Disney Channel has been a major part of the world's adolescence for generations through its iconic DCOMs, memorable music videos, and sitcoms the entire family could enjoy. Whether it was animated or live-action, Disney Channel shows taught children and teens the value of family, the importance of friendship, and so much more while also being comical.

RELATED: Which Classic Disney Channel Character Are You, According To Your Zodiac

But there were a few times these shows focused less on the funny and more on the seriousness of topics like prejudice, illness, coming out, and aspects of growing up that youngsters should see represented by their favorite Disney characters on TV.

The Suite Life Of Zack And Cody Tackled Dyslexia

Dylan Sprouse On The Suite Life Of Zack And Cody

While The Suite Life of Zack and Cody was known for its silliness and hijinks, the show also showcased some series topics during its three-season run. Along with divorced parents and the real meaning of PRNDL, one of the show's most famous episodes centered around the struggles of dyslexia.

RELATED: Celebs You Forgot Guest Starred On 'Suite Life Of Zack And Cody'

While some praised the show for the representation, others reprimanded them for being insensitive, due to Dylan Sprouse's portrayal of a dyslexic person when his character was not dyslexic. The backlash led to the channel taking the episode off the air, and "Smart and Smarterer" is even missing from Disney+.

That's So Raven Tackled Racism

That's So Raven

That's So Raven wasn't just a fan-favorite for its hysterical cast, but for its determination to be inclusive and represent all people, no matter their shape, size, or color. In the Season 3 episode perfectly titled "True Colors," Raven becomes the victim of racism in the workplace when the white manager of a clothing store hires Chelsea over Raven, despite Chelsea tanking her interview while Raven shined.

As usual, Raven and her friends perform antics to expose the manager's racism, who later gets fired from the store. The episode aired on February 4, 2005, as part of Black History Month, which also featured Cory learning about Black History in a side story.

Hannah Montana (Tried To) Tackle Diabetes

Mitchel Musso On Hannah Montana

The second season finale of Hannah Montana was supposed to center around Miley's friend Oliver being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. In the unaired episode "No Sugar, Sugar," Miley and Lilly inadvertently take Oliver to a candy-themed birthday party, which tempts the teen to eat the sugary treats despite his diagnosis.

RELATED: Celebs You Forgot Guest-Starred On 'Hannah Montana'

However, when the group Children with Diabetes got to see a sneak peek of the episode, parents became furious with the show's portrayal of a Type 1 diabetic and their lack of research on the illness revolving around sugar intake, causing Disney to pull the episode before it ever aired. The episode was later reworked for Season 3, where Oliver explains that as long as he routinely checks his blood sugar levels, he can have sugar.

Andi Mack Tackled Coming Out

Andi Mack

Andi Mack broke a lot of barriers in its three seasons — the first teen lead actress to rock a pixie cut (it's true, the channel was hesitant over this), Jewish faith, soap opera-like family drama, and most notably, the channel's first-ever coming out storyline. The coming out story, in particular, was groundbreaking for being, well, the channel's first and only since the Andi Mack episode in 2018.

RELATED: LGBTQ+ Films To Anticipate In 2022

Although one conservative group accused Disney Channel of "abandoning family-friendly entertainment," the show was mostly applauded for the progression it brought to the network and even earned them a GLAAD Award in 2018.

Lizzie McGuire Tackled Bras

Lizzie McGuire

This may sound more silly than serious, but any pre-teen about to enter the world of bras in the early 2000s is incredibly grateful for Lizzie McGuire's courageousness to air something that the channel originally considered too taboo for its audience. The Season 1 episode follows Lizzie and Miranda as the 13-year-olds shop for bras for the very first time.

It was revealed in 2020 when the entire Lizzie McGuire cast reunited virtually to do a table read of the episode that the Disney Channel heads at the time were so hesitant of the story, they told the show they could only say the word 'bra' twice and could never actually show one.

Good Luck Charlie Tackled Same-Sex Parents

Good Luck Charlie

Good Luck Charlie was your typical Disney sitcom with its ensemble cast and mix of child and adult humor; in other words, it was a show the whole family could enjoy. Yet it still came as a shock to its audience when the show featured an entire storyline centered around same-sex parents.

It marked the first time the channel dipped their toes into featuring LGBTQ+ characters, and while Charlie's friend's two moms caused some typical sitcom confusion at first, Charlie's parents quickly came to understand and accept the couple.

Girl Meets World Tackled Autism

Girl Meets World

While Disney Channel has been an advocate for autistic representation for decades — from a 2002 DCOM starring Shia LaBeouf to Disney Junior's Fancy Nancy dedicating an entire episode to Nancy learning about autism for World Autism Awareness Day in 2020 — it was most notable when the usually-silly Girl Meets World took on a much more serious topic than the audience was used to.

But when Farkle, the son of Boy Meets World's Minkus, learns he may have Aspergers, the show is still raising some eyebrows to this day with the way it portrayed Farkle's friends shutting him down, telling him there's no way he's on the spectrum, rather than supporting him.

The Proud Family Tackled Muslim Representation

The Proud Family

Disney Channel's animated series The Proud Family - which already centers around a black family - took the discussions of race up a notch when they aired an episode all about Muslim American culture. For a school assignment, Penny lives with a Pakistani Muslim American family for one week, where she learns all about their background and celebrates Ramadan.

RELATED: 'The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder' Trailer Brings Disney's Favorite Family Back and Better Than Ever

While the episode was considered by many to be good representation in the early 2000s, it didn't age well, being called Islamophobic and stereotypical by viewers nearly two decades after it first aired.

Austin And Ally Tackled Cyber-Bully

Austin And Ally

Airing in the mid-2010s, it's perfectly understandable that instead of focusing on things like puberty or illness, Austin and Ally got the chance to showcase a newer issue in the world of teens: cyber-bullying. In the Season 3 episode, when Trish beats out other students for the part of Sleeping Beauty in the school play, she's hit with online attacks about her appearance.

The episode perfectly depicts a teen who pretends they're not letting the bullies get to them, then secretly sits alone in the stairwell and cries to herself over the bullying. This episode ended with a PSA on bullying from the four main stars.

That's So Raven, The Suite Life Tackled Body Image

Suite Life of Zack And Cody

Both That's So Raven and The Suite Life of Zack and Cody had respectful episodes where its main characters dealt with body image issues. In That's So Raven, Raven becomes the victim of photo-shopping and eventually stands up (and walks down a runway, for that matter) for herself and her body. On The Suite Life, not only did they tackle body image from the perspective of London's overexercising because she feels she's too heavy, but also of Maddie's over-eating because she feels she's too skinny.

Interestingly, these episodes came before the channel experienced a scandal brought on by former Disney Channel star Demi Lovato, who tweeted their disgust over the channel allowing a flippant joke about anorexia to air on an episode of 2010's Shake It Up.

NEXT: The Best Shows on Disney+ Right Now