The Winter Olympics are an international sporting event that take place every four years, a prime opportunity to showcase the best every country has to offer. This year, ninety-one nations and territories are participating, with a whopping 2,871 athletes vying for the gold. For me, the events that take place on the snow and ice have always been more interesting than its temperate counterpart, which may have a little something to do with the Michelle Kwan obsession I harbored as a kid.
This year’s events in Beijing might be drawing to a close, but that doesn’t mean the fun has to end just yet. If, like me, you prefer watching talented athletes chase after their dreams from the comfort of your couch, here are four Disney Channel Original Movies (or DCOMs, for short) from my childhood that capture the energy of the Winter Olympics. Go Team USA!
- ICE princess (2005)
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“When the CIA wants to learn new dirty tricks, they observe figure skaters and their moms.”
I couldn’t start this list off without the most iconic figure skating movie of all time. Michelle Trachtenberg’s performance as the awkward physics student looking to turn triple axels into mathematic formulas for a potential scholarship is noteworthy, and a young Hayden Panettiere successfully turns the mean girl trope on its head. Plus, it’s a sports movie with an overbearing parent, so of course there has to be a line about their child throwing away their dream and a rebuttal of “No, mom. I’m throwing away yours” which, I’ll admit, gets me every time. This classic DCOM also doesn’t shy away from heavier themes like parental pressure, cheating scandals, and the many sacrifices every athlete has to make when it comes to their sport. Lastly, that final performance with “Reachin’ for Heaven” by Diana DeGarmo inspired an entire generation of little girls to believe they, too, could rule over the ice like that. All in all, Ice Princess is a strong start to this list.
- GO figure (2005)
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“What kind of hockey player runs away from a fight?”
“The kind that doesn’t want to break a nail.”
Next up, we have another 2000s DCOM that shows a young girl who tries to have the best of both of worlds: figure skating and ice hockey. Jordan Hinson plays Katelin Kingsford, a junior skater eager for the chance to train with a Russian coach and, in her words, someday get her face on a cereal box. But to do so, she’ll need to attend a prestigious boarding school on a–gasp–hockey scholarship. Shaky on her new skates and snubbed by her oddball teammates, this easygoing twirl girl is going to have to learn how to juggle her two lives on the ice. The learning curve might be steep, but this is a film about the importance of hard work and perseverance, so naturally, our girl isn’t a quitter. Then, just as she’s found her rhythm, Katelin’s love for both sports is put to the test when the team’s championship game and her senior nationals fall on the exact same night. Want to know which one she chooses? You’ll just have to watch and find out.
- CLOUd 9 (2014)
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“Up on that mountain, when it’s just you and your board, it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. You cannot be afraid. Not even for a second.”
Here we have another movie that takes an overtly feminine character tough it out to become the best at her sport. Cloud 9 follows Dove Cameron’s character Kayla Morgan: daughter of an affluent resort owner, longtime snowboarder, and all around it girl–though her ego does get taken down a notch after she learns all of her competitive wins have been handed to her by her father’s money. After a freak accident involving a ski sled and a banged up billboard, Kayla is sentenced to four weeks working at a dog kennel owned by the mother of a former snowboarding legend. Put out of commission after a failed snowboarding move known as the “Cloud 9”, Will Cloud agrees to coach Kayla in exchange for a revamping of the shelter. The two grow closer even as Kayla goes to risky lengths to shed her image of a spoiled daddy’s girl. The title track is a bop, the chemistry between Luke Benward and Dove Cameron is memorable, and snowboarding is honestly such a cool sport to watch, so final verdict? Two thumbs up.
- The mighty ducks (1992)
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“A team isn’t a bunch of kids out to win; a team is something you belong to, something you feel, something you have to earn.”
So this one isn’t technically a DCOM, but produced by Walt Disney Pictures, so close enough, right? The Mighty Ducks is the oldest movie on this list, and is about a lawyer who gets stuck coaching a scrappy kids’ hockey team after being busted for drunk driving. Followed up by two sequels, an animated series, and most recently, a live-action show, this heartwarming 90s franchise paved the way for other Disney Channel sports movies to come. Now, I haven’t actually seen it, but I’ve been told it’s a classic, and as the saying goes–everyone loves an underdog.