Review: Disney High: The Untold Story of the Rise and Fall of Disney Channel’s Tween Empire

Disney High: The Untold Story of the Rise and Fall of Disney Channel’s Tween Empire by Ashley Spencer takes a deep dive into the shows and their stars of Disney Channel during its peak in the early 2000’s.   Taking a look at the decisions, the personalities, and the impacts success had on the young stars during this transformative era at the Disney Channel.

The book begins with a brief history of the Disney Channel and how it evolved into the ratings powerhouse of the 2000’s.  The Disney Channel launched in April 1983 as a premium cable network ranging in cost from $7.95 to $12.95 a month.  During the early years it was a very niche channel and underwent a variety of growing pains at it experimented with different shows and formats to find its footing.  The fundamental decision to move the network to a basic cable channel transformed the channel from roughly 15 million homes in 1996 to 77 million in 2001.    The book has a few references and stories of some of the channel’s early successes and evolutionary experiments during the 90s and how those laid the ground work for what was to come in 2000s.

The primary focus of the book is the era from around 2000 until 2010 with chapters covering Even Stevens, Lizzie McGuire, That’s So Raven, The Suite Life, High School Musical, Hannah Montana, Wizards of Waverly Place, Jonas Brothers and Demi Lovato.  For each show/star there is an origins story and then usually a series of stories form the shows peaks discussing some of the trials and tribulations of the cast, creatives, and executives.

I found the business side, creative decisions and origins stories of the shows the most interesting and insightful.   When the narrative diverted more toward the tabloid side of the story I found that outside my interest.   If you grew up in the 2000s this book will revisit the shows and movies you most likely grew up with and may present you with a different view of some of your favorite shows.  For those of us outside that demographic you can get a look at a portion of the Walt Disney Company as it underwent a fundamental re-alignment and substantial growth.

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** A review copy of this book was provided to us