You’re in elementary school. It’s 8 p.m. on a Friday night. You’re sitting in your friend’s basement couch with your feet up. You hear the theme song come on.
The second you turned on Disney channel and saw those kids jumping high in the atmosphere among fluffy clouds and the stars surrounded by reels of film, you KNEW it was going down. “Let’s watch a Disney channel original movie!”
All Disney Channel Original Movies (DCOMs) are straight up iconic. Maybe I still know the High School Musical “We’re All in This Together” dance and still wish that Halloweentown is actually a place. Unrelated.
The Pop Insider team compiled the best DCOMs for you to watch and bring back all the feels to transport you back to when you were 10. Brace yourself: Serious memory lane ahead.
Marissa DiBartolo: Halloweentown (1998)
If we’re being honest, this is not my favorite DCOM, but since Zenon and Brink were already chosen, we’ll go with the third greatest DCOM of all time: Halloweentown. I basically fell in love with any movie in which a tween or teen finds out that s/he is actually a witch/wizard with super awesome powers. The late ’90s and early 2000s were ripe with closeted magic folk: Harry Potter, Sabrina Spellman and of course, Marnie Piper. Halloweentown truly had it all: secret powers, a dope grandma, evil political figures, and—last but not least—an alternate world in which it is Halloween E.V.E.R.Y. single day. Costumes, magic, candy apples, giant pumpkins and—adult me can dream, pumpkin spice lattes—forever. A true paradise.
Ali Mierzejewski: Brink (1998)
This movie has it all: Love of my early life Erik von Detten, rollerblades, fun team names like “Pup ‘n Suds,” and a true underdog story. They’re not skating for money, brah—they’re skating for the love of the sport. Also, Gabriella was truly a badass boss and I wanted to be her best friend. Beginning to end, this movie is TOTALLY AWESOME.
WATCH IT NOW: Rent on Amazon | Buy on Amazon, YouTube, Google Play
Maddie Michalik (Yours Truly): Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century (1999)
Zetus lapetus, y’all! Can we just start off by talking about the fashion in this movie? Matching the brightest possible colors together with glitter, vinyl, and metallics is the epitome of exactly how I think people in space should dress. This masterpiece tackles all of the woes of growing up as a teen: fitting in, having a one true bestie (Raven, heyoooo), romance, and the weight of saving your space station from being blown up on your shoulders. This movie is set in the year 2049, so I’m kind of worried that it’s not that far from now and we might not get a pop star on Earth as legendary as Proto Zoa. He and his band, Microbe, put out some of the best jams in the galaxy. Supernova Girl will now be stuck in my head through the rest of the weekend, and I’m not mad about it.
WATCH IT NOW: Rent on Amazon | Buy on Amazon, YouTube, Google Play
Jackie Cucco: Cadet Kelly (2002)
Hilary Duff and Christy Carlson Romano were Disney royalty in the early 2000s, so to have them both starring in a movie together was a cinematic moment for the ages. To also have them playing feuding roles was the ultimate showdown, like when Christy Carlson destroyed Hilary’s $15,000 blanket so then Hilary gets back at her by painting Christy’s hair in the same pattern as the blanket. Savage.
WATCH IT NOW: Buy on YouTube, Google Play
Joe Ibraham: The Even Stevens Movie (2003)
Man oh man, I remember the day this premiered. Ten-year-old me was hyped to watch Shia LaBeouf make a fool of himself as Louis Stevens, the boisterous and immature pest of the Stevens family. I loved everything about Even Stevens and The Even Stevens Movie. Louis’ airhead brother Donnie, his tightly-wound sister Ren, the lovable Allan Twitty, and of course, the hilariously annoying neighbor Beans made this family-vacation-gone-wrong so right. I’ll never forget the scene when Beans farts in Louis’ face while they’re asleep on the beach. “Oh mother of pearl Beans! Mother of pearl!” Sorry Louis, he’s a little gassy in the morning and I still have the humor of a 10-year-old.
WATCH IT NOW: Rent on Amazon | Buy on Amazon, YouTube, Google Play
Madeleine Buckley: High School Musical (2006)
This list would be simply incomplete without High School Musical. It may be the most cliche choice, but this DCOM was insanely popular for a reason. The soundtrack basically defined the childhood of anyone who grew up in the early 2000s, and if you don’t admit to owning (or wanting to own) at least one piece of HSM swag, you’re lying. Millions of tweens, myself included, fell in love with the stereotype-shattering romance between Troy and Gabriella and spent so many afternoons learning that iconic “We’re All in this Together” dance. It may have given us unrealistically high expectations for high school life and for karaoke duets, but it also taught us about following our dreams, revamped the musical genre for a new generation, and introduced the world to Zac Efron. What team? Wildcats!
WATCH IT NOW: Rent on Amazon and Google Play | Buy on Amazon, YouTube, Google Play
Miranda Siwak: Stuck in the Suburbs (2004)
In my opinion, one of the more underrated DCOMs stands out as a peak ’00s film that fulfilled a childhood fantasy that a pop star could end up with your phone and stuck in your suburban town. Starring Saturday Night Live fave Taran Killam alongside Brenda Song and The Flash’s Danielle Panabaker, the 2004 film shows the besties on crazy adventures to switch their iconic Blackberry smartphones back with pop star Jordan Cahill. Which—side note—the film might have been the reason I begged my parents for a Blackberry in middle school. Oops. Nice messages about friendship and volunteering were showcased among the soundtrack, which featured some classic ’00s gems. I definitely spent hours blasting the movie’s music on my boombox as I attempted to master the choreography, flipping over the sofa included.
WATCH IT NOW: Rent on Amazon | Buy on Amazon, YouTube, Google Play
Jordan White: Smart House (1999)
Back in ’99, the hottest phone on the market was the Nokia 3210, T9 revolutionized texting, and the thought of having a voice-activated house was only about 10 years out of our grasp, but it still sounded like pure science fiction. Smart House has proven to be a true cautionary tale of modern times. The house, aka Pat, played by Katey Segal (Married With Children, Futurama, Sons of Anarchy) is programmed to serve as a maternal figure to 13-year old Ben Cooper, his little sister Angie, and their father Nick after their mother dies, becomes increasingly overbearing as a mother figure and locks the family inside fearing that the outside world is too dangerous for them all. Now it’s only a matter of time before Alexa loses her cool and takes over our personal devices…
WATCH IT NOW: Rent on Amazon | Buy on Amazon, YouTube, Google Play
