BACKGROUND
Synergy is important in all companies, to maximise engagement and brand awareness.
The Walt Disney Company are just one example of a company harnessing the strength of synergy to boost their profits and brand potential, such as through their theme parks, merchandise, and movies, which successfully complement each other.
Disney Channel has also found success with their own version of synergy from their programming, something that they have been doing for decades now. Take Johnny Tsunami (1999) for example. Kirsten Storms, from the Zenon film franchise, and Lee Thompson Young from The Famous Jett Jackson (1998-2001) were both cast in Johnny Tsunami to be the lead character’s best friends. This was no accident, as Disney Channel no doubt hoped to capitalise on the two cast members’ individual popularity to bring viewers to this new film.
The idea of placing two Disney Channel stars together to front a Disney Channel Original Movie was therefore something that the channel had been experimenting with. It paid off with Johnny Tsunami to some extent, but as Disney Channel series started to become more popular with a demographic who were growing up with kids’ television, this was only going to prove more fruitful if they continued with this formula.
So, they did, and still do, with another prime example of this synergy working extraordinarily well being seen with their 2002 Disney Channel Original Movie Cadet Kelly, which took the lead actress from Lizzie McGuire (2001-04), Hilary Duff, and paired her up with Christy Carlson Romano, known at the time for her role as Ren Stevens in Even Stevens (2000-03). Judging from the impressive viewing figures of Cadet Kelly on its premiere night, and the fact the film has been remembered even two decades after its release, this experiment was shown to be working very well for Disney Channel.
This was not the last time they would do this either. Just look at Princess Protection Program (2009), starring Selena Gomez from Wizards of Waverly Place (2007-12) and Demi Lovato from Sonny with a Chance (2009-11), or How to Build a Better Boy (2014), featuring Kelli Berglund from the Disney XD series Lab Rats (2012-16) and China Anne McClain from their series A.N.T. Farm (2011-14). We also can’t ignore those heavily advertised crossover episodes, such as That’s So Suite Life of Hannah Montana (2006) and Wizards on Deck with Hannah Montana (2009), which brought a myriad of Disney Channel stars together for one special storyline. Disney Channel knew synergy was the way to go.
PLOT
Cadet Kelly begins in New York City, where 13-year-old Kelly Collins is participating in her friend Amanda’s school project, dancing in what appears to be a project about family. This is an arts school, apparently, so I guess the rules are different! Kelly’s teacher asks her how she is going to present her own family project and Kelly decides to make a video diary.
Kelly’s father, Adam, then picks her up from school, and tells Kelly his next work trip, as a photographer, will be to go to a list of African countries, as well as to Myanmar, and Thailand. He’s always going to exotic places. Kelly films her dad as they get hot dogs together, stating that her dad is now divorced from her mother, yet he’s still happy. Kelly calls them a taxi to take them back home, where Kelly lives with her mother, Samantha.
Back home, Kelly continues to shove her camera in the faces of her parents, despite her mother being on a work call. The three discuss Samantha’s new boyfriend, a retired army general. Kelly starts being silly, talking about how cute her mother and her new boyfriend are together, and how her parents still get along despite being divorced. She starts bouncing around the room to the point she knocks over their fish bowl, causing Kelly to panic and desperately try to save the fish. Luckily, she saved them all, but Kelly’s mother tells her she needs to slow down and be more careful sometimes.
Samantha’s partner comes to eat dinner with her and Kelly, and once again, Kelly starts being annoying with her camera, pushing it in the couple’s face, to the point that Samantha’s boyfriend gets hit with it, making his nose bleed. At dinner, Kelly announces that her mother is definitely in love, which embarrasses Samantha. This brings them to an important topic of conversation though: that they are getting married in the summer. This throws Kelly for a moment, but she tries not to let it bother her, by giving them her blessing to get married. Kelly asks what she should call her soon-to-be stepfather. He says either Joe or “Sir” is fine. For some reason, Kelly chooses to call him “Sir”. That evening, Kelly wonders how much everything is going to change with her mother getting re-married. Her mother talks to her, and says that she loves Joe and that this will be good for all of them.
The day before the wedding rolls around and it turns out Samantha hasn’t told her daughter something. She has the whole day alone with Kelly to give her this news. As they go shopping, Samantha says that they are going to be moving upstate as Joe has a new job, as the Commandant, basically the principal, of a military school there, which Kelly will be going to. Kelly is distraught, not wanting to change schools or leave her beloved city. Samantha thinks it might be good for Kelly, to give her some focus and some structure, as Kelly is a bit excitable at times…Kelly announces that she isn’t going, begging her mother to let her live with her friend Amanda and her parents. Samantha says that’s not going to happen. Kelly continues to say to Amanda she isn’t going, but packs anyway.
Sure enough, Kelly’s threats of staying behind in New York don’t come to anything and she arrives at George Washington Military Academy. Her mother and stepfather have a house on campus, so she can come home at weekends, but during the week, she is expected to stay in the cadets’ barracks. Kelly draws attention to herself, both on campus and in the dormitory, as she is the only one not in uniform and clearly doesn’t want to be there. Another cadet, Carla, tries to put Kelly at ease, but Kelly isn’t convinced this will ever be the place for her. The rest of the cadets start discussing sixteen-year-old Cadet Captain Jennifer Stone, the one who will be in charge of their barracks. Kelly learns Captain Stone is stern, strict, and has a crush on Brad, the best-looking guy at the academy.
