Camp Rock 3 (2026)

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

BACKGROUND

Consider this your spoiler warning. I like to go into detail with plot points, so you might want to ensure you’ve watched Camp Rock 3 before reading anymore.

Camp Rock was one of those Disney Channel musical series that managed to capture the attention of a whole generation, as it followed in the footsteps of The Cheetah Girls and High School Musical in the 2000s, arguably the best Disney Channel era.

It has since come to our attention though that making Camp Rock (2008) and its sequel Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam (2010) was not as wholesome an experience as the young viewers were led to believe. It was safe to say that this franchise wasn’t going to go much further after the sequel, so we had all simply given up hope of a third film.

But strangely, in 2025, Disney Channel announced that a Camp Rock 3 was heading to television screens for Summer 2026, and fans started to get excited, especially when they found out the Jonas Brothers would be returning, as would Demi Lovato as a producer. I’d like to point out I was not excited and was just concerned, because I knew Camp Rock 3 would not feel the same as the previous two. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as I have managed to find plenty to enjoy about the latest additions of the Descendants franchise.

However, something just told me that Camp Rock 3 was not going to be good. My instincts were entirely correct this time. I found this film uninspiring, and really disliked the recycled songs and moments from the first two films. These were clearly added in for “nostalgia”, but it was just unnecessary, feeling like Disney couldn’t decide whether they were making a tribute to the earlier two films or trying to make something fresh and new, ending up somewhere in the middle with no real direction.

The main thing I did like about Camp Rock 3 was the random addition of Milo Manheim as a former Camp Rock camper in a cameo that lasted less than five minutes. I didn’t like this cameo because I felt it was needed; it was just that I like Milo Manheim. He seems like a good guy. Positive, upbeat, always showing up for Disney. Seeing Demi Lovato and the Jonas Brothers again was nice too, I suppose, but I’d been expecting the Jonas Brothers to be in Camp Rock 3 a lot more than they actually were.

I don’t like to be mean about new Disney Channel movies, regardless of how this introduction might sound, because I am aware that many of these films feature young, up-and-coming actors and singers, just trying to get a foothold in the industry, so I do try to be careful with what I say. So, to be clear, my dislike of Camp Rock 3 has nothing to do with the young cast and their acting or singing abilities; it’s all to do with what they were given.

PLOT

For anyone uncertain whether Camp Rock had survived its battle with Camp Star in Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam, the answer is quite clear at the start of Camp Rock 3. Camp Rock is still going and is actually thriving, with kids coming from all across the country to attend the camp over the summer, following in the footsteps of their idols and former Camp Rock alum.

One lucky camper very excited to be at Camp Rock for the first time is Sage Scott. She can’t wait to get started. The only trouble is she’s here with her brother, Desi, a fellow music lover, who is downplaying his happiness at being at Camp Rock simply because he is still annoyed at Sage for breaking up their band. He doesn’t seem to want to have much to do with his sister anymore. Meanwhile, other campers start to arrive including a cellist named Rosie; and a boy who constantly drums, Cliff. Rosie ends up being bunkmates with Sage Heading outside, Sage sees some more campers arriving, including stuck-up influencer Maddie and her sidekicks, Danielle and Daniel. Maddie is well-prepared for camp, even having a dance number ready to show off to the crowd. Sage also meets Callie Banks.

Away from Camp Rock, former camp counsellors and members of band Connect 3 Nate, Jason, and Shane Gray are performing on a movie set. As the three mess up their take by bumping into each other, they are told to take a break by their manager Lark. Shane notices that Lark seems stressed by something and she tells him the opening act for their tour, Girl Vibe, is no longer available. This causes Nate and Jason to blame Shane for hiring such a flaky band – Girl Vibe just broke up – as it was Shane’s job to sort the opening act. They bicker about what to do next, although agree they know just the place to find a new act.

Back at Camp Rock, former camp chef and current camp director Connie Torres welcomes the new campers, saying how one summer here could change their lives. She then tells everyone that there is a phone ban during the whole of their time at Camp Rock and starts collecting all the campers’ phones. At this point, Connect 3 arrive – in three separate cars, because they aren’t getting along – with Lark. They say they are here to find a new opening act for their tour, stating, in between making digs at each other, that the campers will face three challenges, with only the very best getting the chance to perform a new, original song at Final Jam at the end of camp.

As the campers start to discuss this massive opportunity, not believing their luck that they chose to come to Camp Rock on the year there’s a huge competition that could make them famous, a sheriff arrives to drop off a new camper. This is Fletch, who meets Sage after literally bumping into her, and is taken by Connie to his cabin, which he is sharing with younger kids. The boys are both in awe and a little scared of Fletch, as they believe he’s come here straight from prison because he arrived in a police car. Fletch plays into the fear, saying if he wanted to hurt them, he’d wait until lights out. The next day though, he retrieves Cliff’s drumsticks from the roof of a cabin and now Cliff wants to be friends!

In Sage’s cabin, she overhears Rosie singing, and convinces her to compete in the competition. Rosie is from a family of classically trained musicians, who wouldn’t be involved in something so…. musically common. Rosie is meant to expect more from her music, with her background as a cellist making her more used to a supporting role instead of being front and centre. Sage convinces Rosie, and she goes to Connie to register for new classes.

At lunch, Sage and other campers start discussing the first challenge in the competition, which is to cover Connect 3’s biggest hit and make it their own. Sage desperately searches for a practice room, but finds they are all full. Maddie and her two backup dancers have commandeered one and won’t leave until they’ve each had their allotted thirty minutes, and Desi is in another one, not wanting to share or leave the room. Sage assumes Desi is not competing and therefore shouldn’t be allowed to use the practice room. They continue to argue about Sage choosing to attend Anthem music school over their band. Sage says she won’t let anyone ruin her chances of winning and leaves.

Then, it is time for Challenge #1 to take place. The campers perform a variety of different versions of the song “Play My Music”, including a synth version and an operatic version of the song. Some are definitely much better than others! After the challenge is over, Lark proceeds to cut people from the competition, only allowing some to proceed to the second challenge, leaving many campers crying and heartbroken. However, Sage is still in the competition, but also learns her brother Desi is too.

Later, there is a workshop event about songwriting that is unrelated to the competition. Connie introduces singer and former Camp Rocker Calvin Rhodes to take the class. Calvin has the campers interview another camper they don’t yet know. After having some time to talk, Calvin asks the pairs to stand up and tell everyone what they learnt. One of these pairs consists of Fletch and Sage. Fletch is chosen to tell everyone about Sage, having picked up on a lot of things about her personality. This has also inspired him to finish a song he’d been writing, going up on stage to perform it. Calvin is impressed. As the workshop is going on, Desi runs into dancer Callie, saying dancing is not his thing.

That night, Sage finds herself unable to talk about anything other than Fletch as she talks to Callie. Callie says she can tell Fletch has a crush on Sage, although she has heard rumours about Fletch’s bad boy status. Sage says it doesn’t matter anyway because Fletch is her competition. Sage decides to stay in and focus on the second challenge as Callie heads out to the campfire, as she wants to show Desi that she isn’t uptight and can be carefree. Callie tells Sage she’s thinking about it too much, and tells Sage to come out with her. Sage gets ready to go, stepping on a creaky floorboard. Lifting it up, she finds an old songbook belonging to Mitchie Torres, a former Camp Rock alum. At the campfire, Cliff hears about Rosie’s lack of self-confidence. He does his best to help her, before attempting to flirt with Rosie, telling her all girls love a project. Oh, Cliff, don’t see yourself short. Girls might like a project initially, but when it doesn’t go their way, they quickly move on.

The next day, Lark calls Connect 3, but the signal is bad. She finds out the three are talking although they still aren’t really “connecting”. She tells the boys that the second challenge is all about performance, and is told to find someone with the right attitude. As the campers wait around for the second challenge to start, Fletch approaches Desi as he is playing his guitar and asks to join in. Desi hears that Fletch is yet another serious musician, and jokes he is just like Sage. Desi knows that Fletch likes her, but says no more about it.

At the second challenge, Lark tells the campers that some people have been removed from the competition overnight as they had kept their phones. Lark reminds all the campers that it is important that nobody breaks this rule as they do not want any leaks or posts about the competition getting online. Callie gets up to lead the second challenge, a dance challenge. Lark says this challenge will end with the Final Five being chosen; they will be the last ones standing. The campers try their best to impress Lark, with Lark eliminating campers as the challenge goes on. Lark approaches Desi, seemingly wanting to eliminate him. To keep her brother in the competition, Sage pushes in front of him and shoves Maddie and her friends to the side. Desi is told by Sage to keep dancing, however, Maddie stops, as do Daniel and Danielle. Lark has no option but to eliminate them as they stopped dancing and a performance stops for no-one. This leaves the Final Five of Desi, Sage, Rosie, Cliff, and Fletch, although Lark tells Desi he got lucky and needs to work on his dancing if he wants to win. After the dance challenge, Desi asks Callie to go and talk alone. In the cafeteria, he asks Callie for some dance lessons to improve his dancing ability.

Lark then gets calls from the Connect 3 boys individually, all with their own problems. Lark tells them to figure it out themselves as she is busy organising a campfire. Before she goes, the boys tell Lark that going on tour requires more than just talent; the winner will need stamina and endurance, especially as they’ll be on tour for a while. This gets Lark thinking.

Later, Sage is joined by Fletch as she works on her song by the lake. She explains she’s having trouble with the lyrics, with Fletch simply saying she should have fun with it. Sage reminds Fletch that nothing is going to distract her from the competition, not even him. He asks about what happened between her and her brother, and she explains she wanted to take her music more seriously than her brother did. In response, she asks Fletch if he’s actually a bad boy. He explains he came straight to Camp Rock from court. His mother recently died and a judge is trying to figure out where he should live.

Maddie is still fuming after what happened at the dance challenge and has come up with the perfect revenge for the Final Five. She has got a message to all of them to say they need to meet up for a style consultation with Lark. As the Final Five arrive at the cabin, they do not find Lark, only Maddie, Daniel, and Danielle. Here, Maddie confronts them, and shows she was the one who set this meeting up. She gives each of the five campers critiques about their style, before showing that she has “customised” one of their belongings, basically ruining them with paint and arts and crafts materials. Rosie is furious to find they have bedazzled her cello. Maddie insults Rosie, upsetting Cliff who throws paste at Maddie. This starts a paint war between the two groups. Sage sees someone coming and tells the others to hide in a cupboard. Maddie doesn’t realise, and sees Callie walk into the cabin. She goes to throw paste at her, but Callie ducks, and Connie is hit instead. Oops.

Lark leads the Final Five away from the cabin, telling them that Maddie’s parents have committed to replacing all of their wrecked items instead of buying her car, but she tells the other five they shouldn’t have gotten involved, not liking this immature behaviour which could not happen on tour. She proceeds to take them to the third and final challenge. This challenge is taking place on the Camp Rock bus, where they must remain for 24 hours, without getting off. But don’t worry, there’s a porta-potty attached to the back of it, so they’ll have everything they’ll need to survive! However, Sage appears to have some porta-potty PTSD and worries how she’ll cope. Eventually, she can’t hold it any longer and has Cliff be her security guard. It all goes smoothly. However, the Final Five are unaware of the fact that Maddie, still determined to get revenge and have them disqualified, has stolen her phone back from Connie’s office and plans to record the challenge, to put it up online.

Inside the bus, the campers start to get bored and irritated with each other, with cabin fever setting in. Rosie starts to cry, as she desperately wants to win, so she doesn’t go back home and end up reverting back to her old ways, just being the cellist in the background. Cliff opens up, saying that he struggles to make friends because everyone thinks he’s too much. The other four chime in and say they are his friends now. Sage and Desi attempt to reconnect, by saying that Camp Rock has made Sage realise that she doesn’t have to be so uptight, and Desi admitting that he is feeling pressure to be great in this competition. Fletch says he has an uncertain future ahead of him, but that being at camp or on tour will mean he doesn’t have to worry so much. They all sing a song together to cement their bonding experience. As the others sleep later on, Sage and Fletch look at the stars from the top of the bus. Here, Fletch tells Sage that he has a phone, as he waits to hear where he is living next, admitting that he simply didn’t hand it in, not that it was allowed. Sage promises to keep his secret. Sage then tells Fletch he shouldn’t always sing with his eyes closed, not wanting him to lose any moment of connection with an audience, even if it is only brief.

The next morning, Lark tells them they’ve completed the challenge and can leave the bus, having until tomorrow night to get their songs ready for Final Jam. Back in the cafeteria, Sage continues working on her song, and Connie sees that she has Mitchie’s songbook. Connie tells Sage to keep it as it might just help her. After that, Sage sees Desi practising his dancing and the two once again start up their fight about their old band. They say they could always revive the band, and they reconcile.

However, the good feelings don’t last long as the Final Five are called into Connie’s office. Connie and Lark have become aware of a video circulating online of them singing on the bus, revealing the Camp Rock competition. She orders them to tell her which one has a phone, and must’ve put this video up. Sage fears being disqualified and tells Fletch to admit he has one. He has no option but to hand it in, but pleads his innocence, saying he did not film on the bus. The other four are told to leave. Desi tells Sage she chose the competition over Fletch. She hopes Fletch will eventually forgive her and she can make things right.

The following day, Connect 3 return to Camp Rock, ready for Final Jam. They see Lark overworked and stressed out, but clearly having had a good time at camp this summer. The guys have a look around, ending up at the lake, with Nate and Jason throwing Shane in!

At the cafeteria, Sage apologises to Fletch for what she did, but it’s all good; the video was traced back to Maddie and he’s allowed to compete at Final Jam. Well, of course it ended up being traced back to Maddie; how could Fletch have filmed the song from outside the bus? Anyway, this means Fletch and the others have some work to do ahead of Final Jam. They’re all nervous but they’re also ready.

On the night of Final Jam, the stage is set. As Connie does final checks, she sees daughter Mitchie hiding backstage, having taken a night off from her tour to come here. Connect 3 welcome everyone to Final Jam, with Lark introducing all the acts. First up, Cliff performs a hip-hop-style song, with some drum solos. Then, Rosie performs, singing and playing the cello. Third is Desi, with his new and improved dance moves, and fourth is Fletch, performing a guitar ballad and finally having the nerve to open his eyes as he sings.

The final performance is Sage. She stops her performance so she can say that she learnt all about friendship from her time at Camp Rock, and says a line about each of the other Final Five, and how good they are. Camp Rock should never have been all about winning a competition. She then proceeds to sing a new song, with the other four joining in with her. Desi and Fletch come in on guitar, whilst Rosie and Cliff play the cello and drums. The audience love the song, this being enough to make Maddie and her sidekicks leave!

Connect 3 then go to deliberate, where they see Mitchie. Mitchie says Final Jam was great and that Sage’s performance showed it’s not all about solo performances. Connect 3 don’t know who to pick, with Mitchie reminding them maybe they don’t have to pick just one.

Connect 3 return to the stage, announcing that they can’t pick just one of the Final Five, so instead choose them all as a group. Mitchie and Shane have a moment as the five celebrate, saying Camp Rock will always be magical, before saying they’ll be here same time next summer. Sage even gets a brief wave from Mitchie before she leaves. The five join Connect 3 for a final song to end Final Jam, signalling the end of the summer at Camp Rock.

CHARACTERS & CAST

Sage Scott arrives to Camp Rock very serious about her music, having decided to attend music school. This has led to a difficult relationship between her and her brother Desi as their differing attitudes to their music meant that their band split up. Desi still has not forgiven Sage and teases her about how uptight and highly strung she is, seemingly unable to ever go with the flow. Sage is incredibly determined to win the competition to be Connect 3’s next opening act. After spending time with the other members of the Final Five, particularly Fletch, who she has an instant connection with, she learns that friendship is more important than winning, and chooses to perform a new song she hadn’t done endless amount of preparation for, with her new friends joining her to create their own group. Sage ended up getting to win the competition whilst also repairing relationships with those around her.

Liamani Segura was cast as Sage in Camp Rock 3. Segura is not a newcomer to the world of Disney, as she had previously appeared in the recurring role of Emmy in the Disney+ series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (2019-23).  She was also cast as Pink in another Disney Channel musical, Descendants: Wicked Wonderland (2026).

Fletch Robinson appears to be the camp’s bad boy as he arrives late to Camp Rock and in a police car. He is welcomed to Camp Rock like any other camper though, although he is assigned to a cabin for younger kids, who initially seem a bit scared of him. Fletch is a talented guitar player and singer, getting many chances to showcase this. He was even inspired by a conversation with Sage to perform a new song he’d written. Fletch is scared of connections with people, having a complicated living situation to sort out as he waits to see where he will live after his mother’s death. However, he slowly learns to open up to Sage and the Final Five about his background and they are understanding. His chance at getting a more stable future for himself, by becoming Connect 3’s opening act, almost ends up in jeopardy as Fletch keeps his phone, as phones have been banned for the entirety of their time at Camp Rock. Luckily, Connie sees reason and decides not to disqualify Fletch from the competition, having figured out he did not film or post anything from camp.

Fletch was played by Malachi Barton, who is also no stranger to life on Disney Channel. Early in his career, Barton was cast as Beast Diaz in the Disney Channel series Stuck in the Middle (2016-18), and voiced the character of Lionel in the animated Disney Junior series Fancy Nancy (2018-22). Barton went on to star as Marshall in the DCOMs Under Wraps (2021) and Under Wraps 2 (2022), as well as appear in the series The Villains of Valley View (2022-23) as Colby / Flashform. Barton went on to star as Victor in ZOMBIES 4: Dawn of the Vampires (2025), a role he will reprise in its upcoming sequel ZOMBIES 5: Secrets of the Sea, set to premiere sometime in 2027. He will also soon be seen as Jake in the supernatural series Coven Academy for Disney, set to premiere in October 2026.

Rosie Kleinman is a classically trained cellist with very strict parents, who want Rosie to spend time focusing on her cello rather than her singing. At Camp Rock, Rosie doesn’t plan on competing to be Connect 3’s opening act, however, after Sage hears her sing, she encourages Rosie to join the competition. Rosie is initially very nervous about being front and centre for once, but she overcomes those nerves and gets to the Final Five.

Rosie was played by Lumi Pollack. Prior to Camp Rock 3, Pollack was cast as Amelia Cavell in the drama film The Fallout (2021) with Jenna Ortega. She went on to appear as Westyn/Wanessa in the animated Netflix series Dee & Friends in Oz (2024), and more recently, starred as Posey Parker in Disney Channel series Electric Bloom (2025).

Desi Scott is Sage’s brother, who is relaxed and chilled about his music, but is still just as talented as Sage despite not going to a fancy music school. Desi is struggling to forgive his sister for leaving him and their band in the dust for school, with the two butting heads over their different approaches to their music. Desi does not overprepare his performances and mostly tries to wing it through the camp competition. However, when he learns from Lark that his dancing ability is not as good as his competitors, he takes action to improve it by enlisting Callie to help him. It’s unclear at first whether Desi is in the competition just to annoy his sister or actually does want to win, but by the end of it, it’s obvious he feels he needs to actually step up and create a good performance instead of hoping for the best. By the end of their time at camp, he and Sage have also made up after the feud. It’s a good thing too otherwise their time on tour might not have lasted too long…

Hudson Stone was cast as Desi. Stone is lined up to be a cast member on the rebooted series of The Mickey Mouse Club. Production on the series seems to have only begun in July 2026 so there is no air date yet.

Cliff Carmichael is the joker of this group of five, being quite energetic and upbeat. Cliff always has his drumsticks in hand, feeling very passionately about his drumming. During his time at Camp Rock, Cliff becomes close to Desi, Sage, Fletch, and Rosie, with Rosie being the one he has a crush on, and he discovers that, although he was been on his own a lot as he is considered to be “too much”, he finds his people at Camp Rock.

Casey Trotter was cast as Cliff, and he is also going to be a cast member on the rebooted series of The Mickey Mouse Club alongside Hudson Stone.

Callie Banks is a dancer, not a singer, at Camp Rock and she does not enter the competition to be Connect 3’s opening act. She is basically Lark’s assistant throughout the competition, judging the first challenge about singing and then leading the group in the second challenge all about dancing. She is more mature than many of the campers. This means that Sage feels she can confide in Callie about her preparations for the competition, and her crush on Fletch. Meanwhile, Callie and Desi seem to have their own relationship blossoming in the background, growing closer as Callie is tasked with improving Desi’s dancing, something she clearly does a good job with as Connect 3 even notice how much Desi’s dancing has improved during Final Jam.

Brooklynn Pitts was cast as Callie, and she is yet another cast member on the rebooted series of The Mickey Mouse Club alongside Hudson Stone and Casey Trotter. She appeared in the recurring role of Aria in the series Mani (2017-23) prior to her role here.

The final campers at Camp Rock to mention are Maddie, Daniel, and Danielle. Maddie is an influencer and mean girl, who seems to have rich parents and an attitude that says she doesn’t care about anyone but herself. Maddie thinks she is definitely going to become Connect 3’s opening act, with Daniel and Danielle acting as her backup. However, after Sage knocks Maddie off balance during the second challenge, and Maddie and her sidekicks stop dancing, she is eliminated from the competition by Lark. She is furious and tries to get her own back on them, first by destroying some of their most treasured possessions, and secondly by filming them during their bus challenge and posting it online, breaking the rule about keeping the competition secret from the outside world. This shows that Maddie and her sidekicks aren’t very smart since the video they shot would’ve quite clearly shown it was filmed outside the bus and not inside it, so Fletch couldn’t have done it. Connie and Lark also traced it back to Maddie’s account. By the end of Camp Rock, Maddie is left to sit in the audience for Final Jam and eventually leaves out of jealousy.

Ava Jean was cast as Maddie, having previously appeared as Savannah in the series A Week Away (2025), which was a spin-off of the Netflix film of the same name. Orlando Lucas was cast as Daniel, having previously played Dawson in the television movie Big Sky River (2022) and its 2023 sequel. Danielle was played by Orlando’s sister Ella Lucas, who appeared as Isabelle in the movie Re: Uniting (2023) prior to Camp Rock 3.

The last main character in Camp Rock 3 to mention is Connect 3’s overworked, probably underpaid, harassed tour manager Lark. Although it is Shane’s fault that their original opening act for their tour fell through, Lark is stuck with finding a new one, as Connect 3 do not spend time at Camp Rock going through the challenges, instead leaving Lark to oversee and organise all of them. She doesn’t really want to be there, so she is quite harsh and strict with her critiques of the campers, mostly just trying to get through the summer! In the end though, she ends up liking Camp Rock and completes her work requirements by getting Connect 3 their opening act. I didn’t love many of the characters in Camp Rock 3, but I did like Lark. Her sarcasm and lack of enthusiasm was quite funny.

Sherry Cola was cast as Lark. Prior to Camp Rock 3, Cola voiced the character of Helen in Pixar’s Turning Red (2022), later going on to play Stella in the Netflix film A Family Affair (2024), which starred Zac Efron, Joey King and Nicole Kidman. Also on Netflix, Cola currently plays the recurring role of Ashley in their series Nobody Wants This (2024-present) alongside Kristen Bell. Cola had also previously been cast as Alice Kwan in the Freeform series Good Trouble (2019-24). She also appeared as Maya in Season 3 of Apple TV series Shrinking (2023-present). Cola is set to play Yzma in the new Descendants movie for Disney, Descendants: Hidden Heroes. A release date is currently unknown.

Alongside the new cast, there were a few other characters from the original Camp Rock films who reprised their roles in Camp Rock 3. One of these was Connie Torres. After being the camp chef in both Camp Rock and Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam, she has now taken over as camp director from Brown Cesario, who does not appear in Camp Rock 3. Connie is a kind leader, giving advice to the campers, wanting them to have a great experience at Camp Rock. However, Connie is not afraid to put her foot down sometimes, as we see when she demands to know who has a contraband phone after footage of the competition ends up online. But Connie is also fair, allowing Fletch to compete in Final Jam, realising he did not post that video. Maria Canals-Barrera returned to play this character.

The Jonas Brothers also returned to play Connect 3 members Shane, Jason, and Nate Gray from the first two films. They, however, do not appear that much in Camp Rock 3, showing up at the start, where they seem to be filming a movie, before heading to Camp Rock to let the campers know they need an opening act. But then they leave the competition in Lark’s capable hands. Lark gets a few calls from them, where they mostly just get a quick update on the competition or use the call as an opportunity to criticise one another. They might have grown up, but Connect 3 still struggle to “connect”. But time away from Camp Rock 3 seems to have done wonders for them as they return reunited to judge Final Jam and pick their winner. Well, I hope so anyway, otherwise that opening act might not be opening up for them for long. I wouldn’t be surprised if that tour never happened…

Another cameo appearance was from Demi Lovato as Mitchie Torres. Having previously been one of the most talented and determined campers at Camp Rock, it is not much of a surprise to hear she is a famous singer, who takes one night off from tour to attend Camp Rock’s Final Jam. She doesn’t want to make everything about her though, so she watches from backstage, taking in all the talent of the new campers. She later proves to have some very useful advice for Connect 3 who struggle to choose one of the Final Five to have as their opening act. It is Mitchie’s idea to have the five perform as a group. After commenting with Shane over how great it’s been to be at Camp Rock again, she seems to commit to coming back next summer, but perhaps only briefly.

A final cameo appearance came from former Disney Channel star Milo Manheim. Manheim is well-known for his role as Zed in the Disney Channel musical franchise ZOMBIES, and he is currently filming the live-action Tangled film, where he will star as Flynn Rider. Tangled is set for release in March 2028. In Camp Rock 3, Manheim appeared for all of five minutes as former Camp Rock alum and big-time singer Calvin Rhodes, taking the campers through a songwriting workshop.

MUSIC

Camp Rock 3 features a mixture of covers of songs from Camp Rock and Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam, as well as a selection of new original songs. The soundtrack for Camp Rock 3 was released on 13th August 2026, the day of its Disney Channel premiere, with a vinyl LP also being made available to purchase.

The soundtrack for Camp Rock 3 contains a long list of songs, so let’s break it down by starting with the new music. The first new song we hear we don’t even get in full. This is the song “Come On Over”, which Connect 3 are performing apparently on a movie set. Their performance comes to an abrupt halt after Nate and Jason knock into each other on stage, and “Cut” is called. The full song is available on the soundtrack, however, after hearing all of it, I actually think the small amount of the chorus we get in Camp Rock 3 is the best part of it. “Come On Over” was written by Antonina Armato, Tim James Price, and Thomas Armato Sturges, and was performed by the Jonas Brothers as Connect 3.

Following that, back at Camp Rock, after finding out about the competition to be Connect 3’s opening act, Sage starts thinking about what a great opportunity this would be for her. She encourages all the other campers to join her in the excitement, by singing the song “One Beat Away” all across Camp Rock. This song was the first single to be released from the soundtrack, in July 2026, so a month before the movie’s premiere. It is a high-energy opener for the film. “One Beat Away” was performed predominately by Liamani Segura as Sage, with backup from the rest of the Camp Rock 3 cast. It was written by Matthew Tishler and Shridhar Solanki.

After this, there is a large portion of Camp Rock 3 that only uses covers of songs from Camp Rock and Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam, which I will get to later. The next complete original song we hear doesn’t come until the third challenge of the competition, where Lark challenges the Final Five of Sage, Fletch, Desi, Rosie, and Cliff to stay on the camp bus for 24 hours without stepping off it. The five perform an impromptu song after having a bonding chat about their feelings and their backstories, and this song is “Echo”, showcasing the five’s friendship and their shared love of music. “Echo” was therefore performed by Liamani Segura, Malachi Barton, Lumi Pollack, Hudson Stone, and Casey Trotter. It was written Alex Geringas, Polly Josephine Geringas, and Alexandra Grace Saad.

The song that comes after this is “Rhythm’s Only Right”, taking place as Sage and Desi make up after their sibling feud over the break up of their band. They accept their differences and apologise for not communicating properly, deciding they might even be able to start the band up again. “Rhythm’s Only Right” was performed by Liamani Segura and Hudson Stone, and was written by Matthew Tishler and Grayson DeWolfe.

After that, we get five songs in quick succession as Cliff, Rosie, Desi, Fletch, and Sage perform their own songs for Final Jam, and the final part of the competition, where Connect 3 will choose their opening act. Each song showcases that character’s own style.

Cliff gets up on stage first, performing a hip-hop-style song, complete with rap sections and drum solos, since he is a drummer after all. His song is titled “My Own Drum”. The song was performed by Casey Trotter and written by Jaheem King Toombs.

Rosie follows Cliff, starting off her song by playing the cello. She then leaves her cello to the side, taking centre stage to launch into a strong, powerful song, showing how far she’s come since arriving at camp as a shy cellist. This song is “Play It My Way”, performed by Lumi Pollack and written by Aaron C. Harmon.

Then, we get Desi’s song “Get Ready”. Desi shows off his singing talent, as well as his newly improved dance skills, courtesy of lessons from Callie, even bringing her up on stage to dance. Again, this song proves that Desi has been on a journey whilst at Camp Rock, accepting that he can put on a spectacle. “Get Ready” was performed by Hudson Stone and written by William “Will Jay” Behlendorf, Jason Mate and Brandon C. Rogers.

The fourth song of Final Jam is Fletch’s ballad, singing and playing the guitar. This is actually a more polished version of the song “Tomorrow” that he was inspired to finish after doing the songwriting workshop with Calvin Rhodes and talking to Sage. The earlier, shortened version of this song is listed as “Tomorrow (Acoustic)” on the official soundtrack, whereas “Tomorrow” is the full version, complete with backup musicians. I actually decided this song wasn’t so bad in the end, and is definitely one of the better ones in Camp Rock 3. “Tomorrow” was performed by Malachi Barton, written by Josh Cumbee and Jordan Powers.

The final song of Final Jam is for Sage. She has a song prepared, but decides to go with something different after learning that her time at Camp Rock shouldn’t have been about the competition, and was about meeting like-minded people who love music, just like her. Sage then starts singing the song “Work In Progress”, with each of the other four joining Sage on stage. Cliff gets on the drums, Rosie plays her cello, whilst Fletch and Desi join in with their guitars. As I was watching Camp Rock 3 for the first time, this was the only song that I thought was alright. It was performed by Liamani Segura, and was written by Antonina Armato, Tim James Price, and Thomas Armato Sturges.

Four songs from Camp Rock and two songs from Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam were re-recorded by the cast of Camp Rock 3, with five of them appearing in the film, and one other only being on the soundtrack. The first one we hear is “Brand New Day”, originally the opening song from Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam. This song is also used for the opening sequence of Camp Rock 3, accompanying the arrival of all the campers, but is only heard in the background briefly, and was not performed by the movie’s characters as it was in the sequel. It was recorded by Liamani Segura.

For the first challenge in the competition to be Connect 3’s opening act, the campers are asked to cover a well-known Connect 3 song. This happens to be “Play My Music” from the first movie, where the band accept the opportunity to perform in front of the campers, to inspire them in time for Final Jam. In Camp Rock 3, each camper competing for the chance to be Connect 3’s opening act is told to perform “Play My Music”, but make it their own, so there are many weird and interesting takes on this song here. It is also performed again in the End Credits by the main cast of Camp Rock 3.

The second challenge, the dance challenge, involves a re-recording of “Start the Party”. Camp Rock fans will recognise this song from the dance scene in the first film. It is part of Shane Gray’s first class with the campers, teaching them how to dance and how to perform like a rockstar. The whole cast of Camp Rock 3 perform this song.  

“It’s On”, the famous battle song from Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam, where Camp Rock campers challenge those from Camp Star to the ultimate singing battle, is used in the background as the Final Five and Maddie and her gang have a paint battle in the arts and crafts room. This cover is credited to Lumi Pollack, Hudson Stone, and Ava Jean.

The final song in Final Jam, signalling the end of the first Camp Rock film was “We Rock”. “We Rock” is once again used for the same purpose, being performed by Connect 3 and the Final Five to end the Final Jam here and Camp Rock 3 as a whole. It is performed by Connect 3 and the Final Five. I’ve always liked this song – but I was disappointed to find the choreography had changed. So much for all that practice watching the Camp Rock: Dance-Along on Disney Channel all those years ago…

The last song taken from a previous Camp Rock film for the Camp Rock 3 soundtrack was “What It Takes”, originally performed by the character Lola in Camp Rock. Here, it is performed by Brooklyn Pitts. Video online has shown Pitts performing full choreography to this song, making it seem like this song was recorded for a specific scene, but was cut for unknown reasons, which is a shame, as Callie didn’t get much screen time in Camp Rock 3. It would’ve been nice for her to get a chance to shine.

“Fire” from Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam is also heard briefly here. This is the song that Maddie, Daniel, and Danielle dance to in order to really show everyone at Camp Rock who they are. This song is not on the soundtrack, and it is only an instrumental.

Despite all the effort going into this soundtrack to try and please both older viewers and newer viewers with the mixture of new and old music, the Camp Rock 3 soundtrack did not outdo its predecessors. Camp Rock 3 debuted at No. 9 on the US Billboard Soundtrack Albums chart, which is respectable enough, however, it does not match the performance of either Camp Rock or Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam, which both reached No. 1 in this same chart. Those two soundtracks also peaked at No. 3 on the US Billboard 200 chart, whereas Camp Rock 3 has missed out on this chart entirely[1].

Tom Howe was the composer for Camp Rock 3, having previously worked with Disney Channel on the music for Upside-Down Magic (2020) and ZOMBIES 4: Dawn of the Vampires. Outside of that, Howe was the composer on the popular Apple TV series Ted Lasso (2020-present) and Shrinking. He has also collaborated with Aardman Animations on the music for a couple of their movies, including A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon (2019), and Early Man (2018) with Harry Gregson-Williams. Howe is also reportedly the one behind the theme music for The Great British Bake-Off (2010-present). An excerpt of Howe’s score is included as a track on the official Camp Rock 3 soundtrack.

PRODUCTION

As the years stretched on after Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam arrived on Disney Channel in the summer of 2010, many fans had given up hope of there ever being a third film.

They’d grown up and moved away from the channel, as had all the stars of the first two films. Some of those stars had also come out to say that their experience of working on those films, and with Disney Channel generally, had not been a great time in their lives, struggling to process their time as child or teenage actors. It just didn’t make sense to make a third one, and most people had forgotten all about it, because, although we seem to forget in these days of endless sequels and reboots, some franchises do actually come to an end.

However, all of sudden, rumours started swirling about a Camp Rock 3. I mostly ignored them, thinking it was just wishful thinking from fans, like all those ones doing fancasts for new Disney live-action remakes. It’s not possible for all of them to happen. The rumours partially began in August 2025 because of a Hot Ones Versus video filmed with the Jonas Brothers that was released on 12th August. In this video, Joe was tasked with reading the most recent entry on his phone’s Notes app and it said “Read Camp Rock 3[2]. This might not have seemed like much on its own – it could’ve simply been a joke – but this video followed a surprise appearance by Demi Lovato at MetLife Stadium with the Jonas Brothers as part of their Greetings From Your Hometown tour. Here, Lovato performed “This Is Me”, following on from Joe’s performance of “Gotta Find You”. They then finished up with their duet “Wouldn’t Change a Thing” from Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam. Fans were ecstatic to see Demi Lovato reunited with the Jonas Brothers, and this fuelled the rumours of a Camp Rock 3[3]. I still ignored the suggestion that Camp Rock 3 was happening.

I was later proven wrong, as an official confirmation of Camp Rock 3 was announced in September 2025, with filming beginning in Canada that same week. It was confirmed that the story was going to revolve around Connect 3 looking for campers to be their new opening act for a major reunion tour. It was confirmed that the Jonas Brothers would be returning as the members of Connect 3, Shane, Nate, and Jason, and that Maria Canals-Barrera would be the only other original cast member returning for this third movie, as Connie Torres, Mitchie’s mother. Demi Lovato was only listed as an executive producer, alongside the Jonas Brothers, although at the time, I was convinced she’d end up having a small cameo in the film – this time, I turned out to be right. A list of new cast members was also announced for Camp Rock 3, including Malachi Barton and Liamani Segura, both from other successful Disney Channel musical franchises[4]. Even with the promise of the Jonas Brothers returning, I was not excited or interested in Camp Rock 3 when it was announced. Luckily for fans of any franchise, my disinterest at newly announced films does not stop them being made. After this announcement, Camp Rock 3 immediately entered production.

Filming on Camp Rock 3 seems to have taken place from September 2025 until early November 2025. The cast and crew did not return to the original Camp Rock locations in Ontario, Canada, instead moving to British Columbia. Specifically, filming took place at Barnet Marine Park in Burnaby, where eagle-eyed watchers could see sets like cabins and stages being set up. The Jonas Brothers were also spotted in and around the area[5].

As with all Disney Channel musicals, plenty of dance experience is required for these films, and in this case, Jamal Sims was selected as the lead choreographer on Camp Rock 3. In film, Sims worked on choreography for movies like Step Up (2006), Hairspray (2007), and even Disney’s live-action film Aladdin (2019). He also worked with Miley Cyrus on the choreography for “Hoedown Throwdown” from Hannah Montana: The Movie (2009), as well as directing and choreographing her Wonder World Tour in 2009. Sims later played Dr. Facilier in Descendants 3 (2019), alongside being a choreographer on the movie. Sims regularly appears on RuPaul’s Drag Race (2009-present) as a choreographer and judge.

Along with learning the dances for Camp Rock 3, Malachi Barton also had to learn how to play the guitar for this film, prepping for his role as Fletch whilst on the Descendants/ZOMBIES Worlds Collide Concert Tour in 2025, ready to start filming just as the tour ended. Liamani Segura was a surprise guest towards the end of this tour as well, due to her role as Pink in Descendants: Wicked Wonderland, which was coming the following year. Segura and Barton already knew each other even before this meeting though, as they previously met simply due to them both working at Disney for years, but they also read together for ZOMBIES 4: Dawn of the Vampires, as Segura was screen tested for the role of Nova, which ended up going to Freya Skye[6].

Camp Rock 3 was directed by Veronica Rodriguez, who already had some history of working with Disney Channel, having written and directed some episodes of the Disney Channel series Gabby Duran & The Unsittables (2019-21), before going on to direct the Disney Channel movie The Slumber Party (2023).

The screenplay was written by Eydie Faye, who had also written the screenplay for Disney Channel’s The Slumber Party. Faye had previously written the musical drama film The J Team (2021), which starred JoJo Siwa, for Paramount+. After Camp Rock 3, Faye is continuing to work with Disney Channel, by co-writing ZOMBIES 5: Secrets of the Sea, as well as working on the Descendants: Hidden Heroes movie. Faye must’ve been inspired by the first two films, as can be seen from the endless references and nods to the original Camp Rock films, as well as the return of some original characters, with these being created by Karin Gist, Regina Hicks, Julie Brown, and Paul Brown.

RECEPTION

Disney held a red carpet premiere to celebrate the upcoming release of Camp Rock 3 on 10th August 2026, reportedly at the Walt Disney Studios lot in Burbank, California. It was attended by the cast of Camp Rock 3, as well as other current and former Disney stars, such as Roshon Fegan, who played Sander in the original two Camp Rock films, and Dara Renée, who played Uliana in the recent DCOM Descendants: The Rise of Red (2024).

Camp Rock 3 then premiered on Disney Channel in the US on 13th August, followed by its release onto Disney’s streaming platform Disney+ the day after, on 14th August 2026. This appears to be the standard release schedule for Disney Channel Original Movies now.

Its Disney Channel premiere was apparently watched by less than 0.2 million viewers. However, although these viewing figures used to be the best indicator of how well a DCOM had performed, that is no longer the case. For example, Camp Rock, which was viewed by 8.9 million viewers on its premiere in 2008, making it the third most-watched DCOM premiere of all time, with Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam in 7th position with a reported 7.9 million viewers. Figures like these have not been reached in a very long time, as viewership of new DCOM releases has been steadily declining ever since the 2010s. Now that audiences have Disney+, naturally, less viewers are choosing to watch the newest DCOMs on Disney Channel, because why should you bother paying for both services? How the film does on Disney+ is more of a useful indicator of DCOM performance nowadays. Camp Rock 3 was the No. 1 movie on Disney+ in 66 territories during its debut week[7].

Although building up hype for a third Camp Rock film after sixteen years of waiting was easy, managing to draw in viewers even from the older generation who had grown up with the original films, it was not enough to satisfy the viewers, who, on the whole, were left disappointed by this new movie. Critics actually seemed to have nicer things to say than the audience did, which is really quite rare for a Disney Channel movie.

On the positive side, some said Camp Rock 3 was pretty good, just not amazing. They enjoyed the cameos, like Demi Lovato’s surprise appearance and the scenes with the Jonas Brothers, as well as liking the references to the first two films. I actually found the cameo with Lovato quite awkward, and felt that both her and the Jonas Brothers had trouble connecting to their original characters; I didn’t feel like I was watching Mitchie, or Shane Gray, or whoever, so their scenes just felt a little odd. But I do understand they have grown up now and have become very different people since their time at Disney. Some liked the new music, and felt that tour manager Lark was a funny addition to the cast.

However, on the other side of things, some stated that they would’ve preferred to have seen the old cast return as camp counsellors. I’d agree with this, despite the fact this was already a key part of Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam, because I didn’t feel like the original characters had much purpose in Camp Rock 3. It arguably would’ve been better to have rebooted the Camp Rock franchise without any appearances by the original cast, especially since it was felt Camp Rock 3 was falsely advertised with the Jonas Brothers, who were barely even in this film. The fact their appearance was pushed so much in advertising suggested to me they were going to be main characters here, not just popping up randomly for not much reason at all. Others, like me, also disliked how much recycling and reusing of elements from the first two Camp Rock films existed in Camp Rock 3. Lines like “Grab a mic and a hat; follow me if you can” and “Whatever, Major Loser”, as well as the return of the heavily mocked “Camp Rock Stomp” that Mitchie led on the way to challenge Camp Star in Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam, were clearly meant to be funny for those who had watched the original films. I didn’t find them funny or feel like they were needed.

The re-recording of music from the first two movies also just felt lazy to me, and the new original songs were not particularly memorable in my opinion. Some of them I decided weren’t that bad after hearing them a few times, but still don’t compare to the music of other more recent Disney Channel musicals, and definitely not the older ones. The pacing of the film was also criticised, feeling that parts of it were rushed and that the story felt too episodic, with the campers just moving from challenge to challenge. Characters were also not developed well. I liked Lark as a new character though, because her sarcasm and lack of enthusiasm about being at Camp Rock matched how I was feeling whilst watching Camp Rock 3 and I thought that Sage and Fletch were fine as characters, but the other three in the Final Five barely got any backstory and I found it hard to care about them. Maddie was also a terribly written character, as she had no redeeming qualities. She was obviously meant to be similar to mean girl Tess from the original films, but Tess at least had a sad backstory about how her parents were too busy to care about her and that’s why she craved attention. Maddie was just mean, jealous, and vindictive, with little else in the way of personality.

