MovieChat Forums > Cloud 9 (2014) Discussion > Your Take on DCOM's

Your Take on DCOM's

posted 10 years ago by FanOfDC
7 replies | jump to latest

Occasionally I've gotten to watch a lot of the older Original Movies from the early 2000's and as I watch all of them, I wonder: why don't they make these DCOM's like they used to?

Before you read: don't take me wrong in this post. I'm actually pretty young & you could technically count me as "growing up in this generation."

To the points:

1. Is it just me, or did the older movies seem to have a bigger budget? I know that Teen Beach Movie had a huge budget (according to Wikipedia, it was about 8 million?). The weird part is that there used to be a good range of 6-8 DCOM's a year and a lot of them still seemed to have a fine budget. Ex: Phantom of the Megaplex had some crazy stunts and crazy extras and crazy everywhere. It felt "much bigger," if that makes any sense, haha.

2. I don't know.. they just put so much more effort into the movies back then. A lot of the plots were on point and I don't feel too embarrassed watching them. Is it because Disney only cares about money - so therefore, they produce music-filled Movies? I would understand if that's part of their strategy or whatever, but I wish they could step up a little. There needs to be more variety.

I also found the older ones to be much more dramatic. They just feel more "real" and such. I wish they would do more sporty movies though. While the stunts/action in those movies can get boring, it's something different. (Clearly Cloud 9 is coming soon and it's a snowboarding movie, & not the first).

Okay okay I'm done complaining. On a lighter note (I guess), what are your favorite or least favorite DCOM's?

My personal favorites are:
1. Tru Confessions (2002) - I haven't felt so down yet happy after watching a DCOM, ever. Probably one of the most dramatic DCOM's. This was well-written and the cast did an amazing job handling a serious storyline. You felt sorry for everyone and the way they cope with it. I didn't cry but from what I've read at the Tru Confessions board, people have. Loved it.

2. The Color of Friendship (2000) - This one is a close second. I really loved the story and the message it brought. If I recall, this movie won an Emmy, which is a true accomplishment.

3. Horse Sense (1999) - Liked the message of this movie too. Liked seeing the change in points of views especially by the rich cousin (forgot his name).

[The rest are in no particular order, although they are ordered by the YEAR of release]

- Phantom of the Megaplex (2000) - I don't even know why I like this one a lot, as it was quite silly at some points. I just love the idea of it being set in the megaplex and the suspense in the night going chaotically wrong.

- Motocrossed (2001) - One of those many "GIRL POWER" Original Movies but I still enjoyed it. Had some funny moments and some heart.

- Cadet Kelly (2002) - One of the first DCOM's I've seen and I loved it. Hilary Duff and Christy Carlson Romano did very well.

- You Wish! (2003) - I don't remember much about this movie, mainly because I haven't seen it in forever. I do remember enjoying it a lot though. Sent the obvious message of appreciating your siblings.

- Buffalo Dreams (2005) - Just like You Wish, I haven't seen this in forever but I do remember liking it. But wow, this is a really unpopular movie. I rarely see people mention it. The culture and style this movie showed really set itself apart. It was very different and overall really dramatic.

- Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board (2007) - Again, I think this is an unpopular opinion here. I was really surprised to see Johnny Tsunami get a sequel after what, 8 years? (Does anyone know why they randomly decided to do that? lol)

Notice the gap from 2008-2010.. yeah I didn't really like the DCOM's during this period. (not that they made a lot to begin with)

- Lemonade Mouth (2011) - I wasn't expecting much from this movie mainly because it seemed to be yet another cheesy musical. It wasn't SO cheesy, but it touched some serious topics that I never knew Disney would. I loved that everyone had their own complications in life because it ended up being very realistic. It's too bad this didn't get the huge amount of viewers Disney was hoping for. Or that it didn't get to the planned sequel, but I think the movie is fine itself.

- Geek Charming (2011) - *UNPOPULAR OPINION ALERT* What started out as a really over-the-top cliche movie (though it did end that way as well) turned into a drama. It was a different turn and aside from all the dumb humor (not that there was much humor anyway) this movie actually felt like a classic DCOM. (Okay I might be exaggerating - it's probably because I just love love the fact that this wasn't music-orientated, haha).

- Radio Rebel (2012) - I'm not so sure why I liked this movie a lot but I did. I don't like Debby Ryan but every time she's in a DCOM the movie actually turns out to be pretty good (16 Wishes wasn't mentioned but I admit it was pretty decent).

- Let It Shine (2012) - I was so glad to finally get have African-American cast since Jump In. Pretty cool to see rap incorporated into this. Subtle, but I love how they included church scenes as well.

So yeah, if you compare the bottom 4-ish movies to the top 6-ish movies, there's a great difference in terms of quality. They just don't make 'em like they used to.

To end this on topic, do you think Cloud 9 will be any good?

