BACKGROUND
In the 2010s, it was becoming more and more obvious to Disney Channel that viewers were responding well to their musicals.
Disney Channel movie musicals have been popular ever since High School Musical (2006) and they’ve spent years trying to match, or surpass, that fame. In 2015, they came close with Descendants – but not close enough.
So, where next for a Disney Channel musical franchise? A girl band? No, done that. Something set in high school? There’s always room for those but we need something a bit more, a bit extra. Hey! How about zombies? Uh, what?
We’ve all seen movies and television series about zombie apocalypses, from one of the original zombie movies, Night of the Living Dead (1968), and the terrifying but critically-acclaimed series The Walking Dead (2010-22), to the horror-comedies Shaun of the Dead (2004) and Zombieland (2009).
Now Disney Channel wanted to put their own spin on this theme, in some way. But don’t worry. Disney Channel weren’t going to be making a musical horror film, were they? No, their zombies aren’t like real zombies. They’ve been tamed, so they don’t kill humans, and there’s only the tiniest references to brain-eating so it’s all good!
I watched ZOMBIES on Disney+ for the first time a few years after it first came out and I was surprised at how much I liked it. I think I was looking for some non-scary Halloween movies to watch and sure enough, Disney+ has a whole collection every year of Halloween content that is child-friendly – and me-friendly. I hate scary movies.
I didn’t like ZOMBIES as much as Descendants or the High School Musical trilogy, I will admit that, but what I did like was the catchy music and the movie’s perfectly cast leads. They were so enthusiastic and clearly up for the challenge of fronting a Disney Channel musical. That’s no easy feat, especially if you don’t already have the experience of leading a Disney Channel original series beforehand.
There were high hopes at Disney Channel for ZOMBIES to do really well but it didn’t quite match up to the original Descendants trilogy. Whether that’s down to bias or not, that’s for you to decide. It seems to me that Disney Channel wanted to create another musical franchise, and they were going to do whatever it took to make ZOMBIES a success.
PLOT
ZOMBIES begins with an animated opening sequence. It reminds me of the animated portions that exist at the start and end of Disney’s live-action movie Sky High (2005). This opening sequence gives us a quick introduction and backstory to the town of Seabrook.
Seabrook used to be the perfect town, the perfect community, until a lime soda incident at the town’s power station caused a green haze to descend over the town and its people, turning those exposed to it into brain-eating zombies. A barrier was soon built to protect the “normal” citizens from these zombies. This all happened around fifty years ago.
In present day, zombies are still separated from the humans of Seabrook, living in a place called Zombietown, as explained by teenage zombie Zed. They also have to submit to rules and regulations, such as a curfew and wearing government-approved coveralls. Now, they also must wear “Z-bands”, which send electromagnetic pulses into their bodies to stop them wanting to eat brains. Because of this newfound technology, zombie life is getting better. Zed is excited that zombies can now attend regular high school and don’t have to be segregated any longer. Zed’s father is concerned about this, worried that the humans will still not be accepting of zombies, but Zed’s got a positive outlook on life and knows things will be better for him and his little sister, Zoe.
On the other side of Seabrook’s town barrier lives Addison, a teenage girl who desperately wants to be a cheerleader for the Seabrook Cheer Squad. Although Addison looks like all the other humans in Seabrook, with perfect hair, a perfect smile, and an all-round perfect demeanour, she is hiding a secret. Addison is forced to wear a wig to hide the fact she has white hair! Oh, say it ain’t so! Having white hair shouldn’t be a big deal but in Seabrook, apparently it would make Addison stand out too much and she’d become a social pariah…So, the wig stays on the head. To make everything even harder, Addison’s mother happens to be Seabrook’s mayor and her father is head of the Zombie Patrol taskforce, making sure zombies stay in line, so Addison knows she has to do whatever it takes to fit in.
At high school, Zed and his fellow zombies Eliza and Bonzo are surprised to find that there is a barrier separating them from the human high schoolers. There are even separate entrances for them, and the zombies will only be taught in the basement by the janitor, not being allowed to leave the room under any circumstances. This is disappointing for Zed who wants to try out for the school’s football team, but this is not allowed. So, Zed does the rational thing – and sneaks out of the basement to attend try-outs. The only problem is he is spotted by a human, who hits the nearby zombie alarm, sending the school into a panic. Zed finds himself in the Zombie Safe Room so he isn’t caught being out of the basement. Addison happens to find herself there too, and the two talk briefly, about their loves of football and cheerleading. But as Addison gets closer to Zed, she realises he’s a zombie and punches him in the face. It turns out just to be a reflex though, as she’s never met a zombie before. She quickly apologises to Zed. At that moment though, Cheer Captain, and Addison’s cousin, Bucky, a zombie hater, arrives with some of the cheerleaders to save Addison from this monster. Bucky warns Zed to stay away from her. Zed eventually finds his way to football try-outs but the coach informs him zombies cannot be on the team.