As Camp Rock 3 has only just been released, there is no information yet on how it might perform at certain award ceremonies. Given that Disney+ tend to do very well at the Children’s and Family Emmy Awards, it is possible that Camp Rock 3 may receive a nomination or two here. It may also be recognised at the Kids’ Choice Awards potentially.

LEGACY

In the build up to the release of Camp Rock 3 over the summer, some of the cast were spotted at the Disney Parks to promote other summer events in 2026.

Demi Lovato, alongside the younger cast members, was spotted at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, specifically at the Magic Kingdom, to promote their Cool Kids’ Summer, because Camp Rock 3 was being tied in with that event. The group went on the newly refurbished Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, with a video later being posted on the Camp Rock Instagram page showing highlights of their ride, set to the song “Brand New Day”. Other videos of them at the park were also later released.

Another reference to Camp Rock 3 at the Disney Parks over Summer 2026 was the DescenDANCE Party x Camp Rock Jam, which had been performed at the Disney Springs Waterside Stage on select nights at the Walt Disney World Resort, as part of Cool Kids’ Summer, to promote and celebrate the release of their two newest DCOM musicals, featuring music from both franchises. It began in late May 2026, running until early September 2026. A promotional display area was also constructed for the Disneyland Hotel at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, with areas for photo opportunities. Some fun activities for hotel guests have also been put on.

The D23 Expo was also taking place on the same weekend that Camp Rock 3 made its debut, from 14th to 16th August 2026, so it’s only right that the cast would come to the convention as well in order to promote Camp Rock 3 further. In this case, the performance was presented by the Jonas Brothers, who then cleared the stage so the main cast could perform their version of “We Rock” from Camp Rock – probably to please all the millennials in the audience – as well as the original song “One Beat Away”.

A bus tour, titled All Roads Lead to Camp, to promote Camp Rock 3 also launched earlier in the summer, starting on 3rd July 2026 in Nashville, Tennessee, travelling to various cities around the US over July and into August, with the tour ending at the D23 Expo in Anaheim on 14th August 2026, with this being the film’s Disney+ premiere date too. How coincidental! The bus had a Camp Rock-themed mural painted on it, alongside the movie’s release dates. The bus had item giveaways and photo opportunities for anyone there. It was even blasting music from the series for people to sing along with[8].

There is also set to be a new short-form series premiering on Disney+ and Disney Channel in September 2026, which is a continuation of Disney’s Locker Diaries series. Yep, just like Descendants and ZOMBIES before it, Camp Rock 3 stars will be appearing in new episodes of this series, titled Locker Diaries: Camp Rock.

A further project related to Camp Rock 3 has yet to take place and that is the Descendants/ZOMBIES/Camp Rock: Worlds Collide Concert Tour, following on from the successful Descendants/ZOMBIES Worlds Collide Concert Tour over Summer 2025. From Camp Rock 3, the cast members going on the tour are Hudson Stone, who played Desi; Liamani Segura, who played Sage; and Malachi Barton, who played Fletch. The American leg of the tour kicks off on 25th September 2026 in Palm Desert, California, running until 13th December 2026 with its final performance in Mexico City. The tour will then move over to Europe, beginning with a performance on 6th February 2027 in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, and ending on 24th February in Madrid, Spain. Other cities the tour group will be heading to include Paris, London, Glasgow, and Manchester. Based on the previous tour, fans can expect to hear music from both the older and new movies of each franchise.

Finally, although a fourth Camp Rock film has not yet been announced, some of the cast have said they’d be happy to continue with the franchise by making a new film. Given the fact that Disney Channel seems to be quite comfortable focusing on the same few musical franchises, I’d say a Camp Rock 4 is probably quite likely, whether it is needed or not. Descendants is heading towards six films, and ZOMBIES is about to hit five after all.  

FINAL THOUGHTS

Although I have called myself a “Disney purist”, I like to think that I am actually more open-minded than most “Disney purists”.

I have given every new Disney Channel Original Movie a chance, even if I am not interested in them. There have been some newer films that continue Disney Channel musical franchises that I have really liked, and others that I only found moments that I did. And that’s fine, because I’m not the target audience, even though by going back to these older films, Disney seems to think they are targeting millennials, forgetting that millennials require much more from their movies than tweens and teens do.  

I will be unlikely to ever revisit Camp Rock 3, because if I want nostalgia for Camp Rock, I will simply put the original films on. This film has made me even more concerned about how the fourth Cheetah Girls movie might end up, but really, it’s all good, because as long as Disney Channel’s younger audience enjoy them, and their new stars get a chance on the small screen, then Disney did their job.

To all the adults that watched Camp Rock 3, give it time for the anger and disappointment to ebb. Remember: these new versions of beloved DCOMs are not actually yours. They weren’t meant for you, or made for you. Just keep that in mind the next time you go to watch a new Disney Channel movie; it might make you look at them a little differently. 


REFERENCES

[1] Credit: Hugh McIntyre, ‘‘Camp Rock 3’ Scores The Series Another Hit – But The Franchise Flags’, Forbes.com, 31st August 2026.

[2] Credit: Samantha Olson, ‘Is ‘Camp Rock 3’ Happening? Joe Jonas May Have Just Confirmed It’, Cosmopolitan.com, 13th August 2025.

[3] Credit: Larisha Paul, ‘Jonas Brothers Reunite With Demi Lovato For ‘Camp Rock’ Classics At Stadium Tour Opener’, RollingStone.com, 11th August 2025.

[4] Credit: Disney, ‘‘Camp Rock 3’ Officially Greenlit for Disney+ and Disney Channel’, TheWaltDisneyCompany.com, 17th September 2025.

[5] Credit: Daniel Chai, ‘Popular Metro Vancouver park shines in new trailer for Jonas Brothers’ ‘Camp Rock 3’’, DailyHive.com, 21st July 2026.

[6] Credit: Sarah Hearon, ‘‘Cause we (still) rock! The Jonas Brothers introduce a new generation in nostalgia-filled Camo Rock 3 (exclusive)’, EW.com, 13th August 2026.

[7] Credit: Fawzia Khan, ’16 Years Later, Disney+’s New Legacy Sequel Is An Instant Global Hit Despite 42% Audience Score’, CBR.com, 16th August 2026.

[8] Credit: Amanda Finn, ‘‘Camp Rock 3’ Hits the Road: Nationwide Bus Tour to Promote Upcoming Film’, WDWNT.com, 2nd July 2026.

The Cheetah Girls: One World (2008)

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

BACKGROUND

Disney Channel had a few musical goodies to gift to their audience in 2008. 

First up, at the start of summer, we were given Camp Rock, a new Disney channel movie musical clearly heavily inspired by High School Musical (2006). As summer stretched into autumn, Disney gave us a real treat by releasing High School Musical 3: Senior Year into cinemas, this being the final outing of the franchise. 

But in the middle of these two films, premiering towards the end of summer, was The Cheetah Girls: One World, the third film for its franchise, beating out High School Musical to be the first Disney Channel musical “threequel”. And after they had such success sending the girls to Spain in The Cheetah Girls 2 (2006), it was decided to send them to a completely different continent. This time, they were going to Asia, to India to film a Bollywood musical. 

I have always liked The Cheetah Girls: One World, having watched it on its premiere date in the UK. Instead of annoying me, like it had done for the sequel thanks to “Strut” being shown at least four times an hour, I enjoyed watching all the promotional adverts for this film on Disney Channel, like the music video for “Dance Me If You Can” and the behind-the-scenes clips; they made me really want to see it. 

However, this film is either not considered the best of the three by most Cheetah Girls fans or fans hate The Cheetah Girls: One World. There will be various reasons for this but an undisputed one is that the third Cheetah Girls film does not include Raven-Symoné as Galleria so why bother? The reason she does not appear is quite simple: she did not want to be involved, supposedly due to tension between her and the other three girls. 

I should say that I was not aware of this at the time I watched The Cheetah Girls: One World and was only made aware of this recently. I had simply assumed that because That’s So Raven had ended in 2007, Raven’s Disney Channel sitcom, she had chosen to move away from Disney and was concentrating on non-Disney projects.

That was apparently not the case and, although I have sympathy for the situation, even knowing this fact has not made me like The Cheetah Girls: One World any less. I think the music is the best of the three; the story is interesting; and I didn’t really miss Raven being in the film. I’m not saying that because I don’t think Raven was an integral part of the films, but it’s just that I thought the other three managed to hold their own here. 

PLOT

The Cheetah Girls: One World opens with the Cheetah Girls preparing for a huge performance. There are glamorous costumes, a peppy, catchy song, dancers, a huge stage, and an adoring crowd. The audience is lapping up the spectacle in front of them. There’s just one problem with this picture – it’s not real, it’s all a fantasy.

Yes, this is just a daydream as the Cheetah Girls are actually finishing up an audition, on an ordinary stage, in an ordinary theatre, in front of an ordinary guy. He’s probably a talent agent or something but as he was not impressed by the girls’ audition, it doesn’t even matter. The point is their audition has gone nowhere and the girls are rightly upset about it. The Cheetah Girls are going through a transition period at this point in time as they adjust to becoming a trio, since Galleria left the group to focus on her studies, ready to start college in Cambridge. Aqua and Dorinda are disheartened by the group’s lack of progress recently and start to wonder if their summer break would be best used to prepare for college too. But Chanel doesn’t want to hear this negativity and tells them their shot is coming.  Aqua’s focus has also drifted elsewhere, to a flirty over-the-phone relationship with a tech support guy. Aqua retorts that not everyone can have a gorgeous, devoted, Spanish boyfriend, to which Dorinda responds that nobody has a gorgeous, devoted, Spanish boyfriend, as she broke up with Joaquin, the dancer she met when the Cheetah Girls were in Barcelona.

To get over the heartache, the girls head out for dinner, going to an Indian restaurant, because Dorinda simply can’t deal with Spanish food at the moment because of the whole Joaquin thing. Seems a bit unfair to taint a whole cuisine over a bit of boyfriend trouble, don’t you think? Anyway, at the restaurant, Dorinda notices a statue of the Hindu god Ganesh, who partly resembles an elephant. Their server tells the girls that Ganesh is said to be the remover of obstacles. The group complain about their lack of career progression and the server tells them to have some faith. The three continue to complain, with Aqua wanting to do a college prep class and Dorinda having a dance camp job lined up, which annoys Chanel who wants to solely focus on the group this summer. They all agree to concentrate on the Cheetah Girls. Suddenly, Chanel gets a phone call, stating that they are being asked to audition for a big Hollywood musical. Chanel didn’t get many details, but the girls are excited and nervous, feeling this could be their lucky break.

After warming up their vocal cords and dance moves at the restaurant, we zoom over to see the Cheetah Girls finishing up their audition for the movie musical. The director of the film, Vikram, mostly known as Vik, comes over to introduce himself, and he is instantly taken with Chanel, distracting him for a moment. He eventually gets to the point and says he wants all three of them for his movie, with this movie dream keeping his parents from sending him to dental school! They are told they are heading to Bollywood the day after tomorrow. The girls notice that he said “Bollywood” and not “Hollywood”, so they won’t be going to California, but heading instead to Mumbai, India. Chanel doesn’t care that much about this huge change to the schedule, but Dorinda and Aqua are very uncertain about going to the other side of the world. Chanel convinces them this is their opportunity to become international superstars. With Chanel’s persuasion, the other two agree to go to India. Chanel then gets all excited about how cute their director is, but Dorinda tells all three of them to not spend their time together talking about boys. The three announce to Vik they are all in on the film. However, Vik’s assistant reminds him he was only meant to select one girl, with his movie producer uncle going to be mad about the fact three girls have been hired…

Soon, the girls arrive into the heat, noise, and general chaos of Mumbai, especially its traffic situation which they are all experiencing through a very stressful ride to their hotel in a rickshaw! On the way, Dorinda sees an elephant, as she did with the Ganesh statue at the restaurant, and notices her phone ringing with a call from Spain, presumably from Joaquin. She ignores the call and absorbs herself in India instead. Their hotel is beautiful and luxurious, complete with stalls selling souvenirs right outside. As the girls take part in some light shopping, Dorinda is called over by a wise, elderly man, who tells Dorinda to take a string, make a wish, and tie the string to the tree. When their wishes come true, they can return to the tree and untie it. Dorinda is joined by Aqua and Chanel who all make a wish.

The next morning, Chanel is given the rehearsal schedule for the movie by Vik, and rushes the other two to get ready so they can get to the studio on time. The three arrive at the India Pictures lot, where they are greeted by Vik. Vik explains his vision for the movie, that he wanted to make a classic, traditional remake of the Bollywood romantic hit film Namaste Bombay but his uncle, the producer, wanted to make it more contemporary and marketable by hiring Americans, so that is why the Cheetah Girls are here. The girls are told a huge Bollywood star, Rahim Khan, will be their co-star. Rahim comes over to meet them all. The girls are speechless. Even they are impressed by his fame and charisma!

The Cheetah Girls are taken over to meet their choreographer Gita, who complains about them being late. Gita suddenly sees Rahim and is so nervous about seeing him that she stumbles over. Rahim goes over to her to help and an awkward encounter between the two ensures. Rahim is ushered away to a costume fitting whilst Gita takes the girls outside for their first dance rehearsal. Gita, unimpressed by these American girls who are supposedly amazing dancers, goes through the choreography at break-neck speed, with the dance moves being very unlike the hip-hop choreography the girls are used to. Dorinda hears Gita say they’ll need to really slow down these rehearsals for them. Offended, she begins a dance battle between her and Gita, over their two differing dance styles. In the end though, both Gita and the Cheetah Girls learn some new moves from each other and everyone ends up the best of friends – just in case you forgot this was a DCOM.

As their rehearsal ends, a man comes over, looking confused. The girls state that they are the stars of the movie, to which the man demands to see Vik. This man is Vik’s uncle, the producer, who tells Vik he only has the budget for one star, and that all three girls cannot stay. Vik’s uncle states they will each have to audition for the role, with the unsuccessful two heading straight home. Vik tries to reason with his uncle by saying he can make some script rewrites and fit all the girls in. His uncle refuses to back down. The Cheetah Girls confront Vik about the mix-up, and all three decide they should just go home. Aqua and Dorinda are annoyed that they wasted their time here, and think the group is over.

The next day, having had some time to sleep and reflect on it, the girls go shopping together and start talking about the audition and the movie. They don’t want to audition against each other, but each have an idea of who should get the role. Chanel says Dorinda should take the part, because she needs the money, whereas Dorinda wants Aqua to do it to get a chance to showcase her acting skills. Aqua says it’s clear Vik wants Chanel for the role. Chanel says she’d never take the part if that were true anyway. The three change their minds and decide they will all audition, and that they’ll be happy for whoever gets the part. Aqua then calls a phone call – it’s from her tech support guy, Kevin 347. She wanders off to talk to him. After he checks on the status of her laptop, they start to have a normal conversation. They eventually start discussing the sunset they can each see, which makes Aqua realise they must be in a similar part of the globe. They start describing their surroundings, and it turns out they are in exactly the same place! Aqua turns around to see Kevin 347 right in front of her – what are the odds! Aqua can’t believe her luck. Kevin formally introduces himself, stating that Kevin is just his work name; his real name is actually Amar. Dorinda sees what’s going on and wants to stop Aqua from getting her heart broken, but Chanel persuades her to let Aqua have some fun. Dorinda then sees yet another elephant, and starts to get paranoid about it. Chanel tells Dorinda to calm down, saying nothing is going to change in the group – before rushing off to take a call from Vik.

That evening, Dorinda comes across the wise, old man again, who tells Dorinda that she should not feel anxious for the future, and must embrace change as it is always happening. Things that do matter, though, never change. The man tells Dorinda to remember that tough times never last forever, and gives her a totem of the god Ganesh, before hitting her on the head with a leaf, for clarity, he says!

In the morning, Aqua continues to spend time with Amar. Over dinner, Amar says his father is sending him to business school and cannot study what he wants, where he wants. Aqua doesn’t understand not having control over your own life, but she does state that her dream is to star in Vik’s movie, something that she has little control over. Meanwhile, Dorinda sees Rahim acting weirdly around Gita again at rehearsals, telling him he’s a real dork every time he’s near Gita and it’s embarrassing to watch! Rahim says he’s just nervous, because he’s never kissed a girl in real-life, outside of his movies. Rahim asks Dorinda for her help with Gita, in exchange for helping Dorinda with her audition for the film. Back with Chanel, Chanel is discussing Vik’s endless attempts at rewriting his movie script, as Vik is determined to make this movie a success, as an opportunity to prove himself. This makes Chanel consider how good the film role could be for her career, even without the girls.

Dorinda takes a walk with Gita later that day, where she talks about the movie role. Gita thinks she would’ve liked to be a movie star, but doesn’t believe that will ever happen for her now. Dorinda sees Gita also acting like a dork around Rahim, as she hides behind a market stall after seeing a cardboard cut-out of Rahim. Dorinda reminds Gita that she is definitely good enough for Rahim, even if he is a celebrity.

Now, here is where the Extended Edition of the film leads into a date scene with all the couples, or potential couples, and Dorinda. Chanel brings Dorinda along on her date with Vik, for some reason, forcing Dorinda to sit in a swan pedal boat, peddling around this lake on her own, whilst Chanel and Vik gaze adoringly at each other. On dry land, Aqua and Amar are also discussing their newfound romance, whilst Gita and Rahim separately consider their feelings for the other, wondering if anything will ever happen between them.

After that, we return to the studio lot, where Vik is disheartened by the set being built for the movie’s big wedding scene, finding it bare and poorly constructed, but this is all the budget could afford. Vik goes to his uncle to ask for something more, knowing with his film school qualifications from NYU that he can make a good film. However, Vik’s uncle refuses to put any more money into the film, threatening to cancel the movie entirely and send Vik to dental school. The girls overhear Vik’s fight with his uncle, and plan to go back home, since the movie is going to be cancelled without a free location, however, Amar invites all the girls and Vik to come back to Rajasthan with him for Holi, to hold the auditions and potentially do some location scouting. Vik’s uncle invites himself along too.

As the girls prepare to leave for Rajasthan, the wise man, Swami, tells the girls to untie their strings, but they say their wishes haven’t come true. Swami says the tree just needs time to make the wishes happen. Chanel and Dorinda head to the car, leaving Aqua to secretly untie her string from the tree. Her wish has seemingly come true – what was it?

The girls head off on their long road trip to Rajasthan with Vik, his uncle, Amar, Gita, and Rahim. They arrive and Dorinda sees yet another elephant. Gita tells Dorinda she is lucky that the elephants are looking at her, because it means they are trying to help her. Dorinda is glad to hear she might be lucky but decides she can’t possibly be after the same elephant sprays water at her! The group are immediately thrown into the middle of celebrations for Holi, before being whisked away on a boat, heading for Amar’s parents’ home. They come to a huge palace and are all shocked that this is where Amar lives.

Aqua complains that Amar never told her he was rich, or that he is from royalty. She thinks he has plenty of options for his life, but Amar reiterates his father has ideas for his life, so Amar doesn’t choose for himself. Amar’s mother tells Amar that dinner is ready, and the group all sit down for dinner. Amar’s mother starts being very friendly to Aqua, believing her to be Amar’s girlfriend, but she confirms she isn’t his girlfriend. Vik discusses the potential for using Amar’s home as a location for the film, and Amar agrees to it, with one condition.

The next morning, Amar tells Aqua about the news, and that his condition was to make Aqua the lead in the movie. Dorinda runs into Gita and Rahim being awkward again, and Dorinda tells Rahim he needs to be open and honest about his feelings. She then gets another call from Spain and ignores it, with Rahim noticing she doesn’t take her own advice. They then see Vik and Chanel walking hand-in-hand. Rahim says the rumour is those two are officially a couple. Dorinda is shocked she wasn’t told, and believes Chanel didn’t say because it will only make it look unfair if she does get the lead. Chanel then hears from Vik that Amar asked for Aqua to be cast in the lead in exchange for the location. This leads to all three girls feeling paranoid about the others, not expecting a fair fight for the role anymore.

On the day of the audition, Chanel and Dorinda notice Aqua’s string from the tree tied around her wrist, and demand to know what her wish was. Aqua’s wish, it turns out, was to meet Kevin 347. Chanel is upset to find Aqua didn’t wish for the Cheetah Girls to be big movie stars. Dorinda admits her wish was for the group to stay the same, effectively cancelling out Chanel’s wish. The animosity between the three girls only grows as they start their audition, with Rahim fighting for Dorinda; Amar fighting for Aqua; and Vik fighting for Chanel to get the part. In the end, Vik’s uncle casts Chanel in the lead, annoying Aqua and Dorinda who knew Vik had been wanting Chanel in the lead all along. It wasn’t fair.

Given the conflict between the girls, Chanel’s excitement at being cast in the starring role is short-lived. As she sees Dorinda and Aqua packing to leave India, Chanel starts to consider whether this role is even worth it, not wanting to lose her friends. Eventually, the three girls come together and apologise for everything. Dorinda and Aqua admit they were just jealous and wrong to say it wasn’t fair, with Chanel saying she turned down the part anyway. Chanel tells Vik in person, and he thinks it is now certain that his film is over, since there is no love interest. Chanel convinces Vik to stand up to his uncle and make the movie he wants to make. He considers it, before kissing Chanel, wanting her to be his leading lady in real-life. Cringe. Amar then talks to Aqua, apologising for trying to get her the lead role in the film, before saying he is going to apply to Columbia University to be with Aqua. Dorinda also gets Rahim to ask Gita on a date – she says yes – as well as finally giving Joaquin a call, wanting to still be friends. She realises she was the obstacle getting in her way.

Chanel shows the girls a gift she got for Vik, the original poster for Namaste Bombay. They feel bad for backing out of the film, not knowing who will be the star of the film now. They look over to see Rahim with Gita, giving them all an idea. Vik goes to his uncle with the others, telling him that Gita will be the lead. Vik’s uncle can’t believe Vik would want to put the choreographer in front of the camera, but Vik puts his foot down. His uncle is happy to see Vik talking like a real director and goes along with the new plan.

They are now ready to shoot a sequence for the film. The sequence shows the love interests – played by Rahim and Gita – getting married, with the Cheetah Girls having a supporting role in the movie. It is a big song-and-dance number, perfect for the girls. The sequence – and this film – ends with the girls riding on the back of an elephant.

CHARACTERS & CAST

The Cheetah Girls: One World sees Adrienne Bailon, Kiely Williams, and Sabrina Bryan returning as Chanel, Aqua, and Dorinda respectively for this third story. This time, the Cheetah Girls have become a trio and are still trying to make it in the mainstream, auditioning to try and get opportunities for the group. All looks lost for them until they are offered parts in a movie – not in Hollywood like they expect, but in India, as this is a Bollywood movie. The girls embrace the challenge and their new surroundings, but find themselves caught up with distracting love interests and a fight over the lead in this film. In the end though, they are reminded that their friendship is more important than anything else, not wanting the movie or boys to get in the way of that. Raven-Symoné was not involved in this film as Galleria, with Galleria being written out of the film with a brief mention of the fact she is in summer school before heading off to Cambridge to go to university in the UK. With Galleria absent from the movie, it makes sense that her mother Dorothea would also not be in this third film. Chanel’s mother, Juanita, is not here either, probably because she’s too busy with her new husband, Luc. Same old, same old.

But there are still a few new characters in The Cheetah Girls: One World. One of these is Vikram Bhatia, mostly referred to as simply Vik. Vik is the director of this remake of the classic Bollywood film Namaste Bombay that he has hired the Cheetah Girls for. He is instantly smitten with Chanel after meeting her at the audition, and despite a clear conflict of interest here, he makes no secret of the fact he likes her throughout the movie. Chanel and Vik become close during the course of the story, as they bond over their dreams, with Vik wanting to be a movie director and this first film being his first step to achieving that, and Chanel wanting to be an international superstar. With their relationship progressing throughout their time in India, naturally Aqua and Dorinda start to feel concerned that Vik’s feelings for Chanel will mean that the audition process is completely biased. Sure enough, by the time they do come to audition, Chanel gets the part in Vik’s movie. Vik doesn’t seem to understand that Chanel would be concerned about losing her friends over this, and how their relationship might appear to them. He is entirely focused on making this film, whilst also being beaten down by his uncle, who is producing the film. It’s up to Chanel to get Vik to take control of his movie, so he can avoid going to dental school. Eventually, Vik manages to stand up for himself and gets to make the movie he wanted to make initially.

Vik was played by American actor Michael Steger, who had previously guest starred in the Disney Channel series Hannah Montana (2006-11) in a Season 2 episode prior to his casting here. Steger went on to star as Navid Shirazi in the teen drama series 90210 (2008-13), a role he is perhaps most known for.

Another love interest in The Cheetah Girls: One World, but this time for Aqua, is Amar. Aqua first meets Amar under his tech support name Kevin 347. She has been deliberately tampering with her laptop to find reasons to talk to Kevin over the phone, but they have never met in person. Coincidentally, Aqua gets a call from Kevin whilst in India, seemingly wanting to check on the status of her laptop, and they get into a conversation about the sunset, leading them to realise they are in the same place, finally getting to meet face-to-face. This is where Aqua learns that Kevin’s name is actually Amar. Amar and Aqua spend a lot of time together in this film, with their relationship also creating paranoia amongst the girls ahead of their audition for the lead, especially since Amar asks Vik to give Aqua the role in exchange for using his family’s home as a location for the movie. Amar, like Vik, doesn’t seem to realise how wrong this is either, and how much it will affect the girls’ friendship. He also neglects to tell Aqua that he is in fact Indian royalty, this coming as quite a shock to everyone, especially since he was working in tech support. By the end of the film, Amar has decided to be with Aqua in the US by applying to the same university as her.

Kunal Sharma was cast as Amar, having previously also guest starred in the Disney Channel series Hannah Montana, as well as Phil of the Future (2004-06) ahead of his role in The Cheetah Girls: One World. He later appeared as Vivek in the teen comedy spin-off Legally Blondes (2009). In 2017, he was cast in the recurring role of Sid al-Tunis in Season 5 of the crime drama series Prison Break (2005-17). More recently, he played the character Koa Rey in Season 8 and Season 9 of Hawaii Five-0 (2010-20).

Rahim Khan is the male lead who Vik has cast in his remake of Namaste Bombay. Rahim is already a huge star in Bollywood, and has plenty of screaming fans waiting for him whenever he comes to set. Despite this though, Rahim is actually incredibly shy around one woman, Gita, the film’s choreographer. Rahim confides in Dorinda about his feelings for Gita, although the way he acts around her, tripping up and being generally awkward, has already made that obvious to all the Cheetah Girls, also stating that he has never kissed a girl outside of his movies. Dorinda decides to help Rahim with Gita, and in exchange Rahim helps Dorinda with her dancing, ready for the audition. Rahim, although not Dorinda’s love interest, is the person that is backing her for the lead role in the film, as Vik and Amar are doing for Chanel and Aqua. The audition doesn’t go Dorinda’s way, however, she doesn’t hold Rahim accountable for that, and encourages him to ask Gita out on a date, so they can stop acting strangely around each other and making everyone else feel uncomfortable!

Rahim Khan was played by Rupak Ginn. After The Cheetah Girls: One World, Khan was cast in the recurring role of Raj in the comedy-drama series Royal Pains (2009-16) and later hosted a PBS documentary series on South Asian cuisine, titled Spice Road (2023-26).

Gita is the choreographer on Namaste Bombay. She initially is quite annoyed by having to teach these American girls traditional Bollywood dance steps, not wanting to slow it down for them since Vik has told her how well they dance. She is quite pleased to embarrass the girls in front of all the other dancers, proving they have a lot to learn, however, this irritates Dorinda who starts a dance battle between the Cheetah Girls and Gita’s dancers. They finally come to get along with each other though, and Gita even gets some advice on her feelings for Rahim from Dorinda. Gita’s journey in The Cheetah Girls: One World ends with her finally getting the man of dreams – Rahim – and getting her dream role of starring in a Bollywood musical.

Gita was played by Deepti Daryanani, who had previously been cast as the character Priti in the Hindi-language version of the comedy American Pie, titled Yeh Kya Ho Raha Hai? (2002). After The Cheetah Girls: One World, she was cast as Maya in the Lifetime film Acceptance (2009), which starred Mae Whitman and Joan Cusack.

Vik’s uncle, Kamal Bhatia, is the producer on Vik’s new movie, meaning he is in charge of financing this film. This means Vik’s uncle has a lot of ideas and necessary compromises to make the movie happen, even if they do not match Vik’s vision for this masterpiece. Vik’s uncle is adamant that they can only afford one of the Cheetah Girls to star in the film, and orders the audition to take place to choose the best one. He also comes up with a set for the big wedding sequence in the film, but Vik is unhappy with it, even though that is as far as the budget will stretch. Vik’s uncle later accompanies Vik and the others to Rajasthan to scout for new locations, which must be free. Luckily, Amar offers up his family home at no cost. Vik’s uncle is later approached after Chanel drops out of the leading role, with Vik demanding that he gets to make the movie his way, which means Gita in the lead role and reverting back to Vik’s initial version of making a more traditional remake of Namaste Bombay, albeit still with the Cheetah Girls in minor roles. Vik’s uncle allows these changes, happy to see Vik stand up for his movie, as all directors should.

Uncle Kamal was played by British-Indian actor Roshan Seth. Earlier in his career, Seth was cast as Jawaharlal Nehru in Gandhi (1982), for which he was nominated at the BAFTAs in the Best Supporting Actor category. He went on to appear as Chattar Lal in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) and as Amritrao in A Passage to India (1984). In the 2000s, Seth starred as Gopal in the independent film Cosmopolitan (2003), and was cast in various Hindi-language films, including as Justice Thapar in Guru (2007). Seth was even cast as Pramesh Singh in Disney’s live-action remake Dumbo (2019). In television, Seth starred as Haroon Amir, opposite Naveen Andrews, in the BBC miniseries The Buddha of Suburbia (1993). More recently, he was cast as Darius Dalal in the Channel 4 series Indian Summers (2015-16) and as Shah Alam II in ITV’s Beecham House (2019).

The Cheetah Girls frequently encounter the wise man Swami Ji, as he sits under a tree by their hotel in Mumbai, giving out advice to them about where their lives are going. After they leave Mumbai for Rajasthan, we don’t see him again, but his wish strings certainly cause problems for the girls even after they’ve left the area! Swami Ji tells Dorinda to expect change and to not fear it, whilst also telling the girls that they may wish for things that they don’t need, and that something unexpected might take its place. That is certainly the case, as Chanel’s wish of the girls becoming major movie stars didn’t happen, although they did end up in a film, and Dorinda’s wish of having the Cheetah Girls stay exactly the same obviously wasn’t going to happen. With Swami Ji’s help, the girls got to understand themselves more, as well as the culture’s spirituality.

Indian actor Vinod Nagpal was cast as Swami Ji. Nagpal had previously been cast in various Indian television series, including as Basesar Ram in Hum Log (1984-85) and as Shyamlal in Buniyaad (1987-88). He has also made appearances in various Hindi-language films, for example as Mr. Srivastav in Aaja Nachle (2007) and most recently as Kitpal in Main Vaapas Aaunga (2026).

MUSIC

The soundtrack for The Cheetah Girls: One World was released on 19th August 2008, just a couple of days before the film premiered in the US, and consists of 12 original songs. 

Although the soundtrack album may have underperformed in the charts when compared to the other two movies’ soundtracks, by reaching No. 2 in the US Billboard Kid Albums and No. 3 in the Soundtrack Albums, as well as No. 13 on the US Billboard 200 chart, whereas the other two had topped both the Kid Albums and Soundtrack Albums charts, The Cheetah Girls: One World contains the best music in the franchise in my opinion.

In movie order, the first song we hear is “Cheetah Love”, being led to believe that the girls are putting on a major concert in front of a crowd of excitable fans, when in fact they are just auditioning in a theatre and have not yet become famous. This is a good, energetic song to recentre the viewers in the world of The Cheetah Girls after a bit of a break. “Cheetah Love” was written by Kara DioGuardi, Niclas Molinder and Joacim Persson.

Following that, the girls decide to head to an Indian restaurant for dinner, and start to feel hopeless about their chances of stardom. However, at dinner, Chanel gets a call saying they are wanted for an audition for a huge musical. This gives the girls some further motivation to continue with their group, leading to them singing and dancing around the restaurant in front of the other paying customers, before ending up in another theatre, continuing their performance as part of their audition. “Dig a Little Deeper” is the only song that I don’t like in this film. Maybe because I don’t think running around a restaurant is good from a health-and-safety perspective; it just seems very reckless, with all that sharp cutlery! “Dig a Little Deeper” was written by Antonina Armato, Tim James, and Devrim Karaoglu.

After that, we hear “Getting Crazy on the Dancefloor”, which was actually a solo song for Sabrina Bryan. This song plays in the background as we see the Cheetah Girls arrive in India, experiencing a little bit of a culture shock as they are driven through the streets. We don’t get to hear much of this song but what we do hear is just ok. “Getting Crazy on the Dancefloor” was written by Sabrina Bryan, Sebastian Jacome, and Karl Cameron.

As the girls arrive at the movie studio in India for their first rehearsal, they are late and have managed to irritate the choreographer, Gita, so she makes the rehearsals hard for them, leading Dorinda to get defensive and say they can dance well. This leads to a dance battle of sorts via the song “Dance Me If You Can”. I really like this song, ever since I first saw it on the Disney Channel, promoting this film. It’s fun, it’s got a bit of a Bollywood essence to it, and it’s high-energy. “Dance Me If You Can” was written by Matthew Gerrard and Robbie Nevil, and was performed by the Cheetah Girls, along with Deepti Daryanani as Gita. This song is used in the End Credits of the film too.

Things slow down a bit after this, as the Cheetah Girls start to consider the group’s future and their opportunities in India, after Vik is told that he can only hire one girl, meaning the three will have to audition against each other for the part, something they don’t want to do. This leads to the song “Fly Away”, where the girls wonder how these events might change them and the Cheetah Girls. It’s nice to hear the girls sing more of a ballad here, giving the film a different mood. “Fly Away” was written by Jamie Houston.

Another ballad follows, but this time solely performed by Adrienne Bailon, as Chanel starts to consider that getting the starring role in the film would be great for her career and something she really wants to achieve, but she worries how it will affect the Cheetah Girls if she does get it. I love this song; it’s a great one to sing along to, and it expresses how torn Chanel is feeling. “What If” was written by Matthew Gerrard and Robbie Nevil.

The next song only appears in the movie as part of the Extended Edition, with this song being “Feels Like Love”. Oddly, I actually like this song and the whole sequence that accompanies it, despite it being an extended scene, which basically means it was deemed not good enough to make the final edit of the film! Whether I like a deleted song or not varies wildly from film to film. For example, although I like “Feels Like Love” in this film, I hated “Cherish the Moment”, the song from the extended edition of The Cheetah Girls 2. But “Feels Like Love” is really sweet and I love that their date is going on pedal boats. It’s a song for the whole cast – except Dorinda who has sworn off boys!  “Feels Like Love” was performed by the Cheetah Girls; Michael Steger as Vik; Kunal Sharma as Amar; Deepti Daryanani as Gita; and Rupak Ginn as Rahim, written by Adam Watts and Andy Dodd.

As the Cheetah Girls head to Rajasthan to scout locations with Vik and the rest of the movie gang, we hear a song playing in the background. This song is “Stand Up”, another solo song for Adrienne Bailon. It’s a good song, but it is lively, which is quite at odds with the boredom of the long car journey that we are seeing on screen! “Stand Up” was written by Matthew Gerrard, Robbie Nevil, and Adrienne Bailon.

A little while later, as the girls prepare for their audition for the lead role in Vik’s film, they become increasingly suspicious and paranoid of each other, wondering if the others are playing fair, or using their connections with various members of the movie crew to get ahead. The song is again only heard briefly in the background, but it’s still decent. This time, the song “Circle Game” was a solo for Kiely Williams, meaning all three of the girls got at least one solo each in this film. It was written by Antonina Armato, Tim James, and Kiely Williams.

This leads pretty much straight into the song “I’m the One”. We already saw a dance battle earlier in the film, but “I’m the One” is a singing battle as the Cheetah Girls fight for the starring role in Vik’s movie. By this point in the story, the girls aren’t really speaking so this is a real fight, with the girls no longer afraid to use some leverage to get the role, in the form of each of their male confidantes: Dorinda has Rahim, Aqua has Amar, and Chanel has Vik. “I’m the One” is therefore performed by the Cheetah Girls, as well as Michael Steger as Vik, Kunal Sharma as Amar, and Rupak Ginn as Rahim. It was written by Kara DioGuardi, Niclas Molinder, and Joacim Persson.

After Chanel is given the lead role, Aqua and Dorinda are irritated, thinking that Chanel only got the part because she’s been flirting with Vik, the director. Aqua and Dorinda must then pack up and leave India as they are no longer needed on the film. As they do this, Chanel wonders whether she should take the part at all. All three sing another heartfelt song, “No Place Like Us”, deciding they don’t want their friendship to end over something so trivial like an audition and choosing to stick together no matter what. “No Place Like Us” is easily my favourite song in The Cheetah Girls: One World, and I think it might be my favourite song in the entire franchise. “No Place Like Us” was written by Adam Anders and Nikki Hassman.

Finally, we have “One World”, the big finale number to end The Cheetah Girls: One World, and seemingly the final sequence of Vik’s film, as we see the new leads of Rahim and Gita film the movie’s wedding scene, with the three Cheetah Girls there to sing and dance as well. This finale has everything: extras, colourful costumes, even elephants! They really threw everything at this one, and it is the closest the audience gets to seeing something authentically Bollywood, ending the Cheetah Girls’ Indian adventure. “One World” was performed by the Cheetah Girls, with the additions of Deepti Daryanani as Gita and Rupak Ginn as Rahim. “One World” was written by Matthew Gerrard and Robbie Nevil.

David Lawrence was the composer for The Cheetah Girls: One World, having returned to the franchise after his work on the music for The Cheetah Girls 2. Elsewhere for Disney Channel, Lawrence was the composer for various other musicals, including the High School Musical trilogy, StarStruck (2010), Teen Beach Movie (2013) and Teen Beach 2 (2015), and the first three Descendants films.

PRODUCTION

After The Cheetah Girls 2, The Cheetah Girls as a franchise had a huge surge in popularity and fame come its way from Disney Channel fans.

Director Paul Hoen was chosen to direct The Cheetah Girls: One World, the franchise’s third film, having had experience directing Disney Channel films prior to this, such as The Luck of the Irish (2001), Eddie’s Million Dollar Cook-Off (2003), and Read It and Weep (2006). After The Cheetah Girls: One World, Hoen continued to be called upon by Disney Channel for their films, going on to direct the musicals Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam (2010) and the entire ZOMBIES movie franchise, with ZOMBIES 5: Secrets of the Sea set for release in 2027, as well as the non-musicals Cloud 9 (2014) and Invisible Sister (2015). 

Dan Berendsen was tasked with co-writing the screenplay for The Cheetah Girls: One World. His previous writing credits for Disney Channel were Eddie’s Million Dollar Cook-Off (2003); Stuck in the Suburbs (2004); Twitches (2005) and its 2007 sequel, as well as writing the teleplays for the movies Sabrina Goes to Rome (1998) and Sabrina Down Under (1999) that add to the series Sabrina, the Teenage Witch (1996-2003). After The Cheetah Girls: One World, Berendsen went on to write various major DCOMs, including Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie (2009); Hannah Montana: The Movie (2009); and Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam (2010). He later created the Freeform series Baby Daddy (2012-17).

Two other writers were credited with writing the screenplay for this third Cheetah Girls film. One of these was Nisha Ganatra who recently directed Season 1 of the comedy-drama series You Me Her (2016-20), as well as directing the movies Late Night (2019), which starred Dame Emma Thompson and Mindy Kaling, and the Disney sequel Freakier Friday (2025). The other writer was Jen Small, who had previously been a producer on the independent film Cosmopolitan (2003), which Nisha Ganatra directed.

High School Musical hadn’t yet made its sequel by the time The Cheetah Girls 2 came out in 2006, but by the time The Cheetah Girls: One World did in 2008, Disney Channel had managed to create their most-watched DCOM ever, with High School Musical 2 reaching over 17 million viewers just on its US premiere date in August 2007.

That either meant that Disney Channel felt pressure to ensure their first-ever musical “threequel” with The Cheetah Girls: One World was a hit, or meant that they thought they had enough fans desperate for more musicals that this third Cheetah Girls movie would be a success regardless of what it was actually like.

If Disney Channel assumed The Cheetah Girls: One World would be an instant success for simply being a Disney Channel musical, then they were wrong, because with Raven-Symoné not getting on with the other three girls during filming on The Cheetah Girls 2, she declined to be involved in this third film, leaving a key member of the cast out[1]. The official reason for her absence was that Raven was busy recording her new album and filming a new Disney film, College Road Trip (2008), so was not available. Omitting Raven from this film was not something that all fans could easily get used to, and made some not want to watch The Cheetah Girls: One World before it even premiered. 

If they felt pressure, then it was clear that by having this movie be filmed and set in India, they were looking to capitalise on the interest that The Cheetah Girls 2 had had with its European setting of Barcelona. A stunning location can do wonders for a movie, instantly grabbing the viewers’ attention. In this case, the cast and crew filmed The Cheetah Girls: One World in early 2008, with the shoot taking place over 16 days specifically in Udaipur, a city in the Indian state of Rajasthan[2]. One of the primary filming locations used was the City Palace in Udaipur. Strangely enough, the filming of The Cheetah Girls: One World was even mentioned on the Season 2 episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians (2007-21), “Rob’s New Girlfriend”, as Adrienne Bailon was dating Rob Kardashian at the time, and she told him she was heading to India for three months to shoot the third Cheetah Girls film. Given that the third film was shot around spring, this would explain why there were scenes showing celebrations of the Hindu festival Holi. They may have been recreated for the movie, but either way, the production team should’ve done some more research as Holi is a spring festival, and does not take place in summer when this film is set.

Before filming could even begin, the girls flew to Mumbai to take part in two weeks of dance rehearsals, followed by a further week of rehearsals in Udaipur. They were put through their paces by choreographer Fatima Robinson, who has been a choreographer for musical artists like Aaliyah and Beyoncé, along with choreographing for films such as Save the Last Dance (2001) and Dreamgirls (2006). Robinson recently choreographed the movie musical The Color Purple (2023).