[–] DamianGein 10 years ago

I think the DC movies took a turn for the worse with High School Musical, previous to that we had more variety and more quality. Granted there were 2 or 3 good ones in between 2006-2010 but...let's just say that ,currently, I would rather have 1 or 2 good ones per year than HSM/ Camp Rock kind of movies.

My favorite old school DCOM's in no particular order:

1. Brink
2. Buffalo Dreams
3. You Wish
4. Phantom of the Megaplex
5. Eddie's Million Dollar Cook-off
6. Full Court Miracle
7. Miracle in Lane 2
8. Johnny Tsunami / Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board
9. Genius
10. The Jennie Project
11. Zenon Trilogy

but I really liked most movies from 1997-2005.

I like some of the most recent ones like Geek Charming, Lemonade Mouth, Radio Rebel, Teen Beach Movie, Frenemies etc.

Esta es mi firma

[–] 10 years ago

[deleted]

[–] ferrisb1-1 10 years ago

To address one of the OP's questions directly...

The biggest reason DCOMs have smaller budgets is because of the economic crash of 2008.

This effected the entertainment industry more than a lot of people know. They think because stars like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie appear on a red carpet wearing millions of dollars of clothes and jewelry that the crash didn't effect them like normal people... Which is true... But it DID effect the working class who work in the entertainment biz just like it effected the working class everywhere.

These people include carpenters who build sets, caterers, wardrobe (costuming), electricians (grips), truck drivers who drive trucks full of camera eqipment when shooting on location, etc. These people are not stars, but without them movies and TV shows would not get made and just like every other working class, if the studios cut back (lay off, hire less workers behind-the-scenes) because of rising costs, it effects them a lot more than Brad and Angie, for obvious reasons.

That's one reason why DCOMs and most mainstream Hollywood productions (barring the large tentpole Summer movies) have scaled back to this day as the general economy recovers.

The second thing others have already mentioned is there is currently less variety in the types of DCOMs that are made because of the mega-success of High School Musical and Hannah Montana. Disney is finally coming off that era, thankfully, so we should hopefully see more DCOMs covering diverse subjects other than music like "Cloud 9" does.

Third, the underlying reason for there being less dramatic DCOMs is mainly due to pressure from Conservative parents groups who want to sanitize what their children watch a.k.a. they don't want anything "objectionable" or "too serious" in a DCOM because then they would have to do their jobs as real parents if their kid saw something "intense" or "grown up" and *gasp* had to ask their parents about it afterwards.

This is why those of you who said, DCOMs were more serious and grown up than the ones now are absolutely 100% correct.

Some of my favorite DCOMs were the ones that tackled adult themes and didn't talk down to their audience like "Pixel Perfect" that asked the philosophical question "What does it mean to be human?" with regard to Artificial Intelligence.

Another DCOM that has never been shown since 2001, is "Tiger Cruise" about the 9/11 attacks. This is what I meant, when I said, Conservative parents groups have taken it upon themselves to pressure Disney (via boycotts) into showing only what they want their (and everybody else's) kids to see because they think kids can't handle the enormity of what happened on September 11th, 2001.

The irony is kids are far more open and less impressionable than adults give them credit for. Kids can handle "adult", or "intense" situations if they know it is all make believe before hand. Kids don't have a problem a school for Wizards, or other young people hunting each other in gladiatorial games. It's the parents who freak out and think kids can't handle the violence and other adult themes when these things (Harry Potter, Hunger Games) aren't that violent or intense to begin with, ironically.

[–] FanOfDC 10 years ago

Ferris, you never fail to provide a great amount of info & fair, detailed views. I completely understand your points. It's just sad to see that they can't tackle such subjects like Tiger Cruise did anymore because of the "over-protective" parents.

Btw, Tiger Cruise came out in 2004. Hasn't been shown on September 11th or regularly since around 2006, right when the music era was just getting started.

I do hope that there will be more variety in their new DCOM's. For the record, the next two DCOM's, Zapped and How to Build a Better Boy are both centered around girls who obsess over boys (although not so much for Zapped, but the premises are similar). Not really looking forward to that..

On the other hand, Cloud 9 actually met my expectations. It was actually pretty good and really told a story.

[–] DamianGein 10 years ago

I could've have sworn they showed Tiger Cruise last year. Might have been Disney XD though.

Esta es mi firma

[–] RipperRoo28 10 years ago

Here are my favorite DCOMs (old and new) in ABC order:

Halloweentown
High School Musical
Lemonade Mouth
Phantom of the Megaplex
Radio Rebel
Smart House
Tru Confessions

You got what you wanted but you lost what you had.

[–] jonathanrspalding 9 years ago

Minutemen
Motorcrossed
Cadet Kelly
Johnny Tsunami
High School Musical
Phineas & Ferb Star Wars (not exactly a DCOM, but close)
Cloud 9