Images via Disney Channel
This was on October 9, 1983 disney channel released its first original film, that is tiger town — a sports drama starring Kay Roy Scheider Jaws fame, and Justin Henry (kramer vs kramer), with Alan Shapiro in the director’s chair. Around the same time, Disney’s Good morning, Mickey!, which ran from 1983 to 1992, marked the group’s first original series. Since the early ’80s, there have been hundreds of Disney Channel Originals, whether they be hour-long features or multiple seasons worth of storytelling. We’re Still Mourning the Loss of Disney Channel’s Biggest Wins, Like Phineas and Ferb (2009-2015), The Suite Life of Zack and Cody (2005–2008) and Wizards of Waverly Place (2007-2012), but as much as it pains us, we’ve found some inexplicable pleasure in remembering some of Disney Channel’s best (and our favorite) ventures.
Halloween Town (Taylor Mansfield)
Disney Channel With a roaring amount of authenticity and originality under its belt, it would seem downright criminal to leave out one of the network’s top-notch original movies — and that would be a 1998 film. Halloween Town, as the first chapter in Evergreen Halloween Town The franchise – which boasted four films in total – The OG movie is undoubtedly the best that the film series has to offer.
Centered around a magical family full of timeless witches and warlocks, the premise of the first film focuses on 13-year-old Marnie Piper who, after realizing that her grandmother Aggie is a powerful witch, decides to follow her to the land of Halloweentown. I do To learn the ropes of magic and become a seasoned witch in your own right. From humorous, talking skeletons to bloodthirsty villains like Kalabar, there’s no doubt Halloween Town One of the greatest Disney Channel Original Movies of all time.
high school musical , Kim Possible (Chinna Wilkinson)
It is an unwritten rule that whoever oversees the “lists” of WGTC employees gets to choose more than one entry for themselves. Well, not really, but I did anyway – because I can. But can you blame me? it was impossible to choose between groundbreaking high school musical and the show that kept me up until 2 a.m. again, Kim Possible, Who Said I Can’t Choose A Disney Channel Original Movie And A Disney Channel Original Series? high school musical promoted a message of self-discovery, encouraging the youth of the mid-2000s to embrace their differences and be comfortable in their own skin. Plus, the musical number is undoubtedly the greatest hit of Disney’s nearly 100-year anniversary. As long as I’m alive, hits like “Breaking Free” and “What I’ve Been Looking For” will never happen — and I still have a few years ahead of me.
related to Kim Possible, It was completely personal. I’ve loved it since I was 10, and it never gets old even at 23 (can’t say the same about me). Kim Possible was a love letter to young girls who never thought they’d make it to anything, presented on screen by a resilient, capable teenager living an exciting double life. There’s also talk of a talking mole rat, so that was a huge selling point. And don’t even get me started on Shego. Childhood crush, anyone? Besides, Dr. Drakken and Shego’s interactions are still comedy gold to this day, and nothing Disney has created since then will ever top the excellent pairing of Shego’s dry, cryptic sense of humour/sarcasm and Drakken’s laugh-out-loud enthusiasm for flawed schemes. . Ah, the good old days.
Ollie Hopnoodle’s Haven of Bliss (Jonathan Greenall)
Today, a christmas story Considered a holiday classic. However, this was not always the case. In fact, the film was mostly ignored until TBS started running a 24-hour Christmas marathon of the film in 1997.
Because of this, many people do not even know that it is 2022. a christmas story christmas was not the first christmas story sequel. In fact, several sequels were released during the 80s, one of which was Ollie Hopnoodle’s Haven of Bliss. A Disney and PBS co-production, this 1988 Disney Channel premiere movie (they weren’t calling them Disney Channel Original Movies yet. Yep, I’m old, thanks for reminding me) is — kind of christmas story – Based on one of Jean Shepherd’s semi-autobiographical short stories. set after heat a christmas story Lastly, the film follows the Parker clan as they travel to Michigan to live at a lakeside camp.
Of course, as with any story involving the Parker family, things don’t go smoothly, and chaos ensues. The car breaks down several times, the family members’ differing desires for travel collide, and they get annoyed by the eccentric locals. However, the film has a lot of heart, and like a christmas story, It perfectly captures the spirit of a family trying their best no matter what life throws at them.
Tangled: Earlier Never Later (Ellie Capps)
while the movie really serves more as a pilot Tangled: The Series, it was advertised as a Disney Channel Original Movie, so it totally makes sense! That’s why I wanted to highlight it as my choice as well. Not only is it one of the very few animated originals for the channel, but the series it sets out to offer is also criminally underrated. Even watching it as an adult, the story covers some darker themes incredibly well.
If you are a Disney fan and haven’t taken out time to track it down on Disney Plus, then you are making a huge mistake. The 2D animation is so gorgeous and stylized that I promise you won’t miss the 3D models at all. Trust me, it’s better than anything like the direct-to-VHS sequels that Disney used to put out back in the day – it has some serious quality. Plus, the movie is only an hour long, so if it doesn’t hook you right away, you might not have put too much time into it. So why not give it a try?
hannah montana (Francisca Santos)
The multiple hit wonder and mystery girl, Hannah Montana, was responsible for a generational change on the Disney Channel. The musical series from Disney’s now Golden Age revolutionized the lives of thousands around the world — and yes, even in lil’ ol’ Portugal. As an adult, it’s hard to watch your childhood favorites. Looking back now, at the end of the day, Miley (Stewart) was just a nepo baby, riding a country father’s heartstrings, wearing wigs, and cheating others to make millions.
