BACKGROUND
Disney Channel used to make a lot of great sports movies back in the late 90s and 2000s.
I didn’t watch most of them, probably because I don’t really like sport, but I remember some of them being advertised on the Disney Channel. I’m talking about movies like Johnny Tsunami (1999), Motocrossed (2001), and Going to the Mat (2004).
I did watch Go Figure in 2005 though and it remains one of my favourite Disney Channel Original Movies, strangely enough, even though I had no knowledge of figure skating or ice hockey. For some reason, I just liked it. Maybe I just like winter sports. Except I don’t. Winter means cold, and snow, and ice. Not really my thing.
There was quite a long period of time when Disney Channel did not make any sports movies, instead focusing on musicals or just the challenges of being in high school. But in 2014, they were about to get back to their early 2000s days, by making a new DCOM all about the sport of snowboarding.
I wasn’t watching Disney Channel at this point, and only really cared about the most-anticipated new DCOMs, so I hadn’t seen anything about Cloud 9. At some point, many years later, I must have been trawling Disney+, looking for something to watch and stumbled upon Cloud 9. Dove Cameron was in it, and I’d seen her in Descendants (2015) a bit before then, so I thought it must be alright.
I did like Cloud 9. I didn’t know what to expect when I first watched it, just a typical DCOM, I guess, and that’s what I got, with the added bonus of watching real snowboarding tricks. Sadly, it was not the first movie I watched about snowboarding.
That was Chalet Girl (2011), which starred Felicity Jones, who has gone on to become a huge star in the acting world. Other big names in that film include Nicholas Braun, from Succession (2018-23), Brooke Shields, Bill Nighy, and British comedian Bill Bailey, just to name a few. It wasn’t a blockbuster, but it was a British comedy that instantly drew me in. It had lots of snowboarding stunts, a message around coping with grief, and it was just generally very funny and sweet to watch. After watching Cloud 9, I knew it didn’t and just couldn’t compete with Chalet Girl in my mind.
Cloud 9 likely would have appealed to me more if I’d watched it when I was younger. It just found me too late.
PLOT
The story begins at the Summit Valley Ski Resort, with Kayla Morgan. Her father, Richard, owns the resort so naturally, she lives here permanently, having to go to a regular high school in the day. She is also a part of a snowboarding competition team, the Swift Team, where Kayla is the star women’s boarder, and her boyfriend, Nick, is the star men’s boarder. Nick’s dad, Sebastian, happens to be the team coach.
Whilst life is great for pampered princess Kayla, there are other people making a living at the resort. One of these is Will Cloud and his mother, who run a dog kennel here. It is a struggling new business but they are doing everything they can to make it work, with Will even going so far as to take some of the dogs, who become depressed from spending too much time indoors, out on a sled ride in the snow. Will used to be the best snowboarder around, however, a traumatic accident at a competition stopped him competing again. He is constantly tormented by members of the Swift Team for his “epic fail” wipeout on that day. Will’s friends just want him to get back to boarding, but he won’t.
At a party to celebrate recent Swift Team success, and to hype everyone up for the upcoming Fire and Ice competition, Kayla overhears Nick talking to his dad. Nick’s dad hasn’t been happy with his progress recently and keeps saying something about what Nick needs to do to be a winner. Kayla and Nick go outside to talk, where Nick states that he’ll be learning Will Cloud’s Cloud 9 move, the one that he injured himself doing, for the new competition, knowing that he’ll have to watch the YouTube video of Will’s wipeout in order to learn it, as only Will knows it and no-one has ever managed to do it properly.
Nick is then called over by the rest of the Swift Team to look at Will’s dog sled, which has just been left outside. Nick convinces Kayla to go on it with him. Reluctantly, she does, but soon, they find themselves careening down the slopes with no way of stopping. Nick, being the gentleman he is, bails and leaves Kayla to cope with this runaway sled alone. Sadly, the only way the sled stops is by flying through the iconic, hand-crafted Summit Valley Ski Resort sign, which then crashes to the ground. Kayla is picked up by Security and taken home. At home, her father, being the owner of the resort, is able to calm everything down, and says he’ll get the sign fixed, but he is furious with Kayla, and Will is angry about the damage done to his sled. Kayla’s father tells Kayla she’ll be paying for the sled by working at the kennel every day after school.
