I am not quite sure if you watched the video I posted above. I know I sometimes skip videos like that when I read articles like this. However, if you did, I really hope that it seems familiar or brings back good movies of DCOMs (Disney Channel Original movies) past. Let's face it Disney Channel today is just not what it was back in the 2000s. The shows now are just silly and lack the greatness of Lizzie McGuire, Hannah Montana, That's So Raven, Even Stevens and The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. It is possible that this is a pure generational bias, but I think that if kids today watched old Disney shows, they would definitely agree they are so much better.

However, the true crowning jewel of the Mickey Mouse network are the DCOMs. In the 2000s no one did television movies like Disney Channel. It is a bit hard to believe that now some of these are over ten years old, but the resurgence of them on Netflix has recently made me super nostalgic for my DCOM days. Here is just a little throwback to some of the best Disney Channel movies of the 2000's.

" High School Musical:"

"High School Musical" is like the DCOM of all DCOMs. Not only is it the only Disney Channel movie to have a cinematic sequel, it also is just basically the best event in television history. I was OBSESSED with this movie/franchise when I was in middle school. It is hard to believe Zac Efron is even cuter today than he was back then, but he sort of is like wine, he gets better with age. I had an HSM poster in my room, went to the concert tour, saw the stage musical, and saw all the movies on the day they opened. Despite the cheesiness and predictability of the plot line, this movie still holds a very big place in my heart. I think it spoke to people because it was about stepping outside of doing what people expected you to do. Plus, the songs were just super catchy. God bless you, High School Musical.

"High School Musical 2:"

So, you cannot really mention "High School Musical" without mentioning "High School Musical 2." I always thought the first and third movies were the best, but this one definitely has its strengths. The plot line is pretty original. I mean, a musical about teenagers working at a country club? It certainly is not the first idea that would jump to my mind. Though, I always secretly enjoyed it because my family belongs to a country club where I spent much of my time in the summer growing up, and in high school, I went on to lifeguard at another local country club. So really, this movie sort of described my life on multiple levels. I never really though could get past Zac Efron venting his feelings by dancing on a golf course, but he was always really cute so it didn't really matter. I am not sure how this movie would have done if it was not the sequel to the original movie, but it is fun and again, it has great music and dancing. The baseball dance was always one of my favorites.

"Camp Rock:"

Oh yes, this movie. Does anyone else remember Demi Lovato's thick bangs and fringe boots and Joe Jonas' straightened hair and white skinny jeans from this movie? I know I do. It sort of defines the style of 2008. However, the one thing you must know to understand me is that I was the BIGGEST Jonas Brothers fan on the planet. I still am, but that is for a whole other article. I doubt you guys want to hear me rant about my love for Nick Jonas for pages. This movie came out at a time where I was on the brink of being considered "too old" for liking Disney Channel without being judged. However, I still like these movies now as much as I did then. My family had just gotten DVR the summer this movie came out. So, I recorded it, and I would come home from swim team practice every day for like a month and watch it. Like High School Musical, I think people liked this movie because it showed what it was like to get out of your shell. Unlike High School Musical. the sequel to this movie was awful so it is not even going to be mentioned on this list. I am still salty that Nick Jonas did not get more screen time in the original, but it's fine, it was a solid DCOM with Joe as the star. Kevin was in it too, but I think everyone kind of forgets about him.

"Cheetah Girls:"

"High School Musical" and "Camp Rock" perfected the musical genre of Disney Channel movie, but "Cheetah Girls" was the movie that started it. It is kind of hard to think that I was only eight years old when this movie came out. People always seem to forget about this movie because the sequels seem to always overpower this old gem. It was never my very favorite Disney Channel movie, but it was fun. I was a really big Raven fan growing up, and I had this whole dream that I was going to be singer (despite a total lack of talent), so this movie was perfect for my aspirations. I love the idea of girl empowerment in this movie. I mean the song "Cinderella," which has lyrics that say,"I don't wanna be like Cinderella, sitting in a dark old rusty cellar, waiting for somebody to come in set me free." That, especially for Disney, is a pretty fierce and powerful message for little girls. Given, I was that feminist third grader who once challenged a boy to an eating competition when our school had pancake day after he told me I could not eat as much as him because I was a girl. I got quite the stomach ache after and unfortunately did not win, but I was proud of myself because I did not let him put me down for being a girl. I may have been a bit dramatic and silly, but Cheetah Girls was very reaffirming for me then.

