User Reviews

The Thirteenth Year is a very entertaining Disney Channel movie. It is definitely not of one of Disney Channel's best, but it's OK. One thing that was a negative was the acting and dialog. I know this is a Disney movie, but the acting is very unbelievable at times, especially by the main character, Cody. The chemistry between the mermaid mother and Cody also felt kind of awkward. The dialog is also cheesy at time, but this is expected. But on the good side the makeup of the mermaid was very nice though and was a big plus. The story is entertaining and sure to keep you interested. and overall the good outweighs the bad. The Thirteenth Year isn't amazing but a really entertaining flick. Enjoy.

Young Chez Starbuck is going through one interesting puberty, in his 13th year he's starting to grow fish scales and fins, especially when he's in the water. Which being a junior high school swimming champion he's in the water a lot.

It turns out that he was adopted, a baby left on his parent's boat, they run water tours from their sleepy Pacific coast village. The only one who young Chez can confide in is his friend Justin Jon Ross whose dad is the local eccentric and runs a salvage business. The dad is played by Brent Briscoe and he's seen mermaids in the harbor and has even done research on the subject, though where he would have got it, God only knows.

Disney channel features aren't any competition for Gone With The Wind or The Godfather, but The Thirteenth Year is definitely one of the silliest on record. There are so many holes in the plot on this one, I gave up counting. But I doubt this is the typical experience for MerMen in any case. Just why the infant that grew up to be Chez Starbuck was left on the boat was left unexplained.

I'm not sure I want to find out.

For reasons not entirely clear, a beautiful mermaid leaves her baby son with a goofy boater; happily, a nice couple picks him up instead. In this story, mermaids get fishy when they reach that certain age. Thirteen years later, the baby boy grows into typical teenager Chez Starbuck (as Cody). He takes an advanced swim class (the team looks high school), competes with Tim Redwine (as Sean), and gets a birthday kiss from Courtnee Draper (as Sam). Then, young Starbuck's palms get sticky. He makes friends with lonely nerd Justin Jon Ross (as Jess), who helps him in biology; in return, Starbuck promises he will teach young Ross to swim. Then, Starbuck's hands sprout scales... Cute.

**** The Thirteenth Year (5/15/99) Duwayne Dunham ~ Chez Starbuck, Justin Jon Ross, Tim Redwine

Chez Starbuck is very appealing as Cody who is the son of a mermaid. He is raised by humans on land and thus doesn't realize his real heritage. But when he reaches puberty in his 13th year, instead of hair, he starts growing fins and scales on his arms and legs.

The film is a cute metaphor about puberty and being different. All people experience the feeling of anxiety over physical and spiritual changes in their lives just as Cody does in the story. In addition, the fact that the boy realizes that he is half fish is a metaphor for the human connection with the ecosystem around us. We are part of nature, and nature is a part of us. We, like the boy, must surrender to this connection and live in harmony.

The plot is open ended, leaving the possibility that it could be followed by another film or possibly a TV series. Judging from the fact that the film is better than average as a TV-movie, I look forward to seeing the story continue. Stay wet, Cody!

When I was youngster about 8 years ago I thought this movie was quite good. Being young and naive I had not noticed how horrid the acting was. I will give props to Dave and Lisa for saving the film from totally falling apart. Chez Starbuck however was the most negative part of the movie. He was unbelievable and when he spoke it felt as if he was reading off the script. Like his show RECIPE FOR DISASTER he made a possibly enjoyable film very hard to watch. Every time he spoke made more of a reason for me to hate this film. The only enjoyable part of the movie was the first two minutes where Chez was not present. Although from Disney standards it was OK I was very disatisfied. I would rate this four out of 10. I don't however discourage people from watching it if they honestly are bored ........who needs sleeping pills when you can watch a movie that will put you asleep.

i remember watching this on Disney channel years ago. i feel in love with it and to this day still enjoy watching it. if you want a family movie that has a great story line this is the movie for you. from the beginning of the movie you are immediately drawn into the movie. as the movie continues you want to watch more and more of it. when i first watched this movie years ago all i wanted was to have a sequel made so i can watch it everyday, but now i am glad that Disney channel did not make a sequel. this movie has it all for a family movie a great story for the parents to enjoy, mermaids and other stories for the kids. if you really enjoy this movie when you are done and want another Disney classic i would recommend luck of the Irish or cadet Kelly.

It seems like Disney tossed together a bunch of old scripts and hoped gold would pop out.

