It was recently announced that Disney Channel, in order to celebrate their 100th original movie, would be putting on a four-day marathon consisting of 51 of the most popular Disney Channel Original Movies (DCOMs).
Now, I don't know about you, but my childhood was comprised of DCOMs, and I just about shit myself when I heard this news. Watching old DCOMs and TV shows takes me straight back to a simpler time full of Scooby snacks, paint-splattered camis and fake cellphones. So, come this May, make sure to catch at least some of these movies listed below to truly catch the nostalgia (which is comprised of state-of-the-art Disney Channel acting and simple yet would-never-happen-in-real-life plotlines).
1. "Read It and Weep"
Kick off your marathon with this 2006 hit. Nothing can get the nostalgia rolling like a film that includes the Panabaker sisters. Kay Panabaker plays a high-schooler who accidentally prints out and turns in her private journal instead of her actual assignment for a class and has to deal with the consequences. The journal is structured like a novel, so everyone has different names and the main character, Isabella or "Is," is of course played by her older sister, Danielle Panabaker. This film came out 10 years ago (such distress), so make sure to catch this film to really take you back.
2—4. Any of the "Zenon" trilogy
"Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century" follows a pre-teen who, when trying to figure out more about the suspicious behavior going in her space station home, gets sent to Earth by her parents to live with her aunt (of course, she ends up returning to save the day with the help from musical idol Proto Zoa and her best friend, played by Disney queen Raven Symone). One, any kid that watched this and did not want to live on a space station immediately after (or own a pair of bubblegum pink tights) was crazy, and two, this movie was so successful that they decided to make two others. The "Zenon" series gave us a glimpse into an alternative world of animated sayings, exuberant clothing and those really cool pod things they race in the third movie. Cetus Lupedus!
5. "The Proud Family Movie"
This movie was used as the finale to the "Proud Family" series, so by playing it in this DCOM marathon, we get to travel back to visit Penny, LaCienega Boulevardez and Sugar Mama. While it might be an odd way to end it—an evil scientist Carver replacing the members of the Proud Family and their friends by those peanut clone thingys one by one—it's still full of good feels and plot twists that make up for the interesting plot.
6. "The Even Stevens Movie"
Just like "The Proud Family Movie," "The Even Stevens Movie" will allow everyone to go back and see one of our favorite dysfunctional families, the Stevens family. Put this crazy family (comprised of baby Shia LaBeouf and Christie Carlson Romano, who dropped off the face of the earth) on an island that's actually full of cameras that are secretly filming them starting to turn on each other, and you got yourself a great DCOM.
7. "The Thirteenth Year"
While this DCOM marathon is not including the cult hit "The Luck of the Irish," they are playing the next best movie that follows a teenager who, while turning into some magical creature, learns more about his family and where he comes from—"The Thirteenth Year." This movie follows a teenager, who is adopted, and his experiences when he figures out that one, his birth mother is a mermaid, and two, he is turning into a merman. Fun, quality stuff.
8. "Motocrossed"
"Motocrossed" is one of the many underdog stories that come from DCOMs. However, the fact that it's a girl who has to dress up (and cut her hair) to pose as her injured brother to race for him in a motorcross race (simultaneously living out her dream to motorcross) brings an amazing mix of feminism and sports. If you need some context, it's the less-raunchy, more-Disney version of "She's The Man."
9. "Smart House"
The movie poster says it all: this 1999 film is an amazing mix of creativity, Disney Channel acting, and a house that is, let's face it, creepy as hell. "Smart House" follows a teenager who wins a house in a competition—a house that can fully function on its own. While that type of house may seem good in theory (or does it?), it unsurprisingly turns real crazy real fast and the family has to deal with this house, which eventually tries to change into a human (PAT). While the plot itself is pretty simple, the nostalgia will take over when you're watching it again, and you will turn into an elementary-schooler who's worrying about this family and if they will be able to take down this terrorizing house.