Disney Channel Original Movies

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Name(s): Disney Channel Original Movies
Abbreviation(s): DCOM, DCOMs
Scope/Focus: Made-for-TV movies
Date(s): 1997-present
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Disney Channel Original Movies or DCOMs are made-for-TV movies, usually mid-budget and often musicals, made by the Disney Channel for exclusive broadcast on their channel during primetime. As of 2020, they are also available on Disney+. They launch the careers of many of their stars as they provide large roles for young actors and play to a significant audience, garnering fandom. Many DCOMs have individual fandoms of their own, but there are is also a fandom for DCOMs as a category of media, with a focus on graphics, polls, and fanworks celebrating the colorful, cheerful, simple tone of the movies and their frequent moral of individuality and celebrating difference through togetherness. Also, the music and dancing bang.

List of Disney Channel Original Movies

Year Film Premiere date Associated Fandoms References
1997 Under Wraps October 25, 1997 The Mummy, Halloween
1998 You Lucky Dog June 27, 1998 Kirk Cameron, Growing Pains, The Shaggy Dog
Brink! August 29, 1998 Erik von Detten, slash Many people consider Brink! to be the first "true" DCOM.
Halloweentown October 17, 1998 Halloween, Debbie Reynolds, Kimberly J. Brown Arguably, Halloweentown has the largest fandom of all DCOMs.
1999 Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century January 23, 1999 Scifi, Kirsten Storms, Raven-Symoné, femslash Zenon is a popular Halloween costume and cosplay figure due to her distinctive, colorful fashion.
Can of Worms April 10, 1999
The Thirteenth Year May 15, 1999 Shapeshifting, Mermaids, Courtnee Draper
Smart House June 26, 1999 Ryan Merriman, Katey Sagal
Johnny Tsunami July 24, 1999 Enemies to Friends to Lovers, The Famous Jett Jackson, Sports Movies, Lee Thompson Young Most fanfiction and fanworks for Johnny Tsunami were hosted on GeoCities and Angelfire, and have since been lost. However, a few remain online.
Genius August 21, 1999 Emmy Rossum, Figure Skating, Hockey
Don't Look Under the Bed October 9, 1999 Halloween
Horse Sense November 20, 1999 The Lawrence Brothers, Brotherly Love, Joey Lawrence, Andrew Lawrence This was the first DCOM to star any of the Lawrence Brothers, who would become DCOM staples and were, to varying degrees, '90s heartthrobs with fandoms of their own.
2000 Up, Up, and Away January 22, 2000 Sky High, My Hero Academia, Superheroes, The Incredibles This was the first DCOM with a primarily-Black cast.
The Color of Friendship February 5, 2000 Shadia Simmons, Strange Days at Blake Holsey High The first DCOM to win an Emmy Award. Set during Apartheid. A deeply political film.
Alley Cats Strike March 18, 2000 Bowling, Kaley Cuoco In 2014, Alley Cats Strike had a surge of popularity after it was discovered that the longest movie summary on Wikipedia was for this film. [1]
Rip Girls April 22, 2000 Camilla Belle, Surfing, Femslash
Miracle in Lane 2 May 13, 2000 Frankie Muniz, Malcolm in the Middle, Lizzie McGuire
Stepsister from Planet Weird June 17, 2000 Scifi, Courtnee Draper
Ready to Run July 14, 2000 Jason Dohring
Quints August 18, 2000 Kimberly J. Brown
The Other Me September 8, 2000 The Lawrence Brothers, Andrew Lawrence, Clones
Mom's Got a Date with a Vampire October 13, 2000 Halloween, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Degrassi: The Next Generation, Jake Epstein
Phantom of the Megaplex November 10, 2000 Halloween, Mickey Rooney, Classic Hollywood
The Ultimate Christmas Present December 1, 2000 Christmas, Brenda Song The first DCOM Christmas movie, and the first DCOM to feature Brenda Song in a co-starring role. Brenda Song is considered by many to be the "Queen of Disney Channel" due to her many appearances and starring roles over the last 20 years.