I expect better from Disney.

I think many young fans will like this but will feel disappointed when years later the watch the movie the remembered so fondly.

It seems like Disney figured the Disney name would bring enough people in but the movie can not hide the fact no effort was put into it other than some of the makeup effects.I also doubt parents can sit through this the way the can with so many other quality Disney offerings.

I would avoid this movie.

There are so many other Disney movies the whole family can enjoy.

Even a Disney live action movie like THAT DARN CAT holds up better than this

If you want to introduce the kids to excellent Disney fare watch a classic like Dumbo

A friend sent me this movie because we both like mermaids. I thought it would suck, but I loved it! If there are any mermaid fans out there, you know how hard it can be to find mermaid videos without any porn. This is a great movie for teens especially who have an interest in movies. Plus the guy who plays Cody is kind of cute!!! Also if you've ever watched Full House you will reconize the father. Its Joey and he is really good in it. Now mind you, hes not as funny as when he was on Full House, but hes still pretty good.

This movie is a rip-off to The Little Mermaid one of the best Disney movies from the renaissance era (1989-1999) which are The Rescuers Down Under, Beauty And The Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, Pocahontas, The Hunchback Of Notre Dame, Hercules, Mulan and Tarzan and this is one of the worst movies from Disney Channel along with the Kim Possible (2019) live action remake and Teen Beach, this is one of the worst mermaid movies along with The Little Mermaid 3: Ariel's Beginning and the main character named Cody not to be confused with Cody ( Sml), Cody (Total Drama), Cody (The Rescuers Down Under) and Cody ( The Suite Life Of Zack And Cody), i would fish him out of the water and attack him so i can add him to a collection or museum so he can be chopped.

For some reason I didnt cry at the ending this time as i did as a young child when I first saw this around 2006-2008. It was a re run during the golden age of Disney Channel. I forgot that dave coulier (joey from full house) was in this tv made film. I knew Justin Jon Ross looked familiar he was in little giants (1994) (another film from my youth.) he stopped .stopped acting in the 2000s. The film its self is mediocre at best but yes it is nostalgia. The one line that did get me was the snacks line at the start of the film. Courtnee Draper is doing films and i think she did an anime dub film not too much into anime so im not sure what part she got in the film. In this film she acted good but what do you expect from a tv film.

The Thirteenth Year was cool funny sad a little happy i loved when he turned into a full mermaid it was to cool the fish parts look so real the movie itself was so funny i just loved it i want to with it over again couldn't do any better it was excellent it had a lot of adventures funny parts i gave it a ten out of ten for best movie i ever saw it was funny cute sweet funny a little bit sad at the being lots of adventures sweet and fishy ha funny cool The Thirteenth Year was cool funny sad a little happy i loved when he turned into a full mermaid it was to cool the fish parts look so real the movie itself was so funny i just loved it i want to with it over again couldn't do any better it was excellent it had a lot of adventures funny parts i gave it a ten out of ten for best movie i ever saw it was funny cute sweet funny a little bit sad at the being lots of adventures sweet and fishy ha funny cool The Thirteenth Year was cool funny sad a little happy i loved when he turned into a full mermaid it was to cool the fish parts look so real the movie itself was so funny i just loved it i want to with it over again couldn't do any better it was excellent it had a lot of adventures funny parts i gave it a ten out of ten for best movie i ever saw it was funny cute sweet funny a little bit sad at the being lots of adventures sweet and fishy ha funny cool.

i love this movie!! i love mermaids/mermen, they are so cool. but what i really wish is that there would be a second movie. it would be that he comes back after a couple years and visits his family but then (that guy who was being mean to Cody in school and they got in a fight)he got suspicious that he did not come to school again and started to find out and then something bad happens but i still have to make up that part.....but anyway i think you should make a second movie. i would appreciate if you wrote back about my idea but since their are probably thousands of people writing to you i under stand if you do not write back. thank you!

This was a great movie about a boy (Cody) on his 13th birthday, discovers he is slowly turning into a MerMan!. Great casting, Excellent Story & Great special Effects!!! Great for Children and Adults. Featuring the "Full House" comedian Dave Coulier!

I saw this movie on Disney channel and it was by far the best Disney movie i've ever seen!!!! I love to swim and thats why i loved this movie. The thirteenth year teaches kids to believe in the ordinarier such as mermaids and other things like that. He has always known he was adopted but it's not until he turns thirteen that strange and unexplainable things start happening to him when he gets in the water! This is what causes him to ask about his birth mother. I really want this movie to return to the Disney Channel because my friends have no idea what I'm talking about when I talk about The Thirteenth Year. I also would love the see it again but I cannot buy it or rent it. PLEASE show it again!!!!! Thank you!

