The Cheetah Girls (film)

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The Cheetah Girls
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Based on	The Cheetah Girls by Deborah Gregory
Written by	Alison Taylor
Directed by	Oz Scott
Starring	Raven-Symoné Adrienne Bailon Sabrina Bryan Kiely Williams
Music by	John Van Tongeren
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
Production
Producer(s)	Whitney Houston Debra Martin Chase Jacqueline George
Cinematography	Derick V. Underschultz
Editor(s)	Terry Stokes Debra Light
Running time	93 minutes
Production company(s)	Brownhouse Productions Martin Chase Productions
Distributor	Disney–ABC Domestic Television
Release
Original network	Disney Channel
Original release	August 15, 2003
Chronology
Followed by	The Cheetah Girls 2

The Cheetah Girls is a 2003 television film based on the book series of the same name by Deborah Gregory.

Plot

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Four teen girls in Manhattan - Galleria, Chanel, Dorinda, and Aqua - perform at a children's birthday party as The Cheetah Girls. During the performance, several mistakes occur, including stumbles from Aqua and Dorinda. While they feel a bit discouraged, Galleria is there to provide encouragement and remind the girls of their dreams of stardom. After the performance, Chanel rushes home to tell her mother about the show, but her mother is too busy preparing for a date with her new Parisian boyfriend to pay attention. Galleria comes home to her parents who chastise her for not taking phone messages for her mother or walking their Bichon Frise dog, Toto. While it is clear that Galleria's parents are supportive, they also wish that Galleria was more focused. Meanwhile, Dorinda must hurry off to her job, which is revealed to be janitorial work at a community center.
The Cheetah Girls' school, where they hope to become the first freshmen to win the talent show in the school's history. After a successful audition for the talent show, a famous alumnus of the school - Jackal Johnson - expresses interest in signing The Cheetah Girls to his record label. In front of the rest of the girls, Galleria introduces herself as the founder and songwriter of The Cheetah Girls, which is not appreciated by the group's other members. While Galleria's mother, Dorothea, is initially hesitant to let The Cheetah Girls pursue the opportunity with Jackal, she eventually allows the girls to have a meeting after being encouraged by Galleria's father.
The meeting is a success, and despite some ongoing concerns from Dorothea, the girls begin to prepare to record their first song. This success leads to arrogance from Galleria, who begins to exhibit some troubling behaviors. She suggests that The Cheetah Girls are already too good to make time for the talent show without asking the group's other members for opinions, and she criticizes Dorinda for repeatedly wearing the same dull clothing. Aqua encourages Chanel, Galleria's oldest friend, to speak to Galleria before things get worse. Meanwhile, Dorinda has the opportunity to work a dance audition at the center where she is employed. Surprisingly, she is offered a paying role because of her work, but taking on the role would require her to leave the Cheetah Girls.
Later, Chanel becomes distressed after overhearing a voicemail suggesting that her mother was planning to sell their New York apartment to move to Paris with her boyfriend. Feeling neglected, Chanel takes advantage of having her mother's credit card to go on a shopping spree. In an act of kindness, Chanel purchases a cheetah jacket for Dorinda. This leads to the discovery that Dorinda is not as wealthy as she pretended to be. Instead of being a tenant at a nice apartment with a doorman, she is a poor foster child who lives in a 10-child household with a mother whose husband is a superintendent for the building. Chanel assures Dorinda that she is Cheetah Girl for life because of who she is on the inside despite of her monetary troubles.
At the next meeting between The Cheetah Girls and Jackal Johnson, Jackal reveals that a marketing team has developed a new image for the group that will require them to wear masks and lip sync. Galleria is devastated by this and declares that The Cheetah Girls refuse the offer, but the other girls stay behind due to their frustrations with Galleria's increasingly bad attitude. Galleria leaves under the impression that the other Cheetah Girls have taken the deal.
Things get worse for Chanel when she arrives home and learns that her mother's credit card has been declined and that therefore, her mother knows about the shopping spree. However, Chanel breaks down after thinking about how grateful she is for her mother given Dorinda's current status as a foster child, and Chanel's mother agrees to make more time for her daughter.
When things are at their worst among the 4 friends, Galleria's dog Toto falls into an obstruction on the Manhattan streets. This attracts a great deal of attention, including a live news story, which alerts all four Cheetah Girls members about what is going on and causes them to come to Toto's rescue. Ultimately, only their singing can calm Toto down and allow for his safe removal from the obstruction. This act of bonding ultimately causes the girls to repair their friendship, and they go on to sing a new song on the news for all of New York to see. Jackal Johnson immediately regrets trying to change The Cheetah Girls after seeing how talented and appreciated they are, but The Cheetah Girls refuse an offer with him. In a surprise twist, because the director of the talent show has also come to check on Toto, The Cheetah Girls end up winning the talent show, and the girls renew their commitment to achieving their dreams and maintaining their friendship.