Shortly after, Captain Stone comes to inspect the cadets. Kelly doesn’t notice as she is busy spreading out a multi-coloured blanket over her bed. Captain Stone comes over to Kelly, and tells her the blanket is not regulation and she never wants to see it in these barracks again. Kelly can’t believe there is such a problem with a blanket. She is told she is on Stone’s “list”. To make it worse, lights out is in 10 mins. Kelly hates this place.
The next morning, Kelly is rudely woken up by the traditional military bugle wake-up call. She is the last to arrive at morning inspection with Captain Stone, and arrives in her uniform, but with the added accessories of jewellery and a scarf. Carla signals to Kelly to take that stuff off; she hurriedly hides it in her cap. Captain Stone and her second-in-command Gloria read out the cadets’ schedule, which confuses Kelly who can’t get her head around the 0800 hours thing! Captain Stone comes over to see if everything is clear, and Kelly admits it is not. She calls Kelly a “maggot” and signals for Kelly to salute her. Kelly rushes to salute, knocking off her cap. As Captain Stone sees all these non-regulation items, she is about to launch into a full-blown tirade, but before she can, Carla jumps in, stating that she will help Kelly learn about proper military conduct. Stone tells her to do it – quickly.
Carla talks to Kelly about ranks, and how as lowly cadets, they need to salute anyone higher up than them, including Captain Stone. Kelly sees Brad for the first time, with Carla telling Kelly to stay away, or risk annoying Stone further. Carla also says that there is a Welcome Back dance on Friday, which interests Kelly, who can’t wait to dress up. Kelly sees Stone about to talk to Brad, and rushes in front of her, to salute him. Brad sees this as comical, saluting Kelly back, before walking away. Kelly then salutes a furious Stone.
Kelly later gets her first taste of classes at a military academy, where she learns to stand before a teacher comes into the classroom, and announces herself to be a “conscientious objector” in a class about war strategies, shocking everyone else in the room! She also says that at her old school, she only had to do math when she felt like it. In the barracks, Kelly talks to the other girls about their dresses for the dance, but Carla is less than enthusiastic about it. Kelly and Carla go for a walk instead, where Kelly sees the academy’s drill team for the first time, and says they look like robots as they throw their rifles around in perfect unison. Kelly is not impressed. The two then come across the Commandant, and Carla is shocked to find Kelly being so familiar with him. Kelly says that the Commandant is actually her new stepfather. Carla says this fact might make Captain Stone go a bit easier on her, but Kelly wants to keep this secret hidden for a while. Carla and Kelly go to Kelly’s house, where they pick out dresses for the dance together. Carla is also introduced to Kelly’s mother, who is struggling a bit with her new role as a housewife.
Later that day, Kelly and the other cadets take part in an assault course. Kelly is not very athletic and is very slow around this course, not liking the mud, the heights, or the fact Captain Stone is following her around it, yelling instructions at her. Kelly eventually finds herself stuck up a wall, which she needs to abseil down. After the activity is over, Captain Stone returns to the wall to see Kelly still up there. Kelly is ordered to come down, and she haphazardly repels down the wall. Stone tells Kelly that she’ll be repeating this course again, until she gets it right, with Gloria watching as she does so. This means Kelly will miss the dance that night, but Stone doesn’t care.
Kelly gets to work on the course, even as it starts to pour with rain. She tries to get Gloria on side, but Gloria is stone-faced, ordering Kelly through the obstacles. During the point where Kelly must crawl through the mud, she starts to sing military songs, which amuses Gloria. She gives Kelly some hints and tips on how to complete the course faster and more easily. After getting through the mud, Gloria tells Kelly they are done for the day and she is dismissed. Kelly runs to the dance in her muddy combats, leading to her falling down the hill right by the hall where the dance is being held. She bursts in, still off balance, and slams right into Captain Stone, clinging on to her as she tries to get her balance again. Stone is horrified to see her beautiful white dress covered in mud. Brad, her date, just starts laughing as the rest of the students applaud Kelly for her stunt!
The next day, Kelly is sent to the Commandant’s office, where he says he’s had lots of complaints about Kelly, from Stone and her teachers. Kelly then insults the drill team, which was a big mistake as the Commandant was once part of that team. The Commandant tells Kelly she will learn about the importance of service here. He tells Kelly to go home. Kelly tries to call her dad, but he doesn’t answer. She leaves him a voicemail, saying how great school is even though she is close to tears. Kelly tries to talk to her mum about how much she hates the academy, but her mum reveals that she is pregnant. Kelly can’t possibly ruin things between her mum and her new stepfather now, so she keeps quiet about it. Kelly is given new paints so she can paint the nursery. Joe then comes home and congratulates Kelly on becoming a big sister – by offering her a handshake…
The next day, at inspection, Stone thinks there will be something wrong with Kelly’s uniform or bunk, but she can’t see anything. Stone congratulates Kelly with getting away with something – however, as Stone walks past, she sees Kelly’s blanket out of the corner of her eye, hidden under a pillow. Stone grabs the blanket and rips it up in front of Kelly. That night, Kelly wants payback for that, and goes to Stone’s room. The next morning, everyone discovers that Kelly actually painted Stone’s hair whilst she was sleeping. Everyone else finds it funny, but not Stone, who delivers a court marshal to Kelly later that day. Joe and Kelly’s mother discuss it that evening, with Joe angry at Kelly for putting him in this position. The other cadets will put Kelly on trial but he will have to punish her. Kelly talks to her mother in tears, saying she was never asked if she wanted to come here, so it’s hardly her fault if she’s struggled to adjust. Her mother tells her to apologise to the court.
