The Zombies franchise has become a modern Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM) staple. Being mentioned in the same breath as seminal cinema, such as the Camp Rock duology, High School Musical trilogy, and Halloweentown tetralogy is no small feat. Zombies, thus, must have done something special upon its debut in 2018 to breakthrough and resonate so widely with an entire generation of children (and seemingly adults).
A rather typical Romeo and Juliet story on the surface, the Zombies films primarily center on the star-crossed romance between human cheerleader Addison (Meg Donnelly) and zombie Zed (Milo Manheim). Underneath the Zombies movies’ colorful, musical facade, however, is a rather blatant and layered allegory for marginalization, assimilation, and generally xenophobia. Zombies (2018), specifically, delivers a nuanced and important message in a way that is understandable, palatable, and fun for kids.
Zombies
- Release Date
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February 16, 2018
- Runtime
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94 minutes
- Director
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Paul Hoen
What Happens in ‘Zombies’?
At the time of writing this article, there are four movies in the Zombies franchise. The latest installment, Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires, was released on July 10, 2025. While all the Zombies movies deliver on their promise of songs and salience, the first movie, simply and effectively titled Zombies, is the most fundamental in its political messaging. While this article only examines Zombies, just know that the sociopolitical metaphors behind any of them could be analyzed (even Zombies 3, when they fight aliens).
Zombies (2018) begins with a comic-book-style introduction in which the Seabrook community basically give us the lowdown through narration. Seabrook is a perfect, cookie-cutter, suburban town where everyone looks the same, does the same things, and has the same conventional hair colors (if you know, you know). Fifty years ago, there was an explosion at the power plant that turned half of Seabrook into zombies. How did the unexposed half of Seabrook respond? They built a wall (gasp). Now, there is Seabrook, and there is Zombietown. One is idyllic, and one is like if you lived in a giant skate park (which in a Disney Channel movie is a recession indicator).

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However, the government in this universe has innovation that excites, so they invent bracelets called “Z-bands.” If zombies are wearing Z-bands, they can be controlled in a variety of ways through electromagnetic pulses. Most importantly, the Z-bands stop them from craving brains. As part of a new “social integration progra,” the zombies are invited to start attending Seabrook High with all the “normal” human kids. This is obviously not an easy adjustment for anyone to make. The zombies are policed under a watchful eye by the Zombie Patrol while they attempt to adjust to Seabrook student life. They are mostly kept separated from the other students, put in subpar educational circumstances, and forced to wear government-issued outfits.
Soon, Zed, a well-meaning zombie boy, crosses paths with the chief of the Zombie Patrol’s daughter, Addison. The two are instantly smitten. They sing a banger duet called “Someday.” Clearly, Zed and Addison have to keep their love a secret from all but their zombie allies, Bonzo and Eliza. One day, after Addison is caught by the Zompie Patrol at a Zombie Party in the Zombiepark (it feels like they could have maybe thought of some other names for stuff, but maybe that’s part of the profundity), her parents forbid her from seeing her Zombie crush anymore. That is when, through Eliza’s manipulation of his Z-band, Zed shows up at Addison’s doorstep looking human.
As the rest of Zombies’ plot unfolds, Addison encourages Zed not to make himself any less zombie on her behalf. Together, they must educate all of Seabrook on the power of embracing their differences and general togetherness. Throughout the plot, the zombies are treated as less than because of their identity. They are born with economic disadvantages, experience the effects of stereotypes, and must work ten times harder to find any way out of their circumstances. They frequently have to literally code switch on their Z-bands in order to integrate into Seabrook.

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While Zombies seems to be a catch-all metaphor for all marginalized groups (you could argue it is about the LGBTQ+ experience, racism, people have argued it all), and most of the zombies are played by white actors (as are the two leads), the emotional message lands because it is simple. A tale as old as time, it is a whimsical representation of two segregated groups learning to accept each other.
It is the specific way that Zombies goes about delivering its message that has struck so many, and that makes it an especially surprisingly politically-charged Disney film. There is incredibly radical language throughout Zombies, as characters discuss rebellion, trailblazing, and the status quo using modern buzzwords. In fact, it is impossible to watch Zombies and not interpret it as a story about otherness. By the end, Zed and Addison’s love has shown everyone that zombies and humans can peacefully co-exist and even enjoy a cool Zombie block party together. As a crash course to each of these elevated concepts that is digestible to children, Zombies works.
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