Back with Addison, and cheer try-outs are about to begin. Bucky is a tough taskmaster and him and his three sidekicks, Tracey, Stacey, and Lacey, a.k.a. “The Aceys”, come down hard on the wannabe cheerleaders. This is enough to upset Addison’s new friend, Bree, who wants to be a cheerleader, but doesn’t think Bucky wants her on the team. Addison smashes her try-out though and is welcomed to the team by Bucky. She then insists that Bree is allowed on the team too. Bucky agrees. However, now they are on the team, they’ll have to take part in a little Cheer Initiation test.
That evening, Bucky drives Addison and Bree to Zombietown and tells them to egg one of the houses there. Addison refuses to do that. Bucky is scared off by a zombie coming up to his van, and Addison and Bree duck down by a porch to make sure they aren’t seen. But they are spotted by Zed who seems confused and a bit disappointed that they are here. His father asks if anyone is there, and Zed lies, saying there isn’t anyone by their house.
The next day at school, Addison goes down to the school basement to apologise to Zed for last night. She reiterates that she wasn’t going to do anything and has nothing against zombies, even inviting Zed to the pep rally that afternoon. Eliza jumps in and says zombies don’t go to pep rallies, but Zed says they’ll think about it. Sure enough, Zed arrives at the pep rally with Bonzo and Eliza in tow. Bucky has a big routine planned for the cheerleaders, complete with sparklers to upset any zombies who may’ve walked into the crowd, because some are scared of fire. Bonzo begins to freak out, and Zed tries to calm him, but he is knocked to the ground and his Z-band malfunctions. The pep rally descends into chaos and Zed sees Addison doing a twist in the air, with no-one to catch her. Finding himself overcome with strength he didn’t know he had, Zed pushes through the bleachers and rushes to catch Addison before she falls. Zed’s Z-band then reverts back to normal.
The football coach sees all this and wants Zed on his team. Principal Lee is suspicious of zombies but allows Zed to join the team, on the proviso that they actually win some games because the team has never been good. Zed says he’ll join if the principal agrees to let the zombies have more freedoms. She says that can happen if they win games, but for now, the zombies will have to settle for being allowed to eat in the cafeteria.
In the cafeteria, Addison lets Bree know that she likes Zed. Bree wants Addison to follow her heart, but knows the cheerleaders don’t want anyone fraternising with zombies. Addison hears Zed call her name and goes over to his table to talk to him. Well, she can’t be rude now, can she? However, the cheerleaders soon come to remove Addison, and tell her once again that she has to choose sides: cheerleader or zombie. Addison still wants to be a cheerleader, and the cheerleaders are starting to suspect she’s different from them, so she vows to try harder to hide her true feelings about zombies. Addison runs out of the cafeteria, but Zed follows her. She says they can’t be seen together, so they go in to the Zombie Safe Room to talk, where they admit they have feelings for each other.
Later, it is Zed’s first football game, and his teammates already aren’t behind him, letting him be tackled to the ground by the opposition. Principal Lee threatens Zed, saying if they don’t win, the zombies will be going back to the basement. Coach wants to see some of that strength from the day before, so Zed asks Eliza to hack his Z-band, to allow him to go “more zombie” and be tougher. Eliza isn’t sure they should be doing this, but goes along with the plan for the greater good of zombiekind. Sure enough, the hack works and the team win. Because of this, the school barrier is removed the next day, and zombies are now popular with the human high school students, although Bucky and his cheerleaders still despise them. As Zed helps the team win more games, this popularity only grows, but Addison and Zed can only communicate through notes. Addison gets a note later that day from Zed, asking her to meet him by the town barrier that night.
Scared but intrigued, Addison finds herself in Zombietown meeting up with Zed. She thinks he doesn’t look quite right, so he tells her about his Z-band. It turns out messing with the technology that pulses electromagnetic fields through your body makes you not feel so good! But there’s no time to talk about that because Zed is taking Addison to an underground zombie party. The party goes well, and Addison even speaks to Zed’s little sister a bit, because Zoe is a cheerleading fan, and Eliza starts to think she’s cool. But as Zed and Addison talk together, and Addison shows Zed her natural hair colour, showing she is also different, the police come to arrest the zombies for breaking curfew. Addison is mortified to find that Police Officer Gus, who obviously knows Addison’s father and therefore her, has come to break up the party. Gus takes her home to her parents who are furious. However, they believe she was just out late meeting a boy, and want to meet him soon. Ok, this could get complicated…
At Homecoming Game Day, Eliza starts to get really worried about Zed and his Z-band. Zed tells her that it’s just one more game and they have to do this. The cheerleaders overhear this and dish the dirt to Bucky, who has an idea of how to get revenge on them. The Aceys start talking to Eliza, inviting her to a spa day in an effort to distract her whilst they steal her laptop. Now, they have access to Zed’s Z-band. Just before the game, Zed swipes right on his Z-Band, something Eliza told him never to do, and turns up at Addison’s parents’ house. Swiping right on a Z-Band can turn zombies human, so they are impressed with Zed. Addison quickly gets him away from her parents, and asks Zed what he’s doing. He wants to take her out on a real date before the game. Aww. They go to the local ice cream shop.