In court, Stone reads out a list of Kelly’s “crimes”, and is told by Brad to remove her cap to give evidence of the painted hair. The court finds Kelly guilty and she is sent to the Commandant’s office. He sentences her to be the equipment manager for the drill team, where she will be polishing and cleaning the team’s uniforms. It turns out the Commandant has high hopes for this team to outdo his 1970 team’s 3rd place finish at competition. Kelly then gets a call from her dad, and she lets him know what happened. He’s so distracted he doesn’t really listen and thinks her sentence must be a good thing!
Later, Kelly reports to the drill team and is ordered to polish shoes. She starts singing about how mean Stone is, which is overheard by Brad. He doesn’t seem to care though and shows Kelly that a bit of spit on the shoes makes them shine more. The Commandant comes to watch the team practice, and says they will have a meet in two weeks’ time, this being their first step to getting to the Regionals. Kelly keeps up her job as the equipment manager, asking Carla to come and help her. Carla then says that she loves being at school, as it’s much better than life at home. Kelly starts to understand how that could be possible.
As the two work on polishing together, Kelly interrupts Captain Stone and Brad’s conversation again, asking to borrow some spit for her shoe, saying she’ll pay him back later…Right…She also says she’s a lucky charm and offers to let Brad rub her head. He does. As the team go back out to practice, Kelly picks up a rifle and tries to flip and catch it.
At the meet against Rahway High School, they are all nervous, especially Captain Stone who needs help with her broken belt. Kelly comes to the rescue. George Washington Military Academy is outperformed by Rahway, with Brad deducing they need more from the Exhibition Phase, which is basically like a military-inspired dance routine, something that Stone had been working on. Kelly tries to cheer Brad up when they are alone by playing about with the rifle. He finds it funny, and lets her carry on.
The next day, Kelly finds Gloria and offers her some of her jewellery or accessories in exchange for help with drill team try-outs, as they are holding auditions to revitalise the team before the Regionals. Gloria is happy to help, and quizzes her on military knowledge and teaches her the movements. After some time, Gloria decides Kelly is ready and she goes to the try-outs. Stone is unimpressed with Kelly. Brad ignores her, saying that new members will be announced the next day. Kelly wakes up bright and early so she can see if she made it, but she is once again summoned to the Commandant. He begins by saying he did not give Kelly permission to try out for the drill team, but announces she made it and that he is very proud of her. Kelly is about to get another handshake when she tells the Commandant he needs to be less uptight now that there’s going to be a baby in the family. He agrees.
Kelly sees Stone practising new moves for the competition later that day, and joins in, by copying Stone. They begin a sort of dance-off, which is seen by Brad. Brad likes this idea and decides they will now be a duo in the Exhibition Phase, annoying Stone. Kelly tries to get along with Stone, asking if they can talk about their routine together. Stone allows it. That evening, Kelly’s father comes for dinner with Kelly, her mother, and Joe. He says he’ll be climbing Rockridge Point nearby so he will be able to see Kelly in the drill team competition later that same day. Kelly is very pleased about this.
The day of Regionals comes and the team arrive at the location. Kelly is being asked by Brad to do something; however, she is distracted by the arrival of Amanda, who Kelly calls her “truest friend”, upsetting Carla who has been with Kelly throughout her time at the military academy. The competition begins soon after with the Inspection Phase. The team do well. Kelly then starts to look for her dad in the crowd but he isn’t there. The team hear a phone going off; it’s Kelly’s. They are angry with her because had that phone gone off during the inspection, they would’ve been disqualified. Kelly tries to explain it is her dad and he only calls in emergencies. Kelly picks up the call but the line goes dead.
An hour or so later, Kelly tries to call her dad again as he still isn’t here, but there is no answer. The Commandant comes over to give the team a pep talk before their next phase. He sees Kelly upset and talks to her. She explains she is worried about her dad, believing he’s got himself in trouble but not wanting to abandon the team. The Commandant tells her the team would understand and that her father comes first. They drive to Rockridge Point to look for him. Stone and Brad are disappointed to find Kelly has vanished and stand down some of their team to make up for the missing cadet.
At Rockridge Point, Kelly sees her father has fallen off the mountain onto a ledge and is unconscious. Joe calls for help, but Kelly wants to act now. She says she will repel down to him on the ledge. Joe tries to talk her out of it but Kelly is insistent. She starts abseiling down the mountain, jumping the last section as the rope they have is too short. Kelly tries to wake her father, and he regains consciousness, joking about how the “first step is a real doozy”. The emergency services come to retrieve Kelly’s father and take him to hospital. Kelly is glad to see both of her dads fine and well. Kelly and Joe hug for the first time.
Back at the competition, the Commandant explains that he excused Kelly from the last phase. Now it is time for the Exhibition Phase, and Kelly and Stone know they have to be perfect to make up points. The two give an amazing performance, complete with ribbons. As the teams assemble for the final scores, George Washington Military Academy sadly find that they come in 2nd place, and did not win, losing by just one point. However, this is still the best the team has done in years, so the Commandant and Brad are happy with that, and they are still going to Nationals. Kelly tries to take the blame for the team not winning, and Stone seems to start to agree with her, however, she says that actually the team wouldn’t have done as well without her. Kelly says their routine will just have to be better next time. Stone announces that she’s actually moving away so Kelly will have to go on without her, but she wishes for Kelly to become a Cadet Captain, so she can deal with someone just like her in a few years’ time! The movie ends with the team saluting their Commandant and Kelly stating that her memoirs of this time in her life are now complete.
