BACKGROUND
Disney Channel have created many musicals throughout their decades of making Disney Channel Original Movies. Some have been super successful and spanned one, two, or maybe three sequels. Others haven’t reached that same level and remain as standalone Disney Channel musicals – but some of those go on to achieve “cult status”.
Lemonade Mouth appears to be one of those musicals. Probably not something that many people would remember instantly, or would come to mind when you say “Disney Channel Musical”, but if you remind a certain age group of this movie, there will likely be many comments on how much they loved that film when they were ten, eleven, twelve-years old. Basically, it might not be in the forefront of many minds, but memories of it are in the back there, somewhere, waiting to get out.
Unfortunately, I am not one of those people and have never been one of those people for a number of reasons. I was eighteen when Lemonade Mouth was first released. Some might think that I must’ve just missed out on it because I would’ve been “too old” to be watching Disney Channel at the time.
That was not true. I was watching Disney Channel in 2011, and I remember Lemonade Mouth being heavily advertised that year, never seemingly being able to get away from hearing “Determinate” at least twenty times in one week, just from those small, little advertisement portions Disney Channel have between their programming, where they show off their newest Disney Channel movie or latest Disney star’s songs. It didn’t appeal to me and to be honest, I just found all this “lemonade” was started to slowly choke me.
That’s a bit extreme, but my general reaction to Lemonade Mouth was disinterest. I liked Bridgit Mendler in Good Luck Charlie (2010-14); however, it wasn’t a “must-see” show for me. I didn’t know any of the other actors in the movie; the music was alright but when you hear the same song over and over again, it does start to grate on you; and just the name of the movie made me laugh. I just kept thinking: Lemonade Mouth, what a ridiculous name for a film. Maybe that’s just because I’m more of a cola girl myself.
Anyway, I did finally watch Lemonade Mouth sometime around 2016 or 2017 when DisneyLife came to the UK, a similar idea to Disney+, meaning that lots of Disney films were suddenly available to a wider audience. I thought it was alright, but didn’t love it. Rewatching it this week, I found I liked the music more, but I still felt the same about the story.
PLOT
Lemonade Mouth recounts the tale of how a famous band of the same name came to be, going back to a high-school detention, where Stella, the guitarist; Wen, on keyboards; Mohini, on bass; Charlie, on drums; and Olivia, the lead singer, all met for the first time. But how did they get there?
Stella is the new girl at school. She’s a bit rebellious, probably because her parents and younger brothers are all geniuses and she’s not, so instead of being focused on school work, she’s interested in music and generally finding ways to “stick it to the man”. She gets detention after trying to stage a protest against Principal Brenigan’s rules on t-shirt slogans during a corporate-sponsored assembly – the principal sounds a bit corrupt if you ask me, but that sadly is not the point of this movie.
Wen is struggling to get along with his father’s new girlfriend, Sydney, who is in her mid-twenties. He discovers that she has accidentally taken his school assignment to her college classes and is horrified to find that she has come to his school to return it to him. This warrants some classic banter from the surrounding students, but Wen actually gets detention after snapping at his teacher, who mistakenly thought Sydney was his mother.
For Mohini, or just Mo, she gets in trouble after being caught trying to skip class with her boyfriend, Scott, and settles for detention instead of a call to her overprotective, strict father. Scott, being a school athlete, gets no punishment at all. Charlie gets detention for accidentally kicking a football (soccer ball) into his coach during try-outs after he gets teased for his poor skills, which is irritating because Charlie is only there because he feels like he has to live up to his older brother’s football and academic talents. Finally, Olivia gets detention for sitting in the janitor’s closet – which doesn’t seem like a punishable offence to me, but I guess she was skipping class too? I don’t know; but like I said: corrupt principal.
In detention, which is housed in the basement along with any other extracurricular activity that is not sport related, the five students, after getting a Mel’s Lemonade each from a vending machine just outside the room, are being supervised by Miss Reznick, who is the school’s music teacher. She is furious about her class being moved to the basement and leaves the room briefly. The five go about cleaning up the room for her but quickly become distracted by the instruments and play a song together. Miss Reznick is overjoyed to find these kids have some natural talent and try to convince them to enter the upcoming Rising Star competition, but none of them are interested, not believing they could compete with the school’s most famous band, Mudslide Crush, anyway.
