Notorious hotbed of pop talent – alums include not only Britney, Justin, and Christina (who appeared in only three episodes each – ), but also Keri Russell, Ryan Gosling, and JC Chasez. (Full list.) Plus, of course, all kinds of folks who haven’t been seen since.
So, here’s my question – cause or effect? Did these people just happen to hit that stop on their way to a showbiz career that would have happened anyway, or was the show formative of those careers in creating a fan base that they springboarded from? Or are the folks as Disney just scarily good at picking talent? (Plumping for the last explanation might entail the complete invisibility of the rest of the list over the last 10 years – or does 6 out of 39 suffice as as good as it gets?)
(Does everyone else think about shit like this when they wake up in the middle of the night?)
I actually watched this the other day (I don’t have cable, so I’m way behind the curve on a lot of current pop culture), and thought it was cute as a bug. Undeserving of adoration, sure, but not a monstrosity.
This is pure speculation based on never having watched as much as 10 minutes of any incarnation of the Mickey Mouse Club. I heard others singing the song and learned it that way, and I do recall kids like Annette for obvious reasons.
That aside, my speculation is that kids with some degree of poise and self-assuredness, whether talented or not, are selected for the show. Those kids likely have devoted, driven, meddlesome or insistent parents who would promote the kid’s exposure to the casting agency. Some statistical minimum of the kids would develop some measure of fan following. Those kids would stay with the show long enough to pick up some stagecraft while still others would be enrolled in schools or classes by those same parents to push them into show business.
Some combination of nature vs. nurture would make the famous kids emerge from the pack.
I suspect you could find similar statistics and causes in other talent shows or kiddie after-school specials at the local level.
Last year, Newsweek published an article on how Disney was able to bop to the top (pardon the pun) with its own star system and the inexplicably popular High School Musical. As a fellow who’s watched a lot of Disney Channel (I have no kids of my own, my excuse is “there’s nothing else on”), I thought the film was cliched but entertaining, and most of the other Disney fare (with the exception of their animated shows, which are well-written and funny) comes from the Miller-Boyett school of sitcom- good acting, but horrible scriptwriting. It seems that Disney has learned from its mistakes in the past, as they intentionally choose their stars to make sure they don’t end up like former Disney queen Lindsay Lohan:
And it seems to be working: not only are Disney’s shows and TV-movies consistently high-rated on the cable charts, the soundtracks to High School Musical and the series Hannah Montana (starring Billy Ray Cyrus and his real-life daughter, Destiny “Miley” Cyrus), have made it to #1 on the Billboard album charts. The stars are consistently seen on the covers of teen magazines, and twin stars Dylan and Cole Sprouse are even represented by Dualstar Entertainment, the company owned by those other twin stars, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. Disney seems to be going for talent that can act but not go wild, so they don’t end up saying M-I-C you in rehab. (K-E-Y? Because you’re rebellious!)
Ever since IMDb switched over to an episode-by-episode basis for its TV show listings, information had to be put in by hand for each episode. It’s hard to tell how many MMC episodes the famous three appeared in, but it’s probably more than three.
As for your question “cause or effect,” we have to see how many of the current crop of Disney stars have careers after they part ways with the Mouse. We’ve got Hilary Duff and Shia LaBeouf so far, who’s next?
I vote a pinch from Column A and a pinch from Column C. Predicting future success is hard. Predicting popularity is harder. Persons with the drive, the parents, the talent, and the rest of the package are more likely than others to be in places where they get picked to appear on shows like The New Mickey Mouse Club–but I don’t think it’s chance that 6 out of that 39 went on to bigger and better things. Nor is it surprising that 33 of the 39 either lost interest in show biz or failed to make the grade after the show. There just aren’t that many openings for talented young people.
I think Disney also grooms kids for performing jobs in its theme parks. So perhaps some kids start as theme park entertainment, and move up to the Mickey Mouse Club, or other television shows. And I think it’s no coincidence that Lou Pearlman, the guy who put some of the boy bands together, is from Orlando.
Basically, it looks like Disney has recreated the old studio system.
Well, the recreation of the studio system is interesting – as you say, it will be interesting what happens to the careers of the (post-“MMC”) batch of young uns.
According to E’s “True Hollywood Story”, this is pretty much how the '90s MMC came about. The original MMC was essentially a way to promote all things Disney.
I hear you, there. I no longer have cable, but whenever I do, I find myself drawn to the Disney channel. I don’t have a creepy attraction to pubescent kids or anything, so I’m not sure what the draw is. But there’s something about the whole system that I find fascinating. A few years back, I would watch all of their original movies and stuff. I have yet to see High School Musical, but I have to admit that I know one of the songs.
Although I do, like Dan Savage, find Zach and Cody veeeeery disturbing.
Off-topic, a little: I’m hoping that the kind of stuff the DC is doing gets more kids into theater. And that there will be more kids’ theater going on these days. When I was in high school in the 90s, I was in musicals and stuff, and it was always hard finding stuff that fit all of our HS’s criteria: not too expensive rights-wise, not too expensive costume-set-props-wise, lots of parts for girls, big supporting cast, and compelling for HS students. The last one was hard, once we’d satisfied the rest. We always ended up with something like Oklahoma, which most of us found to be hard to relate to…especially since all the parts were for adults. If more shows like HSM are developed, and the rights made available to school, they’ll be a great gateway for kids and theater.
), but also Keri Russell, Ryan Gosling, and JC Chasez. (Full list.) Plus, of course, all kinds of folks who haven’t been seen since.