2001 Zenon: The Zequel January 12, 2001 Scifi, Kirsten Storms, Shadia Simmons, femslash This film suffers from the "replace the Black Best Friend Actor and see if the audience notices" syndrome, much like Iron Man 2.
Motocrossed February 16, 2001 Sports
The Luck of the Irish March 9, 2001 Ryan Merriman, Shapeshifting, Leprechauns, Sports, Basketball
Hounded April 13, 2001 Tahj Mowry, Smart Guy, Sister Sister, The Mowrys, Shia LaBeouf, Even Stevens The second DCOM to feature a primarily-Black cast.
Jett Jackson: The Movie June 8, 2001 Zoog Disney, Strange Days at Blake Holsey High, Lee Thompson Young, Hannah Montana The first DCOM to function as the feature-length finale of a Disney Channel Original Series.
The Jennie Project July 13, 2001
Jumping Ship/Horse Sense 2 August 17, 2001 The Lawrence Brothers, Joey Lawrence, Matthew Lawrence, Andrew Lawrence, Desert Island, Shipwrecked, Boy Meets World, Brotherly Love
The Poof Point September 14, 2001 Tahj Mowry, The Mowrys, Smart Guy, Sister Sister The second DCOM in 2001 to star Tahj Mowry; unrelated to Hounded.
Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge October 12, 2001 Halloween, Debbie Reynolds, Kimberly J. Brown
'Twas the Night December 7, 2001 Christmas, Bryan Cranston One of two DCOMs to feature adults as the main characters rather than children.
2002 Double Teamed January 18, 2002 Sports, Basketball, WNBA
Cadet Kelly March 8, 2002 Femslash, Hilary Duff, Lizzie McGuire, Christy Carlson Romano, Even Stevens, Shawn Ashmore Arguably post-9/11 military propaganda aimed at pre-teen girls. The first Disney movie starring Hilary Duff.
Tru Confessions April 5, 2002 Shia LaBeouf, Even Stevens, Harriet the Spy
Get a Clue June 28, 2002 Lindsay Lohan, Brenda Song, Mystery, Amanda Palmer
Gotta Kick It Up! July 26, 2002 Cheerleading, Bilingual, America Ferrera The first professional acting role for America Ferrera, who would go on to star in popular fandom properties like Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and Superstore.
A Ring of Endless Light August 23, 2002 Mischa Barton, Ryan Merriman, Telepathy, A Wrinkle In Time
The Scream Team October 4, 2002 Halloween, Kat Dennings, Kathy Najimi, Hocus Pocus, Descendants The first major role for Kat Dennings, who would go on to play Darcy Lewis for Disney's MCU.
2003 You Wish! January 10, 2003 AJ Trauth, Even Stevens, Lalaine, Lizzie McGuire This was Lalaine's final Disney Channel project. She performed for Disney's Hollywood Records label and RadioDisney through 2005 before cutting off work with the Disney corporation entirely.
Right on Track March 21, 2003 Beverly Mitchell, 7th Heaven, Brie Larson, Femslash The first film role for Brie Larson, who would go on to play Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel for Disney's MCU.
The Even Stevens Movie June 13, 2003 Shia LaBeouf, Christy Carlson Romano, AJ Trauth, Zoog Disney, Lizzie McGuire, The Famous Jett Jackson, Kim Possible The second DCOM to function as a feature-length series finale. The Lizzie McGuire Movie would also release in 2003, but as a theatrical finale for its namesake series.
Eddie's Million Dollar Cook-Off July 18, 2003 Orlando Brown, That's So Raven, Great British Bake-Off, Sports, Baseball
The Cheetah Girls August 15, 2003 Raven-Symoné, That's So Raven, 3LW, Adrienne Bailon, Play (Music group), Femslash
Full-Court Miracle November 21, 2003 Hanukkah, Sports, Basketball The first, and only, DCOM about Hanukkah.