"Cadet Kelly:"

This movie is a quality one. It really represents the golden age of Disney Channel. For one, it starred Hilary Duff, the ultimate Disney Channel star of the 2000s. Duff plays Kelly, a young teenager who is forced from New York City off to military school when her mother gets remarried. Kelly is bubbly, confident, individualistic and a bit quirky. These are all normally considered good qualities. Except, not at military school. Kelly quickly finds herself making enemies with an older student and her stepfather who also happens to be the principal. This older student who clashes with Kelly is played by another Disney favorite, Christie Carlson Romano who played Ren on Even Stevens. Kelly teaches people at her new school about the importance of individuality, but at the same time, she learns some of the benefits of change and adapting to new places. It, like the Cheetah Girls, was the ultimate girl power story. I was not inspired to pack up and go to military school or anything after watching this, but it taught me a lot about sticking up for myself and being comfortable in my own skin. Also, I also enjoyed ribbon/drill team dance they perform at the end.

Princess "Princess Protection Program:"

This was one of the last Disney Channel movies that I remember watching the premiere of, as it was on when it was still barely okay to watch the Disney Channel for people my age. It came out right before I started high school, and I like princesses and Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez so I was like hey, why not? Anyone who knows me well or even a little bit knows I am the biggest Kate Middleton fan there is. This is not something that just started recently, I have always been about the whole royalty thing. The idea of a princess going undercover and blending in as a normal American teen is like THE ultimate movie for someone like me. I might have rewatched it on Netflix recently (for research for this article, of course), and I will admit it is a little over-dramatic and tries to be super serious for a Disney Channel movie. The whole thing with the dictator trying to kill Demi Lovato or put her in a cell or something may be a bit shocking for little girls. However, Selena and Demi are so cute then when they were actually still real life best friends, and it is just a fun movie to watch. Plus, I enjoy critiquing Demi Lovato's French accent, because as a French minor, I am definitely an expert on these things.

"Halloweentown High:"

This is one of the Disney Channel movies that was part of a series so it was hard to decide which one to include on this list, but I decided this one, at least in my opinion, was the best. Additionally, the first one came out in 1998 so it technically cannot be included on this list. This one is the third movie of four (I'm pretty sure that there was a fourth), but anyway, it follows the story of teenage creatures from Halloweentown (a sort of alternate universe where monsters and other Halloween-esque beings live) having to come into the real world in order to escape danger. They have to disguise themselves as typical American teenagers in order to try to blend in. As I am writing this, I do realize that the plot line actually parallels Princess Protection Program in a lot of ways. Disney seemed to like the whole "blending in as a typical American teenager" storyline. However, this one was always on around Halloween, and it was scary without being overtly frightening, which made it great for kids.

"Zenon: Z3:"

This one, like Halloweentown High, is part of a series of movies. This series follows a girl named Zenon who lives in about 2050. In a year where planetary baby names seem to be all the rage and words like "nano-second" and "stellar" are common lingo, Zenon, our favorite twenty-first century girl, decides to take part in a competition called "Galactic Teen Supreme" which involves things like flying hovercrafts to the moon in a Mario Kart fashion. However, things go a bit haywire when Zenon and her fellow competitors piss off a moon goddess, along with other humans trying to colonize the moon. It always made me wonder why everything in 2050 has to involve space and why this movie has such environmentalist undertones. However, I remember always thinking how cool Zenon was back in the day. I doubt 2050 is actually going to be like this when it finally rolls around, but if it does, I call dibs on riding a hover craft first.

"Twitches:"

They're twins. They're witches. So, guess what? They're TWITCHES. No, I promise I am not making this up. Starring Tia and Tamara Mowry from "Sister, Sister," this show is all about twin witches from an alternate universe who are separated at birth and then taken into our world to grow up. On their 21st birthday, they find each other and discover their powers. Also, conveniently happening on this day as well, a force called "the darkness" comes to get them, and they have to go after it. Now, I am not trying to put down this movie because I really did like it. It was fun. It was different. It was probably my favorite Disney Channel Halloween movie. However, it is not one I look back at and still absolutely love like High School Musical. However, this movie did really scare my normally super tough and "not afraid of anything" younger sister when it came out. I am probably going to get hurt for telling everyone that, but it was so funny. I still tease her about it sometimes. Given, she was five, but I'm her older sister so I have the right to make fun of her for things like that.