They all head home. Olivia lives with her grandmother and their very old cat, Nancy who Olivia treasures. Wen distances himself from his family because he doesn’t want to be around Sydney. Mo is practising her violin, trying to get away with putting a rock twist on her music; her parents quickly tell her to stop. Charlie lies to his parents, telling them that football (soccer) try-outs went well for him, and Stella continues to feel like an outcast in her family.
The next day, Stella decides to call the other four together at the local pizzeria to discuss this Rising Star contest, because she thinks they have something to say and deserve to have their voices heard. Wen doesn’t need much convincing, but the other three really aren’t sure. So, they solve this the way so many great discussions and debates have been settled in the past – with a coin toss! If the coin lands on heads, then they go ahead with forming this band. It lands on heads; their fate is sealed. However, their first practice doesn’t go well at all. Mo and Charlie are even about to leave, until the other three start up a song, with Mo and Charlie joining. They sound really good again and get the opportunity to play at the upcoming school Halloween Bash.
Mo goes to see her boyfriend, Scott, who happens to be the guitarist for Mudslide Crush. He complains to her about their set being cut at the Halloween Bash, so some other band can play as well. Mo tells Scott that is her band that will be playing at the bash. He is confused and feels somewhat betrayed. The next day at school, the other students apparently feel the same way and as the group head to practice, they find a threatening note on their door. Everyone at school hates them. Olivia then finds herself being harassed by some of the popular kids, including Ray, the lead singer of Mudslide Crush, who can’t understand how shy Olivia could possibly be the lead singer of a band. The others come to defend her, with Stella spitting some of the Mel’s Lemonade into Ray’s face. As he pleads his innocence and turns the blame on the others to Principal Brenigan, he inadvertently gives the band their name, by saying that “lemonade mouth” over here spat at him. Well, if the boot fits…Wen later goes to Olivia’s house to work on new music for Lemonade Mouth where the two become closer. Olivia explains to Wen about Nancy the cat, and how it’s the last thing she has left of her mother, but that the cat probably won’t be around much longer. Anyway, they get back to writing a brilliant song for the Halloween Bash.
Then, disaster strikes. Due to Principal Brenigan’s corporate sponsor, Turbo Blast, who built their gymnasium, no other competing drinks brand can be sold in the school, so that means the Mel’s Lemonade machine will have to go. Stella is angry and plans to protest it. More disaster strikes after Wen learns his father is going to marry Sydney, and Mo finds that Scott has been cheating on her, with a cheerleader no less! At the Halloween Bash, things descend into chaos when Olivia has a panic attack and needs to be coaxed out of the girls’ bathroom and onto the stage. She struggles initially but soon finds her feet, and Lemonade Mouth become an instant sensation with the students. Stella also uses this newfound fame to protest publicly about the removal of Mel’s Lemonade from the school. The principal is not happy about this and shuts the band down, banning them from future school performances.
However, the band soon realise that they’ve gained a whole army of fans, with kids even asking for recordings of Lemonade Mouth’s Halloween Bash performance. This gives them an idea; Principal Brenigan can ban them from playing at school but not outside of it, so Wen and Stella arrange for Lemonade Mouth to play regularly at the pizzeria.
Later, the band discover that Olivia is not at school and, worried about her, they go to her house. They learn that Olivia’s cat has died and she’s absolutely devastated. As the band members console her, Olivia also reveals to them that her father is in prison for an undisclosed crime. They all agree to support each other through any personal problems.
As the band’s fame reaches new heights, with their performance even being played on radio and the Rising Star competition coming closer and closer, more troubles hit the band. Mo becomes entangled in a love triangle between Scott, who wants her back, and Charlie, who wants to be with her. Mo rejects Charlie and he storms off. Mo later comes down with the flu. Charlie breaks his fingers after trapping them in a drawer. Wen gets a black eye after a picture frame falls into it, and as he and Olivia fight over the future of Lemonade Mouth, Olivia loses her voice.