On Kayla’s first day working at the kennels, the Hot Doggers Dog Kennel, she is late and not at all happy to be working there. Kayla is then left with her first task, to fill up the dogs’ food bowls, but she gets distracted by a voicemail message. It’s Nick’s dad, telling her she has been kicked off the Swift Team because her little sled ride broke the Swift Code of Conduct. Kayla runs out of the kennel to go and talk to Nick, but it turns out he already knew and won’t help her try and get back on the team by saying the sled ride was his idea. To really kick her while she’s down, Nick also tells her that she has never been a good snowboarder, and the only reason she’s won competitions is because her father convinced his father to rig the competitions, having her compete against lower-ranked boarders.
The next day at the kennel, Will’s friends come in to get some snowboarding advice from Will and he leaves Kayla alone to go to the slopes with them. This should’ve been ok, but one of the most mischievous dogs in the world is currently at the kennel, a little dog called Donald, who decides to get out of his cage and unlock all the others. All of the dogs run riot through the kennels and then out into the resort. Kayla rushes after them, looking stressed, passing Nick and the Swift Team. She stops to talk to Nick, wanting to move past this team issue, but instead, Nick breaks up with her. Kayla is just not winning at life right now! She eventually gets back to the kennel with all the dogs, and proceeds to blub to Will’s mum about how awful the Swift Team are, and how much Donald seems to be out to get her. Will’s mum then tells Will he should never have left Kayla alone with the dogs.
Kayla’s friends later try to cheer her up and they start talking about Will Cloud. They put on the video of his accident and feel sorry for him, as it looks like a very bad wipeout. At school, Kayla then thinks she’s run over Donald on her drive home, but Will comes over to her and says Donald just likes to play dead when he’s bored sometimes. Kayla says they should redecorate the kennels, to make the dogs a bit happier, and that maybe she could help – in exchange for some snowboard coaching from Will. He says he doesn’t want to snowboard again, but thinks about helping Kayla, who wants to enter a new team into Fire and Ice, potentially with Will’s friends, Dink and Sam, to beat the Swifts.
Kayla later sees that she has been replaced on the Swift Team by a real pro boarder, Skye Saylor. Kayla knows she’s in trouble here, so Will encourages her to practise instead of wasting her energy trash-talking with Skye. The coaching begins, as does the renovation of the kennel. After a lot of practice, Kayla gets much better at her snowboarding, and Will and his mother are both impressed with her interior design skills at the kennel, now called The Hot Doggers Dog Spa. Will’s mother thanks Kayla for all her help, not just with the dogs, but with Will, who looks much happier than he has done in months. Will’s mother then sends the two out for ice-cream.
Outside, they talk about whether Will thinks Kayla has a shot at beating Skye at Fire and Ice, before talking about an infamous part of the mountain called Tyson’s Peak. It’s almost impossible to get to, needing a helicopter to get there, and it’s deemed impossible to get down, as nobody seems to have ever done it before. Kayla then tries again to convince Will to join their team for Fire and Ice, but he refuses.
The next day, Kayla overhears her father saying she won’t be able to win against the Swift Team, no matter how hard she practises. Ouch, what a great dad… Kayla asks Will to teach her the Cloud 9, seeing that as her best chance at beating Skye and the Swift Team. He says Kayla isn’t fearless enough for that move, but really, I think he just doesn’t want to relive the bad memories he has of it. Kayla gets really frustrated that all these people don’t believe in her, so she does something a bit reckless. She uses her dad’s helicopter to take her to Tyson’s Peak. Even the pilot isn’t sure about it, but he does as he’s told. Kayla is filmed from the helicopter, to document Kayla’s descent down the mountain, without her knowledge. This is broadcast live on the news. Though it looks difficult and energy-zapping, Kayla boards down the mountain, but when she stops at the end of a ledge, ready to go down again, there is an avalanche right behind her. Kayla tries to outrun it, but, obviously, she can’t. Luckily, Will is watching the news and races over to the spot where she was buried under snow. Using Donald to find her, Will digs Kayla out of the snow. Oh, good, she’s not dead. Phew – that could’ve been really bad. And not very Disney…
Because of Kayla’s stupidity – I mean, fearlessness – Will then decides he will teach her the Cloud 9. Will also finally gets back on his board too, choosing to join their team for Fire and Ice. He crashes out on his first attempt on the half-pipe but he’s ok and knows he needs to trust himself now. Teaching Kayla the Cloud 9 proves to be a difficult task as she continues to wipeout every time, not mastering much of it. As she heads off for a break, Nick comes up to Will and tells him he should stop making her do this before Kayla gets hurt too. This could all be mind games, since Nick is in a relationship with Skye all of a sudden, or maybe he does care about Kayla. Either way, it gives Will something to think about. Nick’s dad has also seen Kayla practising the Cloud 9 and starts to think she could beat Skye.
