Top 10 Disney Channel Original Movies

Disney movies are great because not only are they entertaining, they are also family friendly. Disney movies usually have great stories that children can learn from. They teach confidence, self respect and loyalty. This top ten list is what I believe to be the best Disney Channel Original movies ever.

10. Wish upon a Star. Wish upon a Star is an amazing movie written by Jessica Barondes and directed by Blair Treu. It was created in 1996 and starred Katherine Heigl as Alexia Wheaton and Danielle Harris as her younger sister Hayley Wheaton. Upon viewing a shooting star, Hayley wished to be her older and popular sister while Alexia wished to be her younger, intellectual sister. The wish came true and the two spent days in each other’s body. Although they began their switch by attempting to ruin each other, they ended up learning to appreciate not only their sister but themselves. They realized that each other’s life was not as easy as it seemed and that the grass is not always greener on the other side. This is an amazing movie which teaches to appreciate the good in one’s self and to embrace the good qualities in others also.

9. Camp Rock. This film debuted on Disney in 2008 and stars Demi Lovato as Mitchie Torres and The Jonas Brothers. This film was written by Karin Gist, Regina Hicks, Julie Brown and Paul Brown and was directed by Mathew Diamond. One of the main stories in the movie is Mitchie’s embarrassment of the person she is and where she came from. All she wanted was to fit in with the rich kids at camp and she tried to hide the fact that her movie was the cook and that she was only able to attend the camp because of that fact. At the end she learned that her true self was a much better person than the person she pretended to be and that people loved her for who she was. She was also able to make a difference in the lives of the snobbier girls.

8. Up, up and Away. Up, up and Away was Daniel Berendsen and directed by Robert Townsend. It premiered in 2000 and starred Michael Pagan as Scott Marshall. The Marshalls were a family of super hero and Scott was disappointed that he was the only family member with no super powers. When his family is kidnapped, Scott realized that he did not need superpowers in order to be a hero. He rescued his family and was responsible for the world being saved from the Earth Protectors.

7. The Parent Trap. The original Parent Trap was created in 1961 and was based on the book Lottie and Lisa by Erich Kastner. Hayley Mills starred as both sisters. Since then, there have been many remakes of the story. The Parent Trap is about two identical twin sisters who were separated after birth and met up at a summer camp many years later. When their parents had gotten a divorce, each parent got custody of one twin. The sisters were eager to meet the parent that they did not receive the privilege to be raised up with and decided to switch places. This started the twins on their mission to trap their parents into getting back together. This was my all time favorite movie when I was a child, especially since I always wanted a twin sister. I watched this movie so many times that I can’t even recall and have watched every new version since then.

6. Zenon: Girl of the 21^st Century. Zenon was based on a book by Marilyn Sadler and Roger Bollen. It was written into a teleplay in 1999 by Stu Kreiger and directed by Kenneth Johnson. Kirsten Storms stars as Zenon Kar. In the movie, Zenon, who lived in space with her family, was grounded and sent to earth as punishment. After being on earth for several weeks, she learned that her home was in danger. Her goal was to find a way to return to her space station and save it, which she was able to accomplish with the help of her new friends on earth.

5. High School Musical. High School Musical was released in 2006 as the first of the High School Musical firm franchise. It was written by Peter Barsocchini and directed by Kenny Ortega. It stars Zac Efron as Troy Bolton and Vanessa Hudgens as Gabriella Montez. It is a musical about students in high school and has been described as a modern day Romeo and Juliet. The students deal with friendships, love, jealousy and pride as they prepare to put on the best musical possible.

4. The Cheetah Girls. This movie was released in 2003 and starred Raven Simone as Galleria, Adrienne Bailon as Chanel, Kiely Williams as Aqua and Sabrina Bryan as Dorinda. It was written by Deborah Gregory and Alison Taylor and directed by Oz Scott. These girls formed a teen girl group and attempted to become the first freshmen group to win the talent show at their school. The girls received a great opportunity when a director saw them at the auditions and decided to make them into superstars. Their new status went to the head of Galleria and the group encountered many problems which tore them apart. In the end, they were able to put their differences aside and become the best friends that they were before.

3. Cadet Kelly. This is an amazing movie which proves that anything is possible. Cadet Kelly was written by Gail parent and Michael Walsh and directed by Larry Shaw. It was released in 2002 and stars Hilary Duff as Kelly Collins. Kelly, whose mom had recently gotten married to the Commandant of the military school where she attended, did not care for her new dad or her new school. She had trouble fitting in and following the orders of those in authority. After Kelly pulled a prank on one of the officers, she was taken to court and sentenced to shining shoes for the drill team. She learned to appreciate the hard work of the drill team, which she had previously described as robots, and wanted to help them win their competition. Working with the same officer she formerly pulled the prank on, they were able to update their routines and improve their chances of winning. They won second place which was a record for their school.

2. The Color of Friendship. This movie was written by Paris Qualles and directed by Kevin Hooks. It was released in 2000 and stars Lindsey Haun as Mahree Bok and Shadia Simmons as Piper Dellums. Set in the year 1977, this movie dealt with true events of the time. Mahree, a white South African exchange student , went to the U.S. and ended up staying with Pippers family. Both girls expected the other to be of their race and Mahree panicked when she realized that her host family was not white. The two girls, who would have never been friends in Mahree’s home town ended up learning that they had a lot in common and became great friends. Mahree got to witness many interracial friendships and learned to accept her host family. Many other issues were dealt with in this movie such as racism, a kidnapping of Mahree and the killing of a guy by the South African police. It is definitely a movie to see.

1. Princess Protection Program. This is one of Disney’s newest movies and was released this year, 2009. It is written by Annie DeYoung and directed by Allison Liddi. It starred Demi Lovato as Rosalinda ‘Rosie’ Gonzales and Selena Gomez as Carter Mason. When Rosie’s nation of Costa Luna is invaded by a dictator, the princess is taken into custody by the princess protection program and has to live with the family of one the agents. The agent has a daughter who is the same age as the princess and at first they seemed too different to co-exist. The girls were able to learn to appreciate each other and Rosie taught Carter to act like a princess while Carter showed her how to act like a normal American teen. When Rosie found out that the dictator planned on forcing her mother’s hand in marriage, she tries to return how. Carter stops her and decides to help her with protecting her mother. Carter’s dad saved the day when the dictator and his men came to kidnap Rosie. This movie teaches many lessons including that anyone can be a princess and regardless of how different people seem to be, they can get along and may actually have a lot in common.

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