CHARACTERS & CAST
Kelly Collins, or Cadet Kelly, is an enthusiastic, artistic, positive individual. She loves art, New York City, and her family, although her clumsiness and over-excitedness can get her into trouble sometimes. Kelly never expects her life to change much, but instead finds herself being sent to military school after her mother marries a general who is set to be the new Commandant there. Kelly’s character doesn’t match the structured routine of military school, and she finds herself trying to push the boundaries as much as possible, however, this also gets her into trouble as she gets off on the wrong foot with Captain Stone, embarrasses her stepfather, and struggles to understand the rules at this new school. Eventually, thanks to her punishment of working with the drill team, Kelly learns the discipline and focus Joe and her mother hoped she’d learn, as she becomes a part of the team and begins to properly engage with the academy classes. This even leads to her pulling off a daring rescue to save her father, and to a respectable second-place finish with the drill team.
Hilary Duff was cast as Kelly Collins. At the time of Cadet Kelly, Duff was already playing the title role in the Disney Channel series Lizzie McGuire (2001-04), having also previously been cast as Wendy in Casper Meets Wendy (1998). After Cadet Kelly, Duff went on to reprise her role as Lizzie McGuire in The Lizzie McGuire Movie (2003) before having many more acting opportunities, such as being cast as Lorraine Baker in Cheaper by the Dozen (2003) and its 2005 sequel, and as Sam Montgomery in A Cinderella Story (2004) starring opposite Chad Michael Murray. More recently, Duff starred as Sophie Tompkins in How I Met Your Father (2022-23), a spin-off of the series How I Met Your Mother (2005-14). Duff is also known as a singer, having released many albums, including Santa Claus Lane in 2002, her self-titled album in 2004, and most recently Luck…or Something in 2026. Some of her earlier singles include “Why Not”, “So Yesterday”, and “Santa Claus Lane”. During her time as a teen acting and singing sensation, Duff won numerous Kids’ Choice Awards.
Cadet Captain Jennifer Stone is strict, tough, and easy to annoy. She doesn’t tolerate lack of care and attention to the rules of the academy, and quite clearly doesn’t like Kelly for a variety of reasons. Stone cannot allow any cadet to get an easy ride, just because they aren’t used to being at a military academy or because their stepfather is the Commandant, so Stone is quite hard on Kelly. Kelly doesn’t respond to being shouted at or punished so Stone’s animosity towards Kelly does no-one any favours. In the end, when Kelly and Stone are forced to work together for the competition, Stone finds that actually Kelly isn’t such a “maggot” after all, and they find some common ground. They perform well together at the competition but hopes of seeing the two become friends are dashed as Stone says her father has gotten a new posting and she will be moving away. Sad times.
Christy Carlson Romano was cast as Cadet Captain Jennifer Stone. At the time, she was playing Ren Stevens in the Disney Channel series Even Stevens (2000-03) for Disney Channel, going on to reprise this role in The Even Stevens Movie (2003) as well as becoming the voice of Kim Possible for the Disney Channel series and its 2005 film So the Drama. In the 2019 reboot DCOM Kim Possible, she returned to the franchise to play Poppy Blu. Christy Carlson Romano went on to appear in Broadway productions, such as being cast as Belle in the 2004 production of Beauty and the Beast, and Kate Monster and Lucy in the 2008 production of Avenue Q. Nowadays, she hosts podcasts such as Vulnerable, and had a YouTube series called Christy’s Kitchen Throwback, where former child stars would come and cook with her whilst discussing their careers. This series later became a cookbook. For her role in Even Stevens, Romano won two Young Artists awards.
Cadet Carla Hall is seemingly Kelly’s only friend at the academy. Carla is the first person to talk to Kelly and volunteers to help Kelly learn about how to behave at her new school, in order to stop Stone from coming down so hard on Kelly every day! Carla and Kelly become close friends, even though Kelly doesn’t listen to Carla’s advice all the time. Carla later agrees to help Kelly with the equipment for the drill team, apparently taking it over from her after Kelly gets a spot on the team. That wasn’t part of the deal. At the competition though, Carla is hurt to find that Kelly only thinks of Amanda as her best friend. In the end, Kelly explains that she doesn’t like Amanda more than Carla, only that she’s known Amanda longer, which isn’t much of an apology if you ask me, but Carla seems ok with it!
Carla was played by Andrea Lewis, who went on to be cast as Hazel Aden in Degrassi: The Next Generation (2001-15) until Season 5, and as Melissa in the Canadian drama series Moccasin Flats (2003-06). Lewis said that she was very excited to work on Cadet Kelly, having been a fan of the Disney Channel and its shows like Even Stevens, Lizzie McGuire, and The Famous Jett Jackson. She was not aware of quite how big a deal this film was going to be until she saw Hilary Duff and Christy Carlson Romano show up for the read-through. Lewis said she had a lot of fun shooting this movie and is still surprised to be recognised by the public for her role here over 20 years later[1].
Cadet Major Brad Rigby is the talk of the academy amongst the girls, who all have a crush on him; however, it is well-known in the school that Captain Stone likes Brad so he is effectively off-limits to everyone else. Only Kelly would ignore that advice, going out of her way to be noticed by Brad, such as pushing in front of Stone just so she can randomly salute him, and asking him to rub her head for good luck. To be honest, Brad doesn’t seem romantically interested in Stone, even though they went to the dance together, and just seems to be amused by Kelly, so there are no romances in Cadet Kelly. Brad is much too busy focusing on getting the drill team a win, and when Kelly gets a place on the team, she seems to forget all about impressing him anyway!
