Remember the days when Friday would roll around, and all of us kids out there would be most excited, to settle into our fluffy couches and watch the newest Disney Channel Original Movie? They hyped those new movies on Disney Channel for months before they actually came out. Movies like Quints (that still hold their salt, but my sister made me watch it way too many times, for it to make this list). And not including movies like Teen Beach Movie, a.k.a., a Disney Channel Original Movie for the new generation of Disney Channel watchers.
I feel badly for the new generation, really. They get Girl Meets World and we got the far superior Boy Meets World. They get these new, lesser movies and we got the older, but better versions. So to commemorate the Disney of days past, here's a list of some of the best, marathon-worthy, Disney Channel Original Movies.
10. The Ultimate Christmas Present
This only comes in at number 10, because we only got to see it ten times during one month of the year. What kid didn't want a machine that could make snow for you in the middle of California? Clearly, it wasn't suspicious that a ton of snow coming out of one girl's window was covering the whole city. The two huge elves may have made the movie, in my opinion, and the crazy weatherman was a solid villain. So I still give this movie a big Disney thumbs up.
9. Motocrossed
This was basically She's the Man for 11-year-olds before She's the Man became a thing. How could we ever forget the girl who loved riding her dirt bike, but her dad didn't let her? Oh, the drama. The dreamy man in the middle couldn't tell the difference between short haired Andi, as a girl, and what that same Andi looked like in a Motocross uniform. He may not have been too bright, but he sure was every 10 year old's dream boy.
8. Smart House
I'm not going to lie, this movie freaked me out a little, which is part of why I loved it so much. It was bizarre. I feel like if I had made that "woman," Pat, half as mad as Ben (a familiar face in later Disney movies and Pretty Little Liars) did, then she may have killed me. I mean, having breakfast made for me every morning would be pretty cool, maybe. However, going after Dad's girlfriend, and making a human form for yourself, is not.
7. Brink!
I would kill to be the one girl in this movie all day, every day. Who didn't want to be a soul skater back in the day? A few of my friends may still be known to roller blade around campus, and we might even start a group of soul skaters of our own. We might get sponsorship offers, but like the kids on Brink! we're just in it for the love of the blade "brah."
6. Luck of the Irish
Ian from Pretty Little Liars, you never cease to amaze me. My strong Irish heritage made me love this movie more than most. I may or may not have been the kid that saw the lucky medallion in this movie, and wondered if my Grandpa had been giving me something more special than silver dollars all these years. The transformation into a leprechaun was, basically, revolutionary for all of us, especially when he became miniature, and that I can relate to.
5. Cheetah Girls
What a movie. It had everything: laughter, drama, romance, suspense. When that dog fell down the manhole, I thought for sure it was a goner. I think a lot of today's college-age girls have owned the Cheetah Girls CD and possibly their Christmas album, "Cheetalicious Christmas." Who didn't want to be a Cheetah Girl when they were younger? This movie came out, and the Cheetah Girls were everything girls could have ever hoped for.
4. The Thirteenth Year
The Thirteenth Year -- the year we all fell in love. He may have grown fins when he hit the water, but how many of us really cared? This movie was filled with twists and turns. Friendship problems, adopted parents, and mermaid moms? Wow, who saw any of that coming? When the scales came out, how many of us were scared to get into a pool for at least a little while? Also, I'm just realizing this now, but are the transformations in Thirteenth Year and Luck of the Irish kind of a skewed version of puberty? I could be thinking into that one too much, get back to me.
3. Halloweentown
I wanted to live in Halloweentown with Marnie and her Grandma Aggie. Kalabar was a super creepy dude, but in the beginning he really didn't seem so bad. Thankfully, they Cromwell's came to save the day as they always have (and from the next three movies we will see, as they always will). Halloweentown and Return to Halloweentown clearly take the cake as the best of the four, and when Halloween rolls around, I still find myself looking up the TVGuide to make sure I can catch them when they are on.
2. Cadet Kelly
Hillary Duff at her finest, that's what I say. I loved Lizzie McGuire as much as the next girl, but this is where it was at. I never wanted to learn how to twirl a gun so bad in my life. And her dad on that cliff, and then her stepdad? Oh, man, I can hardly talk about it. No Disney movie was quite the tear jerker to me that Cadet Kelly was. Also let's not forget Christy Carlson Romano going from Ren on Even Stevens to strict Jennifer, Kelly's supervisor. When she ripped Kelly's super cool tye die blanket, I think the whole world was angry. Amazing stuff.
1. Zenon Girl of the 21st Century
Last, but definitely not least, is our very own supernova girl. I wanted to be best friends with a pop star, and live in a space station. Why she ever decided that it was a good idea to come down and live among us lowly earthlings to find a pop star, I will never know. Luckily, Zenon returned to the ship to save the day at the last minute. Thank God, because if she hadn't, we wouldn't have ever seen the amazing Protazoa concert at the very end. And without that, our ears would have never been so blessed.