by Joan Cusack) and Stinky Pete the Prospector (Kelsey Grammer), the sequel’s antagonist. This time around, Woody has been stolen by toy collector Al McWhiggin (Wayne Knight), leaving Buzz and the rest of the toys to try to rescue him. However, Woody soon discovers that he’s actually a vintage toy based on an old television show called Woody’s Roundup and part of a collection that includes Jessie, Stinky Pete and a horse called Bullseye, bringing up questions of family, identity and loyalty.
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Folklore: The Long Pond Sessions
Even if you’re not a card-carrying Swiftie, this 2020 documentary directed by pop superstar Taylor Swift is a captivating watch, detailing the making of the singer-songwriter’s eighth studio album, Folklore, which was recorded during the COVID-19 lockdowns. The film focuses on the first in-person assemblage of the album’s main players — Swift as well as collaborators Aaron Dessner, Jack Antonoff and Justin Vernon (better known as Bon Iver) — as they gather together at Long Pond Studio in Hudson Valley, New York to discuss the creative process and musical inspirations behind all 17 tracks on the album. Folklore would go on to win the Grammy for Album of the Year, and this stripped-down doc is a worthy cinematic supplement, evoking both the romantic escapism and wistful isolation of Swift’s songs.
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