There’s something deeply soothing and melancholy about turning on a childhood show, even if just for a quick episode. For many of us who grew up in the 2000s, shows from Disney Channel and Saturday morning cartoons were more than just entertainment — they were a lifeline. They carried us through awkward school days, lonely afternoons, and moments when the world felt too big or confusing.
Disney Channel shows like Hannah Montana, Wizards of Waverly Place, and The Suite Life of Zack & Cody understood us before we even understood ourselves. They had humor, heart, and just enough chaos to mirror our own little worlds. When Miley struggled to balance her two identities, or when Alex pretended not to care but secretly did, we saw bits of our own struggles reflected back at us; only softer, funnier, and with a guaranteed happy ending. These shows were the perfect show to sum up our feelings. They made growing up feel less scary.
Cartoons from that time, like Phineas & Ferb, Kim Possible, or even Lilo & Stitch weren’t just background noise. They were colorful, comforting constants. No matter what was happening in our lives, we could count on those 22-minute episodes to bring us a sense of order. They made it okay to be silly, to imagine, to hope. They didn’t need to be “realistic” to be real to us. And now, years later, when life gets overwhelming and the world feels a little colder, we find ourselves turning back to them, not out of immaturity, but out of a longing for something pure and simpler.
Rewatching these shows isn’t just about escaping the present. It’s about reconnecting with a part of ourselves that often gets buried under stress, deadlines, and expectations. It’s about hearing a theme song and instantly feeling your shoulders drop, your breathing slow, and your heart soften. It’s about remembering who you were back then, the version of you who believed in talking platypuses, magic wands, and secret pop star lives is still there.
As a college student myself, I find myself ending my day with an episode of Phineas & Ferb to decompress. I think it reminds me of a simpler time when the only thing I had to worry about was finishing my arts & craft project. Today, my life is so fast paced and I barely have time to catch my breath, compared to a seven year old me’s schedule that basically was just going to school and playing in the sun.
So when we rewatch these childhood shows, we’re not just indulging in nostalgia, we’re healing. We’re giving ourselves the space to feel safe again. We’re choosing kindness for our inner child, and in doing so, we remind ourselves that peace doesn’t always have to come from something new. Sometimes, it’s waiting for us in a show we’ve already seen a hundred times, because the comfort was never just in the plot.