Following on its January announcement that it would add vertical videos to Disney+, the Disney company has released the first two episodes of Locker Diaries. The micro-dramas are framed as though the audience is looking out from inside a school locker. While the first two episodes feature characters from Zombies, the series will expand to stories with characters from Descendants and Phineas & Ferb.
In addition to Disney+, the under-five-minute videos are available on the Disney Channel YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok accounts.
A Franchise Goes Vertical
The first Zombies-focused episode has Malachi Barton, Freya Skye, Swayam Bhatia, Julian Lerner and Mekonnen Knife, reprising their roles from Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires. “During a school dance at Shadyside, Victor brings Nova to his locker to tell her something important,” the description explains. “But a series of interruptions from their friends keep delaying his confession.”
A screenshot from the trailer to Zombies 4 – YouTube, Disney Plus
While the confines of the frame and short amount of time are restrictive, fans may appreciate the creativity on display. The vertical video is edited to appear as a single shot, even as the camera moves through several lockers during a dance sequence. Meanwhile, the micro-drama manages to have a plot and a subplot.
Four days after being posted on YouTube, the first episode had 187,500 views, with over 8,000 upvotes and only six downvotes. However, the second episode, which was released on the same day, has fewer views and more downvotes. Comments are turned off for the YouTube videos, leaving open the question of whether the drop reflects content issues or the novelty beginning to taper off.
Title card for Locker Diaries: Zombies – Disney Channel, YouTube
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Locker Diaries is not Disney’s first experiment with vertical video. It signals a wider corporate strategy to capture a changing audience.
The Habit-Forming Imperative
At its Tech + Data Showcase at CES in Las Vegas, the company said the move follows the successful launch of “Verts” within the ESPN app. “The experience will evolve as it expands across news and entertainment and delivers a more personalized, dynamic experience that reinforces Disney+ as a must-visit daily destination.”
That said, Locker Diaries is Disney’s first attempt at fictional narratives in an Instagram-friendly format. While traditionalists may see it as a loss to the art of storytelling, the broader shift toward mobile-first fiction is difficult to ignore. Deadline reports that mobile-first, vertically shot episodic storytelling was projected to surpass $9.4B in China last year.
The logo for Disney+ – YouTube, Disney+
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Erin Teague, EVP of Product Management for Disney Entertainment and ESPN—and a former YouTube executive—said “the most important thing is to meet people where they are.” She added, “This is what Gen Z and Gen Alpha are expecting. They are not necessarily thinking about sitting down, watching a long-form, two-and-a-half hour piece of content on their phones.”
Teague went on to say that “vertical videos are really great as daily habits. Snackable, short, bite-sized experiences.” She added that these videos won’t serve as advertisements for long-form entertainment, and will stand on their own.
Early Signals, Open Questions
It is still too early to say if the Gen Z and Gen Alpha target audience for Locker Diaries will embrace branded content in a social media format. New episodes will be released every Saturday through mid-April across the Disney platforms. For now, Locker Diaries stands as a test case in whether legacy storytelling can adapt to a generation raised on apps—or whether the format itself will begin to redefine what franchise storytelling looks like.
What do you think of Disney’s move into vertical micro-dramas? Let us know in the comments!
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