But these dance rehearsals were not like any other the girls had experienced as their choreography on this film would be combining their usual hip-hop and contemporary styles with Bollywood dancing, which is known for being incredibly precise and difficult to master. These moves were particularly necessary for the songs “Dance Me If You Can” and “One World”, which feature plenty of accomplished dancers in the background, just to give the girls even more of a reason to ensure their dancing was exactly right! “One World” also required the girls to be dressed up in traditional colourful saris. The girls stated in behind-the-scenes interviews that they were allotted a specific amount of time in their schedule in order for them to be dressed correctly without being rushed as it can take time. The entire finale sequence for The Cheetah Girls: One World took three days to film in total. And the girls were quite scared to ride that huge elephant in the very last shot of the film too!

Other stories they had from their time filming in India were that Sabrina Bryan struggled to pedal that swan boat during the extended scene for the song “Feels Like Love” and couldn’t keep with Adrienne Bailon and Michael Steger in the other boat, and that it actually rained as they were filming the “I’m the One” audition scene, despite them filming during the dry season. They hadn’t seen any clouds in the sky throughout their whole time of being in India until this day. They also said that doing their scene in the auto rickshaw was pretty scary as well, with all the traffic that they had to weave in and out of, so I’m assuming the terror on their faces in this scene was probably at least 50% authentic!

To add to the excitement for The Cheetah Girls: One World, Disney Channel fans globally were invited to vote on certain aspects of the movie through The Cheetah Girls: One World: Play Your Part online polls. This was something that fans had been able to do for High School Musical 2 back in 2007 and had proven very popular. Voting ran from 31st December 2007 to 1st February 2008, receiving 50 million votes from viewers worldwide[3]. Some of the winning selections included the dress that Chanel was wearing during the film’s opening audition scene; Aqua’s jacket that she is wearing during the Cheetah Girls’ audition for the movie; the ring and earrings that Dorinda and Chanel buy from the market; and the poster of the Jonas Brothers in another market scene. Apparently, Zac Efron was close to being the Disney Channel star to feature on this poster, but he narrowly lost out[4].

RECEPTION

The Cheetah Girls: One World held its premiere at the El Capitan Theatre on 12th August 2008, with the premiere being attended by various Disney Channel stars, including the cast of Camp Rock, the Disney Channel musical that premiered earlier in that same summer. The Cheetah Girls: One World then premiered on the Disney Channel in the US on 22nd August 2008, before making its way to other countries internationally throughout the rest of the year.

During its US premiere, it has been said that 6.2 million viewers tuned in to watch The Cheetah Girls: One World. This is not a terrible figure by any means but it can only be described as average. This was also over 1.5 million less than those who watched the premiere of The Cheetah Girls 2 just two years early in 2006. It was also the least-viewed Disney Channel Original Movie of 2008, with Camp Rock being the most-viewed, at 8.9 million viewers. However, most DCOM musicals easily outperform any non-musical DCOMs. This was not the case in 2008 as Minutemen, a science-fiction-themed DCOM, was watched by 6.5 million viewers, only slightly outdoing The Cheetah Girls: One World, but still, I find that quite surprising. This third Cheetah Girls film was also not anywhere near close to the viewing figures of High School Musical 2, which was watched by 17.2 million viewers on its premiere in 2007, and it could be said that Disney Channel had been attempting to build this same type of hype for The Cheetah Girls: One World just a year later.

The reason why The Cheetah Girls: One World may have underperformed is potentially simply due to the fact that Raven-Symoné was not involved, leading to fans of The Cheetah Girls franchise boycotting this third film. There continue to be fans who say they have never watched this film for this very reason. Others who did watch it despite Raven’s absence have said the third film wasn’t even needed, and should not have been made without all four girls being included. Further negative critiques aimed at The Cheetah Girls: One World include the stereotypical representation of India, such as the character of Swami Ji and Amar being a tech support guy from India. Some were also annoyed to find that Michael Steger, who was cast as Vik, was not even Indian, and questioned why he would’ve been cast here. It was felt that there were very few authentic representations of Bollywood films or their music here, with only very few references being made to traditional Bollywood musicals in the “One World” sequence right at the end of the film. Generally, those that did not like The Cheetah Girls: One World said it was bland and unoriginal.

But there are others who very much did enjoy The Cheetah Girls: One World – and I am one of those people. For those that are fans of The Cheetah Girls: One World, the music was a highlight here, with the additional Bollywood elements, from the choreography to the music style, another bonus. I can’t say that I am a fan of Bollywood musicals, having never really seen one, other than Bride and Prejudice (2004), but that isn’t a true Bollywood film, however, I have heard various Bollywood-style songs and I’ve always liked them. Having the movie set and filmed in India was something else to be praised, since the film featured many beautiful, and colourful locations, many of which would’ve been new to Disney Channel fans at the time. It has been said by many fans that there is plenty to enjoy in this film, providing you are willing to look past the fact that Raven-Symoné is not in it.

In terms of awards, Paul Hoen was nominated at the Directors Guild of America Awards for his work on The Cheetah Girls: One World in the category of Children’s Program, alongside two other 2008 Disney Channel movie directors, those being Matthew Diamond for Camp Rock, and Lev L. Spiro for Minutemen. However, all three lost out to Classical Baby (2005-17) on HBO Family, directed by Amy Schatz. The Cheetah Girls: One World was also nominated at the NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Children’s Program, with the winner being the children’s animated series Dora the Explorer (2000-19).

LEGACY

Around the time of the premiere of The Cheetah Girls: One World, in the US the Nintendo DS game, The Cheetah Girls: Passport to Stardom was also released, in August 2008. The storyline of this game features events based in India, matching the film, as well as a selection of songs from The Cheetah Girls: One World and the other two films.

The Cheetah Girls as a musical group also released their second EP, titled The Cheetah Girls Soundcheck, on 19th August 2008. This was the same day that The Cheetah Girls: One World soundtrack was released. The EP consisted of three songs from this third film, “One World”, “Cheetah Love”, and “Dance Me If You Can”, along with “Strut” from The Cheetah Girls 2, and the song “Break Out This Box” from their album TCG

Also in 2008, the Cheetah Girls made some appearances on the Disney Channel. This included guest appearances on the series The Suite Life of Zack & Cody (2005-08), in the Season 3 episode “Doin’ Time in Suite 2330”, which has been removed from some digital platforms due to the episode also featuring controversial singer Chris Brown, and in the second show of Studio DC: Almost Live! (2008), with the Muppets and fellow Disney Channel stars. Here, the Cheetah Girls performed “Dance Me If You Can” with Miss Piggy.

The girls were also present for the third season of the Disney Channel Games that aired on Disney Channel throughout Summer 2008. Each of the three was in a different team, with Adrienne Bailon a member of the Red Team; Kiely Williams captaining the Blue Team; and Sabrina Bryan in the Yellow Team, these being the same teams they had been a part of in the 2007 edition of the Disney Channel Games. At the closing ceremony, the Cheetah Girls performed these songs from The Cheetah Girls: One World: “Cheetah Love”, “Dance Me If You Can”, and “One World”.

After a little bit of a break, the Cheetah Girls then continued their promotion of their third film and its soundtrack by going on the One World Tour, which ran from 4th October 2008, starting in Corpus Christi, Texas, until 21st December 2008, when it ended in San Diego, California. This tour was not as successful as The Party’s Just Begun Tour had been in 2006 and 2007, when promoting their second film, with this tour being extended on a couple of occasions. The One World Tour was not extended and actually had some negative publicity surrounding it. For example, the group were meant to perform at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2008, but they dropped out; the official reason behind this was reportedly “scheduling issues”.

After the end of the One World Tour, rumours had begun to circulate stating that this was not just going to be the Cheetah Girls’ final tour, but was also pointing to the group breaking up for good. In January 2009, Adrienne Bailon confirmed that the news was true, however, she did not feel it was such a big deal, as their run had to end sometime, like it had done for the cast of High School Musical around the same time. The girls were simply old enough to be moving away from Disney Channel now. Bailon stated that the girls were all still friends. Kiely Williams had some slightly different things to say on the group breaking up, and that was to say that she was annoyed that the negative publicity surrounding the group had led to the break-up of the group ending on a sour note[5].

The Cheetah Girls was not completely forgotten by Disney or Disney Channel after this though, as their films continued to be re-run on the channel. They even got some recognition at the Disney Parks, specifically at Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World, from 2010 to 2013, by way of the short stage show performed at the park called Disney Channel Rocks. Disney Channel Rocks showcased music from many Disney Channel musicals including the Camp Rock films, StarStruck (2010), Jump In! (2007), the High School Musical trilogyand of course, The Cheetah Girls franchise. From The Cheetah Girls: One World the song “Dance Me If You Can”, mixed in with “Push It To The Limit” from Jump In!, was performed, with a brief excerpt of “One World” coming towards the end of the show. The new version of Disney Channel Rocks that reappeared at the Disneyland After Dark: Disney Channel Nite events in 2024 and 2026, despite dropping the song “The Party’s Just Begun” from The Cheetah Girls 2, did keep “Dance Me If You Can” and “One World”.

It was clear by this point that, although The Cheetah Girls had not reached the same heights as High School Musical, it was still a treasured musical franchise amongst Disney Channel fans. And yet, some fans have always been aware of the underlying tension between some members of the group that has been around for years.

Each of the four girls has been asked on numerous occasions in interviews about their friendships with the others. In 2020, Raven-Symoné was asked about the possibility of a Cheetah Girls reunion. She alluded to the fact that there had been tension between her and the others girls, stating that she would like to be a part of the Cheetah Girls brand again, but would need to clear the air with some of the girls first. Raven did, however, confirm that she was still close to Adrienne Bailon[6]. The discussions around a reunion only intensified when it became known that Kiely Williams and Raven-Symoné had cleared the air – via an Instagram Live – around some of the conflicts that had arisen during the filming of The Cheetah Girls 2, with Williams even admitting that The Cheetah Girls: One World failed because Raven wasn’t in it. It would have seemed that a truce was close to being reached between all four of the Cheetah Girls – until Williams said she had no intention of making up with Adrienne Bailon, with some events between them running too deep to ever resolve[7].

With this in mind, it might have come as a surprise to find that, on 8th July 2026, Disney Channel confirmed that a fourth Cheetah Girls movie was in the works, to be titled The Cheetah Girls: Next Gen, premiering on Disney Channel and Disney+ potentially in 2027. It was confirmed that Raven-Symoné and Adrienne Bailon would be reprising their roles as Galleria and Chanel, as would Lynn Whitfield and Lori Alter, as their on-screen mothers Dorothea and Juanita. New castings for the film included Leah Sava’ Jeffries, as Faith, Galleria’s daughter; Carmen Sánchez, as Dior, Chanel’s younger sister; Kaileen Chang, as Ruby; and Sophie Lennon, as Brooklyn, making up the four new “Cheetah Girls”. Also joining the cast is Sophia Bush as a character named Jennifré. The story is set to follow Galleria and Chanel, along with the girls, travelling to Africa to volunteer at a wildlife sanctuary, with events eventually leading to the girls becoming the new Cheetah Girls.

Production on the film began in late July in South Africa, with Debra Martin Chase returning as a producer, and Raven-Symoné and Adrienne Bailon also producers here. The director will be Billie Woodruff, with choreographing coming from Kyle Hanagami, and the script being written by Kara Holden, Sarah Watson, and Deborah Swisher[8].

It was also confirmed that Sabrina Bryan would be returning to reprise her role as Dorinda in The Cheetah Girls: Next Gen. Kiely Williams will not be coming back to play Aqua though, which, given what she’d said about the status of her friendship with Adrienne Bailon, isn’t really surprising. It’s a bit disappointing, but nobody should feel forced to do something that makes them feel uncomfortable. It’s just a movie after all.

Although the news of this fourth film was met with plenty of excitement from older and younger fans alike, it was not necessarily seen as a good thing by everyone. There has been some backlash around the casting. This is due to the fact that the Cheetah Girls was always meant to be focusing on Black girls. The book series by Deborah Gregory, that the film series is based on, originally featured four Black girls as the stars. When The Cheetah Girls (2003) movie was made, this was then reduced down to featuring two Black girls, one Latina, and one white girl, with the producers wanting to showcase as much diversity on screen as possible, allegedly. However, this new casting now only has one of the four girls being Black, which has been considered a step backwards to some[9].

FINAL THOUGHTS

The Cheetah Girls: One World will always be viewed differently because one key cast member was missing. 

Some say this was a major misstep by Disney Channel to make this third film without Raven-Symoné, whereas others weren’t too bothered by her absence and found plenty to like here. However, The Cheetah Girls: One World did signal the end of this DCOM musical franchise, with various factors leading to this decision.

And yet, over twenty years after the original film came out, it turns out the franchise has not ended and was just on a very long hiatus. A fourth film is indeed coming, introducing a new generation of Cheetah Girls to Disney Channel fans, who will hope the company are successful at reviving the series.

We will just have to wait and see if this new film manages to remind viewers of the true meaning of “girl power” once more. 


REFERENCES

[1] Credit: Ashley Spencer, Disney High: The Untold Story of the Rise and Fall of Disney Channel’s Empire (2024), ‘That’s So Raven-Symoné’, pp. 85-110.

[2] Credit: Jennifer Frey, ‘Cheetah Girls go global’, SouthCoastToday.com, 24th June 2008.

[3] Credit: Gary Rusak, ‘Disney Channel’s Cheetah poll garners 50 million votes’, KidScreen.com, 7th March 2008.

[4] Credit: Disney Channel, “Cheetah Spots”, from The Cheetah Girls: One World (2008) UK DVD (2009).

[5] Credit: AceShowbiz Editorial Team, ‘Adrienne Bailon Confirms The Cheetah Girls Break-Up Rumor’, AceShowbiz.com, 28th January 2009.

[6] Credit: AJ Pitts, ‘Raven-Symoné Weights In On What Would Have To Happen Before a Cheetah Girls Reunion’, JustJaredJr.com, 4th April 2020.

[7] Credit: Allie Gemmil, ‘Raven-Symoné and Kiely Williams Resolved Some “Cheetah Girls” Drama on Instagram Live’, TeenVogue.com, 10th April 2020.

[8] Credit: Joe Otterson, ‘‘Cheetah Girls 4’ Set at Disney With Raven-Symoné, Original Cast Members Returning’, Variety.com, 8th July 2026.

[9] Credit: Leyla Mohammed, ‘Disappointed Millennials Are Accusing Disney Of “Whitewashing” The Next Generation Of Cheetah Girls Amid News That A Fourth Movie Is In The Works, So Here’s An Explainer On The Discourse’, Buzzfeed.com, 9th July 2026.

The Cheetah Girls 2 (2006)

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

BACKGROUND

The Cheetah Girls 2 was all set to be the first-ever Disney Channel musical sequel.

After the instant success of High School Musical (2006), this sequel had to be bigger and better – and the best way for Disney Channel to deliver that? To have the Cheetah Girls head out to Europe. Yep, the girls were going on tour! Well, not a literal tour. They didn’t go from winning a school talent show to selling out global arenas, but they were going on vacation to Barcelona in Spain, with the aim being to perform at Barcelona’s music festival.

Americans love Europe, and production companies love to send their American stars to film projects in Europe. It’s been happening for years. Mary-Kate and Ashley got to go to Paris for Passport to Paris (1999), Disney Channel themselves sent Lizzie McGuire to Rome for The Lizzie McGuire Movie (2003), and now the Cheetah Girls were heading to Barcelona.

This was a great way of one-upping High School Musical, which had premiered on Disney Channel in January 2006, just a few months before The Cheetah Girls 2 arrived in the summer. High School Musical was already on its way to becoming a major hit for Disney Channel, with more ideas for future projects on the way, so The Cheetah Girls franchise couldn’t get left behind. Having the second film set in Spain was a big way of doing this, because the cast of High School Musical never got to go to Europe. Losers. Just kidding.

Anyway, I don’t think I actually watched the premiere of The Cheetah Girls 2, even though I was actively watching Disney Channel at the time. I think I chose to avoid it out of spite, although who I was trying to spite, I have no idea. It’s not like the people at Disney Channel were going to be bitterly disappointed that I personally had not watched The Cheetah Girls 2. But I came to the decision out of pure annoyance because all summer I’d had to hear and see the music video for the song “Strut” that appears in the film. I know it’s a fan-favourite, but I just can’t stand it! Plus, I was never a big Cheetah Girls fan. I liked the first film enough to watch it all the way through, but I didn’t connect with it on a deeper level.

However, eventually, I did bring myself to watch The Cheetah Girls 2, I think it was actually after I saw the third film. It was kind of unavoidable anyway because the first sequel was re-run so often, and at the time I watched it, I didn’t like it. I have no idea why either, because watching it a few years later, I loved the fact it was set in Barcelona, I found a few songs that I really liked, and it just felt like a bigger and better version of the first film, which is what all Disney Channel musicals set out to do. So now, I actually do like it.

PLOT

The Cheetah Girls 2 begins with a performance by the girl group, as the previous film did, but this time, the girls have levelled up from performing at children’s birthday parties to headlining their school’s jungle-themed graduation party. It has been two years since Galleria, Chanel, Aqua, and Dorinda won the Manhattan Magnet Talent Show and they have just finished their Junior Year of high school.

Galleria reminds the girls that just because it is summer break, there shouldn’t be a break for the Cheetah Girls, having already created a rehearsal schedule. Galleria and Chanel go and sit with their mothers after their performance, where Galleria is reminded by her mother that summer is for family time and everyone has their own plans. She lets slip that Chanel and her mother are going to Barcelona to spend the summer with Chanel’s mother’s boyfriend, Luc. This comes as a complete surprise to Chanel and she’s not happy.

Later, at Galleria’s family’s apartment, Chanel vents about her annoyance at having to go to meet all of Luc’s family in Spain this summer. She doesn’t want to and she’s never warmed to Luc. Galleria and Chanel wonder whether all the Cheetah Girls could go to Spain as well, and they float the idea with their mothers, who are busy wondering whether Luc is going to propose to Chanel’s mother over the summer. They both say the girls cannot come as the trip is in three days and it would frankly be rude to invite extra people to Luc’s villa, despite apparently being big enough for all of them to stay there.

Aqua and Dorinda join Chanel at Galleria’s for a sleepover, where they talk about their unexciting summer plans. Aqua has some summer course lined up at Columbia University, and Dorinda can go and teach kids at a dance camp, but they’d rather be together over the summer. As they talk, a shooting star passes by the window and they all wish to go to Barcelona. This is what manifesting used to look like – and it even worked, because as luck would have it, the breeze flipped over some pages of a magazine right to a page about a New Voices contest at the Barcelona Summer Music Festival. Galleria gets Chanel to translate it for her. She seems hopeful – until she reads the deadline for entries was last week. Galleria doesn’t seem to think the deadline will apply to them, and goes to call them right away, to audition over the phone. Chanel reminds Galleria about time differences so they agree to wait until later on to call. When the time is right, they all wake up and call the music festival, who try to tell the girls not to bother, but Galleria insists and they sing their song “Cheetah Sisters” over the phone. They are told to download and sign the application form and to get over to Barcelona for a meeting with the festival director next week. Galleria has them promise they’ll work hard to ensure they win the competition.

The next morning, the girls tell Galleria and Chanel’s mothers all about their plans to go to Barcelona. They can’t quite believe the girls’ audacity, but Galleria has worked out with her father to use his airline miles to fly her and Dorinda to Spain, and they can stay at Luc’s house. Chanel’s mother agrees, as long as Galleria’s mother comes too. They admit defeat.

Soon after, the Cheetah Girls are at the airport, ready to fly off to Barcelona and become international superstars. In the city, Aqua is excited to sightsee and to improve her Spanish, with Chanel continuously picking up on Aqua’s flawed pronunciation. Hey, Chanel, not everyone can roll their Rs, you know! Later that same day, the girls collapse at a café after a full day of walking around the city. As they wait for their drinks, they hear a guitarist who starts singing a song. Chanel is asked by Galleria to translate his words, as she has fallen in love at first sight. He sings about following him and discovering “his” Barcelona. The girls take his invitation and wander the city again, with their new friend in tow. He introduces himself to Galleria as Angel. But they have to go now, so she hopes they’ll see each other again. This is a Disney Channel film; we all know she’s definitely going to see him again.

They then arrive at Luc’s villa, which is palatial and instantly impresses the girls. Chanel plays it cool, claiming it is just pretentious to have all this space. Luc later comes in and welcomes the girls to his home, but Chanel refuses to engage with his kindness, claiming instead that he is being annoying and controlling. The other three disagree.

The next day, at breakfast, Luc says he has a friend, an associate and a count, who will be available to help the girls with whatever they need during their stay; they’ll meet him later. Chanel rushes the girls out to their meeting with the festival director, to avoid any further conversation with Luc. They arrive at the theatre for their meeting, where the festival director orders them to go on stage and audition properly for the competition. The Cheetah Girls weren’t prepared for either the audition, or for the festival director to be this direct, but they get up on stage anyway, and sing “Cheetah Sisters” a cappella once again. The festival director says he’s heard enough, and walks away on his phone. Luckily, his assistant comes into the theatre and confirms their entry into the New Voices contest.

They then return to Luc’s villa, where Galleria starts bothering the girls with discussions about rehearsal schedules, when they just want to relax for a little bit. The count and associate that Luc was talking about arrives and introduces himself as Joaquin, getting all the girls’ names completely wrong. Dorinda corrects him and he thanks her with a kiss on her hand. He tells the girls they should head over to the Dancing Cat teen club soon, so they can see their competition for the New Voices contest, as they all practise their material there. Joaquin says he will sign them up to their Open Mic Night tomorrow night. Luc then arrives, saying Joaquin is best placed to show them around, with it also being revealed that Joaquin is his godson, and he is a dancer, something that makes Dorinda more interested in him. Joaquin invites Dorinda to dance with him at his dance studio sometime.

The next day, Galleria and Aqua go shopping with Galleria’s mother, although Galleria is less into it than the other two, wanting to spend some time rehearsing for the rest of the day. Galleria’s mother bumps into an old friend, Randolph, who invites her to see Aramet’s, another old friend, new boutique. They all go to see the shop, but Aqua wants to go with Galleria’s mother on a tour of the facility, having found an interest in fashion and being a big fan of Aramet’s designs. Galleria begrudgingly lets her go for a few minutes. Meanwhile, Dorinda goes to Joaquin’s dance studio where he teaches her the tango.

That night, the girls all meet up at the Dancing Cat club, and Joaquin is there too. As the first act goes on, Joaquin explains that she is a singer called Marisol, and the hometown favourite for the competition. Marisol finishes her high-energy number and the crowd is very much with her. This makes the Cheetah Girls nervous, and they decide maybe they won’t perform tonight! A guitarist then comes on to the stage, to slow things down with an old Spanish lullaby called “A La Nanita Nana”. Galleria is very happy to see the guitarist is Angel, the one they met at the café a few days before. Chanel recognises the lullaby and starts to sing along to the tune. Marisol joins her, and with some backing vocals from the other three Cheetah Girls, they mesmerise the audience there. After the song, Marisol’s mother, Lola, runs over to speak to them, excited to meet the American act that has entered the New Voices contest. Lola says she can really open doors for the Cheetah Girls, telling them it is not easy to win the contest the first time round, since this is already Marisol’s third time in the contest. Lola wants to meet Galleria’s mother, Dorothea, as she is the manager of the Cheetah Girls, and she gives Chanel her number to arrange a meet-up with all of them.

The next day, Lola tells Marisol that she should focus on getting close to Chanel, having seen how popular their duet was at the club the night before. Marisol doesn’t want to break up the Cheetah Girls, like Lola seems to want to do, but Lola reminds her that if she doesn’t win the New Voices contest this time, then her career is over. If she enters the contest with Chanel, she has a good chance of winning and could even crack America. Marisol isn’t overly convinced but doesn’t want to miss out on a long-lasting singing career – or disappoint her mother. The two then meet up with the Cheetah Girls and Dorothea, with Dorothea being very suspicious of Lola wanting to help the girls, not understanding why the competition would be so nice. The girls brush off her concerns.

Later that day, the Cheetah Girls go to a beach party, having been invited by Joaquin. Dorinda goes off with Joaquin shortly after arriving; Chanel walks away with Marisol; and Aqua goes to talk food with someone else, leaving Galleria on her own. She says they need to leave in an hour to rehearse, so she waits alone. Dorinda and Joaquin talk about their lives, with Joaquin saying his life is very complicated, and Dorinda saying the same.

Back at the villa, Dorothea tries to talk to Chanel’s mother Juanita about Lola and her intentions towards the girls, but Juanita is too busy obsessing about why Luc hasn’t proposed. Meanwhile, Galleria has finally got all the girls together to rehearse, but after half an hour, they’re flagging because of the party. Galleria tries to get them to stay focused, wanting to play them a new song she’s been writing for the competition, but Chanel interjects and says that Lola thinks a song in Spanish would be best. Galleria says there would be no point to that since they don’t speak Spanish! Dorinda is then called away by Joaquin to teach a hip-hop class; Chanel is told to get ready to meet Luc’s family for lunch by her mother; and Aqua is invited by Dorothea to go back to Aramet’s studio. Galleria is once again alone, focusing on the contest, whilst the others go off doing their own things.  

The next morning, Galleria wakes up to find Aqua and Dorinda up and about, wanting to take the opportunity to rehearse and talk about the new song she was up all night finishing, but Aqua is too busy wanting to share her costume ideas and Dorinda is once again invited out by Joaquin. Galleria goes to find Chanel, only to find Marisol is here, talking to Chanel about her own performance. Galleria tells Marisol she needs to leave, but Marisol reminds Galleria that Chanel invited her here, and Chanel tells Galleria to give her space and stop telling her and her friends – and the other girls – what to do.

Dorinda goes to the studio to meet Joaquin for lunch, only to find him arriving with a group of people in suits. He does not reference Dorinda at all, and she wonders if he is embarrassed to be seen with her, since she isn’t all dressed up. Dorinda tells Joaquin she lives with a foster family. Clearly, they are on different pages and paths in life. She leaves.

At the villa, Galleria talks to her mother about a new design she’s been working on that Aramet wants to create and put in her new spring collection. Galleria’s mother has now got a chance to finally live her dreams of being a top designer. Galleria then has her own news: that she is going home. Galleria is upset that the girls aren’t focused, and if she keeps pushing them, then she could damage her friendships forever, especially with Chanel. Galleria says they don’t have a chance of winning right now and she doesn’t want to get on stage and embarrass herself. She’s already worked it out, so her mother can stay put. Galleria is going to get the train to Paris tomorrow, and will meet her father there to fly home together. Her mind is made up and she thinks it’s for the best.

Later that night, Chanel, Aqua, and Dorinda are told by Juanita and Dorothea that Galleria is heading home. The girls can’t believe it got to this point and want to talk to her, to apologise for being distracted, but the mothers tell them to let her get some sleep and to talk to her in the morning. The girls start blaming each other for why this happened.

In the morning, Chanel goes to Galleria’s room to speak with her, only to find that she has left for the train station already, leaving only the new song she’d written for the contest on her bed. Chanel shows Aqua and Dorinda what’s gone on. Chanel gets a call from Marisol and tells her she can’t talk right now as Galleria is leaving Spain. Sure enough, Galleria is at the train station. As she looks at the departures board, she starts to hear singing. It’s her new song. Turning around, she sees Chanel, Aqua, and Dorinda singing the song to her, in the middle of the train station, in their pyjamas! The three apologise to Galleria for ignoring her and being distracted. Galleria forgives them, as long as they promise to focus on the performance now. They return to the villa together.

As the girls finally get down to rehearsing, Chanel gets a call from Lola and Marisol, wanting to share their sympathy about Galleria leaving, but Galleria pipes up and says she’s still here. Now that plan has been scuppered, Lola comes up with a new one, and that is to book them in to perform at the Dancing Cat club as a warm-up performance.

Later, Chanel overhears her mother complaining that Luc hasn’t proposed to her yet, wondering if it is because Chanel has made it clear she doesn’t like Luc. Chanel goes to speak to Luc, and says she’s sorry for being rude to him all the time; she just didn’t want to see her mother get hurt. Luc says he wants to have a life with her mother and wants Chanel to be a part of it, saying he has no intentions of hurting either of them. With Chanel’s blessing, Luc immediately goes outside to propose to Juanita, who is randomly sat outside, by a flower bed, reading a book. Very out of character. The others gather to watch. Luc asks Juanita to marry him. Juanita looks over to the crowd and sees Chanel tell her to say “yes”. She does and Luc finally puts a ring on it. Juanita is ecstatic that she got what she wanted.

After that is sorted, now the Cheetah Girls need to organise their Dancing Cat performance. Dorinda takes the girls to Joaquin’s dance studio where he explains to Dorinda that he might be a count but that he has no money, and that is why he didn’t introduce her to his friends, because they were going somewhere fancy for lunch and he couldn’t afford to take her there. Although that doesn’t really explain why he didn’t even say, “Hey, this is my friend, Dorinda, from New York”, Dorinda accepts his apology and they kiss.

But now, the girls really do have to rehearse. They start practising their performance, and are ready to perform at the Dancing Cat. At the club, the Cheetah Girls are a huge hit, so much so, that the owner of the club even pays them for their performance. Lola encourages them to take the money, to use for expenses.

The next day, it is time for the contest’s sound check. The girls arrive, excited, costumes in hand, only to get to the dressing room and be told by the festival director that the Cheetah Girls can no longer perform, because the New Voices contest is for amateurs only, and by getting paid to perform by the Dancing Cat, the group are now classed as professionals. Seeing that her plan has worked, Lola half-heartedly attempts to take the blame for this “mistake”, despite actually wanted this to happen, so she could ask Chanel to perform with Marisol. Galleria and the others say Chanel might as well do that, to represent the Cheetah Girls on the global stage. Chanel isn’t sure, but Lola convinces her to agree.

Back at the villa, the girls complain to their mothers and Luc about what happened, but there is nothing they can do. Luc says there will be plenty of opportunities for them to perform in New York City when they get back home, showing that Luc is going to move to New York after the wedding, so that Chanel can finish high school. The girls then decide to hand the money back to the Dancing Cat owner on principle. Unbeknownst to them, Angel the guitarist saw them hand the money back and goes to investigate.

Backstage on the night of the contest, Dorothea and the other girls watch as Marisol and Chanel practise, with Lola buzzing around them. The festival director comes over, and says he was informed by a reliable source that Lola had arranged for the girls to be paid for their performance at the Dancing Cat. The reliable source turns out to be the festival director’s nephew, Angel. It is confirmed that the Cheetah Girls can now perform together. Lola is horrified, and tries to say it is against the rules, but she is overruled by the director. Lola tells Marisol she can still win, but Marisol ignores her pep talk, saying she doesn’t want to win this way or win just for her mother, and pulls out off the show. She is announced on stage, but is instead eating churros in the audience. Good for her!

That leads them to announce the final act of the night instead, the Cheetah Girls. Galleria begins the performance with Angel on the guitar as their accompanist, stating that this song is dedicated to Barcelona, and to thank the city for everything they’ve learnt there. It’s a bit of an overly dramatic opener to their song; however, they light up the stage with their performance of Galleria’s new song “Amigas Cheetahs”. Joaquin and his dancers come on to stage, and they even invite Marisol on stage to join in with a verse. The audience cheer and scream for them as they take their bows, before they sashay off into the city. We have no idea if they won the contest, but they definitely won over the crowd.

This is where the film should end, however, on the Extended Edition DVD, there is an alternate ending, which sees the Cheetah Girls attend Luc and Juanita’s wedding in Spain. I personally don’t need this song or this scene. I much prefer the original ending.

CHARACTERS & CAST

With The Cheetah Girls 2 being a sequel, it makes sense for the four Cheetah Girls to have returned for this new story, with all four actresses and singers – Raven-Symoné, Adrienne Bailon, Kiely Williams, and Sabrina Bryan – also reprising their roles. In this new film, Galleria once again finds herself at odds with the other girls. This time, it’s not because of how Galleria is behaving, but because of how the other three are, choosing their own individual pursuits over rehearsing, despite committing to perform in a prestigious contest and promising to work hard during their time in Spain before they even left New York City. It takes Galleria almost getting on a train headed to Paris for the three girls to see the error of their ways, and to convince her to stay, promising they will focus on the performance now. They are true to their word, and end up becoming a stronger group because of all the drama.

Another character and actress to return here is Lynn Whitfield as Galleria’s mother, Dorothea. Dorothea ends up reconnecting with her designing dreams after running into some old friends, whilst trying to keep the group away from the devious tactics of a new “momager”. This mom manager is Lola Durán, who manages her daughter, Marisol. Lola has total control over Marisol’s life and career, telling her what she can and can’t eat, and who she can and can’t be friends with, because she is so desperate to see Marisol win the New Voices contest on her third try. After becoming threatened by the arrival of the Cheetah Girls, seemingly the only American act in the contest, Lola comes up with an idea to keep Marisol on top – by breaking up the Cheetah Girls and getting Chanel to become a duo with Marisol. She instigates various meetings with the girls, under the illusion that she wants to help them whilst in an unfamiliar environment, but everything she does is to try and sabotage their chances of winning. She even resorts to orchestrating having the girls kicked out of the amateur-only contest by having them be paid for performing at the Dancing Cat, encouraging the girls to take the money when they don’t know whether to accept or not. Lola eventually sees how far she has gone, after Marisol abandons her music career and refuses to perform on stage. In the end, Lola is happy to just see Marisol on stage with the Cheetah Girls having fun for a change, without all that pressure on her.

Lola was played by Kim Manning. Manning is American; however, she had built up a career in Spain, having worked on the Spanish game show Un, dos, tres…responda otra vez (1972-2004) in the 1980s. She followed that up by being cast as Tania Biezka Salianova in Spanish comedy series Manos a la obra (1998-2001). Manning appears to have returned to the US to work for a children’s theatre and acting company.

Marisol is Lola’s daughter, and she is the sweet, wholesome teenage singer from Barcelona. Marisol is the home crowd favourite for the New Voices contest, but she has tried to win this contest twice before and not won. Her and her mother are hoping the third time’s the charm for her. Marisol first meets the girls at the Dancing Cat club, where she joins Chanel in singing the lullaby “A La Nanita Nana”, which is a hit with the audience, giving her mother the idea of getting Marisol to sing with Chanel at the contest. Marisol doesn’t want to go along with Lola’s plans, basically to break up the Cheetah Girls, because she likes them, but she is pressured to, due to Lola’s control over her entire life. Lola tells Marisol to spend time with Chanel exclusively, taking her away from Galleria and creating a major rift in Galleria and Chanel’s friendship. In the end, Marisol is so fed up with her mother for controlling her, and for being caught sabotaging the girls, that she chooses not to perform, much to her mother’s confusion. The Cheetah Girls show they have no bad blood with Marisol though by bringing her on stage for their song. Marisol is able to just sing with her friends without feeling like she has to win or risk being seen as a failure.

Belinda Peregrín, also known as just Belinda, was cast as Marisol. Belinda was born in Spain but has built up her career in Mexico. As a child actress, Belinda was cast as Ana Capistrán Vidal in Mexican children’s telenovela Amigos x siempre (2000); as Violeta Arcángel Flores in comedy drama telenovela Aventuras en el tiempo (2001); and as Mariana Cantú and Silvana del Valle Ontiveros in Cómplices Al Rescate (2002) in the first half of the series. After The Cheetah Girls 2, Belinda went on to be cast as Valentina Izaguirre in the telenovela Camaleones (2009-10). More recently, she was cast as Ǻfrica Guadalupe López in the Spanish thriller Welcome to Eden (2022-23) on Netflix, and as Daniela Levy de Mijares in the Mexican musical comedy-drama series Mentiras, la serie (2025) on Amazon Prime. In music, Belinda topped the Mexican album charts with her debut album Belinda in 2003, and did the same with her 2013 album Catarsis and her 2025 album Indómita. She was also a coach on La Voz (2011-22), The Voice in Mexico, from 2019 to 2020, as well as on La Voz Senior (2019-21) and Season 3 of La Voz Kids (2017-present).

Joaquin is the love interest of Dorinda in The Cheetah Girls 2. He is introduced to the girls as being a count, appearing rich in his fancy suits and with his fancy dance studio. He is smitten with Dorinda instantly, and when she finds out he is a dancer, so is she. They bond over having complicated family lives, however, neither explains the situation until Dorinda takes offence at not being introduced to his other “friends” in suits. It turns out Joaquin might be a count, but his family has no money, and he is just like Dorinda; dancing because it is his life, not just a hobby, like Dorinda said it was. Golan Yosef was cast as Joaquin. Yosef is a dancer and singer, having released various songs through music platforms in recent years.

Angel is a guitarist and busker, who Galleria is immediately attracted to. He starts singing at the café about discovering Barcelona and she is hooked. He then follows the girls around Barcelona as they sightsee – but not in a stalker way, because after this scene, he mostly vanishes, only popping up again to perform at the Dancing Cat on Open Mic Night after Marisol. He isn’t seen again until he sees the girls handing back the money they received for performing at the Dancing Cat, and going to investigate. It turns out he is the music festival director’s nephew, and his information about Lola’s scheme allows the Cheetah Girls to be able to perform. He even plays the guitar as their accompanist during their final performance. But there is no big emotional scene between him and Galleria. It was a bit of a random love interest to tease, because nothing much happens between them.

Angel was played by Spanish actor Peter Vives. After The Cheetah Girls 2, Vives went on to play Marcus Logan in Spanish period drama El tiempo entre costuras (2013-14), and then Carlos Ǻlvarez in Spanish drama Velvet (2014-16).

Juanita Simmons is Chanel’s mother. She did appear in the first film, being obsessed by her new rich boyfriend Luc, ditching Chanel and constantly leaving her home alone so her boyfriend can whisk her off on fancy dates. Now her and Chanel have been invited to spend the summer with Luc at his huge Spanish villa in Barcelona, where Juanita is absolutely convinced that Luc is going to propose to her, being seemingly unable to talk about anything else or think about anything else, even the Cheetah Girls performing at the music festival. As their time in Spain seems to be coming to a close, Juanita is very irritated that there has still not been a proposal, prompting Chanel to tell Luc that she wants her mother to be happy with him, so Luc does eventually propose. After that, Juanita is happy and starts to take more of an interest in her daughter’s life again. But who knows what happened to her disappearing son and Chanel’s brother? He’s just not in this film. He must’ve chosen to stay with his father, to get away from all this drama and wedding chat…

Anyway, Lori Alter returned to play Juanita in The Cheetah Girls 2, after playing the character in The Cheetah Girls. Prior to her role in The Cheetah Girls franchise, Alter was cast as Renata D’Allesandro in the Canadian show Power Play (1998-2000), later going on to be cast as Anna Sophie Antonia Garces-Keller in the Canadian-French sitcom Family Biz (2009) and as Lisa Dewitt in the series She’s the Mayor (2011).

Finally, we have Luc, Juanita’s boyfriend. Luc was French in the first film. This wasn’t even assumed by the audience after hearing he lived in Paris, but was actually said specifically by both Chanel and Juanita. It would appear Juanita was too overjoyed at having a rich boyfriend that she had no interest in finding out his nationality because in this film, Luc is Spanish and was just living in Paris. Easy mistake to make with the love of your life, right? Luc clearly does have a lot of money, from working in “business”, whatever that means. Luc seems very nice and is friendly to Chanel and the other Cheetah Girls, happily opening his home up to them, finding them a tour guide in Joaquin, and just generally being there for them during the run-up to performing at the music festival. He seems much more interested in the show than Chanel’s mother does anyway! Chanel eventually warms to Luc during her time in Spain and accepts that it was wrong of her to be so rude to him. After apologising and telling Luc that she wants him to be part of their family, Luc proposes to Juanita, making him Chanel’s new stepfather. He is even considerate of Chanel’s feelings, saying he will move to New York instead of making Chanel move to Barcelona. And yet Chanel’s mother was trying to move her to Paris without telling her in the first film. Wow. So, Luc was never the villain. Who knew? Everyone but Chanel apparently.

Spanish actor Abel Folk was cast as Luc. Prior to his casting in The Cheetah Girls 2, Folk was cast as Berni in the Spanish drama series Laura (1998-99). After this film, Folk was cast as Jordi Vergés / Gabriel Vergés in the Catalan series Ventdelplà (2005-2010) from 2008 to 2010. Recently, Folk was cast as Octavio Oramas in La encrucijada (2025-26).

MUSIC

After only recording a total of four songs for The Cheetah Girls movie in 2003, I’m sure the girls were much happier to find that their song numbers had more than doubled in this sequel, with a mixture of new genres used too, such as Latin pop and R&B.

The Cheetah Girls 2 begins with a high-energy performance of “The Party’s Just Begun”. The first film began with a low-key performance at a children’s birthday party, but this sequel has the girls stepping it up by performing with proper costumes, on a real stage, and in front of an actual audience, albeit an audience of high school students, but it’s still moving forward! Although this song is an iconic Cheetah Girls song, I have never liked it. “The Party’s Just Begun” was written by Matthew Gerrard and Robbie Nevil.

Following on from that, the girls then sing the song “Strut” as they sing and dance around Barcelona, with Angel the guitarist, using the sights of Barcelona as their stage. Adrienne Bailon said that for “Strut”, she was wearing ballerina flats, but due to her small feet, the shoes didn’t fit her properly and the shoes kept flying off whilst she was trying to dance. In the end, the crew had to use clear packing tape, wrapping it around her shoes to keep them on her feet[1]! “Strut” is also used in the End Credits. It was written by Jamie Houston. Again, this song is much loved by Cheetah Girls fans, but not by me. Disney Channel used it way too much when promoting the sequel that I ended up hating it, and yet, I still don’t think it is the worst song in The Cheetah Girls 2!

“Dance with Me” is the song that is used for the dance sequence of Joaquin teaching Dorinda how to dance tango. Sabrina Bryan said she was very excited for this sequence, with it all being filmed in one demanding day for the cast and crew[2]. This song was not performed by any of the Cheetah Girls or any character in this scene. It was instead performed by Drew Seeley, featuring Belinda, who played Marisol. Drew Seeley is well-known amongst Disney Channel fans for singing the vocals for Troy Bolton in High School Musical. “Dance with Me” was written by Ray Cham and Charlene Licera. This is one of the songs that I dislike more than “Strut”. I just don’t like it, or the scene as a whole.

So, after a disappointing start to the music for me, it’s not until we hear Marisol sing her song “Why Wait” at the Dancing Cat club that I actually begin to enjoy the songs in this film. Marisol comes out and performs her heart out here, to a crowd that adores her. It’s a great song and a great performance. “Why Wait” was performed by Belinda as Marisol, and was written by Matthew Gerrard and Robbie Nevil.

