101 Disney Channel Original Movies, Ranked by Lesbianism

For many of us, the Disney Channel was full of very formative moments in our young queer lives. We got our first girl crushes, we got ideas for our fashions and gender presentations; we found our heroes. So whether your first girl crush was on Kim Possible (or Shego), Vanessa Hudgens, Raven Symone or Demi Lovato, we all remember these movies as having way more queer lady content than Disney probably ever intended to put in there. So let’s count down these movies by how lesbiany they are. Or bisexual lady-ish they are, or queer lady and non-binary folk-ish. Also, what the heck you guys, there are so many of these! I thought there were like 40 or 50! But there are like 100!!! Enjoy!

101. You Lucky Dog

This stars Kirk Cameron, who is decidedly un-lesbian.

100. Tiger Cruise

Definitely not as gay as the title suggests. What sounds like the name of a cruise ship for single gay ladies over 40 is actually about the military??

99. Dadnapped

Too focused on trying to please your dad, not focused enough on trying to flirt with girls.

98. The Suite Life Movie

Zach and Cody are definitely two of the straightest names any guy could have.

97. Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension

Phineas and Ferb are the only straighter names than Zach and Cody.

96. Miracle in Lane 2

Using disabled people for inspiration porn is not cool, Disney.

95. Zapped

There are too many of these movies about trying to make boys better! Just date girls!!

94. The Poof Point

If this were a movie about disappearing lesbian bars than maybe it’d be higher.

93. Hounded

Dogs are pretty lesbian, I guess.

92. Under Wraps

Mommis are lesbian, mummies are not.

91. Life is Ruff

Again, dogs are pretty lesbian, but that’s not enough.

90. How to Build a Better Boy

Why build a better boy when you could just date a girl???

89. Can of Worms

Naw, these aliens or whatever are gross, I don’t like them.

88. Jumping Ship

This is actually Horse Sense 2, but they took the horses out, which makes it less gay.

87. The Jennie Project

Teaching monkeys to talk is not a good idea. I’ve seen all the Planet of the Apes movies, old and new.

86. Full-Court Miracle

Basketball is full of lesbians, but boys basketball isn’t.

85. Buffalo Dreams

I’ve never actually seen this one, but I don’t think it’s gay.

84. Smart House

Katey Segal in this movie is a pretty good domme, but that’s the only lesbian content we’ve got.

83. Minutemen

I don’t have any time for boys causing mischief. Not gay.

82. The Luck of the Irish

If this were about a boy turning into a mermaid instead of a leprechaun it’d be a whole lot higher on the list.

81. Mom’s Got a Date with a Vampire

Now, if this vampire was a lady vampire, then we’d have something to talk about.

80. Bad Hair Day

After reading the Wikipedia for this one, I still don’t really understand it, but I know it’s not very lesbiany.

79. ‘Twas the Night

This one has Bryan Cranston in it, but no lesbians.

78. Geek Charming

I actually really love this movie, but it is a classic heteronormative high school popular girl/unpopular boy love story.

77. Scream Team

No one can make you scream like a queer woman can.

76. Alley Cats Strike

I may be alone in this, but I think bowling is a decidedly un-lesbian sport.

75. Don’t Look Under the Bed

This is about the Boogeyman, the straight version of the Babadook.

74. Phantom of the Megaplex

Mickey Rooney is in this movie, and he’s not a lesbian.

73. Genius

This is kind of like a transgender story? A boy creates an alternate version of himself? But It’s not as gay as it sounds.

72. Up, Up and Away

The superhero genre is notoriously bad at queer lady representation.

71. Eddie’s Million Dollar Cook Off

Eddie wants to be a cook, but his dad wants him to be a baseball player, just like some parents want lesbians to be straight.

70. Quints

“Adam, Becky, Charlie, Debbie, and Eddie, all the quints are straight, they all have straight names.” – My friend Adrian

69. Going to the Mat

The Wikipedia says “It ends with a reporter interviewing Jace’s teammates about his wrestling; they deny that he is even blind, because they realize that he is a significant person, and they accept him for who he is and not just a blind person, which is what they saw at first.” What??? He’s still blind. Blind people are significant too. This should actually get last place but I put it this high because wrestling is very lesbian.

