BACKGROUND
It can’t be said enough just how much High School Musical changed the Disney Channel Original Movie landscape.
After High School Musical, Disney Channel movies, also known as DCOMs, became big events, something for young viewers to plan their lives around, something to look forward to after a long week at school. These Friday night movie premieres were even more important when the movie was a musical – and its arrival signalled the start of the summer break.
Camp Rock was just one of these movies. It featured a storyline all about summer camp, a typical summer activity for some, alongside a Disneyfied musical soundtrack, full of catchy pop tunes. Camp Rock was supposed to be the next High School Musical.
And it seemed like it would be, for a while. Camp Rock was globally popular, and although it wasn’t quite the same as High School Musical, it felt similar and had its own success. I personally don’t even like High School Musical, the first movie, all that much, and remember liking Camp Rock more when I first watched it, and that’s still the case.
I was very excited to watch the premiere of Camp Rock back in 2008, even if we didn’t get it in the UK until school had already started up again after the summer holidays. I really liked it at the time, just not as much as High School Musical 2, but it had everything I was looking for in a Disney Channel musical.
It was also showcasing the talent of young stars I hadn’t heard of before. The Jonas Brothers weren’t a band I knew before they appeared on Disney Channel. Camp Rock made them overnight stars within the channel’s viewership. And then we had Demi Lovato, who was making her Disney Channel movie debut, and it launched her career at Disney into the stratosphere. She became a regular on the channel after that, for both music and acting.
Camp Rock was the perfect marketing exercise for Disney Channel, showing just how successful they were at making the next teen stars, with many of them later becoming household names outside of Disney.
PLOT
Camp Rock doesn’t begin at Camp Rock, but on the last day of school before summer for teenager Mitchie Torres. Mitchie wakes up feeling very optimistic, hoping that one of those leaflets for Camp Rock that she’s been leaving around the house might just have inspired her mother to let her go there over the summer break. As the two sit down to breakfast, whilst watching a news report on the latest from teen rock star / bad boy Shane Gray, whose behaviour has led to the Connect 3 tour, his band’s tour, being cancelled, Connie, Mitchie’s mother, tells Mitchie she knows she’d like to go to camp, but that the family can’t afford it.
At school, Mitchie tells her friend Sierra that camp is not going to happen for her, and that she is so disappointed and unexcited for the summer ahead. Mitchie later returns home, having worked a shift at a burger shop to find her parents in a good mood, but Mitchie isn’t sure why. She is about to go to her room, when Connie tells her the good news: Connie is doing the catering at Camp Rock, so Mitchie can go at a discounted rate! Mitchie is super excited, and doesn’t even mind that she’ll have to help her mother in the kitchen whilst there.
Later, Connie and Mitchie arrive at Camp Rock, and Mitchie can’t wait to get started – although she is slightly distracted by a limo passing right by her mother’s catering van. It looks like a girl with money goes to Camp Rock… Mitchie and Connie head to their cabin, and the camp director, Brown Cesario, comes to greet Connie. Connie is about to introduce her daughter to him, but Mitchie has already gone exploring!
Mitchie has found where the other campers are, congregating outside. Mitchie bumps into the girl she saw in the limo, but is ignored. Another camper, Caitlyn, tells Mitchie that girl is Tess Tyler, daughter of famous singer T.J. Tyler. Mitchie is impressed. Caitlyn and Mitchie get talking, and Caitlyn says she’s planning to be a music producer, even playing her one of her demos. Their chat is interrupted by the arrival of the camp’s musical director Dee La Duke, who welcomes everyone to Camp Rock. The campers are also told that for the first time in Camp Rock history, they will have a celebrity instructor here to teach them.
It turns out this celebrity instructor is Connect 3’s Shane Gray. His other bandmates, Nate and Jason, are making Shane attend Camp Rock to help with his reputation and to give him some positive PR. Shane is told he’ll be recording a duet with the winner of Camp Rock’s Final Jam competition. Shane doesn’t want to waste his summer at Camp Rock, but Nate and Jason hold firm. Besides, it’ll be good for Shane to get back to his musical roots, because the three attended Camp Rock, and their uncle is Brown, the camp director.
Mitchie is helping her mother in the kitchen, preparing burgers for the Open Mic Night, a chance for the campers to get to know each other and show off their musical abilities. Mitchie tells Connie she is too nervous to sing at Open Mic Night and her nerves only get worse when she overhears Tess and her friends rehearsing in their cabin. Mitchie starts to set up the Mess Hall for dinner and plays one of her own songs on the piano, singing to herself. Shane Gray, who’s recently been dropped off at Camp Rock, gets mobbed by fans and hides underneath the window of the Mess Hall. He overhears the singing.
Back at her cabin, Mitchie worries about what to wear to Open Mic Night, feeling that she’s not good enough to be here. At the Open Mic, Mitchie meets up with Caitlyn. She introduces her to Lola, who it turns out is another very talented performer and she has no anxiety about performing in front of everyone. Caitlyn tells Mitchie that Lola’s mother has been on Broadway, but that only money and fame really matter here. Tess then comes over to Caitlyn, just to be snooty, and Mitchie introduces herself. Tess’s friend Peggy asks if Mitchie’s father is a famous composer, since they share a surname. Mitchie says her father runs a hardware store. Bored, Tess and her friends go to walk away, when Mitchie says that her mother is President of Hot Tunes TV – in China. This does impress Tess, and she asks Mitchie to move into their cabin. Mitchie grabs her stuff and moves, telling her mother that she’ll still get up early and help in the kitchen. Connie is just glad Mitchie is making friends.
At Tess’s cabin, which Tess shares with Peggy and Ella, we see that Peggy likes to play the guitar, but Tess soon tells her to stop playing so she can talk on the phone, except her mum has no time to talk to her, yet again. Mitchie arrives and starts unpacking her stuff. They see Mitchie’s song book and convince her to sing one of her original songs to them. Peggy and Ella like Mitchie’s song a lot, although Tess is slightly less enthusiastic about it.
The next morning, Mitchie gets up early to help in the kitchen, but tries to hide this fact by arriving at the Mess Hall with the other campers and dodging Tess’s questions about where she goes in the mornings. Mitchie tries to sit with Caitlyn and the others, but Tess orders her over to her table. Caitlyn warns Mitchie to hide her singing talents if she wants to stay friends with Tess. Very ominous. Mitchie isn’t the only one having a bad morning. It turns out Shane has been avoiding teaching his classes, and Brown won’t have it anymore. He tips water over him to wake him up before heading off to his own class.