Brad Rigby was played by Shawn Ashmore, who went on to play Bobby Drake / Iceman in the X-Men sequel X2 (2003) shortly after his role in Cadet Kelly, winning the MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance. He reprised his role in later X-Men sequels. After this, Ashmore was cast as Mike Weston in the Fox series The Following (2013-15), which starred Kevin Bacon, and currently plays Wesley Evers in the ABC police drama series The Rookie (2018-present).
Gloria Ramos is Captain Stone’s second-in-command, doing most of the shouting for her! Gloria is tasked with monitoring Kelly’s attempts through the obstacle course and initially seems just as stern and strict as Stone, however, she warms to Kelly throughout the course and decides to help her instead of just yelling at her. She is also instrumental in preparing Kelly for the drill team try-outs, once again, happy to help her. Gloria is fair and sympathetic unlike Stone, but she still doesn’t suffer fools gladly.
Aimee Garcia was cast as Gloria. Garcia went on to be cast as Veronica Ann Palmero in Seasons 5 and 6 of the sitcom George Lopez (2002-07), and as Jamie Bautista in Seasons 6, 7, and 8 of Dexter (2006-13). She later played Ella Lopez in the fantasy series Lucifer (2016-21). Outside of that, she also played Jae Kim in RoboCop (2014). Recently, Garcia was cast as Magdalena Ortega in the festive film Holiday in Santa Fe (2021).
Amanda is Kelly’s best friend from New York. They both went to the same school together, loving the freedom their specific school gave them. Together, they are giggly and perhaps just a little bit ditzy! Amanda can’t believe that Kelly is going to be moving away, however, they plan to keep in touch. Amanda shows up to Kelly’s drill team competition and is very happy to be reunited with her best friend.
Sarah Gadon was cast as Amanda. Gadon had previously appeared as Heather in an early DCOM, The Other Me (2000). She was later cast in theatrical movies, like Belle (2013), playing Lady Elizabeth Murray; A Royal Night Out (2015) portraying Princess Elizabeth; and Ferrari (2023), where she was cast as Linda Christian. In television, Gadon was cast as Sadie Dunhill in the miniseries 11.22.63 (2016) and starred as Grace Marks in the Canadian miniseries Alias Grace (2017). Recently, she played Laura Redman in the Netflix miniseries Wayward (2025), which starred Toni Collette.
General Joe Maxwell, also known as the Commandant, or just “Sir” to Kelly, is Kelly’s new stepfather, but he isn’t the typical kind of stepfather you see in these types of films, trying desperately to get the approval of their new partner’s child. Instead, he is simply strict and uptight, due to his military roles and upbringing. At one point, he says his father was also Commandant at this same school when Joe was attending, so that is perhaps why he struggles to be openly emotional. Thanks to Kelly, he learns how to be a warm, loving father and it’s about time too, because, as Kelly said, babies can’t salute or shake hands!
Gary Cole was cast as General Maxwell. Cole had starred as Mike Brady in The Brady Bunch Movie (1995) and its 1996 sequel prior to his role in Cadet Kelly, and had also appeared in the Disney Christmas film I’ll Be Home for Christmas (1998) as Jake’s dad, Mr. Wilkinson. After Cadet Kelly, Cole went on to voice Kim Possible’s father, Dr. James Possible in Kim Possible (2002-07) and to voice the character of Principal Shepherd in Family Guy (1999-present). Cole has continued to voice act with his recurring role as Sergeant Bosco in the Fox animated series Bob’s Burgers (2011-present), returning to the role for the 2022 The Bob’s Burgers Movie. Outside of that, Cole has made appearances in other movies, including as Reese Bobby in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006), starring Will Ferrell; Ted Jones in Pineapple Express (2008); and as Henry O’Hare in Hop (2011). In television, Cole played Bob Russell from Season 5 to Season 7 of The West Wing (1999-2006); Kent Davison in the political satire series Veep (2012-19); the recurring role Kurt McVeigh in The Good Fight (2017-22); and Harrison Jackson III in the Black-ish spin-off series Mixed-ish (2019-21). Cole currently plays Alden Parker in NCIS (2003-present), having been involved in the long-running show since Season 19.
Samantha Collins is Kelly’s mother. She seems to have quite a high-powered, stressful job in the city, but leaves all of that once she marries Joe and moves upstate to the military academy for him, where she learns to cook and later becomes pregnant. It’s not the most empowering storyline for her, but she seems to like her new life. Samantha clearly loves her daughter and honestly thinks the structure of military school might help Kelly to calm down and be less hyper, however, Kelly does struggle to adapt and feels the need to keep this a secret so as not to disrupt her mother’s happiness with her new husband. Samantha is a little bit clueless to her daughter’s feelings, but she does mean well, I think.
Samantha was played by Linda Kash, who was later cast as Schlots’ mother in the Disney Channel Movie Full-Court Miracle (2003). Kash also played Alma Hix in the made-for-television adaptation for ABC of The Music Man (2003), alongside Matthew Broderick as Harold Hill and Kristin Chenoweth as Marian around this time. Kash went on to play the recurring role of Nellie Hebert in the medical drama Doc (2001-04).