68. The Even Stevens Movie

“The Even Stevens Movie isn’t gay?” – My friend Adrian again. And nope, it’s not.

67. Invisible Sister

Rowan Blanchard is in this, and she’s queer.

66. A Ring of Endless Light

Mischa Barton is here so that makes it kinda bisexual, but so are dolphins, so that makes it terrible.

65. Starstruck

The girl in this makes some very gay decisions, but she makes them about a boy, so it’s not very high.

64. Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie

We know that Selena is fairly gay, if only in her music videos, but this movie is about wizards, who are the straight version of witches.

63-53. Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board, Halloweentown High, Halloweentown II: Kalabar’s Revenge, Return to Halloweentown, Zenon: Z3, Zenon: The Zequel, Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam, Twitches Too, Teen Beach 2, The Cheetah Girls 2, The Cheetah Girls: One World

Honestly, none of these sequels are as gay as the first movies.

52. Good Luck Charlie, It’s Christmas

This show had some lesbian parents in an episode.

51. Tru Confessions

Her confession is that she’s a lesbian.

50. Cloud 9

Snowboarding girls are most likely bisexuals.

49. Hatching Pete

This is literally about a kid “coming out” of his shell. Come on.

48. Now You See It…

Aly Michalka is one of my roots, and here she is as a documentary filmmaker, a very bisexual profession.

47. Stuck in the Suburbs

Stuck in the Suburbs should be the new way to say you’re still in the closet.

46. Jett Jackson: The Movie

Not gonna lie, Jett Jackson was kind of the blueprint for the crushes I get on tender butches all the time now as an adult.

45. You Wish!

Oh man, alternative wish universe Lalaine was sooooo gay.

44. Radio Rebel

This is a movie about a podcast DJ. Wow, it’s hard to get gayer than that.

43. Johnny Tsunami

More snowboarding! I love this movie! Watch it!

42. Halloweentown

A Halloween classic! And Halloween is Gay, so this movie is gay.

41. Horse Sense

Horses are very gay. Plus the Lawrence brothers look a lot like lesbians.

40. Girl vs. Monster

Basically the Disney version of Buffy.

39. Let it Shine

So many of these movies are about shy people finding their voice, why is that? (Because they’re gay).

38. The Other Me

Another movie where someone makes another version of themself! Another movie about a trans person!

37. Read it and Weep

A girl publishes her journal and it causes drama. That sounds like something that would happen at A-Camp.

36. Adventures in Babysitting

We all know that Penny came out as bisexual in college.

35. The Color of Friendship

The color of friendship is purple, and purple is a gay color.

34. The Ultimate Christmas Present

All I want for Christmas is a lesbian DCOM.

33. High School Musical 2

By far the most lesbian of all the DCOM sequels. Zac Efron wears capris in this!!!

32. Pixel Perfect

Ricky Ullman, the star of this movie, lived with the Veronicas for a while. That’s true. And Gay.

31. Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior

A strong girl of color kicking butt and being cute! Gay!

30. High School Musical

This movie is all about being out and proud about what you like and who you are. We’re all in this together, and we’re all lesbians.

29. The Thirteenth Year

A wonderful coming out analogy about a boy turning into a mermaid. This is literally a movie about being a trans girl.

28. Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century

Zenon is bisexual according to my friend Fia.

27. Get a Clue

It stars Lilo, so that’s pretty gay.

26. Go Figure

A girl who both figure skates and plays hockey is the ultimate futch.

25. Camp Rock

Demi Lovato is very gay, and so are the Jonas Brothers. Plus it’s about a cute girl playing the guitar. I love it.

24. Avalon High

In this movie a girl is the reincarnated King Arthur??? And Guinevere is still a girl???

23. Twitches

All witches are lesbians, especially twin ones.

22. Brink!

Lesbians love rollerblading. I’m pretty sure no one else does.

21. Cow Belles

Aly and AJ kinda made me gay.

20. Right on Track

Girls driving racecars! One of them is Brie Larson!

19. Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure

A classic story of a high femme’s first adventure into the world of lesbian dating and culture.