Shortly after that, Angel goes up on stage at the Dancing Cat and begins playing a Spanish lullaby on his guitar. Chanel instantly recognises the song as something her mother used to sing to her when she was younger, and sings along to the guitar. She is soon joined by Marisol and the two sing the rest of “A La Nanita Nana” as a duet, which the audience love. The other three girls join in by singing some backup vocals, but really this song is for Marisol and Chanel. “A La Nanita Nana” was predominantly sung by Adrienne Bailon and Belinda. It was adapted and arranged by David Lawrence, from the traditional Spanish carol song composed by José Ramón Gomis, with lyrics from Juan Francisco Muñoz y Pabón.

A little while later, the song “Do Your Own Thing” plays during a montage of what the Cheetah Girls are doing individually when they are meant to be rehearsing. Galleria is continuing to write the song she thinks the girls should perform at the competition; Chanel is busy at a get-together with Luc’s family; Dorinda is teaching a hip-hop class at Joaquin’s dance studio; and Aqua is with Dorothea, sketching designs at Aramet’s studio. Even though this song is not accompanied by a big song-and-dance performance, I actually quite like it. “Do Your Own Thing” was in fact a solo song performed by Raven-Symoné, and was written by Raven, Matthew Gerrard and Robbie Nevil.

As the story progresses, Galleria starts to feel ignored by the group, who are neglecting Galleria’s rehearsal schedule. Galleria makes the tough decision to head home; to stop pressuring the girls in case it causes their friendship to be damaged forever. This leads to the song “It’s Over” being performed by the Cheetah Girls. It’s a touch melodramatic, but it matches the emotion of the scene. And when you’re a teenager, your friend leaving your holiday early is probably something to make you overthink and question all your life choices! “It’s Over” was written by David Lawrence and Faye Greenberg.

The sadness of “It’s Over” is soon replaced by happy times, as Galleria is convinced by Chanel, Aqua, and Dorinda that she should stay in Barcelona because they’ve decided to commit to rehearsing for the competition properly. This leads to them performing “Step Up”, first as a rehearsal in Joaquin’s dance studio, before moving over to the Dancing Cat club to finally perform like they meant to do on that first Open Mic Night they attended. I love “Step Up”; it’s my favourite song in the film. It was written by Matthew Gerrard and Robbie Nevil.

The Cheetah Girls 2, in most versions of the film, ends with the girls performing at the New Voices competition, where they sing the song that Galleria had been writing throughout their time in Barcelona. This song is “Amigas Cheetahs”, which has yet another moment of theatrics, with an intense opening from Galleria and Chanel, but it’s not long before they go back to their pop best with another lively performance, complete with extravagant costumes, extra dancers, and even a surprise guest or two in the form of Angel and Marisol. The film ends with the Cheetah Girls continuing to sing this song as they leave the stage, with the audience following. “Amigas Cheetahs” was written by Jamie Houston and Will Robinson.

However, if you had The Cheetah Girls 2 on DVD with its extended edition, after the main film ended, you could then see the extended ending, which saw the Cheetah Girls attend the wedding of Luc and Chanel’s mother in Spain, accompanied by the song “Cherish the Moment”. It was performed by the Cheetah Girls, and was written by Jamie Houston and Greg Curtis. Having seen this ending and heard this song now, I can safely say Disney Channel made the right decision to cut this ending from the final version of the film.

Also within The Cheetah Girls 2, the girls sing their song “Cheetah Sisters” from the first film, written by Jamie Houston, as part of their audition process. They sing it a cappella on two occasions: once over the phone, and then again in a theatre in Barcelona when they meet the Barcelona Music Festival director. However, on the soundtrack, the version of this song that appears on the tracklist is “Cheetah Sisters (Barcelona Mix)”. I prefer them singing this song a cappella, to be honest!

The soundtrack also features two more songs performed solely by Raven-Symoné, which did not appear in The Cheetah Girls 2. These songs were “Everyone’s a Star” and “It’s Gonna Be Alright”, both written by Matthew Gerrard, Robbie Nevil, and Raven-Symoné.

The Cheetah Girls 2 soundtrack was released on 15th August 2006, ten days before its official television premiere. The soundtrack ended up peaking at No. 5 on the US Billboard 200 chart, and spent nine weeks at No. 1 on their Top Soundtracks Album. The singles “Strut” and “The Party’s Just Begun” even reached Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 53 and No. 85 respectively. The success of The Cheetah Girls 2 soundtrack was on par with the likes of Lemonade Mouth (2011) and Teen Beach Movie (2013), which had peaked at No. 4 and No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart, but was further behind the soundtracks from Descendants (2015), High School Musical (2006), and High School Musical 2 (2007), which had all reached No. 1 in that chart[3]. The Cheetah Girls 2 soundtrack was later certified platinum after selling a reported 1.4 million copies in the US. Outside of the US, The Cheetah Girls 2 soundtrack’s best performance was in the UK, where it peaked at No. 3 in the UK Soundtrack Albums.

David Lawrence was the composer for The Cheetah Girls 2, replacing John van Tongeren who had worked on the music for the first film. Also for Disney Channel, Lawrence was the composer on various other musicals, including the High School Musical trilogy, StarStruck (2010), Teen Beach Movie (2013) and Teen Beach 2 (2015), and the first three Descendants films.

PRODUCTION

Disney Channel love to have the opportunity to make a sequel, but in the early 2000s, they actually hadn’t had all that much experience of making them, especially not musicals.

The Cheetah Girls 2 was the first musical sequel for the channel, and in some ways could be considered to be the blueprint that every successful Disney Channel musical franchise later followed, including High School Musical, because, as every filmmaker will state, it’s not always easy to make a sequel that is as loved as its predecessor.

One way to make a DCOM a success is to attach Kenny Ortega to it. Kenny Ortega has had a long history working with Disney and Disney Channel, although by 2006, he had only just directed the first High School Musical film. Still, the acclaim that that film got from Disney Channel fans just proved that getting Kenny Ortega to direct any Disney Channel musical would guarantee a success. And they were right, because The Cheetah Girls 2 was most definitely a hit. Prior to working on Disney Channel, Ortega had been the choreographer on many musical movies including Xanadu (1982) and Dirty Dancing (1987) before directing and choreographing the Halloween film Hocus Pocus (1993) and the musical adaptation Newsies (1992) for Disney. After The Cheetah Girls 2, Ortega returned to direct the second and third films within the High School Musical trilogy, and then created the Best of Both Worlds Tour, starring Miley Cyrus and Hannah Montana, which ran from October 2007 until 2008. Ortega was then set to choreograph and direct Michael Jackson’s This Is It tour in 2009, which was cancelled after Jackson’s death. Footage from the rehearsals was later released as the documentary film Michael Jackson’s This Is It (2009). Later, Ortega returned to Disney Channel to direct the first three films in the Descendants franchise, and recently worked on the Netflix musical series Julie and the Phantoms (2020).

Although The Cheetah Girls 2 was obviously still based on characters created by Deborah Gregory for her The Cheetah Girls book series, this sequel was an original story, as none of Gregory’s books see the Cheetah Girls head to Barcelona to take part in a music competition. The Cheetah Girls 2 was written by Alison Taylor, who had previously written the first instalment of the film franchise, and Bethesda Brown. Whitney Houston and Debra Martin Chase were also producers on this sequel as they were on the first film.

By April 2006, it was confirmed that filming was under way for The Cheetah Girls 2, with it also being confirmed that the four girls Raven-Symoné, Adrienne Bailon, Kiely Williams, and Sabrina Bryan would all be returning to reprise their roles and that Kenny Ortega of High School Musical fame was on board to be the choreographer and director. It would seem that as filming was taking place in Spring 2006 that they needed a quick turnaround in order to ensure the film was ready to debut in August 2006[4].

But before filming could take place, the girls had to record their music, which they loved doing for this sequel, as they felt that the songs had been stepped up a gear with lots of energy in the music. They then had to do three weeks of intense dance rehearsals, with the choreographing also being intensified for this movie thanks to Kenny Ortega and Charles Klapow’s high standards for this film. Klapow was also a choreographer on the High School Musical films. After this was completed, the cast and crew were ready to go to Barcelona[5].

Even though portions of The Cheetah Girls 2 were set in New York City, prior to the girls flying off to Barcelona, the entirety of the film was actually filmed in Barcelona, with Galleria’s apartment apparently needing to be completely redesigned to make it look like a typical New York apartment and not a European one. Other sets, like the Dancing Cat club, the high school graduation party, and the staging for the New Voices competition were also designed and created, thanks to production designer Mark Hofeling who, like Kenny Ortega, has much experience working on Disney Channel movies, having worked on the likes of musical franchises like High School Musical, Descendants, and ZOMBIES, as well as non-musical films like Den Brother (2010) and Read It and Weep (2006)[6].

But there were plenty of opportunities to film within the beautiful city of Barcelona itself. The “Strut” sequence was one to really showcase the sights of the city, going all over the place, with moments in Park Güell; the Plaça de les Cascades near the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya; Park Montjuïc; Passeig del Born; and Palace Dalmases, becoming the café where the Cheetah Girls meet guitarist Angel at the beginning of the song.

Away from “Strut”, there are still various other locations that the cast and crew visited for their shoot. One is Plaça del Rei, which was used for the location of the New Voices contest stage. The Chapel of Santa Àgata was used as the dressing room for the contest. The Estació de França train station was the train station that Galleria walks through as she tries to find her train to Paris, and the Palau de la Música Catalana appears to have been used as the theatre that the girls audition in to confirm their spot in the contest in front of the festival director. The beach party that the girls attend, thanks to an invite from Joaquin, was filmed at Platja del Garraf and the exterior of the Teatre Coliseum was used as the exterior of Joaquin’s dance studio. Finally, Luc’s villa seems to have been the events space Finca Mas Solers, situated about an hour outside of the city centre[7].

It would seem that with all this excitement around the music, the dances, and the amazing locations that everything was rosy on the set of The Cheetah Girls 2. Those in the know are aware that was not the case at all.

Despite appearing harmonious and stating how close the four girls were as a group whilst filming the first Cheetah Girls movie, something had changed by the time The Cheetah Girls 2 started production. There was no longer a bond between the girls that had existed in Toronto, and there was now a huge divide between Raven-Symoné and the other three girls. It is unclear exactly what or who caused all this drama and friction, but some have stated that it may’ve been the case that, as Raven was having huge success away from The Cheetah Girls and had been acting since she was very young, the other three girls may have felt jealous of her fame. Although I can’t comment on what was said and what wasn’t said because this has never been stated in public – quite rightly too – all I can say is that this divide doesn’t surprise me. Not because I think Williams, Bryan, or Bailon are nasty and mean, but because those three were close due to their involvement in the Cheetah Girls as a musical group. They were on their own journey and Raven was on hers, so naturally, when the two sides came together, I wouldn’t have expected them to get along, at least not in the way they had when the first film was being made. But like I said, there are rumours that this was not just a case of one person drifting away from the others, and was deeper than that, so it seems there is more to the story that we won’t ever know specifics about.

What we do know is that Raven-Symoné was so affected by her experience on The Cheetah Girls 2 that she refused to make the third film[8]. Perhaps Disney Channel should’ve reconsidered their decision to make a third Cheetah Girls film without arguably their biggest star, but they did not, and pushed ahead with making The Cheetah Girls 3 without Raven.

RECEPTION

The Cheetah Girls 2 premiered on the Disney Channel in the US on 25th August 2006.

There does not seem to have been a red carpet premiere prior to the film’s release, however, Disney Channel did screen a premiere party for The Cheetah Girls 2, with segments from this party playing before, during, and after the showing of the film. It was hosted by Miley Cyrus and Corbin Bleu, who were both rising stars for the channel in 2006 for their work on Hannah Montana (2006-11) and High School Musical respectively. Plenty of other Disney Channel stars attended the premiere party too, including those from High School Musical, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody (2005-08), Hannah Montana, and That’s So Raven (2003-07). The Cheetah Girls were obviously there too, although director Kenny Ortega was only available for a quick video as he was away working on a project in Australia. It would seem that the party was also open to a select few kids too, who could play various games, dance, and snack during the premiere party.

The Cheetah Girls 2 was promoted on the Disney Channel as being part of their So Hot Summer! event, which had also been an event in 2005. In 2006, other programming involved in So Hot Summer! were new episodes of favourite series like That’s So Raven and The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, the new Disney Channel Original Movie Read It and Weep, which premiered in July 2006, and the first season of the Disney Channel Games.

It would seem that in the UK, The Cheetah Girls 2 came to screens a month later in September 2006, with it reaching many other international Disney Channels in Europe and South America by the end of 2006, and other ones a bit further afield by early 2007.

On its US premiere, it was said that The Cheetah Girls 2 drew an average of 7.8 million viewers, making it the most-watched DCOM debut in their history, tied with Cadet Kelly (2002), being particular well-received in the Kids 6-11 and Tweens 9-14 demographics[9]. The Cheetah Girls 2 even beat out High School Musical, which premiered in January 2006, with around 7.7 million viewers, however, it did become much more successful later. The Cheetah Girls 2 was the most-watched DCOM of 2006 and remains tied at No. 8 with Cadet Kelly in the Top 10 Most-Watched DCOMs list. This Top 10 is likely to remain now, given how live TV viewing habits have changed in recent years.

The Cheetah Girls 2 is generally considered to be bigger and better than its predecessor, with many stating this is their favourite film within the franchise. It encouraged many young people to experience Barcelona, although there is no official data to back this up. This is quite ironic actually, since Barcelonians now are not big fans of international tourists swarming their city… It was also appreciated by many that Kenny Ortega was involved, after his huge success with High School Musical, feeling that this stepped the franchise up a level. Many liked the new music in this sequel, and again, Raven-Symoné was highlighted for her acting performance.

However, on the other hand, there were some negative comments, particularly from those outside of its target demographic. Some felt the story was predictable, and that it was just an excuse for Disney Channel to send its stars to Spain. I mean, they could’ve based this story anywhere, but Spain did enhance the overall look of the film and that was a major reason why The Cheetah Girls 2 was so loved, so I’d say it paid off for Disney Channel. Others were annoyed at the continuity issues, which must’ve actually been a critique from fans, otherwise these wouldn’t have been picked up. These included Chanel’s missing brother, whose absence was unexplained, but maybe the writers just forgot about him since he was barely mentioned in the first film, and Luc’s changing nationality, from French in the first film, to Spanish here. I don’t know how this was missed. Chanel acts like it’s Galleria getting confused in the sequel, but she clearly didn’t remember that both Chanel and her mother said Luc was French in the first film. It was also said that Disney Channel were too heavy-handed in their promotion of The Cheetah Girls 2. I second this statement. It really did feel like too much, to the point it made me not want to watch the film for a couple of years.

In terms of awards, Kenny Ortega was nominated in the category of Best Director – Film at the Imagen Foundation Awards, and Carli Barber was nominated for Best Sound Editing in Music for Television – Long Form at the Motion Picture Sound Editors Awards, for her role as the music editor on The Cheetah Girls 2. Neither won here. There was not even a nomination for Kenny Ortega at the Directors Guild of America Awards for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children’s Programs. I wondered if this was because The Cheetah Girls 2 was a sequel, but other Disney Channel sequels were later nominated here. Ortega did win this award anyway in 2006 though, for High School Musical. 

LEGACY

Shortly after the premiere of The Cheetah Girls 2, in order to further promote the movie and its soundtrack, the group went on tour across the US, Canada, and one night in Puerto Rico.

The tour, which was the second tour for the Cheetah Girls, titled The Party’s Just Begun Tour, started on 15th September 2006 in Seattle, and ended on 4th March 2007 in Houston, having been extended on a couple of occasions with more dates and cities added. The Cheetah Girls setlist consisted mostly of songs from the films The Cheetah Girls and The Cheetah Girls 2, although there were some songs that the Cheetah Girls had recorded outside of the films added in to the performance as well. The group had a variety of opening acts throughout their tour, including Miley Cyrus as Hannah Montana, Vanessa Hudgens, the band Everlife, and Jordan Pruitt.

There was even a live album recorded using their performances from their tour dates in Anaheim and San Diego in January 2007. This album was named The Cheetah Girls In Concert: The Party’s Just Begun Tour, and was released on 10th July 2007, with additional DVD content showing highlights from the concert and behind-the-scenes footage.

Later that same year, the Cheetah Girls released their second studio album, entitled TCG, short for The Cheetah Girls, on 25th September 2007.  TCG peaked at No. 44 on the US Billboard 200 chart. Two of their more well-known songs from this album were “Fuego” and “So Bring It On”, with the latter being included in the DCOM sequel Twitches Too (2007).

As per the agreement made prior to the Cheetah Girls’ first album in 2005, Raven-Symoné was not included in recording this soundtrack, nor was she involved in The Party’s Just Begun Tour. These two projects were focused on the Cheetah Girls as a real singing group. Raven had elected to concentrate on her solo music career, declining to join the girls.

Following the release of The Cheetah Girls 2, there was also some merchandise items made available for fans to purchase. Two of these were video games. The Gameboy Advance game, released in 2006, simply called The Cheetah Girls, has gamers follow a storyline where the girls are trying to compete in the New Voices Competition in Barcelona, as per the story of the sequel film. This was followed up with a 2007 Nintendo DS game entitled The Cheetah Girls: Pop Star Sensations. This does not appear to have a storyline involving the events in Barcelona, but does feature songs from this second film. Outside of that, a novelisation of The Cheetah Girls 2 was made available, as was an exclusive clothing line launched by Sears department stores in the US.

Other items of merchandise included board and card games, calendars, and various accessories, along with a line of dolls called The Cheetah Girls: In Concert Collection, which featured a doll resembling each Cheetah Girl which would sing a song from the franchise. Even with the 20th anniversary of The Cheetah Girls 2 in 2026, some merchandise featuring The Cheetah Girls is still around, with the Disney Store currently having Cheetah Girls-emblazoned T-shirts and sweatshirts on sale, at least in the US and the UK.

With all these fans and all this popularity, it was kind of obvious that Disney Channel would want to push the franchise further, by making a third film. This film was released under the title The Cheetah Girls: One World in August 2008, however, it would be missing one key member of the cast, something some fans have never forgiven or forgotten.

At the Disney Parks, specifically at Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World, from 2010 to 2013, there was a short stage show performed called Disney Channel Rocks. Disney Channel Rocks showcased music from many Disney Channel musicals including the Camp Rock films, StarStruck (2010), Jump In! (2007), the High School Musical trilogy and of course The Cheetah Girls franchise. From The Cheetah Girls 2, “The Party’s Just Begun” was performed as part of the opening. This show was later retooled and performed at the Disneyland After Dark: Disney Channel Nite events in both 2024 and 2026, however, “The Party’s Just Begun” from The Cheetah Girls 2 was dropped. Also at the Disneyland After Dark: Disney Channel Nite events in April 2026, there was a photo op with a backdrop for The Cheetah Girls 2 that guests could use. The backdrop featured a postcard of Barcelona.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The Cheetah Girls 2 and 2006 seemed to be the peak for The Cheetah Girls franchise.

Fans had liked the bigger budget, the increased production value, the levelling up of the story, and the superior music that they saw in the sequel. This was perfect timing for Disney Channel as they were also gearing up to make the most out of High School Musical, which turned out to be another successful movie for them in 2006.

All good things must come to an end eventually, but I don’t think anybody expected The Cheetah Girls to decline in quite the way they did. Their third movie, although not a flop by any means, was not what some of the fans felt they had been promised. It was a seismic shift from what we’d all been expecting and it turned out to be too much change for some.

But at least we’ll always have 2006 and The Cheetah Girls 2, when everything seemed right and happy in Cheetah Land. At least, that’s what we can pretend it was like.


REFERENCES

[1] Credit: Disney+, ‘Adrienne Bailon is here to answer our questions. All The Cheetah Girls #DisneyPlusThrowback movies are streaming on Disney+, Facebook.com, 15th August 2025.

[2] Credit: Disney Channel, ‘DCOM Extras – The Cheetah Girls 2 #2’, DisneyChannelRules YouTube Channel, 25th December 2006.

[3] Credit: Paul Grein, ‘TV Soundtracks With The Most Weeks At No. 1 On The Top Soundtracks Chart’, Billboard.com, 24th April 2024.

[4] Credit: United Press International, ‘Work on ‘The Cheetah Girls 2’ begins’, Archive.Triblive.com, 11th April 2006.

[5] Credit: Disney Channel, ‘DCOM Extras – The Cheetah Girls 2 #1’, DisneyChannelRules YouTube Channel, 25th December 2006.

[6] Credit: Mark Hofeling, ‘The Cheetah Girls 2’, MarkHofeling.com, no date.

[7] Credit: Stephanie Safdie, ‘The Cheetah Girls 2: All Barcelona Filming Locations’, DestinationDreamerDiaries.com, 23rd May 2026.

[8] Credit: Ashley Spencer, Disney High: The Untold Story of the Rise and Fall of Disney Channel’s Empire (2024), ‘That’s So Raven-Symoné’, pp. 85-110.

[9] Credit: Denise Martin, ‘Good run for ‘Cheetah’’, Variety.com, 28th August 2006. 

The Cheetah Girls (2003)

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

BACKGROUND

Although High School Musical was the first musical franchise for Disney Channel to become a major success and has since sucked up a lot of the attention given to Disney Channel Original Movies, it should be remembered that The Cheetah Girls was actually the first-ever DCOM musical, premiering three years earlier than High School Musical.

That’s not the only thing that makes The Cheetah Girls stand out. What is unique about The Cheetah Girls is that, for once, Disney Channel had chosen to make a movie that put diverse characters at the forefront of their story, a four-piece girl group, made up of teenagers growing up in New York City with different backgrounds and experiences. It is no secret that Disney Channel had – and still does to some extent – trouble leaning into diversity, especially in its earlier days, but by 2003, it felt like that might be changing.

2003 not only saw the premiere of The Cheetah Girls, but also the premiere of a new series, That’s So Raven (2003-07), both of which starred the same actress, Raven-Symoné, who has since become synonymous with the heyday of Disney Channel. Raven’s star was on the rise, and with the help of these two projects, she was rocketing to mainstream fame.

However, The Cheetah Girls, although quite well-known today especially with the millennials, the demographic watching The Cheetah Girls at the time of its release, does not appear to have instantly spanned a huge franchise. Sure, the DCOM got pretty good viewing figures for its premiere, but it did not achieve worldwide fame until a couple of years later, for whatever reason, not releasing any further music as a group until 2005. This was when the girl group began to really shine, putting on concerts, releasing new albums, making appearances at the Disney Parks, as well as making further movies.

From that point on, it would seem that The Cheetah Girls was definitely rivalling the fame achieved by High School Musical, and these two properties were Disney Channel’s hottest tickets in the mid-2000s, with the channel wanting to push them as far as possible.

Personally, I don’t believe I watched The Cheetah Girls when it premiered, not that I even know when it premiered on Disney Channel in the UK because international channels did not receive new DCOM premieres at the same time as the US in the 2000s. Sometimes we waited months, even years, for them. I think I saw it before the sequel came out in 2006. I know I liked it, but it wasn’t my favourite DCOM musical, even when there weren’t many.

PLOT

The Cheetah Girls begins with four teenage girls from New York City performing as their singing group the Cheetah Girls at a birthday party. Everything seems to be going well with their performance, until one of the members, Aqua, gets her high-heeled boot caught in the wooden slates on the stage they are performing. As two of the other girls, Dorinda and Chanel, attempt to help her, all three end up toppling to the ground, just as Galleria ends the song on a high, not even noticing the chaos behind her. All the kids at the party laugh.  

After the show, Chanel points out to the girls that this incident might be a sign they shouldn’t audition for their school’s talent show. Galleria refuses to believe that though, wanting the Cheetah Girls to be the first Freshmen in their school’s history to win the competition. Dorinda then runs off somewhere, having to go and do something, whilst Aqua heads home as well, desperately trying to get a taxi and failing miserably because she refuses to get the subway. Chanel ends up getting a taxi for her. Chanel and Galleria discuss the group together as they walk home, glad they took the advice of their teacher Drinka to add two girls to the duo Chanel and Galleria had formed. They start discussing the possibility of the Cheetah Girls being famous.

On their walk, they pass a shop front where a new singer is being promoted due to her working with famed record producer Jackal Johnson. Galleria and Chanel think that will be them soon and start to dance in front of the store randomly, drawing an impressed crowd. However, Galleria sees a dog in the crowd and remembers she has to get home right now!

At home, Galleria arrives to find her mother annoyed because Galleria was not there to take her dog Toto out for a walk, so she had to do it. Her mother has also realised that Galleria must’ve missed a message from an important client, asking to change her appointment time; her mother is a fashion designer. Her father then comes in asking if Galleria got the capers he needed for dinner; she did not. They tell Galleria that, although they understand how important her singing is to her, she needs to start focusing on reality.

Meanwhile, for some of the other girls, we see that Dorinda is cleaning the hall at a dance centre, and Chanel is struggling to deal with the fact her mother has a new, rich French boyfriend, and is now too busy with him to spend time with her daughter. Galleria later calls Chanel, asking her to listen to a new song she’s writing for the group.

At school the next day, Galleria is shocked to hear that Chanel is failing some classes and orders a group study session to ensure they all keep their grades up. Two boys from school then approach the girls at lunch and ask Galleria if they can swap talent show audition times. Galleria doesn’t want to, but Chanel says it’s fine, and eventually all four agree to it. Derek, one of the boys, thanks Galleria, and starts flirting with her. Galleria says it’s all just a trick and a ploy to have their group not be successful. The boys then trip and fall in the cafeteria, having food spilt all over them. The girls tease Galleria about Derek.

Later, it is time for the Cheetah Girls’ talent show audition, and they smash it. Drinka, the teacher running the talent show and a former disco diva, is very impressed with them and instantly gives them a spot in the show. Suddenly, from the back of the auditorium, a man approaches them. This is Jackal Johnson, the record producer and a former student at the girls’ high school, Manhattan Magnet. Jackal was also impressed with them and wants to make them the next big thing in music. Galleria instantly pushes in front of the others, introducing herself to Jackal as the writer and founder of the Cheetah Girls, which isn’t strictly true. However, Galleria and Chanel’s mothers, who were in the audience for the girls’ audition, interrupt, stating their concerns, telling the girls to leave right now. Jackal manages to give Galleria his card before she leaves, telling her to give him a call.

Back at home, Galleria argues with her mother about not being allowed to talk to Jackal. Galleria’s mother is simply concerned that Jackal’s deal won’t be all it’s cracked up to be, wanting Galleria and the others to wait until after college to pursue their singing dreams. In the end, Galleria’s father manages to convince Galleria’s mother to let Galleria call Jackal. But it comes with some caveats: that Galleria’s mother attends the meeting with the girls and that if she sees that something is not right, then they will immediately leave. Galleria agrees. Meanwhile, Chanel is also annoyed with her mother, who ignores Chanel’s complaints about the Jackal meeting, instead floating the idea of them moving to Paris so Chanel’s mother can move in with her new boyfriend. Chanel vents to Galleria on the phone later.

Back at school, Galleria tells the other Cheetah Girls that she has lined up a meeting with Jackal, and now the whole school knows about it, even the school newspaper now wants to interview them. But, to match their new status as superstars-in-waiting, Galleria picks up Dorinda on her “poor” fashion sense and Aqua on her “nasty” table manners, telling them to get it together before they meet Jackal. Dorinda has more to worry about than clothes though, as she is still working at the dance centre to get free dance lessons in return. One evening, she discovers the centre is going to be closed soon. She talks to the receptionist who tells Dorinda if she helps with the auditions for a music tour taking place at the centre on the day it’s closed, then she can have two free weeks of lessons.

Soon, it is time for the Cheetah Girls to have their important meeting with Jackal. Everyone is there on time – except for Galleria and her mother who are stuck in traffic. Jackal greets the other three and gives them a tour of the studio. Galleria’s mother tells Galleria they can’t be late for this meeting, so forces her to walk the rest of the way in her heels. Galleria accidentally steps in dog poop on the way though, and does not notice until she arrives at the meeting, and everyone else starts to smell something, realising it’s coming from Galleria’s shoe! Horrified, Chanel ushers Galleria into the bathroom, where Chanel kindly cleans Galleria’s boot for her. Galleria is annoyed at herself for making such a bad impression, and says the two of them need to get back in there and get it together. She gives Chanel a cursory thanks for her help and goes back to Jackal. 

Jackal welcomes Galleria back and she wants to talk business. Jackal says the deal is done, because Aqua gave him a tiny bottle of hot sauce she carries around with her – something Galleria told her not to do because it makes them seem unprofessional. Jackal hands out a contract, which Galleria’s mother snatches away and starts revising, wanting a lawyer to look at it properly. Jackal lets her get on with it, whilst telling the girls his plan, which is to record a demo; sell it to the record label; and then get instant fame and fortune for the group. They can get the demo done in less than a week if they’re quick about it. Galleria’s mother thinks that all sounds a bit too good to be true but Jackal tells her to calm down. They just need a clean take and they can do that on Saturday. Except the girls remember that is the day of the talent show. Galleria says they’ll do the demo instead. Outside, Galleria’s mother says they won’t be singing anything for Jackal until she’s had a lawyer go through the contract properly, but Galleria just sashays away.

This success only adds to Galleria’s diva attitude, passing out photographs of the group at school and refusing to do a proper interview with the school paper. At lunchtime, plenty of the other students want to hear all about their meeting with Jackal. However, Galleria is such a name-dropper and acting so pretentious that by the end of lunch, Galleria is mostly talking to herself and has managed to annoy even Dorinda and Aqua. They talk to Chanel after lunch and show her a poster on the school walls, pointing people to a hate site for the group. Chanel tries to stand up for Galleria, but Aqua tells Chanel she needs to talk to Galleria about all this. Chanel says she will, but not until the time is right.

At rehearsals for the talent show, Drinka is told by Galleria that the Cheetah Girls want to rehearse their new song first, before telling her the Cheetah Girls probably won’t be performing at the talent show because it clashes with recording the demo for Jackal. Galleria says they basically won the talent show already, and insults Drinka by saying Drinka knows what it’s like to lose an opportunity and not have it come along again. Drinka has the next act go on stage instead. Dorinda asks if they are rehearsing or not today, as she has somewhere else to be. Galleria says she might as well go since they are working on music and Dorinda is mostly a dancer. She also hands Dorinda some clippings of potential outfits to wear for the next time they see Jackal, saying they aren’t optional. Dorinda is rightly offended. She then heads to the dance centre to help out with those dance auditions, where she impresses, being offered a place on the tour with the group Gold Medal Crew.

Chanel returns home later and sees a note from her mother, saying that she has been whisked away by her boyfriend – again – so she’ll not be able to do their planned shopping trip. Her mother has left her credit card though so Chanel can buy them both something nice. Chanel then hears a voicemail message from an estate agent, talking about putting the apartment up for sale. Chanel angrily tells the estate agent they won’t be selling, before grabbing the credit card and maxing it out buying various outfits.

As Chanel finishes up, she sees that she is by Dorinda’s apartment block and speaks to the doorman, who sends Chanel round the corner into an alley to find her. Chanel finds herself at the block’s Superintendent’s flat, and knocks on the door. A woman comes to the door. Chanel asks for Dorinda, but believes she’s got the wrong address. The woman tells Chanel Dorinda is here and calls for her to come to the door. Dorinda comes to the door, embarrassed. A commotion erupts inside, sending the woman, Mrs. Bosco, back inside to see what’s going on. A little girl asks Dorinda if she wants to see someone get in trouble. She tells the girl to go on without her. Dorinda goes outside with Chanel to explain, but Chanel tells Dorinda not to be embarrassed, believing that Dorinda’s big secret is that she is half-Black, since Mrs. Bosco is Black and Chanel thinks that is Dorinda’s mother. Dorinda says Mrs. Bosco isn’t a mother and that she is in fact a foster child, having never met her birth parents. She doesn’t have money like the other three girls and life is sometimes hard for her, but she has pretended to be rich to fit in with them. Chanel feels terrible for not realising and tells Dorinda to be proud of who she is. She gives Dorinda an animal print jacket she just bought, to wear to the next meeting with Jackal, to keep Galleria off her back. Dorinda says she was offered a spot on a dance tour and doesn’t know whether to take it, as she won’t be able to be a part of the Cheetah Girls if she does.

That night, Chanel and Galleria have a sleepover. Galleria’s mother says they can go to the rehearsal with Jackal on Saturday alone. This leads Galleria to excitedly show Chanel a CD of the Cheetah Girls’ music, but Chanel instantly sees that Galleria has made her picture on the cover of the CD bigger than the other three. Galleria says it’s not a big deal, but Chanel is furious; the group isn’t all about her. Galleria says they just need to get the demo recorded and then it’ll be fine. Chanel lets slip about Dorinda being in foster care, which just makes Galleria think they’ll need to get the deal with Jackal even more now, but Chanel reminds Galleria that it’s not all about money; they all need friends, not fame.

At the rehearsal with Jackal, Jackal arrives with marketing executives, telling the girls they have some ideas on how to make their group hit the big time. But it is essentially a total rebrand of the Cheetah Girls, morphing them into a new group of four called Global Getdown, where each girl will wear a mask of a different animal. Galleria remains a cheetah, but Dorinda becomes a panda, Aqua is a seal, and Chanel is a snow leopard. Galleria says they won’t be able to sing in masks, but Jackal says that won’t be a problem as they’ll just be lip syncing. Galleria tells the girls to get up and perform one of their new songs for Jackal. Although he likes the song, he says they’ve already got a demo for them, playing a pop song called “All Around the World” to the room. Chanel, Aqua, and Dorinda slowly start to sing along with it, but Galleria is horrified and tells them all to stop. The record label wants Global Getdown so it’s that or nothing. Galleria says it’ll have to be nothing then, and orders the girls to leave with her – but they won’t. The other three talk to Galleria in private and say they should at least think about it or try it out, but Galleria can’t be convinced and says they’ll have to go on with Jackal’s deal without her then. Jackal returns to the room and says they can replace her easily, putting Chanel up front instead. Chanel is flattered, but the three agree they all need to think about it first before agreeing anything. They leave the studio, seeing a line of other teenagers outside, all excited to be pop stars, just like them.

Galliera comes home crying, and begs her mother not to say she told her so. Galleria says she did the right thing not to agree to Jackal’s deal, but can’t understand why the others didn’t. Her parents remind her that everyone has their own choices to make, even if Galleria doesn’t agree with them, and that Galleria needs to let go of this now and move on. Meanwhile, Dorinda is given a contract for the dance tour and is torn about what to do, whilst Chanel faces the wrath of her mother for spending so much on her credit card. Chanel breaks down and tells her mother she’s spending too much time with her boyfriend and ignoring her, with the Cheetah Girls being over just making everything worse. Her mother comforts her and wants to make things right again.

Later, Galleria goes on stage at the school’s auditorium when it’s empty and sings a song she wrote for the group. Derek hears her and says he liked the song, because it wasn’t just typical pop music with nothing to say. She tells him about the Jackal deal falling through and why that was, planning to walk alone now since the group are over.

On the night of the talent show, Galleria’s mother wants to have a night in with her daughter, but Galleria says she wants to watch the talent show instead. As she is out walking Toto, she sees a window display for Global Getdown and hears the same song demo that Jackal played them. She believes this must mean the girls took the deal. She is so distracted, that she lets Toto run off and he ends up getting stuck in a construction hole. Galleria calls her parents in a panic and signals to a police officer for help.

At the same time, Drinka is introducing the talent show at school, with Derek and his friend Mackerel performing as Sonic Chaos, as a huge rescue operation shuts down the streets of New York City to try and rescue Toto. Chanel, Aqua, and Dorinda see what’s going on through the news reports and rush over to her, with Chanel running out of a hair salon and Aqua getting the subway just to be there – for Toto, not Galleria. The girls tell Galleria it is all her fault this has happened, and the police say they’ll need to cut the power to get to Toto, which interrupts the Sonic Chaos performance and the school’s talent show.

As the school generators start up, Galleria appears on a screen behind as she begs for help to get Toto free. Drinka, Derek, and the others at the school rush to the scene as well. Drinka comes over to Galleria, and she apologises for having such a big head. Drinka agrees she has a big head, but it’s filled with big dreams, and she has a big heart to match, although she should watch out for her big mouth! The police officer tells Galleria they are close to getting to Toto, but they need her to call to him to get him in the right position to be pulled out. Galleria and the girls start singing as Toto likes their music. It works and Toto is freed, albeit quite dirty! With Toto free, the other three girls head back home. Galleria is devastated their friendship couldn’t be saved. Derek says at least they came to help her when she was in need, but Galleria tells him they were only here for Toto. He says she might have been right to walk away from Jackal, but she shouldn’t walk away from her friends.

Galleria then starts singing one of the Cheetah Girls’ songs on the street, making the other girls turn around. Aqua is the first to join in, followed by Dorinda, and then Chanel. With the help of Derek, they perform the rest of the song together in front of the crowd, who all cheer as the Cheetah Girls are reunited. Derek even kisses Galleria.

Back at the school, Galleria hears that the other girls didn’t take the deal with Jackal, and that Dorinda decided not to go on that dance tour. She also officially introduces the girls to her foster mother and sister, not wanting to keep secrets anymore. Drinka then stands up on stage to announce the winner of the talent show. And the winner is…The Cheetah Girls! Although that’s actually quite unfair, since they weren’t actually in the talent show in the end… Galleria then gets a call from Jackal’s people, who is regretting his decision to change the Cheetah Girls after seeing them on the news. All the girls reject Jackal, telling him they’ll do things their way before Galleria ends the call by saying the Cheetah Girls are unavailable. The movie then ends with fireworks lighting up the name of the Cheetah Girls in the sky.

CHARACTERS & CAST

Galleria Garibaldi, whether consciously or unconsciously, has put herself front and centre of the Cheetah Girls, which began as a duo with her BFF Chanel. With the Cheetah Girls being a quartet, and Galleria writing the music, coordinating the outfits, and pushing the group hard, it has made Galleria feel self-important. But I don’t think she actually means to be bossy or obnoxious; she is just determined to live her dream of making the group successful. After getting attention from record producer Jackal Johnson, Galleria starts to act very diva-like, annoying her friends and those close to her. Then when the deal is not exactly what she wanted, she demands that all the girls leave but they refuse, not wanting to be dictated to anymore, and she is left alone. Galleria may have got the moral high ground but at the cost of losing the Cheetah Girls, maybe for ever. Her distraction at seeing that the girls might have taken Jackal’s dream and are about to be rich and famous without her causes her dog Toto to run off and get stuck in a hole. However, funnily enough, this rescue mission allows Galleria to finally swallow her pride and apologise to the girls – through a song, of course! – allowing the Cheetah Girls to reunite.

Galleria was played by former Disney Channel star Raven-Symoné, who had actually had a successful career as a child star even before then, by being cast as Olivia Kendall from Season 6 of The Cosby Show (1984-92), and later as Nicole Lee from Season 2 of Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper (1992-97). Following that, she was cast as Charisse Dolittle in Dr. Dolittle (1998) and Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001). For Disney Channel, although Raven is well-known for her role as Raven Baxter in That’s So Raven (2003-07), returning for a few appearances in its spin-off Cory in the House (2007-08) and then again for its revival Raven’s Home (2017-23), her first Disney Channel role was actually as Nebula Wade in the DCOM Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century (1999), reprising the role for its third film in 2004, and then voicing the recurring role of Monique in their animated series Kim Possible (2002-07), Outside of Disney Channel, but still for Disney, Raven was cast as Princess Asana in The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004) and then as Melanie Porter in College Road Trip (2008). After her time with Disney Channel, where she recorded various albums and singles, including “Superstition”, she then starred as Deloris Van Cartier in the 2012 Broadway production of Sister Act. She also landed the recurring role as Rhonda Johnson in the sitcom Black-ish (2014-22). Raven hosted the revival of the game show Scrabble (2024-present) until 2026.

Chanel Simmons and Galleria are childhood best friends, and have had big dreams for the Cheetah Girls for years. She is the most loyal to Galleria, because they’ve been friends for so long, whereas Aqua and Dorinda are newer members to the group, so when they complain about Galleria’s attitude, Chanel finds herself stuck in the middle as she tries to balance their dream with finding the right time to tell Galleria to stop getting so caught up in herself. Chanel doesn’t want to fight with Galleria, and finds it hard to confront her, with all these feelings later coming out after the Jackal deal causes tensions. However, girls who have been friends for as long as Galleria and Chanel have can’t be apart for too long and they make up. Chanel is also struggling with her mother seemingly choosing her new boyfriend over her here, leaving Chanel on her own a lot, and planning to uproot her to Paris without even listening. Some might say Chanel was bratty for going on that spending spree with her mum’s card, but she was feeling hurt, and teenagers act out irrationally sometimes!

Adrienne Bailon was cast as Chanel Simmons, who was a member of the girl group 3LW, first formed in 1999, at the time she got the role in The Cheetah Girls, alongside Kiely Williams and Naturi Naughton originally, before Jessica Benson took Naughton’s place in the group. 3LW appeared in two Nickelodeon series during their time, including on sketch show All That (1994-2005) and on the show Taina (2001-02) as the fictional band Blue Mascara. In Taina, they performed their hit single “No More (Baby I’ma Do Right)”. I still remember their appearance on Taina and still love this song. 3LW later split in 2007. After her casting in The Cheetah Girls, Bailon appeared in other projects for Disney Channel, including playing the recurring role of Alana Rivera on That’s So Raven, and later Raven’s Home, and being cast as Domino in the DCOM Buffalo Dreams (2005). Also around this time, she appeared as Dominique in the sports film Coach Carter (2005) with Samuel L. Jackson in title role. More recently, Bailon was a co-host of the talk show The Real (2013-22), which was nominated for and won various Daytime Emmys including Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host in 2018 for Bailon and her fellow co-hosts. She also performed as Flamingo in Season 2 of The Masked Singer (2019-present) in 2019, coming in third place, and was a panellist on the music game show I Can See Your Voice (2020-24).

Aquanette Walker, mostly known as Aqua, is from Texas, having recently moved to New York City. She is a germophobe, scared of the subway, and loves hot sauce. Aqua was a late addition to the group, with Dorinda, and is the first to be annoyed at Galleria for her attitude after getting close to fame, probably because Aqua was insulted by Galleria about her table manners! Aqua even squares up to Chanel at one point, telling her to talk to Galleria – or else. After the deal with Jackal turns out to be for Global Getdown and not the Cheetah Girls, she tells Galleria how they are all fed up with her wanting to run the band and make decisions for all four of them. In the end, Aqua doesn’t want the band to end either, and even gets on the subway to help Toto and support Galleria – even if she won’t admit she is there for Galleria as much as she is there for Toto! I’d forgotten how tough Aqua was in this first film, as she is quite a different character in the other two films.