Then, it’s time for the game. Addison goes against Bucky and gets the crowd to cheer for Zed, leading to her and Bree being kicked off the team. With only three seconds left on the game, the Aceys decide it’s the perfect time to strike, and access Eliza’s Z-band program again. They corrupt Zed, Eliza, and Bonzo’s bands, taking them offline, causing them to go into full zombie mode. They start to tear up the stadium and threaten the other students. Bucky finds himself face-to-face with Zed under the bleachers, but surprisingly sees Zed assert some self-control and not attack him. The Zombie Patrol come shortly after and take Zed, Eliza, and Bonzo away. Disappointed in how quickly the town turned on zombies, Addison tries to show that everyone is different by revealing her natural hair colour. Instead of the crowd accepting this, they boo her and Addison is left to deal with the fall-out from her reveal, which has embarrassed her parents.
Eliza, Bonzo, and Zed are returned home from Zombie Containment some time later, with everyone’s Z-bands now updated to avoid any attempted hacking. Eliza is furious though and wants a Zombie Uprising, and plans something for the Cheer Championships. On the day of the Cheer Championships, Bucky culls any zombie sympathisers from his squad, leaving just a few others outside of him and the Aceys. Zed and Bonzo are concerned that they cannot find Eliza and find a plan in her locker to sabotage the Cheer Championships. They rush over there to stop her.
At the Championships, the Seabrook Cheer Squad struggles to complete their routine with so few people. Addison watches on and then sees Zed and Bonzo. She follows them and finds that they are looking for Eliza. Eliza says she is planning on sabotaging the event and Addison tells her she should go ahead and do it, because this town is a fickle place. Zed speaks from a place of reason and says if she goes through with this, then life for zombies will only get worse. They can’t stoop that low. Eliza accepts this, and they all go out to watch the Seabrook Cheer Squad, but they are failing terribly. Bucky flounces off stage and their routine is over. Or is it? Zed’s little sister Zoe then comes out on to the stage and starts to cheer, but she is booed by the human crowd. Addison decides to get everyone – humans and zombies – on stage to join her. She tries to convince Bucky, by telling him that he needs to accept change and he rejoins the squad for this routine.
Unfortunately, this routine did not win the Cheer Championships but it led to Seabrook becoming a more tolerant place. The movie ends with a block party at Zombietown where all are welcome, showing how far the town has come.
CHARACTERS & CAST
Zed is an enthusiastic, positive, and upbeat teenager, who lives with his overprotective father, Zevon, and his little sister, Zoe. Despite being bound by restrictions on their zombie lives, Zed is excited to finally be given the chance to attend human high school – something that has apparently taken years to be allowed – because he wants to be a football player. The trouble is zombies are still discriminated against, even though they are allowed at school, so Zed has to change himself to be accepted on the team, and ironically, he has to make himself more “zombie” to do that! In the end, Zed realises that he and the other zombies should be allowed to be accepted for who they are, and with the help of his human girlfriend Addison, they manage to create a more harmonious life in Seabrook for zombies and humans, by forcing everyone to look at themselves and see what they are doing to each other by reinforcing negative stereotypes.
Milo Manheim was cast as Zed and was a relative unknown prior to his role in ZOMBIES. Manheim had starred as Milo Reynolds in the Off-Broadway production of Generation Me, a musical exploring the impact of teen suicide, which won numerous awards at the New York Musical Festival Awards for Excellence, and won the most awards of any other show at these awards in 2017. Manheim himself won the award for Outstanding Performance in a Leading Role, alongside two others[1]. Strangely, Manheim had not been a Disney star before his leading role in ZOMBIES, however, any Hannah Montana fans may have seen his actress mother Camryn Manheim on the channel, as she was cast in the recurring role of Margo, manager of singer Mikayla, played by Selena Gomez, in the series.
Addison is very similar to Zed, in that she is also upbeat and positive, wanting there to be full integration in Seabrook between zombies and humans. The only difference is that Addison is a human, and one with parents who are very much against integration. Addison’s mother is Mayor of Seabrook, and her father is Chief of the Zombie Patrol, so not much chance of a healthy, non-biased discussion around the dinner table there! Her parents are hypocrites though, since Addison is not like everyone else, and doesn’t fit into this cookie-cutter mould of the Seabrook residents. Addison has white hair, a colour not like everyone else’s hair colour, so she is forced to hide her hair under her wig. After Addison meets Zed, she is even more determined to fight intolerance against zombies and thinks revealing her true self will help make Seabrook more progressive. That action doesn’t succeed in that, but with her, Zed, and the other zombies working together with some of the more empathetic cheerleaders, they come together and make the town to think differently.
Addison was played by Meg Donnelly, who was also not a star on Disney Channel at the time. However, at the time of her role in ZOMBIES, Donnelly already had a main role in an ABC sitcom: the role of Taylor Otto in American Housewife (2016-21). Donnelly and Manheim got on incredibly well throughout their audition process, and their friendship and chemistry is evident in the movie and in promotional videos for the film[2]. Manheim even joined Donnelly on American Housewife, appearing in the recurring role of Pierce, Taylor’s love interest, in Season 3 of the programme, which aired a few months after ZOMBIES.