Brown’s first class is a singing class with Mitchie, Tess, Caitlyn and the others. He asks for volunteers to sing in front of the class. Pretty much everyone puts their hand up, but Mitchie doesn’t, so naturally Brown makes her sing first! After some encouragement, Mitchie performs well and Brown compliments her on her original song, something that doesn’t go unnoticed by Tess. After class, Tess asks Mitchie about her plans for Final Jam. Mitchie says she’ll sing a solo for it, despite her nerves. Tess tells her that’s a really brave thing to do on her first Final Jam, but no doubt Mitchie has already performed in front of a large audience before. Mitchie says that actually she hasn’t, which puts doubts in her head. Mitchie then decides that actually she’d like to join Tess’s group and sing backup for her instead.
Mitchie goes to the kitchens to help Connie. She apologises for being late and is given some tasks to do. But then Shane Gray comes in. Embarrassed and not wanting to be seen here, this being a dead giveaway that she’s lying about who her mother is, Mitchie covers her face in flour before talking to Shane. Shane moans that his allergies are not being catered for at camp. Mitchie responds to say that Shane is being incredibly rude and needs to learn how to talk to people. Shane is taken aback by that and says he’ll have his agent send his allergy list over to them again, before leaving.
The next day, Brown escorts Shane over to his first class of the day, since Shane seems unable to go to class by himself. Brown is shocked by this attitude that Shane has suddenly got after “becoming a star” and warns him to get himself together. Shane then takes his first class, a dance class with Mitchie and the others. They are ordered to grab a hat and a microphone and simply follow Shane’s direction. He doesn’t seem in the mood to be doing this, so everyone just does as they’re told. However, soon, one of the campers, a drummer, falls over, spoiling the routine. Tess makes a comment and laughs at him. It initially looks like Shane is going to have a go at him too, but he doesn’t. He knows this guy has rhythm as a drummer and says he’ll help him get that rhythm to move from his hands to his feet. Mitchie sees that Shane can be a good guy after all.
The following day at breakfast, Connie tries to talk to Mitchie, Tess, and the others. Mitchie talks to Connie casually, not letting on that Connie is her mother, but Tess is simply rude to Connie, not knowing why the “kitchen help” would be talking to her or Mitchie. Mitchie says that Connie is a celebrity chef who has cooked for everyone.
Later that day, Brown asks Shane if he is coming to the Campfire Jam that night. Shane tells Brown he wants to work on his music, having started writing a new song, thanks in part to the girl he heard singing in the cafeteria on that first day, still not knowing who she is. At the Campfire Jam, Tess performs a song with Peggy, Ella, and Mitchie singing backup. Shane does make his way down there and enjoys the performance. Mitchie, however, did not enjoy it, something that Caitlyn picks up on.
In the morning, by the lake, Mitchie sees Shane playing on his guitar and interrupts him, just to say she likes his new sound. Shane complains that the label doesn’t let him or Connect 3 perform music like this because they don’t think it would sell. Mitchie says she’d buy that song, encouraging Shane to continue.
At lunch, Caitlyn and Tess’s animosity towards each other increases as Caitlyn deliberately trips Tess with her foot. Tess then tips spaghetti onto Caitlyn as payback. Caitlyn is furious and grabs a handful of spaghetti, throwing it at Tess. This turns into a food fight between the two of them. Mitchie attempts to stop them but to no avail. Brown comes over and takes all three of them to his office. Tess and Caitlyn talk over each other to try and get their version of the story across, but Brown isn’t interested; he simply wants to know who threw the food first. Tess says it was Caitlyn – and technically, that was the case, so Caitlyn cannot argue. Brown tells Caitlyn as punishment she’ll be helping in the kitchens from now on. Mitchie tries to protest, but can’t. She knows her secret will come out sooner or later.
Later, Shane sees Mitchie again and asks if he can play his new song for her. She agrees and listens to it. She tells him she really likes the song. Shane says he was inspired by hearing a girl sing around camp earlier. Shane likes the fact Mitchie is different from the other campers around here. She isn’t so sure about that.
Back at the kitchen, Mitchie comes in to find Caitlyn there. Caitlyn tries to introduce herself, not knowing that Connie had a daughter helping her here. Mitchie tries to hide and run away, but she gets caught in a mop bucket and falls over, water and the tortilla chips she was carrying spilling all over her. Caitlyn comes over to help and finds that Connie’s daughter is Mitchie. She demands to know why she lied about her family. Mitchie says she was just trying to fit in. She accuses Caitlyn of hiding her true self as well, with Caitlyn’s whole act of pretending not to care what people think. Mitchie tells Caitlyn she might as well just tell everyone at camp she’s a liar now. Caitlyn says she just might do that when Connie comes in. Shocked at the mess, she tells Mitchie to get herself cleaned up.
That night, it is the Pajama Jam and Tess has ensured her backup singers are dressed the same, but Peggy, Ella, and Mitchie are surprised to find Tess in a different outfit from them. She reminds them that she is the lead singer and can dress how she wants. Before they can perform, it is Caitlyn’s turn. Caitlyn’s performance is praised by the crowd, and Tess sees Shane watching in the corner of the room, clearly enjoying it too. Not liking the attention being on someone else, Tess screams that she’s seen a snake in the room. It is soon discovered that there is no snake, and that what Tess was pointing at was just a power cord. Caitlyn accuses Tess of ruining her set on purpose. Tess responds with hand gestures that spell out the term “Whatever Major Loser”. Mitchie rightly points out to Tess that those gestures are so uncool, sticking up for Caitlyn in a small way, but it does not go unnoticed.
The next day, Caitlyn and Mitchie are sat in the kitchens together, helping with decorations for the next musical event. Mitchie starts to talk to Caitlyn about Final Jam, but Caitlyn is confused why the two are even talking since they aren’t meant to be friends with each other. Mitchie then bursts a balloon by Caitlyn, saying she was just setting her up for a prank. The two then talk properly. Caitlyn says she was once friends with Tess too, but when she started to show she had talent beyond being Tess’s backing singer, she was pushed out of Tess’s group. Caitlyn reminds Mitchie that Tess’s popularity might make her seem fun at first, but there’s more to life than just being popular.
Shane gets a call from Nate and Jason, asking how camp is going. He tells them he is working on new music, and that he’ll be happy to record a duet with the winner of Final Jam but what he’d really like to do is find the voice he heard on his first day at camp. Shane then tells the drummer from his dance class about this search, which leads to all the girls at camp randomly auditioning for Shane, trying to figure out if they are the voice he heard. The search gets nowhere and all it does is make Shane a victim of some casual stalking. Mitchie later sees Shane and he asks if she’d like to go for a canoe ride with him. The two sit and talk in the middle of the lake, and Shane says how difficult it is to figure out if people are being fake around you and just want a taste of your fame. Shane says Mitchie must know all about that because of her mother being President of Hot Tunes TV in China. She doesn’t say much to that, but feels bad that Shane knows about this lie now too.
