With so much original content coming from Disney, it’s easy to forget that there is a lot of stuff on Disney+. Like, a lot a lot. Once you make it past the mountain of Marvel movies, Star Wars trilogies, and Disney live-action remakes, you'll find a treasure trove of original shows, classics from days gone by, documentaries, animated films, shorts, and much more. Disney+ is seriously packed to the rafters with gems that Disney fans around the world will want to dig into ASAP.
To make things a bit easier, we've picked out the best hidden gems currently available to stream on Disney+. We've sifted through the catalog and now offer up our recommendations for the titles that will take you back to your childhood, will leave you thrilled, and may even give you a new perspective on the world of Disney.
For more recommendations, check out our list of the best shows and movies on Disney+.
Editor's note: This article was updated September 2023 to include The Even Stevens Movie.
Willow (1988)
Run Time: 2 hr 6 min | Genre: Dark Fantasy Adventure | Director: Ron Howard
Cast: Warwick Davis, Val Kilmer, Joanne Whalley
Long before Peter Jackson successfully adapted J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, George Lucas came up with his own dark fantasy about a simple farmer who gets entangled in the fight against an evil sorcerer. Willow has all the major beats of a great medieval fantasy, including ancient prophecies, powerful monsters, rogue warriors with a big heart, and an unlikely hero who rises to the occasion and ends up saving the whole world. In Willow’s case, Warwick Davis plays the titular character, a member of the Nelwyn. Also known as the “little people,” the Nelwyn are frequently ignored by other races in their eternal struggle for power. Even so, Willow proves he can surpass any obstacle while protecting a fragile baby against the evil queen who wants to keep her domain over the land. Fans of dark fantasy can’t go wrong with Willow. And while the special effects of this 1988 didn’t age too well, it’s still a story with a lot of thrills.— Marco Vito Oddo
The Even Stevens Movies (2003)
Run Time: 1 hr 33 min | Genre: Comedy, Family | Director: Sean McNamara
Cast: Shia LaBeouf, Christy Carlson Romano, Donna Pescow
The Even Stevens Movie is the big series finale to the Disney Channel Original Series Even Stevens, and it takes the family to an island paradise as part of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Unfortunately, the Stevens have been hoodwinked and forced to survive a terrible reality show that is hellbent on tearing them apart. The main two siblings of the show, Ren (Christy Carlson Romano) and Louis (Shia LaBeouf), are the only ones who can keep their family from descending into madness. Despite being part of the larger series, anyone can enjoy the movie since it gives audiences the family dynamics and character interactions early to catch viewers up before they venture into the unknown to be tortured by a sadistic reality producer (Tim Meadows).
Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (2004)
Run Time: 1 hr 29 min | Genre: Teen Comedy Musical | Director: Sara Sugarman
Cast: Lindsay Lohan, Megan Fox, Adam Garcia, Alison Pill
Just as Easy A attempted to modernize The Scarlet Letter, Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen is a unique and unexpected rendition of George Bernard Shaw’s classic Pygmalion. Director Sara Sugarman captures the general essence of the original story, allowing Lindsay Lohan, at the height of her talent, to embody teenager Lola, an ambitious girl with dreams of fame who attempts to reinvent herself when her family moves to a suburban town in New Jersey. In addition to Lohan and the film’s killer soundtrack, Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen also features a young Megan Fox prior to the height of her popularity and talent as Lola’s rival. – Yael Tygiel
Ice Princess (2005)
Run Time: 1 hr 37 min | Genre: Teen Sports Comedy-Drama | Director: Tim Fywell
Cast: Joan Cusack, Kim Cattrall, Michelle Trachtenberg, Hayden Panettiere
Before Troy Bolton was torn between basketball and singing in High School Musical, Casey Carlyle (Michelle Trachtenberg) had to juggle her Harvard physics ambitions with her passion for figure skating in Ice Princess. Add in the pressure from both her intense mother (Joan Cusack) and demanding coach Tina Harwood (Kim Cattrall), as well as her frenemy relationship with Tina’s daughter Gen (Hayden Panettiere) and crush on her son, Zamboni driver Teddy (Trevor Blumas), and you have quite a chaotic senior year. Ice Princess is a stone-cold classic, combining genuinely moving moments with true hilarity – not to mention an iconic soundtrack. Ice Princess belongs in the ice skating movies hall of fame alongside I, Tonya and The Cutting Edge. – Taylor Gates
Because of Winn-Dixie (2005)
Run Time: 1 hr 46 min | Genre: Family | Director: Wayne Wang
Cast: Jeff Daniels, Cicely Tyson, Dave Matthews, Eva Marie Saint, AnnaSophia Robb