18. Jump In! 

Keke Palmer is in this! And she does double dutch! It’s very gay!

17. The Proud Family Movie

Come on, is there really any question that Penny comes out as bi in college?

16. Den Brother

A “boy” becomes the scoutmaster for a group of Bumblebee scouts (like girl scouts) and is finally able to come out as trans.

15. Rip Girls

Girls surfing is very gay. Very, very gay.

14. Frenemies

Queer actress Bella Thorne stars in this movie about going from “friends to enemies to friends again” which is like, the gayest thing I’ve ever heard.

13. Ready to Run

Once Cecelia tweeted a picture of her with the caption “high school for me was actually a Disney Channel Movie called Horse Play: I Love Ponies, Not Girls, What?” That’s this movie.

12. The Swap

Um, come on, it’s about a boy and girl who switch bodies. That’s as gay as a story can get without any actual kissing.

11. Stepsister from Planet Weird

“Stepsister from Planet Weird” is a euphemism straight people use for their queer family members.

10. Gotta Kick It Up!

Honestly this is just an all-around wonderful movie about a group of Latina girls who start a dance team and you know at least one is gay (probably America Ferrera).

9. Descendants

Wow, who knew that the sons and daughters of Disney’s most famous villains were all lesbians?

8. Teen Beach Movie

I really think this is an under-appreciated gem. It’s so gay. The chemistry between The Fosters‘ Maia Mitchell (as a surfer girl with the very gay name Mack) and Grace Phipps (a good girl from the 60s) is palpable.

7. Lemonade Mouth

I really don’t understand how real life queer singer Hayley Kiyoko in Lemonade Mouth isn’t a huge queer icon! Like, she was so many kids’ root!

6. The Cheetah Girls

A beautiful movie about the friendship and music and fashion between three queer women of color.

5. Kim Possible Movie: So the Drama

I know that technically Kim and Ron end up together, but we know that really, she later breaks up with him so she can date Shego.

4. Double Teamed

This is the story of two real life WNBA players and twins. That’s really lesbian.

3. Cadet Kelly

A lot of you probably want this to be the number one movie, but sorry, it’s not. It’s still wildly gay, uncontrollably gay and magically gay. This is a classic.

2. MotoCrossed

I mean jeez, come on, this is about a girl who disguises herself as her brother so she can ride motorbikes. That’s super gay.

1. Princess Protection Program

This is the most Femme4Femme movie I’ve ever seen. Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato! Demi is a bratty princess and Selena is a no nonsense tomboy femme who brings her down to reality as they share a bedroom, call each other pretty and learn to love each other. They grow up to be the hottest lesbian couple in the world. This is the movie that made me who I am today.

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Mey

Mey Rude is a fat, trans, Latina lesbian living in LA. She's a writer, journalist, and a trans consultant and sensitivity reader. You can follow her on twitter, or go to her website if you want to hire her.

Mey has written 572 articles for us.

94 Comments

  1. Back in high school(around early 2000s) when AIM was still a thing and voice chat just came out on the service, a girl called me the fourth Lawrence brother. She said I was the one who can’t act and sounds queer. Hmmm

  2. I didn’t know I needed this list in my life!

    Anyway, Double Teamed is the only Disney Channel movie I’ve seen and that’s only because Heather Burge was a Sacramento Monarchs player :)

  4. I thought Id watched a lot of Disney movies. Turns out I’d just watched Stuck In The Suburbs at least twelve times and Cadet Kelly twice.

  5. I had no idea how many of these movies and also all of the Disney channel’s early 2000s programming made me gay… I was uncomfortably obsessed with Christy Carlson Romano for most of my 20s and I think I watched that movie Motocrossed like, at least 15 times. Don’t get me started on Margo Harshman as Tawny Dean oh god now I need to go mainline Even Stevens (hangs head in abject shame)

  6. Wow, now all I want to do hang out in the Egyptology wing of the Met Museum wearing a “Mommis not Mummies” T-shirt and see who flirts with me.

  7. So timely! I literally just had a convo at dinner with coworkers this week about favorite Disney Originals. #4-2 were 3 of the 5 I mentioned (I also love Halloweentown and Model Behavior [not listed]).