Zed’s fellow zombie high school friends are Eliza and Bonzo who are very different from each other. Eliza is suspicious of humans initially, and just when she thinks the cheerleaders actually want to be friends with her, she finds that all they really want is her laptop so the cheerleaders can corrupt her, Zed, and Bonzo’s Z-Bands, setting zombie freedoms back. Eliza is rebellious, and wants zombies to be free from all restrictions. She’ll do whatever it takes to get there too, even going so far as threatening to sabotage the Cheer Championships, until Zed manages to talk her out of, because he favours the “kill them with kindness” method, as opposed to fighting with force. Eliza was played by Kylee Russell, who had been cast in a DCOM many years before as a child. Russell was cast as Karin Daniels, Izzy’s little sister in Jump In! (2007). Corbin Bleu starred as her brother Izzy.
Bonzo doesn’t seem to be the sharpest tool in the zombie shed. He is still scared of fire, even though most of the other zombies try to think about this fear rationally now, causing chaos at the pep rally, and he only speaks in zombie language, which can make him seem less intelligent because we assume he can’t speak English. Bonzo is just doing his bit to ensure his native language doesn’t die out, obviously! Bonzo also just wants to be accepted by humans, and like Zed, thinks the best way to do this is to be nice to the humans. James Godfrey was cast as Bonzo, having previously played Porter in the DCOM The Swap (2016) alongside Peyton List and Jacob Bertrand.
On the human side, Addison has her friend Bree, who she meets on the first day of school and they bond over how much they want to be cheerleaders. Bree’s initial try-out doesn’t go brilliantly, as Bree lacks some self-confidence, but thanks to Addison, she manages to get on the squad. Bree is more welcoming to the zombies than other humans, and even seems to quite like Bonzo, or she at least finds him intriguing. Bree is encouraging of Addison’s blossoming romance with Zed, despite the hostility around them. Carla Jeffrey was cast as Bree, having had guest roles in Disney Channel series like Good Luck Charlie (2010-14) and Shake It Up (2010-13) prior to ZOMBIES. Back in 2007, Jeffrey was cast in the recurring role of Keysha Black in Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000-24) for two seasons.
Then, there is Bucky, Addison’s cousin and Cheer Captain. He hates zombies and does not want them to have an easy ride at high school now the humans are being made to study alongside them. He has plans to ensure the zombies don’t get on at school and it is his idea for his cheerleader sidekicks, The Aceys, to tamper with the Z-bands to hopefully get the zombies kicked out of school. Bucky basically wants to live in his own perfect world where he is popular, loved by everyone, and cheerleading is everything. He rules that squad with an iron fist, and is mean, but more in a funny way than a cruel way. Bucky was played by Trevor Tordjman in a brilliant casting choice. Prior to ZOMBIES, Tordjman was known for his role as James in Canadian teen drama The Next Step (2013-present).
The Aceys, consisting of Lacey, Stacey, and Tracey are veteran cheerleaders and sidekicks to Bucky. They are incredibly loyal and are actually meaner than he is. Maybe sidekicks is the wrong term for them; hitmen might be more appropriate! Lacey is really the leader of The Aceys, as she is the more spiteful one, despite coming across as a bit ditzy at times. Stacey is the smart one, so she was the one to corrupt Eliza’s Z-band program. Tracey is the biggest fan of Bucky within the group of three. It turns out Bucky is so determined to keep this group The Aceys that he gets people to change their names. In a deleted scene, it is shown that Lacey’s actual name is Jenny, and that Bucky wants Addison to become an “Acey” by changing her name to Casey; Addison refuses[3].
Lacey was played by Emilia McCarthy who had previously appeared as Taylor in the DCOM Zapped (2014) which starred Zendaya, and was cast as Abby Ackerman in the Nickelodeon series Max & Shred (2014-16). Stacey was played by Jasmine Renée Thomas, who went on to play Kelly in the festive movie Falling in Love at Christmas (2021). Tracey was played by Mickeey Nguyan. Before ZOMBIES, he was cast as Alex Phan in Make It Pop (2015-16) and went on to play Mags 2 in the Canadian sci-fi series Utopia Falls (2020).
MUSIC
The music of ZOMBIES isn’t overly unique compared to other Disney Channel musicals, consisting of a mix of pop music, musical ballads, and some hip-hop and rap to make them more “contemporary”. I actually like all the songs in ZOMBIES and they are very catchy, which I can’t say for most Disney Channel musicals, although there are certain songs from other DCOM musicals that I like more.