Back at camp, Tess sees Mitchie and Caitlyn with Connie at the kitchens and figures out that Connie is actually Mitchie’s mother and that she isn’t famous at all. All three head over to the Beach Jam where Connect 3 perform a surprise song for everyone. The band say they should go and record the song as a demo right away, but Shane wants to stick around because he hasn’t found that girl yet. After the show, Tess calls Mitchie out in front of everyone, asking for more details about her mother. Caitlyn initially tries to cover for Mitchie, but it doesn’t work and, embarrassed, Mitchie has to reveal the truth – that her mother works in the kitchen. Many of the campers shun Mitchie but worst of all, Shane is angry with her for lying to him as well. Mitchie tries to explain but he doesn’t want to hear it.
To make things worse, Tess hears Shane talking to Brown about his “mystery girl” and he sings part of the song he heard. Tess believes she’s heard that before and looks in Mitchie’s song book. Sure enough, it is Mitchie’s song. Tess devises a plan to ensure Shane never realises Mitchie is that voice.
At class that day, Shane gives everyone advice for Final Jam, namely to be yourself and be authentic, this being a deliberate shot at Mitchie who is feeling very isolated at Camp Rock right now. Way to be a real jerk, Shane. Connie tries to talk to Mitchie, who can’t understand why Mitchie wouldn’t want to be herself. Mitchie tells her mother that she only has one friend at school, and she isn’t popular. She just wanted to fit in and feel popular for once in her life. She didn’t want to feel the way she does at home. Connie tells Mitchie that she is an amazing person and she should be herself from now on.
In the cafeteria, Mitchie manages to make amends with Caitlyn and her friends. Tess comes over just to be mean, asking Mitchie to tell her mum that the chicken was dry today. This time, Mitchie has had enough of Tess and tells Tess to stop making everyone feel bad just to make herself feel better. Mitchie is officially kicked out of Tess’s group so she teams up with Caitlyn for Final Jam. Preparations begin for Final Jam right away.
The day before Final Jam though, as Caitlyn and Mitchie work in the kitchens, Tess comes in with Brown and accuses them of stealing her charm bracelet. They have no idea what she’s talking about but Brown sees the bracelet in a stack of their books. Caitlyn and Mitchie say they don’t know how that got there, and know Tess has set them up. Brown can’t take their word for it and feels he has no choice but to ban them from all camp activities until the end of Final Jam. Tess walks away, happy that Mitchie won’t be performing anymore. Mitchie and Caitlyn talk about how unfair Brown has been to them, and how they can’t believe he’s actually banned them until the end of Final Jam. This gives Mitchie an idea; they’ll just have to perform after the end of Final Jam!
At Final Jam, Connect 3 are back as judges of the competition. Backstage, Tess manages to annoy Ella and Peggy right before going on stage, and the two quit, making their own plans. Two campers, and rappers, Barron and Sander launch into the first performance, which Ella joins in on. Tess then performs her song and is thrilled to see her mum has shown up to watch her. However, partway through the song, Tess sees her mum is on the phone, not even watching her. Distracted, Tess forgets her routine and almost falls off stage. That gets her mother’s attention! But it’s too late; the song is ruined and Tess is humiliated.
Following that, Dee and Brown announce a late entry. But no, it’s not Mitchie and Caitlyn. It’s actually Peggy, performing a solo under her actual name, Margaret. She does extremely well and Tess even apologises to her for not realising how good she was. The judges then leave to deliberate. At this point, Caitlyn and Mitchie ask Brown if they can perform now that is the end of Final Jam. Brown is thrilled to see that they understood what he meant, and eagerly let them perform.
On stage, Mitchie is initially nervous, but soon settles in to her song, this being the same song she sang in the Mess Hall on that first day and the same song that Shane heard. Shane turns around after hearing the song, finally finding that voice he’s been thinking about all through camp. Shane then duets with Mitchie on stage.
Connect 3 announce the winner of Final Jam, and the one who will be recording a duet with Shane. The winner is…. Peggy! Shocked, Peggy accepts her trophy. Tess then apologises to Mitchie and Caitlyn, and says she told Brown that they didn’t take her bracelet. Tess looks forward to seeing them next year. Mitchie’s parents compliment her on her performance. Mitchie thanks them for letting her come to Camp Rock as she had a great summer. Shane then asks Mitchie to go for another canoe ride with him. Finally, there is a goodbye performance by all the campers.
That is the end of Camp Rock in the original version of the movie. However, if you happen to own the Camp Rock Extended Edition DVD, you’ll know that right after this scene, there is an additional scene, taking place three months later. Here, Caitlyn shows Mitchie, Tess, Peggy, Ella, and Lola her garage studio and they all record a song together.
CHARACTERS & CAST
Mitchie Torres has dreams of being a great singer-songwriter. She is enthusiastic and upbeat, feeling very hopeful that her parents will let her go to Camp Rock if they see how much it means to her. However, the financial cost is an obstacle to her going and all looks lost for Mitchie – until her mother just happens to take over the catering of the camp at short notice. Mitchie is very excited to be at Camp Rock, but in a way, she is quite naïve to the different types of people she is going to meet there, and feels quite insecure, especially next to the rich and famous campers like Tess, and the super talented campers like pretty much everyone! This leads Mitchie to lie about her family, because she wants Tess to like her so she can feel popular for once. It takes a while, but Mitchie eventually learns that it’s better to be yourself and accept yourself for who you are, rather than pretend to be someone else.
Demi Lovato was cast as Mitchie Torres. Lovato initially got her start in acting on the children’s show Barney & Friends (1992-2010), with this being where she met her Disney BFF Selena Gomez. Later, Lovato was cast as Charlotte Adams in Season 1 of the short form Disney Channel series As the Bell Rings (2007-09). From here, Lovato was cast in Camp Rock and this is where her Disney Channel career really took off. Just a few months later, she began starring in the Disney Channel series Sonny with a Chance (2009-11) in the lead role of Sonny Munroe, and starred alongside Selena Gomez in the Disney Channel Original Movie Princess Protection Program (2009), as well as releasing new music. Lovato was nominated for Best Performance in a TV Movie, Miniseries or Special by a Leading Young Actress at the Young Artist Awards for her role as Mitchie, but sadly, lost out to Selena Gomez in Another Cinderella Story (2008).