Adam Collins is Kelly’s photographer father. He is usually away on his travels around the globe on exciting work assignments, so he doesn’t see Kelly as much as he’d like to but he does always return with some sort of gift for her. Adam is kind of clumsy and scatterbrained, like his daughter, so that must be where Kelly gets it from! Adam doesn’t seem to be someone who wants to settle for the mundane, but like Samantha, he adores his daughter and wants to be there for her drill team competition. Sadly, he gets himself into an accident and has to be rescued by Kelly, missing the competition, but at least he wasn’t seriously injured – that wouldn’t be very Disney Channel, would it? Nigel Hamer was cast as Adam. Hamer appeared as Jeff Isaacs in early seasons of Degrassi: The Next Generation.
MUSIC
Cadet Kelly’s soundtrack features mostly pop music, generally used in montages. Three songs are clearly heard within Cadet Kelly.
One of these is “Watch Me Shine”, written by Dino Esposito, and performed by singer Joanna Pacitti. “Watch Me Shine” was also used in the movie Legally Blonde (2001) starring Reese Witherspoon. In Cadet Kelly, “Watch Me Shine” is playing as Gloria teaches Kelly about drill team protocol so she can successfully try out for a place on the team. This song is all about showing the doubters what you can do, so it perfectly matches Kelly’s story in the film. In the Disney+ version of this film, “Watch Me Shine” was replaced by a different song. The song was not credited, so I don’t have an artist or writer’s name for it. The song may be titled “You Can Be Anything”, judging by its lyrics.
Another song used is “Relating to a Psychopath”, written by Macy Gray, Jeremy Ruzumna, Darryl Swan, and Dave Wilder. It was performed by American singer Macy Gray, who released her debut album On How Life Is in 1999. Gray won numerous awards for such singles as “I Try”, including a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Gray has since appeared on various reality shows, including as a contestant on Dancing with the Stars (2005-present), appearing in Season 9 in 2009, and The Masked Singer, in the US, Australia, and the UK. “Relating to a Psychopath” is playing as Kelly interrupts Captain Stone’s rehearsal for the Exhibition Phase of the drill team competition, and basically turns it into a dance off, as Kelly and Captain Stone try to copy and outdo each other’s moves. This leads to Brad saying the two must perform together in the competition. For some reason, in the Disney+ version of Cadet Kelly, this song was also removed, being replaced with something generically jazzy, which is a shame because the original song fits well in the scene. I can only assume Disney lost the rights to these two songs at some point.
Finally, “One Girl Revolution”, written by Max Hsu and Dave Gherzlen, and performed by rock band Superchick, is the stand-out tune in Cadet Kelly. Superchick released their debut album Karaoke Superstars in 2001, with “One Girl Revolution” appearing in this album. “One Girl Revolution” has also appeared in other movies, including the DCOM Cloud 9 (2014) and the Mary-Kate and Ashley film Holiday in the Sun (2001). In Cadet Kelly, this song is used both in the opening sequence, as well as during Stone and Kelly’s competition dance routine.
As well as these three very audible songs, at the Welcome Back dance, the song “It’s Not That Deep”, written by Donny Markowitz, and performed by Cash Hollywood, is playing when Kelly comes barrelling into the hall and bumps into Captain Stone.
You’ll also hear two likely familiar tracks within Cadet Kelly. One is the traditional military wake-up call, called “Reveille”, normally performed on the bugle. There is also “I Don’t Know, But I’ve Been Told”, a military cadence call. The song has been parodied many times. In this case, Kelly is singing about how mean Captain Stone is and that her heart is cold. Brad then comes in and asks Kelly “How cold?”, to which Kelly shouts “Ice cold!”. Kelly also sings the openings lines from both “The Marines’ Hymn” and “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” whilst she is trying to get through the mud and under the wires in the assault course.
There are also two further pieces of music that are credited in Cadet Kelly, however, neither of these have performers or singers attached to them, only writers. Without being able to hear them, and their titles not giving any hint as to what section of the film they can be heard in, I cannot link them to anything specific. Just to complete the soundtrack though, the tracks are “Don’t Get Me Started”, written by Kit Hain and Nina Ossoff, and “I Need To Hear It From You”, written by Nina Ossoff and Kathy Sommer.
David Kitay is credited as the composer of the music here. At Disney Channel, Kitay also composed the music for other DCOMs, like Eddie’s Million Dollar Cook-Off (2003) and Life is Ruff (2005), 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
Cadet Kelly was said to be inspired by the 1980 comedy film Private Benjamin, with producers from that film being involved in the creation of Disney Channel’s Cadet Kelly.
Private Benjamin sees a woman named Judy Benjamin being almost tricked into completing basic training for the US Army and finding herself struggling to navigate the world of the military and its personnel. This comedy film was a big hit in 1980, leading to Academy Award nominations for its lead actress Goldie Hawn, as well as Eileen Brennan for Best Supporting Actress, and Nancy Meyers, Charles Shyer and Harvey Miller for Best Screenplay – Written Directly for the Screen. The screenwriters did win the award for Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen at the Writers Guild of America Awards.
Although Cadet Kelly has been watered down to suit the child-friendly environment of the Disney Channel, the basic idea, of a girl being pushed into a military atmosphere with no idea of what she’s doing, leading to humorous incidents, is more or less the same.
The writers tasked with using Private Benjamin as inspiration for this new Disney Channel movie were Gail Parent and Michael Walsh. Parent had previously worked on comedy series such as Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (1976-77) and The Golden Girls (1985-92). After Cadet Kelly, Parent wrote the screenplay for the Disney comedy film Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, starring Lindsay Lohan and Megan Fox. Michael Walsh had written the screenplay for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (1999), an adaptation of the 1972 Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice musical of the same name, prior to his work on Cadet Kelly. Walsh is an author of non-fiction books and novels.
