1. BACKGROUND
2. PLOT
3. CHARACTERS & CAST
4. MUSIC
5. PRODUCTION
6. RECEPTION
7. LEGACY
8. FINAL THOUGHTS
9. REFERENCES

BACKGROUND

In January 2006, Disney Channel Original Movies began their revival. This was all down to one film, a musical called High School Musical. You might’ve heard of it.

Disney Channel hadn’t made bad or unpopular films before then, but High School Musical really got viewers to focus on what the channel were doing with their television movies, which had, in some cases, been low-budget and lacking ambition, and in other cases, were mostly remembered for their franchise potential, like Zenon, The Cheetah Girls, Halloweentown, and Twitches. It’s kind of hard to forget films with sequels.

High School Musical wasn’t the only DCOM released in 2006 though. Disney Channel were averaging around five or six a year by this point. So, what else was coming?

Well, there was Cow Belles, a funny movie about two spoilt rich girls working at a dairy factory, led by sisters Aly and AJ Michalka. There was Read It and Weep, based on a young adult novel of a girl accidentally publishing her private diary, and then the second and fourth instalments of the popular The Cheetah Girls and Halloweentown franchises.

Oh, and there was just one other: Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior, starring Brenda Song, the first time she was leading her own DCOM, despite working with Disney Channel since 2000. Song got her real breakout role as ditzy hotel heiress London Tipton in The Suite Life of Zack & Cody (2005-08).

Now was Song’s chance to take advantage of a leading opportunity in a new movie. And this wasn’t going to be a shallow movie all about high school or being popular, although, don’t worry, that storyline still makes it in. There was a deeper element to this film, with a story about the importance of heritage, putting the Chinese American culture at the forefront. Sure, Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior isn’t perfect in its depictions of this culture; however, this was an early example of Disney Channel going some way to meeting now-commonplace diversity and equality standards.

I remember watching Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior when it debuted on Disney Channel, probably because I liked Brenda Song in The Suite Life of Zack & Cody. To be honest, it’s not a DCOM I love, but that’s due to its frequent use of martial arts fight scenes. I just don’t like those sorts of films. I have come to realise though that many people within the average Disney Channel viewership seem to have forgotten about Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior, so it’s about time it got some love.

PLOT

Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior begins with an image of a warrior before taking us to a group of monks practising martial arts together. One monk, Shen, is told “It is time”, as the evil spirit Yan-Lo is on his way. He is given four animal totems and told to find “her”. He is shown an image of a teenage girl and told she is in California. Shen leaves on his mission.

It turns out this girl is called Wendy Wu, and she is living in California with her Chinese American family. Wendy is finding herself very distracted at school by her dream of becoming Homecoming Queen, struggling in her World History in class in particular and her teacher Mr. Medina is not impressed. Outside of class, Wendy tries to comfort her friend Lisa about her recent break-up, only to be told that she is so lucky for being perfect and popular, and having a perfect, popular boyfriend, Austin. Lisa and Tory, Wendy’s other friend, are convinced Wendy is going to be Homecoming Queen – until they see Wendy’s rival since second grade, Jessica, handing out cookies to their classmates, asking them to vote for her for Homecoming Queen instead. Wendy sees her brother Peter take one of those, and throws her lipstick at the cookie, breaking it in half. She tells him not to eat that, because it is disloyal, only for Peter to point out Austin has a cookie too. Wendy goes up to Jessica and they both fake-wish each other luck in their campaigning.

After school, Wendy complains to her mother Nina about how unfair the situation is, but Nina is too busy working on a new exhibit at the history museum all about ancient Chinese artefacts, complete with eight terracotta warriors. Wendy almost breaks a precious vase, kicking a box into the perfect position to stop it falling to the ground. Wendy’s mother tells her to focus on things that are actually important, like her responsibilities at home. Wendy’s mother mentions feeding her dog Cupcake more often, which gives Wendy an idea: she’ll make cupcakes, to outdo Jessica’s cookies!

We then see Shen is attempting to hitchhike to California but is ignored by those driving by. So, Shen does the rational thing – and decides to ride on top of a car instead!

Back at home, Wendy is struggling to bake all these cupcakes with her father, Kenny, whilst her grandmother watches Chinese soap operas on television. Nina comes home and asks her mother to talk to her about Chinese folklore to give her some context about the items in this museum exhibit. Wendy is told to clean up her mess in the kitchen. Then, there is a knock at the door. Wendy answers it, to find Shen stood there. He tells her that she is a warrior born in the Wei dynasty, sworn to defeat evil. Wendy doesn’t have a clue what he is talking about and tries to shut the door on him, but Shen gets in the house. Wendy fights him with a broom, manging to push him out the door.

At the museum, the security guard takes delivery of a strange box and places it with the other exhibit items. He returns to his desk at the entrance to the museum, but begins to see a weird green glow. The guard goes to investigate and sees the glow coming from this box. Looking inside, he sees an orb, but then is consumed by this green glow, which is an evil spirit: the spirit of Yan-Lo. The guard sees a photo of Wendy and Peter, obviously left by their mother at the museum. The guard is distracted by a pizza delivery, being delivered by none other than Wendy’s brother Peter. He shows Peter the image, and he says that is his sister, obviously confused about why the security guard would care. The spirit is then transferred into Peter and he heads home.

At home, Wendy is on the phone to her friend, being told that Jessica is the guest weather reporter on the news today, promoting her campaign to be Homecoming Queen. Wendy is furious – but manages to fall asleep on the sofa! Peter, still possessed, comes home and sees Wendy. He tries to use the orb from the strange box on Wendy, but Shen, who was keep watching outside the Wu household, gets into the house through an open upstairs window and stops Peter. They engage in a fight, quietly, so Wendy does not wake up. Peter is eventually overpowered, after Shen uses a powerful medallion on him, and the spirit transfers into the family’s dog, Cupcake.

The next morning, Wendy wakes up to find herself wearing that medallion, though she thinks it is just an ugly necklace, and blames Peter for putting it on her; she takes it off. Wendy’s mother tells the rest of the family what she has discovered about terracotta warriors, that supposedly every 90 years they come under the spell of the evil Yan-Lo. Wendy sees Shen in a photograph of monks that Wendy’s mother is looking at, and is confused why he is bald in that image. Wendy’s mother tells her all monks shave their heads, which makes Wendy suspicious of Shen. Shen goes into the house to retrieve the medallion and is confronted by Wendy’s grandmother, who asks if her granddaughter is a warrior. He says she is and vows to protect her. As Wendy heads off to school, catching a ride with her friends, Shen chases after her, telling her to put on the medallion. She refuses and tells her friends to ignore him. Shen tries to follow them, by holding the back of the car whilst on a scooter, but he is shaken off eventually.

In soccer class, Wendy sees Jessica being praised by their coach for outmanoeuvring her in the class. Coach also congratulates Jessica on her weather report last night. In anger, Wendy kicks the ball with an extreme amount of force at Jessica who is the goalkeeper, winding her and scoring a goal, but this doesn’t dent Jessica’s popularity.

Wendy’s dog Cupcake arrives at the school and the spirit moves on to Wendy’s principal. Wendy is then met by Shen again, who tells her to wear the medallion. She refuses, and tries to get away from him. She tells Shen she knows he is not a monk because he has a ponytail. Shen says he was allowed to grow a ponytail so he’d fit in with the contemporary culture here, forgetting the fact he is still wearing his robes! Shen says he saw Wendy’s kick in the soccer class, and says that is her power showing. Wendy asks for further explanation. Shen says he has been reincarnated numerous times to help the descendant of the Yin warrior to defeat Yan-Lo. He shows her an image of the Yin warrior and Wendy admits it does look like her. Shen demands they begin their Kung Fu training now, but Wendy doesn’t want anything to do with it and goes to the mall with her friends. She tells them Shen is her cousin from China and they should keep him a secret – except Jessica already knows about him. Shen comes to Wendy’s house and tells her to wear the medallion – again – but she says he needs to find another warrior because it can’t be her.