2004 Pixel Perfect January 16, 2004 Scifi, Raviv Ullman, Phil of the Future
Going to the Mat March 19, 2004 The Lawrence Brothers, Andrew Lawrence, Sports The final DCOM to star any of the Lawrence Brothers.
Zenon: Z3 June 11, 2004 Scifi, Kirsten Storms, Raven-Symoné, femslash The final Zenon movie and the first DCOM franchise to be a trilogy.
Stuck in the Suburbs July 16, 2004 Brenda Song, Danielle Panabaker, Panabaker Sisters, Dream Street, Jesse McCartney, Greg Raposo The first DCOM to star one of the Panabaker Sisters, who would go on to star in many, many roles for Disney and other teen media, including Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. The soundtrack comprises heavily in songs by former Dream Street members Jesse McCartney and Greg Raposo.
Tiger Cruise August 6, 2004 Hayden Panettiere Post-9/11 military propaganda.
Halloweentown High October 8, 2004 Halloween, Debbie Reynolds, Kimberly J. Brown, Lucas Grabeel, High School Musical The final Halloweentown film to star Kimberly J. Brown as Marnie.
2005 Now You See It... January 14, 2005 Not related to the Jesse Eisenberg film Now You See Me, but they have almost the same plot.
Buffalo Dreams March 11, 2005 The first DCOM to star a Native/Indigenous/Aboriginal actor in a leading role. The next would be Descendants, ten years later.
Kim Possible Movie: So the Drama April 8, 2005 Kim Possible, Christy Carlson Romano, Friends to Lovers The first animated DCOM.
Go Figure June 10, 2005 Sports, Figure Skating, Hockey Originally based on the same Meg Cabot short story as Ice Princess (2005) starring Michelle Trachtenberg; neither is faithful to the text, according to Cabot.
Life Is Ruff July 15, 2005 Kyle Massey, That's So Raven, Cory in the House, Mitchell Musso, Hannah Montana, Kay Panabaker, Panabaker Sisters
The Proud Family Movie August 19, 2005
Twitches October 14, 2005 Tia & Tamera Mowry, Sister Sister, The Mowrys, Halloween
2006 High School Musical January 20, 2006 Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel, Corbin Bleu, Glee Inarguably the most successful franchise-maker of all DCOMs. A worldwide sensation and massive fandom.
Cow Belles March 24, 2006 Aly & AJ, Aly Michalka, AJ Michalka While Aly Michalka had previously starred in Disney Channel Original Series Phil of the Future as Keely, Cow Belles is the first DCOM created to promote a Hollywood Records/RadioDisney music act in the form of Aly & AJ.
Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior June 16, 2006 Brenda Song, Kung-Fu Brenda Song's first top-billed starring role, after being relegated to "best friend" roles in everything prior. The first DCOM to topline an Asian star.
Read It and Weep July 21, 2006 Kay Panabaker, Danielle Panabaker, Panabaker Sisters The second DCOM in 2006 to star a pair of sisters.
The Cheetah Girls 2 August 25, 2006 Raven-Symoné, That's So Raven, 3LW, Adrienne Bailon, Play (Music group), Femslash
Return to Halloweentown October 20, 2006 Halloween, Debbie Reynolds, Sara Paxton, Lucas Grabeel, High School Musical Considered by most fans to be an AU or alternate chronology for the Halloweentown series, since its main star was replaced.
2007 Jump In! January 12, 2007 Corbin Bleu, High School Musical, Keke Palmer, True Jackson, VP, Nickelodeon The first DCOM -- or indeed any Disney Channel property -- to star an actor commonly known to work within the Nickelodeon "stable" rather than Disney's own stable of contract players. Keke Palmer was primarily known at the time as a Nickelodeon star.
Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board/Johnny Tsunami 2 June 8, 2007 Virtually nothing from the first film, almost ten years prior, returns in this film, and many fans do not consider it to be a true sequel of Johnny Tsunami.