After Kayla falls trying the Cloud 9 once again, Will says he won’t teach her it anymore because she can’t get it right and there isn’t enough time. The two argue – and then kiss. Not the most romantic of settings for a first kiss, but oh well! Nick’s dad speaks to Kayla as she heads home and apologises to her, saying she should be on their team tomorrow, inviting her to rejoin Swift for Fire and Ice.
At Fire and Ice, Kayla is late, and Will starts to worry. She soon arrives – but she’s wearing a Swift jacket, much to Sebastian’s delight. As he is about to rub it in Will’s face that their snowboarder has rejoined the “dark side”, Kayla takes off her jacket, saying she forgot to return her gear when she was first kicked off and has no intention of rejoining Swift. Will’s mother then comes over with their new team jackets, their name being the Hot Doggers, sponsored by the kennel, of course. The men get to go first, with Will putting out an impressive first run, not matched by Nick. Nick’s second run is much better and he wins the men’s competition. Now, for the women. Kayla is ahead of Skye after the first run, but Skye brings it back in her second run. No pressure now, Kayla!
Just as Kayla is about to do her second run, her father comes over to her and apologises for underestimating her. Nick’s dad laughs at this, thinking this is no way to keep a clear head before a competition. This angers Nick because he wishes his dad was supportive like that, not even caring that he just won the men’s competition here. Nick tells Kayla, in front of everyone, that the incident with the sled was no accident. It was a deliberate attempt to get her kicked off the team because Sebastian never thought she was good enough and didn’t want her there anymore. This gives Kayla some great motivation to win now and show everyone what she’s made of.
Kayla goes out for her second run, successfully completing the Cloud 9 and giving her a perfect score. This is enough to win both the women’s competition and for The Hotdoggers to become the overall team winner of Fire and Ice. Kayla, Will, Sam, and Dink celebrate their victory along with their families. Even Sebastian has to admit that Kayla is a very worthy winner and is now full of regret that because of his arrogance, coldness, and obsession with winning, his team lost a great snowboarder. That’s karma for you.
CHARACTERS & CAST
Kayla Morgan starts off thinking she’s wonderful and amazing. Her dad owns the resort; she lives in a huge lodge in a beautiful ski resort; she gets to buy what she wants whenever she wants; she has a cute boyfriend; and to top it all off, she’s supposedly the best women’s snowboarder around. Everything is rosy for Kayla, until a stupid stunt-gone-wrong spoils it all. She learns that her father, her boyfriend, and her coach never believed she was a good snowboarder; she has to work in a kennel after school; her boyfriend breaks up with her, and then she is replaced on the team by someone much better than her. Kayla doesn’t think much of Will Cloud initially, but the more time they spend together, at the kennels and on the slopes, the closer they become. Kayla becomes a better snowboarder and a less selfish person because of Will. Let’s face it; she was quite self-absorbed at the start of Cloud 9!
Dove Cameron was cast as Kayla. She was performing the dual role of both Liv Rooney and Maddie Rooney in the Disney Channel series Liv and Maddie (2013-17) at the time of filming on Cloud 9. She then starred as Mal in the Descendants trilogy from 2015 to 2019. Since Descendants, Dove Cameron has continued to act on screen, for example in the musical comedy series Schmigadoon! (2021-23), and having a voice role in the animated series Big Nate (2022-present). She released her debut album Alchemical: Volume 1 in December 2023 and her song “Boyfriend” was a viral sensation in 2022.
