Credit: DisneyThe Walt Disney Company is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year in some pretty fun ways, from turning founder Walt Disney into a collectible LEGO to awesome new merchandise to refurbishing Disney Parks around the world. However, the Disney Channel is having an anniversary of its own and has just released an awesome new tidbit for fans.
Forty years ago, the Disney Channel was launched as a premium channel originally targeted toward families, but for years now, it has primarily provided many of us hours of beloved childhood memories via shows like Camp Rock, Hannah Montana, High School Musical, and many others.
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To honor that, Disney has released a TV spot cut together from great moments throughout its programming history. Four decades is a whole lot of television, so you had better get watching below:
As the Disney TV spot takes care to point out, much of the most acclaimed and memorable children’s TV programming of the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s was part of its blocks.
In addition to the many original series it produced, the phrase a “Disney Channel Original Movie” strikes a deep sweet spot of nostalgia for millions; all in all, it is a sweet little video for a beloved part of growing up in the last 40 years.
Of course, in more recent years, the Disney Channel (and its sister channels Disney Junior and Disney XD) has seen its legacy somewhat overshadowed by the new, upstart streaming platform Disney+.
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While Disney+ may get the lion’s share of attention for its Marvel Studios series and Star Wars originals, we can all at least have a little bit of fondness for Cheetah Girls and The Wizards of Waverly Place in our hearts.
And, truth be told, Disney+ currently has to deal with losing market share against competing streaming platforms and all the flak it is getting for deleting dozens of programs (while simultaneously greenlighting a bunch more overseas). Forty years from now, we have to wonder if we will look back at the streaming platform as much as we do at this channel.
What’s your favorite Disney Channel original? Let us know in the comments below!