The soundtrack for ZOMBIES was released on 16th February 2018, the same day as the movie’s premiere. It topped the US Billboard Kids Albums chart and reached No. 55 on the US Billboard 200 chart
In the order they appear in the film, the first main song is “My Year”, which gives us some background into the differences between Seabrook and Zombietown at the start of the film. The humans of Seabrook live in picture-perfect houses on clean streets, whereas the zombies live in more cluttered and grimy surroundings. But the two sides have two things in common: they can both sing, and both seem to like big group dance numbers! This is a very positive song, that states how excited everyone is for this new year at school, with both the humans and zombies thinking everything is going to be great. “My Year” was written by Jack Kugell, Hanna Jones, and Matt Wong and was performed by the entire cast. It is later reprised as “Our Year” during the End Credits, again performed by the cast.
Following on from that, we have the high-energy song “Fired Up”, which is used for the cheerleading try-outs. It gives us an insight into how fussy Bucky and The Aceys are about who can be on their squad, with them making brutal cuts to the squad there and then, literally removing them from the gymnasium if their face doesn’t fit! It’s a really great song and one of my favourites in the whole ZOMBIES franchise. It must’ve been so difficult to get through the whole performance of that. It was written by Mitch Allan and Nikki Leonti Edgar. “Fired Up (Competition)” plays during the Seabrook Cheer Championships routine.
Then, we get the typical love song that most Disney Channel musicals have between their two leads. This song is called “Someday”, performed by Milo Manheim as Zed and Meg Donnelly as Addison, and takes place in the Zombie Safe Room as Zed and Addison look to find a place to talk where Addison won’t be harassed by the cheerleaders and told to stay away from zombies. This is Addison and Zed having some fun, without feeling paranoid that they are being judged for their friendship. I particularly like the line “Girl, you look delicious. Oh, I mean gorgeous” – it’s a nice twist on typical teenage flirting, because, you know, zombies like to eat humans. This song is reprised as a ballad just before the Zombie Patrol come to break up the zombie party that Addison has been brought to by Zed. “Someday” was written by Dustin Burnett and Paula Winger.
Next up, we have “BAMM”, which is another high-energy performance, and takes place at the secret zombie party. As a musical performance, it’s the best within the movie, especially when they start doing flips and moves on a bouncy floor; it looks very impressive and must’ve taken a lot of work to perfect. It was performed by Manheim, Donnelly, and Kylee Russell as Eliza. “BAMM!” was written by Ali Dee Theordore, Sergio Cabral, Julian Davis, Sarai Howard, and Anthony Mirabella. It is later reprised right at the end of the movie by the whole cast during the block party at Zombietown, showing that zombies, humans – and cheerleaders – are now happy living side-by-side.
Finally, there is “Stand”, which is a moving song mostly performed by Meg Donnelly as Addison, as she reminds the crowd of their hypocrisy at cheering on Zed when the team were winning the football, but instantly turned against him and the other zombies when their Z-bands malfunctioned. We’re supposed to expect that this song will work and that the crowd will instantly change their ways – but they don’t. Flashbacks of the movie are shown during this scene too, reminding Addison of the reasons why change needs to happen now. However, one person who is starting to change their mind about zombies in this song is Bucky, as he states how confused he is about this new world they’re all living in, so Trevor Tordjman performs this section of the song. “Stand” was written by Matthew Tishler.
“Pep Rally”, written by Ali Dee Theodore, and performed by the cheerleaders during the pep rally, obviously, is listed as a separate track on the soundtrack, although I wouldn’t necessarily count it as an actual song; it’s mostly just chanting “Go, mighty shrimp!”.
George S. Clinton is credited as the composer of the score for ZOMBIES. Clinton has also composed the score for movies like Disney’s The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006), and for the Austin Powers trilogy of films. Clinton won BMI Film Music Awards for his music in The Santa Clause 3, and the last two Austin Powers films. The score of ZOMBIES was later released in 2020, in the album Music from ZOMBIES (Original Score), which also includes the score from ZOMBIES 2.
PRODUCTION
Some Disney Channel movies are based on books. Others are based on original stories. ZOMBIES was actually based on an unaired pilot for a Disney Channel television series. It was probably also inspired by Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.
This pilot was for a show titled Zombies & Cheerleaders. It starred Luke Benward as zombie Zed, and Maia Mitchell as cheerleader Addison. Benward was no stranger to Disney Channel at this time, having previously starred as Charlie Tuttle in the DCOM Minutemen (2008). He was later cast as Ryan in Girl vs. Monster (2012) and Will in Cloud 9 (2014). Maia Mitchell starred as Mack in Teen Beach Movie (2013) and Teen Beach 2 (2015).
Since this was an unaired pilot, there are very few details about the episode apart from a basic outline, which more or less follows the plot of ZOMBIES, i.e., a zombie and a cheerleader fall in love whilst at high school. On IMDB, there are a couple of other pieces of information about the pilot, such as a few photographs from the production, and a brief description of the pilot, which states that the zombies wear “z-packs”, the technology that keeps the zombies from wanting to eat human brains. As we know, in the movie ZOMBIES, this technology is called a Z-band. It would seem that this pilot was filmed around 2012. IMDB also states that this pilot was “music-driven” [4].