Will Cloud used to be a great snowboarder, even better than any of the members of the Swift Team. After his accident, which left him scared to ever snowboard again, he pretends that he isn’t bothered by it, despite his friends asking him for advice and being mocked by the Swift Team. Instead, Will throws himself into helping with his mother’s dog kennel, bonding with the dogs, especially Donald, and wanting to make this business a success for his mum. Thanks to Kayla, Will learns that he needs to continue with snowboarding, despite his fear of wiping out again, because he loves it. It’s a shame he didn’t manage to land his Cloud 9 trick himself, but after Fire and Ice, I’m sure Will planned on finally landing it, and banishing those bad memories from his mind forever.
Will Cloud was played by Luke Benward, who had already starred in the films How to Eat Fried Worms (2006) as Billy Forrester; the DCOM Minutemen (2008) as Charlie; Dear John (2010) as Alan Wheddon; and the DCOM Girl vs. Monster (2012) as Ryan, prior to his role in Cloud 9. Benward had also appeared as Beau, Teddy’s boyfriend, in the final season of Good Luck Charlie (2010-14) and as Dillon Sanders in the short-lived Pretty Little Liars spin-off series Ravenswood (2013-14) around the time of Cloud 9’s release. In 2018, Benward was cast as Bo Larson in the Netflix movie Dumplin’.
Nick Swift is the son of the Swift Team coach, so you might automatically assume he gets special treatment and thinks he’s the best snowboarder ever. This is not the case, and that is because Nick’s father, Sebastian, is incredibly hard on him and doesn’t believe in giving praise to his own son, no matter how much Nick works on his snowboarding. Their relationship is quite strained, but Nick constantly fights for his father’s approval, by going along with his plan to kick Kayla off the team with the sled incident, despite him knowing that was not the right way to go about, and by winning the Fire and Ice Men’s Competition. Sebastian still doesn’t seem proud of his son even after all that, instead spending too much time stressing about whether Kayla might beat his new star female boarder, Skye. Though I can’t tell if Nick actually did care about Kayla in a girlfriend-capacity, he clearly cared about her well-being, and didn’t want her to injure himself trying to do a trick just to impress other people, and feels guilty for the part he played in getting her kicked off the team.
Nick was played by Mike C. Manning, who was cast as Caleb McKinnon in the web series The Bay (2010-present) which won numerous Daytime Emmy Awards. Manning himself won a Daytime Emmy for his role here. Manning also went on to appear in the web series Youthful Daze (2012-16), and in Season 6 of This Is Us (2016-22) as The Manny.
Skye Saylor is an amazing female snowboarder, even being somewhat of a celebrity figure when she arrives at Summit Valley to join the Swift Team. She knows all about Kayla Morgan and how she’s never worked hard to be a good snowboarder, just having wins handed to her on a plate by only going up against girls worse than her. Skye doesn’t fear Kayla as a competitor at Fire and Ice at all, actually finding it quite comical that Kayla thinks she would even have a chance against her. Skye then goes out with Nick, Kayla’s boyfriend, probably more as a means to mess with Kayla psychologically before the competition instead of this being a genuine relationship. It’s not until Skye sees Kayla getting down Tyson’s Peak in one piece, barely, and then practising the Cloud 9 with Will that she starts to see Kayla as a threat at snowboarding. Skye tries her best at Fire and Ice, but once Kayla lands the Cloud 9, Skye knows she won’t win – and honestly, I think she’s ok with that. I don’t think Skye wanted to be involved in Sebastian’s plots and schemes to humiliate Kayla any more than Nick did, but they have to listen to their coach, even if he is jerk.
Kiersey Clemons was cast as Skye, having appeared as Kira Starr in the Disney series Austin & Ally (2011-16) prior to her role in Cloud 9. Clemons went on to be cast as Cassandra in the movie Dope (2015), and Beth in Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising (2016). More recently, she starred as Darling in Disney’s live-action remake Lady and the Tramp (2019), and then as Iris West in Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021) and The Flash (2023). She currently stars as May in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (2023-present).