Meanwhile, Stella has plans to protest against the removal of Mel’s Lemonade’s vending machine. On that day, the other four begrudgingly come to support her. Stella is shocked by the state of them all. But there’s no time for that because the machine is being removed. A scuffle ensues between the removal men and the band, with the police being called. They are thrown together in a holding cell, awaiting their parents. This gives them lots of time to talk about the band, and whether or not they should perform at Rising Star. Despite their issues, they decide they should try.
Their parents come to collect them and each band member has their own moment of clarity. Wen accepts Sydney as a new member of his family; Stella learns that her family love and support her, despite them being quite different; Mo tells her dad that she needs to be her own person, not who he wants her to be; and Charlie talks to his brother about the pressure their parents are putting on him to be just like him. They say they’ll speak to their parents together. We also learn that Olivia has been narrating the story of Lemonade Mouth to the audience by way of a letter to her father, which she sends to him in jail, not wanting to be embarrassed and distant from him anymore.
At Rising Star, Mudslide Crush are a huge hit with the audience and it is then Lemonade Mouth’s turn. They attempt to get through their signature song, “Determinate”, but find they can’t go on with all their illness and injury. Saddened, they head off the stage, but soon hear the audience singing their song for them. Scott also comes on stage to play guitar for the band, as a way of trying to win back Mo. Olivia then tells us that Lemonade Mouth didn’t win Rising Star. Well, yeah – it would’ve been ridiculous if they had. You can’t have the audience compete for you!
Tying up some of the movie’s loose ends, Mo and Scott get back together, with Scott joining Lemonade Mouth as a guitarist; Charlie moves on from Mo and finds himself another girl; and Olivia and Wen start dating, with Wen also giving Olivia a new kitten to replace Nancy the cat. Stella meets the owner of Mel’s Lemonade at Wen’s father’s wedding of all places and asks him to donate some money to build a new auditorium at their school. He agrees and Principal Brenigan has to learn to accept that there are beneficial classes for his students outside of sports! Oh yeah, and Lemonade Mouth went on to achieve great success, even getting the chance to play at Madison Square Garden.
CHARACTERS & CAST
Stella Yamada doesn’t get off to a good start at her new school right from the off. She is wearing a t-shirt that says “Question Authority” which bothers Principal Brenigan, telling her to cover it up, which shows that her rebellious nature will not be welcomed here. But Stella, luckily, doesn’t care and refuses to be silenced, even when she’s thrown in detention, her band is shut down, and her favourite lemonade vending machine is taken away. Stella just doesn’t know when to give up. And good thing too, otherwise Lemonade Mouth may have never become so famous, as she was the one who pushed the others to create this band.
Singer and actress Hayley Kiyoko was cast as Stella, having previously portrayed Velma in Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins (2009) and its 2010 sequel, television reboots of the early 2000s Scooby-Doo live-action movies. So, Kiyoko was not a Disney Channel star before Lemonade Mouth, however she did have a recurring role in Wizards of Waverly Place (2007-12) as Stevie Nichols in 2010. Also on screen, Kiyoko appeared as Raven Ramirez in CSI: Cyber (2015-16) and later starred as Lexi in the web series Five Points (2018-19). In recent years, Kiyoko has focused on her music, releasing albums in 2020 and 2022, and released her first novel Girls Like Girls in 2023.
Wen Gifford is struggling to cope with his father having a new woman in his life. This isn’t uncommon for many children and teenagers to deal with, as divorce is a very real thing, however, when your father is dating someone so much younger, that’s where the difficulties can come in, especially as a teenager. The jokes and comments can be brutal and inappropriate, so I can see why Wen isn’t overly accepting of Sydney. Instead, he uses the band to take his attentions away from all that and becomes closer to Olivia in the process, as they write the band’s music together and talk about their personal lives. By the end of the movie, Wen has learnt that if Sydney makes his father happy, then it should make him happy too, regardless of their age gap, and stands beside his father as best man at their wedding.
Wen was played by Adam Hicks who was already famous on Disney Channel at this time for his role as Luther Waffles in the comedy series Zeke and Luther (2009-12). He went on to star as King Boz in Season 3 of Pair of Kings (2010-13), also for Disney, after the departure of Mitchel Musso from the show. Hicks later appeared in the horror series Freakish (2016-17) in the role of Diesel Turner. Hicks has recently been releasing his own music.
