Disney, of course, has amazing and iconic movies, but some of them the best disney channel original movies are just constructed differently. I practically grew up with Disney movies, and until a ton of classic Disney movies started showing up on Disney+, I immediately thought I could have imagined some of the more niche scenes and wild, or even entire movies, which have now found a home on the streaming platform. Buckle up for a trip down memory lane, because these five Disney Channel movies might not have been dreams, but they are throwbacks to childhood.
The Ghost of the Megaplex (2000)
A clear ode to The Phantom of the Opera, this Disney Channel Original is set in a massive movie theater during a major movie premiere as a masked “ghost” causes turmoil and destruction. Three siblings, including one who works in the theater, attempt to track down the troublemaker. The movie features a number of goofy characters, some great movie references, and an awesome Mickey Rooney character and performance.
As a movie junkie, I have to give it up Ghost of the Megaplex. The movie is a masterpiece, especially for being an old Disney Channel TV movie. Everything from the very specific and strong personality characteristics and mannerisms of the colorful characters who work at the megaplex, to the cinematic references thrown throughout the film, have been part of my adult life like a vague memory whenever I encounter something that elicits a correlation. .
That being said, I’ve never met anyone who remembers anything from that movie, so much so that I had stopped talking about it and was convinced that it was something that I had made it up in my head. I have to thank my Disney+ subscription for this one, because without him, I would have kept fooling myself that it wasn’t real.
Fifths (2000)
Halloween TownKimberly J. Brown plays an only child in Quintuplets whose life changes drastically when her parents become pregnant with, well, strokes. Yeah, that’s five babies. Brown often breaks the film’s fourth wall as a narrator to remind the viewer that the film is about his story, not that of his miraculous siblings. Quintuplets is her character’s journey through a life-changing event and finding peace in who she is in both her own life and the lives of others.
While five babies are more likely now thanks to IVF treatments, and there’s actually a show about a family with quints that eerily resembles the plot of Quintuplets, the idea was quite new a few decades ago. It releases the same vibrations of The simpsons to be able to predict the future. This weird aspect coupled with the fourth wall breaking and a narration that makes the film feel like it is talking directly to the viewer makes the whole film feel surreal. That’s not even mentioning the fact that Kimberly J. Brown got a major credit for the now cult classic. Halloween Town franchise, but no one ever mentions her as a main character in Quintuplets. In fact, its presence on Disney+ seems to be one of the only pieces of evidence that the movie wasn’t just in my head.
Mama’s Date with a Vampire (2000)
While this is definitely a case where the plot is right there in the title, Mom has a date with a vampire still has a few surprises in store for viewers. After their mother meets a real vampire at the supermarket, the three Hansen siblings are thrown into a night they’re unlikely to forget. Getting help from a vampire hunter he sees on TV, the younger Hansen sets out to free their mother from the bloodthirsty vampire.
For a film of less than 90 minutes, Mom has a date with a vampire has a ton of scenery changes and lots of storyline. It creates a sort of chaotic vibe, and that, added to the recognizable adult cast (one of the aunts of Sabrina the Teenage Witchthe dad of Lizzy McGuireand The nanny‘s Mr. Sheffield) was enough to make me think I had made up the whole movie as a dream sequence.
Smart Home (1999)
Ben loves participating in sweepstakes. It’s a pretty huge deal when he wins one, because his prize is an entire house that includes a super computer that will meet all his family’s needs. From cleaning up spills to transforming rooms into any virtual reality they could ask for, the house seems like a total dream. When smart homeThe main character of (played by Katey Sagal) wants to be more than a house, however, Ben gets more than what he signed his family for.
I’m just going to preface this by saying that Katey Sagal has an absolute hold on me, and that’s probably stemming from watching this movie, back when I was a mere 5-year-old kid. When I say Sons of Anarchy and Futurama (which has been revived and will star in Sagal again) fans how much I loved Sagal as a talking house, no one knows what I’m talking about. There’s that, but the reason I considered the movie kind of a figment of my imagination is probably due to the scene where a smoothie is sucked up through the kitchen floor.
Don’t Look Under the Bed (1999)
Frances is 14 years old and lives in the dreary town of Middleberg, until all the alarm clocks in town are sped up by three hours in the middle of the night, all the dogs in the neighborhood end up on the rooftops, and Frances begins to see a mysterious boy who only another can see. As things start to get even stranger in Middleburg, Frances wanders into a horror world featuring her very own, very real boogeyman through an entrance under her bed.
It’s not hard to imagine where a 6-year-old me got her obsession with horror movies, because this movie is a real nightmare. It’s way beyond any scares Disney Originals has had to offer up to now and, honestly, ever since. There are very real horror aspects throughout the movie, like every inanimate object with a face that turns to look at Frances when she’s not looking. This movie has everything a good fever dream has, right down to the colorful mist billowing out from under the bed, so it’s no wonder I chalked up the scary movie to a bad dream.
As the company continues to breathe new life into older movies as Disney remakes, I can’t help but wonder what some of them would look like if they were made today. I’m not one to hope remakes of classic moviesbut in the case of Disney Original Channels (opens in a new tab), I’m probably super down to see it happen. That way, at least a whole new generation of kids can look back 20 years later and not be entirely sure they can trust their memories when it comes to the reality of those movies or the outcome. of a very detailed fever dream.