Kiely Williams, a fellow band member of 3LW with Adrienne Bailon, was cast as Aqua. After 3LW and The Cheetah Girls franchise ended, Williams went on to be cast as Lilly Marsen in The House Bunny (2008) and then as Kandi Kane / Brenda Smirkle in Elle: A Modern Cinderella Tale (2010). She was also part of the reality series BET Presents: The Encore (2021) which followed the formation of a new music group called BluPrint. Williams has also created various web series, starring in them with fellow Cheetah Girl Sabrina Bryan.

Like Aqua, Dorinda was a late addition to the Cheetah Girls, so these two seem to have bonded more with each other than Galleria and Chanel, due to the fact they are both new. Dorinda is the best dancer in the group, and prefers dancing over singing, but she is still a valuable member to the group. Dorinda is a bit of a peacemaker, as she does what she’s told so nobody asks questions of her, but this means she is being secretive, running off to random places and not telling the girls where. It turns out she works at a dance centre to pay for lessons, but pretends to be rich to fit in with the other girls. In the end, Chanel discovers the truth, and Dorinda has to admit she is in the foster system, saying she didn’t want to feel like the odd one out, although, by the end of the film, Dorinda is clearly relieved to have everything out in the open, and is happy to continue with the Cheetah Girls, even giving up a paying job on a dance tour to stay with them.

Sabrina Bryan was cast as Dorinda, having previously appeared as Fritzie in the television musical Mrs. Santa Claus (1996) which saw Angela Lansbury in the title role, and as Alisa Cordova in the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful (1987-present) in 2002. Later, Bryan was a contestant on Season 5 of Dancing with the Stars (2005-present) in 2007, returning for an All-Stars edition of the show in 2012. More recently, she co-starred with Kiely Williams in various web series.

Galleria’s mother is an influential figure in Galleria’s life, with Galleria looking up to her mother for starting a successful fashion business, however, Galleria’s mother is less than excited about the potential for Galleria to become rich and famous with her group at such a young age. Galleria’s mother, Dorothea, is very protective of her daughter, and doesn’t want her to get hurt when she realises how tough it is to make it in show business. She is worried about Jackal’s interest, and tries to be involved in negotiations, until she sees how desperately Galleria wants to do this alone, so draws back a bit. However, it all ends in tears, literally, just as Dorothea expected it would, and she has to be there to comfort Galleria when her whole world falls apart, reminding Galleria, alongside Galleria’s father, Francobollo, that she can’t make decisions for other people, even if she thinks her decision is the right one for everyone. Francobollo is more laidback than Dorothea, being the one to convince Dorothea to let Galleria and the girls go to the meeting with Jackal.

Lynn Whitfield was cast as Dorothea, having previously been cast as Rae in Silverado (1985); Louisa McCay in Jaws: The Revenge (1987); and Dr. Sweikert in Stepmom (1998). Around the time of The Cheetah Girls, Whitfield appeared as Debra Lassiter in Chris Rock’s Head of State (2003) and later as Laura in The Rebound (2009) with Catherine Zeta-Jones. More recently, Whitfield appeared in the recurring role of Mary Walker in Season 1 How to Get Away with Murder (2014-20), and then as Vanessa Howard in Seasons 2 and 3 of Hit the Floor (2013-18). She also starred alongside Keith David as Daisy Mae Greenleaf in Greenleaf (2016-20), a series co-produced by Oprah Winfrey.

Juan Chioran was cast as Francobollo Garibaldi. Chioran has acted on stage with roles in many productions over the years at the Stratford Festival, held in Stratford, Ontario in Canada, winning a Gemini Award for his 2000 performance as Count Dracula in Dracula: A Chamber Musical. He also has experience in voice acting, recently voicing the recurring role of Señor Tapir in the PBS Kids series Elinor Wonders Why (2020-24). He later returned to Disney Channel to play Gustavo in another Disney Channel musical, Sneakerella (2022).

Jackal is a successful record producer, known for creating successful singers, so his reputation proceeds him. He was also a former student of the same high school that the Cheetah Girls go to, so they believe they can trust him to make them a success and care about their journey to achieving that. Jackal reels the girls in with compliments about their look and their music, only to then come up with a redesign of their group to match the information he has received from his marketing team about what is popular and what will sell. This shows he is only motivated by money and doesn’t care about the girls or the Cheetah Girls as a group, just wanting young girls to mould to fit his own vision. He actually finds himself regretting the fact that he let them go after seeing the Cheetah Girls perform on the news, and tries to get the girls to reconsider. They refuse.

Vincent Corazza was cast as Jackal Johnson. Prior to his role in The Cheetah Girls, he was cast as Albert in the DCOM Quints (2000). Corazza went on to voice Alden Jones in the animated series Braceface (2001-04) as well as the characters of Zexion and Ienzo in the Disney video game series Kingdom Hearts.

Drinka is a former singer, and the girls’ teacher at their high school. She also runs the talent show, being very proud of it and its legacy. She is supportive of all the acts in the show, giving advice on how to improve their performances. Drinka thinks the Cheetah Girls will go far in life, but is taken aback when Galleria effectively tells Drinka the group is too big to perform in the talent show, not liking what she’s hearing. Drinka forgives Galleria after getting an apology from her about how she acted, but does warn Galleria about not letting her big mouth get in the way of her future!

Drinka Champane was played by Sandra Caldwell. Before appearing in The Cheetah Girls, Caldwell played Asia in the Canadian series Little Men (1998-99). Recently, Caldwell has appeared as Ellen in the HBO series The Gilded Age (2022-present).

Derek and his friend Mackerel are part of a rap group called Sonic Chaos. They tease the Cheetah Girls constantly, playing mind games with the girls, as Sonic Chaos open to win the talent show, but see the Cheetah Girls as strong competition. Derek clearly also flirts with Galleria because he likes her, although she just thinks he’s trying to trick her into not focusing on the show. Derek and Galleria eventually grow closer after Galleria thinks the Cheetah Girls are over, even sharing a kiss at the end of the film. Derek can also be credited with motivating Galleria to make up with the girls and not let her lose their friendship.

Kyle Schmid was cast as Derek. Schmid went on to appear as Scott in Disney’s The Pacifier (2005), which starred Vin Diesel, and as Paul Rodman in the teen drama The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005). Later, Schmid was cast as Chief Special Warfare Operator Alex Caulder in the military drama Six (2017-18) and currently plays Special Agent Mike Franks in NCIS: Origins (2024-present). Mackerel was played by Denton Rowe.

MUSIC

For a musical film about a girl group, I was quite surprised at how few songs the Cheetah Girls actually sing in this film, with the total only being four. This is something that would later be corrected, as the group sing plenty more songs in their other films.

Looking at the songs the Cheetah Girls specifically sing, the first one we hear is in the opening sequence, and is the song that the girls are performing at the birthday party. This song is “Together We Can”, which was written by Stephen Lee, Walter Turbitt, and Will Robinson. This is the best song in the film for me. I feel it is very fitting for the opening of the film, as it showcases the talents of the girls right from the off. The girls later sing this song a cappella as they try to help get Toto free, as the dog responds to their voices.

Following that, the Cheetah Girls perform the song “Cinderella” for their school talent show audition, which is met with praise by their teacher, Drinka. I quite like this song as well. Interestingly, “Cinderella” is not an original song written for The Cheetah Girls film, which is very unusual for a Disney Channel musical. In this case, “Cinderella” was actually first performed by American girl group i5, reportedly around 2000, before being covered by the Swedish girl group Play around 2001 or 2002[1]. Regardless of who sang it first, it works in The Cheetah Girls. “Cinderella” was written by Lindy Robbins and Kevin Savigar.

Later on in the film, as the girls attempt to persuade Jackal Johnson that their sound and their look as the Cheetah Girls should be enough for him, and that they don’t need to be rebranded into Global Getdown, Galleria has the girls perform the song “Girl Power”. This song perfectly sums up the Cheetah Girls’ mission for their music, to empower girls everywhere, no matter who they are or what they look like. Sadly, this message is lost on Jackal and his marketing team. You can also hear Galleria singing “Girl Power” briefly earlier on in the film, as she calls Chanel to listen to the new song she’s been writing, this being “Girl Power”. The song was written in real-life by Ray Cham and Rwaana Barnes.

The final song the girls perform as a group is “Cheetah Sisters”, and this is the film’s finale number. Just after Toto is rescued, Aqua, Chanel, and Dorinda head home separately, leaving Galleria distraught that the Cheetah Girls are actually over. She is told that she doesn’t have to let her friends walk away, so Galleria starts singing this song alone, hoping the other three will join her. They do, and the Cheetah Girls are reunited in front of a crowd of on-lookers. “Cheetah Sisters” shows the strong bond and friendship that the girls have. To be honest, although this is an iconic song from The Cheetah Girls franchise, I don’t actually like it but maybe it’s the tracksuits they’re singing in that I don’t like! Galleria also sings part of this song alone in the school auditorium as she laments the fact the girls have gone their separate ways, with Galleria leaving the group and the other three seemingly taking Jackal’s deal to become a new band. “Cheetah Sisters” was written by Jamie Houston.

There are two other songs that appear in the film that are not performances by the Cheetah Girls. One of these is “C’mon”, the talent show entry from Galleria’s love interest Derek and his friend Mackerel. Their group is a hip-hop duo called Sonic Chaos, with their performance being interrupted by the city’s power being turned off to save Toto. They consider the Cheetah Girls their biggest competitors in the talent show, so it must be all the more painful for them when the Cheetah Girls end up winning it! I don’t like this song much either, which perhaps isn’t helped by the fact the performance is interspersed with clips from the rescue of Toto, so you don’t get to hear the song in full. “C’mon” was written by Ray Cham, Alex Dunbar, and Rwaana Barnes.

“All Around the World” is the only other song that the characters engage with in The Cheetah Girls. The Cheetah Girls are told this is the song that the record label want the girls to record, not any of their own songs. It is inoffensive, bubblegum pop, with lyrics that mean very little but are nonetheless quite catchy. Aqua, Dorinda, and Chanel start to sing along to the track that Jackal plays them, albeit not particularly enthusiastically, but Galleria refuses to engage with it at all. I actually really like this song and always have; I think the Global Getdown band idea wasn’t all that bad! “All Around the World” was written by Ray Cham and Rwaana Barnes. It does not appear on the soundtrack, unlike the other five songs.

Outside of that, there are some other tracks that are used as background music in the film, with some appearing on the soundtrack and others not doing so. One of the remaining three songs to make up the soundtrack for The Cheetah Girls, outside of the five above, is “Girlfriend”, written by Ray Cham and Chaka Blackmon, and performed by Char. This song is playing as Galleria and Chanel dance in front of a shop window, due to their excitement at seeing a new artist being promoted by Jackal Johnson in the window display. The two end up drawing a crowd who applaud their impromptu dance.

During the montage sequence of Chanel on a shopping spree using her mother’s credit card, after she is ditched yet again in favour of Chanel’s mother going out with her rich boyfriend, the song “Breakthrough” was used. It was written by Antonina Armato and Tim James, and was performed by Hope 7. “Breakthrough” also appears on the soundtrack for Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde (2004). Hope 7 went on to have their song “I Want Everything” used in another DCOM, Go Figure (2005).

After Galleria walks away from Jackal’s deal for the girls to become Global Getdown, and the other three decide they need to think about it, the song “End of the Line” plays. This shows the girls distancing from each other, coming to the terms with the fact they may never perform as the Cheetah Girls again. This song perfectly matches the mood of the scene. It was written by John Van Tongeren and Oz Scott, and was performed by Christie Mac.

So, that is the eight tracks that make up the soundtrack for The Cheetah Girls, which was released on 12th August 2003, a few days before the film premiered on Disney Channel. Apparently, Disney hadn’t originally planned to release the film’s soundtrack, despite all the effort that went into creating original songs for the movie. No Disney Channel movie had had their own soundtrack before. It was only a few weeks before the film’s premiere date that it was decided to release eight tracks from the film, including the four that the Cheetah Girls themselves sing, as a CD[2]. The album peaked at No. 1 on the US Billboard Kids Albums and Soundtrack Albums chart, as well as peaking at No. 33 on the US Billboard 200 chart. The soundtrack later went double platinum in 2005.

However, there are two other credited songs in this film that did not make the soundtrack. “Tru Blu” seems to be playing in the background as Galleria and the girls talk about their need to have a study session, after finding out that Chanel is failing a class. “Tru Blu” was written by Ray Cham, Debra Barnes and Will Campbell, being performed by Lil’ J, featuring Chase. This song appears to have been used on a later DCOM, Pixel Perfect (2004). “Make You Dance” was written by Ray Cham, performed by SoL Survivor, and seems to be the music being used during the dance auditions that Dorinda helps with, before being offered a spot on the tour with the Gold Medal Crew.

John Van Tongeren was the composer of the score for The Cheetah Girls. He went on to work on the music for various other DCOMs, including Twitches (2005) and Twitches Too (2007); Princess Protection Program (2009); and The Suite Life Movie (2011).

PRODUCTION

It might surprise some to hear that The Cheetah Girls was based on a book series, written by Deborah Gregory. Then again, you might’ve read these books and it’s not a surprise to you at all. All I know is that I was completely unaware of this.

In total, there are 16 main books in The Cheetah Girls series, although it would seem that thirteen had been published by the time the Disney Channel film came out. The first book, The Cheetah Girls: Wishing on a Star was published in 1999. The original series actually featured five girls, not just the four we see in the film. Aqua has a twin sister called Angie in the books, however, despite Tia and Tamera Mowry being floated as playing these twin sisters, it was later decided that having the need to hire twin sisters was limiting the talent pool, so they simply dropped one of the sisters. I think four main characters is plenty to focus on in a film anyway. Some minor changes from the books to the film include Dorinda’s original surname being Rogers and not Thomas, as well as Dorinda being aged up to match the other girls’ ages, despite only being twelve years old in the books. I was going to say that Chanel’s brother Pucci is omitted from the films whereas he is a character in the books, but apparently, he is in the first film, because it is his birthday party at the start, Chanel’s mother briefly mentions his name later on, and he’s at the girls’ talent show audition. Who knew?

Deborah Gregory has said that she drew upon real experiences from her life when creating the series, for example, Gregory grew up in the foster care system in New York City, mirroring that of Dorinda. Gregory felt that there was a need to expand children’s cultural knowledge, to have them understand other experiences outside of their own, which was a motivating factor for her writing her series. She was also apparently inspired to write the series after interviewing Destiny’s Child for Essence magazine, where she worked as the fashion editor at the time[3].

Alison Taylor was credited with writing the screenplay for The Cheetah Girls film, using Gregory’s novels as a basis. Taylor had previously been the story editor on the sitcom Married…with Children (1987-97), and had written a few episodes for the Disney Channel series Lizzie McGuire (2001-04), before returning to The Cheetah Girls series to co-write the sequel, and then create the Nickelodeon sitcom Just Jordan (2007-08).

But the process of making the film was not simple, as it was initially being pursued as a series for Disney Channel, with Debra Martin Chase the one wanting to produce the series. She had some previous history with Disney after working on their live-action film The Princess Diaries (2001) and on their television film Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella (1997), later becoming an executive producer on the DCOM Lemonade Mouth (2011). However, Disney Channel was seemingly focused on ensuring their new series would translate well overseas, and it was felt this Cheetah Girls series would not. Yet all hope was not lost as Disney Channel executive Gary Marsh said that perhaps the series could be retooled as a movie instead. It may not be common knowledge that legendary singer Whitney Houston was also a producer on The Cheetah Girls, as she was on Disney’s The Princess Diaries and Cinderella.

After filming the first season of That’s So Raven, Raven-Symoné signed on to play the main character of Galleria, with Adrienne Bailon being cast as Chanel and Sabrina Bryan as Dorinda. Dorinda is not white in the books; however, Debra Martin Chase apparently pushed for the fourth girl to be white, in order to represent as many ethnicities as possible. Sabrina Bryan is actually of Mexican descent. Casting the part of Aqua was not without its problems though, as Solange Knowles, as in Beyoncé’s sister, was cast in the role, but later pulled out of the film after choosing to pursue her solo singing career. In the end, Kiely Williams, who was a bandmate of Bailon’s from their time in 3LW, was then asked if she would want the part of Aqua, and readily accepted.

Director Oz Scott was chosen to direct The Cheetah Girls. Prior to The Cheetah Girls, Scott had directed the short film Mr. Boogedy (1986), which aired on ABC as part of The Disney Sunday Movie (1986-88) series, going on to direct its sequel Bride of Boogedy (1987) for the same ABC series. Scott had also directed some episodes of the Showtime series Soul Food (2000-04) before working on The Cheetah Girls. In more recent years, Scott has continued directing in television, working on series such as the superhero series Black Lightning (2018-21) on The CW and crime drama S.W.A.T. (2017-25).

The Cheetah Girls was filmed in Toronto, Canada, as so many Disney Channel movies are, with Toronto having to represent New York City, the setting of the film. This had also been the case for another Disney Channel Original Movie, Get a Clue (2002).

But first, the cast had to have dance rehearsals in Los Angeles, which happened three weeks before filming began, with choreographer Troy P. Liddell. The four girls said this was great as it was a bonding experience for them, and meant they could properly convey that they were a group who had known each other a while on set. All the cast said they enjoyed their experience working on The Cheetah Girls, and liked the message of the film, about achieving your dreams no matter who you are or where you come from[4]

However, it was quite cold in Canada when they were filming. Apparently, the velour tracksuits the girls wear for the “Cheetah Sisters” performance were designed with the weather in mind, as they had a thin set of thermals inside them, so kept the cast warm in the cold Canadian air. They were designed by costume designer Resa McConaghy, who was well aware that most of the animal print featured in this film was actually leopard print. The reason cheetah print was not used is because this true print was harder to find[5].

RECEPTION

After a red carpet premiere, reportedly held at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School on 5th August 2003, and attended by the cast and crew, as well as some Disney Channel stars, such as Raven’s That’s So Raven castmates, and Shia LaBeouf and Christy Carlson Romano from Even Stevens (2000-03), The Cheetah Girls premiered on Disney Channel in the US on 15th August 2003. It is unclear exactly when it reached international channels; it may’ve been months later, or even years, but luckily, since there was no social media at that point, it’s not like any Disney Channel viewers overseas were getting spoilers.

The Cheetah Girls was said to have been watched by 6.5 million viewers on its premiere date. This made it the most-watched Disney Channel Original Movie premiere of 2003, and it would seem that figure of 6.5 million would not be beaten by another premiere until Twitches, starring Tia and Tamera Mowry, came out in 2005. However, The Cheetah Girls was not the highest-viewed DCOM of all time by this point, as Cadet Kelly (2002) had surpassed it with 7.8 million viewers on its premiere the year before. 6.5 million viewers would’ve certainly been considered a successful premiere for The Cheetah Girls at the time, however, as the 2000s stretched into the 2010s, some DCOM premieres were getting 7, 8, sometimes even more, millions of viewers tuning in, so The Cheetah Girls did not stay in the Top 10 most-watched DCOM premieres for long.

Disney Channel movies have always received mixed reactions, with the musicals gaining the most attention generally, therefore opening them up to more criticism. The Cheetah Girls is just one of many DCOM musicals to be adored by its fans and viewers of Disney Channel at the time, but panned by others outside of that demographic.

Some negatives highlighted around The Cheetah Girls is that the attitude of Galleria was seen to be very unappealing and obnoxious, with this behaviour later being rewarded. I accept that Galleria’s behaviour at times in the film doesn’t make her particularly likeable, however, she makes amends by the end of the story, although I will say that it did feel very unfair that The Cheetah Girls won their school talent show, even though they had previously pulled out of competing in it. Also, others said, despite hinting at deeper issues, such as Dorinda’s foster upbringing, and the dangers of being pressured and manipulated by the music industry, these were not fully explored, with Dorinda’s parental situation only being referenced in one scene really, and only with Chanel, not the other two girls. Viewers were critical of the ending as well, revolving around the rescuing of Toto. I think this was a strange way of getting the girls to reconnect, but it was fairly realistic, in that dogs do run off and get stuck in various places, and that Galleria was so distracted that she wasn’t looking after Toto properly that he managed to run off. Another comment made about The Cheetah Girls, this time more gentle teasing, is about the animal print tracksuits that the girls wear during the ending sequence, and wondering how all the girls managed to accidentally coordinate their outfits so they’d all be matching that day, despite The Cheetah Girls supposedly being over!

On the positive side, there was praise for Raven-Symoné’s acting in this film, even if viewers didn’t always like Galleria. Raven was a rising star for Disney Channel at the time, having accumulated more and more fans from her sitcom That’s So Raven by the time The Cheetah Girls premiered. The Cheetah Girls was said to be perfect for teens and tweens with suitably catchy pop music to sing along with. The film’s message of celebrating diversity, and concentrating on your dreams and talent and not your looks, was also recognised and commended. The audience also felt that there was good chemistry between the cast.

In hindsight, with other movies from The Cheetah Girls coming after this first one, many say that this original film is just alright, but the franchise has remained popular as a whole with those that watched the films during the 2000s on Disney Channel.

Some of the cast members were rewarded for their performances in The Cheetah Girls by being nominated at some award ceremonies. At the National Association for Multi-ethnicity In Communications (NAMIC) Vision Awards, Lynn Whitfield, who played Galleria’s mother, Dorothea, was nominated for Best Dramatic Performance. At the NAACP Image Awards, Whitfield was once against nominated for Outstanding Performance in a Youth/Children’s Program. It would seem that Raven-Symoné won this award for her role in That’s So Raven. At the 2004 Black Reel Awards, Raven-Symoné and Lynn Whitfield were both nominated for their roles in The Cheetah Girls in the categories of Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress in a TV Movie or Limited Series respectively. The film itself was also nominated for Best Television Miniseries or Movie, but lost to Showtime’s television film Deacons for Defense (2003). Director Oz Scott was also nominated at the Directors Guild of America Awards for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children’s Programs. Sean McNamara, who directed The Even Stevens Movie that year, was also nominated. The winner was Kevin Lima for his work on Eloise at Christmastime, a television special aired on ABC as part of The Wonderful World of Disney anthology series (1997-present).

LEGACY

Although The Cheetah Girls was the first Disney Channel musical, and technically the first musical series for Disney Channel to become a franchise, not much really happened after The Cheetah Girls premiered, and it took a while for the franchise to get going.

There are probably a couple of reasons for this. One is that we simply never got to see some early ideas for what would come next for the Cheetah Girls following this first film. It was rumoured that there were some discussions around creating a television series that would likely have followed the band after the events of the first film. It was said that production was set to begin in 2004, however, although the four main cast members were aware of these early development ideas, they have since said that it was all talk and nothing concrete, like shooting a pilot, ever happened. It is possible this series never came to pass because Raven was already tied to her own major Disney Channel series, and likely would’ve been too busy to work on a new series around The Cheetah Girls for ABC.

The other reason why not much seemed to happen with The Cheetah Girls franchise in the year or so after its premiere is that there may have been negotiations taking place about launching the girl group from the film world into reality. This would not be as simple as you’d expect, because Raven-Symoné declined to be a part of the real-life girl group, choosing instead to focus on her solo music career. This left Adrienne Bailon, Kiely Williams, and Sabrina Bryan to go on without her. The Cheetah Girls as a girl group finally came to be in 2005, after they released their debut album, a Christmas album, in October that year, titled Cheetah-licious Christmas. It consisted of covers of popular Christmas songs as well as some original tracks, and peaked at No. 74 on the US Billboard 200 chart. The group had previously recorded a cover of the song “I Won’t Say (I’m in Love)” from Hercules (1997) for the Disneymania CD in early 2005, and went on to record a cover of “Shake a Tail Feather” for Disney Animation’s new film Chicken Little (2005). In December 2005, the Cheetah Girls went on their Cheetah-licious Christmas Tour to promote their album, and were joined by Aly & AJ as their opening act, and the Jonas Brothers, who showed up as surprise guests for a few shows in order to promote their own album. This tour ran from 6th December 2005, starting in Newark, until 28th December 2005, ending in San Francisco.

Another way that the Cheetah Girls promoted their Christmas album in 2005 was being appeared at the Walt Disney World Christmas Day parade and performing their song “Cheetah-licious Christmas”. Despite not being part of the group, Raven also made an appearance at this same Christmas Day parade, in a pre-recorded video where she discussed the new ride coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park in April 2006, Expedition Everest. Interestingly, but not surprisingly, Raven was introduced as Raven from That’s So Raven, with no mention of her links to the Cheetah Girls.

Following on from that busy year in 2005, more exciting news for Cheetah Girls fans was coming as the sequel The Cheetah Girls 2 was confirmed for release in Summer 2006, and clearly they wanted to build anticipation for this first-ever Disney Channel musical sequel, because music and clips from the filming of the sequel were on the channel all the time that summer between their main programming! It was kind of annoying actually…

Outside of that, there was some merchandise released based on The Cheetah Girls, including a novelisation of the film and some clothing with The Cheetah Girls logo emblazoned on them. Of course, a DVD copy of The Cheetah Girls was also made available in the US in 2004, reaching other countries by 2007. This DVD featured some behind-the-scenes clips from the film, as well as a deleted scene, which was an alternate ending for the film. It wasn’t overly different from the original ending, except Toto was sent over to an ambulance after being rescued as he didn’t seem right, and then there was a final scene of the four Cheetah Girls talking to the viewers, saying how they were going to be stars soon[6].

However, a lot of merchandise may have been released around the time the sequel came out and not in 2003 when the first film premiered, as 2006 onwards is when The Cheetah Girls really became popular. There was still plenty of love for the first film on social media in 2023 though, as fans celebrated the 20th anniversary of the first film.

More recently, Disneyland has put on a series of special after-hours events, titled Disneyland After Dark. In March 2024, they held two events themed to Disney Channel, Disneyland After Dark: Disney Channel Nite. Specifically related to the first Cheetah Girls film, there was a photo backdrop for this first film which fans could take photos in front of.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The Cheetah Girls will always be remembered for being the first Disney Channel musical film, as well as for its diverse casting and positive messages for young girls.

However, it would not be until the sequel came out in 2006 that this series would increase in popularity, and rival that of High School Musical, whose first film came out at the beginning of 2006 and achieved instant success.

The Cheetah Girls wouldn’t match up to High School Musical in the end, but it certainly has its own set of loyal fans, who can credit The Cheetah Girls with helping them feel represented, important, and worthy of achieving anything they set their minds to.


REFERENCES

[1] Credit: Devin Herenda, “’The Cheetah Girls” Is 20 Years Old, So Stop What You’re Doing And Learn 18 Interesting Facts About This Iconic Disney Channel Original Movie’, Buzzfeed.com, 28th February 2023,

[2] Credit: Ashley Spencer, Disney High: The Untold Story of the Rise and Fall of Disney Channel’s Empire (2024), ‘That’s So Raven-Symoné’, pp. 85-110.

[3] Credit: Haniyah P., ‘Why ‘The Cheetah Girls’ meant so much to Black girls and why the reboot debate feels so personal’, Yahoo.com, 9th July 2026.

[4] Credit: Disney Channel, “Backstage Disney: Behind the Spots”, from The Cheetah Girls (2003) UK DVD (2007).

[5] Credit: Ashley Spencer, Disney High: The Untold Story of the Rise and Fall of Disney Channel’s Empire (2024), ‘That’s So Raven-Symoné’, pp. 85-110.

[6] Credit: Disney Channel, “Deleted Scene: Alternate Ending”, from The Cheetah Girls (2003) UK DVD (2007).

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)

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

BACKGROUND

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix signals a turning point for the series, as we move away from the magical excitement of the Wizarding World and delve deeper into its villainy.

This is the first movie where all of the Wizarding World knows that Lord Voldemort has made his grand return, seeking to finally succeed in his plans for world domination after failing the first time round. However, this story proves that it won’t just be a simple battle of good vs. evil, because, although Voldemort has his faction, the Death Eaters, and Harry has both the loyal support of the secret society of the Order of the Phoenix, formed by Dumbledore when Voldemort first rose to power, as well as his own student organisation that he begins at Hogwarts, titled Dumbledore’s Army, there are plenty refusing to commit to one side because the Ministry of Magic is not believing that the Dark Lord is in fact back.

That means there is a lot of conflict, a lot of doubting, and a lot of anger in this film. Harry is basically being told he is a liar, all the while finding his mind is directly connected to Voldemort’s, making it susceptible to being tricked and controlled. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the darkest in the Harry Potter film series up to this point, and gives audiences plenty of information to get them ready for what is to come.

Although I accept that Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a necessary addition to the franchise, due to its introductions of villains and heroes who will be constant presences in these films from now on, I have never liked this fifth film. I can’t pinpoint anything specific that I don’t like about it either, I just don’t find the story particularly interesting. It generally swaps positions with Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) every year or so to be my least favourite of the franchise!

And yet I can credit Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix for reigniting my interest in the film series. The specific reason of why is a story for another time, but as I’ve said before, after watching Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) at the cinema with my family, the next three films we only watched on DVD months after they had been released. In the case of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, it was actually about two years after and I know this because after watching this film, I saw that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) would be released a few days later.

For me, every time I rewatch the series, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is just one to get through before things get really interesting.

PLOT

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix begins during a sweltering heatwave in the UK. Harry is back in Surrey with the Dursleys for the summer holidays.

On this summer’s evening, Harry is sitting in the park, minding his own business, when his cousin Dudley comes over with his gang. Dudley starts mocking Harry for his apparent night terrors that have begun since he witnessed the sudden death of Cedric Diggory and the return of Lord Voldemort at the end of the last school year. Harry threatens Dudley with his wand to stop him laughing at him.

Suddenly, storm clouds roll in but Harry doesn’t think this feels like a normal summer storm. He and Dudley run trying to find shelter, as the rain starts hammering down. They make it to an underpass, however, two Dementors have followed the boys and attack them. Harry manages to use the Patronus Charm to get the Dementors away from them. At that exact moment, Harry’s neighbour Mrs. Figg walks past the underpass, and walks back home with Harry and a clearly disturbed and traumatised Dudley. Mrs. Figg says Dumbledore sent her to watch over Harry, showing she knows all about the events going on right now.

Back at the Dursleys, Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia are horrified to see their son Dudley in such a state. As they wonder what to do, a letter arrives for Harry – from Mafalda Hopkirk at the Ministry of Magic. It says that Harry has been expelled from Hogwarts for performing the Patronus Charm in front of a Muggle and whilst underage. The Dursleys welcome this news, before surreptitiously taking their son to hospital.

Harry is angry at being expelled, especially since it wasn’t his fault the Dementors attacked him. What should he have done, just let them kill him and Dudley? Eventually Harry falls asleep but he continues to dream of Cedric’s death. After hearing a noise in the house, he wakes with a start, to find someone trying to get into his bedroom. The door opens and he is greeted by a group of wizards, here to rescue him. They include Mad-Eye Moody, the former Hogwarts Professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts, who spent the year trapped in a box; young witch Nymphadora Tonks; and Kingsley Shacklebolt. They tell Harry that he hasn’t yet been expelled from Hogwarts yet, as the Ministry have sent up a sentencing hearing for Harry, and that the group are taking him to “Headquarters”, and will explain when they arrive. They all fly to London.

Arriving at a random street of terraced house, Harry watches as a small house appears from within the row of houses. This must be Headquarters. Harry is welcomed by Mrs. Weasley, who tells Harry to go upstairs as there is a meeting going on right now. Upstairs, Harry sees that his friends Ron and Hermione are already there, along with Ron’s other siblings. He learns that this house at 12 Grimmauld Place is the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, a secret society set up by Dumbledore when Voldemort first rose to power all those years ago, and that in light of the Dark Lord’s return, its activities are resuming. George and Fred Weasley want to eavesdrop on the meeting, and because they are now old enough to use magic outside of Hogwarts, they use a magical ear and dangle it outside the meeting room. They learn that Professor Snape is in the Order, but little else, as Hermione’s cat Crookshanks steals the ear to play with it!

Finally, the meeting is over and Harry is reunited with his godfather Sirius Black, and Lupin, having not seen them in person since that incident at Hogwarts with the Dementors a couple of years before. During dinner, Harry learns that the Ministry of Magic has started a smear campaign against him and Dumbledore, as they continue to live in denial, refusing to say that the Dark Lord has returned. But some in the magical world do believe Harry, including those in the Order of the Phoenix, and they are trying to recruit more members in order to counteract the recruiting they believe Voldemort is also doing. Sirius lets slip that Voldemort is looking for something, something he didn’t have last time, but he is warned from saying much more to Harry, at risk of putting Harry in more danger. Harry thinks that is ridiculous and should be told more because he already wants to fight with the others.

The next day, Harry is taken to the Ministry of Magic by Mr. Weasley for his hearing, with Harry helping Mr. Weasley navigate the London Underground, given that Mr. Weasley has never had to use the Visitors’ Entrance to the Ministry before. They enter a phone box and arrive in the grand Ministry of Magic. Mr. Weasley and Harry go into a lift, where they are told that Harry’s hearing has been moved up by hours, and is due to start in the next five minutes. They go straight there, passing Lucius Malfoy talking to Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, in a strange corridor. Harry is instantly suspicious.

At the hearing, Harry is questioned about the events that took place the night he used the Patronus Charm. Suddenly, Dumbledore arrives, as a witness. The Minister is surprised to see Dumbledore here, having hoped that the late change in time would mean he would not be here, however, Dumbledore luckily arrived at the Ministry three hours early! Harry tries to defend himself, by saying he only used the Patronus Charm because of the Dementors. This shocks those in the Ministry who can’t understand why the Dementors would be in Surrey for no reason. Dumbledore brings Mrs. Figg in to the room to testify that she also saw the Dementors that night, as Fudge thinks Harry is lying. Dumbledore suggests they launch an inquiry into why the Dementors ended up near Harry that night. He tries to tell Fudge that Voldemort could’ve been behind it, but Fudge hisses that he is not back. Those at the hearing take a vote on whether to clear Harry of the charges or expel him from Hogwarts. The overall majority agree Harry should be cleared of all charges; he’s free to go. Harry attempts to talk to Dumbledore after the hearing, but Dumbledore walks away.

Soon, it is time to return to Hogwarts, and Harry goes to King’s Cross to board the Hogwarts Express. Sirius appears, in his Animagus dog form, and gets Harry to follow him to a waiting room. There, Sirius talks to Harry, showing him an old photo of the original Order of the Phoenix, with Harry’s parents being front and centre of that photo. Sirius says it feels the same as it did last time, and is clearly anxious about what will happen next. Well, that’ll give Harry all the confidence he needs to go back to school – because Hogwarts is such a safe place to be! On the train, Harry dreams about seeing Voldemort on the train platform, before waking with a start as Ron and Hermione sit down next to him.

Arriving at Hogsmeade, Harry is taunted by Draco, and Harry reacts very angrily towards him. Ron and Hermione tell him to calm down, concerned for their friend’s mental state. They go to take a carriage to Hogwarts, along with fellow Gryffindor student Neville, but Harry is shocked to see a strange, horse-like creature pulling the carriage. Hermione and the others don’t know what he’s talking about, as they can’t see anything, and have always known the carriages to pull themselves. A girl already in the carriage says Harry isn’t crazy as she can see them too. This girl is Ravenclaw student Luna Lovegood, who Hermione accidentally introduces as “Loony Lovegood”, due to her quirky nature and eccentric beliefs.

During assembly, the students are told by Dumbledore that Hagrid is currently on leave and that Dolores Umbridge will be their next professor for Defence Against the Dark Arts class. Umbridge gives a speech to the students about her plans for the school, which annoys Hermione, stating that this is evidence that the Ministry is interfering at Hogwarts. To make things even worse, Harry finds that many of his fellow Gryffindors don’t believe him about Voldemort’s return either, including his friend Seamus, whose parents think Harry and Dumbledore are spouting nonsense. Ron sticks up for Harry in front of Seamus, telling Harry to ignore him. Harry snaps back that he’s fine. Yeah, you keep telling yourself that…That night, Harry dreams of the Ministry, a door, and an orb. You sure you’re still fine, Harry?

The next day, Harry and his year have their first Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson with Umbridge, who states they will not be using magic in class and will simply be studying for the O.W.L. exams with textbooks. Harry argues against this idea with Umbridge, saying they’ll need to be able to defend themselves against bad characters, like Voldemort. Umbridge gives Harry detention for his defiance. Harry goes to Umbridge’s office later where he is told to write the line “I must not tell lies” with a special quill. As Harry starts writing, he feels pain in his hand, only to see that same line being scratched into it. Ouch.

As Harry tries to calm down in the Gryffindor Common Room, whilst Fred and George tout their special magical products to make students ill and get them out of class, Hermione and Ron sit down next to him. Hermione sees Harry’s hand and says he has to report this to someone. Harry refuses, not wanting to bother Dumbledore with something so trivial as this when he has more important things to deal with.

Harry later writes to Sirius, saying he has never felt so alone at school before. He then sees a horse flying in the sky and follows it to the forest, where he sees Luna is there too – without any shoes on because someone has stolen all of them… Luna explains that these horses, the ones pulling the carriages, are Thestrals, that look like black, skeletal horses. She says only those who have witnessed death can see them, so Harry can after seeing Cedric’s death, and Luna after seeing her mother’s death due to a magical experiment going wrong. They bond over their shared tragedies.

Back at school, Harry and his friends hear Professor McGonagall and Umbridge arguing. McGonagall tells Umbridge that she needs to adhere to standard teaching practices, hinting that she knows all about that “special quill”. Umbridge says she has seen what a bad state Hogwarts is in, and is going to advise on a full review into the school. Fudge appoints Umbridge as Hogwarts High Inquisitor, giving her the right to interview and observe teachers, whilst also enforcing new controversial rules into the school. Professor Trelawny, the teacher for Divination, is the first casualty of Umbridge’s new powerful rule, as she is both fired from her position and ordered to leave the grounds. Trelawny says she has nowhere else to go and begins to cry. McGonagall comes over to comfort her, but can do no more for Trelawny. Dumbledore then arrives and tells McGonagall to take Trelawny back inside, as Umbridge may have the power to sack teachers but cannot banish them from the grounds. Umbridge says that may well be the case, for now.

Harry, Hermione, and Ron later hear the Minister of Magic blaming “mass murderer” Sirius Black for a number of disappearances being reported. Sirius then appears in the fireplace to talk to Harry, telling him that Fudge fears that Dumbledore is building an army to go up against the Ministry, and that is likely why Umbridge is not allowing them to do magic, so they cannot be trained in combat. Sirius is concerned about what is happening, as Voldemort must be the one behind these disappearances. Sirius says he must go and they are on their own, for the time being. Hermione decides they’ll have to take matters into their own hands, needing someone to help teach them how to defend themselves.

She organises a meeting at the Hog’s Head Tavern in Hogsmeade, in order to recruit students for training classes. Hermione starts the meeting by telling those who arrived that Harry would be the best teacher for them, as he has fought against dark wizardry before. Some start asking about Cedric’s death, with Harry refusing to answer questions on this, wanting to leave, thinking this was all a bad idea. Luna then asks if it is true that Harry can produce the Patronus Charm. Hermione confirms she has seen him do it. This moves into a conversation about all of Harry’s heroics throughout his time at Hogwarts. Harry says it was a combination of fear, luck, and help that got him through those things, but Hermione encourages him, saying they need his help. The other students start to realise Voldemort really is back, and they sign up to “Dumbledore’s Army”. This leads them to discuss finding a secret meeting location. Hermione says they’ll keep thinking of one, and teases Harry that one good thing to come from the meeting was that Cho couldn’t keep her eyes off him.

Umbridge starts to become suspicious of what Harry and his friends are doing and implements a new rule banning student organisations. But Dumbledore’s Army has no intention of stopping, and Neville comes across the Room of Requirement one day, a room that only reveals itself to someone in need, and comes equipped with whatever that person needs. In this case, it has been set up with dummies to use spells on. Harry’s lessons then begin, by teaching spells, and setting up duels. However, caretaker Filch soon realises that Harry and his friends are meeting in the area, and try to catch them leaving or entering the room, since the room seals itself when the students are inside it. Despite watching the walls for hours on end, he has no definitive proof, much to Umbridge’s annoyance. Umbridge implements a new rule saying that students will be subject to questioning by her around illicit activities. When this doesn’t yield any results, and Dumbledore’s Army continue to train and improve, including Neville, who begins as one of the least competent, Umbridge starts to sign up students to be part of her Inquisitorial Squad. This includes Draco Malfoy and his gang. They try to work with Filch to enter the Room of Requirement, but they are unable to. Harry does one final lesson before the Christmas Break, and says they’ll resume after the holidays. Harry goes to speak to Cho, who talks to him about Cedric, wondering if he knew all these spells. Harry says he did. Some mistletoe magically appears above them and they kiss. Harry’s friends find out about the kiss and want to know more. He simply describes it as being “wet” as Cho was crying at the time. Hermione says Cho is feeling stressed out about everything going on in her life, including worrying that Umbridge is going to have her mother, who works at the Ministry of Magic, fired.

That night, Harry has another dream, still about the door and the orbs, but this time, he sees Mr. Weasley being attacked by a snake. A worried Professor McGonagall takes him straight to Dumbledore, where Dumbledore believes this incident really happened, and assembles resources to save Mr. Weasley, sending the Weasley children to see him. Harry suddenly becomes enraged and shouts at Dumbledore to look at him, fearing what is happening to him. He is sent away with Professor Snape, who informs Harry that the teachers believe Harry’s mind is connected to Voldemort’s and that he will need to learn how to control this connection, to stop him being manipulated by the Dark Lord. The spell that Snape uses allows him to see into Harry’s memories. Harry is told to concentrate and resist.

It is then Christmastime, and Harry is back at the Order’s Headquarters, actually the Black family’s ancestral home, with the Weasleys, Hermione, and Sirius. Mr. Weasley was badly injured but survived the attack on him, by Nagini, Voldemort’s pet snake. Mr. Weasley thanks Harry for saving his life. Later, after being insulted by Sirius’ House-elf Kreacher, Harry speaks with Sirius Black, about his family tree tapestry. Sirius shows the place where his face should’ve been on this tapestry has been blacked out after he ran away from home. He also points out Bellatrix Lestrange, his deranged cousin. Harry then asks if his mind is connected to Voldemort because he is becoming evil like him. Sirius tells him that Harry is a good person and that it is the choices we make that determine who we are.