High School Musical 2 August 17, 2007 Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel, Corbin Bleu, Glee
Twitches Too October 12, 2007 Tia & Tamera Mowry, Sister Sister, The Mowrys, Halloween
2008 Minutemen January 25, 2008 Jason Dolley
Camp Rock June 20, 2008 Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato, Nick Jonas, Joe Jonas, Kevin Jonas, Incest, Jonacest Disney Channel launched this franchise of three planned films (two made) specifically to promote the Hollywood Records/RadioDisney musical careers of the Jonas Brothers and Demi Lovato. After filming, Joe Jonas and Demi Lovato dated for several turbulent years, ending with her hospitalization; there is, nonetheless, RPF for Demi/Joe as well as Jonacest.
The Cheetah Girls: One World August 22, 2008 Raven-Symoné, That's So Raven, 3LW, Adrienne Bailon, Play (Music group), Femslash The final film in the Cheetah Girls trilogy.
2009 Dadnapped February 16, 2009 Emily Osment, Davie Henrie, Hannah Montana, Wizards of Waverly Place
Hatching Pete April 24, 2009 Jason Dolley, Mitchell Musso, Slash, Mistaken Identity
Princess Protection Program June 26, 2009 Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, Camp Rock, Wizards of Waverly Place, Delena, Femlash Real-life best friends Demi and Selena also had a primitive webseries, so there was a lot of RPF about the pair of them as Delena.
Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie August 28, 2009 Selena Gomez, David Henrie, Wizards of Waverly Place, RPF, Incest There was both a lot of Selena/David RPF and a lot of incest/sibcest fic for their WOWP characters, in part due to this movie.
2010 Starstruck February 14, 2010 Danielle Campbell, Louis Tomlinson, One Direction Campbell briefly dated Tomlinson, and this movie made a resurgence in popularity within 1D fandom because of it.
Den Brother August 13, 2010 G Hannelius, Full House An episode of Full House with a plotline virtually identical to this movie aired almost 20 years prior.
Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam September 3, 2010 Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato, Nick Jonas, Joe Jonas, Kevin Jonas, Incest, Jonacest
Avalon High November 12, 2010 Merlin, Arthurian legend, The Princess Diaries Based on the novel of the same name by Meg Cabot. Much like Cabot's other Disney-adapted properties Go Figure and The Princess Diaries, there is virtually nothing the same between the novel and the film.
2011 The Suite Life Movie March 25, 2011 Sprouse Twins, Cole Sprouse, Dylan Sprouse, Brenda Song, Ashley Tisdale, High School Musical, Riverdale
Lemonade Mouth April 15, 2011 Naomi Scott, Hayley Kiyoko, Dog With a Blog, Bridgit Mendler, Good Luck Charlie, Terra Nova, Femslash
Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension August 5, 2011
Geek Charming November 11, 2011 Sarah Hyland, High School Musical, Struck By Lightning Hyland and her co-star, Matt Prokop, subsequently dated for several years and there was RPF about them; however, Prokop became abusive and Hyland served him with a restraining order for stalking, so RPF of them has largely been deleted from the internet.
Good Luck Charlie, It's Christmas! December 2, 2011 Bridgit Mendler, Jason Dolley, Christmas, Lemonade Mouth Functioned as a feature-length series finale for Good Luck Charlie.
2012 Frenemies January 13, 2012 Bella Thorne, Zendaya, Nick Robinson, Love, Simon, Shake It Up The first movie roles for both Zendaya and Robinson, who would go on to have major roles in multiple fan-favorite franchises, including the MCU, Jurassic World, Love, Simon, The Greatest Showman, and others.
Radio Rebel February 17, 2012 Debby Ryan, Jessie
Let It Shine June 15, 2012 5.7 The first DCOM with a majority-Black cast since 2007's Twitches Too.
