20 Disney Channel Original Movies from the 2000s, ranked

Based on the book series by Deborah Gregory, the film follows four friends on their journey to superstardom. Despite its low-ish rating, The Cheetah Girls was an absolute triumph! It was fun, the songs were catchy, and it made you want to learn all of the choreography. Oh, and it was executive produced by Whitney Houston! Luckily, it produced a sequel in 2006 (pictured) with a 5.0 rating, ultimately getting a second chance to prove itself as one of the superior Disney Channel franchises. Unfortunately, the phenomenon fell off with the third installment, The Cheetah Girls: One World, in 2008 when Raven-Symone left the group. But hey, once a Cheetah Girl, always a Cheetah Girl.

Don't we all live for Lindsay Lohan's Disney era? Lohan plays 12-year-old Lexy, a wealthy gossip columnist for her high school's newspaper, who ropes her friends and rival into investigating her missing teacher's whereabouts. Get a Clue was her last film under her original three-picture contract with Disney, after The Parent Trap (1998) and Life-Size (2000) with Tyra Banks . Oh, and we get a baby Brenda Song! 

Pop duo and sisters Aly and AJ star in this comedy about two wealthy (once again) sisters who start working at the family business to learn responsibility but, ultimately, end up having to prevent it from going under. Though maybe not the best movie to ever come out of Disney, it was nice to see real sisters working together in more ways than one, producing a single and music video for "On the Ride."

What is a Disney Channel Original Movie without music... and an underdog story, really? Mitchie (Demi Lovato) plays a shy teen working in the kitchen at a summer music camp whose beautiful singing voice is discovered by pop star Shane Gray (Joe Jonas). Similar to a Cinderella-type story, he spends the entire time trying to find the mysterious singer. Camp Rock had everyone immediately singing along to the soundtrack, and why wouldn't they? The freaking Jonas Brothers were in the movie! With Demi Lovato just kicking off her music career, this film played a huge part in her success. Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam (2010)... well, that's another story.

The highly anticipated sequel to the DCOM that took the world by storm! In an attempt to get closer to Troy, Sharpay gets him a summer job at her family's country club. Troy agrees only if they hire his friends, too, causing friction between them when Sharpay keeps trying to pull him away. Sure, it's ranked lower than the original, as sequels often do (The Cheetah Girls 2 being the exception), but all of the necessary elements are there: fun musical numbers (obviously), Troy and Gabriella going back and forth on their relationship for no reason at all, and Sharpay being Sharpay. We want "Fabulous," and we got it.

Kirsten Storms and Raven-Symone return as Zenon and Nebula in the third installment of Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century (1999). It is the year 2054, Zenon is now 18 years old and competing in the Galactic Teen Supreme contest when an evil deity threatens to destroy Earth and must save the day once again. As far as "threequels" go, Zenon: Z3 does not disappoint! 

With the success of High School Musical (2006) and numerous guest star roles under his belt, Corbin Bleu finally gets his own DCOM, starring alongside Keke Palmer. Bleu plays a young boxer planning to follow in his father's footsteps but finds a new love for double dutch when his friend asks him to stand in for one of their team members. It's yet another movie about a son feeling the pressure from his father, but this movie gave us music from Corbin and Keke, and for that, we're thankful.

Another Disney movie with actual sisters, Kay and Danielle Panabaker! The story follows a shy high school student who develops an alter ego through journaling. Chaos ensues when she wins a writing contest after accidentally turning her journal in as a homework assignment. Again, not the best, BUT the marketing for this movie was insane. Danielle had just done Sky High (2005) a year earlier, Kay had a recurring role on Phil of the Future, and the iconic "Outside Looking In" music video by Jordan Pruitt absolutely shut it down. 

Disney alums Hilary Duff ( Lizzie McGuire) and Christy Carlson Romano (Even Stevens, Kim Possible) team up in this comedy about an independent teen who has to enroll in military school when her new stepfather becomes the Commandant, leaving her life at art school behind. For a Disney movie, Cadet Kelly has a stellar cast, including Gary Cole, Shawn Ashmore, and Aimee Garcia. If the subject matter doesn't sound like your cup of tea, then maybe Hilary Duff just being Hilary Duff is enough?

The one that started it all: HSM should be further down the list, in my opinion. Troy (Zac Efron) and Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens) meet and sing together at a New Year's Eve party during winter break. Gabriella ends up being the new student at Troy's high school, where they both end up auditioning for the school musical, despite their very different cliques. The lead-up to the Disney Channel premiere was the most exciting thing a middle schooler could experience, and no one could have predicted the number of dance-a-longs and sing-a-longs that would come after. The only thing that would have made this movie better is if Efron had actually sung himself! But don't get me wrong, the original singing voice of Troy, Drew Seeley, is very talented and actually went on tour with the cast from 2006-07. If High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008) were considered a DCOM, it would also make the list. 

