The 100th Disney Channel Original Movie is coming in June. Here are the 15 best flicks.
If you grew up watching Disney Channel, chances are you got to watch some pretty great movies. At the end of June, Disney Channel will premiere its 100th Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM). To commemorate this achievement, the network will be showing every DCOM, starting Memorial Day weekend, and continuing throughout the month of June. So, take a trip back to your childhood by reminiscing over the best DCOMs ever to appear on TV.
15. The Cheetah Girls (2003) — This is the movie that made wearing matching sweat suits with your friends popular. There was also an epidemic of pre-teen girls, who had the movie’s choreography memorized, dancing in front of their bedroom mirrors. The Cheetah Girls went on to become a franchise that produced three movies. The best part of this DCOM is the character development and the unbreakable bond between friends — and the sweat suits are pretty cool too.
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14. Stuck in the Suburbs (2004) — This is one of the most overlooked DCOMs. Brenda Song and Danielle Panabaker star as newly-found best friends Tasha and Brittany, respectively. When Brittany’s phone gets mixed-up with a music star, they spend a day playing pop-star and looking for the singer. The singer, Jordan Cahill, is played by future "Saturday Night Live" star Taran Killam, which is often forgotten. This movie is hilarious and shows the importance of being who you want to be.
13. Get A Clue (2002) — The cast of this movie is what made it an enormous success. Lindsay Lohan played the main character, Brenda Song played her best friend and Bug Hall — known for his role as Alfalfa in The Little Rascals — played Lohan’s love interest. They were the original #SquadGoals.
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12. The Even Stevens Movie (2003) — One of the first DCOMs based on a series, the antics in this movie are what makes it so memorable. The Stevens family believe they’re going on a tropical vacation, but they’re actually going to be on a reality television show. The best part of the movie is the battery-operated squirrel that chases them around.
11. Motocrossed (2001) — This movie is the epitome of girl power. Andrea (Alana Austin) is forced to act like her brother so she can race dirtbikes for him when he gets injured. She cuts her hair, stops wearing nail polish and even has to hide a crush that she develops for a fellow competitor. This is definitely not the best DCOM, but its empowering message is enough to get it on the list.
10. The Thirteenth Year (1999) — When Cody (Chez Starbuck) turns 13, he starts growing scales and fins where his legs should be. He happens to be a merman. The idea of this film alone is enough to make it stand out among all of the other DCOMs.
9. Princess Protection Program (2009) — This film gave viewers a glimpse into the friendship between co-stars Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez. Lovato played a princess who needs protection — who knew, right? — from captors who took over her native country, so she ends up in her rescuer’s house. Gomez plays his daughter. The princess has to get used to living like an American, which includes going to high school dances and learning how to properly eat a hamburger.
8. High School Musical (2006) — This is, debatebly, the most successful DCOM ever. Even if you don’t like musicals, you have to admit that the film is a top-notch TV movie. It kicked started several careers, the most significant being Zac Efron’s, who now has 40 acting credits to his name. Not to mention, Efron is easy on the eyes.
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7. Halloweentown (1998) — This movie was the start of a four-part series and starred Kimberly J. Brown and Debbie Reynolds. Brown’s character takes her two siblings to see their grandmother (Reynolds) in a place where every day is like Halloween. There are goblins, witches, werewolves and many other creatures. This magical land is what makes the movie so tremendous, even though the skeleton that drove the taxi was frightening for kids under the age of ten.
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6. The Luck of the Irish (2001) — Ryan Merriman starred in two of the best DCOMs of all time (the second one comes later on the list). In The Luck of the Irish, Merriman plays Kyle Johnson, a high school basketball star. One day, weird things start happening: his hair starts to turn red, his ear becomes pointy, he starts speaking in an Irish accent and becomes shorter. It turns out he’s of Irish descent, and there is a curse on the family that he has to reverse. This film is all about embracing your heritage, which is a very thought-provoking takeaway for a DCOM.
5. Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century (1999) — Zoom, zoom, zoom. This movie makes everyone’s heart go boom, boom. The acting is subpar, but the catchphrases and the plot make up it. Zenon Kar (Kirsten Storms) is the best character in the movie, mostly because of her over dramatic tendencies and need for adventure. But “zetus lapetus,” the best part of the movie is when Prota Zoa (Phillip Rhys) — the original pop-star heartthrob — performs “My Super Nova Girl.” Only the true fans of this movie knew the words and the dance moves.
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4. Jump In! (2007) — This film made jumping rope cool again. Jump In! highlighted the competitive world of double dutch and features Keke Palmer and Corbin Bleu. Similar to other DCOMs, the moral of the film is to follow your heart and be who you are. The soundtrack, with songs by Jordan Pruitt, is also a great addition to the movie.
3. Cadet Kelly (2002) — Any movie with Disney-kid Hilary Duff in the leading role is a great movie. This movie was relatable and funny. It showed kids what it’s like to live in a divided household and getting used to step-parents. Hilary Duff is not the only actress/actor to have success outside of Disney after this film: Shawn Ashmore had a recurring role in Fox’s "The Following" and Gary Cole has had many roles in well-known TV shows, such as "The Good Wife" and "Veep". If you love this DCOM too, you can watch it on Netflix.
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2. Brink! (1998) — This film was extremely popular back when in-line skating was the in thing to do. The skate scenes are the best and the characters are developed well. This movie goes down in history as one of the greatest DCOMs, and many people will say it’s their favorite.
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1. Smart House (1999) — This DCOM has a fantastic cast, great acting and an interesting premise. This film was way ahead of its time because it focuses on a house run by a computer named Pat (Katey Sagal), and when Pat goes haywire, the family living in it — Nick (Kevin Kilner), Ben (Ryan Merriman) and Angie Cooper (Katie Volding) — have to figure out a way to stop Pat from destroying them and the house. Despite the crazy computer system, this was every kid’s dream house growing up because of the huge TV projections the computer could cast on the wall. And doesn’t everyone want to dance to the British boy band Five?
Honorable mentions go to Johnny Tsunami, Double Teamed, Right on Track, Eddie’s Million Dollar Cook-Off and Horse Sense.
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