Some of the actors who played Kayla and Will’s friends were no stranger to Disney at the time of working on Cloud 9 either. Will’s friends are Sam and Dink. They both like to snowboard, but they aren’t as naturally gifted as Will. Sam is constantly getting injured, for example even seeing double at one point after a bad practice session. Dink spends a lot of time talking about the weather, I guess so he knows the best time to snowboard, but it might be a potential career path for him if the snowboarding doesn’t work out! Dink was played by Carlon Jeffery, who played Cameron Parks, Chyna’s older brother, in the Disney Channel series A.N.T. Farm (2011-14). Sam was played by Andrew Caldwell, who I instantly recognised from his role as Thor in Hannah Montana (2006-11). Caldwell has since gone on to appear as Jude in the movie The Matrix Resurrections (2021), and as Harley Johns in Season 3 of iZombie (2015-19). Kayla’s friend Pia was played by Victoria Moroles, who played Andie in Liv and Maddie (2013-17) alongside Dove Cameron. Moroles was also cast as Hayden Romero in Teen Wolf (2011-17) around this time.
Finally, I’ll talk about the dads in Cloud 9. The dads here are much less supportive than the mothers. We’ve got Sebastian, Nick’s father, who cares too much about winning to be a caring and encouraging coach for his snowboarders. He pressures them to do well and seems to be teaching them that it’s fine to play dirty as long as you win, which is the complete opposite of what good sportsmanship should be. Sebastian has no business being a coach for any type of sports team, at least not when children and teenagers are involved! Jeffrey Nordling was cast as Sebastian. He had previously played Coach Orion in D3: The Mighty Ducks (1996) and Richard Mackey in TRON: Legacy (2010). On television, he appeared as Nick Bolen in Desperate Housewives (2004-12), and in the recurring role of Gus Easton in So Help Me Todd (2022-24) most recently.
I’d like to say Kayla’s dad, Richard, is a better dad than Sebastian, but he’s really not. Richard has encouraged Sebastian to rig all these snowboarding competitions that Kayla has competed in because neither of them want the team to lose. I think Richard does this, not so Kayla isn’t embarrassed by a loss because losing is a part of life, but so that he is not embarrassed by her, since he is the owner of the ski resort. Richard then tells his wife that despite Kayla practising, she’ll never be able to win against the Swift Team, which is an awful thing to say. If you don’t have your parents in your corner at that age, then who else have you got? Richard isn’t all bad though, as he does apologise to Kayla for underestimating her, and encourages her to smash her second run at Fire and Ice, believing finally that she can win. This is more than Sebastian does for his own child.
Richard Morgan was played by Patrick Fabian. Fabian is perhaps best known for his role as Howard Hamlin in the Breaking Bad spin-off Better Call Saul (2015-22), but he also has a bit of history with Disney, having been cast as Thantos in the DCOM Twitches Too (2007). Fabian was also cast as Matt MacLaren in The Other Zoey (2023) recently. But if you’re “cool” like me, you’ll know him as Professor Lasky from Saved by the Bell: The College Years (1993-94). You know, the guy who broke up Zack and Kelly, and then broke Kelly’s heart. I remember hating Professor Lasky when I was younger, watching this series when it was re-run on Nickelodeon in the 2000s, but I got to watch it back this year, and he was actually a great character. I can totally see the appeal now…
MUSIC
Despite featuring the talents of Dove Cameron and Luke Benward, who had both sung for previous Disney Channel projects, Cloud 9 is not a musical. That’s perhaps a good thing because singing when snowboarding is probably not an easy, or even safe, thing to do!
There was an original song written for the movie, and it was performed by Cameron and Benward, having been written by Dan Book and Alexei Misoul. This song is called “Cloud 9”, which isn’t a very original title, but it is quite a good song if you like catchy pop tunes. I do, so I quite like it. This song plays during the montage of Will training Kayla and the dog kennel being renovated. It is also the End Credits song, playing alongside a few outtakes. “Cloud 9” was released as a single just before the movie’s release, and it is also a track on the compilation album Disney Channel Play It Loud.
There are also a number of other songs used within Cloud 9 for background music and to accompany the various snowboarding scenes.
During the opening sequence, the song “Fly High” by The DNC is used. Soon after, Nick and Kayla are casually snowboarding as the song “Champion of the World” by Menya is heard. At the party for the Swift Team early on in Cloud 9, the song “Across the Sky”, by Photronique feat. Don Benjamin plays. The song “Wotever Dude” by Robbie Nevil is playing as Kayla begins her second day of work at the kennels. Just before Kayla “hits” Donald the dog with her car, the song “I’m Feeling Good” by Deanna seems to be playing on the radio.
