Disney Plus opened up for streaming this week and millenials everywhere are reliving their childhoods with their favorite shows and movies.
I have been asking for a place where I could watch all my favorite Disney Channel Original Movies for years and Disney Plus has finally answered my prayers. I was a few days late to jump on the bandwagon and am already wishing I got it earlier. My entire morning so far has consisted of me going through the catalog and openly weeping at everything I can now watch whenever I want. I’m also crying about the fact that I will no longer be getting any work done and all my time will be spent watching old Disney Channel shows. I have taken the liberty of creating a list of all the shows and movies I can’t wait to binge immediately after I finish writing this article.
1. Even Stevens
Shia Lebouf has grown to be a super talented actor, but no matter what movie of his I watch, I can’t help but see him as Louis Stevens. I loved this show and all the crazy antics Louis would pull with his neighbor Beans and his friends Tawni and Donnie. I never appreciated Ren as a kid and always thought of her as being a buzzkill, but after watching Christie Carlson Romano’s Youtube series, I have found a new appreciation for her. Anyways, excuse me while I go binge all three seasons.
2. Phil of The Future
This show does not get the love it deserves. It has a catchy theme song, cool futuristic gadgets and a super predictable love story, what else do people want? When Phil’s dad finally fixed the time machine after years of being stuck in the 21st century, my little heart broke. I would like to thank Disney Plus for bringing my favorite 22nd century man back to my screen for some more fun times. Another thing, Phil of The Future brought me Alyson Michalka and without her the iconic movie Cow Belles may never have been made.
3. Johnny Tsunami
When I found out my best friend had not seen this movie, it’s safe to say my mind exploded. I love this movie and for some reason as a kid completely related to this kid who moved cross country, even though I have never actually had to do that. The farthest I have ever moved is 25 minutes away from my friends and family. That’s not exactly similar to a six hour flight away. Anyways, this movie is what made me want to learn to surf as a kid. I sill have not learned and am actively letting my 10 year old self down.
4. Mom’s Got a Date With a Vampire
Every year on Halloween I could not wait to watch this movie. Aunt Helda suddenly had three kids and a dead husband and was dumb enough to willingly go on a date with a vampire. I don’t know how she was not able to figure it out considering she is a witch and is used to supernatural beings, but whatever, it’s a kids movie. This was my version of a scary movie and I loved pretending to be a bad ass kid who wasn’t afraid of anything, including vampires. We all knew that isn’t true but you know, a kid can dream.
5. The Color of Friendship
Anytime this movie was on I would sit there and watch it, no matter what time it was. For some reason this movie always stuck with me, even as a kid. I didn’t really understand what the actual story was about and why Mari being white was so weird but I went with it. I still love this movie and can’t wait to be able to watch it whenever I want and not have to wait until it is airing on TV to watch it. Also, the names of the characters just as great as the movie. You can bet I named a whole lot of Sims Piper and Mari. I basically had a whole town of them.
6. Up Up and Away
This movie is weirdly similar to Sky High in that the child of two superheros is embarrassed that he is born without powers. He pretends to have superpowers because he doesn’t want to let his family down. Throw in some evil recycling goons and we have ourselves a conflict. When his parents are captured, Scott must gather all the self confidence he can muster and save his parents from evil environmentalists. My favorite part of this movie is that the kryptonite of these superheros is literal aluminum foil. Not very tough. This underrated movie deserves way more love then it’s currently getting and I’m here to spread the word.
7. Lizzie McGuire
I can’t talk about old school Disney Channel without mentioning the queen of all queens, Lizzie McGuire. This show was my life! It was only on for two seasons but they were really long and led to the most iconic movie ever made. Everything I learned about Italy, I learned from The Lizzie McGuire Movie. While it gave me completely unreachable expectations about what my post middle school experience would be I was so able to relate to it. Cartoon Lizzie was all of us at 12 years old, savage and insecure. Disney Plus did us all a solid by creating this platform.
What are you most excited to watch on Disney Plus?