School’s out. It’s 2003. Where did you go? Home, of course. That’s where the best after-school snacks were, where you did your homework, phoned your BFF, and watched your favorite TV shows. And in the new book, “Disney High” by Ashley Spencer, we all know what you watched. In the early ‘90s, Disney’s television arm was a star-maker. The All New Mickey Mouse Club featured 12-year-olds Ryan Gosling, Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake, and eleven-year-old Britney Spears, among others. It was a popular show, but the stars eventually aged out and production costs skyrocketed. That meant trouble, and Disney canceled it at the end of its 1994 season. After a few years of struggling with branding and programming, the company did a reset. That involved new leaders who oversaw innovative programming and allocated money for program content – especially content for tweens who were too old for “babyish” programs and too young for Disney’s adult fare. Most importantly for viewers, says Spencer, the ages of the actors matched the ages of the characters. Shia LaBeouf was just the right kid for his part in Even Stevens, though he struggled with a home life, the depth of which some still question. Everybody wanted to be like Hilary Duff in Lizzie McGuire, and that made Duff a mega-star. That’s So Raven made Raven Symone one of the first black female stars to have her name on a comedy series title. In the early 2000s, Disney began to focus on tween boys with The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, and then High School Musical and its sequel proved that TV movies could draw viewers, too. And then there was Miley Cyrus as Hannah Montana. Did this column send you back to sitting in front of the TV while you waited for an adult to come home? If it did (or you were the adult and your kids were the ones watching this stuff), then “Disney High” is your book. Chances are, you remember a few lines from the shows you never missed, and wanting to be like the stars you loved to watch. Author Ashley Spencer indulges this nostalgia, but she also tells the story of a corporation and its efforts to reach the kid you once were. You’ll be astounded at how innocent you were then, and what went on behind the scenes at the TV shows you enjoyed. Spencer writes about parties, auditions, strict rules that writers couldn’t break, weight-watching, and dreams made, bruised, or broken. You won’t cry too much for those stars, though, when you find out where they went after their shows were canceled. If you can still sing the theme songs to you or your kid’s Disney Channel favorites, you’re going to want to read “Disney High” – it’s homework you won’t mind at all.