Mo has a difficult time adjusting to who she wants to be whilst also managing her parents’ expectations of her, to be a good student, a brilliant musician, and a perfect daughter. It’s a lot for her to deal with so Lemonade Mouth gives her an outlet to figure out who she wants to be. Her boyfriend, Scott, doesn’t seem to be particularly good for her, encouraging her to skip class with him, and then getting caught, but she loves him anyway. He later cheats on her, which is further proof that he’s not good for her – and yet, they still get back together. If you ask me, I think she would’ve been much better off with Charlie.
British actress Naomi Scott was chosen for the part of Mo Banjaree. Scott had no prior Disney experience, and did not go on to star in any Disney Channel series afterwards, which is a bit of a different journey to most actors who appear in Disney Channel movies. This was entirely Scott’s choice as she came to work on Lemonade Mouth at the age of 18. She had not been in the “Disney machine” throughout her childhood and adolescence and felt that she already knew where she wanted to go with her career, so refused Disney’s offers of putting her on one of their shows or making her one of their recording artists[1]. However, this did not hold her back. Scott was cast as Kimberly Hart, the Pink Ranger in Power Rangers (2017) and went back to Disney to star as Princess Jasmine in their live-action remake Aladdin (2019). She was also cast as Elena, one of Charlie’s Angels, in the 2019 film. Later, Scott appeared as Olivia Lytton in the series Anatomy of a Scandal (2022).
Charlie’s brother has just left for college, and he was academically and athletically gifted at school. Because his brother isn’t there to take the pressure off, Charlie’s parents have their full attentions turned on him. They want him to be as successful as his brother, but disregard the fact that actually Charlie isn’t good at sports and just wants to play music instead. Being part of Lemonade Mouth is a dream-come-true for him. It’s only when his brother returns home from college and Charlie learns that his brother’s grades during his first year of college haven’t been so great, that he realises he doesn’t need to be like his brother and can be his own person. Charlie also deals with his first heartbreak during this film, with Mo seemingly not interested in him. But the joke’s on her, because Charlie moves on and meets someone else, whereas Mo is left with her cheating, jealous boyfriend!
Blake Michael was cast in the role of Charlie Delgado. Michael had not previously been cast in any Disney Channel series either, however, went on to star as Tyler James in the Disney series Dog with a Blog (2012-15), winning Best Leading Young Actor in a Television Series at the Young Artist Awards in 2013 for this role. Michael has since refocused his attentions on work outside of acting.
For Olivia White, she’s had a difficult life, with both of her parents absent for different reasons. This has made her shy and a bit of an outcast. She potentially needs Lemonade Mouth the most out of all the other members because she has little to no self-confidence and this gives her a way to become more confident and outgoing as a person. It also allows her the chance to make real friends who will stand by her, regardless of what’s going on in her life. It’s nice to see her reaching out to her father too, as losing one parent is tough, but losing both must be horrific.
Bridgit Mendler portrays Olivia here, and had a long career with the Disney Channel, first appearing as Juliet van Heusen on Wizards of Waverly Place (2009-12), going on to lead her own show Good Luck Charlie (2010-14) in the role of Teddy Duncan. After a recurring role in the series Nashville (2012-18), as Ashley Willerman, and main roles in the series Undateable (2014-16) as Candace, and Merry Happy Whatever (2019) as Emmy Quinn, Mendler has also moved away from acting and pursued other business interests.
Moving away from the Lemonade Mouth members, we also have two members of Mudslide Crush who make repeated screen appearances. One of these is obviously Scott Pickett, Mo’s boyfriend and lead guitarist in Mudslide Crush, later guitarist in Lemonade Mouth. I think I’ve said all I need to about him, so let’s move on! Scott was played by Nick Roux. Roux had a small role in Wizards of Waverly Place (2009-12) around the time of Lemonade Mouth. The other Mudslide Crush member we see is Ray Beech. Ray is a classic bully, thinking he’s better than everyone else and picking on those who he doesn’t think are worthy of breathing his air. Every Disney Channel movie needs a jerk and Lemonade Mouth’s happens to be him. Ray was played by Chris Brochu, whose brother Doug starred as Grady in the Disney Channel series Sonny with a Chance (2009-11). Brochu was later cast as Luke Parker in Seasons 5 and 6 of The Vampire Diaries (2009-17) and as Dylan in Season 6 of Shameless (2011-21).