Based on the Kate DiCamillo novel of the same name, Because of Winn-Dixie is AnnaSophia Robb’s debut role – and it quickly becomes clear why she’s been consistently working ever since in hit films like Bridge to Terabithia and Soul Surfer and more recently in shows like The Act and Little Fires Everywhere. Robb stars as India Opal Buloni, a 10-year-old who has just moved to a small town with her preacher father (Jeff Daniels). There, she learns to make friends with people in the community and overcome her grief from her mother’s abandonment with the help of a dog she finds causing chaos at the grocery store. The movie is a heartwarmer and a tear-jerker grounded by its genuine emotions and talented cast. – Taylor Gates
Edward Scissorhands (1990)
Run Time: 1 hr 45 min | Genre: Fantasy Romance | Director: Tim Burton
Cast: Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Dianne Wiest
If you want peak Tim Burton, you can’t really go wrong with his 1990 fantasy romance film. While Burton has eventually become a self-parody of himself, back in 1990, his film about a gentle soul with scissors for hands was (pardon the pun) cutting edge. The story follows the title character (Johnny Depp) who, after being left to wander alone by himself in a lonely house, is adopted by a suburban family who tries to integrate him into a society that is at first curious about his talents but turns on him when his novelty wears off. A modern-day Frankenstein tale permeated with Burton’s ideas about the power and dangers of imagination, Edward Scissorhands is the director at his best and the film still endures thanks to the way it weaves together darkness and warmth. — Matt Goldberg
Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010)
Run Time: 1 hr 32 min | Genre: Comedy | Director: Thor Freudenthal
Cast: Zachary Gordon, Robert Capron, Rachael Harris, Steve Zahn
Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid books got a generation of middle-schoolers to actually take an interest in reading, and the first film adaptation is a fun, heartwarming comedy for that age group. It’s nice to see a live-action family comedy that actually focuses on the kids’ perspective, and doesn’t feature an overabundance of celebrity cameos. Zachary Gordon gave a breakout performance as the nervous sixth-grader Greg Heffley, and remarkably, the young star is able to carry the film by himself. If nothing else, Diary of a Wimpy Kid is proof that Steve Zahn should be cast in absolutely everything. — Liam Gaughan
The Black Cauldron (1985)
Run Time: 1 hr 20 min | Genre: Animated Dark Fantasy Adventure | Director: Ted Berman, Richard Rich
Cast: Grant Bardsley, Susan Sheridan, Freddie Jones
One of the most underrated animated films developed by Disney, The Black Cauldron trades princesses and music numbers for a dark fantasy tale filled with swords and magic. Originally released in 1985, The Black Cauldron was a huge box-office bomb, which led Disney to hold its home release until 1998. This gap prevented the film from reaching audiences, and even today, most Disney fans don’t even know The Black Cauldron even exists. Fortunately, The Black Cauldron is available right now on Disney+, making it one of the best hidden gems of the streaming service. Sure, the film is flawed and lacks characters as memorable as the ones in Disney’s biggest successes. Still, The Black Cauldron is an interesting take on Lloyd Alexander’s The Chronicles of Prydain novel series, which in turn were inspired in Welsh mythology. If you are looking for a new kind of medieval fantasy, The Black Cauldron is a great choice. — Marco Vito Oddo
Newsies (1992)
Run Time: 2 hr 1 min | Genre: Musical Historical Comedy-Drama | Director: Kenny Ortega
Cast: Christian Bale, Bill Pullman, Ann-Margret, Robert Duvall
Long before it was a hit Broadway show, Newsies was a cult classic movie musical directed by future High School Musical mastermind Kenny Ortega. Loosely based on the real-life newsboys’ strike of 1899, the film follows a ragtag gang of Manhattan paper sellers led by conman Jack Kelly (a young Christian Bale). When newspaper magnate Joseph Pulitzer (Robert Duvall) increases the prices for his impoverished distributors, the boys decide to fight back (through song and dance). But when Jack and his new friend David (David Moscow) decide to take on “The World,” uniting the newsies of New York City may be the least of their problems. With a surprisingly prescient political message and an unimpeachable soundtrack by legendary songwriter Alan Menken, the film is an underrated and delightful ’90s gem. — Mary Kate Carr
Tuck Everlasting (2002)
Run Time: 1 hr 36 min | Genre: Romantic Fantasy Drama | Director: Jay Russell
Cast: Alexis Bledel, Ben Kingsley, Sissy Spacek
Based on the children’s novel by Natalie Babbitt, Tuck Everlasting is a lush, romantic historical fantasy. In 1914, Winnie Foster (Alexis Bledel) feels trapped by the restrictions of her life and decides to run away. But when she does, she becomes entangled with the Tuck family, who kidnap her in order to preserve their family secret: by drinking from a nearby spring, the entire family has become immortal. As Winnie falls in love with their son Jesse (Jonathan Jackson), she learns the costs of living forever and the dangers that the spring could pose if it’s discovered by anyone else. The young heroine is faced with a choice between the life she’s always known and a new, everlasting one with her first love. — Mary Kate Carr