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842 reviews for:
Disney High: The Untold Story of the Rise and Fall of Disney Channel's Tween Empire
Ashley Spencer
4.0 AVERAGE
842 reviews for:
Disney High: The Untold Story of the Rise and Fall of Disney Channel's Tween Empire
Ashley Spencer
4.0 AVERAGE
informative
reflective
medium-paced
informative
slow-paced
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
This book was FASCINATING.
It is a truth universally acknowledged that Disney simultaneously occupies two space in the average person's mind. On the one hand, it's looked at (rightfully so) as an often-exploitative, all-encompassing, mega-conglomerate, with an obsession with keeping their image squeaky-clean that is as over-the-top-cartoonish as the characters that put them on the map in the first place. On the other hand, the name evokes magic, wishes coming true, and happily-ever-after. The company has literally been around longer than sliced bread, cementing itself firmly in the minds of any living Americans. Even if you hate Disney with a passion, there's probably one thing they've produced that tugs at the heartstrings. Maybe it's an old movie that, try as you might, you can't deny the beauty of it, or something about seeing fireworks against a night sky to the swell of music that captivates you, or that one power ballad that you can still belt every word to like you're a Broadway star. Or maybe it's a corny television show that you obsessed over as a kid.
Enter the Disney Channel, a segment of the company that perfectly melds the two ideas. While it's responsible for the nostalgia of a substantial amount of Millennials/Gen Z-ers, at least in America, in 2025, it's also become synonymous with producing celebrities who, once released out of their tight-laced Disney contracts and thrust into adulthood and, therefore, freedom, become maladjusted, "problematic" tabloid fodder, all due to the restrictions, heavy expectations, and enormous workload placed on them from a young age. This took a multi-pronged approach, both embracing the fuzzy feelings it produced with hits like "High School Musical" and "Lizzie McGuire" as well as examining the way the company screwed over, exploited, or simply failed the young children. It does a very good job at being rightfully critical of the company and its business practices, while also stressing that there were people behind the suits, trying to help the children in the ways they could.
It was very similar to Muppets in Moscow: The Unexpected Crazy True Story of Making Sesame Street in Russia, both being about the struggles of introducing a new type of kid-focused television programming to a culture where this is unfamiliar and maybe even unwelcome. Overall, I highly recommend to anyone who wants a realistic look at child stardom, television production, or just a look at the inner workings of the biggest name in media.
It is a truth universally acknowledged that Disney simultaneously occupies two space in the average person's mind. On the one hand, it's looked at (rightfully so) as an often-exploitative, all-encompassing, mega-conglomerate, with an obsession with keeping their image squeaky-clean that is as over-the-top-cartoonish as the characters that put them on the map in the first place. On the other hand, the name evokes magic, wishes coming true, and happily-ever-after. The company has literally been around longer than sliced bread, cementing itself firmly in the minds of any living Americans. Even if you hate Disney with a passion, there's probably one thing they've produced that tugs at the heartstrings. Maybe it's an old movie that, try as you might, you can't deny the beauty of it, or something about seeing fireworks against a night sky to the swell of music that captivates you, or that one power ballad that you can still belt every word to like you're a Broadway star. Or maybe it's a corny television show that you obsessed over as a kid.
Enter the Disney Channel, a segment of the company that perfectly melds the two ideas. While it's responsible for the nostalgia of a substantial amount of Millennials/Gen Z-ers, at least in America, in 2025, it's also become synonymous with producing celebrities who, once released out of their tight-laced Disney contracts and thrust into adulthood and, therefore, freedom, become maladjusted, "problematic" tabloid fodder, all due to the restrictions, heavy expectations, and enormous workload placed on them from a young age. This took a multi-pronged approach, both embracing the fuzzy feelings it produced with hits like "High School Musical" and "Lizzie McGuire" as well as examining the way the company screwed over, exploited, or simply failed the young children. It does a very good job at being rightfully critical of the company and its business practices, while also stressing that there were people behind the suits, trying to help the children in the ways they could.
It was very similar to Muppets in Moscow: The Unexpected Crazy True Story of Making Sesame Street in Russia, both being about the struggles of introducing a new type of kid-focused television programming to a culture where this is unfamiliar and maybe even unwelcome. Overall, I highly recommend to anyone who wants a realistic look at child stardom, television production, or just a look at the inner workings of the biggest name in media.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Eating disorder, Mental illness
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Self harm, Sexual harassment
Minor: Body shaming, Fatphobia
informative
reflective
fast-paced
informative
medium-paced
medium-paced
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
As a kid who grew up with Disney Channel in the 2000s, I LOVED this! I have heard about the life being a Disney kid with more and more actors starting to speak out, but this was so interesting to go through all the eras of the late 90s and early oughts of Disney Channel, i.e. Lizzie McGuire, Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato, and the Jonas Brothers. I believe if you loved watching Disney as a kid/teenager this would be an amazing listen or read! This opened my eyes to so much more about being a kid actor. I have always wanted to draw the mouse ears on TV (I think we all did lol), but with what I am hearing the past couple of years about Disney and Nickelodeon, I am glad I grew up a normal kid.
informative
informative
slow-paced