In recent months we have been starkly reminded about the ephemeral nature of streaming movies and TV. Content created directly for the various streaming platforms largely doesn‘t exist anywhere else, and so, if it gets removed, as has happened recently with both Disney+ and Max, it’s seemingly gone forever. This has caused many to call for physical media releases of popular shows, and this morning we learned several major Marvel and Star Wars productions from Disney+ will be available in that form soon.
To be sure, this is great news. For fans of Loki and The Mandalorian, being able to own the physical discs, to ensure they always have access to their favorite show, is wonderful. And assuming that these Blu-rays sell even moderately well, we can guess that other popular series from Disney+ will eventually get the same treatment. However, now that we’re seeing hit shows from Disney+ get physical releases, next we need to see unpopular shows get the same treatment.
Shows Removed Form Disney+ Need Physical Releases
It’s great that WandaVision will get a physical release. For people who just want to own it, or be absolutely sure that they can watch it if their internet goes out, that’s great, but the fact is that the odds are fairly low that series will ever be pulled from Disney+ for as long as Disney+ exists. However, a lot of content is completely unavailable, and these are the things that really need physical disc treatment. There are fans of Big Shot or Willow, or both like me, that would snap up a collection if it were available because it would be the only way to watch these shows.
It’s not the shows people love that desperately need physical releases, it’s everything else. Even though these shows may not have been super popular, they should still exist. The fact that they weren’t automatically beloved shouldn’t be a death sentence. Lots of shows find audiences much later in life, but that's literally impossible for some shows if they cannot be seen elsewhere. Even the creator of the Willow series was ok, with the show being delisted from Disney+, but only because he felt confident it would be available again one day.
I for one would grab a Blu-ray of Howard, Don Hahn’s wonderful documentary about the life of Little Mermaid composer Howard Ashman, in a second. The film was reportedly on the list of Disney+ content to get the ax before a significant fan backlash seemed to cause Disney to walk it back. I don’t trust that the movie won’t disappear at some point, so even if it isn’t removed soon, I would buy the disc to ensure that I have it.
Of course, the fact that something like The Mysterious Benedict Society was removed from Disney+ because it apparently wasn’t successful enough on the platform would seem to make the possibility of it getting a physical release that much more unlikely. Still, maybe if The Mandalorian and these other shows are successful enough, it will broaden the options that Disney is considering for release.