Cast

Main cast

Raven-Symoné - Galleria Garibaldi, also known as Bubbles
Adrienne Bailon - Chanel Simmons, also known as Chuchie
Sabrina Bryan - Dorinda Thomas, also known as Do
Kiely Williams - Aquanetta Walker, also known as Aqua

Supporting cast

Lynn Whitfield - Dorothea Garibaldi, Galleria's mother
Juan Chioran - Francobollo Garibaldi, Galleria's father
Lori Anne Alter as Juanita Simmons, Chanel's mother
Vince Corazza - Jackal Johnson, a record producer and the film's antagonist
Kyle Schmid - Derek, Galleria's love interest
Kyle Saunders - Pucci Simmons (Chanel's little brother)
Ennis Esmer - Rick (Comedian)
Johnie Chase - Doorman
Kim Roberts - Mrs. Bosco (Dorinda's foster mom)
Sandra Caldwell - Drinka Champane

Production

The film was directed by Oz Scott and produced by Whitney Houston, Debra Martin Chase and Co Producer Cheryl Hill. The script was written by Alison Taylor and the music was composed by John Van Tongeren and Mark Mothersbaugh. It was shot during October and November 2002 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and Manhattan, New York City, New York.

Soundtrack

An original motion picture soundtrack containing songs from and inspired by the film was released on August 12, 2003 by Walt Disney Records and Columbia Records. The soundtrack went to #33 on the Billboard 200 and was certified Double Platinum.

Awards

2004 - Nominated; Black Reel: Television Best Actress (Raven-Symoné)
2004 - Nominated; Black Reel: Television Best Supporting Actress (Lynn Whitfield)
2004 - Nominated; DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children's Programs (Oz Scott)
2004 - Nominated; Image Award for Outstanding Performance in a Youth/Children's Program (Lynn Whitfield)
2012 - Nominated; Vision Award for Best Dramatic Performance (Lynn Whitfield)

Reception

The movie premiered with 6.5 million viewers. The DVD sold 800,000 copies.^[1]

Video games

The Cheetah Girls was released in 2006 by Disney for Game Boy Advance.
The Cheetah Girls: Pop Star Sensations was released in 2007 by Disney for Nintendo DS.
The Cheetah Girls: Passport to Stardom was released in 2008 by Disney for Nintendo DS

Film sequels

The Cheetah Girls 2 was released August 25, 2006.

The sequel is about a talented teen quartet who take a whirlwind tour of Spain to pursue their dreams of pop superstardom. Its premiere received a total of over 8.1 million viewers."The Party's Just Begun" at a Graduation Party for the Manhattan Magnet's Class of 2006. While having a sleep-over at Galleria's, Chanel tells the girls that her mother, Juanita, is planning a trip to Barcelona, Spain, where they will be visiting Luc, Juanita's boyfriend. Chanel is upset and does not want to see Luc, while the other girls are upset about being separated for the summer. Aqua sees a shooting star, and the girls make a wish together-to go to Spain with Chanel. Right after that, they find an article in a magazine advertising a music competition there and decide to enter. The whole movie is shot in Barcelona, Spain, including the parts that took place in New York City.

The Cheetah Girls: One World, was released August 22, 2008

With Galleria at college in Spain, Chanel (Adrienne Bailon), Dorinda (Sabrina Bryan), and Aqua (Kiely Williams) are cast in a lavish musical. But their excitement turns to surprise when they learn that this musical will shoot in New Delhi, India, instead of Hollywood. The whole movie took place in New Delhi, India. The Cheetah Girls travel across the globe and receive an even bigger surprise. The musical's director must choose only one Cheetah for the role and the girls are forced to make a decision. Do they stick together or does one do it alone? This movie was shot in Udaipur, India. This movie premiered with 6.2 million viewers.

References

R. Thomas Umstead (August 20, 2006). 'Cheetah Girls 2’ Aims to Be Next 'Musical’. Multichannel.com. Accessed 2009-05-14.

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June 21, 2018