Disney Channel Original Movies (DCOMs) have been part of our lives since we were kids. Odds are you have seen more than one of these lovable movies. This past summer Disney Channel came out with their 100th Disney Channel Original Movie. In honor of this momentous occasion, Disney Channel aired all of their movies. Being the type of person I am, my decision was to watch all of them, starting with the first movie made all the way to the newest one. It took me about two months to watch one-hundred movies. And since I used so much of my time watching these movies, I thought it would be a good idea if I actually put all of that movie viewing to use. Yes, you guessed it. I will be writing about the DCOMs. In my last article, I gave an introduction to this new series of articles. If you have not yet read the introduction, here is the link so you can see what this series/joyous madness is going to be all about: https://www.theodysseyonline.com/disney-channel-nostalgia-reminiscing-takes-time. Anyway, in my last article, I told you I would first share some stats about the movies. So let’s get right to it.
With all of the various Disney Channel Original Movies, there are specific categories that I believe they fall into. I have created all of these categories myself. There was much figuring out and counting up for all of the groups that the movies belong in. So please appreciate these numbers. But even if you don’t believe they are all too amazing, I still think it was worth it, even if it was for my own personal knowledge.
In honor of the first DCOM, “Under Wraps,” I would like to point out that there are 26 movies that involve magic, unexplainable events, and/or out of this world occurrences. These movies include mummies, witches, aliens, mermaids, the boogeyman, superheroes, vampires, leprechauns, and/or ghosts. Even though these movies are completely unrealistic, they still give their own good message. We’ll call this category “Not in the real world.”
In another category, I ask the question, “Could this really happen?” Movies that appear in the “Not in the real world” category do not appear in this one, except for maybe a couple. It depends on the situation. I personally believe 15 movies beg the question. They include those dealing with science, technology, and the future. More specifically, human to animal communication, space stations of the future, time travel, artificial intelligence, apps for controlling people, and invisibility. You might be able to guess the space station example revolves around “Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century.” Zetus Iapetus! Wouldn’t it be like stellar major if our space day were made! With all the new things coming out these days, you never know what could leave the science fiction world and generate itself into reality.
Five movies are based on a true story. The movies about All American Soapbox Derby and drag racing especially have some good messages. There are also four fictitious movies involving realistic events or scenarios. The apartheid of South Africa, a sibling with autism, and the events of 9/11 have all been showcased in the DCOMs.
There are 28 movies that I consider to be purely just fiction. In someone else’s eyes, this number could change. It depends on the person. The fiction movies do not coincide with “Not in the real world” or “Could this really happen?” categories. A movie can only appear once in either the “Not in the real world,” “Could this really happen?,” “True story,” “Realistic fiction,” or “Fiction” categories. There are a couple of exceptions to the rule, though. Movies that involve sports are put into a special scenario, which I will explain in just a little bit.
Disney Channel really likes sports; so 15 movies are dedicated fully to them. Eleven of these movies are considered to be in the “Fiction” category. The other four are based on true stories. There are 14 other movies that involve sports, but they are not the main, main event. Sorry, I had to include “High School Musical” in those 14. All of the second-nature sports movies encompass one of three of the main five categories. Otherwise, the sports include aggressive in-line skating, surfing, snowboarding, soapbox racing, motocross, basketball, dancing, drag racing, ice-skating, hockey, Double Dutch, baseball, football, lacrosse, and many more.
DCOMs also love, love, love music. Thirteen are dedicated as musicals. All of them have singing, but the amount of dancing differs depending on each movie. There is also a realistic factor involved. Musicals can involve practically anything, so that is why they are not counted among the main categories. Another exemption, three musicals are also in the “Fiction” category. Let’s be real, if “High School Musical” were anything like your own high school experience, I would be quite mystified by this revelation. I would really want to get to know you if that truly were the case. Six other movies have music, but it is not the main focus of the story. Thirteen have music by Disney Channel artists, but the movie does not necessarily have a soundtrack or is not involved at all in the plot line of the story. There are also 21 soundtracks available, including those from musicals and movies with music outside of the story.
Six movies revolve around animals like horses, dogs, and dolphins. Five other movies have animals as more of a background role. They are not the main event in this case. Overall, it seems like Disney Channel shows favoritism toward dogs.
Twenty-three movies are based on a book, one on a play, and one is a remake of a previous movie. Whether it was a book published in 1865, a ten-book novel series, or even Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night,” Disney Channel is not afraid to use an author’s work as a starting point to a DCOM. These movies have helped many a book get recognized due to highlighting the author’s creativity and dedication to the story.
Eight movies are based on their original show from Disney Channel. Three of which are animated. The first show to get its own DCOM was “The Famous Jett Jackson” in 2001. “Good Luck Charlie” was the most recent Disney Channel show to get its own movie in 2011. A quick side step away from the DCOMs, “Lizzie McGuire” and “Hannah Montana” have been the only shows on Disney Channel to get their own theatrical movie releases.
I believe there are 23 movies that involve what I call “A Breaking of the Status Quo.” While each character grows in all of the DCOMs, I believe there are specific characters within these movies that say no to what is the normal or expected. Yes, “High School Musical” is listed in this category. If a movie has a song called “Stick to the Status Quo,” it is definitely going to be on this list. But mostly these are movies where there is a very noticeable change in the character. Other people may disagree with the hero’s actions, but he or she perseveres in the wake of trials.
Last but not least, Disney Channel has produced nine movies so far that have at least one sequel or spinoff movie. Sequels that have given us “Zenon: The Zequel,” “Halloweentown High,” “Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board,” “High School Musical 2,” “The Cheetah Girls: One World,” and “Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam.” Although it is incredibly hard to beat the original, we were excited for the characters’ new adventures.
As you can see, Disney Channel has covered many areas in the movie genre. I know there are probably way more groups I could have come up with for all of the movies, but these are some main categories that cover a wide variety of the 100 movies Disney Channel has made. Whether the movie is a musical, a sport film, or more geared toward completely unrealistic, there are a wide variety of movies that everyone can love. As said in my previous article, my next ten articles will be all about each individual movie, with ten movies explained in each of the articles. For each movie, I will list what category they fall into. You might be lucky enough to get a full list of each category at the end of these next ten articles. I won’t publish one now because it might just give away an important part of the story. For right now, though, you will just have a bunch of random numbers that mean something. (Yes, it makes sense if you just think about it for a couple of seconds.) Remember this, no matter the interests, occupation, or age, Disney Channel has something for everyone.