For the adults, we have the corrupt Principal Brenigan and the wacky teacher Miss Reznick. Brenigan cares about money and ruling the school with an iron fist, needing everyone to follow his rules or risk the consequences. He’s also one of those teachers who only cares about sport, with any achievement in anything else not considered to be worthy enough because sport is where all the money is. From my limited experience, I think sports usually take precedence in most schools which is both unfair and wrong. It makes Principal Brenigan seem like a real principal – even though I doubt many like to ride a Segway through the halls to check up on people…Christopher McDonald was chosen for this role, having previously become known for his role as Shooter McGavin in the Adam Sandler comedy Happy Gilmore (1996). A sequel to this movie, which does include McDonald, started filming in 2024. McDonald has also had roles in movies such as Grease 2 (1982) as “Goose” McKenzie; Thelma & Louise (1991) as Darryl; Quiz Show (1994) as Jack Barry; and Flubber (1997) as Wilson Croft. On television, McDonald was cast as Rex Weller in Family Law (1999-2002); as Tommy Jefferson in Harry’s Law (2011-12); Harry M. Daugherty in Boardwalk Empire (2010-14); and as Marty Ghilain in Hacks (2021-present).
Miss Reznick is a passionate music teacher, encouraging the kids to start up Lemonade Mouth, but she’s probably a bit too crazy for this movie, screeching loudly and generally seeming quite scatterbrained. I wasn’t a huge fan of Miss Reznick, but I do like the actress who portrayed her, Tisha Campbell. One of Campbell’s earliest movie roles was as Chiffon in Little Shop of Horrors (1986) which I watched recently and really liked. I also know her from the series My Wife and Kids (2001-05), where she starred as Jay. She also starred as Gina Waters-Payne in the sitcom Martin (1992-97) alongside Martin Lawrence. More recently, Campbell appeared in Last Man Standing (2011-21), as Carol Larabee in Seasons 7 and 8, and was cast as Suzanne in the series Uncoupled (2022), with Neil Patrick Harris.
MUSIC
The soundtrack for Lemonade Mouth consists of ten original songs.
Having said that, only nine of these exist within the final edit of the movie. That is because the song “Livin’ on a High Wire” appears within the Extended Edition of Lemonade Mouth, which was released on DVD in May 2011. It was quite common at the time for Disney Channel to release extended editions of their movies on DVD, which generally included an additional song. This song features within a scene of Lemonade Mouth being interviewed on a show called The Music Scene, before launching into a performance of this new song. As I don’t own the Extended Edition of this film, I’m not sure where this scene would come into the original cut of the movie, but I can only assume that it’s at the end as Scott is sat there as their new guitarist. Anyway, it wasn’t a song I liked.
But luckily, I liked many of the other songs within Lemonade Mouth, with seven of the nine being performed by the title band, and two by Mudslide Crush. For the two Mudslide Crush songs, “And the Crowd Goes”, their song for the concert in that warehouse, and “Don’t Ya Wish You Were Us”, their song for Rising Star, both performed by Chris Brochu as Ray, I didn’t like either of these, but as we’re meant to be rooting against Mudslide Crush for having an egomaniac as a lead singer, that was probably for the best! They just sound too obnoxious for me; this band love themselves way too much.
For the Lemonade Mouth songs, I’ll start with my three favourite ones. The first of these is “Determinate”, the signature song of Lemonade Mouth, featuring in two different instances; first at the Halloween Bash and then at Rising Star. It’s all about overcoming fear, which is quite ironic seeing as their lead singer is almost too nervous to even perform it. I like the chorus of “Determinate”, finding it very catchy, and I like that small bit of choreography they do here too; those bounces on the spot and the step to the side? You’ll know what I mean if you’ve seen it!
