Avid fan disappointed by new Disney Channel shows

People may call me naive and childish, but I call myself a true Disney fan. During the school day, my friends find me belting out random songs from “High School Musical,” watching “World of Color” for the hundredth time or even virtually experiencing Disneyland rides on YouTube with fellow Falcon staff member senior Sherrilyn Ling.

In elementary school, I would always try to finish my homework earlier in the afternoon so that I could watch Disney Channel shows such as “Kim Possible” and “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody.” The shows’ intriguing plotlines, relatable characters and laugh-out-loud moments made me think that Disney Channel would never fail me with their classic shows.

Fast forward a few years and you can find me hating Disney Channel, never feeling the urge to tune into any of its shows.

As many of my favorite shows came to a close, Disney welcomed its viewers to brand-new shows, such as “Austin and Ally,” which I view as a highly unrealistic series centered on a group of aspiring teenage musicians. But, being the devoted Disney Channel aficionado I once was, I decided to go ahead and give these shows a try by sitting through their pilot episodes.

Big mistake. I found myself cringing (and crying) after seeing how much worse Disney Channel had become.

Take “Dog with a Blog,” for example. The show literally revolves around a talking dog with a blog (definitely not obvious from the cheesy title itself). To my disappointment, many of the show’s plotlines or jokes seem rather forced, and the show attempts to create touching moments that inevitably fall into the trap of being cheesy or awkward. (I would also like to add that the only “realistic” actor on the show is the talking dog.)

This cannot compare with what I saw 10 years ago in an episode of “That’s So Raven,” in which Raven stood up to a fashion magazine editor and asserted that girls come in all shapes and sizes and should be confident with their appearances.

The old Disney’s purpose was not only to entertain its viewers, but also to provide them with lessons that would come in handy in the future. For instance, in one episode, Raven’s younger brother Cory steals from a store to “look cool” among his friends and to prevent alienation. When he got into trouble, I learned immediately that I should never submit to peer pressure, which proved useful as I entered middle school and high school.

The newer Disney Channel shows, in contrast, are annoyingly unrealistic. They are centered on 13-year-olds starring in dance shows (“Shake It Up!”) or garnering national singing awards (“Austin and Ally”). Although these shows do promote the idea that anything is possible, Disney Channel should include more shows that are focused on people who lead more normal lives, just as they have done with past shows like “Lizzie McGuire,” which was about a girl, Lizzie, and her everyday life in school.   

There is, however, some hope for Disney Channel. Last year, “Girl Meets World” made its debut on the channel. A spinoff from “Boy Meets World,” the classic ABC Family sitcom that ran for nearly seven years in the 1990s, the show centers on Riley Matthews, who, like Lizzie, attends school and is faced with challenges of her own.

Though the show’s humor can be a bit bland at times, each episode incorporates a valuable lesson. The show also welcomes previous stars from “Boy Meets World,” such as Ben Savage (played Cory Matthews) or Rider Strong (played Shawn Hunter) as either recurring cast members or guest-stars, which allows for viewers of various age groups to watch, enjoy and reminisce.

Maybe I am stubborn to the point where I’ll never find another Disney Channel show worthy of binge-watching. Or maybe I’m simply growing up and should instead be watching shows more suited for my age. But one thing's for sure: I will always believe that my generation of Disney shows is the best.