On their return to school, Harry and his friends learn Hagrid is back. They see that he has a black eye, and that Umbridge is threatening to fire him, for not detailing where he was. Once she has left, Hagrid tells the three that he was attempting to recruit the giants to be on their side, something that Dumbledore asked him to do, but that Voldemort was doing the same. Hagrid tells them a storm is coming, and they’d best be ready when she does…

The next day, the Daily Prophet newspaper details a mass breakout at Azkaban prison, where some of the most notorious Death Eaters have been released, so they can be reunited with Voldemort. One of these was Bellatrix Lestrange, so naturally, Fudge blames this on Sirius Black once again, since they are cousins and Black escaped Azkaban himself. Some of the other students have now started to believe that Voldemort has really returned, including Seamus, who apologises to Harry and joins Dumbledore’s Army.

Harry resumes his training classes, where he learns from Neville that his parents were tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange. Harry then teaches everyone how to perform the Patronus Charm. Suddenly, the room starts shaking and a hole opens up. Through that hole, Harry sees Umbridge stood there and she blasts open the wall. It is revealed that Cho was the one to tell Umbridge about the lessons. Some of the students are taken to Dumbledore’s office, including Harry, where Umbridge and Fudge say that this is evidence of Dumbledore planning a coup against the Ministry. Dumbledore doesn’t deny it, and despite Harry’s attempts to say he started it all without Dumbledore’s permission, Dumbledore lets them blame him, however, he refuses to go with them and vanishes in a flash of phoenix fire. The students are later given detention, writing lines with that infamous quill. Cho waits outside, hoping to explain what happened to Harry, but he won’t hear it and ignores her.

That night, Hagrid takes Harry, Ron, and Hermione into the forest as he fears he will be getting fired soon, and wants someone to look after his giant half-brother Grawp. The three are quite scared of Grawp who towers over them, especially when Grawp grabs Hermione and lifts her into the air. Ron tries to save her, but it is Hermione’s assertive tone that gets him to put her down. Hermione learns that Grawp is just like a child really, wanting to play. Hagrid says he just needs company. They agree to help.

Meanwhile, Harry is continuing to have lessons with Snape about protecting his mind from Voldemort, but he is quickly becoming tired and frustrated that it isn’t working. In a moment of anger, Harry uses the same spell on Snape to look into his mind instead, and sees that Snape was bullied by Harry’s father and his friends whilst at school. Snape, humiliated, tells Harry that these lessons are officially over and to get out of his classroom.

Soon, it is time for Harry and his friends to take their O.W.L. exams, but their exam is interrupted by a massive prank courtesy of Fred and George Weasley who have become annoyed at Umbridge’s treatment of people and disillusioned with school. They set off hundreds of fireworks, even a huge dragon one that chases Umbridge, that causes devastation to the entire room, and leads to all of Umbridge’s glass-cased rules being destroyed. As the students all celebrate the prank, Harry collapses, having had a vision of Sirius being tortured in that room with all the orbs by Voldemort. Voldemort says he wants the prophecy. Harry heads to Umbridge’s office, wanting to use the Floo network in there to get to the Ministry to save Sirius, however, he, Ron, and Hermione are caught. Umbridge questions Harry, ordering Snape to give her more Veritaserum, a truth potion. Snape reveals she used the last of his supplies on Cho Chang, showing that Cho did not reveal details about Dumbledore’s Army willingly. As Snape walks away, Harry uses code to tell Snape what he saw about Sirius and Voldemort. He claims not to know what it means.

Umbridge then decides she’ll have to resort to using the Cruciatus Curse to get Harry talking. Not wanting to see that, Hermione makes up a story about Dumbledore’s secret weapon. Her, Harry, and Umbridge go into the forest so Umbridge can see it. Except, there is no secret weapon – and they see that Grawp has disappeared. Umbridge is about to curse Harry and Hermione for tricking her, when the centaurs arrive. Umbridge attacks one of them, with Hermione pleading for her to stop. She refuses, until she is picked up by Grawp. Grawp is then attacked by the centaurs, leading to him putting Umbridge down. She is carried off by the centaurs. Hermione thanks Grawp for his help.

The two return to school where they see that the others have escaped from Umbridge’s office after using some of Fred and George’s magical sweets on the Inquisitorial Squad. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, and Luna fly to the Ministry on Thestrals. On their arrival, they head to the Hall of Prophecy in the Department of Ministries and start searching the shelves. They eventually find an orb with Harry’s name on it. The prophecy states that neither can live while the other survives, referring to Harry and Voldemort. They are then surrounded by Death Eaters, led by Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange, who order Harry to hand over the prophecy. He refuses, so a fight begins. Ginny casts a spell that causes all the shelves in the room to tumble and break apart. The group run out of there, ended up in a dark room with only a rock and an archway in it. Luna and Harry hear voices coming from the arch – called the Veil – but no-one else does. They are then attacked again, with all but Harry being captured by a Death Eater. Lucius approaches Harry and demands the prophecy again, or else his friends will die. Harry hands it over.

However, Sirius and the Order then arrive to help the group. Lucius drops the prophecy and it smashes on the floor. A great battle ensues, with Sirius telling Harry to leave the Ministry with everyone else. Harry refuses and fights alongside Sirius. Just as everything looks to be going their way and Lucius is defeated, Bellatrix uses the Killing Curse on Sirius and he dies, falling through the Veil. Lupin attempts to hold Harry back, but he breaks free and chases after Bellatrix, ending up in the atrium of the Ministry of Magic. He comes face-to-face with Bellatrix, and then hears Voldemort’s voice, telling him to kill Bellatrix as revenge for murdering Sirius. He turns around and Voldemort disarms Harry.

Dumbledore then appears, and this starts an epic duel between him and Voldemort. Harry is kept on the sidelines, as the Ministry breaks apart around him, with tiles coming off the walls, fireballs being cast, Dumbledore putting Voldemort in an orb of water, and windows shattering. Dumbledore manages to protect them both from Voldemort’s final spell of aiming the shards of glass from the windows at them, by conjuring a shield that turns them to dust. Voldemort then begins to attack Harry’s mind, possessing him, and tormenting him with bad memories from his past. Voldemort tells Harry he is weak, as Dumbledore tries to remind Harry that he and Voldemort are more different than they are alike. The rest of his friends arrive to see Harry and Dumbledore on the floor. Harry then uses good memories with his friends to counteract Voldemort’s tricks, telling Voldemort he is weak because he’ll never know love or friendship. Voldemort tries one last time, but sees he cannot get through to Harry. He reappears next to Harry, telling Harry he is a fool and will lose everything. At that moment, members of the Ministry, including Fudge, arrive and see Voldemort stood there before he disappears. Fudge has to admit Voldemort is back, and is forced to resign.

Back at school, Harry packs to return home at the end of the year, and speaks to Dumbledore. He says that he was distancing himself from Harry to protect him, but obviously that didn’t work out so well. Harry discusses the prophecy with Dumbledore, now knowing one of Harry and Voldemort will have to kill the other. Dumbledore knew but didn’t want to tell Harry, so as not to cause him more pain and worry. Harry then sees Luna, who is looking for her belongings, after learning that other students have been hiding them. Luna says she doesn’t need help looking, and sympathises with Harry about Sirius’ death.

Harry and the others walk to the train to head home. He says that even though they have a fight to come, at least they have something worth fighting for.

CHARACTERS & CAST

As with all the Harry Potter films, much of the main cast continue to be involved in all the stories, with characters being added in every time a new story rolls around. Since a new Wizarding War is bubbling away in the background, this gives an opportunity for new villains and new heroes to emerge, to fight for the bad side or the good side.

One of the new villains to be added to the mix is Bellatrix Lestrange, cousin of Sirius Black and a loyal follower of Voldemort. Bellatrix is a classic villain, in that she is menacing, sadistic, and eccentric, all the while enjoying how much pain and suffering she can inflict on people. Bellatrix is one of many Death Eaters to be broken out of Azkaban prison, where she has resided since Voldemort’s fall all those years ago. Her time in prison has no doubt made her even more deranged now than she was when she was first imprisoned there! She immediately throws herself into the action by involving herself in the confrontation at the Ministry. She wastes no time in taunting Harry and his friends, even revelling in reminding Neville of her torturing of his parents and ends up killing Sirius in cold blood, right in front of Harry. Harry almost seems to want to kill Bellatrix for doing that, but she is “saved” by the arrival of Voldemort at the Ministry and disappears. But Bellatrix is a devoted follower – not to mention a fan-favourite Harry Potter villain – so she will most definitely be back.

Bellatrix Lestrange was played by Helena Bonham Carter. Prior to working on Harry Potter, Helena Bonham Carter had been cast as Helen Schlegel in Howard’s End (1992), alongside Sir Anthony Hopkins and Dame Emma Thompson; played Marla Singer in Fight Club (1999) with Brad Pitt; and played Mrs. Bucket in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), where Johnny Depp played Willy Wonka. She also voiced characters for animated films around this time, with her roles as Lady Tottington in Aardman’s Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005) and Emily in Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride (2005). After Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, she starred in a variety of films, including the musicals Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007), as Nellie Lovett, and Les Misérables (2012) as Madame Thénadier; the Disney live-actions films Alice in Wonderland (2010) and its 2016 sequel, playing the Red Queen, and Cinderella (2015) being cast as the Fairy Godmother; and the remake of Great Expectations (2012), where she played Miss Havisham. Her more recent roles include playing Rose Weil alongside an all-star cast in Ocean’s 8 (2018); her role as Eudoria Holmes in the Enola Holmes film series on Netflix; and Lady Caterham in the miniseries Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials (2026), also for Netflix. Bonham Carter also received critical acclaim for her portrayals as Queen Elizabeth in The King’s Speech (2010) opposite Colin Firth, and Princess Margaret in Seasons 3 and 4 of The Crown (2016-23), receiving numerous award nominations for them. For The King’s Speech, Bonham Carter was nominated at the Academy Awards and Golden Globes for Best Supporting Actress, winning the award in the same category at the SAG Awards and the BAFTAs. For The Crown, Bonham Carter was nominated at the Golden Globes, SAG Awards, BAFTAs and the Emmys for her performance.

Actress Helen McCrory was initially cast as Bellatrix Lestrange, however, dropped had to drop out of the film due to pregnancy. Helena Bonham Carter was then approached to play the character. McCrory would later be cast as Narcissa Malfoy in the following movie, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, so it worked out for everyone in the end[1]. I personally can’t imagine anyone but Helena Bonham Carter playing Bellatrix, because she just fit the role so well and was so energetic in her performance.

Unlike Bellatrix, Dolores Umbridge is not a classic villain. She begins the film as Senior Undersecretary to the Minister for Magic, backing the Ministry and Minister’s position that Voldemort has not returned, despite claims from Harry Potter and Dumbledore. She is then employed as the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, likely an enforced hiring by the Ministry, in order to ensure the students are not being trained to use spells, something that the Minister is concerned about. Umbridge later becomes the High Inquisitor for Hogwarts, wielding powers to sack teachers and implement an ever-growing number of rules for the students to follow. She is suspicious of Harry Potter and is friends, using cruel punishments and intense interrogations to find out just what they are doing and whether they are a threat to the Ministry of Magic and its stance. With her love of all things pink and a disarming charm, Umbridge comes across as a friendly teacher, but she is anything but that, as her appearance hides her controlling, abusive nature. She gets her comeuppance in the end, as the centaurs take her away into the Forbidden Forest, although that is not to be the last we see of her. Umbridge is regarded as one of the most hated villains in Harry Potter.

Imelda Staunton was given the unenviable task of portraying this horrendous character. Before entering the world of Harry Potter, Staunton had been cast as Charlotte Palmer in Emma Thompson’s adaptation of Sense and Sensibility (1995), and as Nurse in Shakespeare in Love (1998). She later appeared as Mrs. Blatherwick in Nanny McPhee (2005). In voice acting, Staunton has lent her voice to various characters, for example, Bunty in Chicken Run (2000) and its 2023 sequel; Queen Victoria in The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists (2012); and Aunt Lucy in the Paddington films. She has also had roles in other film series, including as Knotgrass in Maleficent (2014) and its 2019 sequel, and as Lady Maud Bagshaw in the 2019 Downton Abbey movie and its 2022 sequel. More recently, Staunton portrayed Queen Elizabeth II in Seasons 5 and 6 of Netflix’s The Crown. She received various award nominations for this role, including at the BAFTAs, Emmys, and the Golden Globes. She was also nominated for Best Actress at the Academy Awards for playing the title role in Vera Drake (2004) and was nominated at the Emmys and the BAFTAs for her role as Alma Reville in the BBC and HBO television film The Girl (2012), alongside Toby Jones and Sienna Miller. On stage, she has won numerous Olivier Awards, including for her performances as Mrs. Lovett in the 2012 West End revival of Sweeney Todd, as Rose in the 2015 West End revival of Gypsy, and as Dolly in the 2024 West End revival of Hello, Dolly!

Then we have a Hogwarts student first introduced to us in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. This is Ravenclaw student Luna Lovegood, who Hermione seems to know, as she introduces her as “Loony” Lovegood accidentally to Ron, Harry, and Neville. It’s unfair to call Luna “loony” as she is not crazy, just a bit quirky and has her own beliefs that perhaps are not shared by the majority of witches and wizards. She is comfortable in her own skin, but has to deal with the fact that many people think she is odd and don’t want to be her friend. It turns out she was actually being bullied by other students, who took her shoes and hid them throughout the school. She tells Harry about this at the end of the film, but doesn’t seem overly fazed by it, just wanting her stuff back before she goes home. Luna bonds with Harry during the events of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, as Harry comes to terms with Cedric’s death because Luna knows how he feels, having seen her mother die. She is a talented witch and a committed member of Dumbledore’s Army, participating in the training sessions and helping at the Ministry of Magic. Luna Lovegood is someone to be admired, for being happy with how she is, and not wanting to change for anyone.

Evanna Lynch was cast as Luna Lovegood, and her route to being cast was not simple. Initially just a super fan of the book series, Lynch had written to J.K. Rowling to thank her for writing these books that had helped her so much and stated she had an affinity with the character of Luna. They became pen pals of sorts, but at the same time, Lynch was going through a difficult time with an eating disorder. After a long journey to recovery, Lynch told Rowling that she had since come to love acting, with Rowling encouraging her to write to the Harry Potter casting director. Lynch received a brief but polite response. She started to let her dream role go, even more so after hearing producer David Heyman say at the premiere of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire that they had whittled it down to about five girls for the part, with filming due to start just a few months later in February 2006. However, by the start of January 2006, Lynch saw an open casting call had been announced for the role of Luna, with no experience needed. Lynch convinced her father to travel from Ireland to London for it, and did well enough in this first round to be called to do a screen test with Daniel Radcliffe on a separate day. As she was leaving Leavesden studio though, she received a gift of the book of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix with a short inscription from director David Yates, which she believed basically was a rejection, however, a few days later, she got the call to say she was being cast as Luna, and everything changed after that[2]. Evanna Lynch had beaten out thousands of girls – even, it would appear, Saoirse Ronan[3] – to be cast as Luna Lovegood. Who said dreams don’t come true?

Since appearing in the Harry Potter films, Lynch has been cast as McKenzie Pryce in teen comedy film G.B.F. (2013) and starred as Emily Egan in the Irish independent film My Name Is Emily (2015). She was also cast as Bridget Riordan in the BBC television film Danny and the Human Zoo (2015), written by Sir Lenny Henry. Later, Lynch appeared as a contestant on Season 27 of Dancing with the Stars (2005-present) in 2018, finishing in third place. More recently on screen, Lynch appeared with many other cast members on the HBO television special Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts (2022) and made an appearance on the Amazon Prime competition series Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking (2024-present), hosted by James and Oliver Phelps, the twins who played Fred and George Weasley. She also currently voices Ameline in the Disney animated series Dragon Striker (2026-present). Outside of acting, Lynch is an activist, championing causes like animal rights and numerous charities, and co-hosted the podcast Just Beings.

Then there are Seamus Finnigan and Neville Longbottom, friends of Harry’s and fellow Gryffindor students. Both had appeared in all the Harry Potter films that came before it, but in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, they have slightly bigger storylines.

Seamus Finnigan was initially seen to be a less capable student, miscasting spells in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone for example. He has always been around Harry and Ron in the films, as part of their wider friendship group, but didn’t have much to do with the story. In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, however, Seamus has more of a role here, as he voices his annoyance at Harry and Dumbledore for spreading lies about Voldemort’s return. He and his family don’t believe it, having chosen to believe the narrative that the Ministry of Magic has been peddling as part of their smear campaign against Harry and Dumbledore. Seamus later comes to his senses and apologises for making such a big mistake and for calling Harry a liar when that was not the case. Seamus proves himself by joining the right side in the end, later joining Dumbledore’s Army and Harry’s lessons.

Devon Murray was cast as Seamus Finnigan, appearing in all the Harry Potter films. He was not part of the Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts special but has made appearances on Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking.

Neville Longbottom was seen to be a weak, pathetic member of Gryffindor, showing his fear at various magical creatures in the earlier stories. He later shows an aptitude for Herbology and is able to show his intelligence that way. However, in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Neville comes into his own by joining Dumbledore’s Army and arguably being the most improved student there, by mastering a variety of spells with Harry as his teacher. Neville wants nothing more than to make his parents proud, as they were both members of the original Order of the Phoenix, but were tortured so badly by Bellatrix Lestrange that they have remained in hospital ever since and Neville has never had a relationship with them, being raised by his grandmother instead. He is a committed member of Dumbledore’s Army and is with Harry and the others during the confrontation at the Ministry, even standing up to Bellatrix and vowing to avenge his parents for what she did to them. There was also a scene that was cut from the final edit of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix which sees Neville sticking up for Harry after Seamus argues with him about Voldemort’s return and whether it is all lies or not. Neville says what the Daily Prophet has been writing is wrong and that his grandmother cancelled their subscription[4]. This shows how Neville has his own mind and isn’t afraid to stand up for his beliefs.

Neville Longbottom was played by Matthew Lewis throughout the film series. After Harry Potter ended, Lewis went on to be cast as Jamie Bradley in Season 1 of the BBC series The Syndicate (2012-21), alongside other names like Joanna Page and Timothy Spall, and later appeared as Patrick in the romantic drama Me Before You (2016). He also played Sean Balmforth in Series 2 of the crime drama series Happy Valley (2014-23). More recently, he appeared in the recurring role of Hugh Hulton in Series 1 and 2 of the Channel 5 drama All Creatures Great and Small (2020-present) and starred as Jimmy Brent in the Channel 5 miniseries The Fortune (2026) opposite Eleanor Tomlinson.

Moving on with have members of the Order of the Phoenix. This saw a return of many characters we had already met before, including Lupin and Mad-Eye Moody, former Defence Against the Dark Arts teachers, and Sirius Black, Harry’s godfather. But there were also some new members of the organisation introduced here too, who would go on to play larger roles in the later Harry Potter stories.

One of these is Nymphadora Tonks, but she’d rather you just called her Tonks! She is one of the younger members of the Order, although is still a talented witch. She doesn’t take herself too seriously though, for example, she starts changing her face into different animals, like a duck’s bill and a pig’s snout, just to make Ginny laugh. She also has a bit of a temper, as can be seen when her hair changes colour after Mad-Eye calls her Nymphadora. Tonks is part of the rescue team who takes Harry over to the Order’s Headquarters. Tonks is no doubt someone the younger Hogwarts students look up to and aspire to be like.

Natalia Tena was cast as Tonks. Before being cast in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Tena had appeared as Peggy in Mrs Henderson Presents (2005) which starred Judi Dench and Bob Hoskins. She later appeared as Rachel in the drama Bel Ami (2012), and played the recurring role of Osha in the earlier seasons of Game of Thrones (2011-19). More recently, Tena was cast as Katia Javanavič in John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023) and starred as Martín in the Spanish thriller film El mal (2025). She also portrayed Rebekah Vardy in the Channel 4 two-part series Vardy v Rooney: A Courtroom Drama (2022).

Kingsley Shacklebolt is another one who comes to rescue Harry on that night, however, Kingsley is actually a double agent, as he works at the Ministry of Magic. He works as a spy for the Order of the Phoenix, and this explains why Kingsley is present when Umbridge and Fudge order the arrest of Dumbledore after discovering Harry and the other members of Dumbledore’s Army, believing Dumbledore is planning an uprising against Fudge and the Ministry of Magic. Kingsley’s presence in the Harry Potter films is fairly minimal and it would seem that more information about the character is provided in the book series, so I wasn’t actually aware of this backstory from the film, but I was always confused about why Kingsley was in the room when Dumbledore was being threatened with arrest since I’d only seen him as a background character within the Order of the Phoenix…Kingsley is still cool though and has that great line here: “You can’t deny, Dumbledore’s got style.” after Dumbledore disappears thanks to Fawkes the phoenix.

Kingsley Shacklebolt was played by George Harris. Harris had previously appeared as Prince Thun in Flash Gordon (1980) and as Simon Katanga in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). He later portrayed Osman Atto in the war film Black Hawk Down (2001) and played Morty in the crime thriller Layer Cake (2004), which starred Daniel Craig. He was also cast as Errol Hill in the series 55 Degrees North (2004-05) prior to his role in Harry Potter. On stage, he played M. Frankenstein in the 2011 production of Frankenstein, with Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller. Harris retired from acting in 2013.

One other more minor character to mention is Mrs. Figg, the quiet, unassuming neighbour who stumbles upon Harry and Dudley after they are attacked by Dementors. She walks the two of them back home, where she reveals that she was asked by Dumbledore to keep an eye on Harry over the summer. It’s a good thing she was too, because he really did need Mrs. Figg’s witness testimony to have his Hogwarts expulsion reversed, as it proved the Dementors were in Surrey that night. Initially, Harry believes Mrs. Figg is an ordinary Muggle, but she proves not to be. In the book, further details are revealed stating that Mrs. Figg is a Squib, a person with magical parents but no magical ability, like Filch, the caretaker at Hogwarts, however, this is not stated in the film.

Mrs. Figg was played by Kathryn Hunter. In recent years, Hunter was cast as Madame Swiney in Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things (2023) and as Teresa Cicero in Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis (2024). In television, Hunter may be recognisable for her recurring role as Eedy Karn in the Disney+ series Andor (2022-25), and her role as Lenny Lines in the Netflix spy thriller series Black Doves (2024-present). In 2026, Hunter played Glenda Cartwright in the Netflix comedy film Ladies First (2026), featuring Sacha Baron Cohen and Rosamund Pike, and is set to voice a character in the upcoming Skydance Animation film Ray Gunn. She also played Eileen in the BBC sitcom Ann Droid (2026-present), alongside Diane Morgan and Sue Johnston.

MUSIC

A new composer was sought out to work on the instrumental score for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix after Patrick Doyle had composed for the previous film.

This time, Nicholas Hooper was hired for the position, having previously worked with director David Yates on some projects, including The Tichborne Claimant (1998) and The Girl in the Café (2005). Hooper has also worked on the music for television, such as the television film My Family and Other Animals (2005), which starred Imelda Staunton; the BBC two-part drama Birdsong (2012); and the BBC miniseries The Escape Artist (2013). He also wrote the music for Disney’s nature documentary film Chimpanzee (2012). Hooper returned to compose the score for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Each Harry Potter film uses the iconic piece of music “Hedwig’s Theme”, composed by John Williams for the first film, in some way, usually in the opening track. In this case, that music is titled “Another Story”, although the theme is incorporated into other tracks too. It’s not the best introductory track in the Harry Potter series for me, but there are plenty of other instrumentals in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’s soundtrack that I do like.

One of those is “Flight of the Order of the Phoenix”, which is used for the sequence of Harry flying to London with the other members of the Order. It feels like a piece of music fitting for a rescue, which is basically what Harry needs, to be rescued from Privet Drive and have this whole expulsion from Hogwarts mess sorted out. I also like the mystical nature of the track “The Ministry of Magic”, evoking the feelings of wonder that Harry is feeling at seeing this place he’s never visited before, even if the circumstances for his visit aren’t great.

Despite not liking her character, I do like the track “Professor Umbridge”, accompanying the montage of scenes of Umbridge interviewing, monitoring and generally harassing the Hogwarts teachers, trying to find things wrong with how Hogwarts is run. The upbeat tone of the music is completely at odds with what is going on, but that matches Umbridge as a character, who looks unthreatening but is actually devious.

The best track in this soundtrack though is “Fireworks”, used for the sequence of Fred and George pranking Umbridge with their fireworks display, interrupting the O.W.L. exam that Harry and his friends are taking. It is such a good piece of music, one of the most memorable from this specific Harry Potter film, but maybe even from the whole film series.

Outside of the score, you may also hear the song “Boys Will Be Boys”, performed by The Ordinary Boys, playing in the Gryffindor Common Room, during the scene of Seamus having a go at Harry, calling him a liar for saying Voldemort has returned. It’s quite a random music track to hear in a Harry Potter film, but I guess it shows that these are just teenagers relaxing in their downtime away from lessons. Another piece of contemporary music heard in this film is “Coming for You”, performed by indie rock band Reactor. It plays as Fred and George unveil their Skiving Snackbox products to their fellow students to purchase.

The soundtrack for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix apparently debuted at No. 43 on the US Billboard 200 chart after its release date of 10th July 2007, and was nominated for a few awards, but sadly, did not win. It was nominated at the Saturn Awards for Best Music, for example, however, it lost out to Alan Menken’s music in Disney’s live-action film Enchanted (2007). The soundtrack was also nominated at the Empire Awards, but lost to the music from biopic Control (2007). Nicholas Hooper was also nominated at the World Soundtrack Awards, in the Discovery of the Year category, but did not win.

PRODUCTION

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was the fifth Harry Potter film to go in production, so by this point, the cast and the crew were likely pretty comfortable making each film.

However, having a regular director to direct all of the Harry Potter films was difficult. Christopher Columbus had stopped after the first two, citing exhaustion, and Alfonso Cuarón and Mike Newell then each had the opportunity to direct the third and the fourth outings respectively. But Newell was not returning for the fifth, so a new director was required.

David Yates was hired to direct Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, apparently wanting to grow the series, and age it up, in a way, by making the series darker and more mature. The second half of the Harry Potter series is quite a way away from the enchanting, magic of the first two, for example. Luckily, by this fifth film, the series had found a regular director, with Yates completing the remainder of the series.

Earlier in his career, Yates had directed a few episodes of long-running police drama The Bill (1983-2010) in 1994 and 1995, before going on to direct the feature film The Tichborne Claimant, starring Roger Pugh and Stephen Fry. Yates later directed the miniseries The Way We Live Now (2001) and State of Play (2003), both for BBC One, as well as the television film The Girl in the Café, written by Richard Curtis, and starring Bill Nighy and Kelly Macdonald. After finishing up on the Harry Potter films, Yates went on to direct all three of its prequel films in the Fantastic Beasts series; The Legend of Tarzan (2016); and the Netflix film Pain Hustlers (2023), featuring Emily Blunt and Chris Evans.

Yates’ first task on Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix though had little to do with actually making the film itself; he was tasked with trying to figure out how to keep Emma Watson involved in the films, as she expressed a desire to exit the franchise after making the first four films. Watson felt lonely and was struggling with the pressures of fame[5]. This was not something only she was not coping well with, as Rupert Grint also said that he had considered how this role was affecting his life, but that they were all too young to talk about it together, and it was just one of those things they had to come to terms with on their own. Watson later came to the decision to stay in her role as Hermione Granger, as she felt supported and able to continue[6]. How strange would that have been if they’d had to recast Hermione halfway through the series. It just goes to show how much of their childhood these actors sacrificed just to give us these movies.

The next challenge was not something that was unique to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, but existed on all the films, and that was figuring out how to adapt Rowling’s – in this case, lengthy – novel to fit the desired runtime for a feature film. Like Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix required omissions in order to keep the story steady and pacy, cutting out unnecessary side plots and characters.

Some of these included Quidditch being completely omitted from this film, despite the book detailing Ron becoming the Keeper for Gryffindor’s team, as well as Ginny joining the team, and Gryffindor winning the Quidditch Cup, without Harry because he had been banned from playing by Umbridge. Instead, we see Ron joining the Quidditch team in the sixth film, with Ginny already a member. The character Mundungus Fletcher was also meant to be first introduced here, as a member of the Order of the Phoenix and the one meant to be watching Harry in Surrey over the summer, although he left the area to deal stolen goods, allowing for the Dementor attack. This character is not introduced in the film series until the seventh film.

Another omitted character was Cho Chang’s friend Marietta Edgecombe, who was the one to betray Dumbledore’s Army in the book, leaking information to Umbridge about the secret society in order to keep her mother’s job at the Ministry of Magic safe. In the film, this traitor role was handed to Cho Chang, perhaps unfairly, creating tension between her and Harry and the others, and leaving her an outcast with the group. Dobby the former House-elf was also once again cut from a story that he was meant to be a part of, after being left out of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Here, Dobby was supposed to be the one to find the Room of Requirement and tell Harry about it, having discovered it after needing it to hide his drunken friend Winky, with Winky being a character completely removed from the film series.

Speaking of House-elves, Sirius Black’s elf Kreacher was only used in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix to mutter insults at people and generally be moody and grumpy. In the novel, Kreacher actually had a much more important role. When Harry sees the vision of Sirius being tortured by Voldemort, to try and work out if it was a trick, Harry goes to Grimmauld Place to check if Sirius is there, and not at the Ministry as his vision suggests. Despite Sirius being at home, Kreacher lies and tells Harry he isn’t there, leading Harry to believe the torture vision was real.

A whole location was also removed for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, this being St. Mungo’s hospital. This was where Mr. Weasley was sent after being attacked by Nagini the snake at the Ministry, and was also home to Gilderoy Lockhart, still struggling with his messed-up memory, as well as Neville Longbottom’s parents who had been hospitalised there ever since they were tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange when Voldemort first rose to power. Harry and the Weasleys visit Mr. Weasley, and in so doing see Lockhart and Neville and his grandmother there, leading to these revelations. To be honest, I think this scene would’ve been very useful to have kept in the films, because it adds so much to Neville’s backstory. Just from watching the films, I’d believed his parents had died when he was too young to remember, a bit like Harry, which is sad, but not as heart-breaking as finding out that they’ve been kept in hospital ever since, with Neville aware of their condition.

The novel also had more information about the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry. Instead of just having the Hall of Prophecy and the room with the Veil, as we see in the film, there were also other rooms detailed in the novel, including a room filled with brains, and another full of Time Turners. In regards to the prophecy, Dumbledore sheds further light on the details of it, more than what we hear from the orb. Dumbledore says he first heard the prophecy from Professor Trelawny, showing she does have some powers after all, and that it could actually have referred to Neville Longbottom, but Harry was the one attacked by Voldemort as a baby, so it now specifically relates to Harry.

Other minor omissions include Madame Maxime, the Headmistress of Beauxbatons, who we met in the previous story, being sent with Hagrid on his mission to recruit the giants for Dumbledore, and centaur Firenze being hired to teach Divination after Professor Trelawny was dismissed by Umbridge. Firenze only appears in the first Harry Potter film[7].

The screenwriter challenged to adapt the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix book for the big screen was Michael Goldenberg, not Steve Kloves, who had written the screenplays for the previous four films, and would return to write the remaining films. Kloves apparently wanted to take a break from the series to pursue other projects.

Prior to working on Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Goldenberg had written and directed the romantic drama Bed of Roses (1996), featuring Christian Slater and Mary Stuart Masterson in the lead roles, following that up with co-writing the screenplay with James V. Hart for the film Contact (1997), directed by Robert Zemeckis, and starring Jodie Foster and Matthew McConaughey. Goldenberg also co-wrote the screenplay for the 2003 adaptation Peter Pan with its director P.J. Hogan. This Peter Pan film just so happens to have a link to the Harry Potter franchise, as it featured Jason Isaacs as Captain Hook. Goldenberg went on to co-write the screenplay for the less-than-well-received superhero film Green Lantern (2011), with Ryan Reynolds playing the titular character.

Filming for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix took place in a variety of different new locations, with many new sets created for it too. The London Underground station that Harry and Mr. Weasley go through on their way to the Ministry of Magic was said to be Westminster Underground Station. They also used part of the Blenheim Palace estate, to film the flashback sequence and memory of Snape being bullied by Harry’s father. It was by a 300-year-old Cedar of Lebanon tree that resides on the estate by the Great Lake[8].

One other real-life location, used for the exterior of Grimmauld Place, was Claremont Square in Islington, London. The 12 Grimmauld Place set itself was created for the film, and featured high ceilings, with narrow, enclosed corridors, to make it seem like this house really was squeezed into the middle of a row of terraced houses. The walls were covered with grey silk to make the walls appear aged and the set was filled with antiques, to represent an old ancestral home. The overall set is dark, dusty, and gloomy, but the actors loved working on the set, feeling that it perfectly created the right atmosphere to complement their scenes. The family tree tapestry was also a real printed tapestry.

Another impressive set built for this film was the Ministry of Magic atrium. The crew working on Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix were inspired by old Underground systems when designing the set, creating huge arches and tunnels, as well as recreating the tiling that exist in old Underground stations. They also made offices sitting around the atrium, and filled them with typewriters and memos to look realistic. To increase the size of the Ministry for the film, green screen was used in order to digitally extend the set upwards and outwards. It was a favourite set within the cast. The Ministry set took 22 weeks to build and actually only appears in the film for around ten minutes, but it was still the biggest set they had built for Harry Potter at that time. The tiles on the walls are not ceramic, but are MDF wall times, and there are around 30,000 of them in the set. They even built a water feature that actually worked. For the end sequence, where Voldemort and Dumbledore’s duel causes the area to explode and windows to shatter, cast and crew were ordered to keep their mobile phones switched off so the detonation was not accidentally set off!

Connected to the Ministry of Magic in the story, but not in real-life was the Hall of Prophecy set. It became the first solely computer-generated set in a Harry Potter film, and was particularly complex to create on the computer, as it consists of miles of shelves with lots of glass balls and orbs on them. For the actors, the only physical elements they had to interact with were a doorway and some mats on the floor. Other than that, it was a green screen room with a few dots around to help the actors focus on specific markers.

Another location that was computer-generated was Azkaban prison, which we see for the first time in the movies in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The book detailed Azkaban prison as existing in the middle of the North Sea. An initial idea for the design of the prison in the films was to have it reside on a piece of rock jutting out from the side of a waterfall, but they found it difficult to justify there being a waterfall in the North Sea. They felt they only had a few shots to explain the location, so settled for a triangular prison on a rock out in the North Sea, with huge waves crashing around it. Azkaban Prison was also said to be inspired by the infamous Alcatraz prison off the coast of San Francisco, California.

Two other sets used quite extensively in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix are Umbridge’s office and the Room of Requirement. To match Dolores Umbridge’s signature colour of pink, her office was designed in various shapes of pink, with lots of upholstery, lace doilies, fine china tea sets, and French-style furniture. There are also moving kittens on plates all about the room, who Umbridge uses as spies. These were created by painting green paint onto plates and recordings of kittens being placed over the top of them. Although the kittens were not overly easy to work with, they got the shots they needed and we get to see plenty of shots of cute cats in this film because of it. Her office is also a complete contrast to her classroom, which only consists of desks and a blackboard in the cavernous hall, making the classroom bleak but practical.

The Room of Requirement when used as the Dumbledore’s Army training facility consists of mirrors on the walls with areas to practise duelling and a few dummies to practise spells. Due to the numerous lights, mirrors, and the lit fireplaces, the Room of Requirement set was apparently ridiculously hot to work in, and even caused some metal work on the windows to start melting! Due to all the mirrors, it also took three months for extra reflections to be removed from the film for its final edit. There are a couple of stunt pieces here as well, as both Harry and Ron are hit by a spell which pushes them backwards towards the wall. This was a similar stunt that had the actors on wires being pulled back into a padded wall. The Room of Requirement was also the location of the anticipated kiss between Harry and Cho. Cast members joked that they were going to make sure they were on set to watch it, but it was actually a closed set with only about ten people around. Katie Leung also said that the crew dimmed the lights, and wasn’t sure if that was to make them feel less intimidated or to make the scene more romantic! Daniel Radcliffe said he and Leung spoke to a bereavement councillor prior to filming the scene, and learnt that it is quite normal for someone to become close to someone else that the person they lost was also close to. That is exactly what happens to Cho. Radcliffe and Leung initially found the kiss scene quite daunting to shoot but they got used to it after they’d been made to do multiple retakes of it.

Something else interesting about sets in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was that the crew chose to build their own Privet Drive set, because it was cheaper and easier than having to pay to use the same street as they’d used on the earlier films. So, Privet Drive in this film was a recreation of that street and not the real street[9]

As had become standard in Harry Potter films, a number of special and practical effects were needed to fully realise the story of these movies. Within new CG characters created for this film, there are the Thestrals, black skeletal horse-like creatures. They were made to be graceful and majestic despite their gruesome demeanour. They were obviously based on horses, but with reference material from birds used to see how the Thestrals would fly. The team chose to include a Baby Thestral in the scene where Harry learns about the creatures from Luna, to make it clear that these are living creatures, and not ghostly things. The wings were also inspired by those of bats, having quite a translucent appearance to them. For the sequence of the Thestrals flying Harry and his friends over London to get to the Ministry, the actors were filmed on motion-controlled rigs in front of green screen, with the animation being transferred onto this recording.

The centaurs and Dementors have also made a return to Harry Potter after their initial appearances in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001) and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban respectively. The centaurs were made to look less fantastical than they did in the first film and seem angrier and more aggressive in this film due to their mistreatment, taking Umbridge away with them as punishment for hers and the Ministry’s actions. This shot was filmed with Imelda Staunton being attached to a harness in a green screen shot, with this being overlaid onto the animation.

The Dementors in this film are quite different to their first appearance too, as Yates wanted them to feel less spectral and look more real, by exposing more of that skeletal structure and bone underneath their cloth covering. These Dementors are more physical, like the centaurs, as well, as they are able to push Harry up against the wall of the underpass, by using its arm to do so. This scene was achieved by attaching Radcliffe to a rig and pushing the rig up the wall.

Kreacher and Grawp are two other new characters, who were created with help from some live-action reference footage. Kreacher was made to look like a grumpy old man, with sunken eyes and veiny skin. To get an idea of what the character would look like on screen, they made a maquette of Kreacher, and even walked Kreacher’s tunic around the set to get some reference points. Timothy Bateson was filmed recording his lines in order to get reference for the facial features, which were then placed onto Kreacher. Bateson had been cast as Mr. Fezziwig in the 1984 version of A Christmas Carol and played Mr. Thomson the Caretaker in Series 4 and 5 of the long-running children’s series Grange Hill (1978-2008).  Bateson also provided voices for the fantasy film Labyrinth (1986), including The Worm and one of The Four Guards and played the Dentist in The Italian Job (1969). Later, he was cast as Mr. Hallett in Ladies in Lavendar (2004). Bateson passed away in 2009, at the age of 83; Kreacher was his final film role.

Grawp was created via motion capture from actor Tony Maudsley. Maudsley is perhaps most-known for his roles as Kenneth Du Beke in the ITV sitcom Benidorm (2007-18) from Series 4, and as George Shuttleworth in the soap Coronation Street (1960-present) since 2020. Maudsley has also had parts in other sitcoms, such as being cast as Graham Pleck in the sitcom The Job Lot (2013-15) for ITV, and as Martin in the BBC sitcom Eyes Down (2003-04), which starred Paul O’Grady. Grawp is a 16-feet tall giant so not an easy character to create, but by using the spirit of Maudsley’s footage, the team were able to build on that and create a giant, who is basically like a small child, curious about the world, but not knowing what boundaries there are. For the live-action filming portions, parts of Grawp were made out of foam rubber to give the actors’ some markers, and there was even a large blue leg built that Rupert Grint had to hit for his scene of Ron trying to save Hermione from him.

Neville’s cactus pet was a real remote-controlled model, that would be controlled on set. They wanted the cactus to be able to recreate all manners of emotions, like cute or aggressive, and even worked out how to make it shake and shrivel as this magical cactus is supposed to explode stinksap onto people. It would seem this may have been used for test footage, but the shot did not make it into the film or any bonus features. The cactus can be seen being held by Neville in the scene of him getting the carriage to Hogwarts with Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Luna towards the start of the film. I had assumed it was CGI.

Outside of that, there are a few other controlled explosions that took place, outside of the Ministry of Magic duel. One of these was the mirrors breaking off the Room of Requirement and the wall blowing up. The mirror pieces were made of laser cut plexiglass that had a pre-determined break pattern and would break off the wall in the correct sequence. Cork was used for the wall, this being material heavy enough to fly through the air but not hard enough to injure anyone, plus it could easily be made to look like stone. All of Umbridge’s rules also explode at one point, after Fred and George’s fireworks display. The fireworks sequence was created by looking at footage of fireworks exploding, even setting up a display at the Leavesden studio. They created a library of fireworks, but added in some more magical elements so they were not constrained by real-life rules to their speed, flight, and length. They used a lightning sequence in the actual set to reflect the fireworks sequence to help actors know how to react and where to look in the scene. They based the fireworks dragon loosely on a Chinese New Year dragon and added a CG roof extension to the Great Hall, making the magical ceiling disappear. There was even a mechanism to shoot all the papers of the desk, for when Fred and George fly past on their brooms. For the exploding decrees, the glass-fronted rules all had to explode and blow out. It was first tested with a small number of them, and then the real shot could begin. Special rigs were set up to make sure that once the controlled explosions had happened, they would all tumble to the ground at the right time, leaving smoke in the air and confetti of burnt paper raining down.

The wizarding duel between Voldemort and Dumbledore is the final climatic sequence in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and it involves the two most powerful wizards in the Wizarding World – so it had to be good. In this case, their duel involved computer-generating a large fireball that transforms into a serpent; a ball of water; and numerous sparks of light, and blasts of magic. For the moment of Voldemort being trapped in the ball of water, Ralph Fiennes had to be attached to a moving pivot in order to get the necessary footage. This sequence took place in the Ministry of Magic atrium set, and involved things blowing up and exploding from the walls too.

Speaking of duelling, after seeing only a couple of duels, mostly just between two wizards, like Harry and Draco in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and Harry and Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, it was decided that with these bigger duels involving more wizards, there needed to be some set wand choreography. So, a choreographer was brought in, Paul Harris. Harris had previously worked as a choreographer on The Tichborne Claimant, which David Yates had directed, and has also worked on period dramas such as The Other Boleyn Girl (2008), Far from the Madding Crowd (2015), and the miniseries Mary & George (2024). Randomly, Harris was also an assistant choreographer on the Disney Channel Original Movie The Cheetah Girls 2 (2006). Harris was tasked for creating consistent moves to suit a variety of spells. He created around five offensive movements and five defensive ones, teaching them to the actors, who could then personalise them to their characters. For example, Lucius has more proper, traditional form, whereas Sirius Black has elements of his rebellious nature in his battling[10].