Shane Gray begins his time at Camp Rock as an arrogant rock star, who thinks the whole world revolves around him. We all know that stereotype and might even have some specific real-world examples. In this case, Gray’s behaviour is threatening the future of his band, Connect 3, so he is forced to go and work at Camp Rock over the summer, to try and reverse some of that negative attention he’s had from the press. His time at Camp Rock doesn’t start well, as he misses classes and clearly doesn’t like the fact his uncle is his boss here. Shane just wants to leave, but after hearing a mystery girl singing, he finds himself compelled to write new music that is more fitting to the sound he wants him and his band to have, instead of just recording the music they are being told to record. It is all thanks to Mitchie that Shane has a better time at Camp Rock than he expected and that Connect 3 have managed to reconnect with their original sound.
Joe Jonas, of the Jonas Brothers, was cast as Shane Gray. The Jonas Brothers initially formed in 2005, before working with Disney from around 2007, where they recorded the song “Kids of the Future” for the Disney Animation movie Meet the Robinsons (2007). The Jonas Brothers appeared on tour with Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus, with this tour being recorded and released as Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert (2008). The Jonas Brothers got their own concert movie for Disney, Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience, in 2009. The Jonas Brothers also got to lead their own Disney Channel series, Jonas (2009-10), shortly after Camp Rock. The other two members of the Jonas Brothers, Nick and Kevin, were cast as Nate and Jason Gray, members of Connect 3.
Tess Tyler is said to run Camp Rock, because she has the most famous parent in show business. Tess thinks that she is destined to be the most famous camper because of this and therefore believes everyone is beneath her. She cares about status, which is why she initially decides Mitchie isn’t worth her time, after hearing her father runs a hardware store. But when Mitchie suggests she has parental connections in the music industry, Tess is suddenly interested in talking to her. Tess doesn’t like anyone who might have more talent than her, and those who take the spotlight away from her. She quickly puts Mitchie off performing at Final Jam on her own, and convinces her to be her backup singer instead because of this. It is later shown that Tess acts this way because her mother is so famous, she can’t spend any time with her, so Tess wants others to feel worse about themselves, because she doesn’t think she is particularly worthy of anything. It’s a shame really and you kind of have to feel a bit sorry for Tess when you see that her mother can’t take five minutes to pay full attention to her daughter for once. Tess tries to make amends at the end of Camp Rock and apologises to those she’s hurt.
Tess Tyler was played by Meaghan Jette Martin. After Camp Rock, Martin sang “When You Wish Upon a Star” for the 2009 re-release of Pinocchio (1940) and the song “Magic” for the Wizards of Waverly Place official soundtrack for Disney. She later was cast as Bianca Stratford in the ABC Family series 10 Things I Hate About You (2009-10), which was based on the 1999 film. She also starred as Jo Mitchell in Mean Girls 2 (2011), which was also released on ABC Family.
Tess being Tess, she needs to have an entourage to give that appearance of power. Tess has two girls in her group before Mitchie. These are Ella Pador, and Margaret “Peggy” Dupree. Ella is a little bit ditzy and seems to be the least musically-inclined of the group, not seeming to be interested in going solo. Peggy clearly has talent, being seen playing the guitar early on in the film, and performing her own song at Final Jam, eventually winning the competition. Although Peggy and Ella may view music and their time at Camp Rock differently, they both hate how Tess talks down to them and orders them around all the time. Peggy is the first to walk away from Tess, and Ella, inspired by Peggy, does the same thing at Final Jam, leaving Tess without any backup singers.
Ella was played by Anna Maria Perez de Tagle, who had been cast in the recurring role of Ashley DeWitt in Hannah Montana (2006-11) prior to her role in Camp Rock. She went on to play Joy Moy in the 2009 remake of Fame, and was cast in the 2011 Broadway revival of Godspell. Peggy was played by Jasmine Richard, who had previously been cast as Margaret in the Canadian teen comedy drama Naturally, Sadie (2005-07) and went on to appear as Tara Bohun in the series Overruled! (2009).
We also have Caitlyn, who dreams of being a big-time music producer. Caitlyn is the first person to talk to Mitchie at Camp Rock, and introduces her to some of her friends there. However, once it becomes clear that Mitchie would rather ditch Caitlyn to spend time with Tess, Caitlyn decides Mitchie isn’t her type of person after all. She tries to warn Mitchie about what being friends with Tess does to you, but Mitchie doesn’t listen. Eventually, the two are forced to talk after Caitlyn finds herself by working in the kitchens. Caitlyn decides to keep Mitchie’s secret about her mother’s job and the two become friends. Caitlyn is there for Mitchie when the lie unravels and even helps Mitchie with her Final Jam performance.
Alyson Stoner was cast as Caitlyn, having already voiced the character of Victoria in Lilo & Stitch: The Series (2003-06) and been cast in the recurring role of Max in The Suite Life of Zack and Cody (2005-08). Stoner was also cast as Sarah Baker in Cheaper by the Dozen (2003) and its 2005 sequel before Camp Rock. They also voice Isabella in the popular Disney animated series Phineas and Ferb (2007-15, 2025-present) and its two films.
Within Caitlyn’s “group”, there are Barron, Sander, and Lola. In Camp Rock, we don’t see all that much from them, other than Lola’s performance at Open Mic Night, and Barron and Sander’s performance at Final Jam. Barron and Sander seem to be the jokers at Camp Rock, knowing that this is a good time to work on their breakdancing and rapping skills but also knowing that Camp Rock is the place to have fun over summer. Lola seems to be the cool, older one at Camp Rock, who knows exactly who she is and who she wants to be.
Lola Scott was played by Aaryn Doyle, and Barron was played by Jordan Francis. Roshon Fegan was cast as Sander. Fegan went on to be cast as Ty Blue in the Disney Channel series Shake It Up (2010-13) and appeared as a contestant on Season 14 of Dancing with the Stars (2005-present) in 2012. More recently, he voiced the recurring role of Elbone in Netflix’s DreamWorks Dragons: Rescue Riders (2019-22).
For the adults at Camp Rock, first, there is Connie Torres, Mitchie’s hardworking and caring mother. Connie has a lot of work to do at Camp Rock, having to make themed meals to go with all the numerous themed “jams” the camp has. But luckily, she has Mitchie, and then, Caitlyn to help her out. Connie is thrilled to be able to send her daughter to Camp Rock by being the catering manager there, as this is something that Mitchie must’ve been talking about for months. She doesn’t even mind when Mitchie basically ditches her, by moving out of their cabin into Tess’s, and then barely speaking to her outside of helping in the kitchens. Connie understands that Mitchie wants to make friends. The only thing she doesn’t understand is why she’d feel the need to lie about her family to fit in at Camp Rock. Connie consistently tells Mitchie she is a brilliant singer, and a great person, so she should just be herself in future and not change herself for anyone.
Connie Torres was played by Maria Canals-Barrera, who is perhaps best known for her role as Theresa Russo in the Disney Channel series Wizards of Waverly Place (2007-12) and its 2009 movie. However, before Wizards of Waverly Place, Canals-Barrera had voiced the character of Sunset Boulevardez in Disney’s animated series The Proud Family (2001-05), returning to voice the character in the series’ reboot The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder (2022-present). Canals-Barrera also voiced the character of Paulina in Danny Phantom (2004-07).