Cadet Kelly was directed by Larry Shaw, who was a director and producer on the long-running series Desperate Housewives (2004-12). Shaw also directed some episodes of other series including Castle (2009-16) and Why Women Kill (2019-21).
Filming for Cadet Kelly took place in Canada. The military boarding school Robert Land Academy was said to be the primary filming location for Cadet Kelly. The academy was located in Wellandport, Ontario, Canada. It has since closed, with former students alleging abuse at the school. Another filming location was St Andrew’s College, based in Aurora, Ontario. The independent school was founded in 1899. Loretto Abbey Catholic Secondary School in Hogg’s Hollow, Toronto, was an additional school location used for filming. It was established in 1847 and is one of Toronto’s oldest schools. Fort York Armoury, a Canadian Forces facility in Toronto, seems to have been used for the location of the drill team competition at the end of the film.
When casting Cadet Kelly, it was already decided that this movie would be a vehicle for Hilary Duff to boost her star power. Christy Carlson Romano believes she was then approached to be cast opposite Duff due to her performance in Even Stevens, with her character Ren being the highly-strung older sister. The two conflicting characters would create the necessary tension. Since both of these actresses came from popular Disney Channel series, their combined star power would surely make this film a hit.
But there was a slight catch. They wouldn’t just be able to fake the military behaviours and procedures; they’d have to be taught how to do it properly – and that meant they were thrown into a boot camp to learn all these things, like how to salute correctly, march properly, and all the skills needed to compete with the drill team. The military instructor on this film was Andrea Bryant, who ensued the stars did not slack off, overseeing their progress daily. Bryant said she was quite impressed with the actors for their commitment and focus on getting these skills perfect. Cadet Kelly had to be technically accurate, otherwise what would be the point of making the film. Many DCOMs see their stars learn specific sports for their films, where hitting someone in the face with a ball might not be too much of an issue, but nobody wants to get whacked in the face with a rogue rifle!
As well as these military skills, Hilary Duff and Christy Carlson Romano also had additional rehearsals for their dance routines with choreographer Amy Wright, which they still found tough but were more fun to do[2]! Apparently, Christy Carlson Romano got quite bad back problems whilst she was filming Cadet Kelly because of the need to stand up straight for hours on end in unsupportive military-regulation boots, meaning she needed regular massages to get her through filming[3]. Hilary Duff also stated in an interview that it was so hot while they were filming that in some of the sequences outside, cadets were passing out[4].
The credits of Cadet Kelly acknowledge multiple locations and institutions. One of these is the National High School Drill Team Championships of Daytona Beach Florida. Apparently, producers approached the competition for consulting purposes for the in-movie drill team competition. Another was Rahway High School, whose drill team appears in the film as an on-screen rival team for George Washington Military Academy. Rahway High School is situated in Union County, New Jersey.
Cadet Kelly is dedicated to film producer Carol Rubin, who worked at ABC and The Walt Disney Company. She was involved in the Disney Channel Original Movies Brink! (1998) and Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century (1999) amongst many others. Rubin died in 2001.
RECEPTION
Cadet Kelly premiered on Disney Channel in the US on 8th March 2002.
It is not clear when Cadet Kelly premiered on international Disney Channels though, and whether the majority saw it in 2002 or had to wait a year for it.
What is known though is the viewing figures that Cadet Kelly achieved on its premiere date – and they are somewhat surprising in some ways, and make total sense in other ways. Cadet Kelly was watched by around 7.8 million total viewers on its premiere date, premiering after a new episode of Lizzie McGuire, reportedly. It ranked No. 1 in the channel’s target demographics of Tweens 9-14 and Kids 6-11, and actually become the most-watched Disney Channel Original Movie premiere for a time[5].
In the early 2000s, the viewing figures of all DCOMs were not widely reported. However, of the few that were, including Halloweentown II: Kalabar’s Revenge (2001), with 6.1 million; and The Luck of the Irish (2001), with 5.2 million, Cadet Kelly easily surpassed all of them with its viewership. This 7.8 million was enough to keep Cadet Kelly in the top spot of the Top 10 Most-Watched DCOMs for many years. The closest this movie came to being topped was with Disney Channel’s January 2006 film High School Musical – yet High School Musical was 0.1 million viewers short of outdoing Cadet Kelly.
Just a few months later, in August 2006, The Cheetah Girls 2 equalled Cadet Kelly’s numbers, so these two became the highest-rated Disney Channel Original Movie premieres. By 2007, thanks to Jump In! premiering in January of that year, Cadet Kelly and The Cheetah Girls 2 were toppled from the No. 1 spot, as Jump In! garnered 8.2 million viewers on its premiere. All three would be blown completely out of the water by the record-breaking premiere of High School Musical 2 in the summer of 2007 though, which was watched by around 17.2 million viewers. However, Cadet Kelly was the most watched DCOM premiere of 2002, and remains in joint 8th position in the Top 10 Most-Watched DCOM Premieres list.
Cadet Kelly has remained one of the most talked about DCOMs too, even over two decades since its release and is beloved by many who watched the film in their tween and teenage years. I am one of those people. Many particularly liked the pop music-filled soundtrack, and felt it was cute, funny, and perfect for the target audience that watch Disney Channel. The casting of both Hilary Duff and Christy Carlson Romano was also praised, with the two bouncing off each other brilliantly in their scenes. Cadet Kelly was also seen to have a message about female empowerment, featuring two strong-minded female characters.