The next day, Wendy wakes up to find the medallion on her. Except this time, her grandmother placed it on her, but of course, Wendy blames Shen. As Wendy arrives at school, the principal tries to approach her, but Shen stops him. Mr. Medina asks if the principal is alright, and the spirit goes into him. Wendy complains that Shen is ruining her chances of being Homecoming Queen by following her around, and now showing up at her school. But Shen won’t go away. Wendy then finds out, from Jessica, that she is about to be dropped from the soccer team for failing World History – and won’t be able to compete for Homecoming Queen either. She tells Shen about her problems, with her midterm on China not far off. Shen says he knows all about China and will tutor her, if she agrees to start Kung Fu training and wear the medallion. She agrees, and they have their first lesson in the park that day, except she doesn’t take it seriously at first, talking on her phone and dancing throughout her lesson. At the end of her “training”, Shen says the history of China is already within her, telling her to meditate to unlock the information. We also see the spirit transfer from Mr. Medina to the school janitor.

Wendy spends time focusing on meditation and this allows her to pass her midterm so she can still run for Homecoming Queen. Shen recommends they continue their training, but Wendy is only thinking about Homecoming Queen, saying she needs to get flyers done. She says she’ll get back to training after Homecoming is over.

As Wendy and her grandma set the table for dinner that night, Wendy asks her grandma about her life in China. She recounts a story about a young girl who battled evil, and that every 90 years a descendant must take responsibility and be a Yin warrior. Her grandma tells Wendy she wholeheartedly believes this story. Wendy realises Shen and her grandma must’ve talked already, but Grandma already knew as her mother was a warrior. Shen is seen by Wendy’s mother and he joins the family for dinner, under the guise of being Grandma’s great nephew. Shen starts talking about Wendy’s mother’s exhibit and says he can help her with the research. Peter asks Shen to teach him some martial arts moves to help with his football training. It is also discovered that Shen has made mooncakes for the family, something that seems to upset Wendy’s father, who leaves the table.

Wendy talks to her friends on the phone, who say they are concerned about her chances of being Homecoming Queen with Shen around. She decides to take him to the mall and give him a makeover, so he can blend in more easily. Meanwhile, at home, Wendy’s parents talk about their heritage, with Wendy’s father regretting turning his back on his ancestry. He wants to change that now.

Back at school, Wendy’s boyfriend Austin shows off his new highlights, and tells Wendy that people are talking about Shen and this could ruin their chances of winning Homecoming King and Queen. Shen is tasked with handing out flyers, and his new look makes him popular with her classmates. The two talk later. Shen says Wendy’s great-grandmother almost failed to defeat Yan-Lo, as Yan-Lo has gotten stronger over the years, saying Wendy must train even harder and unlock the spirit within. He also says it is his destiny to die in battle, as he will sacrifice himself to save her.

The next day, Wendy takes Shen to a real teenage party and finds herself getting jealous of Shen dancing with another girl. She also breaks up with Austin, after they argue over the fact Wendy isn’t wearing an outfit that matches his. As Wendy sees the girl kiss Shen, she takes off her medallion and sits alone outside. Here, we notice that her friend Tory has been possessed by the spirit and goes to attack Wendy. Shen stops her and she falls in the pool, along with the orb. Jessica takes a photo of Tory in the pool to embarrass her, and the spirit transfers to her. Wendy understands why her training is important now.

During training, Shen shows Wendy four animal statues, which are all her teachers: tiger for aggression, snake for flexibility, leopard for speed, and crane for balance. There is a fifth teacher, the dragon for invincibility, but that comes from within. As Shen brings the statues to life, they appear as monks. Wendy doesn’t want to be seen hitting old men in the park, obviously, so Shen tries a different tactic. He possesses Wendy’s teachers to be these four teachers, including her soccer coach and Mr. Medina. They also try different methods to keep Wendy motivated in training, such as placing her phone at the top of a lamppost and using soccer as a training tool. The final lesson sees all four teachers battling her with wooden canes. She manages to defeat them all. Her training is complete.

Wendy takes Shen to get coffee. On their return, she gets a call saying she won Homecoming Queen. But Wendy finds out that the battle with Yan-Lo is going to happen on the exact same night as Homecoming. Wendy is angry with Shen for not telling her and refuses to go to the battle. On Homecoming night, she gets all dressed up, ignoring her grandmother’s request for her to battle and wear her great-grandmother’s ancient robes, and is about to leave when her teachers appear at her door, still possessed by the martial arts teachers. They tell her Shen has gone to the museum to fight Yan-Lo alone, and she must go and help him. Fearing for his life, Wendy goes to the museum.

Still in her dress and heels, Wendy sees that Yan-Lo is in the body of Jessica, meaning she must now fight Jessica, and that the terracotta warriors have been awakened. Shen looks beaten, but Wendy and her four teachers begin to fight Yan-Lo/Jessica. Eventually, the terracotta warriors are destroyed, breaking into shards, leaving only Yan-Lo. Wendy’s grandmother arrives with the robes and tells Wendy to wear them. After a quick costume change, where I’m assuming the others cover her, or Yan-Lo agrees to a brief pause, the battle resumes. Wendy shoots a ball of fire using her powers at Jessica and Yan-Lo’s spirit leaves her body and appears to be defeated. Wendy tells Jessica to go and claim the Homecoming Queen crown. But the fight is not over, as Yan-Lo rebuilds himself as a huge warrior. Shen says this is the first time the spirit has ever fought in person. Wendy is beaten back and Shen is about to sacrifice himself, when Wendy hits Yan-Lo with her powers again. She catches Shen as he falls, and uses her powers to revive him, changing destiny. The two resume the fight together, beating Yan-Lo seemingly once and for all, as Yan-Lo shatters into pieces and disappears.

The teachers congratulate Wendy on her achievement, saying the battle is over forever. They tell Shen this will be his last life and should live it well. He chooses to stay with Wendy and her family. The martial arts teachers’ spirits leave the bodies of Wendy’s teachers, who are confused why they are in the museum. Wendy’s grandmother says they were heading to hers to get mooncakes and leads them away. Shen says he actually doesn’t like mooncakes so he and Wendy go for cappuccinos instead!

CHARACTERS & CAST

At the start of this film, the most important thing to Wendy Wu is winning Homecoming Queen. She isn’t bothered about schoolwork, nor is she too bothered about family life; everything is about winning that crown. So, when Wendy is approached by Buddhist monk Shen and told her destiny as the descendant of the Yin warrior is to defeat the evil spirit Yan-Lo, well, that throws all her plans for Homecoming out the window. Wendy is a bit ditzy and just the tiniest bit self-absorbed. She didn’t ask to fight evil, so why should she have to spend hours training for this battle she doesn’t want to attend? But evil waits for no-one, forcing Wendy to miss out on Homecoming in order to save her new friend Shen from certain death, which is honourable. It’s just a shame it takes Shen, Wendy’s grandmother, near-death experiences with her best friend and brother, and her four possessed teachers to get her to that point! If only Wendy had accepted her destiny from the start.

Wendy Wu was played by former Disney Channel star, Brenda Song. Song has actually appeared in five Disney Channel Original Movies: The Ultimate Christmas Present (2000) as Samantha; Get a Clue (2002) as Jennifer; Stuck in the Suburbs (2004) as Natasha; Wendy Wu in Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior (2006), and as London Tipton in The Suite Life Movie (2011), reprising her role from both The Suite Life of Zack & Cody (2005-08) and The Suite Life on Deck (2008-11). She guest starred in the Disney Channel series That’s So Raven (2003-07) as Amber and was cast in the recurring role of Tia in Phil of the Future (2004-06). Song broke out of Disney with her casting as Christy in The Social Network (2010). In recent years, Song has been the voice of Princess Akemi in Blue Eye Samurai (2023-present) and was cast as Mary-Anne in The Last Showgirl (2024). In 2025, Song was also cast as Ali Lee in the Netflix series Running Point (2025-present) and will voice a character in Disney’s Zootopia 2 (2025), alongside partner Macaulay Culkin.

