The Disney Channel Turns to All Members of the Family : Television: Morning is for preschoolers, afternoon for teens, but the shows grow up at night.

The Disney Channel isn’t just for kids anymore.

Of its more than 4.3 million subscribers, about 24% have no children younger than 18. Another 9% only have kids between ages 12 and 18.

“What our goal has been is to appeal to all segments of the household,” said Disney Channel president John Cooke. “If you’re really going to be a family-service channel, what ought to happen is, in the mornings, preschoolers ought to be entertained, preteens and teens in the afternoons, families from 6 to 9 p.m. and adults from 9 p.m. on.”

So the 7-year-old pay-TV service has developed a programming mix that ranges from a fashionable new “Mickey Mouse Club” to classic Hollywood films, from original TV movies and series to vintage TV spectaculars.

The Disney Channel has bolstered the ratings of its 4-6 p.m. lineup thanks to the success of the new “Mickey Mouse Club,” which began last April.

“Viewership of preteens and teens has gone up 70%,” Cooke said. “We’ve received over 60,000 letters from viewers since last April.”

The new “Mickey Mouse Club,” which airs weekdays at 5:30 p.m., is a contemporary, slicker version of the classic ‘50s series. There’s nary a set of Mouseketeer ears in sight but plenty of moussed hair and trendy gear.

Stephen Fields, senior vice president of original programming, admitted that the channel was a little nervous mounting the series because another revamped “Mickey Mouse Club” had failed in syndication a decade ago.

“I think we learned some things that they did and didn’t do,” Fields said. “Our goals were to produce a show that was very much in the spirit of the original, that respected kids, was entertaining and featured kids that kids at home could relate to. Some of the kids have little training, some have professional experience, but they’re real kids.”

Two other series aimed at youngsters are in the works for the fall. “Jim Henson’s Mother Goose,” based on the classic nursery rhymes and featuring new Jim Henson puppets, will air Saturday mornings. “Little Mermaid’s Island,” airing weekdays, will star the characters from Disney’s hit animated film and feature four new songs in each 30-minute episode.

During the 6-9 p.m. time period, the Disney Channel premieres new series, made-for-TV movies and family films, including a vintage (colorized) Shirley Temple film every month.

The service has scored great critical success with the projects of Canadian film maker Kevin Sullivan. His award-winning miniseries “Anne of Green Gables” and “Anne of Avonlea” (also seen on the Public Broadcasting Service) have proved very popular with subscribers.

“We’ve gotten a substantial number of letters from the last three years saying, ‘Please play more of “Anne of Green Gables,” please make more of “Anne of Green Gables.” ’ We found a need out there from our audience for this kind of entertainment,” Rider said.

Disney complied with its viewers’ wishes. Premiering tonight at 8 is its new weekly series “Avonlea.” Like “Anne of Green Gables” and “Anne of Avonlea,” the 13-part comedy-drama is based on the stories of Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery. (See accompanying review.)

The Disney Channel’s original movies run the gamut from heartwarming to hip. Coming March 24 is the adventure “Chips, the War Dog,” starring William Devane and Brandon Douglas. It is based on the real-life exploits of a German shepherd from Indiana who joins the service during World War II and becomes a decorated hero.

Scheduled for May is a musical, “Mother Goose Rock ‘N’ Rhyme,” starring and produced by Shelley Duvall. The musical fantasy features Ben Vereen as the Itsy Bitsy Spider, Little Richard as Old King Cole, Howie Mandel as Humpty Dumpty, Paul Simon as Simple Simon and Pia Zadora as Little Miss Muffet.

Disney veteran Hayley Mills stars in the drama “Back Home,” scheduled for June, about a mother and daughter coping with the aftermath of World War II in England. And on tap for the fall is “Little Kidnapers,” starring Charlton Heston and Bruce Greenwood, about two young orphans and their Scottish grandfather in turn-of-the-century Nova Scotia.

The Disney Channel has grown savvy in its adult programming. The channel brought humorist Garrison Keillor’s acclaimed radio show “Prairie Home Companion” to TV and has aired several more specials featuring the shy Minnesotan. Disney hopes it has found the next Keillor in National Public Radio’s Mike Feldman. The channel unveiled Feldman’s half-hour comedy series, “Whad’ya Know?,” Sunday and it continues at 9 p.m. every Sunday through March.

The channel also presented Fred Astaire’s restored Emmy Award-winning TV specials from the late ‘50s and early ‘60s and just completed a three-month run of the classic British ‘60s musical series, “Ready Steady Go!,” featuring concert footage of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Who, the Animals and the Dave Clark 5. Beginning in April, Disney will air every other month for the next two years one of Frank Sinatra’s 13 classic TV specials.

Cooke said that after the Disney Channel aired the three Astaire specials, viewers and critics stood up and took notice of its programming. “I think it was a bit of an eye opener,” he said. “People said, ‘I didn’t know the Disney Channel was doing that sort of thing.’ ”