It’s hard for many of us to believe that 2001 was an entire 20 YEARS AGO! The early ’00s seem like they were just yesterday, and many of us still remember a lot of the movies and television from the time.
So, while it might make us feel old, it’s always fun to take a trip down memory lane and think about some of our favorite pieces of media from when the new millennium just began.
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Here are 10+ TV shows and movies turning 20 this year.
*Legally Blonde*
While Millenials looked back on films from the ’80s as vintage and cool, Legally Blonde is probably seen the same way by today’s teens.
This iconic and hilarious movie seems like it should only be ten years old, but nope, its theatrical release was the summer of 2001.
*Monsters, Inc.*
Pixar has had many successful and lovable films over the years, but one of the most well-known and loved is definitely Monsters, Inc.
Surprisingly, it’s nearly twenty years old which is really just hard to believe. Time goes by too fast.
*The Fast and the Furious*
There are over a dozen sequels in this franchise, so it’s not as if it’s a thing of the past.
However, the original that started it all came out in the summer of 2021. It definitely sparked a huge fan base.
*Scrubs*
Scrubs was the hilarious hospital show that everyone loved, and it was a great riff off of more traditional, serious hospital procedurals.
It started in the fall of 2001 and ended in 2010 after nine seasons and nearly 200 episodes.
*The Wedding Planner*
This iconic rom-com stars two people who are known for the genre in the early ’00s: Jennifer Lopez and Mathew McConaughey.
While it’s filled with tropes like how the main character is a wedding planner but can’t find true love, it’s still a fun example of the genre.
*Moulin Rouge!*
Anyone who loves musicals definitely knows how iconic this movie is, and with stars like Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor, it was both fun and campy.
It’s hard to believe it’s twenty years old, and it just goes to show how these two actors have had such amazing careers.
*Lizzie McGuire*
For many Millenials, watching Hillary Duff in this role was a huge part of our adolescence.
Sadly, while many of us were looking forward to a reboot for Disney+, it has since been canceled. So, for now, we will just have to remember the show fondly.
*24*
The first episode of this acton series premiered in November of 2001, so it’s still got a little ways to go before it reaches 20 years.
The thing that set this show apart was that each episode told the story of one hour in the life of Jack Bauer.
*The Princess Diaries*
Anne Hathaway made us all fall in love with the Princess of Genovia nearly twenty years ago.
This heartwarming movie was well-loved by many, and Julie Andrews as the Queen of Genovia was a great casting choice.
Seems like our youth really is over!
*Shrek*
Shrek is such a big part of pop culture even today, so it seems like it was released a lot more recently than it was.
While there were multiple other sequels and even a musical, the original film was released in May of 2001.
*The Proud Family*
The Proud Family was one of the Disney Channel’s best animated series, and sadly it only had two seasons.
The first season premiered in the fall of 2001, and the final episode aired in 2005.
This is a series we definitely needed more of.
*Smallville*
This was a really long-running television show with ten seasons. It lasted until 2011 which makes it seem fairly recent, but the first episode actually premiered in the fall of 2001.
While it might not hold up to some of the superhero TV shows today, it was a big deal at the time.
*Bridget Jones’s Diary*
Bridget Jones’s Diary is the messy British rom-com that many people absolutely adore, but it released in theaters back in the spring of 2001.
But, it does seem more recent given that the last sequel, Bridget Jones’s Baby came out in 2016.
*Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone*
This one might sting a little for many of us Harry Potter was such a huge part of growing up for many adults today, and it’s wild to think the first movie was released twenty years ago now.
This means it can nearly be considered a classic now.
*The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring*
This is another shocking inclusion on this list similar to Harry Potter.
This is another franchise that defined the nerds of our generation, and now it’s nearly old enough to legally drink.
However, whether it was made twenty years ago or not, it will always be well-loved.