Filming for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix took place throughout 2006, with production allegedly halted for two months from May so that Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson could take their exams, those being Radcliffe’s AS Levels, and Watson’s GCSEs[11].

A few other interesting filming stories are that Alan Rickman got a brand-new BMW during filming on Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. This is interesting because Rupert Grint and Matthew Lewis had spilt a milkshake in Rickman’s car during filming of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and were warned not to go anywhere near his new car when filming started on the fifth film! Also involving Matthew Lewis, Helena Bonham Carter apparently perforated Lewis’ eardrums by improvising a moment after Bellatrix captures Neville in the Ministry of Magic of sticking her wand into his ear like a cotton swab[12]. Yeah, perhaps that wasn’t a great idea!

The Hogwarts Express train was also vandalised once again, having been a victim of graffiti damage back in 2003. This time the incident happened on 10th March 2007, so after production on Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix had been completed, and consisted of vandals causing an estimated £50,000 of damage to the train, smashing multiple windows with hammers. At the time, it was being stored in Carnforth Lancashire[13].

A final odd moment that I could find related to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix relates to one of the movie’s official posters. It is unclear exactly when this came to people’s attentions, but it has become well-known that in one of the posters, the one with Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, and Luna in the Ministry of Magic, Bonnie Wright is meant to be featured as Ginny, however, the person in the poster does not look like her[14]. Two main theories have emerged. One is that it was supposedly one of her stunt doubles, as Wright was not available for the photo shoot that day, and someone forgot to Photoshop her actual face onto the body double. The other is that this poster was seriously edited and that it is Bonnie Wright in the poster, but that they made so many adjustments to her that it no longer looks like her. I don’t know what the real answer is. All I can say is that personally, I don’t think anyone looks right it that poster, it’s just a very dodgy poster! 

RECEPTION

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was released on 11th July 2007 in a large number countries, following star-studded premieres in numerous capital cities, such as one in London on 3rd July, one in Paris on 4th July, and another in Los Angeles on 8th July.

This was the first summer release in the Harry Potter film series since the release of the third film, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, in 2004. The other three had been released in November, ahead of the festive season. The summer release date seems to have been good for the film, especially as a release date in July coincides with many countries’ school holidays.

The proof of this good timing was that Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix took $44.2 million on its opening day from over 4,000 locations in North America, beating the previous biggest Wednesday opener, with that being Spider-Man 2 (2004) with $40.4 million. Internationally, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix took $29.2 million from 29 countries, being the biggest opening for any Harry Potter film in over twenty countries, including France, Italy, Spain, Australia, and Brazil[15].

After its first weekend, Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix had made a five-day total figure of $140 million at the North American box office. Internationally, it took in $190.3 million, making for a worldwide total of $330.3 million in its first five days of release. This was only second to Spider-Man (2002) on the list of all-time best five-day openers that launched on a Wednesday at the time. Spider-Man benefited from being released over Fourth of July weekend, whereas Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix had not. The financial figures were also boosted with an IMAX release, taking $9.4 million from IMAX theatres in its first five days. The IMAX release was said to have screened the last twenty minutes in 3D[16].

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix ended its run with a worldwide total of just under $942 million, however, it did not top the worldwide box office and had to settle for second place. Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, the third in the series, topped the box office, with a total of just under $961 million. This was followed by Spider-Man 3 with $885 million; then DreamWorks’ Shrek the Third with $808 million; and at No. 5 Transformers with around $710 million. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix also beat out some other big movies of 2007, by quite some margin, including Pixar’s Ratatouille ($623 million), I Am Legend ($585 million), and The Simpsons Movie ($536 million). Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was the most financially successful Harry Potter film at the box office since Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone came out in 2001.

In terms of reviews, a Harry Potter film has never been panned, as they have all had generally positive comments about them, although they are not to everyone’s taste and most fans will have differing opinions on which films are better, and which are worse.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix did not get the most glowing reviews, with some saying it is not as enjoyable as other Harry Potter stories due to the need to give the audience a lot of backstory in quite a short space of time. This is my biggest issue with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Although the ending sequence in the Ministry is a highlight, and there are lots of villains in this film, something I very much like to see, the rest of the film doesn’t have much action or excitement. They’re just at school, whilst everything exciting with Voldemort is happening on the outside. But it’s similar with lots of television series. Although you may love a particular series, we all know a few episodes are added in as filler, with less exciting moments and tension. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix feels very much like that, with all the good stuff happening at the end to lead to something better happening in the next outing.

However, on the other hand, some enjoyed the movie delving into plenty of darkness, which helped keep many adults interested. Others also liked how fast-paced the film was. Despite being adapted from a very long book, at over 800 pages, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix became one of the shortest Harry Potter films. Some fans of the books even said these omissions helped the story, whereas others did not appreciate them. There was also praise for some of the new actors coming into the franchise, such as Imelda Staunton as Dolores Umbridge and Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix Lestrange. It’s quite funny actually; I love Bellatrix, she’s a fantastic villain, but despite liking most villains, I can’t stand Umbridge. I’ve always said if I really dislike a villain, then that actor must’ve done an amazing job – so well done, Imelda Staunton! There were also some action shots that audiences enjoyed, like the scene of Harry and the Order flying through London, and it was felt that the darkness of the material was mixed in well with moments of humour.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was nominated at the BAFTAs, for Production Design, and Best Special Visual Effects, but it did not win. Production Design went to Atonement and Visual Effects to The Golden Compass. At the Saturn Awards, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix received numerous nominations, but no wins. These were in the categories of Best Fantasy Film, Best Director for David Yates, Best Supporting Actress for Imelda Staunton, Best Performance by a Younger Actor for Daniel Radcliffe, Best Writing for Michael Goldenberg, Best Costume, Best Make-Up, and Best Special Effects.

They had more luck at some more viewer-focused awards, such as winning the Choice Summer Movie: Action at the Teen Choice Awards, and the award for Favorite Movie Drama at the People’s Choice Awards. The film also won Family Film at the inaugural ITV National Movie Awards, also winning Performance (Male) for Daniel Radcliffe, and Performance (Female) for Emma Watson. There were also further wins at the Empire Awards, for David Yates for Best Actor, along with nominations for Best Film, Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy, and Best Actor and Best Actress for Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson respectively. It also won the Scream Award for Most Vile Villain for Ralph Villains as Voldemort, and the award for Best Sequel there, alongside nominations for Best Fantasy Movie, Effects, and Fantasy Hero for Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix also received a Critics’ Choice nomination for Best Family Film, but lost out to Disney’s Enchanted, as well as two nominations at the MTV Movie Awards, one in 2007 for Best Summer Movie You Haven’t Seen Yet, which was won by Transformers, and one in 2008 for Best Kiss for Daniel Radcliffe and Katie Leung; it was won by Robert Hoffman and Briana Evigan in Step Up 2: The Streets (2008).

Finally, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was recognised for its brilliant special effects at the Visual Effects Society. Here, they won for Outstanding Special Effects in a Feature Motion Picture, but lost to Transformers for Outstanding Models and Miniatures, and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End for Outstanding Created Environment.

LEGACY

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was, of course, just the fifth film in a series set to adapt seven novels, so it was not yet the end for the franchise, with the sixth film Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince set to be released two years later.

Outside of that, during production on Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in 2006, some of the cast were actually asked to film a short recorded segment to be played during the pantomime show at The Children’s Party at the Palace celebration held at Buckingham Palace on 25th June 2006 for the Queen’s 80th birthday. The stage show featured actors playing literary figures, such as Anthony Head as Captain Hook; Dani Harmer and Montanna Thompson as Tracy and Justine from the CBBC series The Story of Tracy Beaker (2002-05); Richard O’Brien as the Child Catcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, having played the character on stage just a year before, and Amanda Redman as Cruella de Vil. It was Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, and Matthew Lewis who were involved in the pre-recorded video as their characters, and saw them being sent a letter by owl, sent by comedian Harry Hill in his role as the Owl Keeper. They opened the letter and saw it was from the Prime Minister, needing magic to locate the Queen’s handbag, as she needed her glasses to read her birthday celebrations speech. After using the spell Accio to try and locate it, instead finding numerous other lost handbags, they sent a letter back to the palace, including the spell and some borrowed magic, so the audience could use Accio for themselves. With their collective energy, the thief – who happened to be British comedian and television host Bradley Walsh – was found and the handbag was returned, as good defeated evil. This was a very random thing that I only found out about whilst researching this piece. It is available to watch online for anyone interested in seeing it!

Just a couple of months before Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was released in cinemas, some very exciting news was announced and that was that there was confirmation that there were development plans in the works to build a new land at the Islands of Adventure Park at Universal Orlando resort, to be called The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, this being a joint venture between Universal and Warner Bros. Entertainment. This followed on from earlier talks falling through with Disney, which could’ve seen a Harry Potter land being built at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. In this case, it was expected that the new area of the theme park would open in 2009 and would depict Hogwarts and the village of Hogsmeade. J.K. Rowling was going to be involved in the development of the area, as was Stuart Craig, the production designer on the Harry Potter films[17]. The land did not actually open until June 2010, but after that, other Wizarding Worlds have since opened at other Universal properties, those being at Universal Studios in Japan, Hollywood, and Beijing, with new additions and extensions being built as well.

As the Harry Potter franchise had had book sales of 325 million worldwide before the final book even came out, and the first four films grossed more than $3.5 billion worldwide, it was clear that getting involved in a Harry Potter project was going to be good for Universal, and the fact a Harry Potter addition was coming to such a big tourist hotspot meant that good footfall was expected.

Within these theme park lands, there are a few locations first seen in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix that were recreated. One of these is the Order of the Phoenix Headquarters, the house on Grimmauld Place, which exists as a façade only at Universal Studios theme park in Orlando, close to the Diagon Alley area. The Ministry of Magic also only exists at Universal Orlando, but this time at their Epic Universe theme park, which opened on 22nd May 2025. You can even enter the area as though you have arrived via the Floo network. There is an attraction within the Ministry of Magic too, Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry, but this takes place after the events of the Harry Potter series, following Dolores Umbridge’s trial. The Hog’s Head Tavern is something that can be visited at multiple Universal theme parks though, selling speciality drinks in the recreated pub. It is recreated in the theme parks at Orlando, Japan, Beijing, and Hollywood.

After the reveal of plans to build a Harry Potter land at Universal, and then the release of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in July 2007, things just weren’t calming down for Harry Potter fans as the wait was finally over for the final book to be published. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was published on Saturday 21st July, simultaneously published in more than 90 countries. Some branches of Waterstones held midnight launch parties for UK fans, whilst J.K. Rowling held her book launch at the Natural History Museum. The final book in the series broke sales records on both side of the Atlantic by selling 11 million copies in its first 24 hours. This comprised of 2.7 million sold in the UK and 8.3 million sold in the US on that first day. This broke the previous record for the fastest-selling book when Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince sold nine million copies on its first day of publication in 2005[18].

Outside of that, there was obviously a video game made to go alongside the release of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, as well as merchandising, consisting of posters, clothing, figurines, and prop replicas. You can also visit sets from all the movies at the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London. Some specific sets from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix that you could explore there are Umbridge’s office and the Ministry of Magic.

FINAL THOUGHTS

So, I’ve made it clear that despite the abundance of villains in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, this film is not my favourite. In fact, it is either my least favourite or my second-least favourite, depending on what day it is. It just doesn’t grab me like most of the others do.

However, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix can be seen as laying the groundwork for what is to come. After all, we couldn’t just have Voldemort return in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and then have a great battle straight after that. It is giving us insight into how both sides are preparing for the seemingly imminent war, and letting us in on some mysteries and secrets that will become clear by the finale.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix gives you just enough information and action to keep you interested and engaged for the next one. Sometimes that’s all you need.


REFERENCES

[1] Credit: Clémence Michallon, ‘Helen McCrory: How Harry Potter actor was cast as Bellatrix Lestrange but ended up playing Narcissa Malfoy’, Independent.co.uk, 16th April 2021.

[2] Credit: Evanna Lynch, The Opposite of Butterfly Hunting (2021).

[3] Credit: Ben Sherlock, ’10 Actors Who Were Almost Cast In Harry Potter Movies’, ScreenRant.com, 28th April 2020.

[4] Credit: Warner Bros., ‘Additional Scenes’, from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) 11-Disc Blu-Ray Set (2011).

[5] Credit: HBO Max, Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts (2022).

[6] Credit: Quinci Legardye, ‘Here’s Why Emma Watson Almost Quit Harry Potter’, HarpersBazaar.com, 30th December 2021.

[7] Credit: Matthew Rudoy, ‘Harry Potter: 10 Differences Between The Order Of The Phoenix Book & The Movie’, ScreenRant.com, 20th August 2020.

[8] Credit: Chloe Roden, ‘Discovering England’s Wizarding World: 20 Years of Harry Potter Filming Locations’, FilmingInEngland.co.uk, 16th November 2021.

[9] Credit: ITV, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: Behind the Magic (2007), Special Features YouTube Channel, 7th April 2024.

[10] Credit: Warner Bros., “Focus Points”, from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) 11-Disc Blu-Ray Set (2011).

[11] Credit: Ashley Boucher, ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’ Turns 10: Here Are 18 Behind-the-Scenes Facts (Photos)’, TheWrap.com, 11th July 2017.

[12] Credit: Tamar Altebarmakian, ‘Secrets You Didn’t Know Behind The Making Of Harry Potter’, ScreenRant.com, 30th January 2018.

[13] Credit: BBC News, ‘Potter train attacked by vandals’, BBC.co.uk, 23rd March 2007.

[14] Credit: Sophie King, ‘Harry Potter fans in shock by editing blunder on film poster’, Mirror.co.uk, 20th September 2024.

[15] Credit: Nikki Finke, ‘‘Harry Potter’ Sets Biggest Wed Record With Magical $44.2M On First U.S. Day’, Deadline.com, 11th July 2007.

[16] Credit: Gregg Kilday, ‘‘Potter’ plot thickens box office 5-day total’, HollywoodReporter.com, 16th July 2007.

[17] Credit: James Sturcke, ‘Harry Potter theme park to open in Florida’, TheGuardian.com, 31st May 2007.

[18] Credit: BBC News, ‘Harry Potter finale sales hit 11m’, News.BBC.co.uk, 23rd July 2007.

Descendants: Wicked Wonderland (2026)

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

BACKGROUND

Consider this your spoiler warning. I like to go into detail with plot points, so you might want to ensure you’ve watched Descendants: Wicked Wonderland before reading anymore.

Back in the day – you know, the 2000s – Disney Channel considered themselves lucky if they discovered they had made a film popular enough to warrant a sequel.

But then came High School Musical, which spanned three musical films. Now, fans of Disney Channel Original Movies, specifically the musicals, were coming to expect that their favourite musical franchises would become trilogies at the very least.

This turned out to be the case for a number of them. The Cheetah Girls hit three films, with The Cheetah Girls: One World (2008) actually reaching our screens a couple of months before High School Musical: Senior Year (2008) did. Descendants came along later, in 2015, and hit the three-movie marker, as did ZOMBIES a few years after that. We are also getting that longed-for – by others, not by me – third Camp Rock film in 2026.

In the last couple of years, some popular DCOM musical franchises have moved into unprecedented territory by reaching five films. Although we have ZOMBIES 5 to look forward to, probably in 2027, Descendants is the first DCOM franchise to reach this milestone.

The fourth Descendants film, Descendants: The Rise of Red (2024), helped the film series by being a reboot of sorts, not involving many of the previous cast and taking the series in a new direction. This was a similar route that the fourth ZOMBIES movie took just a year later in 2025. Descendants: The Rise of Red benefitted from having a completely new story, involving time travel, which had not been done before in the world of Descendants. It was not perfect, but it was relatively clever.

Yet, Descendants: Wicked Wonderland felt like it was rehashing old Descendants storylines. After Descendants: The Rise of Red, the two leads of Chloe and Red find that the time travelling has led to a mixture of positive and negative consequences that affected their lives. Descendants: Wicked Wonderland promised to explore those – and it did, but it was also tied up in Red’s need to understand herself, as she becomes a hero’s kid – not that I know what makes the Queen of Hearts a hero just because she’s not mean anymore – instead of a villain’s kid. For those who watched the original trilogy, you’ll know this was exactly the same character arc that Mal went through. It was old news for me, and not something I needed to see again. I’d had some hope for this fifth Descendants film but that promise I saw in Descendants: The Rise of Red was gone here and I was left disappointed.

PLOT

Descendants: Wicked Wonderland begins with a brief recap of the events of Descendants: The Rise of Red, provided by Chessy, a cat and the apparent daughter of the Cheshire Cat.

She states that daughter of the Queen of Hearts, Red, along with Cinderella’s daughter, Chloe, went back in time via a magical pocket watch to stop the Queen of Hearts from taking over Auradon, however, by doing this they inadvertently changed the past and are still figuring out how those changes have affected their current lives, for example, the Queen of Hearts is now a kind ruler of Wonderland and no longer a villain, and Red has a new sister, Pink. After their time-travelling escapades, Chloe and Red decide to hide the pocket watch in the Wonderland Royal Vault. But Chessy reminds the audience that although one villain was erased on that fateful day, a new villain was also created.

In present day, Red and Chloe wake up on a new day, their first day back at school at Auradon Prep. The two are coming to terms with their new lives, with both of them now expected to be “perfect princesses” in order to please their mothers, yet neither want that for themselves. Red also is reminded whilst at school that she is now a “HK”, a Hero Kid, and not a “VK”, a Villain Kid, meaning she has new friends, like Luis Madrigal, the son of Luisa Madrigal, and Robbie Hood, the son of Robin Hood, alongside Chloe and her sister Pink. The VKs, meanwhile, now consist of leader Hazel Hook, daughter of Captain Hook, and her sidekicks Squirmy and Squeaky Smee, the twin sons of Mr. Smee, as well as Felix Facilier, son of Dr. Facilier, and Max Hatter, the grandson of the Mad Hatter and son of Maddox Hatter. Red is struggling with this new order, continuing to see herself as a VK.

Meanwhile, it is revealed that Maddox Hatter is the new villain that Chessy was referencing. He was driven mad by seeing the magical pocket watch in use many years ago, and was desperate to find it. He was so desperate that he ended up being banished to the Isle of the Lost by the Queen of Hearts. In their former lives, Maddox Hatter and the Queen of Hearts were friends, but Red’s time travelling changed all that. Chessy is now Maddox’s ally. They discover, thanks to his magical Oraculum invention, that the pocket watch is in the Wonderland Royal Vault, but they don’t know where it is. Maddox sends his mechanical dodos to find the vault. Maddox has his own plan to deal with the Queen in the meantime.

The Queen of Hearts is still blissfully happy with her life and wants to start planning a tea party. As she reels off all her ideas, we see robotic bugs have come to the throne room and have sent the Queen’s guards to sleep. Maddox then confronts the Queen, ordering her to tell him where the vault is. She refuses, so the bugs send her to sleep too.

Back at Auradon Prep, Red, Chloe, and their new friends are threatened by the new VK gang. Luis tells Red and Chloe that Maddox Hatter, Max’s father, is the biggest villain around here now. Suddenly, a playing card appears to Red, stating that the Queen of Hearts has been captured by Maddox Hatter and she needs to return to Wonderland at once. Red and Chloe go to Fairy Godmother and Cinderella to ask for permission to go to Wonderland, but as expected, they are told it is too dangerous to go there. The Fairy Godmother gives further details to them about Maddox, and says Uma is calling the Auradon Council to get help. Red and Chloe are told not to break the rules.

Red, Chloe, Pink, Luis, and Robbie decide they will still go to Wonderland together. Max, Hazel, Felix and the Smees also decide they will go with them, wanting to stop Maddox as well. Max says they’ll need him to stop Maddox, since he knows him the best. Max reiterates he doesn’t want to be like his father, so he will go against him. The group go down the Rabbit Hole into Wonderland, where Red and Chloe see strange portraits of themselves, seemingly as their hero and evil selves, but have no idea what they mean…

The group arrive in a colourful, spectacular Wonderland, which is very different to the Wonderland Red knew from her pre-time travel life. They decide the best thing to do is to head to the Queen of Hearts’ castle, where the Queen has been trapped in her throne room. The teens arrive at the Croquet Garden, but Maddox realises they are all there, thanks to his dodo spies, and starts to use his magic to torment and trick them. The group file into a nearby house, but this also becomes distorted because of Maddox’s magic. The Queen of Hearts pleads with Maddox to stop. He traps the group in a room and tries to crush them.

Red and Luis manage to escape the house through a tiny door, but the others are separated from them. Felix and Robbie end up in a teacup on a sea of water, whereas the rest show up in some sort of vegetable patch. Red and Luis successfully reunite with most of the others, having found Pink’s shoe whilst walking. Chloe alerts them all to a mechanical dodo, believing it to be a spy. Chloe wants to rewire it, to try and get it to be a spy for them instead of against them, but everyone overrules her and says they should simply destroy it. This plan doesn’t work and they decide to just keep moving before more dodos appear.

Back at home, Cinderella is made aware that Chloe and her friends went into Wonderland. Cinderella decides she’ll have to go to Wonderland to help her daughter. She chooses to go through a mirror in her palace which has a direct connection to the Queen of Hearts’ throne room. Seeing thick vines on the other side, Cinderella cuts through them and gets into Wonderland, reuniting with the Queen of Hearts. However, now the two are stuck in the throne room together, with no way out, as Maddox breaks the mirror.

That night, the teens discover they are further away from the castle now, because of Maddox’s tricks. They go to a large tree to shelter for the night. Luis tells Red that he doesn’t trust the VKs and thinks they and the other Hero Kids should go on alone tomorrow. Chessy the cat decides to have some fun by secretly pitting Hazel and Luis against each other. Red decides the VKs are best placed to get them to where they need to be. Chessy then whispers in Pink’s ear, telling her that her sister is siding with villains. Pink tells the group she thinks that is a mistake and that Max Hatter is clearly doing what his father wants him to do, by leading them into a trap. Max storms off. Red goes to talk to Max, saying that she trusts him to help them save her mother, and that they can try and save his father too. Max tells Red more about how his father turned mad, saying that all he could think about was this time travelling pocket watch, something that Red obviously knows about but does not reveal this to Max. At the same time, Hazel tells Chloe that she is simply a sidekick to Red, upsetting Chloe. Robbie and Felix later reunite with the group. Max says he has a plan to deal with Maddox, by stealing Maddox’s Oraculum, to use it to get the Queen of Hearts released.

However, Maddox has seen them discussing their plan, and shrinks them as they sleep, moving them onto a chessboard. They wake up and are shocked to find they have been moved completely off course by Maddox yet again. The teens are told by Chessy they must capture the king before they are captured. Chloe thinks they should use themselves as chess pieces and play across the board – now, where have I seen that before? However, as Chloe directs Robbie onto a square, he is launched into the air. Hazel tells Chloe this isn’t going to be that simple, and they’ll need a new plan. Red thinks they should directly fight the opposing pieces, but they are quickly overpowered, with Felix and one of the Smees being lost to the game too, and the king is raised up to a higher platform. Red and Hazel use Chloe as bait to get a flower to attack her, so Red can use it to launch herself over to the king and push him off the platform. They successfully beat the game – but Chloe is angry with Red for using her like that. The group see a cookie near by and take a bite, to grow back to normal size. They head towards Maddox’s cottage to get the Oraculum.

It soon becomes clear once again that they are behind schedule, and end up in the White Rabbit’s cottage to spend the night, since the White Rabbit leaves Wonderland in winter. Max tells Hazel that he wants to go to Maddox’s cottage alone, in case he is blamed for another trap that Maddox might set for them. Red tries to make amends with Chloe, but she won’t hear it. Luis tries to comfort Red, by telling her she’s a good leader with a good heart. Red and Luis start to fall for each other. Chloe has it out with Red on her return from her stroll with Luis, telling her she’s not treating her like a friend should. She goes off alone.

Max later makes it to his father’s cottage, where Chessy is waiting to corrupt his mind. She tells Max to use the Oraculum to answer the questions he has about his father. It shows Max his previous life with his father, and how Red’s use of the pocket watch made his and his father’s life worse. Out of anger at being denied a happy life with his father, Max finds a spell book nearby and starts making a potion, planning to use Chloe to get the pocket watch, since she knows where she hid it, and turn things back to the way they were. Chloe is approached by Max that night, and he convinces her to use this potion on herself, which was handily placed within a bracelet. As she puts the bracelet on, it instantly turns her evil. The two team up and head to the Wonderland Royal Vault to retrieve the pocket watch.

The next morning, Red worries about Chloe, having not seen her since the night before. She sees Chloe with Max and runs after her. Luis follows her, as does Pink, wanting to help her sister. They all end up at the Wonderland Maze, where it is revealed that Chloe has turned evil. Luis and Red follow Chloe and Max as they rush into the maze to find the Wonderland Royal Vault. The four run through opening and closing hedges, with each duo trying to reach the centre first. At one point, Luis tries to keep a hedge open for him and Red to get through, but only Red manages to exit that part of the maze; Luis is seemingly swallowed up by the hedge. Red is alone, hearing voices about how she has failed her friends. Chessy then appears telling Red all the things she’s done wrong on this journey, and how she has betrayed so many people. Red continues to unsuccessfully move through the maze, until she sees an item in one of the rose bushes. It is a little box, titled Pink and Red’s Treasures. Red sees her childhood with her sister and cries out for Pink to help her. Pink is finally allowed into the maze and finds Red. Pink eats part of the cookie they found by the chessboard earlier and grows taller to help get Red to the centre of the maze.

Maddox watches on from the throne room, as he sees his son reach the vault, with the Queen of Hearts and Cinderella now trapped in a cage of vines. Max finally retrieves the pocket watch, just as Red and Tall Pink show up. Pink stomps her foot, causing the ground to break away, and Red, Chloe, and Max fall down into the sunken area below it. Chloe picks up the pocket watch and threatens to use it for herself, in order to make herself powerful in the future. Red tells Chloe that she was the one to help Red see herself as a better person, a good person, and not just a villain. She apologises to Chloe for how she’s treated her in Wonderland, telling her they can figure this all out together. Chloe rips off the bracelet and reverts back to her good self. Maddox is seemingly out of ideas; however, he uses one last trick to possess some stone dragons near to where Red, Chloe, and Max are. Max is about to be crushed by one of the sculptures, but is saved by Chloe and Red. They choose to destroy the pocket watch once and for all, tossing it into a magic well.

Pink takes the rest of the group to the throne room and rescues the Queen of Hearts and Cinderella. Cinderella uses her tiara to cut the rope to the castle’s chandelier, trapping Maddox Hatter within it. The Queen of Hearts then uses her magic to get her castle back the way it was, and is reunited with her children, and Cinderella with her daughter. Max is also reunited with his father. The Queen of Hearts suddenly approaches Maddox, and cries “Off with his head!” She comes to her senses soon after, not knowing where that touch of evil came from. Red stops the guards from taking him away, saying it is her fault for what happened. If “hero” is just a word, then maybe “villain” is the same, so Maddox should be given a second chance. The Queen of Hearts says Maddox can stay in his chandelier prison until they work out what to do with him next.

To celebrate the happy ending, the Queen of Hearts throws a tea party for everyone, toasting her brave rescuers for what they did for her and Wonderland. She then states that it is time to dance, with Red and Chloe happy things are back to how they should be.

In a final scene, Pink finds something strange in her and Red’s box of treasures. Chessy says all this would be too sweet of an ending, so the story is not yet over.

CHARACTERS & CAST

After their time travel journey, Red and Chloe return to their lives surprised at how much everything has changed. Red now has a sister, Pink, and her mother, the Queen of Hearts, is kind and nice, not the mean, dictatorial villain she used to be. Chloe, meanwhile, thinks her mother, Cinderella, is stricter now, and it is completely at odds with the young Ella that Chloe met when she was in the past. Red and Chloe come back to Auradon Prep as friends and fellow Hero Kids, something that Red is struggling to deal with, having always found herself more suited to the life of Villain Kids. As their new friends join up with the VKs in Wonderland, Chloe feels that her and Red are drifting apart, since Red is more comfortable going along with the VKs than with Chloe, choosing to ignore Chloe’s ideas for the most part during their time in Wonderland. It is no wonder then that Chloe finds herself liking the idea of being evil, just to prove that she is more than just the goodie-goodie princess Red seems to still think of her as. When all looks lost, and Chloe is about to descend into darkness forever though, Red manages to reach Chloe, to stop her from using the pocket watch again. By the end of the film, Red and Chloe have revived their friendship once again, learning to understand each other better in the process.

Kylie Cantrall returned to reprise her role as Red in Descendants: Wicked Wonderland. Prior to her role in the Descendants franchise, Kylie Cantrall already had a presence on Disney Channel, by starring as Gabby in their series Gabby Duran & the Unsittables (2019-21), and later being cast as Dani in Season 4 of the Disney+ series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (2019-23). Most recently, Cantrall has seemingly been focusing on her music, having released her latest EP Valley Girl Problems in July 2026, and she came third in Season 14 of The Masked Singer (2019-present) in 2026. She is set to voice the character Mica Bueno in the animated film Zac Power, due for a 2027 release.

Malia Baker returned to reprise her role as Chloe in Descendants: Wicked Wonderland. Baker was known for starring as Mary Anne Spier in the Netflix series The Baby-Sitters Club (2020-21), and then appearing in Season 2 of the revival series of Are You Afraid of the Dark? (2019-22), in the role of Gabby Lewis. Recently, she was cast as Alexis in the drama film What We Hide (2025), which also starred Mckenna Grace.

Red and the Queen of Hearts were once friends with Maddox Hatter, the son of the Mad Hatter, with Maddox saving Red from the Wonderland guards, and her mother’s wrath, in their pre-time travel lives. Maddox was the one to show Red the pocket watch, telling her about its time-travelling capabilities, so that she could have a different life. He even warned her that everything could change if she used it – and it did, although Maddox Hatter ended up being the one whose life changed the most. Maddox was driven mad by the sight of Red and Chloe – not that he knew who was using it at the time – using the pocket watch in front of his younger self. From then on, Maddox wanted to find the pocket watch for himself, but by thinking about it so obsessively, it was decided by the Queen of Hearts that he had become a madman and he was banished to the Isle of the Lost. Maddox has never stopped thinking about the pocket watch, desperately searching for its location. He eventually discovers it was in Wonderland all along and sets out to get it, by using magic and tricks to stop the HKs and VKs from getting to it first, even resorting to capturing the Queen and potentially injuring his own son to find it. In the end, Maddox is thwarted by the HKs and VKs, but is told he will be given a second chance – although by the end of the film, we don’t actually know if he was ever even released from that chandelier…

Maddox Hatter was played by Leonardo Nam, reprising his role from Descendants: The Rise of Red. Nam had previously been cast as Brian McBrian in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005) and its 2008 sequel, going on to play Morimoto in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006). More recently, Nam was cast in the recurring role of Felix Lutz in Westworld (2016-22) and appeared as Dave in the Hulu sitcom Maggie (2022).

Chessy Cheshire is Maddox’s only companion, seemingly, and is the only one to believe that the pocket watch actually exists. She is there to guide Maddox in his plans, and is only too happy to cause some mischief to stop the VKs and HKs from getting to the pocket watch first. She mostly just pits people against each other, whispering things in their ears in the hopes that will rile them up enough to cause friction with others. And it works, because these are teenagers who apparently don’t know how to regulate their emotions and think for themselves. Chessy also acts as the narrator of this film, providing a brief reminder of what happened earlier in Descendants: The Rise of Red and to tell us that Descendants: Wicked Wonderland isn’t even the end of this story.

Chessy was voiced by Awkwafina, who has some voice acting history, by voicing Courtney in The Angry Birds Movie 2 (2019); Ms. Tarantula in animated film The Bad Guys (2022) and The Bad Guys 2 (2025); and Zhen in Kung Fu Panda 4 (2024). For Disney, Awkwafina had also previously voiced Sisu in their animated film Raya and the Last Dragon (2021), as well as Scuttle in the live-action remake The Little Mermaid (2023). She also played Katy in the Marvel film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021). Outside of that, Awkwafina is known for her roles in comedy films, such as being cast as Constance in Ocean’s 8 (2018), Goh Peik Lin in Crazy Rich Asians (2018), and Ming Fleetfoot in Jumanji: The Next Level (2019). She also co-created, wrote, and starred, as Nora, in the sitcom Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens (2020-23).

Now on to the large group of Hero and Villain Kids that come with Chloe and Red to Wonderland to save the Queen of Hearts. Within the HKs, we have Red’s sweet little sister Pink; Red’s love interest Luis Madrigal, and his best friend Robbie Hood.

Pink is overlooked much of the time by Red, probably because Red doesn’t remember ever having a sister, as she didn’t have one before her and Chloe time travelled. Pink wants to be a part of Red’s life, but Red mostly keeps her at arm’s length. It isn’t until Red is shown her and Pink’s box of treasures in the Wonderland Maze that she is given any memories of life with her sister, and from then on, Red wants Pink fully involved in her plan to stop Max and Chloe from getting the watch. Pink proves herself useful in doing this. Pink is also the one who is involved in the cliffhanger scene, potentially setting up a new story all about her. Pink was played by Liamani Segura, who had previously worked for Disney, by playing the recurring role of Emmy in the Disney+ series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (2019-23). Recently, Segura starred as Sage in Camp Rock 3 (2026) also for Disney Channel.

Luis Madrigal, like Red, is struggling with expectations and living up to his mother’s legacy of being strong and tough, able to hold everything together. This means that the two are able to bond during their journey through Wonderland, finding themselves opening up and talking to each other without any insecurity. They quickly fall for each other, despite Red initially being quite closed off and dismissive of this “Hero Kid”. Luis was played by Alexandro Byrd, who recently played the title character of Juan José Mundo in the movie The Legend of Juan José Mundo (2025).

Robbie Hood is Luis’ best friend, and one of Red and Chloe’s new friendship group. Robbie doesn’t actually end up appearing much in this movie, as he finds himself separated from the others on various occasions, like by ending up in a teacup with Felix Facilier after getting through Maddox’s tricky “fun house”, and for being launched out of the chessboard. The focus within the Hero Set is mostly on Pink and Luis. Robbie was played by Joel Oulette, who was cast in the lead role of Jared in the Canadian series Trickster (2020), and was a contestant in Season 9 of The Amazing Race Canada (2013-present) prior to his role here. He is set to play Tommy Ross in the 2026 adaptation of Carrie for Amazon Prime. 

For the VKs, the leader of the group is Hazel Hook. She is a tough, strong leader, with a lot of opinions and a lot of directions for her gang. She is particularly watchful of the Smees, as they are clumsy and can’t always be trusted to know what they are doing! Despite her rough exterior, Hazel is very protective of her friends, standing up for them against their common enemy: the HKs. However, by the end of the film, the VKs have learnt to get along with the HKs, mostly through Hazel’s openness to working with them. Kiara Romero was cast as Hazel Hook, having been cast as Ruby D. in JoJo Siwa’s film The J Team (2021) for Paramount+ and Nickelodeon, and as Liz in the teen romance film First Love (2022) prior to her involvement in the Descendants franchise.

Max Hatter is another important member of the VKs, as his knowledge about Maddox Hatter, his father, is vital to the group’s success in Wonderland. He hasn’t grown up having a good relationship with his father, due to Maddox’s obsession with the pocket watch, and has no desire to end up mad like him. Max wants to help the group stop Maddox, even if the HKs think he just wants to lead them all into his father’s trap. However, as Max tries to help with the plan, he ends up learning that he and his father once had a close relationship, but thanks to Red’s use of the pocket watch, their lives have changed immensely, making Max angry that Red never thought to mention how her actions destroyed his and his father’s life. It’s no wonder that Max wants to get to the pocket watch to fix their lives, and isn’t afraid to use Red’s best friend Chloe to do that. He eventually learns that using the pocket watch would do more harm than good and has to live with the life and the father he has right now. Let’s just hope Red and the Queen came through on giving Maddox his second chance.

Max was played by Brendon Tremblay, who was cast as Antoine in the Canadian series Gang de hockey (2023-24) before his role in Descendants: Wicked Wonderland. Tremblay is set to appear as Alexander in the upcoming Disney Channel series Coven Academy (2026).

Rounding out the rest of the VK group are Felix Facilier, Squirmy Smee, and Squeaky Smee. Much like with Robbie Hood, these three don’t have all that much to do with the story, as the VK focus is squarely on Hazel and Max. Felix Facilier was played by Zavien Garrett, who recently appeared in the Monster High films for Nickelodeon and Paramount+. Squirmy Smee was played by Ryan McEwen, who was cast as Roy in the 2023 Paramount+ series Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies. Squeaky Smee was played by Dayton Paradis, who was a participant on Canada’s Got Talent (2012-present) and will appear in Camp Rock 3.

There are also other returning cast members from Descendants: The Rise of Red in this film. Two of these are Rita Ora as the Queen of Hearts, and Brandy as Cinderella. After being enemies due to an incident during their school days, thanks to Red and Chloe’s return from the past and stopping that event from occurring, it is clear that the two characters ended up remaining friends, meaning the Queen of Hearts had no reason to be mean. Cinderella wants to help the Queen of Hearts, her real name being Bridget, and tries to rescue her herself, only to be caught up in Maddox’s plan and trapped alongside her. But they stick together and stay positive, knowing their daughters are on their way to find them.

Paolo Montalban also reprised his role as Prince Charming from Descendants: The Rise of Red, although his appearances here are few and far between. Melanie Paxson got slighter more screen time here, but not by much, reprising her role as the Fairy Godmother, a part she played throughout the original Descendants trilogy as well as in the fourth film. 

MUSIC

Descendants: Wicked Wonderland’s soundtrack was released on 17th July 2026, and consists of eleven songs, as well as an additional track for the score suite.  

The soundtrack for Descendants: Wicked Wonderland received a mixed reaction, with some absolutely loving the songs and others not so much. I didn’t think much of the music from Descendants: Wicked Wonderland initially, but a few have grown on me now.

The first song to appear in Descendants: Wicked Wonderland is “Perfect Princess”, which plays shortly after the narrated opening of the film. “Perfect Princess” shows Red and Chloe struggling to adapt to their lives, which have changed due to their time travelling, on their first day back at school, with both of them expected to act like perfect princesses, despite neither of them wanting that pressure. The song was written by Mitch Allan, Chantry Johnson, and Michelle Zarlenga, and was performed by the entire cast. I didn’t think much of this song at the start of the film, but have recently come to like it. “Perfect Princess” was first heard during Disney Night on Season 24 of American Idol (2002-present) on 20th April 2026, recorded by some of the cast at Disneyland Park. The performance was then released on YouTube. The song was released as a single in June 2026.

Following on from that is “Mad”, performed predominantly by Leonardo Nam as Maddox Hatter. “Mad” is Maddox Hatter’s villain song, where he is tormenting the teens with his magic and trying to stop them from reaching the Queen of Hearts’ castle. As a fan of most villains’ songs, I did like this song.  I thought Nam played this new villainous version of Maddox Hatter very well, with plenty of eccentric energy. “Mad” was also written by Mitch Allan, Chantry Johnson, and Michelle Zarlenga. A different version of the song also appears on the soundtrack, under the title “Mad – Wicked Wonderland”. In this case, it was performed by Kylie Cantrall, Malia Baker, and Liamani Segura. I did not like this version. This song was released as a single in June 2026 as well.

After that, the tension between the HKs and VKs threatens to reach boiling point. “Did You Hear About Them” plays, allowing each group to showcase their strengths, whilst trying to outdo the other and highlight the other group’s weaknesses. It was a good way of introducing a dance-off and sing-off to the movie, and it is quite a fun number, with a nice beat to it, but I don’t feel like it added much to the story. “Did You Hear About Them” was performed by the teenage cast, with Kiara Romero and Alexandro Byrd, as Hazel Hook and Luis Madrigal, getting the most out of this song. It was written by Antonina Armato, Tim James Price, Thomas Armato Sturges, and Adam Schmalholz.

The group then find themselves shrunk down and placed on a huge chessboard, being told to capture the king to get off it. “Dancing with the Enemy” is basically Red instructing the group on how to proceed here. It’s another good song for a group number, with plenty of opportunities to showcase the young actors. I preferred this song to “Did You Hear About Them”, feeling that this scene needed a song to move the characters’ journey forward quickly. “Dancing with the Enemy” was performed by Kylie Cantrall, Malia Baker, Liamani Segura, and Kiara Romero, and was written by Antonina Armato, Tim James Price, Thomas Armato Sturges, and Adam Schmalholz. It was released as a single in July 2026.

“For Once in My Life” is the romantic duet within Descendants: Wicked Wonderland. It is performed by Kylie Cantrall as Red and Alexandro Byrd as Luis, as they start to accept they have feelings for each other. Although I find the song decent as far as Disney Channel musical duets go, I didn’t think Luis and Red’s relationship was particularly believable, so having this sweet love song when we barely even saw the two speak was odd. “For Once in My Life” was written by Jordan Powers and Josh Cumbee.

After that, the film then takes us to a duet between Rita Ora as the Queen of Hearts and Brandy as Cinderella called “The Girl I Used to Be”. This takes place as the two remain captive in the Queen’s castle. It sees them reminisce about their young selves and how they’ve grown as people, whilst also trying to figure out how to connect with their daughters. When I was first watching Descendants: Wicked Wonderland, this was the first song in the movie that I really liked. It was written by Jaheem King Toombs.

Then comes my favourite song in the film and that is “Heartless”, another villain’s song of sorts. This song is about Chloe feeling betrayed by Red, how she has ignored Chloe and dismissed her ideas throughout their time in Wonderland. This means that Chloe is vulnerable and open to being manipulated, so when Max Hatter comes along trying to convince her to be evil to get revenge on Red for messing up his and his father’s lives with her time travelling, Chloe accepts, wanting to show Red just what she’s made of. It was performed by Malia Baker as Chloe and Brendon Tremblay as Max Hatter, and was written by Antonina Armato, Tim James Price, Thomas Armato Sturges, and Adam Schmalholz.

“Who I Am” is a song for Red, as she struggles to deal with the fact Chloe has gone over to Max’s side and is now a villain, and blames herself for it. Red wants to figure out who she is, not be defined by the title of “Hero Kid” or “Villain Kid”. By the end of the song, Red has decided to call on her sister Pink to help her. This song reminded me a lot of “My Once Upon a Time” from Descendants 3 but did not surpass nor equal it. “Who I Am” was performed by Kylie Cantrall as Red for the most part, with Liamani Segura joining in as Pink at the end of the song. It was written by Kari Kimmel and Jackson Hoffman.