Brown Cesario is Camp Rock’s director, as well as the uncle of Shane and the other members of Connect 3. Brown tells Connie as soon as she meets him that he was a founding member of the band the Wet Crows, before proceeding to say how he knows Mick Jagger. As cool as Brown is, not being overly strict or disciplinary except when he has to be, and very encouraging of the campers, he is definitely a bit of a name-dropper! Daniel Fathers was cast as Brown. In more recent years, he has played Rudy Moore in A Christmas Prince (2017) for Netflix, and Clarence Perry in Season 2 of Snatch (2017-18).
Finally, we have Camp Rock’s musical director Dee La Duke. She is upbeat and full of energy the few times we see her introducing events around Camp Rock. Dee was played by Julie Brown, who was also the co-writer of Camp Rock. In terms of previous acting work, Brown had voiced Lisa in A Goofy Movie (1995) and played Coach Stoeger in Clueless (1995). More recently, Brown was cast in the recurring role of Paula Norwood in the ABC sitcom The Middle (2009-18).
MUSIC
Camp Rock is a musical, however, it differs from typical musicals, including Disney Channel ones, in that the main characters do not suddenly burst into song. In Camp Rock, the music is either accompanying music playing in the background, or the campers are singing these songs as part of performances, both on stage, in class, and just at camp in general. This might have helped some non-musical lovers like this movie, especially if they perhaps don’t like the normal musical storytelling format, where songs seemingly come out of nowhere.
In movie order, the first song to appear in Camp Rock is “Who Will I Be?”, which plays in the opening sequence, as background music playing from a CD that Mitchie has recorded of her own songs. Here, Mitchie is getting ready for her last day of school before the summer break, and seems very optimistic about her day, hoping that today will be the day her mother says she can go to Camp Rock. It’s an upbeat pop song to match Mitchie’s mood, and all about being able to choose what kind of person you want to be. Sadly, Mitchie’s optimism doesn’t last past breakfast! “Who Will I Be?” also reappears as Mitchie’s solo singing performance in her first class with Brown Cesario. “Who Will I Be?” was written by Matthew Gerrard and Robbie Nevil, and is performed by Demi Lovato as Mitchie Torres.
The next song in Camp Rock is performed by Lola at the Open Mic Night on the first night of camp. Lola performs the song “What It Takes”. It’s a catchy song, particularly the chorus, where Lola sings about finding the perfect guy. It’s not the best song in Camp Rock but since Lola isn’t in the movie all that much, it’s good that she had a moment in the spotlight. “What It Takes” was written by Tim James and Antonina Armato, and performed by Aaryn Doyle as Lola.
Following that is a song that is used during Shane Gray’s dance class. It is not performed in the class but is played from a CD, although the song is technically credited to Jordan Francis, who played Barron in this film. It is later used by the girls at Camp Rock as an audition song when Shane tries to find his mystery girl and “that voice”. “Start the Party”was written by Matthew Gerrard and Robbie Nevil.
Next up is my favourite song in Camp Rock, “Too Cool”, Tess’s song for Campfire Jam. I will be absolutely clear and say that I like the song, but I find the performance of this song in the movie to be just a tad bit cringey with the choreography. Don’t get me wrong; I like to do the shoulder movements in the chorus, but Tess preening and posing to the camera is a bit awkward to watch at times! It matches the tone of the song though, because “Too Cool” is all about Tess, telling people she’s just too good to talk to them! The song was written by Toby Gad and Pam Sheyne, and was meant to be a teen version of “I’m Too Sexy” by Right Said Fred[1]. Meaghan Jette Martin as Tess performed “Too Cool”.
After that, we get a calm ballad from Shane Gray, as he plays “Gotta Find You” to Mitchie by the lake, to get her opinion on his “new sound”. Shane states that he was inspired to write this song after hearing a girl singing at camp. I really like “Gotta Find You”, although it is fun that viewers have since pointed out that there are mysterious backing vocals and instruments performing this song, even though it is meant to be just Shane and his guitar! “Gotta Find You” was written by Adam Watts and Andy Dodd, and performed by Joe Jonas.
Then we have the song I dislike the most in Camp Rock: “Play My Music”. This might seem a bit weird to some as “Play My Music” is performed by the members of Connect 3 at the Beach Jam, making this the most typical Jonas Brothers song you’ll find in Camp Rock, and the only song the three guys sing together. I guess I’m not a big Jonas Brothers fan. I mean, I’m not a big fan of their music; they seem like nice enough people. “Play My Music” was written by Kara DioGuardi and Mitch Allan.
Following that we just have performances at Final Jam, the first of which is “Hasta La Vista”, performed by Jordan Francis and Roshon Fegan as Barron and Sander, the aspiring rappers. Anna Maria Perez de Tagle also performs this song as Ella in the movie, adding her vocals at certain times in the song, although it is unclear if this is her singing as she was not specifically credited on the song as a performer. I quite like this song; it’s fun and easy to sing along too. It was written by Toby Gad, Pam Sheyne, and Kovasciar Myvette.
After that is Tess’s second song at Camp Rock, which I like but not as much as “Too Cool”. It is “2 Stars”, once again performed by Meaghan Jette Martin as Tess, written by Adam Anders and Nikki Hassman. I think “2 Stars” is just less memorable than “Too Cool”, but it does reflect Tess’s complicated relationship with her mother and even though Tess is the “villain” in Camp Rock, it isn’t nice to see Tess performing her heart out for her mum, only for her to be on the phone during the song. It’s not an amazing song, but it’s an important moment for Tess and her character development and backstory.
Technically the final song of Final Jam is “Here I Am”, which is a last-minute entry from Peggy after she ditches Tess in favour of performing her very own solo. It’s a good thing she did too, because Peggy goes on to win Final Jam due to her thought-provoking lyrics about not letting yourself fade into the background whilst others shine, the perfect summing up of Peggy’s journey at Camp Rock that summer. “Here I Am” was written by Jamie Houston and was performed, not by Peggy’s actress Jasmine Richards, but by Renee Sandstorm, also known as Renee Sands, who was part of the girl group Wild Orchid and went on to perform other songs for Disney including “Just Like We Dreamed It”, which was the theme song for Disneyland Paris’ 15th Anniversary in 2007, and recently sang the theme song for the Disney Junior show The Chicken Squad (2021-22).