Shen is a Buddhist monk, so naturally, he is very disciplined and committed to his cause, namely to ensure Wendy Wu accepts her role as the warrior who must defeat Yan-Lo. Shen has an insane amount of patience to deal with Wendy and her blunt refusals to take part in Kung Fu training, or even to wear the medallion which will protect her from Yan-Lo’s spirit. Eventually, Wendy is convinced that she does need to train and Shen is by her side to ensure she focuses on the task at hand. He sticks by her during the final battle with Yan-Lo, helping Wendy to defeat him once and for all. At the end of this battle, Shen is told he will no longer be reincarnated to train another descendant of the Yin warrior so he should enjoy his “last life”. He chooses to stay with Wendy and her family in California, so he can eat chocolate and drink cappuccinos for a long, long time!

Shin Koyamada was cast as Shen, and he already had an impressive background in martial artistry prior to his role in Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior, with expertise in three different martial arts disciplines. On screen, he had been cast as Nobutada Katsumoto in The Last Samurai (2003) before his casting in this DCOM. He went on to narrate and co-produce the documentary Wine Road of the Samurai (2006), and co-produced the miniseries The Yokai King (2013), starring as Ippei.

Shen and Wendy’s adversary is Yan-Lo, an evil spirit who reawakens every 90 years to battle a descendant of the Yin warrior. He does not generally appear in human form, but mostly as a spirit, in the form of green smoke, which possesses humans to carry out the task of defeating the Yin warrior. Yan-Lo possesses multiple people in Wendy’s life, including her brother, her school principal, her history teacher, and, randomly, her dog. Eventually, Yan-Lo comes to possess Wendy’s school nemesis, Jessica Dawson, a popular, snooty girl who has always tried to outdo Wendy in everything she does. In this case, it is competing against Wendy to become Homecoming Queen. Wendy seems quite happy to fight Jessica in the final battle with Yan-Lo, but when his spirit leaves her, Wendy has a change of heart and tells Jessica to accept the title of Homecoming Queen in place of her. After Yan-Lo re-created himself to become a huge armoured figure with more strength than Jessica, it took all Wendy’s strength to defeat him, seemingly forever, making the world safe again and avoiding the need for any further Yin warriors.

Yan-Lo was voiced by Hadley Hudson. Jessica Dawson was played by Ellen Woglom. Woglom went on to be cast as Mereta Stockman in the NBC legal drama Outlaw (2010) and as Louise in the ABC Marvel series Inhumans (2017).

The majority of Wendy’s family do not realise the task Wendy is taking on throughout the events of this movie, except for her grandma. Wendy’s grandmother is aware of the legend and family history linking them to Yan-Lo and the Yin warrior because her mother was the Yin warrior, the last one prior to Wendy to take on Yan-Lo, almost failing to defeat him. Wendy’s grandmother fears for Wendy’s safety but knows the importance of her role and appreciates Shen’s help in preparing and protecting her granddaughter. Wendy’s grandma tries to encourage Wendy herself, by placing the medallion around her neck whilst Wendy is sleeping one night, and giving Wendy her great-grandmother’s robes to wear during the final battle. Because every great battle needs a costume change.

Grandma Wu was played by Tsai Chin, who has had roles in various well-known movies. For example, she was cast as Auntie in Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) and as Madam Wu in the James Bond film Casino Royale (2006). After Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior, Chin appeared as Bu Bu in Now You See Me 2 (2016) and voiced the character of Nai Nai in the DreamWorks’ animated movie Abominable (2019). She also starred as Lindo Jong in the 1993 film The Joy Luck Club.

To round out the rest of Wendy’s immediate family, we have Wendy’s brother, Peter, who doesn’t seem to take anything particularly seriously, not caring about Wendy’s bid for Homecoming Queen, and teasing Shen for his hairstyle and robes – until he realises Shen can teach him some martial arts moves, which Peter turns out not to be very good at! Peter is possessed by Yan-Lo early on in the movie and attempts to attack Wendy but he is stopped by Shen. The spirit leaves Peter and he seems unfazed by it! Then there are Wendy’s parents, Nina and Kenny. Nina is busy researching ancient Chinese artefacts for her job at the museum during the course of this film, asking her mother and Shen for help with some of it. Sadly, much of the exhibit, including the loaned terracotta warriors, are destroyed in the battle with Yan-Lo, as it takes place at the museum. I hope Nina didn’t get in trouble for that; we never find out what happens there. After meeting Shen, Kenny starts to realise he has neglected his heritage for too long and vows to ensure the Wu family are more in tune with their Chinese culture from now on.

Justin Chon was cast as Peter Wu. Chon went on to be cast as Eric, one of Bella’s school friends, in The Twilight Saga film series soon after his role in Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior, having also played Tony Lee in the Nickelodeon series Just Jordan (2007-08). He also appeared as Jeff Chang in the film 21 & Over (2013) and as Sid Park in Seoul Searching (2016). More recently, he had a recurring role as Jae in the ABC comedy series Dr. Ken (2015-17), which was co-created by and starred Ken Jeong. Chon also recently wrote and directed the film Blue Bayou (2021), playing the character Antonio LeBlanc, opposite Alicia Vikander. Nina was played by Susan Chuang, who played Frannie Ching in the police crime drama Cold Case (2003-10). Chuang had a recurring role as Mrs. Lee in Nickelodeon’s Victorious (2010-13). Kenny was played by Michael David Cheng, who has guest starred in numerous series, including How I Met Your Mother (2005-14) and The Bold and the Beautiful (1987-present).

Wendy’s friendship group consists of her friends Tory and Lisa, who are very loyal to her and fill her in on all the gossip surrounding Jessica and her Homecoming Queen campaign, as well as the school’s opinion of Shen, to ensure Wendy gets her dream of winning the crown. They aren’t convinced by Wendy’s “cousin” Shen, fearing he may damage her popularity but they soon come round to him and find he is just as popular as Wendy with their classmates – after Wendy gives him his makeover. Tory does get possessed by Yan-Lo at one point and tries to destroy Wendy at a party, but that’s just a minor issue in their friendship; I’m sure Wendy forgave her! There is also Wendy’s self-obsessed boyfriend, Austin, who seems determined to show the school that he and Wendy make the perfect couple so he can be Homecoming King to her Homecoming Queen. After becoming closer to Shen, Wendy realises she doesn’t love, or even like, Austin and the two break up after Austin has an argument with Wendy over the outfit she is wearing because it doesn’t match his…

Andy Fischer-Price played Austin. He played Kirk MacKenzie in the Nickelodeon series Unfabulous (2004-07) and was cast as Brody in the Lifetime sitcom Rita Rocks (2008-09). He also played Greg Nickels in the TV movie Betrayed at 17 (2011). Sally Martin was cast as Tory. She had previously been cast as Tori Hanson, the Blue Wind Ranger in the series Power Rangers Ninja Storm (2003) and Power Rangers Dino Thunder (2004). She went on to be cast as Nicole Miller in the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street (1992-present) from 2009 until 2025. Lisa was played by Anna Hutchinson, who was also in Shortland Street, as Delphi Greenlaw from 2002 to 2004. She was in the Power Rangers series Jungle Fury (2008) after her role in Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior, being cast as Lily Chilman, the Jungle Fury Yellow Ranger. Hutchinson later appeared as Sasha in the sitcom Anger Management (2012-14), and as Amy Smart in the New Zealand comedy-drama series Go Girls (2009-13).

Strangely enough, it is not only Anna Hutchinson and Sally Martin who appear in both Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior and some sort of Power Rangers series. Geoff Dolan, who played the security guard here, voiced Koragg in Power Rangers Mystic Force (2006) and Dai Shi in Power Rangers Jungle Fury, amongst other voice roles in other Power Rangers series. James Gaylyn, who was cast as Mr. Medina, also played characters in the Power Rangers franchise, including Mr. Watkins in Power Rangers Dino Charge (2015-16) and Zeltrax in Power Rangers Dino Thunder. Gaylyn also appeared in two other DCOMs before Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior: the mayor in You Wish! (2003) and Longo in Eddie’s Million Dollar Cook-Off (2003), who I believe is the assistant coach of the baseball team.