    Wasn’t Wish Upon a Star a Disney Original, too? Definitely merits a top 20 spot, I solidly identified with the tomboy younger sister.

    • Is Model Behaviour the one with justin timberlake? Where they swap lives? Because whatever film that was made a big impression on me.

  8. THE CHEETAH GIRLS. MY GOD. i was so obsessed with Adrienne/Chanel when i was a kid and i really just wanna know why nobody, not even me, had the slightest idea that i was gay

  9. After the LesbiKen, this is personally the most important AS article.

    Also, I’m super upset with Disney Channel Brazil, cause we never got any of the Zenon sequels, and that’s very rude…

  10. I think my affinity for “really intimidating but cute” girls stems from Christy Carlson Romano. I was super into her when I was younger. Back then I thought it was because she was a cool actress who was playing non-traditionally feminine characters, but it turns out I just want her to love me.

    Also: I was really into AJ when I was in middle/high school, but now I find myself drawn to Aly. I don’t know what that says about me as a person.

    • Was also super into Aly & AJ — is this a Queer Thing(TM)?
      (Also, they’ve changed there band name to 78Violet…)

      But, yeah, I too flip-flopped beteween the sisters, but I think I’ve always gravitated more towards Aly.

  12. Pixel Perfect deserved better tbh. To wit: Sam, a shy singer-songwriter (a gay name, a gay hobby) spends the majority of the film “jealous” of Loretta, a holographic pop star. tl;dr Sam ends up in a coma and Loretta travels into her unconscious mind to save her, ultimately sacrificing herself for Sam–BUT NOT BEFORE Sam allows Loretta to use her own non-holographic body to fulfill her dream of walking barefoot in the rain. Sam writes a song about Loretta after her death (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtYkeiCPTzY tell me anyone on that stage is straight).

  13. Oh. This entire list. Amazing.
    Side note I can’t be the only one who had (has?) a big crush on Christy Carlson Romano growing up, right?

  14. Oh. This list. Absolutely amazing. Although yes I did want Cadet Kelly to be #1…in part because I wanted Christy Carlson Romano to boss me around…I can’t be alone in that right??

  16. High School Musical 2 also had the “Bet On It” sequence, a.k.a. THE GAYEST.

    And Ashley Tisdale’s character on Freeform’s “Young & Hungry” is basically living out a continuation of Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure… and is a canon lesbian.

  17. “Decidedly Un-Lesbian” made me laugh so hard that I registered, activated my account, and commented for the first time all while strengthening my kegel muscles.

    Now to read the rest!

  18. After a moments of reading this I thought, “Wait. Wasn’t there that one…” Yep, “MotoCrossed”.

  19. I second wish upon a star. Def top 20 material. And was teen witch a disney movie??
    Bad Hair Day, not so gay but surprisingly feminist. My nieces made me watch it a few weeks ago.

  20. Real talk, I read the whole list just to see where “Cadet Kelly” and “Princess Protection Program” landed.

    And now I am feeling VERY GOOD about my life choices :)

  21. I’ve never seen the end of a DCOM because my bedtime was decidedly 8:30, and they always ran till nine. By the time I was allowed to stay up that long I was no longer interested.

  22. Wish upon a star is from 1996, before 1997 they were Disney Channel Premiere Films, not DCOMs. Believe me if I could’ve put Katherine heigl on this list I would’ve

  23. Ah, the good ol’ days (=nine years ago), when everyone had a High School Musical planner and/or pencil case and/or school bag, and you were supposed to have a crush on Troy (or, alternatively, his friend Chud). Needless to say I was head over heels in love with the beautiful, no-nonsense captain of the brainiacs, Taylor, whom I shipped hard with Gabrielle before I even knew what shipping was.

    I was gay for Tay.

  24. i came here to comment that the lawrence brothers all look like lesbians but you covered that already, good work

  25. I thought that cadet kelly would top this list for sure, but oh my god how did i forget about princess protection programme!

