Disney’s nostalgic line-up reminds viewers of past happiness
November 7, 2014
• Characters like Kim Possible, Raven Baxter and Lizzie McGuire featured in line up
Remember when you would rush home from school and finish your homework as quickly as possible so you could turn on the TV and watch Disney Channel?
Well, for most 90s kids, this is the case. With the implementation of “Disney Replay,” Disney Channel is showing reruns of shows from the late 90s and early 2000s.
Here are our favorites of the lineup.
- Kim Possible
“Kim Possible” was the polar opposite of every action movie you’ve ever seen. The show centered on Kim Possible, your average high school girl who was also a secret agent. She, her friend Ron Stoppable and Ron’s naked mole rat Rufus went around saving the day from the evil Drakken and his green-hued assistant Shego.
It was one of the few shows that centered on a female protagonist, and implemented role reversal with a hopeless boy relying on a strong, independent girl. This was accomplished without assigning the brand to be “for” any one specific gender. Both boys and girls alike found Kim Possible as a strong role model.
- American Dragon: Jake Long
This show was remembered for having an Asian-American as the main character for the Disney Channel.
Jake Long was a typical teenager with a twist: he had the power to turn into a dragon. The Asian influence even extended to parts of the voice cast. More likely than not, this is one of the first experiences anyone had with Filipino voice actor Dante Basco.
Dante Basco started as Rufio, from the 1991 movie “Hook.” Basco and Mae Whitman (famous for their “Avatar: The Last Airbender” roles as Zuko and Katara, respectively) first met while recording for “American Dragon: Jake Long.”
- House of Mouse
“House of Mouse” was the short, segment-based, animated show starring the original Disney characters (such as Mickey Mouse), as well as cameos from every Disney property from the late 90s to the 2000s.
“House of Mouse” has a strange form of meta-nostalgia. The show itself was an attempt to show 90s and 2000s kids 2D animation. It was also a love letter to older fans of Disney at the time, to evoke fond memories.
But in doing so, the teenagers of today who will look back on this show, are actually nostalgic for a show that was meant to provoke such a feeling in older viewers of that time.
- 4. Raven Baxter
Raven Baxter is your typical high school girl. She loves boys and fashion, tries to avoid the mean girls and has an annoying little brother.
Oh, and she can see into the future too.
She has visions of events that are going to happen, but she keeps it a secret. Most of the time, these visions cause her to do things that she normally would not do, and she ends up getting herself into sticky situations.
With the help of her two best friends, Chelsea and Eddie, she learns how to use her powers for good. This sitcom was a comedic way of showing that being different is a good thing. Fun fact: “That’s So Raven” was filmed in San Francisco.
- Lizzie McGuire
A bubbly, naïve 13-year-old girl named Lizzie McGuire is just trying to figure out how to grow up.
The show featured her real character and her cartoon character, who share what is really going through her mind, despite what she expresses verbally.
With her two best friends Miranda and Gordo by her side, she figures out how to handle her arch-nemesis Kate Sanders and her evil, blackmailing little brother Matt. She struggles through the challenges of middle school, puberty and just growing up in general.
IMDb calls it “the comic misadventures of a 13-year-old girl with an animated alter ego.”