Having said that, Cadet Kelly has been the subject of some criticism as well. Some have commented online, at length, to discuss Kelly’s mother’s parenting decisions. These viewers take issue with Kelly being pulled away from a school and city she loves to go to military school just because of her new stepfather’s job, with Kelly’s needs and wants not being considered at all. They also dislike the fact Kelly calls her stepfather “Sir” and doesn’t use his name. I’d just like to point out here that at the dinner early on in the movie with Kelly, her mum, and her stepfather, he does say that she can call him Joe or “Sir”; Kelly is the one to choose to call him “Sir” and not Joe, so this was not forced upon her. But obviously at school, she should not call her stepfather by his first name, but that would be expected at any school, not just military school. Others felt the plot of Cadet Kelly was predictable, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, especially for a children’s television movie, and there has been some criticism levelled at how military schools and the drill team are portrayed.
From my point of view, I never had an issue with the plot point of moving Kelly to military school, for two reasons. One is that the structure of military school was good for Kelly because she could be quite hyper and lacking focus. The other is that parents are always moving their families when they get new jobs. It’s nothing new and certainly not unique to this film; it’s just how it goes sometimes. Another point I’d like to mention is that had Kelly actually plucked up the courage to tell her mum how much she hated being at the military academy, I am quite sure she would’ve been sent to another school. The only thing I can really critique is the crush on Brad subplot. It doesn’t add anything to story, and Brad doesn’t seems interested in either Kelly or Captain Stone. It is only there to add another level of animosity and tension between the two, but as it falls away pretty quickly after Kelly joins the drill team, it just seems pointless to me.
LEGACY
Cadet Kelly seems to have found a place for itself amongst a sea of other DCOMs, some memorable, others forgettable, particularly those from the 1990s and 2000s.
Some publications have taken to ranking Disney Channel Original Movies, with Cadet Kelly frequently appearing towards the top of these rankings. For example, Vulture ranked all 105 DCOMs that had been released at the time, and Cadet Kelly was placed in fourth spot, due to its iconic final dance number with the ribbons, and for its casting[6].
This film has also stayed relevant, with the actors later becoming aware of the fact that Cadet Kelly resonated with the LGBTQ+ community. This doesn’t mean Cadet Kelly was written with this exact purpose in mind, more that it appealed to this group, who liked the relationship between Captain Stone and Kelly. Hilary Duff and Christy Carlson Romano had been asked about this aspect of the film in interviews, with both saying they had not been aware of this until many years later, but they are glad to have been a part of something that may’ve helped people through a difficult or complicated moment in their lives[7].
Cadet Kelly never received a sequel, and never really needed one. Kelly likely stayed at the military school, Jennifer Stone moved away, and Kelly’s mother had her baby and the family became closer than ever. It’s not a particularly exciting future for the film, and a sequel could’ve only really had Kelly become a new Cadet Captain and deal with a new recruit very similar to her. This is a similar direction that Christy Carlson Romano envisaged when asked about a possible future for the film, except in this case, she thought that her character, Jennifer Stone, could’ve become the school’s new Commandant and would’ve had to deal with a new girl that is similar to Kelly, bringing back all those memories. She also thought that Stone could’ve married a woman, opening up a new direction for the film to match where some fans felt Cadet Kelly may’ve been heading[8].
FINAL THOUGHTS
I have always liked Cadet Kelly, although I will admit that, watching it back, some of the acting was a bit clunky and awkward – but that’s generally expected from any Disney Channel movie. I liked the music, and always cry at the end when Kelly is saving her dad. It’s been one of my favourites for years, ever since I first watched it.
Cadet Kelly will always remain a favourite Disney Channel Original Movie, particularly amongst millennials, for its casting, messaging, and feel-good factor, showing how it is possible to overcome adversity and discover just who you want to be.
REFERENCES
[1] Credit: Lexy Perez, ‘Andrea Lewis on Working With Hilary Duff on Disney Movie ‘Cadet Kelly’, Film Resonating with LGBTQ Community’, HollywoodReporter.com, 20th June 2024.
[2] Credit: Disney Channel, ‘Learning the Drills’, from Cadet Kelly (2002) UK DVD (2005).
[3] Credit: Christy Carlson Romano, ;What REALLY Happened On The Cadet Kelly Set?! I Christy Carlson Romano’, Christy Carlson Romano Official Facebook Page, 23rd November 2021.
[4] Credit: Vanity Fair, ‘Hilary Duff Rewatches The Lizzie McGuire Movie, A Cinderella Story & More I Vanity Fair’, Vanity Fair Official YouTube Channel, 20th January 2026.
[5] Credit: Laughing Place, ‘Disney Channel Premiere of Cadet Kelly Breaks Records’, LaughingPlace.com, 12th March 2002.
[6] Credit: Rebecca Alter, ‘All 105 Disney Channel Original Movies, Ranked’, Vulture.com, 4th May 2020.
[7] Credit: Lexy Perez, ‘Andrea Lewis on Working With Hilary Duff on Disney Movie ‘Cadet Kelly’, Film Resonating with LGBTQ Community’, HollywoodReporter.com, 20th June 2024.
[8] Credit: Alexia Fernández, ‘Hilary Duff Didn’t Know ‘Cadet Kelly’ Resonated with LGBTQ Community: ‘If It Helped Anybody, I Hope So’, People.com, 19th January 2022.
The Disney Purist 