After Final Jam has ended, Mitchie and Caitlyn ask Brown if they can perform their song now as they were banned from camp activities after allegedly stealing Tess’s bracelet. Brown is very happy for them to perform, knowing this will be a chance for Mitchie to shake off her shyness and show what she’s made of. Mitchie starts off uncertain in her performance of her song “This Is Me”, but gradually, she gains confidence and belts out that chorus. This song is also combined with Shane Gray’s song “Gotta Find You” as Shane realises that Mitchie was the voice he’d been searching all of Camp Rock for, to give Mitchie a very Cinderella ending. Mitchie had sung “This Is Me” in the Mess Hall on the first day of camp, and Shane happened to overhear it after hiding from crazy fans by the hall’s open window. It’s a brilliant solo performance and then duet, and obviously one of the best Camp Rock songs. “This Is Me” is also sung very briefly by Mitchie after she moves into Tess’s cabin and the girls ask her to sing a song she’s written, as they find her song book in her bag. “This Is Me” is performed by Demi Lovato, and later Joe Jonas since the song as it appears in Camp Rock, as part solo, part duet, is how it appears on the official soundtrack. It was written by Adam Watts and Andy Dodd.
The last song in the original cut of Camp Rock is the less rock, more pop song “We Rock”, which is performed by the entire cast at the very end of Final Jam, and therefore camp, as a goodbye song from the campers. I really like “We Rock” and the air guitar dance moves are incredibly easy to learn and remember. “We Rock” was written by Kara DioGuardi and Greg Wells. An instrumental version of this song is also used during the montage of the campers making their preparations for Final Jam.
But there is one other song that appears on the official Camp Rock soundtrack and in an End Credits scene within the Extended Edition version of the film. Here, the girls from Camp Rock come together to record a song in Caitlyn’s garage recording studio. This song is “Our Time Is Here”. The three singers credited on this song are Demi Lovato, Aaryn Doyle, and Meaghan Jette Martin, although Anna Maria Perez de Tagle and Jasmine Richards are also singing in this scene as their characters. Surprisingly, I actually like “Our Time Is Here”, and that’s only surprising because I don’t normally like the “deleted” songs in movie. This song was written by Tim James and Antonina Armato.
The Camp Rock soundtrack was officially released on 17th June 2008, just a few days before the US premiere of the film. The soundtrack was released on different dates internationally, although seemed to also be available prior to the movie premiering, as Disney Channel did with many of their musical movies. The soundtrack had some success in the official charts, peaking at No. 3 on the US Billboard 200 chart in July 2008, staying in the Top 10 for ten consecutive weeks. It also topped the US Billboard Top Soundtracks chart. Four of the movie’s songs were released as singles to promote Camp Rock in the build-up to the film’s premiere. These were: “We Rock”, “Play My Music”, “This Is Me”, and “Gotta Find You”, all of which charted in the US Billboard Hot 100.
Internationally, the soundtrack charted at No. 1 in Argentina, and No. 2 in countries like Canada, Mexico, Spain, and UK. Some of Camp Rock’s songs were also recorded by local artists for different versions of the soundtrack and DVD, such as French singer Sheryne and Dutch singer Nikki performing “This Is Me” for their respective countries’ soundtracks, and English singer and actor Brad Kavanagh, who was cast as Dylan in Season 2 of Disney Channel UK’s As The Bell Rings (2007-08), performing his version of “Here I Am”[2].
David Kitay is credited as the composer of the music in Camp Rock. At Disney Channel, Kitay also composed the music for other DCOMs, like Cadet Kelly (2002) and Eddie’s Million Dollar Cook-Off (2003), and co-composed for Stuck in the Suburbs (2004) with Jeff Vincent. Away from Disney, Kitay has worked on the music for such non-Disney movies as Clueless (1995); Scary Movie (2000); and Over Her Dead Body (2008).
PRODUCTION
Disney Channel movies are normally used as a springboard for young actors, singers, and dancers to become more integrated in the Disney family, before hopefully moving on to become mainstream stars outside of Disney.
In the case of Camp Rock, although the Jonas Brothers were already famous prior to the film, Demi Lovato was a relative unknown, so Camp Rock was an opportunity for her to become the next big Disney Channel star, following in the footsteps of Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez. However, Lovato was not the only person who auditioned to play Mitchie.
On an episode of the podcast Magical Rewind, hosted by former Cheetah Girls star Sabrina Bryan and Will Friedle, who played Eric Matthews in Boy Meets World (1993-2000), in 2024, Meaghan Martin, who played Tess Tyler in Camp Rock, stated that she had initially auditioned to be Mitchie, but she knew she was meant to be the mean, blonde girl in this film – because what teen movie doesn’t need a mean, blonde girl[3]? They were all the rage in the 2000s! Martin was so good at playing bully Tess that she said on this podcast that she still gets nasty messages on social media about how mean she was to “Demi” in Camp Rock. People know Camp Rock is just a movie, right?
But that wasn’t all. Alyson Stoner, who ended up playing Caitlyn, read for the lead, and after being cast in numerous projects at Disney previously, Stoner believed she had a shot at being Mitchie. However, it was later told to them that casting actually had them in mind for the part of Caitlyn, thus basically becoming the “sidekick” to Mitchie, which was a little bit disappointing at the time[4]. On top of that, according to her “TV Dad” in Disney’s Wizards of Waverly Place (2007-12), David DeLuise, who spoke in an interview in 2020 about this, said that Selena Gomez had been offered the role of Mitchie Torres in Camp Rock, but that Gomez had turned it down in the hopes that her best friend at the time, Demi Lovato, would be offered the lead instead, because Gomez had already been given her “breakout role” at Disney by being cast as Alex Russo in Wizards of Waverly Place[5]. If this was the case, this makes a moment in the Sonny with a Chance Season 1 episode “Battle of the Networks’ Stars” when Gomez made a guest appearance as a fictionalised version of herself, even more amusing. At the end of this episode, the cast of So Random! and Chad Dylan Cooper are supposed to be sitting down to watch Chad’s new movie about his life, but instead, they end up watching Selena Gomez in the film Camp Hip Hop, and we see a small clip of Gomez dancing with three boys who look a lot like the Jonas Brothers!
Demi Lovato had initially auditioned for Disney to be cast in Jonas, the Disney Channel series based around the Jonas Brothers that was being developed. Lovato screen tested for it, but she did not get the part. However, Disney still wanted to see her for two other roles – one was Mitchie in Camp Rock, and the other was Sonny Munroe in Sonny with a Chance. Lovato got both of them and was whisked away with her family to Los Angeles. to begin her new life as a Disney Channel star[6].
