Hey everyone, guess what? It's time for the annual Top Five Disney list! However, this year we are going to change things up and give you two lists instead of one! In addition to the previously teased Top Five Disney Broadway Songs, I am also going to give you some insight into my top five shows made by Disney as well! Growing up in the late 90s and the 2000s as well, I was basically a Disney Channel/Toon Disney addict (along with a fascination for Nickelodeon and to some extent, Cartoon Network)! Below are five of my favorite shows from the company; there are more than this, but these are simply five that I enjoyed the most (with two honorable mentions).
5. The Suite Life of Zack and Cody/The Suite Life on Deck
I do admit, even now I love Disney Channel's iconic sitcoms from the mid 2000s. However, if you were to ask me which are my favorites, I would tell you that honor goes to the Suite Life of Zack and Cody series. The show centers around the titular twins played by Dylan and Cole Sprouse, (the latter of which is now known as the WORST version of Jughead Jones in Riverdale) living with their cabaret singing mother in a luxurious hotel. Their friends include a spoiled hotel heiress (Brenda Song), a candy counter girl (Ashley Tisdale), and a mechanic (Brian Stephanik). The closest this show had to an antagonist was the hotel's manager, portrayed by Phill Lewis; however, Zack and Cody antagonized poor Moesby more than the former. Eventually, the series was given a rebrand and a new love interest for Cody (played by Debby Ryan). The setting was also changed from a hotel to a cruise ship, with the premise of the twins going to school at sea, something I feel was a bit of a stretch in retrospect (though it would be amazing to study abroad on a cruise ship). Matter of fact, the premise was so outlandish, iCarly referenced it in one episode of their own series. Despite my problems with the premise, the rebranded series had a stronger emphasis on story than its predecessor (which in my opinion makes The Suite Life on Deck the superior series out of the two). In my opinion, these two series were the best out of what Disney Channel offered in terms of sitcoms in the mid 2000s.
4. American Dragon: Jake Long
Before Gravity Falls first aired in Summer of 2012, American Dragon: Jake Long was my favorite animated series on Disney Channel. The plot centered around the titular character, who was descended from a family of human/dragon hybrids, tasked with protecting the mortal and magical realms (think Sabrina the Teenage Witch, but with dragons instead of witches). I loved the massive amount of action in the series, the overarching story, and constantly developing characters. I was also in suspense in regard to the relationship between Jake and his love interest, Rose. Unfortunately, Disney prematurely cut this show from the roster, cancelling it after two seasons. Consequently, that would be one of few times I was legitimately angered by the company; I felt this franchise had a massive amount of potential, and could have lasted much longer than it should. Disney would later do the same to another story-driven series with a similar premise, with similar success.
3. Gargoyles
I admit, while I consider this series one of my favorites, I have not seen it completely. In the early 2000s, Toon Disney had a tendency to air this show's episodes out of their intended order. As a result, it was extremely hard to follow the overarching storylines. If this series ever comes to Hulu and Netflix, you can count on me binge watching it while I work on my animation and design projects. The series has the premise of Gargoyles frozen in time, awakening in the modern day and severely displaced from their medieval era. Like the previous entry, I enjoyed the copious amount of character development and action sequences. Unfortunately, I have not seen much of the story, so I cannot comment on it at the moment; I will give my proper thoughts on this series in a future post.
2. Gravity Falls
As mentioned in entry four, this effectively replaced American Dragon: Jake Long as my favorite Disney Channel animated series. Unfortunately, it suffered a similar fate in terms of premature cancellation as well and left many questions unanswered. Nonetheless, this series is also similar to Jake Long in its subject matter; both explore the supernatural and mystical elements of the world while also being bound to an overarching story. The basic premise surrounds Mabel and Dipper Pines' adventures in Gravity Falls during their summer vacation, and as the story progresses they come across enemies such as Bill Cipher and the irksome Lil' Gideon (the latter of which I found to be an annoying character). Its emphasis on story, and balance between action and comedy makes this stand out from what Disney XD has to offer. It was one of those rare series that contained a singular overarching story as opposed to smaller background story arcs, which kept me watching (despite getting into it well after it ended by binging it on Hulu). Plus, who could forget other iconic characters such as Wendy, Soos, and the always lovable Gnome, Shmebulock?
Honorable Mentions: Aladdin: The Animated Series and Hercules: The Animated Series
Now I bet you are all surprised that I did not put the series based on two of my favorite Disney movies in the top spot, and you all have every right to be. I loved these shows when I was younger, but I did not put them in a top spot for two reasons; the first being I do not have as much nostalgic feeling toward them as I do toward their animated film counterparts. The second being they have not aged as well as these other series in the list. While they are series that I fondly remember and love, their quality is a bit of a downgrade along with creating quite a few plot holes in terms of continuity. However despite that, there are some memorable episodes from both series that are among my favorites in addition to a CROSSOVER between the two. If you are as much of a fan of Aladdin and Hercules like I am, then I would highly recommend giving these two shows a look, they are truly a "diamond in the rough".
1. DuckTales
This series (with Aladdin as an honorable mention) is the Disney show that I have the most memories of watching; matter of fact it is probably one of the earliest exposures to Disney I remember. Since I was really young, I remember watching Ducktales on channels such as ABC, Toon Disney, and Disney Channel. Additionally, they feature characters related to my favorite classic Disney characters, Donald Duck and Scrooge McDuck. The series surrounds Donald's Uncle Scrooge and their nephews (the adorable Huey, Duey, and Louie) as they travel the world in search of treasure and adventure. During their travels, they come across enemies such as Scrooge's rival, Flintheart Glomgold, and a sorceress named Magica de Spell. Occassionally, they will also be confronted by smaller foes such as the criminal group known as The Beagle Boys and Disney's iconic Pete. In addition to being centered around Disney's duck characters, I was also hooked on the adventure aspect and diverse locales Scrooge and his gang would visit. I suppose many of you readers are asking what I think of the 2017 reboot, and I can confidently say I like what I have seen so far. I have not had time to watch much of the series, but from the few episodes I have seen, I love how it actually improves upon the source material. As an added bonus, Donald himself has more of a prominent role than in the original. I may give my thoughts on the new version in a later post, but so far I think this is a worthy successor to the Disney Afternoon classic.
What are some of your favorite Disney TV series? Feel free to leave your responses in the comments below, and be sure to like and follow for future posts from Reviews and Retrospectives! Maybe next time in Top 5 Disney I will finally discuss my favorite songs from the stage adaptations, but I will wait until I hear more from the upcoming stage version of Hercules before doing so.
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