Of course we all remember the Disney Channel classics like The Cheetah Girls or High School Musical, but even before those movies came some great kid friendly films. Once household names, many Disney Channel movies have become distant memories for kids who grew up in the early 2000s; Although we may not be watching these movies anymore, true fans will still remember watching these classics growing up. Here's my list for the Top 5 Forgotten, But Great, Disney Channel Original Movies:
1. Eddie's Million Dollar Cook Off
https://disneylife.com/view/eddie-s-million-dollar-cook-off
This Disney Channel classic is my person favorite from this era. The 2003 film spotlighted an adolescent boy who was a baseball star, but also loved to cook. Eddie thought he couldn't show others his passion in the kitchen because they would judge him for having a "girly" hobby while he was supposed to be an all-star athlete. This movie taught us about going away from the status-quo (no, this isn't High School Musical), and even featured professional chef, Bobby Flay.
2. The Thirteenth Year
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thirteenth_Year
Who doesn't love a movie about mermaids?! This film featured a teenage boy that was the star of his swim team. Everything was going great for him, until his 13thbirthday when he started transforming into a merman. Not knowing why this was happening to him, he attempts to discover the truth about his family and his past.
3. Smart House
https://www.eonline.com/photos/18684/ranking-disney-channel-s-best-and-worst-original-movies/694088
This Disney Channel movie was one of the first films to be centered around futuristic technology, having one of the main characters be a voice that represented the house, but ultimately transformed into a holographic woman; It took a turn for the worse when the woman became too attached to the family and actually thought of herself as their mother, who had previously passed away.
4. Mom's Got A Date With A Vampire
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0250593/
Disney Channel's attempt at a "scary" movie might not have succeeded on all levels, but it still did its job to scare children. The film highlighted a family, where the mother had not been on a good date for a very long time until she met Dimitri, who the children discovered was secretly a vampire. The thriller ends with Lynette throwing Dimitri into his coffin, and it is sent somewhere that's always sunny. This film definitely gave me nightmares when I was younger!
5. Get A Clue
http://disneychannelpanel.blogspot.com/2017/05/get-clue-nerd.html
One of the classic Lindsay Lohan movies, this film was all about mystery and fighting crime. Lohan was essentially a modern day Nancy Drew, attempting to discover the truth behind her teacher's disappearance. This movie was considered one of the more scandalous Disney Channel movies, which featured an affair between two teachers and a theft scandal.
Reminisce on your childhood and checkout some of your old favorites! Which one of these movies did you enjoy growing up? Maybe these Disney Channel original movies can bring in a new generation of fans to some OG classics.
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