Now to the snowboarding scenes. As Kayla performs for the first time in the movie, in one of those rigged competitions, “Zoom, Zoom, Zoom” by Cut One and Meg Cottone is played. Later, Kayla sees Skye training for the first time and “Cross the Line” by Superchick plays. “Never Too Late” by The PCH Crew feat. Mayru is used for when Will first gets back on his board. When Kayla is practising her snowboarding and the Cloud 9, the song “Feisty” by Shoshana Bean is playing, and later, “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Me Now” by Michele Vise Maslin can be heard. At Fire and Ice, during the men’s run, “I Want It All” by Krankheadz is heard. For the women’s run, “One Girl Revolution” by Superchick plays. This is such a great song, and for Disney Channel movie fans, you can also hear it in Cadet Kelly (2002).
I could not find the song that is playing as the Swift Team and friends arrive at the party, despite using Shazam to help and the lyrics being clearly audible. This was the same problem I had with the music playing as Kayla sees Skye training for the second time.
PRODUCTION
Cloud 9 was filmed at ski resorts in Utah, with one of those being Park City Mountain Resort. Dove Cameron and Luke Benward were spotted filming the scene of them eating ice cream and walking down the sidewalk in February 2013, this street being Park Avenue. They also filmed at Park City High School in the area. The news report also stated that snowboarding champion and three-time Olympic gold medallist Shaun White was one of the producers on this new Disney movie[1].
Apparently, during filming, the temperature got to as low as -50F, so cold that post-production was used to edit out clouds of breath from the actors. Facial hair was also freezing, and kissing scenes were made difficult by the freezing temperatures!
Filming went on at the ski resort for around two months. There was supposedly a strange rule that the cast and crew had to follow, around toasting marshmallows. They said in an interview that they were only allowed to do this on Wednesdays, and kept getting caught doing this on other days in the week. They claimed they ended up making s’mores for the security guards to get around the restrictions. Random[2].
Since there is a lot of snowboarding in the movie – duh – the cast were given two weeks of snowboarding training with instructors, where they worked on turns, stopping, going down slopes etc., to make them look like natural boarders. They even got to go on the steep half-pipe that is seen in the film, which was scary, even to those who had snowboarded before[3]. I don’t know exactly how many of the cast had snowboarded prior to Cloud 9, but they all looked quite comfortable on their boards, so I’m thinking many of them had already had some experience of it. As I am not a snowboarder, I cannot comment on how difficult the snowboarding in the movie actually is. For the stunts and tricks, these were completed by a team of experienced boarders.
Cloud 9 was directed by Paul Hoen. Hoen began his over two-decade career with Disney Channel by directing The Luck of the Irish (1999) back when Disney Channel were experimenting with their new way of making television movies. After this, Hoen went on to direct many more musical and non-musical DCOMs, including Eddie’s Million Dollar Cook-Off (2003), Jump In! (2007), and all of the ZOMBIES movies[4].
As well as the movie being produced by Disney Channel, Ashley Tisdale is also credited as an executive producer, through her company Blondie Girl Productions, which she set up around 2010. Tisdale liked the mass appeal of the story and thought the message about believing in yourself was important to the usual Disney Channel audience[5]. Tisdale is well-known to Disney fans as the actor who played Sharpay Evans in the incredibly popular High School Musical franchise.
RECEPTION
Cloud 9 premiered on Disney Channel in the US on 17th January 2014. It then went out to other countries between February and June. It’s winter in Australia in June, don’t forget!
The US premiere date meant that Cloud 9 was released just a couple of weeks before the start of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, which, no doubt, was not coincidental in the slightest. It was also a part of the “JaNEWary” event on Disney Channel that seemed to be an annual event at some point, where Disney Channel aired new movie premieres, new series, and new episodes of their popular series[6]. On the day that Cloud 9 premiered, for example, it was followed by the first episode of the new Disney Channel series I Didn’t Do It (2014-15), which starred Olivia Holt, who was cast alongside Luke Benward two years earlier for the DCOM Girl vs. Monster (2012).
Cloud 9 was the day’s most watched cable program on its premiere date, with just under 5 million viewers tuning in to watch the new movie. It became the No. 2 telecast on any network during the winter season, sitting behind Disney Channel’s “Good Luck Jessie: NYC Christmas” episode which aired in November 2013[7].