MUSIC

Not being a musical, Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior does not feature many songs. There are actually only three that are easily identifiable.

One takes place during the training montage in the park, Wendy’s first training session with Shen, where she’s not really taking anything seriously and doesn’t understand the battle she is set to face. This song is “Hero” by Jupiter Rising. Jupiter Rising were an American pop duo formed in 2005. They released music until around 2010.

After that, we have the song “Will It Go ‘Round in Circles”, performed by Orlando Brown. It is a cover of the 1973 song of the same name performed by soul musician Billy Preston, and written by Preston and Bruce Fisher. Orlando Brown was best known on Disney Channel at this time for his role as Eddie Thomas in That’s So Raven (2003-07). This song plays during the sequence of Wendy shopping with Shen to give him a makeover so he can fit in with Wendy’s classmates.

Shortly after this moment, Wendy and Shen attend a party together. The second song here, as Shen is dancing with another girl, is “Go”, also performed by Jupiter Rising. This song was later used in the 2007 DCOM Jump In! I haven’t been able to work out the first song playing at this party, which is annoying because a lot of the lyrics are audible.

Brenda Song apparently recorded a song for this movie, titled “I’m Not That Girl” – not the song from Wicked – which was written by Eddie Galan, however, it did not appear in the movie and is not available to listen to online for some reason. It was said to have aired on Radio Disney, but I can’t find any evidence of its existence.

Other songs in the film that I cannot figure out include the song playing on the radio as Wendy gets a ride to school with her friends, and the background music as Wendy is on the phone to her friends, just before she takes Shen to the mall for new clothes. If only Disney Channel credited all songs used in their DCOMs in their End Credits, then it might be simpler to work out the music in them.

Nathan Wang is credited as the composer for the score of Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior. Wang composed the music for other DCOMs including Hatching Pete (2009); Geek Charming (2011), and Christmas…Again? (2021), amongst many other non-Disney projects.

PRODUCTION

Disney Channel like to cover a wide range of topics in their television movies, so as to relate to the kids, tweens, and teens that watch them.

Many involve stories about life at school and struggles with friendship groups or family. Others look at typical sports and achieving your dreams. In the case of Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior, the channel actually went in a slightly different direction: by having a story all about martial arts, Chinese history, and the importance of heritage and destiny. It’s quite a deep story, albeit diluted to fit the target audience.

The story and screenplay for Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior were written by Vince Cheung, Ben Montanio, B. Mark Seabrooks, and Lydia Cook. Cheung and Montanio went on to write episodes of and produce the Disney Channel series Wizards of Waverly Place (2007-12). They also co-wrote the television special The Wizards Return: Alex vs. Alex with Dan Berendsen, which aired in March 2013. Cheung and Montanio had previously written for other series, including The Steve Harvey Show (1996-2002) and the short-lived sitcom Greetings from Tucson (2002-03). B. Mark Seabrooks had also worked on The Steve Harvey Show as a writer. Lydia Look is mostly known as an actress, such as her role as Selina Wu on General Hospital (1963-present) from 2015, but did also write the episode “Surf and Turf” on Disney Channel’s animated series The Proud Family (2001-05). Look voiced the Chang Triplets in this series, and returned as one of the triplets in the reboot The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder (2002-present).

Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior features so many martial arts stunts and fight sequences that this particular DCOM was rated TV-PG in the US. There weren’t all that many before Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior with this same rating. Others that were mostly included the scarier Halloween-themed films like Halloweentown II: Kalabar’s Revenge (2001) and Twitches (2005). Gary Marsh, then-President and Chief Creative Officer for Disney Branded Television, called this movie “Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon“. Marsh joined Disney Channel in 1988 and stepped down from his role in 2021, moving on to create his own production company, which still develops content for Disney.

This means many stunts were expected. Much of Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior was filmed in Auckland, New Zealand, apparently in order to accommodate the crew who would work on this movie, such as the film’s action director Koichi Sakamoto. Sakamoto was the stunt coordinator on Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (1993-95), before working on other Power Rangers series, including directing episodes of Power Rangers in Space (1998) and Power Rangers Ninja Storm (2006). Sakamoto has also worked on adaptations of the Kamen Rider Japanese superhero franchise.

It would seem that many Power Rangers series were being filmed in New Zealand in the 2000s so the location makes sense, although other Disney Channel Original Movies have also been filmed in New Zealand, for example, Eddie’s Million Dollar Cook-Off (2003); Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board (2007); and even ZOMBIES 4: Dawn of the Vampires (2025). One location that appears to have been used for filming in Auckland, New Zealand is Long Bay College, the setting of Wendy Wu’s school. The mall used is said to have been the shopping centre Westfield St Lukes. It would seem that the exterior of the Auckland War Memorial Museum may’ve been used for the movie’s Fair Springs Museum, and that the park Auckland Domain might’ve been the location of Wendy’s training sequences. It has a very similar looking bandstand to the one Wendy has to balance on in one scene anyway.

The director of this film, John Laing, is also from New Zealand and has links to Power Rangers series, directing episodes of series like Power Rangers S.P.D. (2005); Power Rangers Mystic Force (2006); and Power Rangers Megaforce (2013-14). Laing later directed episodes of the New Zealand comedy-drama Go Girls (2009-13), from Season 3 onwards.

Due to the nature of some of the martial arts sequences, obviously stunt doubles were used in some scenes, however, the two leads of Brenda Song and Shin Koyamada already had martial arts experience prior to filming Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior. Koyamada has two black belts, in Tae Kwon Do and Karate, and was a six-time US national champion in Kung Fu prior to his casting here, making him an expert in three different martial arts disciplines. Song knows Tae Kwon Do, starting classes at the age of 9. She had actually wanted to learn ballet, but her younger brother wanted to do martial arts. Song joked in a behind-the-scenes interview that her mum didn’t want to take them to two separate places so Song was “forced” to take martial arts! But it all worked out because Song actually stuck at it longer than her brother, gaining a black belt in the discipline[1].

However, both Song and Koyamada still had extensive training with experts in self-defence for roughly three months before filming began, and had numerous rehearsals with the stunt co-ordinators, both in and out of costume, to ensure all their stunts were safe, as well as impressive. They also had to learn new punches, kicks, and wire flying to practise some of the bigger aerial stunt scenes. Koyamada and Song worked well together and the crew, including Koichi Sakamoto, were especially impressed with Song’s skills, strength, and resilience. Other cast members like Justin Chon and Ellen Woglom also had some stunt training of their own for their respective scenes with Koyamada and Song[2].

In more recent years, there has been some controversy linked to some of these stunt sequences, as a TikTok video allegedly showed a scene where Mr. Medina’s skin tone changes. James Gaylyn who played Mr. Medina was replaced with stunt professional Nooroa Poa in this action-packed scene. It was later claimed by Disney that all that was being seen was Poa’s light-coloured body pad which was underneath his costume for safety. Poa spoke out to say that his head and hands had been painted darker to match the complexion of actor Gaylyn. Although embarrassing for Disney and offensive to some, it is not always easy to match body or stunt doubles to an actor’s exact characteristics, as the correct skill level from the stunt double is the most important for the scene. It would seem that this was a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment that was not visible to most viewers. I have not seen it and the TikTok video does not appear to exist anymore, so I cannot view it[3].

RECEPTION

Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior premiered on the US Disney Channel on 16^th June 2006, before reaching international Disney Channels in the following months.

The premiere was said to have been watched by 5.7 million viewers. This was similar to the two DCOMs that came before and after Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior. Cow Belles, released in March that year, gained 5.8 million viewers, and Read It and Weep, which premiered in July 2006, reached 5.6 million viewers. However, the other three DCOMs released in 2006 gained over 7.5 million viewers, but these were High School Musical, a phenomenon from the start; Return to Halloweentown; and The Cheetah Girls 2, two continuations of much-loved Disney Channel franchises, so I’d say Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior did reasonably well with its viewing figures. It is also said to have had a very strong positive response with its premiere on Disney Channel Japan, but specific figures do not seem to be available to prove this.

