Disney+ Debuts Vertical Micro-Dramas with ‘Locker Diaries’

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Disney+ has started releasing short, vertical videos called Locker Diaries, as announced earlier this year. These quick stories are presented as if you’re seeing them from inside a school locker. The first two episodes feature characters from the Zombies series, but future episodes will include characters from Descendants and Phineas & Ferb as well.

Besides Disney+, you can find these short videos—each under five minutes long—on Disney Channel’s official pages on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.

A Franchise Goes Vertical

The first episode centered around zombies features the return of Malachi Barton, Freya Skye, Swayam Bhatia, Julian Lerner, and Mekonnen Knife from Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires. The story follows Victor as he tries to tell Nova something important during a school dance at Shadyside, but keeps getting interrupted by their friends.

Despite being filmed in a short, boxed-in format, viewers might enjoy the inventive approach. The video, shot vertically, looks like one continuous take, even though the camera moves around a locker room during a dance. Plus, this short story manages to include both a main plot and a secondary storyline.

The first episode of the series quickly gained popularity on YouTube, reaching 187,500 views and over 8,000 likes with very few dislikes in just four days. However, the second episode, released simultaneously, hasn’t performed as well. Because comments have been disabled on the videos, it’s unclear whether the decrease in views and increase in dislikes indicate problems with the content itself, or if initial excitement is simply waning.

“Locker Diaries” isn’t the first time Disney has tried vertical video. It’s part of a bigger plan to reach viewers who are watching content in new ways.

The Habit-Forming Imperative

I got a sneak peek at what Disney’s planning at CES, and it’s all about making Disney+ a part of your everyday routine. They’ve had some good results integrating ‘Verts’ – these short-form video updates – into the ESPN app, and now they’re expanding that concept. The idea is to bring a more personalized and constantly-updated experience to Disney+, hoping to make it a place you visit every day, not just for big premieres. It sounds like they’re really focusing on making the content feel more dynamic and tailored to what you like.

Disney’s Locker Diaries is a new experiment – the company’s first try at telling fictional stories specifically designed for platforms like Instagram. Some storytellers might worry this represents a decline in quality, but it’s hard to deny the growing popularity of fiction made for mobile devices. In fact, Deadline reports that this type of short-form, vertical video storytelling was expected to be a $9.4 billion market in China last year.

According to Erin Teague, a product management executive at Disney and ESPN (and previously at YouTube), it’s crucial to reach audiences on the platforms they already use. She explained that younger generations, like Gen Z and Gen Alpha, aren’t interested in watching lengthy videos on their phones—they prefer content that fits their on-the-go lifestyles.

Teague explained that short, vertical videos are perfect for everyday viewing – they’re quick, easy to digest, and ideal for short attention spans. She believes these videos will be successful as standalone content, rather than simply promoting longer videos or shows.

Early Signals, Open Questions

As a movie and TV lover, I’m really curious to see how Disney’s Locker Diaries does. It’s aimed at Gen Z and Gen Alpha, and they’re trying something new with branded content on social media. Will these younger viewers actually connect with it? New episodes are dropping every Saturday until mid-April, and honestly, this feels like a big experiment. Can traditional storytelling survive in a world where kids are used to getting their entertainment from apps? Or will Locker Diaries actually change how franchises tell stories in the future? It’s definitely something I’ll be watching!

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2026-02-20 02:59