In terms of reviews, these are usually always mixed for Disney Channel Original Movies. Starting with the more negative reviews, some found the movie to be predictable and plain, following the usual storyline of a sports film, i.e., the main character doesn’t think they are any good and must learn to be great for a competition that they’ll go on to win. Others also said the characters were quite clichéd with the jerk boyfriend and his overbearing father, and the mean girl replacement. I can understand this comment to some extent, but I do think all of those characters have some character development and growth in Cloud 9, as Skye was never really the mean girl, and Nick has a complicated relationship with his father which takes a step to being healthier by the end of Cloud 9.
For positive reviews, there were comments around the great chemistry between the two lead actors of Dove Cameron and Luke Benward, and the acting was deemed pretty good overall. The catchy main song “Cloud 9” was also a pleasant addition to the movie for many, who found it to be generally enjoyable with a good message about believing in yourself and overcoming fear. Others also liked the nice scenery of a snowy ski resort. I was one of those people. Although I don’t want to go out in the snow, I’m quite happy looking at it, preferably through the window of a cosy, warm building.
LEGACY
Cloud 9 did not receive a sequel, which was not unexpected. The movie has a complete plot and there is little room to push the story any further.
Although Cloud 9 went no further, Dove Cameron did go on to become a major star for Disney Channel. Alongside her role as Liv and Maddie Rooney in the popular Disney Channel series, Cameron went on to star as Mal in the DCOM Descendants (2015), going on to work on two further movies for the Disney franchise, alongside other spin-offs. This propelled her into global stardom, as both an actor and a singer.
Sadly, the much-loved DCOM sports movies that were so popular in the 2000s did not continue to be made much after Cloud 9. It had been the first movie of this type since 2007, when Jump In! and Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board aired on Disney Channel. Den Brother (2010) involves ice hockey, but I’d disagree that it is the primary theme of the film.
Since Cloud 9, few DCOMs have involved sports. One that does is The Swap (2016), featuring both ice hockey and rhythmic gymnastics, but again, this is not the main purpose of the story. Back of the Net (2019) seems to be the most recent sports movie from Disney Channel, following a teenager who accidentally ends up at a football (soccer) academy.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Sports movies have been around for decades, whether based on a true story, perhaps of an individual or team wanting to compete at the Olympics, or a fictional story about real sports.
These types of movies remain a good source of inspiration for people who might want to try out a new sport, or could motivate someone to go after the highest possible achievements in their specific discipline.
With Cloud 9 being released around the time of the 2014 Winter Olympics, this timing might have got more young people interested in the global event, which can sometimes be dwarfed by the warmer, more far-reaching Summer Olympics, at least in some countries.
Having a movie like Cloud 9 on Disney Channel would have surely encouraged children and teenagers to try out snowboarding, on vacation or at a local snowdome. Snowboarding is, after all, still considered quite a cool sport.
Personally, I’d be too scared about breaking all my bones, or even my neck, to try it out – but that’s just me. I’m fine just being a spectator to others’ sporting successes.
REFERENCES
[1] Credit: Jay Hamburger, ‘Park City becomes Disney land for movie shoot’, ParkRecord.com, 22nd February 2013.
[2] Credit: Alex Abel, ‘5 Behind-The-Scenes Secrets From Disney’s New Movie Cloud 9’, Seventeen.com, 17th January 2014.
[3] Credit: Disney, ‘Cloud 9 – Behind The Scenes – Part 3’, Disney Channel UK YouTube Channel, 21st February 2014.
[4] Credit: DCOMers!, ‘A Conversation with the Disney Channel’s Paul Hoen’, Medium.com, 24th July 2020.
[5] Credit: Jake Perlman, ‘‘Cloud 9’ hits the slopes in the world of competitive snowboarding’, EW.com, 18th December 2013.
[6] Credit: Jake Perlman, ‘Watch Dove Cameron and Luke Benward in Disney Channel’s ‘Cloud 9’’, EW.com, 13th January 2014.
[7] Credit: Rick Kissell, ‘Disney Channel Takes Gold With ‘Cloud 9’ Movie, New Comedy’, Variety.com, 21st January 2014.
The Disney Purist 