Girl vs. Monster October 12, 2012 Halloween, Halloweentown, Hocus Pocus, Olivia Holt, Cloak & Dagger
2013 Teen Beach Movie July 19, 2013 Austin & Ally, The Fosters, Femslash, Frankie & Annette, R5, Ross Lynch, Maia Mitchell The most popular pairing in this franchise is Lela/Mack, a femslash ship. The franchise is an homage to Disney's own Frankie & Annette beach movies of the 1960s, starring Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello of the Mickey Mouse Club.
2014 Cloud 9 January 17, 2014 Dove Cameron, Descendants, Liv & Maddie
Zapped June 27, 2014 Zendaya, Shake It Up
How to Build a Better Boy August 15, 2014 China Anne McClain, The McClain Sisters, ANT Farm, Descendants As the main characters of this film are in USA 10th grade (Sophomores), they are the oldest main characters in a real-world setting in any DCOMs.
2015 Bad Hair Day February 13, 2015 Laura Marano, Austin & Ally
Teen Beach 2 June 26, 2015 Austin & Ally, The Fosters, Femslash, Frankie & Annette, R5, Ross Lynch, Maia Mitchell
Descendants July 31, 2015 Disney, Dove Cameron, Sofia Carson, Booboo Stewart, Cameron Boyce, Liv & Maddie, Jessie, Kristen Chenoweth, Kathy Najimi, Hocus Pocus, Maleficent, 101 Dalmatians, Aladdin, Snow White *The Princess and The Wolf by Descendants (Fan writer)
Invisible Sister October 9, 2015 Halloween, Rowan Blanchard, Girl Meets World
2016 Adventures in Babysitting June 24, 2016 Sabrina Carpenter, Sofia Carson, Femslash, Remakes, Girl Meets World, Descendants The 100th DCOM. There was a star-studded premiere featuring the stars of every past DCOM.
The Swap October 7, 2016 Halloween, Bodyswap, Freaky Friday, Peyton List
2017
Descendants 2 July 21, 2017 Disney, Dove Cameron, Sofia Carson, Booboo Stewart, Cameron Boyce, Liv & Maddie, Jessie, 101 Dalmatians, Aladdin, Snow White, Beauty & the Beast
2018 Z•O•M•B•I•E•S February 16, 2018 Zombies, Halloween, The Walking Dead, High School Musical, Bring It On, American Housewife, Twilight This film was originally advertised as a new Disney Channel Original Series, but instead was condensed into a film trilogy.
Freaky Friday August 10, 2018 Freaky Friday The third Disney film remake of Mary Rodgers' book of the same name. The previous iterations were not musicals, but this one is.
2019 Kim Possible February 15, 2019 Kim Possible, Remakes, How I Met Your Mother, The Goldbergs, Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, Christy Carlson Romano, Will Friedle A live-action remake and partial reboot of the Kim Possible cartoon series. Alyson Hannigan plays Kim's mother, Dr. Possible.
Descendants 3 August 2, 2019 Disney, Dove Cameron, Sofia Carson, Booboo Stewart, Cameron Boyce, Liv & Maddie, Jessie, 101 Dalmatians, Aladdin, Snow White, Beauty & the Beast Released within days of star Cameron Boyce's death, the film was quickly reedited to feature his character Carlos more prominently and have a dedication card to his memory at the end. There was no live premiere of the film in observance of the cast's mourning.
2020 Z•O•M•B•I•E•S 2 February 14, 2020 Zombies, Halloween, The Walking Dead, High School Musical, Bring It On, American Housewife, Twilight, Werewolves, Aliens, Shapeshifting The last DCOM released with a live premiere in 2020 due to COVID-19.
Upside-Down Magic July 31, 2020 Harry Potter, How To Train Your Dragon, Shapeshifting Based on the book series of the same name by e.lockhart and Sarah Mlynowski, the movie premiered on Harry Potter (and JK Rowling)'s birthday, shortly after JKR doubled down on her transmisogyny, so many fans see the film as a rebuttal to Hogwarts.

In Fandom

References

  1. ^ "The Longest Movie Plot Summary on Wikipedia". Archived from the original on 2021-12-03.
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