15 best Disney Channel Original Movies ranked

2. Smart House

This 1999 film was way ahead of its time. A family moves into a technologically advanced home that provides all their needs with a simple voice command. Missing his late mother, the son reprograms the AI to look like a 1950s mom (played by Katey Segal). However, the AI starts taking her role way too seriously to lock the family in the house to try and "protect" them. There's a comedy, but the sci-fi themes and the story of the son not being able to let his mom go provide surprising drama, along with Segals' performance. With today's AI-filled world, this movie, rather than looking dated, is prescient in how easily we can accept technology even when it backfires.

1. High School Musical 

What can be said of a movie that ended up becoming a phenomenon? It launched the careers of Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, and Ashley Tisdale. It's a classic tale as Efron's basketball jock and Hudgens' brainiac become unlikely musical partners to challenge their school's status quo. The songs are terrific fun, and there's a good reason it became the most-watched Disney Channel film ever. It spawned some sequels and even a TV show, yet the original remains fun to see these future stars and still works as a fun film with a good message to be what you want to be, not held by expectations of others.