However, as with many Disney Channel movies, reviews were mixed. On the plus side, some felt Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior was a good concept with its action-packed martial arts scenes, something that is not typical within the usual DCOM. It was also seen to be entertaining and showcased a Chinese American family, which was not generally being featured on the Disney Channel at the time. The message about the importance of appreciating family heritage and culture came across clearly as well.

But many criticise Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior for various reasons. Some say it is stereotypical, almost making its characters caricatures, and that the acting is particularly flat here. The reaction to Brenda Song in her first leading role for the channel was also mixed, as some liked her in this movie, and others felt Wendy was incredibly annoying and was too close to London Tipton in terms of her behaviour and characteristics, such as being ditzy and obsessed with popularity. I can see that, but I didn’t find the character of Wendy Wu particularly irritating. Others also commented on the presentation of the Chinese culture in Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior, feeling that it was not sufficient and inaccurate. Disney Animation’s Mulan (1998) is said to have been better at doing this.   

LEGACY

As promotion for the movie, Disney Channel aired some behind-the-scenes looks at Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior, through their DCOM Extras series. After Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior’s debut on the Disney Channel, a DVD with featurettes on the making of the film was released.

Brenda Song also appeared in the Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade TV special in 2006, advertising Disney’s travel company Adventures by Disney with a family trip to Costa Rica, however, strangely enough, she was only introduced as Brenda Song from The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, and Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior was not mentioned, even though it was released in that same year.

It was also reported, allegedly by Variety, in October 2007 that Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior would be getting a sequel, with both Song and Shin Koyamada signed on to return, with filming set to begin in early 2008[4]. Obviously, this sequel never happened. The final cut of the movie ends with the audience believing Yan-Lo was defeated, so there were no signs of a sequel. However, in an alternate ending, Wendy and Shen are brought home by Wendy’s grandmother and Wendy pets her dog – only for its eyes to glow green when she turns her back, showing that perhaps Yan-Lo was not fully defeated and that there was a case for a sequel at one stage during the production process, but this cliffhanger was later edited out for whatever reason[5].

There are other spin-offs from the film that have been mentioned online, such as Wendy Wu dolls being released in some Asian countries, like Malaysia and Japan, and a video game called Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior Kick-In Challenge, but I’ve seen no evidence, like images or gameplay, to show that either of these actually did exist.

FINAL THOUGHTS

More important than material things and sequels though is the reaction to Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior and how it is remembered by others.

Brenda Song stated in an interview with Vanity Fair in February 2025 that she has had people come up to her and talk about Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior in recent years, showing that it did affect some people quite deeply. Song also said that she appreciated how Disney gave opportunities to kids of all ages, sizes, and ethnic backgrounds, saying that the channel was ahead of the curve in terms of representing more diversity on screen[6].

Disney Channel Original Movies are not always widely acknowledged by the general or casual Disney Channel viewer. The ones that have done exceptionally well are films that people all around the world, of all ages, have at least heard of, even if they haven’t seen it.

Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior might not be remembered in the same way as movies like the Disney Channel musicals, but big or small, popular or not, every DCOM has its place and the right to be remembered, especially when it attempted to break down barriers and do something a little bit different.

---

REFERENCES

[1] Credit: Disney Channel, ‘Disney Channel Original Movie’, Gilgerfox YouTube Channel, 30^th October 2008.

[2] Credit: Disney Channel, ‘Wendy Wu – Homecoming Warrior: Kickin’ Edition 2006 DVD Overview’, Diamond Boy’s Disney DVD Overviews YouTube Channel, 5^th January 2024.

[3] Credit: Newsweek, ‘Disney’s Painting of Polynesian Stuntman in Wendy Wu Movie Sparks Controversy’, Newsweek.com, 24^th February 2021.

[4] Credit: B. Alan Orange, ‘Shin Koyamada Joins the Cast of Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior 2’, MovieWeb.com, 15^th October 2007.

[5] Credit: Disney, ‘Wendy Wu – Homecoming Warrior: Kickin’ Edition 2006 DVD Overview’, Diamond Boy’s Disney DVD Overviews YouTube Channel, 5^th January 2024.

[6] Credit: Savannah Walsh, ‘Brenda Song Reintroduces Herself: On Running Point, Child Stardom, and Life With Macaulay Culkin’, VanityFair.com, 27^th February 2025.

1. BACKGROUND
2. PLOT
3. CHARACTERS & CAST
4. MUSIC
5. PRODUCTION
6. RECEPTION
7. LEGACY
8. FINAL THOUGHTS
9. REFERENCES

BACKGROUND

In January 2006, Disney Channel released the biggest hit within their Disney Channel Original Movie collection: High School Musical. Because of the success of High School Musical, Disney Channel had a revival of sorts.

Think of the DCOMs that came out before High School Musical. The majority of people are likely to remember the bigger franchises, like Zenon, Halloweentown, and The Cheetah Girls. But there were so many more between 1997, when the first official DCOM was released, and 2006 that have been forgotten or never reached mainstream fame.

After High School Musical, DCOMs suddenly became bigger budget projects, with a more professional image to them. The DCOMs that came after High School Musical have been mostly remembered, perhaps also thanks to their casting of actors from Disney Channel’s most beloved television series, but regardless, it seems that High School Musical catapulted not just itself and its cast into the mainstream, but the humble DCOM as well.

I’m not saying every DCOM that came out after High School Musical was successful or that all of them are loved in the same way, but this was the point when I started to watch the majority of Disney Channel Original Movie Premieres.

Luckily for Cow Belles, it was released a couple of months after High School Musical and had an actress from a Disney Channel series in it, so it has been remembered almost two decades later. I am one of the ones who first watched it at this time and still remember it.

It might not have aged particularly well, with its focus on two spoilt heiresses who are so rich they have no concept of what life is like for the majority of people not sitting well with the people of today who are very quick to point out when “someone’s privilege is showing”. A phrase I find particularly patronising, but it seems fitting to state for this specific movie.

The world has also been through a huge recession and economic crisis since 2006, and some countries are currently in the midst of other economic issues, so watching two girls frivolously spend all their father’s money may not be to everyone’s taste. But I’ve always enjoyed Cow Belles, even if, now I’m older, it involves a lot of eye-rolling and tutting at the spending and the actions of these two teenage girls. It’s not their fault they’ve grown up rich, I’ll accept that, but money certainly doesn’t buy common sense!

PLOT

Cow Belles is about the two teenage daughters of Reed Callum, owner of Callum Dairy, which seems to be a big employer for those living in the area.

As Taylor, the eldest Callum daughter, is taking her driving test, she finds herself distracted by a call from her sister, Courtney, telling her that she’s found the perfect dress for her Cotillion party. Taylor pulls over for this call, before passing the phone over to her examiner to finish up the conversation. Strangely enough, Taylor passes her driving test despite this call, by using emotional blackmail – Taylor says she’ll keep coming back, asking for the same examiner if he doesn’t pass her. Wow, I wish I’d known it could be that simple…

This shows how easy Taylor has had it all her life. Courtney also doesn’t bat an eye at paying $1,000 for this “perfect” dress. Their father seems to accept that this is just how they are, and gifts Taylor her mother’s red Mustang as a present for passing her test, but it’s a stick shift so she’ll be getting lessons from the son of one of the dairy’s milk suppliers. Jackson Meade is not a fan of this “spoilt princess” and Taylor doesn’t want to be spending time with this “farm boy” so as you’d expect, it doesn’t go well. Taylor learns the basics of the stick shift but at one point forgets to put the handbrake on, so Jackson’s truck, which they were practising on, rolls into a lake. Taylor says her father will pay $2,000+ for the damages.

