As the nation continues to stay isolated in their homes due to the coronavirus outbreak, many were delighted when Disney + launched this week, showcasing many old school programmes and films.
Our showbiz writer Kirsten McStay gives her top five picks of ultimate throwbacks.
1. The Parent Trap
This was the first film I watched after downloading the app, and I regret nothing.
I remember watching this film as a little girl oblivious to the fact that Hallie and Annie were in fact the same actress (Lindsay Lohan) and absolutely loving it.
My favourite part has to be when Elizabeth James is stressing out with a glass of wine and cigarette in each hand trying to pack her suitcase to fly to California to switch back her twins and face her ex-husband Nick Parker – very relatable.
Synopsis : Identical twins separated shortly after birth when their parents divorce, unexpectedly meet at a summer camp. Will their scheme to switch places result in reuniting the family?
2. The Lizzie McGuire Movie
This film takes me back. As a child of the 90s, Lizzie McGuire was always on my TV, and I remember being absolutely buzzing when the film landed in 2003 (wow I didn’t think it was that long ago).
Every 90s kid will probably be able to sing along to the ‘This is what dreams are made of’ tune from the end of the film and I won’t lie I was belting it out sitting on my couch at the age of 26 and I am not ashamed to admit that!
Me and my pretend cousin Natalie, (you know your mum’s best pals child who you called your cousin?) watched this film time and time again and jumped about dancing and singing with hairbrushes, like many girls our age back then!
I watched it yesterday and must say I was chuckling at Hilary Duff’s outfit choices in the film and how at the time it was so fashionable, at one point she had a blue skirt, with a purple top and red heels on at the same time!
This is one of my all time favourite throwbacks and I will never tire of watching it.
Synopsis : Lizzie McGuire and her pals celebrate graduation with a class trip to Italy. Once there, Lizzie is mistaken for Isabella, Italy’s biggest pop diva, and begins to fall for Paolo, Isabella’s former boyfriend and singing partner.
3. High School Musical 1 & 2
So I had a total Disney day yesterday and I watched High School Musical 1 & 2 back to back (this isolation is really making me do crazy things).
I remember the night it launched on the Disney channel, it had been advertised for months and I had seen it in the ad breaks from watching the Suite Life of Zack and Cody, and I remember telling my mum that I was having the TV on the Friday night so I could watch it and I absolutely loved it at the time.
Watching it yesterday made me cringe a bit I won’t lie, it’s so unbelievably cheesy and the lip syncing is absolutely appalling at some points (I’m looking at you Vanessa Hudgens).
Zac Effron has such a baby face in it too I couldn’t believe this film was made 14 years ago! Whaaaaat?!
Synopsis : East High is taken by storm when Troy, the star captain of the school’s basketball team, and Gabriella, a brainy new student, connect on a level that’s more than a school crush. When the two discover they might have a real passion for singing, they take their place in the spotlight, setting off a chain of events that puts all of East High into a musical frenzy.
4. Hannah Montana: The Movie
So before she came in like a wrecking ball Miley Cyrus played Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel.
I absolutely (for my sins) loved Hannah Montana growing up it was so unrealistic that it was good, I mean how can no one recognise you when you put a wig on and pretend to be the world’s most famous pop star?
When Hannah Montana: The Movie came out in 2006 I remember getting it on DVD and I watched it loads!
Miley Cyrus is brilliant when she signs her country songs. When I watched it yesterday it made me appreciate that she actually has an amazing voice but again it made me cringe and I’m baffled at how this country girl who loved picking up her guitar with her cowgirl boots on is actually the wild, heavily tattooed Miley Cyrus we know and love today.
The film did take me back though, oh have times have changed.
Synopsis : Miley Stewart returns to her hometown of Crowley Corners, Tennessee, where she doesn’t have the luxuries of being Hannah Montana…and learns who she really is.
5. George of the Jungle
Well this one has to be the ultimate throwback for me. I remember the very first time I ever watched this.
My mum and dad were still together (that shows how long ago this was) and along with them and my brother, we went away to Loch Lomond for the weekend.
It rained the whole time we were there, so we didn’t really leave the lodge. This was the only video in the lodge and I remember really loving it – I was always more of a Disney Princess kinda gal, so I remember being annoyed at having to watch it at first but loving it in the end!
The film was released in 1997 so the film is now 23 years old!
Synopsis : Deep in the African jungle, a baby named George, the sole survivor of a plane crash, is raised by gorillas. George grows up to be a buff and lovable klutz who has a rain forest full of animal friends: Tookie, his big beaked toucan messenger; Ape, a witty talking gorilla; and Shep, a peanut-loving pooch of an elephant. But when poachers mess with George’s pals, the King Of Swing swings into action.
Disney Plus also has a home on the Sky Q menu and appears alongside Netflix, YouTube Kids and Spotify in the Apps section on the Home Screen – just scroll to the bottom and you should see it.
To start watching, just open the app and enter your Disney+ log in details or sign up for the seven-day free trial.
The Disney Plus subscription costs £59.99 for 12 months and can be paid in full or monthly, although that will cost you £5.99 every month, meaning you’ll be forking out an additional £11.89 over the course of the year.
