The Best TV Shows & Movies Coming To Disney+ In October 2021

Spooky season is almost upon us and Disney+ has understood the assignment. Kind of. If you're looking for some ultra family-friendly Halloween specials, you've come to the right place, but if you're craving something with a little more edge, we recommend searching through the back catalogue or firing up a different streaming service. No matter what kind of October you're planning, we've got a recommendation.

Besides the spooky selections, Disney's streaming service is unleashing some excellent non-Halloween titles next month, and we have them all listed below. Keep scrolling to soak up all the knowledge and feel confident that you'll never miss a TV show or movie you want to see ever again.

If you've been waiting for "Black Widow" to hit streaming services so you can watch it in the Covid-free confines of your living room, your moment has finally arrived. Starring your girl Scarlett Johansson (obviously) and the always delightful Florence Pugh, as well as David Harbour and Rachel Weisz, "Black Widow" attempts to fill in the blanks of Natasha Romanoff's past while crafting a fun-for-the-whole-family spy thriller. It doesn't quite hit all of those marks, but let's be real, you're either watching this because you're a Marvel completist or you just want to watch Johansson and Pugh play off of each other for 90 minutes, both of which are solid motivations. I mean really, how can you deny themselves the chance to spend some time with Florence Pugh? 

And speaking of Marvel's many IPs, the finale of "Marvel's What If..." is upon us and we're hyped to figure out what the hell is going on. The animated anthology series is a full exploration of the alternate realities of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. From "What If... Thor Were an Only Child?" to "What If... Zombies?," the show dives into all the possibilities and analyzes how different the MCU timeline would look if things were a little different. While many of the episodes seem like they might stand alone, the series has been slowly building to a more interconnected conclusion. It'll be interesting to see how directors Bryan Andrews and A.C. Bradley will tie it all together.

We're never going to turn down a chance to full kid mode and veg out with a new "Muppets" movie, especially with a cast like this. Starring Yvette Nicole Brown, Will Arnett, Taraji P. Henson, John Stamos, Danny Trejo, the late Ed Asner, and of course, all of your favorite muppets, the "Muppets Haunted Mansion" looks and sounds like a true autumnal delight. It doesn't hurt that the plot of the movie basically involves the Muppets going to an extreme haunt version of the Haunted Mansion, which is 100% my idea of a dream vacation. What an excellent way to get into the Halloween spirit.

I have no idea if this movie has held up, but considering Disney+ is the number one streaming service for you to rediscover weird stuff you watched as a child, it's only fitting that "Thumbelina" makes an appearance. Based on the Hans Christian Andersen (the author essentially executive produced all of our childhoods) fairy tale, this classic (kind of) '90s animated movie has a lot going on, between the magical fairies and the evil talking frogs and Thumbelina's incredibly ponytail, it's definitely more of a wild ride than you remember. Also, somehow the animators were able to singlehandedly predict the cottagecore trend. When TikTok discovers Thumbelina's style, they're going to lose it.

October 1

LEGO Star Wars Terrifying Tales

Alvin And The Chipmunks

Alvin And The Chipmunks: The Road Chip

Just Roll With It: You Decide Live!

The Scariest Story Ever: A Mickey Mouse Halloween Spooktacular!

October 6

Among the Stars (Episode 1)

Turner & Hooch (Episode 12)

Marvel's What If...? (Episode 9)

Chip 'n' Dale Park Life (Episode 11)

Doogie Kamealoha, M.D. (Episode 5)

Black Widow

Disney Junior The Chicken Squad (S1) Ep. The Surprise Party Surprise / U.F. Oh-No

Drain The Oceans: The Mississippi River & Arctic War (S1)

Drain The Oceans (S4)

The Ghost And Molly McGee (S1), 5 episodes

Impact With Gal Gadot (S1)

Muppet Babies (S3), 9 episodes

Puppy Dog Pals (S4), 5 episodes

Spidey And His Amazing Friends (S1) Ep. Rocket Rhino / Trick Or Trace-E

October 8

Muppets Haunted Mansion

Disney Junior Mickey's Tale Of Two Witches

Under Wraps

October 13

Just Beyond (Episode 1)

Chip 'n' Dale Park Life (Episode 12)

Doogie Kamealoha, M.D. (Episode 6)

Apollo: Back To The Moon (S1)

Mickey Mouse Mixed-Up Adventures (S1) Ep. The Spooky Spook House / Clarabelle's Banana Splitz!

Secrets Of The Zoo: North Carolina (S1)

Secrets Of The Zoo: Down Under (S2)

The Wizard Of Paws (S1)

Zombies: Addison's Moonstone Mystery Shorts (S1)

October 15

Lost Cities With Albert Lin: The Great Flood

Megacity Of The Maya Warrior King

October 20

Disney Insider (Episode 8)

Doogie Kamealoha, M.D. (Episode 7)

Marvel Studios Assembled: Making of Black Widow

Disney's Magic Bake-Off (S1), 4 episodes

PJ Masks (S5), 6 episodes

The Wild Life Of Dr. Ole (S1)

October 22

Rookie Of The Year

Thumbelina

October 27

Disney Insider (Episode 9)

Doogie Kamealoha, M.D. (Episode 8)

Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of What If...?

Port Protection Alaska (S4)

October 29

Bob Ballard: An Explorer's Life

McFarland, USA