  27. FUCK YES “Princess Protection Program.” Although, I think Selena’s character was more of a brat than Demi’s? Demi totally won over Selena’s butch by being the cutest princess ever.
    Literally the gayest movie I’ve seen on Disney, and it also trumps a lot of lesbian films I’ve seen. There isn’t enough good fanfic on this film out there.
    Also, there’s an adorable ending on the DVD where Rosie and Carter become spies and slo-mo run across a beach in spy uniforms and bicker like an old married couple.

    P.S.: this movie will forever be why I ship Selena/Demi IRL and am convinced all their mournful love songs are about each other.

    • YOU ARE SPEAKING MY LANGUAGE!!!!!

      I think of it as Demi is the bratty bottom/Selena is the bossy top.

      Also YESSS 100% I believe they fell in love filming this movie irl

    • Yessss!! Christy Carlson Romano may be my baby gay root, but teenage me instantly realized that Princess Protection Program was a lesbian movie that had been re-written to fit Disney. Tomboy femme Carter (gay name btw) and bossy femme Rosie had so much chemistry. They definitely are married and ruling Rosie’s country now.

      Plus Demi released Stop the World which has gay vibes around that time:
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIC_dC2_TLo

  28. Was legit having a conversation about the greatest DCOM’s of all the 90’s with a fellow lady gay recently. So glad this content exists. Thank you Mey!!!

  29. not v gay, but missing from this list: my date with the president’s daughter (which just mentioning is guaranteed to get the theme song stuck in your head, maybe that’s why you didn’t include??)

    • hi! i love that movie, but it premiered on ABC as part of the Wide World of Disney so it’s not a true DCoM!

  30. I’ve recently gotten SUPER into Hayley Kiyoko’s music so this list was honestly the push I needed to finally watch Lemonade Mouth

    • I have recently been listening to her youtube playlists for my shower songs. Honestly im loving it, but i dont think lemonade mouth is gonna be for me. It’s like not gay at all right?

      • WELL while it is not explicitly gay, I believe deep in my heart that it’s the story of five teens who meet and fall in love and also have a band or whatever

  32. For further proof backing Princess Protection Program as the #1 most lesbian DCOM, I give you this #PleaseSelenaLetMeBeYourBottom

    • This is what happens when you comment under the influence. You’ll end up saying the same stuff twice

  37. I need Genius to be higher on this list because that movie introduced me to Emmy Rossum. My love for her has never waivered since then.

  38. “Adam, Becky, Charlie, Debbie, and Eddie, all the quints are straight, they all have straight names.” – My friend Adrian

    Um, excuse me, my name is Becky and my fiancee’s name is Charlie. Your friend Adrian is mistaken. I am offended.

  40. Not only is Princess Protection Program the gayest Disney movie but the whole filming process and marketing was gay af. Do y’all remember both movie song and music video One In The Same https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WC5IUJECDkw (aka leather is for lesbians). Not to mention Demi’s gayest song dedicated to Selena bf4life and their characters that actually made it into the movie soundtrack. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MP1uQqcDMR8

    Also, Demi and Selena roomed together throughout the filming sparking the rumor that they were in lesbians and I’m still waiting for Demi to unlid THAT on another carpool karaoke candid. This movie is root for me.

  41. I talk about MotoCrossed all the time in the context of Shakespeare but since I watched before I had ever even heard of Twelfth Night I think we all know the real reason it made such an impression on me. (And also why Twelfth Night made such an impression on me later on, I mean REALLY)

  42. Motocrossed though. As a small-town kid who couldn’t ride a motorcycle but knew a lot of people who did, that movie felt like home to me

  44. I always thought of Kim and Shego as like an allegory of the internal battle between being a Good Girl in charge vs a Nasty boss ass HBIC because they looked like intensities of the same person to me. Still pretty gay when I think about it.

    Sticking fingers in holes, hoping like heck you’re doing it right, taking a breath and just Hail Mary-ing it, with the aim causing a crash isn’t explicitly gay…

  45. I know nothing about 80. Bad Hair Day, but I feel it deserves some gay points on the strength of that photo alone!

  46. look i’m not saying Lemonade Mouth is actually the story of five teens starting a poly relationship but i AM saying i have made several friends watch it with that interpretation and have converted them to the band ship

    also hayley kiyoko as a guitar playing alternatively dressed girl who ~~~mysteriously~~~ doesn’t get paired with anyone was uh. formative.

