4 days ago
2000s Disney Channel Movies: BTS Fun Facts
"Let's watch a Disney Channel Mooovieeee." The nostalgia hits hard while watching that classic opening theme of 2000s DCOMs. Now that we're all older, you might be interested to learn some little-known facts and behind-the-scenes stories that went into bringing these Originals to life.
I'm Jeremy Hayes, and you're reading a BuzzFeed list of 20 BTS facts for 2000s Disney Channel Original movies *moves glowstick with a forced smile*:
In The Phantom of the Megaplex (2000), the clips that are shown as "Glimpses of Genevieve" are actually from Alice, Sweet Alice, a classic and frightening 1976 horror film.
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Alana Austin, the lead in the movie Motocrossed (2001), said she believed she would be wearing a wig for her disguise as a boy when she was cast. Unfortunately, she later learned that she would actually be required to cut her hair (which I imagine was very distressing for a young teen).
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In Zenon: The Zequel (2000), Raven-Symoné, who played Nebula in the first movie, had a commitment to filming Dr. Dolittle 2 at the time, so she was recast and replaced by Shadia Simmons.
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In The Luck of the Irish (2001), Director Paul Hoen wanted houses to have a "leprechaun-feel" thinking, "what if the houses all looked like leprechaun houses with colored doors?'
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In Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge, the first spell used is actually a German song. Daniel Kountz, the actor who plays the evil son, came up with it on the spot, remembering the song he learned from his high school choir.
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Chloe Bridges, who plays Dana Turner in Camp Rock 2, almost played Demi Lovato's character, Mitchie, in Camp Rock (2008). According to Page Six, Bridges says, "The funny thing is I actually auditioned for Camp Rock, I tested against Demi [Lovato] for the role of Mitchie – it came down to her and me."
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In Twitches (2005), the exterior shots of Camryn's mansion are the same home of Regina George from Mean Girls. Hopefully, there were no Burn Books in Camryn's house.
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High School Musical Director Kenny Ortega kept a jar on set, and whenever a cast member was caught yawning, they had to put cash inside.
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The two leads of In Hatching Pete, Jason Dolley and Mitchel Musso, were actually born just four days apart in 1991.
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Shia LaBeouf balanced filming Holes (2003) in between wrapping the Even Stevens show and The Even Stevens Movie.
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Although a work of fiction, Tiger Cruise is based on the real experience of the USS Constellation being on a Tiger Cruise during the September 11 attacks. This gave the Disney Original movie a TV-PG rating.
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In Cadet Kelly (2002), the characters wear cadet uniforms that feature real military unit patches. The Washington National Guard members use the same patches.
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Get a Clue (2002) was the last film of Lindsay Lohan's three-film deal with Disney. The other two were The Parent Trap (1998 ) & Life-Size (2000).
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Despite being "The Cheetah Girls" in the film of the same name, the characters are mostly seen wearing leopard print throughout the entire movie. I guess The Cheetah Girls (2003) sounds better than "The Leopard Girls."
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In Pixel Perfect (2004), actor Raviv Ullman, who plays Roscoe, is told that he's "always looking to the future." This is hilariously ironic or perfectly planned, because Ullman went on to play Phil in the Disney show Phil of the Future shortly after.
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In Now You See It..., outside of the magic tricks that utilize obvious special effects, the young cast actually learned and performed real illusions often used by magicians.
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If you remember Cow Belles, you might recall a little show that premiered on the same day: Hannah Montana. Little did anyone know at the time that the Miley Cyrus-led show would go on to become a huge hit.
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Speaking of Cyrus, she makes a brief cameo in High School Musical 2 (2007) toward the end of the "All for One" number.
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In Life is Ruff (2005), the dog Tyco's real-life name is Jed. Calvin's real name is Kyle Massey, best known for his role as Cory Baxter from That's So Raven.
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And lastly, in Double Teamed (2002), Annie McElwain and Poppi Monroe had to wear padded shoes to appear taller than their fellow cast members.
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What was your favorite 2000s Disney Channel Original movie? Comment below!
Watch all of these Disney Channel Original movies and more on Disney+.