Plus, it was revolutionary, and honestly, just seeing your (supposedly) average Jane getting the “best of both worlds” was just what every little girl wanted. hannah montana Introduced the world to the biggest obstacles (yes, I said it) to come out of Disney, and popularized the one and only Miley Cyrus. So maybe we don’t have the limo out front, but we did get Miley out of it, and I would say that’s pretty cool.
High School Musical 3: Senior Year (Francisca Tinoco)
The only entry in the trilogy to get a theatrical release, High School Musical 3: Senior Year A bigger budget was also given, which translated literally into the final product. Kenny Ortega, who managed to strike the right balance between theatrics and relatability with the first two films, reaches a new level of maturity in this third installment, while never losing the luster that’s inevitable in a Disney Channel production.
HSM 3 is nostalgic and inspiring as it wraps up a high school chapter in the lives of characters who literally became best friends over the course of three years. The cast is at its best, and the music too. A fitting farewell to arguably the most successful and best Disney Channel Original Film Series of all time.
gravity Falls (Christian Bone)
Much of Disney Channel’s content can be enjoyed on a fun, surface level, but it’s not gravity Falls: This is legitimately one of the best western animated series of the last decade. A perfect mix of humor for all ages the simpson and supernatural secrets of x files, gravity Falls So many of us are hooked to Disney Channel, despite it debuting in 2012 that feels part and parcel of our ’90s/early ’00s memories.
Unlike both of those aforementioned shows, though, the Alex Hirsch-created series knew when to skip ahead. In 2016, the adventures of Dipper and Mabel Pines and the Mystery Shack Gang ended after just two fully formed seasons of 40 episodes, ensuring gravity fallThe legacy as the highest quality Disney cartoon will live on forever. ok with Kim Possible, He also slapped.
Lizzie McGuire (Ashley Marie)
Hey now, oh now – this is what dreams are made of! If those songs don’t transport you to friendship, high school antics, drama, and an adorable sketch of one of Disney’s most beloved characters, Lizzie McGuire, can you even call yourself a true Disney Channel fan?
Lizzie McGuire first aired in January of 2001 and took us on a journey of self-discovery, first kisses and the bonds of best friendship with McGuire, Gordo and Miranda. The three went through everything together, and through a series of ups and downs, they managed to become friends in each other, which we all could use in our pre-teens and teens. In fact, their bond is still admirable into adulthood. Lizzie McGuire made audiences cry and cry – and the series helped many of us grow up. A comedy sitcom, it was also a feel-good family watch, and don’t even get us started Lizzie McGuire Movie, Yup, we still have it in our weekend watch rotation.
Call it nostalgia, but there’s something about revisiting the series almost two decades later that makes us think back to that formative time in our lives and treat it with more patience and understanding than we did then. looks back. Many of us saw ourselves as Lizzie or Gordo, maybe Ethan and at times Kate, and that’s okay. As Lizzie McGuire Taught us, it takes all kinds of people to make this world go round.
motocross (Josh Conrad)
If You Want to Know the Best DCOM of All Time, Look No Further motocross, This action-packed story about a teenager who poses as her twin brother so she can compete in an all-male competition is much more than mulan on motorbikes. It is a family film, a love story, and a women empowerment piece. Alana Austin’s performance as Andrea Carson is one of the best to come out of the network’s golden age of DCOMs, and she’s far from the only stellar cast member.
In fact, try not to fall in love with Andy’s entire family (not to mention his love interest) by the end of the movie — I truly promise you won’t be able to. Though I’m still not over cutting Disney Plus Wonderful opening number that gives motocross Given its upbeat opening (Fastball’s “You Are An Ocean”), the film still stands as a beloved comedy with great writing, a perfect cast, and a heartwarming message to boot. If you want to know what the Disney Channel looked like when it was at the height of its power, motocross Will show you in spades – steamy lake view and all.
camp Rock (Demi Phillips)
Every theater kid knows where they were when they saw it for the first time camp Rock, and part of that boils down to putting some of Disney’s best singers at the forefront. Demi Lovato, unlike many other Disney stars before her (save the Cheetah Girls), could actually hit a note, and the Jonas Brothers were… well, the Jonas Brothers! While the plot was a bit wishy-washy at times, it’s hard to deny the soundtrack is full of bops, and the Jo-Bros did a great job raising the teen heat at the time!
From “This Is Me” to “Hasta La Vista,” humming a crush we had as teenagers that we’ve probably forgotten about. camp Rock In fact it feels like more effort was put into the music than the story, and I’m certainly not complaining. But what really makes this movie a feel-good classic are all the cringe-worthy scenes that have come up again in recent years, making it even more fun to watch now that I’m an adult!