  47. Ha another pop culture post I don’t understand at all. I think I’ve seen High School Musical? This is proof that having anti-television hippy parents contributed to why I didn’t come out until I was 26. Maybe if I’d been able to watch the Disney Channel, I would have realized I was gay much earlier.

    Luckily, by high school we had a tv with like 3 channels, including NBC, so I could watch Xena, who was definitely my root.

    • You’re not alone. I’ve only seen high school musical off this list
      And, honestly, it wasn’t that great

    • I haven’t seen literally any of these movies, and I’ve only heard of High School Musical because it’s sometimes mentioned here.

  48. i love 100-4, but mey i’m sorry. princess protection is #3, cadet kelly is 2, and motocrossed is 1. i love you though, and thank you for your hard work.

    • Alaina. As your step mother I need you to show me some more respect. Princess protection program is gayer than David and Jonathan

  49. Oh I’d forgotten about cadet Kelly. I loved that movie too much for something I don’t think I ever saw all of. Might have to go watch it again…

  52. Pretty sure I remember the girls in Adventures in Babysitting being in love with each other. But I could be wrong.

    Also, as cheesy as it is, I loved Descendents. Best story about Disney characters’ kids there is (looking at you, ouat). If Ben were a girl you’d have Swan Queen. And Carlos and Jay are 100% dating k bye.

  53. A Ring of Endless Light was one of those books that I read 2x a year from age 12-18 and I LOVED IT SO MUCH because dolphins are fucking magic brb I need that movie in my life right now.
    Unless it’s bad.
    It’s probably really bad.
    Please don’t be bad?
    Maybe I don’t want to watch it.

  56. I have a lot of feelings about Smart House specifically related to the fact that
    1. It’s clearly a ripoff of a Ray Bradbury story oh my god and
    2. I personally would be totally fine if my house – who can cook, holy shit – took corporeal form as Katey Sagal

    Like why was this ever a problem i don’t get it

  57. But also my favorite part about the mermaid one is the part in the beginning where a straight couple finds an abandoned baby on their boat and are immediately like

    “let’s keep it”

    instead of alerting the authorities or getting the kid medical attention for potential exposure

    A+ plot

  58. “This is about the Boogeyman, the straight version of the Babadook”
    PURE GOLD content

    Also, reading this article written by a trans woman, AS a trans woman myself, I am really curious to hear more about why you think that creating alternate versions of ourselves is trans. I never considered this before, because I always felt like I’ve been the same person all along – only that society is starting to recognize I am who I say I am.

  59. My thoughts as I read:

    Even Stevens movie is a Gay movie because Christy Carlson Romano
    Wait are dolphins not lesbian????
    Cloud 9 is a play by Caryl Churchill and it is queer so that movie is also queer
    STUCK IN THE SUBURBS IS MY NEW FAVORITE THING

  60. – Cadet Kelly made me gay

    – Halloweentown is gay because it’s about a liminal world and liminality is Gay (also Marnie)

    – mermaids are the Most Trans mythical creature, hands down

  61. I’ve seen more of these than I ever expected, but there’s also more I’d never heard of in my life than I’d expected, too.

    Anyway I distinctly remember being at a friend’s house for a sleepover in elementary school and insisting we watch Cadet Kelly like four times in a row because I was a Tiny Gay

  62. The only movie I recognize and remember loving so much was ” Invisible Sister”! ?

  63. For various reasons, I only caught the first generation of DCOMs (up until early 2000). I have fond memories of Can of Worms (which was pretty well written as TV movies go), though yes, it was *exceedingly hetero* (although a major theme was the main character never felt like he belonged, which I could totally relate to).

    I also remember feeling strongly compelled reasons to watch The Thirteenth Year for reasons I really couldn’t explain (which was even more telling, given that I turned 13 year after it came out). As it happened, I didn’t turn into a mermaid, but I *did* later turn into a girl a while later, so make of that what you will :-P

  65. Made an account to say that Cadet Kelly is the gayest movie of all time including the actually gay ones.

  67. The lesbian subtext in Cadet Kelly is unmatched

    This is a really cool list, thank you so much!

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