I also really like “Somebody” and “She’s So Gone”. “Somebody” is performed as a way of convincing Mo and Charlie to stick with the band during their disastrous first rehearsal, as they say that their band will give them a voice and stop them feeling so invisible. “She’s So Gone” is a powerful song about moving on after a break-up and is the only song in the movie to be led by Naomi Scott as Mo. Although Scott and Hayley Kiyoko are featured as backing vocalists in Lemonade Mouth’s songs, Bridgit Mendler as Olivia is the lead singer with Adam Hicks as the lead rapper, also contributing to the writing of the songs “Determinate”, “Breakthrough” and “Livin’ on a High Wire”, allowing Mo a chance to express her feelings about Scott results in a breathtaking, hugely emotional song that I love.
The other songs that Lemonade Mouth sing are: “Turn Up the Music”, during that first detention, making this their first performance; “Here We Go”, performed at the Halloween Bash after “Determinate”; “More Than a Band” as they agree to help each other through their troubles; and “Breakthrough”, which they perform at the end of the movie. Of these four songs, I wasn’t too impressed with “Here We Go” as it was quite loud and didn’t say much to me; it was about rebellion but I’ve never been very rebellious so the message just went right over my head! I also found “Breakthrough” to be a bit disappointing as a final number. I would’ve preferred to just hear “Determinate” again, though I understand that this was meant to be their big showstopper to show how far they’d come from that basement detention. I do like “More Than a Band” and “Turn Up the Music” though as these seemed to say the most about friendship, which, to me, was the main point of Lemonade Mouth the movie.
Lemonade Mouth’s soundtrack topped the US Billboard Top Soundtracks and Kid Albums charts and peaked at No. 4 on the US Billboard 200. The three singles “Somebody”, “Determinate” and “Breakthrough” also reached the US Billboard Hot 100, reaching No. 89, 51, and 88, respectively on that chart. “Somebody”, “Determinate”, and “Don’t Ya Wish U Were Us” also all managed to get into Radio Disney’s Top 30. “She’s So Gone” would later be included in Billboard’s The 100 Greatest Disney Songs of All Time list, at No. 79.
Urban Outfitters even released a limited-edition vinyl album of the Lemonade Mouth soundtrack in 2024. I’m not entirely sure why, as I wouldn’t have thought that Disney Channel movies quite matched the hipster, trendy vibe of Urban Outfitters, but I guess anything Disney is popular these days and businesses have to jump on that band wagon!
The score for Lemonade Mouth was composed by Christopher Lennertz. Lennertz had previously work with Disney Channel, on the music for Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam (2010). He has also composed the music for many other movies, including Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007); Hop (2011); My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 (2016); The Pickup (2025) for Amazon; and Back in Action (2025) for Netflix.
PRODUCTION
Instead of being based on an original story, Lemonade Mouth is actually based on a young adult fiction novel, written by Mark Peter Hughes.
Hughes wrote his debut novel, I Am the Wallpaper, in 2005, after entering the manuscript to Random House’s Delacorte Press Young Adult Novel Competition. He was one of five finalists, getting the opportunity to publish the novel, despite working as a data analyst at the time. Once Lemonade Mouth got noticed by a publisher and became a big success, he soon quit his job to become a full-time writer.
Hollywood producer, Debra Martin Chase, who had produced Disney Channel movie, The Cheetah Girls (2003), as well as The Princess Diaries (2001), felt that the novel Lemonade Mouth was very special, and that it appealed to Disney Channel’s perfect audience of young adults. Chase also thought that the story would fit in with the usual genre of Disney Channel movies, being about school life and living your dreams, with the added bonus of being able to make it a musical, one of Disney Channel’s most popular film types.
Hughes’ novel tells the story of the band from five different narrators, each member of the band, with them giving accounts of their lives and the history of Lemonade Mouth from their point of review. Hughes has said that he got the idea for this novel structure from The Beatles Anthology, which featured accounts from all four members[2].