Many pilots for television series are filmed in a year, and many never see the light of the day, so for Zombies & Cheerleaders not to have been progressed with at Disney Channel is not unusual. For whatever reason, Disney Channel later decided to use this pilot as inspiration for their new musical movie ZOMBIES. The writers of the Zombies & Cheerleaders pilot episode, David Light and Joseph Raso, were tasked with reworking their material to fit the Disney Channel musical format, though how much needed to be changed or was added is unclear as the general public has had no access to the original pilot. Light and Raso went on to write all the ZOMBIES sequels, and co-created and co-wrote another Disney musical, Sneakerella (2022).
Production for ZOMBIES began in May 2017. Paul Hoen came on to the project as the movie’s director. Hoen has directed numerous Disney Channel Original Movies, both musical and non-musical. In the non-musical category, some of his credits include directing Read It and Weep (2006), Eddie’s Million Dollar Cook-Off (2003), and The Luck of the Irish (2001). In the world of musicals, not including the entire ZOMBIES movie franchise, he directed Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam (2010) and The Cheetah Girls: One World (2008).
As Descendants (2015) and Descendants 2 (2017) had done beforehand, along with many other Disney movies, ZOMBIES was filmed in Canada. Specifically, this movie was filmed in and around the province of Ontario and the city of Toronto. Keith Street near Wentworth Street North in Hamilton was used for Zombietown, with homes in the street being painted in bright colours just for the movie, and random decorations like tyres, lights, bird cages, and chairs were added to the homes’ porches[5]. The exterior of Aga Khan Museum in Toronto was used for the location of the Cheer Championships. Sugar Beach in Toronto was another location seen briefly, during the song “My Year” when the humans are dancing on the beach. It was also used for a deleted scene, where we see Zed and Addison watching Zoe playing with a dog on the beach. Zoe really wants a dog but we’re told at the start of the film, zombies aren’t allowed to own dogs[6].
These locations had to match the world of Seabrook and the fact that there are two separate areas that look and feel very different. Seabrook’s main town where the humans reside is mostly designed with clean, straight edges, which is matched by the look of their houses. Pastel colours are generally used here, such as light blues, pinks, and greens. Zombietown, on the other hand, looks gritty and grubby in places, kind of steampunk, with darker colours being used, with an emphasis on a darker green. The production designer on ZOMBIES was Mark Hofeling, who has had a history of working on Disney Channel movies, being the production designer throughout the High School Musical and Descendants movie franchises, for example, and working on ZOMBIES 2 and ZOMBIES 3 as well.
Hair, makeup, and costuming also had to be carefully chosen to match the production aesthetic and demonstrate the differences between the humans and the zombies. Initially, Addison’s wig colour was a topic of discussion, although it was always clear that Addison’s natural hair would be white. Meg Donnelly tried all manner of coloured wigs out for her character, before it was decided to choose a colour that matched Donnelly’s natural blonde hair colour. The style of Addison’s natural white hair then had to be decided, with a sort of pixie cut being chosen, which I’m not a fan of, to be honest, as it looks a bit like Rapunzel’s hair in Tangled (2010) after Flynn cuts it off and it turns brown. It just looks messy and unstyled. But don’t worry, Addison’s hair gets better in the ZOMBIES sequel!
Milo Manheim had similar hair issues for his character, zombie Zed. It was first decided to give Zed a multitude of colours in his hair, with additional blue and yellow streaks, but that didn’t work, so they tried a bright neon green. That also wasn’t right, so they eventually settled on the dark green. The zombie characters have very pale skin, which meant the actors had to have any bare skin spray painted. This meant that hair and makeup for these characters could take around two hours, or more, to complete in total, with extra time needed to remove it at the end of the day. The humans in ZOMBIES are mostly seen wearing pastel colours, with the cheerleading uniforms being pink and white with light green accents. The zombies are forced to wear dark colours, like greys, reds, blacks, and dark greens. Their outfits are, according to Zed in the movie, government-enforced, however, the younger zombies have managed to customise their outfits to suit their own personalities. Costume Designer Rita McGhee worked on ZOMBIES, having previously worked on the series Empire (2015-20).
Since ZOMBIES is a musical, and a Disney Channel one at that, the dance routines and musical numbers had to be dynamic, to match up to other movies of its kind. Rehearsals for the movie took around four weeks, with roughly one week being dedicated to each dance number. Choreographers Christopher Scott and Jeffrey Hornaday were on hand to put the actors through their paces. Hornaday is both a director and choreographer. His choreography credits include the Disney Parks attraction Captain EO, a 3D short film which starred Michael Jackson; the 1983 movie Flashdance; and the 1985 film adaptation of the musical A Chorus Line. In directing, Hornaday directed the non-musical DCOM Geek Charming in 2011, before moving on to direct both Teen Beach Movie (2013) and Teen Beach 2 (2015) for Disney Channel, as well as being on hand as the movies’ choreographer. Christopher Scott was also a choreographer on the Teen Beach movies, as well as on In the Heights (2021) and even Wicked (2024). Scott and Hornaday were happy to work with the actors on some of these routines, with Milo Manheim and Meg Donnelly adding input into their “Someday” routine, such as putting the colander on the lamp to turn it into a disco ball, as well as their tap steps. Manheim was seen doing back flips when the cast were working on the “BAMM” routine, so these were added into the dance.
