Here are the top 5 Disney Channel Original Movies

The most vivid memory I have from my childhood is watching television. Specifically, watching Disney Channel Original Movies on Monday nights at 8/7c.

This nostalgia is exactly why DCOMs are the best movies to watch when trying to de-stress and generally avoid doing what you should be doing.

1. Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior 

"Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior" tells the story of a popular girl in high school who turns out to be next in line to save the world from an evil spirit by learning martial arts from a Buddhist monk and teachers who are possessed by the Five Animals of Chinese martial arts. Yes, the entire plot relies on stereotypes, but at least the lead roles actually belong to people of Asian descent (I’m talking to you, Matt Damon). If you’re in the mood to watch a movie about a kick-ass female lead, watch "Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior." 

2. Read It and Weep

"Read It and Weep" is about a girl who ends up having her journal published as a novel because she attached the wrong document in an email, which is incredibly relatable. The novel becomes really popular and Jamie, the main character, becomes famous (and really stuck up). This movie stars Kay and Danielle Panabaker, and while Kay is great, Danielle is amazing. Not only did she star in this movie, but she also stars in "Stuck in the Suburbs" (which is on this list) and "Sky High" (which is not on this list because it isn’t a DCOM, but it’s amazing and you should watch it). 

3. Stuck in the Suburbs

Like I said earlier, Danielle Panabaker is amazing. "Stuck in the Suburbs" is about a fangirl who ends up with a famous pop star’s phone (who was played by Taran Killam pre-"Saturday Night Live"). If I lived in the "Stuck in the Suburbs" world I would definitely be a Jordan Cahill fan — “Make a Wish” and “More Than Me” are total bops. Also, Brenda Song a.k.a. Wendy Wu is in this movie, though Natasha (her character) is significantly less cool. 

4. Get a Clue

Unpopular opinion time: of all of the movies Lindsay Lohan has been in, the top three are "Freaky Friday," "Get a Clue" and "The Parent Trap" ("Mean Girls" is a solid #4). In "Get a Clue," Lindsay Lohan plays a writer for her school newspaper who tries to solve the mystery of her teacher’s disappearance. Imagine Lindsay Lohan being a staff writer for the DTH. That would be amazing. 

Oh, and Brenda Song is in this movie too. 

5. Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century

If we do not have a space colony set up by 2049, I will be very upset. In "Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century," Zenon is grounded by her parents and has to leave her space-station home and live on Earth, which, of course, sucks. And if for some reason you don’t want to watch for the cool lingo like “zetus lapetus,” I recommend watching this just for the performance of “Supernova Girl” by Proto Zoa. 

There are so many other amazing DCOMs that were not included on this list, so honestly just give up and watch Disney movies all day (at least that’s what I’ll be doing).

@karynhbrown

swerve@dailytarheel.com