Best on Disney+ › Documentary
Included with subscription · US · updated October 29, 2026
Best documentaries on Disney+ right now, ranked
The highest-rated documentaries you can stream with a standard Disney+ plan in the US today: 10 movies and 12 series, checked title by title. Titles that need a paid add-on channel, a rental or a purchase aren’t counted.
How this is ranked: when a title has at least 5 ratings from Wochly users, its score is their average (green). Otherwise we use TMDB’s user rating weighted by how many people voted (marked “TMDB, weighted”), so a title with a handful of votes can’t outrank an established favorite. Talk, news and reality shows are left out. Availability comes from JustWatch via TMDB and is re-checked every few hours.
Best documentary movies on Disney+
- 1
Free Solo (2018)
Documentary, Adventure
Follow Alex Honnold as he attempts to become the first person to ever free solo climb Yosemite's 3,000 foot high El Capitan wall. With no ropes or safety gear, this would arguably be the greatest feat in rock climbing history.
7.6TMDB, weighted
- 2
Before the Flood (2016)
Documentary
A look at how climate change affects our environment and what society can do to prevent the demise of endangered species, ecosystems, and native communities across the planet.
7.3TMDB, weighted
- 3
The Rescue (2021)
Documentary, Drama
The enthralling, against-all-odds story that transfixed the world in 2018: the daring rescue of twelve boys and their coach from deep inside a flooded cave in Northern Thailand.
7.0TMDB, weighted
- 4
Oceans (2010)
Documentary, Family, Drama
An ecological drama/documentary, filmed throughout the globe. Part thriller, part meditation on the vanishing wonders of the sub-aquatic world.
6.9TMDB, weighted
- 5
The Pixar Story (2007)
Documentary
A look at the first years of Pixar Animation Studios - from the success of "Toy Story" and Pixar's promotion of talented people, to the building of its East Bay campus, the company's relationship with Disney, and its remarkable initial string of eight hits. The contributions of John Lasseter, Ed Catmull and Steve Jobs are profiled. The decline of two-dimensional animation is chronicled as three-dimensional animation rises. Hard work and creativity seem to share the screen in equal proportions.
6.9TMDB, weighted
- 6
Fire of Love (2022)
Documentary
A doomed love triangle between intrepid French scientists Katia and Maurice Krafft, and their beloved volcanoes.
6.9TMDB, weighted
- 7
Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (2021)
Music, Documentary, History
During the same summer as Woodstock, over 300,000 people attended the Harlem Cultural Festival, celebrating African American music and culture, and promoting Black pride and unity. The footage from the festival sat in a basement, unseen for over 50 years, keeping this incredible event in America's history lost — until now.
6.9TMDB, weighted
- 8
Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy (2004)
Documentary
From the earliest versions of the script to the blockbuster debuts, explore the creation of the Star Wars Trilogy.
6.8TMDB, weighted
- 9
African Cats (2011)
Documentary, Adventure
African Cats captures the real-life love, humor and determination of the majestic kings of the savanna. The story features Mara, an endearing lion cub who strives to grow up with her mother’s strength, spirit and wisdom; Sita, a fearless cheetah and single mother of five mischievous newborns; and Fang, a proud leader of the pride who must defend his family from a once banished lion.
6.8TMDB, weighted
- 10
Obi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi's Return (2022)
Documentary
This special explores the return of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker to the screen, as well as Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen to their classic roles. Director Deborah Chow leads the cast and crew as they create new heroes and villains that live alongside new incarnations of beloved Star Wars characters, and an epic story that dramatically bridges the saga films.
6.7TMDB, weighted
Best documentary shows on Disney+
- 1
The Beatles: Get Back (2021)
Documentary
The three-part documentary series, compiled from over 60 hours of unseen footage, captures the warmth, camaraderie, and creative genius that defined the legacy of music's most iconic foursome. The series also includes – for the first time in its entirety – The Beatles' final performance at London's Savile Row.
7.6TMDB, weighted
- 2
MythBusters (2003)
Documentary
MythBusters is a science entertainment television program created and produced by Australia's Beyond Television Productions for the Discovery Channel. The show's hosts, special effects experts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, use elements of the scientific method to test the validity of rumors, myths, movie scenes, adages, Internet videos, and news stories.
7.4TMDB, weighted
- 3
Welcome to Earth (2021)
Documentary
Will Smith whose curiosity and wonder is positively infectious—is guided by National Geographic Explorers traveling to different corners of the world to get up close and personal with the weirdest, most unusual, dangerous and thrilling spectacles of the planet.
7.2TMDB, weighted
- 4
Marvel Studios Legends (2021)
Documentary, Action & Adventure, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Revisit the epic heroes, villains and moments from across the MCU in preparation for the stories still to come. Each dynamic segment feeds directly into the upcoming series — setting the stage for future events. This series weaves together the many threads that constitute the unparalleled Marvel Cinematic Universe.
7.1TMDB, weighted
- 5
The Men Who Built America (2012)
Documentary
Influential builders, dreamers and believers whose feats transformed the United States, a nation decaying from the inside after the Civil War, into the greatest economic and technological superpower the world had ever seen. The Men Who Built America is the story of a nation at the crossroads and of the people who catapulted it to prosperity.
7.1TMDB, weighted
- 6
7.0TMDB, weighted
- 7
How It's Made (2001)
Documentary
Have you ever wondered how the products you use every day are made? How It's Made leads you through the process of how everyday products, such as apple juice, skateboards, engines, contact lenses, and many more objects are manufactured.
6.9TMDB, weighted
- 8
The First 48 (2004)
Documentary, Drama, Crime
The First 48 follows detectives from around the country during these first critical hours as they race against time to find the suspect. Gritty and fast-paced, it takes viewers behind the scenes of real-life investigations with unprecedented access to crime scenes, autopsies, forensic processing, and interrogations.
6.9TMDB, weighted
- 9
Ancient Aliens (2010)
Documentary, Mystery, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Did intelligent beings from outer space visit Earth thousands of years ago? From the age of the dinosaurs to ancient Egypt, from early cave drawings to continued mass sightings in the US, each episode gives historic depth to the questions, speculations, provocative controversies, first-hand accounts and grounded theories surrounding this age old debate.
6.8TMDB, weighted
- 10
One Strange Rock (2018)
Documentary
A mind-bending, thrilling journey exploring the fragility and wonder of planet Earth, one of the most peculiar, unique places in the entire universe, brought to life by the only people to have left it behind – the world’s most well known and leading astronauts.
6.8TMDB, weighted
- 11
Life After People: The Series (2009)
Documentary
Life After People is a television series on which scientists, structural engineers, and other experts speculate about what might become of Earth should humanity instantly disappear. The featured experts also talk about the impact of human extinction on the environment, and the vestiges of civilization thus left behind.
6.8TMDB, weighted
- 12
Into the Unknown: Making Frozen II (2020)
Documentary
The team behind Frozen II open their doors to cameras for a six-part documentary series to reveal the hard work, heart, and collaboration it takes to create one of the most highly-anticipated films in Walt Disney Animation Studios’ near-century of moviemaking. Cameras were there to capture an eye-opening - and at times jaw-dropping - view of the challenges and the breakthroughs, the artistry, creativity and the complexity of creating the #1 animated feature of all time.
6.7TMDB, weighted
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