Even Shane Gray had an interesting casting story because Taylor Lautner auditioned for the part! He wasn’t seen as quite the right fit for Shane though and ultimately did not get it. Coincidentally, Lautner starred alongside Alyson Stoner in Cheaper by the Dozen 2 (2005) in one of his earlier screen roles, so had Lautner gotten the lead role in Camp Rock, it might’ve been a nice reunion for the two of them. But it was not to be, and that’s fine because Lautner ended up being cast as Jacob Black in Twilight (2008), which came out just a few months after Camp Rock, and began a five-movie series. All things considered, I think he did alright for himself without this film!
So, how did that part go to a Jonas Brother? Well, Joe Jonas was asked to send in an acting tape for the part of Shane Gray after the director of Camp Rock attended a Jonas Brothers show in L.A. It was clear from watching the show that Joe could sing and had that “rock star image”, and so they just needed to see him act. After looking at his audition tape, Jonas was offered the part. Shane was meant to simply be the camp director’s nephew who had a solo act before being forced to come to camp to fix his attitude, but because Joe Jonas was in a band with his real-life brothers, it was decided that Shane Gray would have bandmates written into the script so that Joe could appear with Nick and Kevin in the film. This also meant that instead of an adult telling Shane he needed to get his act together, the message would come from his bandmates, making it less of a punishment.
Camp Rock’s story was written by Julie Brown, who played Dee La Duke in the film, Paul Brown, Regina Hicks, and Karin Gist. Gist had previously written the DCOM Jump In! (2007), and went on to write and produce shows like Mixed-ish (2019-21); Our Kind of People (2021-22); and Revenge (2011-15). Hicks had co-written Jump In! with Karin Gist, and had previously written and produced the show Girlfriends (2000-08) before Camp Rock. After Camp Rock, Hicks worked on the sitcom Instant Mom (2013-15) and most recently The Upshaws (2021-25) for Netflix. Paul Brown had written and produced the series Quantum Leap (1989-93) and Pacific Blue (1996-2000) before co-writing Camp Rock.
Camp Rock was directed by Matthew Diamond. In 1998, Diamond directed the documentary film Dancemaker which was nominated at the Academy Awards for Best Documentary Feature. For Disney, he directed episodes of the Disney Channel series That’s So Raven (2003-07) before working on Camp Rock, and directed episodes of other non-Disney series such as Gilmore Girls (2000-07) and Desperate Housewives (2004-12).
The movie was filmed in Autumn 2007 in Canada, as so many Disney Channel movies are. Specifically, two different summer camps were used as the set of Camp Rock. One was Kilcoo Camp in Minden, Ontario, and the other was YMCA Camp Wanakita in Haliburton, Ontario. This meant that a typical camp setting, with picturesque landscaping and a beautiful lake, could be the backdrop of the movie, alongside the standard wooden cabins that make up a normal summer camp. In their downtime, the cast spent a lot of their time as though they were actually at Camp Rock, singing and dancing, as well as taking part in usual camp activities like canoeing.
Although much of Camp Rock was filmed at the camps, the Final Jam was not filmed there. It was meant to be filmed at one of the camps, but it was moved to a soundstage to make it a bigger showcase. They decorated a soundstage to look like Jacob’s Pillow in Massachusetts, which is a theatre housed inside a barn. The director even had a whole backstory for Brown Cesario and why he’d have all this expensive tech equipment at a summer camp. The story went that Brown, who we already knew was a touring rocker, wasn’t paid for his final tour at the end of career and took all the tour’s lighting equipment to Camp Rock with him as payment. Since it was never questioned why all this equipment was at Camp Rock, Brown’s backstory was not used[7]!
Another behind-the-scenes secret is that the Campfire Jam was filmed with a real, huge fire, lit by propane, burning behind the dancers and singers. It was actually further away from the cast than it looks on screen, thanks to a touch of forced perspective and camera trickery, but there were crew members on hand with fire extinguishers just in case something went wrong. The cast members said they could feel the heat from the fire as they were shooting the scene. The performance was also not filmed as late at night as it might appear in Camp Rock, with filters being used to make it look darker[8].
The filming of Camp Rock was an enjoyable experience for the young cast members, who called the set “Disney High” because it was just like high school, with everyone dating each other, and people falling out over silly things, but they all became good friends simply because they were spending so much time together. However, high school isn’t always a pleasant experience, and that was the case at Disney High for some as well. For example, Alyson Stoner and Demi Lovato have since talked about their experiences during their time at Disney, and they both stated that they struggled with their body image and self-confidence during this movie, which no doubt was exacerbated by the fact that the set was full of pretty, talented performers, some of which had already been on television before, plus the fact all these young people were growing up in a high pressure environment, with fans and the press being fascinated and judgmental, in some cases, about them.
Having said that, Lovato and Stoner have been able to laugh at some of their moments in Camp Rock over the years, such as joking about Caitlyn’s keyboard scene in the Pajama Jam and how they hate the music that was overlaid over this scene in the final cut, not believing it to match Caitlyn’s opinion of herself as a would-be music producer, and how Stoner still knows all the steps to the “Start the Party” dance[9].
RECEPTION
Camp Rock first aired on Disney Channel in the US on 20th June 2008. It was rebroadcast on the Disney-owned channels ABC and ABC Family that weekend too. The movie made its way to international Disney Channels in the coming months, although in some cases, it did miss the school summer holidays, so viewers were unable to join Mitchie in her enthusiasm to have a great summer, because in these countries, kids were already going back to school!
On its US Friday night premiere, Camp Rock brought in around 8.9 million viewers, with 3.4 million of those being in the 9-14 age bracket, Disney Channel’s prime audience. At the time, Camp Rock was the second most-watched DCOM, after High School Musical 2 (2007), which had an unprecedented 17.2 million watching its premiere. Camp Rock did outperform High School Musical’s 2006 premiere though, which reached 7.7 million viewers, making Camp Rock the best performing non-sequel movie for Disney Channel at the time[10]. Camp Rock remained as the best performing Disney Channel Original Movie of 2008, but it lost its position as second-most watched DCOM just a year later. In 2009, Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie brought in 11.4 million viewers on its premiere, bumping Camp Rock down a place, however, Camp Rock does remain in the No. 3 spot to this day, and will likely remain there, since Disney Channel movie premieres don’t hit the same numbers they did in the 2000s and 2010s any more.
Camp Rock was meant to be a new age of Disney Channel musicals after High School Musical and its trilogy, since the third – and rumoured to be final – movie was coming to theatres in late 2008. Although many regular Disney Channel audience members enjoyed Camp Rock with its cute, simple story, catchy music, and its typical message of loving yourself and being yourself, it was not seen to be as good as the High School Musical series. But it did bring a new Disney Channel actress and singer to screens, as Camp Rock launched Demi Lovato’s career, with Lovato continuing to be a favourite within the group of actors and artists formally known as Disney Channel stars.
