I hope you caught Home Alone and the Trump-less Home Alone 2: Lost in New York on Disney+ over the holidays, because they’re not there anymore (instead, you’ll have to settle for watching them on YouTube, or iTunes, or Amazon Prime, or DVD, or a random showing on Freeform). As 2019 turned to 2020, Disney+ users noticed that seemingly random titles had been removed from the streaming service’s library without warning, including the first two films in the Home Alone franchise (don’t worry, Home Alone 3 is still there), The Sandlot, and Pirate of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.
Disney doesn’t release lists of what’s being removed from Disney+, unlike Netflix, only what’s being added. “But the company has never actually promised that the various offerings on Disney+ would remain there indefinitely,” Polygon reported. “Sources tell Polygon that encumbrances with legacy deals are likely the reason for the departures, and that titles may rejoin the service permanently after those licenses expire.”
Back in November 2019, a Disney+ spokesperson confirmed that “beloved classics from the Disney vault,” including Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, The Little Mermaid, and The Lion King (the good one) will have a “permanent home” on the service. But as for less-beloved classics like Meet the Deedles, you may want to watch it now, just in case.
#disneyplus return home alone 1 and 2 or im cancelling disney plus effective tomorrow!!
— pee_eye_em_pee (@Dyldonic) January 1, 2020
Just confirmed for myself that DisneyPlus removed Home Alone 1 & 2 (but not 3?) after the holidays. Guess folks were foolish to believe that Disney operating its own streaming platform meant the end of The Disney Vault. Wonder what they’ll take away next? pic.twitter.com/rMM8DBWO8S
— Henry Gilbert (@hEnereyG) January 2, 2020
Dear Disney Plus,
Why is ANYTHING leaving your service? Don’t you own them all? Wasn’t that literally the whole point of subscribing, to have access to ALL your films and shows? To open the vaults once and for all?
What. The. Heck, Disney?
Sincerely,
Me https://t.co/Ako6G2gCE8— William Bibbiani (@WilliamBibbiani) January 1, 2020
No one:
Disney+: *pulls Home Alone and Home Alone 2*
Also Disney+: *keeps Home Alone 3* pic.twitter.com/XGhx3QSv2p
— Christine 💮🍃 (@KhFangirl25) January 2, 2020
https://twitter.com/McclendonMeagan/status/1212437651078430720
(Via Polygon)