There was also additional training needed for the cast. For example, Manheim had no experience playing real football, so he had to learn how to play the game, and how to run in all that heavy gear that football players wear. A stunt double was used whenever Zed was tackled in the movie. Donnelly had never been a cheerleader either, but luckily, production hired a cheerleading team and their coach from Toronto to come and train everyone. Donnelly had a lot of fun doing the cheerleading routines, and the only part of Addison’s cheerleading that was done by a stunt double was the twist in the air that she does just before Zed catches her at the pep rally[7].
RECEPTION
ZOMBIES premiered on Disney Channel in the US on 16th February 2018, presumably to coincide with Valentine’s Day, since ZOMBIES is a love story. It later came to other international Disney Channels in the coming weeks.
The movie was heavily promoted on Disney Channel. Promotional videos included behind-the-scenes clips, music videos, and interviews with the cast, giving them challenges and asking them questions to allow the viewers to get to know the actors. This was actually quite important because in a move very unlike Disney Channel, the cast of ZOMBIES had not been in a Disney Channel series, whereas usually at least one of the main cast would’ve been in a Disney series beforehand, so they would’ve been unknown to most viewers.
Another way of publicising the movie’s release was for Milo Manheim and Meg Donnelly to present the debut of a ZOMBIES-themed cheerleading routine at the grand opening of The Arena at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. The performance was aired on Disney Channel on 26th January 2018 and was choreographed by Varsity Spirit. The routine was completed by Florida’s Barstow High School Varsity Co-ed Cheer Squad, who were the 2016 champions of Varsity Spirit Universal Cheerleaders Association National High School Cheerleading Championship. The song they performed to was “BAMM” from the ZOMBIES movie and the cheerleaders were dressed up to look like zombies and cheerleaders from the film too. This performance was later made available on YouTube and made up part of the telecast of the 2018 UCA National High School Cheerleading Championships.
This was followed by the announcement of the ZOMBIES Spirit Challenge which ran from 26th January to 6th February 2018 to allow Disney Channel watchers in the US to participate in ZOMBIES-themed photo challenges, like showing your best zombie hair, outfit, cheer pose etc., for the chance to win a screening party with a Disney Channel star[8].
ZOMBIES reached around 2.7 million viewers on its premiere date, with this figure rising to 10.3 million over the eight re-runs of the movie that took place over that weekend, which happened to be Presidents’ Day Weekend[9]. This was much less than Descendants 2’s premiere in 2017, just a year before, which gained 5.8 million viewers. However, it is worth noting that viewership for Disney Channel movies had been declining throughout the 2010s, with only the musicals tending to hit a figure over 5 million. By the time ZOMBIES was released in 2018, the only movie to top their figure of roughly 2.7 million afterwards was Descendants 3 in 2019 with 4.6 million. Now that Disney+ is available in most countries, and with many Disney Channels shutting down internationally, the viewership of Disney Channel movie premieres are no longer wholly reliable figures to base a movie’s popularity.
As with most DCOMs, the reviews of ZOMBIES were mixed. Some said they liked the music and the choreography, and felt there was good chemistry between the two leads. It was also a welcome change to see some fresh faces on the channel for a change.
On the other hand, some did not enjoy the production design and its “excessive” use of colour. A lack of representation and diversity in the cast did not go unnoticed, and the story was seen as predictable and unoriginal, with it being seen as a bad metaphor for racism. Some went a bit over-the-top with their analysis of the movie from a zombie apocalypse point of view, saying that the bands the zombies wear would be too basic a control mechanism and would not have worked. Personally, I think those people have watched a little too much of The Walking Dead and have lost touch with reality. This wasn’t meant to be a movie about the potential or danger of a zombie apocalypse; it was simply about inclusion and integration.
The biggest issue for ZOMBIES though was that it was compared to the Descendants franchise, which was very popular with both Disney Channel and Disney Animation fans alike, as it referenced popular Disney Villains and their animated movies. ZOMBIES was even being called a rip-off before it was released, with many viewers saying they would not be watching it. Sadly, Descendants was directed by Disney Channel royalty, Kenny Ortega, the man behind High School Musical, so there was a sense of loyalty to the “Golden Age of Disney Channel” I suppose[10]. After ZOMBIES was released, Descendants fans were quick to comment that the songs were worse, and the characters and overall concept were generally lacking.
To be honest, I think it’s quite hypocritical for Descendants fans to be up in arms about ZOMBIES being a rip-off of their beloved musical franchise, since it could be seen that Descendants is simply another attempt at Disney Channel to reach the standard they hit with the High School Musical trilogy, or even that Descendants “ripped off” Disney Animation movies, and sanitised their villains. These days, everything on screen has been influenced or inspired by something, so to moan about a lack of originality is laughable.
