The Thirteenth Year -

: Cody Griffin, an adopted teen and star swimmer, begins experiencing bizarre changes on his 13th birthday.

: The film uses the fantastical premise of a boy turning into a merman to serve as a poignant, if sometimes literal, allegory for the physical and emotional turbulence of puberty. II. Plot Summary: The "Mer-Boy" Mystery The Thirteenth Year

: Released on May 15, 1999, The Thirteenth Year was one of the early fantasy-driven DCOMs that defined a generation. : Cody Griffin, an adopted teen and star

: Cody eventually discovers his birth mother is a mermaid. After a dramatic rescue, Cody decides to spend time at sea with her to learn about his true nature, with a "co-parenting" agreement that he returns for school in the fall. III. Thematic Analysis 16 Disney Channel Movies That We All Almost Forgot About Plot Summary: The "Mer-Boy" Mystery : Released on

: Cody must hide these changes from his peers and a local fisherman, Big John Wheatley, who is obsessed with proving mermaids exist. He enlists the help of his "nerdy" classmate, Jess, whose father happens to be the obsessed fisherman.

: Symptoms include an unquenchable thirst, sticking to objects (like milk cartons), generating electricity, and growing scales when wet.