7 Disney Channel Original Movies That You Need to See Immediately
As you may remember from High School Musical or Camp Rock or The Cheetah Girls, Disney Channel Original Movies aren't just made-for-TV movies, but actual events. Like something you looked forward to forever because it was basically like being at the exciting opening night showing, only in your own home.
Not that the recent DCOM selection isn't great and all, but we definitely suggest locating these movies over holiday break and watching them over and over again. Scrunchies and roll-on body glitter optional.
Photo: Courtesy of Disney Channel1/8We're all supernova girls!
Photo: Courtesy of Disney Channel2/8Brink!
Oh, Andy "Brink" Brinker. The level of crush we had on you is, to this day, unparalleled. Brink and his crew of "Soul-Skater" rollerbladers (who are in it because of their souls) have never seen eye-to-eye with the for-profit enemy gang, Team X-Bladz, led by not-so-cool guy Val. But when Brink's fam winds up in financial trouble, he's crosses over to the dark side and joins the X-Bladz for $200 a week. There's a dramatic (slash super-scary!) downhill race, love drama, and lots of warm and fuzzy friendship moments. It's a classic, guys. It really is.
Photo: Courtesy of Disney Channel3/8The Color of Friendship
Set in 1970s apartheid South Africa, The Color of Friendship tells the tale of two girls: Mahree, a white South African who lives a blissful (read: ignorant) life in a ritzy mansion, and Piper, an African-American girl—and outspoken apartheid-opponent—from America. When the two girls meet, they're both shocked to find that they don't share the same race, but soon learn to love and respect each other. It's an eye-opening heartwarmer and is on a level that no other DCOM will ever touch. It did earn an Emmy after all.
Photo: Courtesy of Disney Channel4/8Smart House
In 1999, the idea of a "Smart House" blew our minds, but let’s be real: Pat, the computer-slash-robot that runs the tech-y house is basically Siri. Only Siri would never go completely nuts and try to be our mom and ruin everything. Right...? RIGHT?! The most important thing here though, really, is that we all take a moment to appreciate this incredible dance scene to "Slam Dunk the Funk" by Five. It’s so ’90s, we can’t even.
Photo: Courtesy of Disney Channel5/8Double Teamed
"Once second best, always second best." Twins Heather and Heidi Burge have been compared to each other all their lives, and their volleyball skills are no exception. Their success-obsessed father makes them switch schools to get a better chance at earning a scholarship, and in an effort to escape her sister's shadow and follow her passion, Heidi joins the school play. But when the basketball coach discovers Heather's height, both girls wind up on the team and let's just say there's some locker-room drama. It's a slam dunk, guys.
Photo: Courtesy of Disney Channel6/8Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century
Life's rough when you're quite literally grounded. To Earth. That's what happens to Zenon (who lives in an orbiting space station in the year 2049, of course) when she gets into a bit of trouble with the station's commander and is sent by her parents to live with her aunt on land. But her troubles don't stop there. Beyond learning that she knows legitimately nothing about pop culture on our fair planet, she discovers that an evil programmer dude is out to destroy the space station, and she's the only one who can save it. Best of all, Raven-Symone is involved.
Photo: Courtesy of Disney Channel7/8Alley Cats Strike
For this group of vintage-loving misfits, bowling is serious business. So when the Mighty Apple city championship trophy is up for grabs and bowling is selected as the tiebreaking game, the Bowling Club kids have got to step up their game. And step up their game they do. (P.S. Notice anyone familiar? Hint: Kaley. Cuoco.)
Photo: Courtesy of Disney Channel8/8Luck of the Irish
Only a DCOM could make kids wish they could be as cool as a leprechaun. When the most popular basketball player who's totally oblivious to his heritage realizes his lucky gold coin has—gasp!—gone missing, weird things start to happen. Like, he grows elf ears and his hair turns orange and, oh, he starts to shrink. That's when his fam breaks it to him: He comes from a family of leprechauns, and that lucky gold coin? It was magical and kind of super-important considering it was the key to his family looking like normal humans. The only way to get back the luck of the Irish is to find the far darrig who took it. (It sounds like we made up this plot, but we swear we didn't.)