As with most book-to-film adaptations, some elements of the story have to be changed or omitted to fit the general runtime of a movie. Lemonade Mouth is no exception, although the general story remained unchanged. One big difference is the instruments played by the Lemonade Mouth band members. In the book, the characters play instruments like the ukulele, the trumpet, and the double bass, however, to make Lemonade Mouth into a rock band, probably to interest young audience members as well as to get across the idea of challenging authority, these instruments were replaced with more classic “rock” ones such as guitars, keyboards, and drums. Some other differences include that Charlie’s brother was stillborn in the book, whereas in the movie, he is just at college, and that Mo gets detention for being caught making out with her boyfriend. Mo also ends up with Charlie at the end of the book – but not the movie. Boo! The main characters’ names were slightly altered too.
Regardless, Hughes was very pleased with the final movie and with the five main actors for their portrayal of his much-loved characters and even sent them notes thanking them for doing so well with the material. Hughes loved every minute of the experience of turning one of his best novels into a television movie. The Hughes family got to spend a couple of days on the set of the film, which was filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
A couple of interesting facts linked to the “lemonade” of Lemonade Mouth include that the author’s inclusion of Mel’s Lemonade in his book was a tribute to Del’s Lemonade, a drink he enjoyed during his time growing up in Rhode Island[3]. Also, the spitting of the lemonade by Stella onto Ray was from a machine. The machine was used to spit out the perfect quantity and viscosity of liquid to make it look great on screen. The liquid used was not lemonade but some sort of green substance that would look yellow when landing on human skin. This fact came from the “What’s What” Edition of Lemonade Mouth, where, during the showing of the film, random facts about production would come up on screen.
RECEPTION
To build-up excitement for the release of Lemonade Mouth, the cast were invited to perform on shows such as Daybreak and Good Morning America, choosing to perform their signature song, “Determinate”. The usual behind-the-scenes videos and music clips were shown on Disney Channel in the weeks before the movie’s release date also.
Disney Channel aired Lemonade Mouth on 15th April 2011. On its premiere night, Lemonade Mouth reached 5.7 million viewers, which is a decent figure. It also became the No. 1 cable movie of 2011 in the US. It wouldn’t reach the UK until 16th September[4].
Lemonade Mouth certainly seems to have amassed a group of loyal fans, even as these fans have gotten older. Many claim that Lemonade Mouth deserves more recognition, despite not being as hugely successful as High School Musical, and that the soundtrack is one of Disney’s best from their Disney Channel musicals. The opportunity to have a storyline for each of the five characters was also appreciated, as it gave viewers a chance to get to know each one’s troubles, strengths, and worries. The message about questioning authority was another positive comment, although, speaking for myself, I didn’t feel that was the primary purpose of the movie. With hindsight, parallels have been found between Lemonade Mouth and The Breakfast Club (1985), both being about five very different students all meeting in detention, which is a good thing to reflect on if you’ve seen both movies.
On the negative side, some didn’t like the amount of Disney Channel actors that appeared in Lemonade Mouth. This doesn’t bother me so much, as I found when I was younger that having actors I already knew in Disney Channel movies got me more interested in watching them. It also has the added benefit of allowing people to watch the Disney Channel movie and then go back and find the shows that the actors have come from. Others said that Lemonade Mouth was too “squeaky clean” to be aimed at teenagers, despite the movie being all about teenagers. I can understand the reasoning behind this comment, because Lemonade Mouth does not feel like a movie aimed at teens. It’s not exactly Mean Girls (2004), or Easy A (2010) is it? So, teenagers wouldn’t exactly feel they could relate to all aspects of it. Looking at some reviews I’ve read, the ones who were in their tween years or early teens seemed to like Lemonade Mouth the most, and still do to this day. Those that didn’t grow up with it have found it harder to appreciate.
But all that being said, I found many more positive comments about Lemonade Mouth than I did negative ones, with many saying that Lemonade Mouth remains one of Disney Channel’s best original movies.
Lemonade Mouth won the Popstar! Poptastic Award for Favorite TV Movie in 2011 and director Patricia Riggen was nominated for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children’s Programs at the Directors Guild of America Awards in 2012.
LEGACY
After the release of the movie, members of the cast were seen at Downtown Disney at Disneyland in May 2011, and then at the D23 Expo in Anaheim in August 2011, where they met fans, signed autographs, and took part in interviews.