Reed is shocked by Taylor’s carelessness – though I don’t know why; I don’t think any of us watching were – and tells the girls they need to cut back on their spending, especially as he is soon to be out of the country, on a trip abroad gifted to him by his business partner, Bob. The next day, it’s clear this warning fell on deaf ears. Although the girls attempt to make their own lunch, as it is their housekeeper, Corrine’s, day off, they get distracted by shopping and rush off to go to the mall, leaving the stove on. That may have been alright, but Courtney absent-mindedly threw a tea towel onto the stove, setting it and the kitchen on fire. They get home to find the fire department there. Their father is furious and tells them that they aren’t getting any more allowance, aren’t allowed to use their credit cards, and are getting summer jobs at the dairy. Their lives are ruined.

The next morning, nice and early, Reed sees his girls off on their first day at work, telling them not to get into trouble because he’s travelling today and to a remote area, so he is going to be without cell service. They tell him not to worry. I’m sure that set his mind at ease… At the dairy, they report to “Uncle” Bob who passes them over to Fran to give them a tour of the factory. Courtney and Taylor expect to be sitting in the office, making coffees and doing accounts or something, but Fran tells them their father specifically wanted them on the production line. Worst dad ever.

Once Taylor and Courtney are in their hairnets and coveralls, they are tasked with putting lids on yoghurt pots. Courtney starts messing about with her phone, trying to take a picture of Taylor “looking ugly”, but the phone flies into a pot of yoghurt. The line has to be halted, though Taylor calls Courtney’s phone and selects just the right pot so the whole run doesn’t need to be scrapped, thankfully. At lunch, everyone has heard about the production slow down and aren’t friendly to the girls. Only the father of their friend Heather is willing to talk to them, but even he finds it funny that the girls expected there to be a catered lunch, pointing them to a vending machine instead. It’s clear the girls don’t fit in here.

In the afternoon, Taylor and Courtney are given another task, of simply carrying tubs of blueberries over to the right area of the line, but because they stupidly wore high heels to the factory – why they weren’t given some other shoes, I don’t know – they slip and the blueberry pulp spills all over them. This does give the girls the opportunity to do their own laundry though – yay! Then, it’s the end of their first day of work and they head home.

With friend Heather in tow, Courtney comes up with a plan to get a date for her Cotillion. She has her eye on a guy called Phillipe, who happens to be a foreign exchange student and a dairy worker, so they go over to invite him to the party and ask Phillipe to be Courtney’s date. Meanwhile, Taylor is getting ready to see Jackson, with a cheque for his truck’s repairs, but she falls asleep after her tough day. Jackson thinks he’s been stood up.

The next morning, Taylor is horrified to find she slept through her “date” and what’s worse is they have to go to work again! On this day, the dairy employees are complaining because all their pay checks bounced. Bob tells everyone that it seems that Reed, Taylor and Courtney’s dad, took all the money before he went away. Taylor and Courtney don’t believe that so go to Bob’s office, where they see a smashed picture of Bob and their father and the office empty. They suspect Bob took the company’s money. They go to Fran’s house after work and tell her their suspicions. Her and her husband, also a dairy employee, believe that is most likely the case.

Later, Courtney is at Cotillion planning with three other super rich girls. She is trying to get them to stick to their budget by making sacrifices, but apparently $25,000 each just isn’t enough for a one-night party! Courtney asks them to pass her all the figures and she’ll talk it over with her sister, since Taylor is good with money, apparently. Taylor hasn’t got any money-saving ideas, but she’s worried about the dairy workers’ salaries. Taylor wants to use Courtney’s Cotillion money to pay them so the dairy doesn’t have to close. Courtney is furious that Taylor would even think to suggest that, believing that Taylor only doesn’t care about Courtney’s Cotillion because Taylor had her own fabulous one last year. They don’t discuss it any further, but Courtney believes her money is safe.

At a meeting the next morning, the dairy workers demand to know when they’ll be paid because they have bills and rent to keep up with. Taylor sends Courtney out to get her phone from her car, giving Taylor the opportunity to announce to everyone that she can get them the money for their pay checks to keep them working. They agree to keep working, but don’t believe Taylor has the money lying around. Taylor doesn’t but Courtney does, and Taylor’s father gave her the access to Courtney’s Cotillion money, so Taylor withdraws $20,000 of it – without telling Courtney. When it is announced to the workers that their pay has been secured, Courtney knows it was her party money Taylor used. The girls fight and Courtney refuses to talk to Taylor as she will now be kicked out of the Cotillion. Taylor goes to make amends with Jackson and gives him his cheque. Jackson forgives her and is impressed with Taylor as she makes a suggestion that helps one of their cows give birth. They both find they were wrong about each other.

But nothing is right with her and Courtney. Courtney doesn’t want to talk to Taylor and is so distracted by her party date that at work, when the yoghurt tubs need a new expiry date, she accidentally sets it to that day but doesn’t realise. She then promptly quits. Another crisis ensues when the dairy finds their milk refrigeration unit lost power so their milk has gone bad. To get the money for more milk, Taylor agrees to sell her car, the Mustang, to an employee at the dairy for only $9,000. Courtney learns this and is shocked to find that Taylor would do that, but she has also learnt that she’s been acting like a spoilt princess and wants to help. They still need $6,000 more for the milk so Courtney hands over the last of her party budget and returns her party dress. This secures more milk for the dairy.

Courtney then tells Phillipe that he doesn’t need to be her date anymore because there won’t be a party. He doesn’t care and invites her to the Country Club for dinner with his exchange family. But at the club, Courtney encounters her Cotillion “friends” who say they’ve managed to get everything they wanted even without her money and know their party will be amazing. Courtney doesn’t care and enjoys the evening with Phillipe. At the same time, Jackson has visited Taylor and they kiss while watching a movie together.

At work the next day, Courtney has returned and the girls are invited by Fran to a party at her house to celebrate the end of this awful work week. They gladly accept, but at the party, more disaster strikes when the news comes that their deliveries are being turned away because the wrong expiry date was stamped on their products, today’s date. Courtney realises it was all her fault and says they should all try to do a new run. As they’ll need more help, Courtney, Taylor, and Jackson go to the Cotillion to ask for help. They are flatly ignored.

Returning to the dairy, the run is about to be cancelled as they don’t have the workers they need, but then, the girls’ father arrives with people from the party. He had gone to surprise Courtney at her party when all these people rushed over to tell them there was a problem at the dairy and they wanted to help. The run is completed and the dairy is saved from closure once more. As a special gift of thanks, Courtney is given a “spotlight dance” with Phillipe, one that she should’ve had at her party, in front of a van’s headlights.

The next day, the girls are told by their father that they’ll survive but it’ll be hard. He is surprised to learn that the girls want to keep working at the dairy, feeling they belong there. It also means eight hours less at the mall so it’ll stop them spending money – that’s the spirit!

CHARACTERS & CAST

Taylor is the eldest of the Callum girls so naturally is the more mature one of the two, even though Taylor does still like to shop, wear expensive clothes, and generally feel like a princess! But she is more aware of the world around her, and catches on quite quickly that should the dairy workers not be paid, then they could lose their houses. She realises that it’s up to her to pay attention to this problem and figure out a way of fixing it, since Courtney is too caught up in her Cotillion planning to care about anyone else.

Courtney, on the other hand, takes a while to come out of her “rich girl bubble” and step into the real world. She just wants to get through her day-to-day job at the dairy factory like her father wanted, and any spare time she has after that will be going into her Cotillion party. She is younger than Taylor so it’s only natural that she wouldn’t want to take responsibility for anyone else’s life. When Taylor takes the money for the Cotillion without telling Courtney, it causes a huge rift between the two sisters, but ultimately, this rift needed to happen because it makes Courtney take a good long look at herself and her lifestyle. She realises that not everyone’s life is like a fairy tale, and, given her more privileged position, she should be helping the dairy workers instead of whining about trivial things, like parties.

Taylor and Courtney were played by Alyson Michalka and Amanda Michalka respectively, more commonly known as Aly and AJ. Individually, Aly has appeared in movies such as Bandslam (2009) as Charlotte; Easy A (2010), in the role of Rhiannon, alongside Emma Stone; and Grown Ups 2 (2013) as Savannah. In more recent years, Aly was also cast in iZombie (2015-2019) as Peyton Charles. On screen, AJ was cast as Lainey Lewis in the sitcom The Goldbergs (2013-23) and reprised her role in the spin-off Schooled (2019-20). AJ also provided the voice of Catra in the animated series She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018-20). Together, Aly & AJ are a singing duo who released their debut album Into the Rush in 2005. They released their most recent album With Love From in 2023.

