So I knew I was going to get Disney Plus when I heard I would be able to watch the DCOMS. Back in the day, I watched some of these every time they were on. And most of them were hot topics when in the classroom.

The 90’s and early 00’s were a fun time. Since I wasn’t allowed to watch much that wasn’t on a kids channel (Nickelodeon, Disney, Cartoon Network… PBS kids) I watched a lot of DCOMS. There are so many now that I don’t even recognize or know anything about… And I love that for this new generation. Good times. But let’s hop into the top ones that I enjoyed from my childhood. If you are looking for things like High School Musical or Camp Rock… I was older when those came out. My younger sister loves them so that obviously means they were pretty great but I was in college so I didn’t watch them.

1. Brink! – There was a point in my elementary school career where this was all my friends and I talked about. I just knew I was going to learn to skate… AND BE A SOUL SKATER. Good times. We watched this religiously. This was the catalyst for me seeing things on tv and wanting to try it out. Brink! is a 1998 Disney Channel Original Movie that depicts the sport of aggressive inline skating. The plot adapts and updates from the 1865 novel Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates by Mary Mapes Dodge. The film was released as the third Disney Channel Original Movie. Andy “Brink” Brinker (Erik Von Detten) and his in-line skating crew—Peter, Jordy, and Gabriella—who call themselves “Soul-Skaters” (they skate for the fun of it, not for the money), clash with a semi-professional skating team, Team X-Bladz—led by Val—with whom they attend high school in southern California. Brink’s family falls into financial trouble forcing him to consider joining team X-Blades.
   
   
   
2. Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century – A 1999 DCOM. The film was the first under the Disney Channel Original Movie banner to produce a sequel, Zenon: The Zequel (2001). A third and final installment was also produced, Zenon: Z3 (2004). The year is 2049 and Zenon Kar is a 13-year-old girl who lives with her family on an Earth-orbiting space station. After getting into trouble with the space station’s commander, Edward Plank, Zenon’s parents punish her by sending her to Earth to live with her Aunt Judy. On Earth, Zenon experiences trouble fitting in with other kids, who consider her name, space-station stories and slang to be weird. Likewise, Zenon considers the children at her school woefully out of touch with pop culture. Eventually, Zenon makes friends on Earth with two boys, Andrew and Greg (with whom she develops a relationship). Along the way the kids learn to be more accepting of one another and to look past first impressions.
   (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3idW4Xlr1c)
   
   
   
   
   
3. Smart House – Ben Cooper had me believing that I could win a Smart house for my family. It is about a teenage computer nerd and contest whiz, his widowed father, and his little sister, who win a computerized house that begins to take on a life of its own – in the form of an overbearing mother. I would have loved to not have to clean up after myself. I am still waiting for that. Come on… Where is my Smart House??? I could had great parties with my mom out of the house. LOL. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0HDkSxoUjs&t=53s)
   
   
   
   
4. Johnny Tsunami – Now… Why wouldn’t I have picked a movie about a surfer turned snowboarder? I see no downside here. Another movie that added to a bucketlist activity. Johnny Tsunami is a 1999 (DCOM). The film focuses on a young surfer from Hawaii who must adapt to new challenges when his father’s job forces the family to move to Vermont. In Johnny’s new town, there are two schools: a private school where the students are skiers known as Skies; and the public school where the students are snowboarders known as Urchins. Johnny goes to the skiers’ school, but would prefer to snowboard because he thinks it is more like surfing. After some difficulty, Johnny eventually learns how to snowboard with help from a new friend named Sam Sterling which of course causes drama…
   
   
   
5. Motocrossed – Another extreme sports movie which I thought was the best thing ever. It is about a girl named Andrea Carson who loves motocross, despite the fact that her father finds her unsuited for the sport, being that she is “just a girl”. When her twin brother Andrew dislocates his knee just before a big race, their father is forced to go to Europe to find a replacement rider. In the meantime, Andrea secretly races in Andrew’s place with her mother’s help. The movie is a loose adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. Another thing that I added to my bucket list.
   
   
   
6. The Other Me – When have I not thought I could use another me. This also had a Lawrence Brother and you know how much I love them. This was that movie. It is about a teenager who accidentally clones himself as a genius and ends up using his clone to pass school. Will Browning is a student who does not perform well in school. His father says that if Will does not improve soon, he will be spending the summer at Camp Spartacus, a boot camp for boys which will help him learn responsibility and discipline. To make up for the grades, Will orders a science project from an organization, “Ocean Pups.” Two scientists, Victor and Conrad, who work there want to move out and work in a “real” lab. They make a breakthrough when they create a process of cloning they call “hyper-cloning”. The cloning formula is accidentally spilled through a crack in the floor and all over an “Ocean Pups” kit. While working with the kit, Will accidentally clones himself after stirring the water with his comb that has his hair on it that contains his DNA. 
   
   
   
7. Don’t Look Under the Bed – This is a DCOM that get talked about the least. Frances Bacon McCausland is an intelligent and level-headed girl, is starting high school a year early. Strange things have been going on in her town of Middleberg: dogs appearing on people’s roofs, alarm clocks going off hours early, eggs all over a teacher’s car, gelatin in the school swimming pool, and the letter “B” spray-painted all over town. The Bs also appear on the school lockers—except for Frances’, which has a B on the inside. These pranks seem to point to Frances, who does not understand what is happening or why. An older boy named Larry Houdini offers to help Frances, telling her that he is an imaginary friend, which is proven true as children are the only other people who can see him. Larry tells Frances that she is being framed by the Boogeyman. Frances has a difficult time believing this. Good times for 99. I watched this all the time. Parents thought it was too scary but I loved it.
   
   
   
8. Eddie’s Million Dollar Cook-Off – DCOM and Bobby Flay… Sure I am down. Eddie Ogden is an eighth grader at Cedar Valley Junior High School, and plays baseball for the Groundhogs, which is coached by his father. At the same time, Eddie likes making food, especially Eddie Dogs, which he preps after every game for him and his friends. Holding high expectations for him, Eddie’s father wants him to win a scholarship for his baseball skills. Though Eddie likes baseball, he discovers an attraction to cooking after watching Bobby Flay on The Food Network. When trying to figure out if he is going to play or become a chef… Drama ensues.
   
   
   
   

So that is my list. I watched these all the time. Disney Plus has all of these on their streaming service. I may have to do a rewatch and a write up one of these days. Good times. Let me know which are your favorites in the comments.