It's always a big deal when two Disney Channel icons join forces, and Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez are no exception! When her country is invaded, Princess Rosie (Lovato) goes into the "Princess Protection Program," relocating her to rural Louisiana, meeting Carter (Gomez), who teaches her how to be a teen in America while she teaches Carter the royal way. The then-besties made a cute movie and, of course, a fun song and video to accompany it. What's not to like? 

A Halloween staple in households everywhere since 2005! Or maybe just for the Disney fanatics. Twin sisters (also witches), separated at birth, meet on their 21st birthday and discover they have magical powers. They return to their birthplace to save their biological mother and protect the kingdom. We loved Tia and Tamera in Sister, Sister, and we all know how much Disney loves the idea of sisters working together. And hey, it was good enough to get a sequel, Twitches Too (2007).

Yes, it's another time machine movie, but it's a Disney time machine movie! The story follows three high school students who create a 10-minute time machine to save others from humiliating situations similar to their own past experiences. Jason Dolley was basically a household name at this point, and most of us are just now realizing that the Nicholas Braun is, in fact, a Disney alum. Also, did anyone else know he is in Sky High with Danielle Panabaker? You do now.

Somehow, Disney found two actresses that look like twins but aren't actual sisters to play sisters! The cool thing about this film is that it is based on basketball players Heather and Heidi Burge's real-life experiences. The girls go from playing volleyball to basketball when they move to a bigger school in order to get scholarships. Their original plan to continue playing volleyball gets shelved when Heather is noticed by the basketball coach. Despite having gotten into the school play, the girls' father forces Heidi to join the team as well. Though we don't love the idea of a father making his daughters do something they don't want to do, we like that it is woman-driven and has a teamwork element.

As far as Disney movies go, this one is probably one of the least Disney-esque, but in the best possible way! The story takes place around September 11, 2001, when the USS Constellation was returning from its 2001 Western Pacific deployment. Though she wants her father to retire from the military, Maddie accompanies him on the cruise, Operation Tiger. After the attacks of 9/11, she develops a new appreciation for her family's involvement in the military, despite her previous stand on being a "military brat." Little Hayden Panettiere, who was practically already a professional in the business, killed her performance, and obviously, adding Bill Pullman to any movie automatically makes it a hit. 

Not going to lie, this one is fairly new to me despite it having just turned 23 years old!? Two junior high school basketball teams must settle a tie by competing in a bowling competition. And hey, we get a young Kaley Cuoco, who plays one of the friends in the bowling club. It is a movie about friendship, betrayal, and, ultimately, realizing who your real friends are. Oh, and sports. Can't forget about the sports. 

If you ask me, this one deserves a rewatch every year around St. Patrick's Day! Not sure how many St. Patrick's Day movies exist, but The Luck of the Irish is iconic. Ryan Merriman plays a teen basketball star whose luck soon runs out when his lucky gold coin is stolen at an Irish festival. He discovers that his mother is actually a leprechaun and must retrieve the coin for his family to pass as humans; he competes against the evil leprechaun who stole it to win it back. It is as insane and cheesy as it sounds but so, so great. 

With the series being such a hit, fans were excited to finally get a Wizards of Waverly Place movie. The story follows the Russo family on a family vacation where Alex (Gomez) and her siblings try to reverse a curse she accidentally places on their parents. At the time, it was the second most-viewed DCOM premiere after High School Musical 2. That's a big deal. With Princess Protection Program and this film coming out the same year, Selena was having a moment.

A classic switcheroo and a loose adaptation of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, Motocrossed tells the story of a girl who secretly takes her twin brother's place in a motocross race after injuring himself. Her father is (shocker) against her racing, as she is "just a girl," but her mother helps her anyway. As entertaining as this movie is, Disney was way too into the idea of fathers holding their daughters back in the early-to-mid 2000s. Let the women do what they want!

The Color of Friendship is No. 1 for so many reasons. The film takes place in 1977 when Mahree, a white South African who benefits from apartheid, travels as an exchange student to Washington, D.C. She doesn't realize until she gets there that she will be staying with a Black family, whereas Piper, the teenage daughter of the family, also doesn't expect her to be white. While learning a lot about each other along the way and looking beyond race, they become friends. Delving deep into both South African Black and white experiences during apartheid, the film helps to bridge the gap in America's understanding of South Africa and vice versa. If the story weren't based on a real friendship, the film probably wouldn't have had as big of an impact.