However, there was quite a lot of cynicism in critics’ reviews of Camp Rock, specifically around the marketing of the movie alongside its cast. The Jonas Brothers were said to be well on their way to “world domination” because of Camp Rock and Disney’s clever marketing strategy, and that Demi Lovato would soon be the next female teen star to come from the company. It was both amazing, and scary, to see how much power Disney Channel had in launching new acts. Others also did not like the fact Camp Rock was predictable and almost too wholesome, whilst being clichéd and cringey in places, especially around some of the “mean girl” moments. Some musicians were also annoyed with the continuous use of the word “jam” in Camp Rock, which was being used incorrectly, as a jam session is supposed to be informal and improvised whereas the performances at Camp Rock are clearly not that, and that there were very few people at Camp Rock who could even play an instrument.
Camp Rock’s director Matthew Diamond was nominated at the Directors Guild of America Awards for his work on Camp Rock in the category of Children’s Program, alongside two other 2008 Disney Channel movie directors, The Cheetah Girls: One World, directed by Paul Hoen, and Minutemen, directed by Lev L. Spiro. However, all three lost out to Classical Baby (2005-17) on HBO Family, directed by Amy Schatz.
LEGACY
Soon after Camp Rock aired, it was already being discussed whether there was going to be a sequel, because Disney Channel seem to like musical sequels in particular.
It was later confirmed in 2009 that Disney Channel were working on Camp Rock 2, and production began in Summer 2009. A few story details and cast additions were known around this time, such as the story revolving around Camp Rock and another rival camp, Camp Star, as well as a Romeo and Juliet-style romance going on between a camper at each of the two camps[11]. In April 2010, a premiere date of 3rd September 2010 was confirmed, and the soundtrack of 15 new songs went on sale on 27th July. It was also confirmed that Demi Lovato and other Camp Rock 2 cast members would be joining the Jonas Brothers on a worldwide concert tour to promote the film, beginning on 27th July 2010. This came off the back of the success of Camp Rock as a film, its soundtrack, and its DVD, which became the No. 1 TV Movie and No. 1 Family TV title on DVD in 2008[12].
To bridge the gap between Camp Rock and Camp Rock 2, on the European Disney Channels, there was a singing competition called My Camp Rock, where young viewers could compete through a series of workshops and performances, with the winner getting to professionally record “This is Me” from the film. This show originally began on Disney Channel UK, with the first season airing in April 2009. There was also a second season, which aired in August 2010, before the second film came out. The final episode seems to have aired a week before the UK premiere of Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam. This competition also came to Disney Channels in France, Spain, Scandinavia, and Benelux countries, in 2009 and 2010.
At the US Disney Parks, Camp Rock has been referenced in very small ways over the years. At Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World, from 2010 to 2013, there was a short stage show performed called Disney Channel Rocks, which was similar to the High School Musical pep rallies that had been seen at this park as promotion for the trilogy of films. Disney Channel Rocks showcased music from many Disney Channel musicals including The Cheetah Girls, StarStruck (2010), Jump In! (2007), and of course, High School Musical. From Camp Rock, the song “We Rock” was performed.
A slightly altered version of this show later appeared at the special event Disneyland After Hours: Disney Channel Nite in March 2024. It contained music from The Cheetah Girls, Camp Rock, this being “We Rock”, and its sequel, and High School Musical still, but not some of the lesser-known Disney Channel musicals. Also at Disney Channel Nite in 2024, guests could have their photograph taken in front of a Camp Rock backdrop, and sing-along to hits from the movies at Camp Rock Karaoke.
Apparently, you can also go to Kilcoo Camp, where Camp Rock was filmed, to take part in a Camp Rock experience with all the usual camp activities, like dancing, campfires, and s’mores. Kilcoo Camp is a working private summer camp though, so this Camp Rock experience would only seem to take place in the off-season, however, apart from the odd TikTok video and a couple of articles, where one states the price at almost $4,000 for a two-week stay at Kilcoo Camp, or just over $6,500 for a four-week stay, I can’t find anything categorically showing that this is a bookable experience on the camp’s website[13].
FINAL THOUGHTS
Sadly, my enjoyment of Camp Rock has been somewhat tainted by the experiences that some of its cast have since talked about as they’ve processed events as adults, even if they can laugh about some of their more embarrassing on-screen moments now.
I’m obviously not putting blame on any of the cast for these mixed feelings I have about the film. Working at Disney Channel at that time must’ve been a hugely pressurised environment for many of them.
It’s just a shame that something that seemed so carefree and looked like such fun to be a part of, apparently wasn’t so much in real-life. Unfortunately, this pressure only increased with the sequel, creating a situation that unnecessarily reached boiling point.
REFERENCES
[1] Credit: Rachael Ellenbogen, ‘‘Camp Rock’ director shares 17 things fans probably never knew about the iconic Disney movie’, BusinessInsider.com, 21st June 2023.
[2] Credit: Disney, “Music Videos”, from Camp Rock (2008) Extended Rock Star Edition UK DVD (2008).
[3] Credit: John Russell, ‘Meaghan Martin Says She Still Gets Backlash About Her Character’s Bullying of Demi Lovato in Camp Rock’, People.com, 7th August 2024.
[4] Credit: Zach Sang, ‘Alyson Stoner on Losing the Lead Role in ‘Camp Rock’ to Demi Lovato’, Zach Sang Show Clips YouTube Channel, 14th August 2025.
[5] Credit: Sara Delgado, ‘Selena Gomez apparently turned down the lead role in Camp Rock for Demi Lovato’, GlamourMagazine.co.uk, 10th November 2022.
[6] Credit: Demi Lovato and Nicola Marsh, Child Star (2024), Disney+.
[7] Credit: Rachael Ellenbogen, ‘‘Camp Rock’ director shares 17 things fans probably never knew about the iconic Disney movie’, BusinessInsider.com, 21st June 2023.
[8] Credit: Disney, ““Too Cool”: Setting the Scene”, from Camp Rock (2008) Extended Rock Star Edition UK DVD (2008).
[9] Credit: Demi Lovato and Nicola Marsh, Child Star (2024), Disney+.
[10] Credit: Kate Authur, ‘High ratings for ‘Camp Rock’, the Disney Channel’s Jonas Brothers movie’, LATimes.com, 21st June 2008.
[11] Credit: Helen O’Hara, ‘Camp Rock 2 Starts Production’, EmpireOnline.com, 8th July 2009.
[12] Credit: Charlie Piane, ‘Disney Channel Announces World Premiere of ‘Camp Rock 2 The Final Jam’ 9.3’, BroadwayWorld.com, 27th April 2010.
[13] Credit: Lucy Marshall, ‘Disney Channel fans buzz over ‘real-life Camp Rock’ with lake views and studios’, Mirror.co.uk, 7th July 2025.
The Disney Purist 