Taylor doesn’t seem to have any of her own friends in Cow Belles, which is fine and that’s probably why she feels more able to talk to the adults at the dairy factory. Courtney, however, seems to have much more of a social life away from her sister. She has her best friend Heather, whose father also happens to work at the dairy. Heather is nowhere near as rich as her friend Courtney, and feels like she has to hide that fact from Courtney, as we see when her mother is altering a dress for her, despite Heather telling Courtney she was going to buy a dress from some shop they’d been to. The moment when Heather tells Courtney that it’s not her fault she’s been able to have everything in life but that she should really think about how other people feel around her when she’s just going off spending money, it helps Courtney understand that she needs to help Taylor sort out the money situation at the dairy. Heather was played by Christian Serratos. Serratos actually began her acting career on that “other channel” that Disney don’t want you to know about – Nickelodeon – in the recurring role of Suzie in Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide (2004-07). After Cow Belles, Serratos went on to play the role of Angela, one of Bella’s fully human friends, in The Twilight Saga (2008-12). In more recent years, she was cast as Rosita Espinosa in The Walking Dead (2010-22) and portrayed singer Selena in Selena: The Series (2020-21).

As well as one good friend, Courtney also has “frenemies” with the worst of them being the stuck-up Sarah. She is one of the four girls planning the Cotillion, and is the only one not willing to compromise on anything to fit their budget; she wants what she wants and is going to get it regardless of how much it costs. Once Courtney’s money is taken to secure the payroll for the dairy, Sarah kicks Courtney out of the Cotillion and then brags to her later that they begged their fathers for more money and are going to get everything they wanted. Sarah is also the only one of the people at this party not to follow Taylor and Courtney’s father back to the dairy factory to help with their new product run, so that shows what kind of person she is. Maybe she was too busy trying to get all that chlorine out of her hair after falling into the Country Club fountain…Paula Brancati was cast as Sarah, and she went on to play the part of Gina, another “mean girl” if I remember rightly, in the DCOM Jump In! (2007). Brancati was also cast as Jane Vaughn in Seasons 7 to 9 of Degrassi: The Next Generation (2001-15).

Outside of that, along with the distraction of their father’s dairy factory going bankrupt, the teens are distracted by boys – typical. Taylor surprisingly starts to fall for “farm boy” Jackson Meade, son of one of the dairy’s milk providers. Jackson thinks Taylor is stuck-up and she thinks he’s common, but eventually, after spending time together, they realise that their first impressions of each other were wrong. Jackson was played by Michael Trevino who went on to be cast as Tyler Lockwood on The Vampire Diaries (2009-17) winning two Teen Choice Awards, in 2011 and 2012, for Choice TV: Male Scene Stealer. Recently, Trevino was cast as Kyle Valenti in Roswell, New Mexico (2019-22).

Meanwhile, Courtney becomes quite taken with a French foreign exchange student who has been given a summer job at the dairy, seemingly working alongside the delivery drivers. His name is Phillipe and despite not having a clue what a Cotillion is and only meeting her briefly, he is happy to be Courtney’s date for her party. Although they don’t actually get to go to the Cotillion together, they still get to have a literal “spotlight dance” in front of the headlights of one of the dairy vans. How romantic… Chris Gallinger played the role of Phillipe here, going on to be cast as Demitri in Twitches Too (2007). 

For the adults in Cow Belles, the one we see the most is Fran. She shows the girls around the dairy factory on their first day. She is accepting of Courtney and Taylor for the way they are, despite the fact they are not used to this type of work. Everyone else in the factory seems dismissive of Taylor and Courtney, but not Fran. She listens to their theory about Bob being the one to steal the company money, not their father, which turns out to be correct, and is pleased to find Taylor wanting to help with some of the dairy’s financial struggles, listening to everyone’s comments and coming up with solutions that work out. Fran was played by Sheila McCarthy, who has performed both on stage and screen. On stage, McCarthy appeared in productions such as Little Shop of Horrors in Canada in 1985, playing the role of Audrey. On screen, McCarthy had supporting roles in the movies Die Hard 2 (1990), as Sam Coleman; The Day After Tomorrow (2004), as Judith; and Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (2004), as Mrs. Gerard. In more recent years, McCarthy was cast as Agnes in The Umbrella Academy (2019-24) and appeared as Angie in ZOMBIES 3 (2022).

Lastly, we have Reed Callum, Taylor and Courtney’s father and owner of Callum Dairies. Although Reed moans at his daughters for being careless and reckless with their spending, which I completely agree with, I actually have a bone to pick with him. Reed uses his employees to help his daughters on two different occasions: the first is when one of the drivers is asked to fix up the red Mustang for Taylor, and the other is Jackson being made to teach Taylor how to drive stick, after his father is asked to do this as a “favour” for Reed. It’s a bit rich to start talking about his daughters being too privileged when Reed uses his employees to do things for him. I’m sure they seemed like they were willing and happy to do these tasks for the Callum family, but Reed should know that when an employer asks an employee for a “favour”, the power imbalance means that the employee is obligated to do this, regardless of how they feel about it for fear of getting fired. So, Reed, you might want to deal with that hypocrisy first before talking to your daughters! Jack Coleman was cast as Reed Callum. After Cow Belles, Coleman appeared in the main role of Noah Bennet in Heroes (2006-10); and in the minor recurring roles of State Senator Lipton in The Office (2005-13) and William Bracken in Castle (2009-16).

MUSIC

Having Aly & AJ, a recognised singing duo, involved in this Disney Channel Movie, you’d think that plenty of their songs would be included here, wouldn’t you?

In actual fact, only one of their songs was used: “On the Ride”. Luckily, it’s a very good song, and probably the most recognisable one in the movie. It is used when Taylor is getting ready to see Jackson that evening she falls asleep. A music video was released containing clips from Cow Belles. This song comes from their debut album Into the Rush.

Outside of this, there are three songs that feature in the movie that are performed by the dairy factory employee band. The best of these is the song “All Good Now”, which is sung during Courtney’s “spotlight dance” after they’ve completed the new dairy product run and is in the End Credits. It’s a sweet song, signalling the end of that terrible, stressful week they had. The song was written by Jeannie Lurie, and performed by singer Blaire Reinhard.

 Another is performed during Courtney and Taylor’s first lunch at the factory and seems to be called “Together at the Creamery”. The other is played at the workers’ party that Fran and her husband organise for everyone and is called “Beat of the Band”. It was written and performed by Blaire Reinhard. “Beat of the Band” is the only one of these two songs to be credited as part of the soundtrack in Cow Belles, but I wanted to mention them both because I like them, even though country music isn’t my favourite.

Another song that is not credited here is the song that is performed by the band at the Cotillion party. That song is “Don’t Wanna Grow Up” by the band Willknots. This number later appeared in the DCOM 16 Wishes (2010). It’s a good pop/rock song, even though it’s only heard for about twenty seconds before the song ends and Courtney takes the mic!

The score for Cow Belles was composed by Kenneth Burgomaster, who has composed the score for other Disney Channel projects, including the movies Halloweentown High (2004), Go Figure (2005) and Return to Halloweentown (2006), and Season 2 of the series Phil of the Future (2004-06). 

PRODUCTION

Apparently, the story of Cow Belles was inspired by the reality series The Simple Life (2003-07), which centred around Paris Hilton and her best friend Nicole Richie having to do low paid jobs out in the real world. I’m not a big fan of reality shows – I only like a few – so I have never seen The Simple Life but I can see the premise of the show being the inspiration for Cow Belles. Except in this case, the girls are being made to work in the dairy by their father so that they can become better people and understand the “value of a dollar”, whereas I’m sure Paris and Nicole not only got paid big bucks to do The Simple Life, but then managed to get incredibly famous off the back of it and no doubt learnt pretty much nothing at all from the experience… Am I making it clear that I’m not a fan of these types of programmes?

