I had the same reaction. There are many reasons why I also believe OP's solution is better than the usual having a kid use the remote to navigate Disney+.

Having a curated selection instead of a near infinite catalog full of noise is one of them. Not exposing the kids to a UX optimised for retention (a.k.a. addiction) would be my main motivation though.

Because I had that as a kid, would be at the bottom of the list.