Frankly, Disney Channel didn’t even give ZOMBIES a good sporting chance of being able to shake-off the Descendants comparisons, because Descendants 3 was officially announced during the premiere of ZOMBIES on 16th February 2018, despite Descendants 3 not even been released until Summer 2019[11]. It’s incredibly unfair how and where Disney decided to announce Descendants 3. Were the cast and crew of ZOMBIES really not allowed their own moment in the spotlight? Could the Descendants 3 announcement not have waited a few months?
Anyway, ZOMBIES did eventually manage to find its fanbase, so it’s all good. The movie was nominated for two awards. One for Children’s Teleplay at the Humanitas Prize, however, it lost out to Netflix’s Alexa & Katie (2018-20). The other was at the Canadian Cinema Editors Awards for Best Editing in Family, Television Movie or Series, losing out to Odd Squad: World Turned Odd (2018).
LEGACY
After ZOMBIES was released, much of the cast continued to be involved with Disney in some way. For instance, Milo Manheim competed on Season 27 of Dancing with the Stars (2005-present) in October 2018, and finished in second place. His appearance on this no doubt helped to advertise ZOMBIES further. Dancing with the Stars airs on ABC, a television channel owned by The Walt Disney Company.
The cast of ZOMBIES also took part in a roughly 20-minute television special called ZOMBIES Halloween Cast Party in October 2018, which saw them perform songs from their movie and complete different Halloween-themed activities, liking making costumes and playing pranks They also engaged with a live audience of kids and tweens. This was the first Halloween since ZOMBIES had been released, so this was likely a way of getting Disney Channel viewers to watch the movie for Halloween, because zombie movies are perfect for the Halloween season and Disney Channel can promote this one because their zombies are all-singing, all-dancing!
Kylee Russell and Meg Donnelly later took part in the Disney Parks 25 Days of Christmas Holiday Party in 2018, with Russell helping to surprise a family with a VIP visit to Walt Disney World, and Donnelly performing “Mele Kalikimaka” on stage.
During the Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade in 2019, Meg Donnelly performed the song “Home for the Holidays” before her and Milo Manheim introduced a sneak-peek at the upcoming Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway attraction, which opened at Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World in March 2020.
This was potentially a use of cross-promotion, as Manheim and Donnelly were likely gearing up for their press tour that would be talking about the sequel to ZOMBIES, ZOMBIES 2, which was first announced in February 2019, a year after the first movie came out. The initial announcement stated that Manheim and Donnelly would return as Addison and Zed, but this time, the town of Seabrook would be dealing with the arrival of a pack of werewolves in the area. ZOMBIES 2 premiered in February 2020.
FINAL THOUGHTS
ZOMBIES was another musical in a long line of Disney Channel musicals. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, because it is a well-known fact that Disney Channel’s musical movies have always been their most popular and the ones that have generally done the best in terms of viewership, reviews, and chances of creating a franchise.
It’s not right that ZOMBIES was not given a fair chance of doing well because it was released in such proximity to the Descendants movies, which had gained a popularity similar, but not as great, as that of High School Musical; it was really the closest Disney Channel had come in almost a decade though.
Still, the door to the ZOMBIES fandom will always remain open to Descendants fans should they want to come and join the zombies and cheerleaders party! It’s not too late!
REFERENCES
[1] Credit: A.A. Cristi, ‘New York Musical Festival Announces 2017 Winners for NYMF Awards for Excellence’, BroadwayWorld.com, 7th August 2017.
[2] Credit: Stacey Grant, ’15 Shocking “Zombies” Secrets from Stars Milo Manheim and Meg Donnelly’, Seventeen.com, 20th February 2018.
[3] Credit: Disney ZOMBIES, ‘ZOMBIES Deleted scenes Compilation’, Disney ZOMBIES YouTube Channel, 28th March 2021.
[4] Credit: IMDB, ‘Zombies and Cheerleaders’, IMDB.com, date unknown.
[5] Credit: CBC News, ‘Disney movie shoot transforms north Hamilton homes into zombie fantasy’, CBC.ca, 5th July 2017.
[6] Credit: Disney ZOMBIES, ‘ZOMBIES Deleted scenes Compilation’, Disney ZOMBIES YouTube Channel, 28th March 2021.
[7] Credit: Stacey Grant, ’15 Shocking “Zombies” Secrets from Stars Milo Manheim and Meg Donnelly’, Seventeen.com, 20th February 2018.
[8] Credit: BWW News Desk, ‘Stars of Disney’s ZOMBIES Present ‘Zombies’-Themed Cheer and Announce Launch Nationwide ZOMBIES Spirit Challenge’, BroadwayWorld.com, 26th January 2018.
[9] Credit: R. Thomas Umstead, ‘Disney Channel’s ‘Zombies’ Scares Up 2.7 Million Viewers for Premiere’, NextTV.com, 20th February 2018.
[10] Credit: Emily Brozyna, ‘It’s Goin’ Down: Kylee Russell Really Just Wants ‘Descendants’ Fans To Give ‘Zombies’ a chance’, J-14.com, 29th November 2017.
[11] Credit: Ariana Brockington, ‘Disney Announces ‘Descendants 3’ for 2019’, Variety.com, 16th February 2018.
The Disney Purist 