Anyway, Cow Belles has also been linked to the movie Material Girls, which also came out in 2006, just a few months later; features two sisters in the lead roles, Hilary and Haylie Duff; and is about two wealthy teenagers who lose all their family wealth, but these two are cosmetics heiresses, not dairy heiresses. I have seen Material Girls, but it must have been so good that I’ve since forgotten almost all of the story, whereas I’ve watched Cow Belles plenty of times. Cow Belles, probably because it was a television movie, escaped some of the same criticism that plagued Material Girls with this movie only having a 4% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The Duff sisters received Razzie Award nominations for Worst Actress and Worst Screen Couple for this movie too – ouch…I didn’t think it was that bad…

Cow Belles was filmed in Canada, as so many movies and series are. Cow Belles isn’t set in any specific, exotic location, so it makes sense to film it in Canada; as most of the movie takes place in a dairy factory, with some farmland and houses thrown in, it didn’t need to be filmed somewhere with particularly good weather or amazing views.  

Although a movie set in a dairy factory might not sound like a lot of fun, apparently filming the production line scenes was. Aly and AJ also enjoyed doing their own “stunts” too, like spilling the blueberries all over themselves and being sprayed with milk. That doesn’t sound like my idea of fun but whatever! The only downside was having to wear those hairnets in these scenes, which the girls didn’t like so much. They did, however, like the cool outfits they got to wear outside of that, even though they weren’t suitable for the type of work their characters would be doing in a dairy factory[1]!

There are also a couple of other more interesting scenes within Cow Belles that aren’t just factory work or sitting in people’s houses. One of these is swing dancing. AJ and Chris Gallinger were taught the basics of swing dancing by a choreographer just for their one dancing moment in the Country Club. Another is the scene of Jackson teaching Taylor how to drive a stick shift. Aly had only just got her permit so that she could actually drive a car in Cow Belles like her character does. She was only taught how to drive stick just a few minutes before shooting the scene, and it was the first scene that was shot on the movie[2]. No pressure there then!

RECEPTION

Cow Belles premiered on Disney Channel on 24^th March 2006, where it was watched by 5.8 million viewers, which is pretty good for a DCOM. High School Musical had been released just two months earlier, on 20^th January, and reached 7.7. million viewers. Whether Cow Belles benefitted from an increase in DCOM viewers after the release of High School Musical is difficult to judge, but I’m thinking the popularity of High School Musical as a television movie probably helped Disney Channel and therefore any of its subsequent Disney Channel movies, to some extent.

Or perhaps Cow Belles was popular because it was elevated by the casting of Aly & AJ, an already known singing duo amongst teens and tweens after their debut album was released just a year earlier, as well as Aly being a cast member on Phil of the Future (2004-06), where she played Keely Teslow, also helping Cow Belles reach a wider audience, potentially. Not that that made a difference to me; I didn’t like Phil of the Future, so I guess I liked it for the sister comedy angle.

 Many did enjoy Cow Belles for its relatable characters, who I’m guessing were anyone other than the Callum girls, and its message about money not being everything, or being enough to make you happy. Cow Belles seems to be considered to be a bit better than the “average” Disney Channel movie, and is still remembered to this day whereas many others are not. That’s probably because Aly and AJ are still working actors and still perform regularly together, making albums and touring.

But not everybody viewed Cow Belles positively. Some say the movie is cringey and don’t like the overused trope of rich girls going broke; I have seen that idea a few times. I suppose. London Tipton going broke in The Suite Life of Zack & Cody (2005-08) is one Disney example, or there’s Princess Protection Program (2009), which is a similar idea, although not exactly the same. There’s also the movie From Prada to Nada (2011), which is a similar concept to Material Girls, with these two movies stating that their basis for their stories comes from Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, or even Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009) to some extent. There are also plenty of real-life examples, and if you already don’t enjoy seeing materialistic people on screen or in real-life, I can see how this story idea can get old, tired, and boring really quickly. Unless schadenfreude is your thing.

LEGACY

Not too many Disney Channel Original Movies have managed to generate enough popularity and acclaim to warrant a sequel. Many non-musical DCOMs do not achieve this feat, with Cow Belles being just one of those.

However, in the 2020s, and even late 2010s, we saw a boom in reboots and remakes coming to our cinema or television screens – whether they were asked for or not. Aly and AJ Michalka discussed the idea of making a sequel to Cow Belles back in 2019, believing that the up-and-coming streaming space may be the place for this type of content but did stress that discussions were still in very early stages[3]. Later interviews in 2021 stated that the storyline could be based around one of the girls having been recently divorced and coming back to keep the family business going, making “Cow Belles 2” more of a typical romantic comedy that is geared towards the adults who grew up around the time of Cow Belles’ release. This doesn’t sound like a bad idea, but Aly and AJ were unsure if Disney would allow this “more adult” version of one of their own television movies[4].

With all that being said, discussions around this sequel have not been reported on since 2021, and in 2022, Aly and AJ said during an interview that they thought the writing in Cow Belles wasn’t great and that their acting was cringey. Aly also said that her first boyfriend broke up with her whilst she was filming Cow Belles so it wasn’t a great experience overall[5]. That’s fair enough to say, but these – slightly critical – comments may mean that a sequel to Cow Belles is not going to happen and that perhaps Aly and AJ are not interested in the idea anymore.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Although Cow Belles might be cringey in places, feel outdated, and focus on two quite unlikeable, at least initially, main characters, I’ve always liked Cow Belles and it’s one of the DCOMs that I like to rewatch when I have time. Granted, there are quite a few of those, but still, Cow Belles is a DCOM that I just like.

In today’s world, with the advent of social media, many of us are inundated daily with pictures of beautiful places that are expensive to travel to, high-fashion items that are expensive to buy, and stunning houses that are expensive to own. This “Instagram lifestyle” is one that many wish for, or even actively strive for.  I’ve heard stories about people getting themselves into debt trying to keep up with this way of life, and although those may be in the minority, I think it’s safe to say that social media has made others feel less worthy as a person for not being able to achieve that specific lifestyle, even though it’s not likely or sustainable for the majority of us to live like that.

I wish more people would turn away from this idea of “get rich quick” just so you can have more stuff, but it is ingrained in our society now, and it is troubling. Money cannot buy happiness, and I know lots of people like to say “that might be true, but I’d rather cry in a Ferrari” or whatever, but that’s not a healthy mindset to have. As we see from the Callum girls in Cow Belles, having lots of money can do more harm than good, by messing with your psyche or your self-worth, not to mention what happens when suddenly that stream of wealth comes to a halt, or seizes to exist entirely; then what do you do when you’ve built your whole world around it?

It would be better if everyone accepted that being comfortable and secure financially is the aim in life, not being rich. It might make you feel inadequate in the short-term, but you’ll be much happier in the long run – even without that Ferrari.

---

REFERENCES

[1] Credit: Disney Channel, ‘Cow Belles 2006 DVD Overview – The Making of Cow Belles’, Diamond Boy’s Disney DVD Overviews YouTube Channel, 26^th January 2024.

[2] Credit: Disney Channel, ‘Cow Belles – Behind the Scenes with Michael Trevino and Aly and AJ Michalka (2006)’’, Michael Trevino Source YouTube Channel, 2^nd March 2016.

[3] Credit: Avery Thompson and Lanae Brody, ‘Aly & AJ Michalka Are Totally Down For A ‘Cow Belles’ Reboot: ‘We’ve Talked About It’’, HollywoodLife.com, 5^th July 2019.

[4] Credit: JJ Staff, ‘Aly Michalka Opens Up About Doing An R-Rated ‘Cow Belles’ Movie Reboot’’, JustJared.com, 27^th June 2021.

[5] Credit: Morgan Murrell, ‘‘Aly & AJ Got Real Honest About Their Disney Channel Movie “Cow Belles”, And I Really Hope Disney Isn’t Listening’, BuzzFeed.com, 1^st June 2022.