Some of these interviews included questions about the future of Lemonade Mouth, both as a band and as a movie. The cast were very interested in going on tour, with other Disney Channel musicals, such as High School Musical (2006) and Camp Rock (2008), doing this just a few years earlier. Disney announced a joint Descendants and ZOMBIES tour for Summer 2025, so tours are natural extensions of their movie franchises.
However, a tour never happened. Nor did a sequel, which the cast were excited for as Lemonade Mouth 2 had been greenlit for development not long after the movie’s air date. It was even hoped that it could be a feature film, released in cinemas, just like High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008)[5].
And yet, Lemonade Mouth 2 didn’t happen, with Bridgit Mendler announcing this during an interview in 2012. She said that it was decided not to move forward with it as there wasn’t a good enough story to tell in a sequel, as well as the cast having moved on to their own individual projects[6]. To make it even more disappointing for film fans, Mark Peter Hughes, author of Lemonade Mouth, stated that he was writing a sequel novel to Lemonade Mouth in 2011[7]. This was published in November 2013 and titled Lemonade Mouth Puckers Up, with the story delving in to what happened after the band achieved instant fame, whilst dealing with plenty of unexpected events in their personal lives too.
Even with this sequel novel, Disney Channel never made Lemonade Mouth 2, despite having the material to do it. This would suggest to me that Disney felt Lemonade Mouth was not a successful enough franchise to continue expanding.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Lemonade Mouth claims to be a movie about making your voice heard and refusing to be silenced by those that don’t understand or don’t care about you. It’s a movie about underdogs, finally fighting through and coming out on top.
It’s also a “band movie”, showing the highs and lows of being in one, which isn’t exactly a new concept but if you’re someone who is a dedicated follower of bands, then this concept might be interesting to you. I’ve never really been interested in bands. I like to listen to music but I’ve rarely been able to settle on a band, or even a singer, that I’ve liked and followed for years. Instead, I have collections of songs from a variety of different people that I throw into a playlist and shuffle up. I don’t think I’ve followed a band since I was about seven or eight-years old and liked S Club 7.
Lemonade Mouth is also simply about friendship, something we can all relate to. Where the rebellious messaging of the movie and the band concept didn’t work on me, the friendship elements certainly did. It was great to see a group of people that perhaps wouldn’t have been friends be thrown into a random situation and come out the outside feeling like they’ve known each other for years.
But the music is really were Lemonade Mouth shines, and how it has managed to stay in the minds of many. It’s a good soundtrack and even though I only really like three of the songs, they’ve been thrown into that random playlist I was talking about and I’ve listened to them many times since then.
Lemonade Mouth was an edgier movie to come out of Disney Channel and one that feels very serious at times, looking deep into the lives of these students. I’m sure many kids found they could relate to one of these characters, which is hugely beneficial to anyone who might have felt isolated or like an outcast.
It just shows “your people” can always be found.
REFERENCES
[1] Credit: Perri Nemiroff, ‘Here’s Why Naomi Scott Didn’t Want Her Own Disney Show Early in Her Career’, Collider.com, 18th April 2021.
[2] Credit: Karen McCally, ‘Features: Paperback Writer’, Rochester.Edu, from Rochester Review May-June 2011, Vol. 73, No. 5.
[3] Credit: Bob Tremblay, ‘Film: Wayland author’s ‘Lemonade Mouth’ opens wide’, MetroWestDailyNews.com, date unknown.
[4] Credit: Author Unknown, ‘Disney’s ‘Lemonade Mouth’ cast talk touring, sequels and being “edgier” than other Disney movies – watch’, DigitalSpy.com, 15th September 2011.
[5] Credit: Clevver TV, ‘Adam Hicks Talks Possible ‘Lemonade Mouth’ Tour At D23 Expo 2011’, ClevverTV YouTube Channel, 22nd August 2011.
[6] Credit: Shine On Media, ‘Bridgit Mendler on No “Lemonade Mouth 2” & New Music’, Shine On Media YouTube Channel, 12nd July 2012.
[7] Credit: Jim Hill, ‘”Lemonade Mouth” author Mark Peter Hughes already working on sequel to this Disney Channel Original Movie’, JimHillMedia.com, date unknown.
The Disney Purist 