Entertainment

Disney Channel Needs To Bring Back These Movies

by Tobi Gbile

Let's watch a Disney Channel Movie! If you didn't sing that in your head while reading that sentence, then you're doing it all wrong. The Disney Channel Original Movies of every '90s kids' childhood days were the movies that shaped our childhood in the first place. They were many of our first loves, first laughs, and sometimes, first "look" into high school. Those reasons, and many more, explain why we need this movies back on the small screen ASAP.

In life, you learn early on that the most important lessons in life are not taught inside the classroom (though some learn this fact before others). Thankfully, Disney Channel was aware of this fact, and used a lot of their programming to teach us things in a way that we didn't even know counted as learning. We each had our favorite DCOM that helped us grow into the people we are today. Whether your favorite was Cadet Kelly or Smart House, the range of movies and their level of effectiveness is endless. Chances are, if you look back at your favorite DCOM now, you'll notice these lessons that you probably didn't notice as a kid. For this reason and more, these movies should be brought back, ASAP!

1. They Taught Us To Dream Big

If Zenon listened to what all of her naysayers told her all of the times she embarked on her crazy adventures, like finding aliens and rescuing Protozoa, she would have never accomplished all of the crazy things she did. The Zenon trilogy taught us at a young age that if we set high expectations for ourselves and stayed headstrong no matter how impossible our dreams sounded, we could accomplish them.

2. They Taught Us About Social Issues

Movies like The Color of Friendship taught us at an early age to accept people and their differences. It showed us that factors like race, different cultures, and diversity are what make us all unique — and instead of making us separate, they should bring us together.

3. They Taught Us That Girls Can Do Whatever They Want

Motocrossed was so badass. There were other Disney Channel Original Movies that fell under the "girl power" umbrella and showed that girls could do whatever they wanted to, but this movie is one of the standouts that showed that gender was no excuse to keep you from following your dream.

4. They Taught Us That Teamwork Makes The Dream Work

Gems from the early '00s like Get a Clue featured cool teens like a young Lindsay Lohan kicking butt and taking names, from their high school hallways to five-star hotels. While some of their mystery cases were a bit outlandish, they still did a good job of showing that when you have a good team of friends by your side, you can accomplish anything you set your mind to.

5. They Taught Us To Be Loyal

These girls were loyal. Bubbles, Chuchie, Do, and Aqua showed us the true meaning of friendship, and standing by your friends no matter what you go through together. Not only did they make us want to be pop, lock, and droppin' Cheetah Girls, but most importantly, they made us want to look for true friendships and bonds like the ones that they had with each other.

6. They Taught Us That Perfection Doesn't Exist

When teenage wiz kid Roscoe created the blue-eyed, blonde, and beautiful hologram Loretta to be the front woman of his best friend's band Zetta Bytes, they were all amazed by her Barbie-like perfection. However, throughout the course of the movie — especially when things started to go wrong and it was clear that people are never as perfect as they seem — it helped viewers learn that perfection really doesn't exist, and our imperfections are what make us, well, us.

7. They Taught Us To Embrace Our Inner Fangirl

Stuck in the Suburbs is probably partially responsible for making me the fangirl that I am today. When Danielle Panabaker and Brenda Song took on the roles of two crazed fans who had all of their dreams come true when one of them accidentally switches phones with pop heartthrob Jordan Cahill, they are taken on the adventure of a lifetime. They showed us all at a young age to never lose hope of meeting our favorite teen heartthrob one day, and that he could be everything we always dreamed of.

I'm sorry if this article made you suffer from major childhood feels. If it did, that's just a sign that you agree that these movies, and more, need to be brought back immediately to the Disney Channel screen. They played a bigger role in our lives than you think!

Image: de Passe Entertainment (1); Giphy (2)