This is one of the movies that I can picture myself acting in. I have always wanted to be an actor, but I doubt I will make the big-time. This is one of those movies that has little to work with as far as budget, but it is still very enjoyable. I watched it on a lazy spring afternoon. I would love to learn more about the teenage actors in this movie. The story is original, the acting is decent, and it is just a good, solid movie. It marks the debut of Chez Starbuck, and he does a solid job as Cody Griffin. I hope Chez can move on to a nice acting career. Justin Jon Ross plays Jess, and he is a very memorable character. Dave Coulier, of Full House fame, plays Cody's father. He was the biggest name in this movie, and he did not disappoint.

it's about the little mermaid but as a boy. This is a family show with Dave Coulier from Full House and a beautiful mermaid looking for her son after 13 years. The adopted mother is behind the times and sorta fishy in the brains. This is a movie for those who don't mind being offended about gils and water. This movie is a fair movie but worth watching. I give it a 7/10 stars.

I really like this movie. Believe it or not, I actually kind of teared up. Although this is one of my favorite Disney movies, I have to say that the acting is decent, but it could have been better. Another problem though, WHEN YOU TURN 13 YOU ARE ACTUALLY STARTING YOUR 14TH YEAR. I think the writers should have picked this up. Like, on your first year, you are zero, when you turn one its your second year, and so on. That means that on your thirteenth year, you are actually 14. Also, the fins on his legs look really fake. I have a question. Are we supposed to like Big John? I never really figured that out. Some parts he is good and some he is bad.

I had heard about this movie like last year some time, but never bothered to watch it, or make an attempt to see any of it. Disney Movies, normally aren't too interesting to me, only cause I'm older than the subject matter. However, since my daughter has really taken to Playhouse Disney, we watch Disney alot more.

I'm 24 and found this movie to be a little older than it was portrayed...Not by much. The actor (Chex Starbuck), playing cody is almost 20, and he is playing a 13 year old. He does look the part; though. I found his acting to be fairly good as far as child actors go. Disney Channel movie typically have less than great young actors...With only a few really good one: (Ryan Merriman being one of them..A good one that is). Courtnee Draper (Sam), was also good, however, she tends to do this thing with her eyes in more dramatic scene's, and it is obvious she doesn't mean to do this....Kinda like George Clooney's lowering his brow thing (off the topic, nevermind). Dave Coulier was surprisingly good. I hated his character of Joey on Full House, and found him a better actor when not acting like a moron and a concerned father instead... a good switch....

I do feel a sequel is in order, and hope that The Disney Channel also feels that way. I am willing to write something for submission. After watching this movie yesterday, I have a few ideas. I love the fact of a MerMan and not a Mermaid theme...There are possiblities. And the Swimming aspect. I was a pro swimmer for 9 years on a league, so i could relate to the character of Cody. I never got into the Speedo thing though...That wasn't me!

Overall not a bad offering from Diseny channel....Still want a Sequel, though. I liked the characters enough to watch them again.

8 Out of 10

Hey I remember turning on TDC and before I knew it I saw this kid that was in my Eighth grade Science and Math classes a couple years ago. He was a cool kid but I didn't expect this. I enjoyed the movie overall. Chez surpassed my expectations especially for a Disney channel original movie and a hometown kid. ***.5 /****.

I just saw The Thirteenth Year on the Disney channel and I thought it was really good. I especially liked Cody(Chez Starbuck) He's really cute! Well just wanted to give my opinion about the movie. Hope everyone liked it too.

I first saw this movie on Family, and loved it. It is a wonderful work of Disney. The first time I saw it, (and the second and third times), I cried at the end. It was just one of those movies that I couldn't help but like. I've always been checking the movie listings waiting for it to come on again. I think it is a very good movie, and nothing can change my opinion.

This movie is so corny and the plot is awful. A kid leaving his parents because he turned into a fish. Come on! You can't leave your parents because of that dumb reason. You can leave your parents until you are an Adult. Not a kid. Why didn't they leave with his parents the way that he is. Why can't they get a pool, so he can live in there. It must be the stupid storyline.

Let's face it, kiddies. This movie sucks!!!!!

1/2*