Disney is aimed towards kids, but who says magic has to stay in childhood?
While most of Disney’s movies are fun films with silly animated characters, some have real messages that are relevant as adults. Here’s your guide to the top five Disney movies to watch in college.
Toy Story 3
When you’re reminiscing about high school and home, Toy Story 3 movie is a must. It deals with how to handle what you leave behind when you go to college. Whether its parents, siblings, pets, or even in Andy’s case, toys, we all leave something behind when we move to college. It’s nice to be reminded that this isn’t a unique experience, and that so many people go through it. Toy Story 3 wraps Andy’s childhood up in a perfect little bow and we all love a happy ending.
Soul
Soul is your go to movie for when you’re having an existential crisis and think that everyone has their lives figured out and you don’t. As a college student, it’s so easy to get wrapped up in the thought that you need to have your entire life planned out. Soul reminds you to take a step back. It’s okay to not know what you want out of your life, just having the desire to live it is more than enough.
Ratatouille
TikTok definitely reminded us of Ratatouille’s brilliance this summer, but it’s always had iconic moments as we follow Remy the rat on his dream to be a great chef. “Only the fearless can be great” is the most notable movie quote, and it’s so motivating. You can only be great if you’re able to work past your fears, and as a college student, I feel like this is something I work on a lot. You can’t let your fears limit your potential.
Moana
“How Far I’ll Go” is such a great hype song. This movie follows Moana on what seems like a hopeless journey, but because it’s Disney, everything works out in the end. However, it’s not without sacrifice. Moana had to leave her family and island to try to achieve a better life for everyone. Although she left her comfort zone, Moana learned that the rewards were worth it. This is a great lesson for college students to be reminded of.
Monsters University
I couldn’t make a list of Disney movies to watch in college and leave Monsters University off. We meet young Mike Wazowski in college attempting to live out his childhood dream. The movie follows Mike and Sully’s highs and lows, and Mike’s eventual realization that the university of his dreams just wasn’t what he thought it would be. It’s super understandable for college to not be everything you expected it to be, and this movie reinforces that those feelings are completely valid.
All of these movies are conveniently located on Disney+.