The finale number of Descendants: Wicked Wonderland is “Go Live It”, performed by the entire cast as they celebrate their happy ending during a tea party in the Queen’s castle. Every Disney Channel musical has a big, high-energy group number like this at the end of their films and this one was at least comparable to others, although not my favourite of the collection. It was written by Matthew Tishler and Shridhar Solanki.

The End Credits song, accompanying clips from the film, specifically of the dance numbers, is actually a cover of the End Credits song from Disney Animation’s Mulan (1998). It is the song “True to Your Heart”, written by Matthew Wilder and David Zippel, but performed by Liamani Segura in this case. I never liked this song when it was in Mulan so sadly, I didn’t like it in Descendants: Wicked Wonderland either!

The composer for Descendants: Wicked Wonderland was Torin Borrowdale, who was back after composing the score on Descendants: The Rise of Red. Borrowdale has also composed music for series such as the fantasy series Locke & Key (2020-22) on Netflix, as well as the medical drama Pulse (2025).

The soundtrack debuted at No. 1 on the US Billboard Kid Albums Chart, which matches the performance of the soundtrack for Descendants: The Rise of Red. Descendants: Wicked Wonderland did slightly worse in two other charts, by reaching No. 2 on the US Billboard Soundtrack Albums Chart, whereas Descendants: The Rise of Red topped it. Descendants: The Rise of Red peaked at No. 60 on the US Billboard 200 chart, whereas Descendants: Wicked Wonderland entered this chart at No. 88 but it may improve[1].

PRODUCTION

Descendants: The Rise of Red had ended on a cliffhanger, leaving those viewers watching during its premiere in July 2024 wondering just what consequences Chloe and Red were going to face after going back in time and changing the past and, therefore, the present.

This little bit of narration at the very end of the film turned out to be exactly the set-up for another movie that it was intended to be, with “Descendants 5” first announced in February 2025. An official title for the movie was announced on 6th May 2025: Descendants: Wicked Wonderland, signalling that this movie would take place in Wonderland, with an expected release date of July 2026 eventually being revealed through its trailers in 2026.  

Kimmy Gatewood was tasked with directing this new Descendants movie, taking over from Jennifer Phang who had directed Descendants: The Rise of Red. Gatewood is both an actor and director, having played Stacey Beswick in the Netflix series GLOW (2017-19), going on to be cast in the recurring role of Coach Crowley in Netflix’s Atypical (2017-21) from Season 2. Her projects in directing include the romcom Good on Paper (2021) and some episodes of the series The Baby-Sitters Club (2020-21) and Girls5eva (2021-24).

The two writers who had written the screenplay for Descendants: The Rise of Red, Ru Sommer and Dan Frey, returned to co-write Descendants: Wicked Wonderland, with Tamara Chestna. Chestna had previously co-written the films After (2019) and Moxie (2021), as well as writing the Amazon Prime film Something from Tiffany’s (2022). Chestna also has links to Disney Channel, having been a writer on the DCOM musical, Sneakerella (2022).

The original story of Descendants: Wicked Wonderland was reported to be quite different to the story we ended up with. After production on the film had begun in April 2025, details started to slowly emerge. The working title for this fifth Descendants film was actually Descendants: For the Win, and was meant to revolve around Wonderland hosting the Auradon Kingdom Cup Games, all whilst a new villain attempts to use the magic of Wonderland for his own purposes. This is an interesting concept that would’ve made this fifth film unique to others that came before it. However, it was decided that streamlining the story and stripping out the references to these games was for the best for whatever reason.

Filming took place in Canada, specifically in Vancouver, British Columbia, from around April to the end of May 2025. This was a return to Descendants’ roots, as the original trilogy had been filmed in Vancouver, whereas Descendants: The Rise of Red was actually filmed in the US state of Georgia[2]. This meant that the cast and crew of Descendants: Wicked Wonderland got to return to the real setting of Auradon Prep: Hatley Castle in Colwood, British Columbia. Other areas around Vancouver used for filming reportedly include Burnaby Central Park, and Hycroft Manor for Chloe’s family home[3].

Although plenty of CGI is used in Descendants: Wicked Wonderland, such as for various creatures in Wonderland, as well as the exterior of the castle that the Queen of Hearts and her family reside in, the crew actually built many sets that the cast were able to walk around in and interactive with. Examples of these include the Wonderland Garden sets, the Queen of Hearts’ throne room, the huge chessboard, and even the maze sequence. The only full sequence the cast had to do with all green screen was the sequence of the characters falling down the rabbit hole to get to Wonderland, with the cast being harnessed onto cranes to film the scenes[4]. The cast much preferred being inside of these impressive sets, so that they could immerse themselves in the world of Wonderland realistically.

This attention to detail in the set design also filtered down into the costume design, with all the Descendants films being remembered for their iconic costuming, hair, and makeup, in order to ensure each character can be linked to their famous Disney family. For example, Luis’ vest contains nods to the film Encanto (2021), with embroidery referencing the Miracle Candle, and Hazel Hook is continuing to represent her family in a leather outfit reminiscent of her brother Harry from Descendants 2 and Descendants 3, complete with her own hook accessory as well. Pink looks very much like how her mother did when she was younger, as we saw from her younger self in Descendants: The Rise of Red. Pink loves pink, obviously, and likes to wear flouncy fabrics in items like her skirts and bows. Max and his father Maddox still wear top hats, as you’d expect from the grandson and son of the Mad Hatter, but their chosen colour palettes use a lot of purple, potentially due to their links to magic, whereas we’d normally expect the Mad Hatter to be wearing green.

Red and Chloe continue to wear red and blue respectively, as a salute to their mothers’ colours, but in Descendants: Wicked Wonderland, their outfits are softer, with less accessories and more of a princess vibe than the tough warrior-like costumes they had in Descendants: The Rise of Red. You’ll also notice that Chloe does not have a sword as she did in the previous one. Instead, she was given a small dagger. Chloe actually has two versions of this dagger, one with a blue handle and one with a black handle. The black dagger matches Chloe’s evil persona, where her costume morphs into darker tones. The look is more sophisticated, with a cape flaring out to show how effortlessly cool being evil is.

As we’ve come to expect from Disney Channel, when they announce they’re making a musical, we know that means plenty of group dance numbers. Descendants: Wicked Wonderland is no exception, with the cast being put through their paces by choreographer Emilio Dosal. Dosal has also worked on the choreography for other musicals, included Disney Channel’s Sneakerella, Wicked (2024) and Wicked: For Good (2025). Dosal said he expected a lot from the cast, but was impressed with their work ethic and performances[5].

RECEPTION

After the red carpet premiere to celebrate the release of Descendants: Wicked Wonderland, held on 14th July 2026 in Los Angeles and attended by the cast, Descendants: Wicked Wonderland first premiered on Disney Channel in the US on 16th July 2026. Since many international Disney Channels have now shut down, the film then came to Disney+ to premiere to a global audience on 17th July 2026. This is now the expected release schedule for many Disney Channel movies, i.e., coming to Disney+ the day after Disney Channel.

Kylie Cantrall, Malia Baker, Liamani Segura, Kiara Romero, and Alexandro Byrd all participated in a watch party during the premiere of Descendants: Wicked Wonderland for Disney Channel too, looking back at their favourite moments and the best musical numbers.

Within just a couple of days of its release, Descendants: Wicked Wonderland was reported to be the Number 1 movie on Disney+, taking the spot previously held by Avatar: Fire and Ash (2025). This wasn’t only in the US either, as it was said to have topped the charts in over 70 countries, including the UK and Canada, which shouldn’t come as surprise given the fact that it is summer vacation for many school-age children right now, and the other Descendants movies have been viewed on the streaming platform for over 700 million hours collectively[6]. Descendants: Wicked Wonderland has continued to be the No. 1 streaming film on Disney+ worldwide since it premiered[7]. The Disney Channel premiere didn’t do as well, reportedly only being viewed by 0.3 million on this specific date, but the Disney Channel premieres of DCOMs have been steadily decreasing year-on-year for a while now. I’m sure The Walt Disney Company are putting much more emphasis on how well their television movies are doing on streaming platforms nowadays.

As with most Disney Channel movies, Descendants: Wicked Wonderland received mixed reviews. Some absolutely loved this film, probably viewers within the actual target demographic, so arguably the most important ones to please, much preferring Descendants: Wicked Wonderland to Descendants: The Rise of Red, whereas some die-hard fans of the original Descendants trilogy continue to refuse to give any credit to the two latest films, which is understandable as Disney did move on rather quickly with rebooting the series.

On the positive side, many enjoyed the additions of the characters of Hazel and Luis to the story, who were given a lot of screen time and plenty of opportunities to shine. I’d also like to add Max Hatter into this as I felt Tremblay did a good job with his character, as Romero and Byrd did with theirs. There were also comments about the setting of Wonderland, and how colourful and interesting all the sets were, adding in plenty of nods and references to Disney Animation’s Alice in Wonderland (1951), such as the bread-and-butterflies, and the croquet flamingos. The message, about being more than your parents’ expectations and forging your own path, was also appreciated by those watching – although I would just like to point out that that has been the message of every Descendants movie. All five talk about how people shouldn’t be pigeonholed and told to be either “good” or “bad”.

The negative criticism focused on unused side characters and the pacing. It was felt that there were too many characters tossed into the mix in Descendants: Wicked Wonderland, who were only really there to provide a quick joke, if that. This relates to characters like Robbie Hood, the Smee twins, and Felix Facilier, who were constantly being separated from the group in weird and unnecessary ways. I personally agree with this comment, and am unsure why Luis, Hazel, and Max weren’t considered to be sufficient additions to the group of Red, Chloe, and Pink. Six characters is plenty to keep up with, especially when four of them are new ones to the franchise; ten is too many. The romance between Luis and Red was also seen to be quite forced and unnatural within the storyline, given they only actually had two scenes where it was just them two. I also agree with this, and wasn’t sure why we had to have this relationship in the movie. I get that it’s Disney Channel and they like to add love interests here, there, and everywhere in their movies and series, but maybe that doesn’t always need to be the case anymore. Or at least, they could’ve had the chemistry simmer for a bit, and potentially have the romance grow in a spin-off or a later film. Some also pointed out that the ending felt rushed. I didn’t like how easy it was for Chloe to become good again. It was literally just Red saying “Don’t go bad”, and Chloe going “Ok, I won’t”. It would’ve been nice to have extended this moment and delved a bit deeper into why Chloe felt the need to become evil in the first place. Others also wondered why Pink was not used much in Descendants: Wicked Wonderland, despite being a prime example of how the time travelling from the previous story had changed things for Red. I can only assume that Pink is going to be explored more in a later film.

My biggest issue with Descendants: Wicked Wonderland was simply the recycling of Mal’s storylines from the original trilogy and giving them to Red to go through just in a different setting. Red struggles with her new role as a “Hero Kid” and not a “Villain Kid” here. Mal had exactly that same issue after going against her mother in Descendants and ending up with Ben, feeling the pressure to act like a hero and not a villain. This went on throughout the original trilogy of films. Having Red go through the exact same thing just felt boring and repetitive to me. I wanted Red to have her own problems, like feeling guilty about how her time travelling affected Max and his father, something that wasn’t touched on much, or trying to get along with her new sister, despite not really knowing her. I did, however, like the conflict between her and Chloe, which did feel realistic and natural for the characters.

As for award wins for Descendants: Wicked Wonderland, because it has only just been released, there is no information on this currently. However, looking at the response to Descendants: The Rise of Red, it would seem that nominations could be possible in award ceremonies like the Children’s & Family Emmy Awards in 2027, and the Kids’ Choice Awards in 2026, since Descendants: The Rise of Red had nominations and wins at these ceremonies. Other more specialised award ceremonies, such as the Directors’ Guild of America Awards, may also recognise Descendants: Wicked Wonderland. 

LEGACY

Shortly after the premiere of Descendants: The Rise of Red, the Descendants/ZOMBIES: Worlds Collide Tour was announced at the D23 Expo in August 2024.

From Descendants: The Rise of Red, cast members Kylie Cantrall, Malia Baker, Dara Reneé, and Joshua Colley participated in the tour, which kicked off in San Diego on 17th July 2025, and ended in Fort Worth, Texas on 16th September 2025. They performed alongside some of the stars of ZOMBIES 4: Dawn of the Vampires, those being Freya Skye, Malachi Burton, and Mekonnen Knife. This tour was later made available to view on Disney+ and Disney Channel in February 2026, under the title Descendants/ZOMBIES Worlds Collide Concert Special. Along with performances of songs from all the Descendants films, there were also some exclusive looks and reveals about the story of Descendants: Wicked Wonderland, and an interview with Liamani Segura, to discuss her casting as the new character of Pink. Segura even made a surprise appearance on the tour, performing the song “One Kiss” from Descendants 3 during its date in Anaheim in July 2025[8].

Due to the popularity of this event, a new tour was announced and officially confirmed around March 2026. This Worlds Collide Concert Tour is not only bringing together those from the Descendants and ZOMBIES franchise, but also cast members from Camp Rock 3, with songs from the first two Camp Rock films expected to be performed. Specifically from Descendants: Wicked Wonderland, Liamani Segura, Alexandro Byrd, and Kiara Romero will be participating in the tour alongside their fellow Disney Channel stars. The American leg of the tour will begin on 25th September 2026 in Palm Desert, California, running until 13th December 2026 with its final performance of the year in Mexico City. The tour will then move over to Europe for a brief time, beginning with a performance on 6th February 2027 in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, and ending on 24th February in Madrid, Spain.

There have been some references to Descendants: Wicked Wonderland at the Disney Parks over Summer 2026 as well. This includes the DescenDANCE Party x Camp Rock Jam, which has been performed at the Disney Springs Waterside Stage on select nights at the Walt Disney World Resort, as part of their Cool Kids’ Summer event, and to promote and celebrate the release of their two newest DCOM musicals, featuring music from both franchises. It began in late May 2026, with Alexandro Byrd and Kiara Romero making a special appearance at one event, and is expected to run until early September 2026.

Also at Walt Disney World, but this time at the Walt Disney Presents attraction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, a new display was unveiled in July showing a variety of costumes and props from the film, belonging to the characters of Red, Chloe, Pink, Hazel, Cinderella, and the Queen of Hearts. Some of the cast were also spotted at Magic Kingdom to talk about the film in the run-up to Descendants: Wicked Wonderland’s release date.

Although not a new event made for Descendants: Wicked Wonderland, the DescenDANCE Party is expected to return to the 2026 Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party at Walt Disney World, and should include music from Descendants: The Rise of Red and Descendants: Wicked Wonderland in order to continue promoting the film. However, when the dance party reappeared at the Disneyland After Dark: Disney Channel Nite events in April 2026 at the Disneyland Resort, no music from the latest two films was used. 

On screen, Disney announced that they were making new short-form series based on some of Disney Channel’s most popular franchises. This series is titled Locker Diaries, with ZOMBIES being the first to get this treatment, arriving in February 2026. Locker Diaries: Descendants, debuted in July 2026, shortly after the premiere of Descendants: Wicked Wonderland, and is expected to last for ten episodes. As the name would suggest, the action of these short episodes is seen through lockers, in this case, the lockers at Auradon Prep[9].   

There has also been a new Descendants project announced recently, and that is Descendants: Hidden Heroes. At the start of August 2026, it was confirmed that this would be a new movie revolving around the lives of the children of Disney sidekicks, such as Lou, the son of Lumière from Beauty and the Beast (1991); Kronk’s son, Kronk Jr. from The Emperor’s New Groove (2000); and Jennie, the daughter of Genie from Aladdin (1992) amongst others. It is not yet known when Descendants: Hidden Heroes will be released, but it is officially now in production. Speculation around a sixth Descendants film is also being discussed, because Descendants: Wicked Wonderland ended on a cliffhanger, with many thinking that this new film is teasing the possibility of Pink turning evil. So, just like Audrey in Descendants 3, then? I want to see more of Pink, but please, give her an original storyline, not something we’ve already seen before.

In terms of merchandise, a line of Mattel dolls has been made available to purchase, with a doll each depicting Red, Pink, Chloe, and Hazel. You can even get a Red doll that sings “Perfect Princess”, as well as a doll with “Evil Chloe’s” outfit and one for the Queen of Hearts. This adds to the costuming, clothing, and books also on sale and specifically related to Descendants: Wicked Wonderland, alongside the other similar types of official merchandise still available that represent the characters in the original Descendants trilogy.

FINAL THOUGHTS

As I said earlier, after watching Descendants: Wicked Wonderland I felt a bit disappointed.

It’s not that I hated the film and found it unwatchable. I enjoyed parts of it, like a few of the songs, and I always like seeing new talent coming through Disney Channel.

The reason I was disappointed was not because Descendants: Wicked Wonderland told a boring story, it was just that I had seen all this before, from the original trilogy. With all the excitement, albeit some plot holes as well, that came with the time travel aspect of Descendants: The Rise of Red, I was expecting more from the plot, other than a haphazard journey through Wonderland and an inner conflict between being a hero and a villain.

I wanted to see more consequences stemming from the events of Descendants: The Rise of Red and a proper admission by Red and Chloe of what they did and why. But it didn’t happen. Having said that, I felt that the cast did a good job with the music and story they were given. I was just hoping for a plot with a little bit more substance to it.


REFERENCES

[1] Credit: Keith Caulfield, ‘‘Descendants: Wicked Wonderland’ Debuts At No. 1 On Kid Albums Chart’, Billboard.com, 29th July 2026.

[2] Credit: Susan Gittins, ‘DESCENDANTS 5 With Kylie Cantrall as Red is Underway in Vancouver’, HollywoodNorthBuzz.com, 1st April 2025.

[3] Credit: Susan Gittins, ‘Rita Ora & Brandy in DESCENDANTS: WICKED WONDERLAND Filming in Vancouver’, HollywoodNorthBuzz.com, 6th May 2025.

[4] Credit: Laughing Place, ‘“Descendants: Wicked Wonderland” Interview – Legacy, Sisterhood & Falling Down the Rabbit Hole’, Laughing Place YouTube Channel, 16th July 2026.

[5] Credit: ABC13, ‘Go on set of ‘Descendants: Wicked Wonderland’ with Kylie Cantrall, Malia Baker, Liamani Segura’, ABC13.com, 17th July 2026.

[6] Credit: Sam Fang, ‘Disney’s New Sequel in 11-Year-Old Franchise Is Officially the Most Streamed Title in the World, Replacing Avatar: Fire & Ash’, CBR.com, 20th July 2026.

[7] Credit: Amanda Finn, ‘‘Descendants: Wicked Wonderland’ Hits the Top of Disney+ Chart’, WDWNT.com, 30th July 2026.

[8] Credit: Disney, Descendants/ZOMBIES Worlds Collide Concert Special (2026), Disney+.

[9] Credit: Disney, ‘New Short-Form Series “Locker Diaries” Unlocls All-New Adventures From Disney’

#16 The Good Dinosaur (2015)

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

BACKGROUND

Pixar has always been seen as the best in the world of computer animation, having hit after hit after hit for years, ever since they released Toy Story in 1995.

There has been the occasional misstep of course, like Cars (2006) – and then Cars 2 (2011). But for the most part, if Pixar say they are releasing a new movie, generally, people get excited, and have high expectations of what they’ll be viewing.

2015 was looking to be another good year for Pixar, as their summer release of that year, Inside Out, was seen to be incredibly clever, funny, and poignant. It was looking like Pixar were heading into their third decade of movie-making on a high.

And then came The Good Dinosaur, their November release of 2015. Given its initial concept of how would the world have looked had the dinosaurs not been wiped out by an asteroid millions of years ago, people were looking forward to seeing what Pixar did with this story. After all, Pixar rarely make mistakes.

However, many viewers found themselves bitterly disappointed after watching The Good Dinosaur. It was considered to be one of Pixar’s worst movies at this point in time, and to back up the negative criticism, it was seen to have flopped at the box office, with even Cars and Cars 2 performing better financially. The reasons why The Good Dinosaur was not good differs depending on who you talk to, however, there are some fans of the film.

So, what’s my opinion on The Good Dinosaur?

I remember watching it at the cinema with my family, and I believe we all came out of there thinking it was alright. It wasn’t what we’d expected to see but it was watchable. However, now I’ve rewatched it a couple of times, I have a different view on The Good Dinosaur. Now, I can honestly say that I really don’t like The Good Dinosaur, and I would personally rather watch Cars 2 – or WALL-E (2008), or even Turning Red (2022), these being other Pixar films I don’t like much. I would, however, rather watch The Good Dinosaur than Lightyear (2022) – but wouldn’t everybody?

Specifically, I find The Good Dinosaur too dark, lacking in humour, and overall, quite slow and boring to follow. I’ve never been interested in dinosaurs and I don’t like films about nature, as nature can be cruel and upsetting to watch. The Good Dinosaur is not a feel-good film, despite that being what we generally expect to see from Pixar. It’s just not for me.

PLOT

The Good Dinosaur begins 65 million years ago, as an asteroid rockets towards Earth. We watch as it hurtles towards the planet, seemingly going to make a direct hit. The dinosaurs that roam the Earth continue life as though nothing is happening. Suddenly, they hear a noise and look up to the sky – and see the asteroid fly right over them, not making contact.

Million of years later, having not died from an asteroid strike, the dinosaurs, and other creatures from that era, continue to roam the planet. On a patch of land, a dinosaur couple have managed to build and maintain a farm for themselves. They are waiting for their three eggs to hatch – and today is the day. First, they have their daughter Libby, closely followed by a son called Buck. Then, there is just the largest egg of the three to hatch, so the dinosaur couple, Henry and Ida, are expecting this one to be the biggest of their three children. Except, when the egg hatches, out pops a tiny, very nervous dinosaur. They call him Arlo. The parents tell their children about the family farm, located next to Clawtooth Mountain, and how, together, they will keep this farm going.

Some time later, Libby and Buck are shown to be actively involved in their farming chores, although Arlo, still quite small and weak compared to his sister and brother, is struggling to contribute his fair share of the work. His mother loads him up with some food and he is sent to go and feed their chickens. Arlo doesn’t like the chickens, and is nervous about entering the pen. Eventually he does though and befriends one of the chicks, but the mother is waiting nearby and chases Arlo out of the pen. Arlo runs so far and fast that he has to be caught by his father before he falls in the river at the edge of their farm. His father is filling a silo he’s built with crop from the farm, saying it should stop any critters from stealing their food. Henry and Ida then mark the silo with their footprints, telling their children they’ll have to earn their mark on the silo by doing something big.

The first of the three children to earn their mark is Buck, who does so by clearing a field. Libby follows shortly after by ploughing the field, whilst Arlo continues to be scared of everything. But determined to get his mark, Arlo marches into the chicken pen to feed the animals, coming across an injured Buck on the ground. Arlo tries to help him, but Buck pranks him with a chicken puppet on his tail, scaring Arlo again. Arlo’s parents tell off Buck for calling Arlo a coward and say Arlo just needs time.

That night, Arlo is woken up by his father and taken on a walk. He tells Arlo to walk into a misty field. Uncertain, Arlo begins to walk, but stops when he sees a bug on his nose. He calls to his father to get rid of it. Henry blows on the bug, and it begins to glow. It is a firefly and the field is filled with them. Arlo’s father tells Arlo sometimes you have to get through your fear to see the beauty on the other side. He says he has a new job for Arlo.

The next day, Arlo tells his father that his new job is to catch the critter that has been stealing food from their silo. They build a trap for it together, with Arlo told to kill it with a stick after it’s been caught. Arlo patrols the silo, determined to do his job right, but when he sees something actually caught in the net, he begins to panic, especially as the critter – actually a human caveboy – seems to try and attack Arlo; I think he actually just can’t breathe. Arlo frees it, but it comes too close to Arlo and his screams scare the boy off. Arlo’s father comes over, angry to see that the critter has escaped. Wanting Arlo to face his fear, he takes Arlo into the forest to follow the critter and finally kill it. A storm has started, and Arlo worries about getting lost. His father tells him as long as he can find the river, he can find his way home. The tracks of the critter begin to wash away in the rain, so Arlo’s father tells Arlo to hurry, but Arlo gets scared of the thunder and lightning and falls, hurting himself. Arlo’s father sees this was not a good idea, and says they should go home. However, as they head home, they see the river water rising, and a huge torrent of flood water coming their way. Arlo’s father gets Arlo to safety, but it is too late for Henry and he is washed away…

Back on the farm some time later, Arlo’s mother is struggling with the harvest without Henry, and tells Arlo he’ll need to do more to help. Arlo promises he will. He then sees that boy inside the silo, eating all their food. Angry, and seeing the boy as the reason for his father’s death, Arlo chases it, but the boy jumps on Arlo, scaring him and causing him to stumble into the river. His head hits a rock and Arlo is knocked unconscious.

Arlo wakes up on the riverbank, far from home. He climbs up a wall of rocks to see the boy at the top of it, but the boy runs off before Arlo can catch up to him. Arlo thinks he’s lost until he sees the river and remembers what his dad said: that if he can find the river, he can find his way back home. Arlo follows the route of the river. He then starts to get hungry and tries to eat some berries from a tree, except he falls and gets his leg trapped under a rock. Arlo has no choice but to stay there, overnight, fearing what might approach him.

In the morning, Arlo discovers that his leg is free, seeing that something dug it out for him. Arlo continues his journey, stopping to attempt to build shelter when the rain gets bad. As the rain continues, Arlo hears something in the bushes ahead of him. It is the boy again who has given Arlo a half-dead lizard. The lizard manages to run off, as does the boy. A little while later, the boy returns with a huge bug. Arlo knocks it away with a stick. The boy returns for a third time, this time with a stick full of berries. Arlo tries to tell the boy to stay away from him, but is too hungry to argue. He asks the boy to find more berries, but he runs off. Arlo follows him to a cliff. The boy bites Arlo so he can use him as a bridge between two ledges. Arlo sees tons of berries on a tree on the other side, and excitedly starts eating them, despite the boy signalling something is wrong. That “something” turns out to be a snake, which falls on Arlo, causing Arlo to slip off the cliff and fall to the ground. The snake goes to attack Arlo, but is fought off by the boy. Arlo then hears a voice from the woods. It is a dinosaur, with animals all over him. He asks Arlo why the boy protected him; Arlo can’t answer that question. The dinosaur explains that all his animal “pets” protect him in some way and now he wants the boy. The dinosaur and Arlo start naming the boy. Whoever’s name he responds to gets to keep him. Luckily, Arlo wins, by naming the boy Spot.

Arlo and Spot continue their journey together, making a brief detour to mess with some gophers, by blowing into their burrows and forcing them out of hiding. The gophers get angry and climb on top of Arlo though, spooking him and making him fall in a lake. Arlo panics, until he sees Spot swimming and joins in – although when Arlo gets out of the lake, he is covered in leeches…They continue on, where they eat decomposing berries causing them to hallucinate, and walk through a field of fireflies. That night, Arlo tries to talk to Spot about his family, using sticks to represent each member of his family, with a circle drawn around it, as Spot can’t speak. Spot then does the same, showing that both of his parents have died. Arlo shows that his father has died too.

The next day, they press on with their journey in a storm, but Arlo gets flashbacks to his father’s death and runs into the woods to hide. Spot eventually finds Arlo in the now destroyed forest, but they are not near the river anymore. Arlo goes to ask a pack of pterodactyls for help, naively believing they are searching the woods for survivors and want to help them. The leader of the pack is called Thunderclap and their motto is “the storm provides”. Thunderclap sees an animal stuck in a tree and asks Arlo for help in getting to it. Arlo gladly accepts, however, the pterodactyls then eat the animal. They have their sights set on Spot next, but Arlo runs off with Spot on his back, asking more dinosaurs for help, but these are two huge T-Rexes. The T-Rexes fight off the pterodactyls and slowly approach Arlo. Arlo thinks they want to eat him next, but they just want to help. These two T-Rexes are brother and sister Nash and Ramsey. Their father, Butch, says they can’t help Arlo find his way home as they are busy trying to round up their herd. Arlo says Spot could sniff out their herd and they follow Spot as he sniffs out the herd’s trail.

At the end of the trail, all they see is a bug that Spot is interested in. Butch is angry that this was all a waste of time, but the herd are just in the next field over. The T-Rex family discovers that rustlers have tried to steal their herd. Butch tells Arlo to get on the rock in the middle of the herd and scream to lure the rustlers out into the open. It takes Spot biting Arlo to get him to scream, but the distraction works, and the rustlers, a pack of raptors, approach Arlo. Arlo is scared, but he stands his ground as Butch told him to. Just as Arlo thinks he’s about to be attacked, Butch, Nash, and Ramsey launch their attack on the raptors. However, at one point the raptors attack Butch. Arlo shakes off his fear to get the raptors off him, headbutting them. The raptors are tossed into the air by Butch, with the others running away. The T-Rexes roar at the raptors to keep them from coming back; they encourage Arlo to join in. They continue to move the herd together.

That night, around a campfire, the T-Rex family swap stories of their great adventures and their injuries, with Butch having a great story about the scar on his face, saying he was attacked by crocodiles, and fought back against them all. Arlo says that these stories have inspired him not to be scared anymore, but Butch says that that isn’t the point. The point is that fear is always there, and you have to fight to get through it. They then see the first snow falling, and Arlo knows he needs to get home soon.

The next day, Arlo and Spot go with Butch, Ramsey, and Nash to continue moving the herd. Arlo is even tasked with ensuring a group of them don’t split off in the wrong direction – and he manages to do it. Arlo can see Clawtooth Mountain in the distance and leaves the T-Rexes to continue the journey home. Arlo starts running home, with Spot on his back. They see the mountain up ahead, but stop after hearing a howl in the distance. Spot communicates through howling, so he stops and looks around. Up ahead, they see someone who looks like a bigger version of Spot. Spot begins to walk closer to the figure, but Arlo puts Spot on his back, telling him he can live at the farm with the rest of Arlo’s family.

Another storm soon starts up again, and Arlo sees the beaks of the pterodactyl pack poking through the clouds. They attack Arlo and fly away with Spot. Arlo is pushed off the cliff and is trapped in some vines. As he tries to wrestle his way out, a rock falls on his head, knocking him out. Arlo begins to hallucinate that he sees his father. His father starts to walk Arlo home, in the opposite direction to where Spot was taken. Arlo’s father ignores Arlo’s protests to go back for Spot. Eventually, Arlo stops walking and refuses to go any further, realising that this isn’t real. Arlo says he has to go back and rescue Spot. His father says he knew Arlo had it in him because he is him and more. He is told to take care of that critter, these all being things Arlo heard his father say to him before his death.

Arlo wakes up and breaks free from the vines, racing to find Spot, despite the intense storm. Arlo howls to try and figure out where Spot is, eventually getting a response, and locates him by the river, where he is hiding in a tree whilst the pterodactyls try to get to him. Arlo headbutts the pterodactyls, with two ending up in the fast-moving river. Two others try to fly away with Arlo, as Thunderclap gets close to getting to Spot. Arlo sees the water rising, and the tree that Spot is in is almost covered. Arlo’s quick-thinking allows him to break a tree with his tail, sending the two pterodactyls into the water. Arlo roars, distracting Thunderclap, giving Spot the chance to bite a hole through his wing. Thunderclap tries to fly away, but Arlo throws a stick at him, knocking Thunderclap into the river. Arlo then sees a torrent of water heading right towards Spot in the tree. He runs towards Spot to try and save him, but he is too late and they are both hit by the wave.

Arlo tries to get to the surface in amongst all the debris, and sees Spot unconscious, still in the tree and heading for the waterfall. Arlo swims towards him and grabs him, just before they are both sent down the waterfall. At the bottom, Arlo swims to the bank with Spot still unconscious. Arlo lightly blows on Spot’s face, causing him to wake up.

Once recovered, they continue walking and Arlo sees how close to home they are. Except, they hear howling again, and see a family of cavemen heading towards Spot. Arlo sees that this is where Spot belongs, not with him and his family. Spot tries to leave with Arlo, not wanting to leave his friend, but Arlo refuses to take him, pushing him back towards his new family, and drawing a circle around them, as they did when they first bonded over their families, to show Spot this is where he should be. The two have a tearful goodbye, before Spot walks away with his new family, giving one final howl to each other as he goes.

Arlo continues the rest of his journey alone, finally making his way back to his family’s farm, where he is reunited with his mother, and his brother and sister. They go to the silo together, where Arlo is now able to put his mark on it, alongside the rest of the family.

CHARACTERS & CAST

Arlo is an Apatosaurus, and could be considered “the runt” of his family, since he is the smallest and weakest of his siblings. Arlo is terrified of the world and just generally has a nervous disposition. However much his parents try to understand Arlo’s fear, they are concerned about how he will fare in the future and how he will contribute to life on the farm. This is even more of an issue after Arlo’s father dies, something that impacts Arlo specifically as it makes him more afraid of everything, especially storms. Arlo wants to avenge his father by killing the “critter”, Spot, however, Arlo soon learns that he needs Spot’s bravery to get him through his journey home. Arlo also learns from others he meets on his adventures about how to cope with fear and move past it. Rescuing Spot is Arlo’s biggest test of his bravery, but he is tested once again when a human family comes to look after Spot. Arlo knows that Spot helps him be better, but Spot belongs with them, and Arlo must let him go, finishing his journey alone, with a much better understanding and appreciation of the world.

Arlo was voiced by child actor Raymond Ochoa, who had previously provided additional voices for another Pixar film, Monsters University (2013), and also voiced the character Dash Parr from The Incredibles (2004) in some Disney video games, like Disney Infinity, where he also reprised his voice role as Arlo.

Spot is the “critter” and caveboy that is causing Arlo’s family all kinds of problems by eating their crop, no matter how much they try and protect it. Spot is supposed to be killed by Arlo after he is caught, but Arlo can’t bring himself to do it, freeing Spot and allowing him to run away. This causes Arlo’s father to become incredibly angry with Arlo and drags him into the forest to “kill the critter” – but we all know how that ends. Spot doesn’t understand Arlo’s anger with him, as he can’t speak dinosaur, but does try to make amends by finding Arlo three different kinds of food, eventually realising Arlo is a herbivore and eats berries. Spot accompanies Arlo on his journey home, since he doesn’t have any family left and quite likes having someone to spend time with. Arlo needs Spot to be his protector initially, although Arlo has to protect Spot at times too, like from the pterodactyls. Spot can mostly take care of himself though, but shouldn’t have to, given he is so young, so it’s nice to see him being adopted by a family at the end of the film, even if he did mean saying goodbye to Arlo.

Spot was voiced by Jack Bright, who also provided additional voices for Monsters University, reprising his role as Spot in games like Disney Infinity too.

Henry is Arlo’s father, who Arlo calls “Poppa”. Henry is very patient with his son’s anxiety and fears, knowing that he will come into his own given some time. Henry tries to give Arlo advice during his life, taking him to see a field of fireflies to tell Arlo that sometimes it is worth pushing through the fear, before giving Arlo the job of catching the critter stealing their food. Henry shows a rare moment of anger towards his son after he sees Arlo did not do his job, making Arlo follow the critter’s tracks with him so they can kill it once and for all. After Arlo falls and gets hurt, Henry comes to his senses and decides this isn’t the time to use tough love on Arlo, heading home shortly after. However, it is too late for Henry and the storm waters wash him away. Henry later reappears as a vision that Arlo is having whilst unconscious, and he shows within that vision that he is encouraging and proud of his son for doing the right thing and going back for Spot, despite the fear he is obviously feeling.

Jeffrey Wright was cast as Henry. Wright has had a successful career in both film and television. In film, Wright played Felix Leiter in the Bond films Casino Royale (2006), Quantum of Solace (2008) and No Time to Die (2021). He also played Beetee in The Hunger Games film franchise, first appearing in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013). He had also previously portrayed Howard Bingham in Ali (2001), which starred Will Smith. More recently, Wright appeared as Roebuck Wright in Wes Anderson’s film The French Dispatch (2021), and later as General Grif Gibson in another Wes Anderson film, Asteroid City (2023). He was cast as Jim Gordon in The Batman (2022) and is set to reprise his role for the 2027 sequel. Wright also had much success with his role as Dr. Thelonious “Monk” Ellison in American Fiction (2023), being nominated for Best Actor at the Oscars, Golden Globes, SAG Awards, and Critics’ Choice awards. In television, Wright played Dr. Valentin Narcisse in Seasons 4 and 5 of Boardwalk Empire (2010-14), going on to play Bernard Lowe / Arnold Weber in Westworld (2016-22) and narrate the Marvel series What If…? (2021-24) for Disney+. He also played Isaac Dixon in Season 2 and 3 of The Last of Us (2023-present).

Arlo’s mother is called Ida. “Momma” is also caring and supportive of Arlo, finding it quite amusing that her son is scared to feed the chickens! She seems slightly more bothered that Arlo isn’t able to pull his weight around the farm, leaving Henry to speak to Arlo to encourage him to be braver. After Henry’s death, Ida must ensure that the farm continues to run, carrying the weight of the responsibility on her own, leading her to ask Arlo to contribute more than he has been. Her work on the farm no doubt got harder after Arlo disappeared, but that won’t have mattered in the end, as she was relieved to be reunited with her son.

Ida was voiced by Frances McDormand, who had previously voiced Captain Chantel DuBois in DreamWorks’ Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted (2012) prior to The Good Dinosaur. Outside of that, McDormand has won three Academy Awards for Best Actress, one for her role as Marge Gunderson in Fargo (1996); another for playing Mildred Hayes in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017), and then as Fern in Nomadland (2020). She also won the Critics’ Choice for her performance in all three of these films, as well as BAFTA and Golden Globe wins for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and Nomadland. She voiced Interpreter Miranda Nelson in Isle of Dogs (2018) and played Lucinda Krementz in The French Dispatch, both for Wes Anderson. McDormand also won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited series or Movie for her title role in HBO miniseries Olive Kitteridge (2014). On stage, McDormand won a Tony award for her role as Margie in play Good People on Broadway in 2011, having earlier received a nomination in 1988 for her role as Stella Kowalski in a revival of A Streetcar Named Desire.

Rounding out Arlo’s family are his brother Buck and sister Libby. They are both bigger and stronger than Arlo so they contribute more to the farm. They both have quite a lot of energy so they are able to tease each other as siblings do, whereas Arlo being the quieter one seems to be left out a lot of the time. Buck even goes so far as to torment his little brother by using a chicken puppet on his tail to scare Arlo, after he tries to be brave and feed the chickens on his own without running away. Buck and Libby are both happy to be reunited with their brother on his return though, as they can work together as a family now to keep the farm going in honour of their father.

Libby was voiced by Maleah Padilla. Buck was voiced by Marcus Scribner, who had much success in his role as Andre “Junior” Johnson Jr. in Black-ish (2014-22) on ABC, later returning to the character for the spin-off series Grown-ish (2018-24). Scribner won two NAACP Image Awards for his performance in Black-ish. Recently, Scribner has been playing Jonah Silver in the police drama series Boston Blue (2025-present) on CBS.

The pterodactyl flock are the first real villains that Arlo and Spot find themselves facing. They make it seem like they are some sort of rescue squad who save trapped animals after storms, but in actual fact, they only want to rescue creatures so they can eat them afterwards, something Arlo witnesses and is horrified by. The flock want to go after Spot next, but Arlo fights to protect Spot on two separate occasions. They are quite scary villains to see in a Pixar film. Thunderclap is the flock’s leader, and the one who thinks he gets first pick of the creatures they find, muscling everyone else off anything they get. He is the last one that Arlo faces as he saves Spot.

Thunderclap was voiced by Steve Zahn. Zahn had previously voiced Runt in Chicken Little (2005) for Disney, and cat Monty in the Stuart Little films. He has also acted in various movies and television series, such as playing Marvin in Daddy Day Care (2003), Tucker in Dallas Buyers Club (2013), and Mark Mossbacher in Season 1 of The White Lotus (2021-present). Zahn is set to reprise his role as Jimmy Conroy / Solo in Season 3 of the Apple TV series Silo (2023-present), after first appearing in Season 2. He also plays Jake Hudson in the Disney+ series Chad Powers (2025-present).

The rest of the flock consist of Downpour and Coldfront, voiced by two Pixar employees, Mandy Freund and Steven Clay Hunter, and Frostbite and Windgust, voiced by Hank Azaria and Alan Tudyk respectively. Azaria has had a long history with voice acting, voicing characters such as Chief Wiggum and Moe in The Simpsons (1989-present), as well as Bartok in Anastasia (1997) and Phil in Hop (2011). Azaria has also acted in films like Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009), where he played Kahmunrah; Run Fatboy Run (2007), playing Whit Bloom; and The Smurfs (2011), where he was cast as Gargamel. Alan Tudyk has had voice roles in various Disney films over the years, including King Candy in Wreck-It Ralph (2012), Duke of Weselton in Frozen (2013), Alistair Krei in Big Hero 6 (2014), and Valentino in Wish (2023). Outside of voice acting, Tudyk was the voice for Sonny the robot in I, Robot (2004), and also appeared in Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004), as Steve the Pirate, and Trumbo (2015), as Ian McLellan Hunter.

The T-Rex family of Butch, his daughter Ramsey, and son Nash are ranchers, with this seemingly fitting well with Pixar’s ideas for how dinosaurs would have lived on the land, since Arlo’s family, as herbivores, became farmers, so it makes sense that carnivores would have been ranchers. Ramsey and Nash are only too happy to fight off pterodactyls to help Arlo, but their father isn’t quite so pleased to have such a little dinosaur bothering them whilst they are looking for their stolen herd. Butch would rather Arlo went on his way, but Arlo actually manages to help them, thanks to Spot’s tracking abilities, and using himself as a distraction with the rustlers. Butch comes to like Arlo in the end, telling Arlo not to try to erase his fear since everyone gets scared at times, even him, and together, the T-Rexes help guide Arlo and Spot in the direction of Arlo’s home near Clawtooth Mountain.

Butch was voiced by Sam Elliott. Recently, Elliott was cast as Shea Brennan in the Paramount+ series 1883 (2021-22), a prequel to Yellowstone (2018-24), winning the SAG award for Male Actor in a TV Movie or Limited series. He also plays Thomas “T.L.” Norris in the Paramount+ series Landman (2024-present). Elliott may also be known for such roles as Wade Garrett in Road House (1989); as Wild Bill Hickok in the miniseries Buffalo Girls (1995), which starred Anjelica Huston and Melanie Griffith; and as Thaddeus Ross in Hulk (2003). He also voiced Chupadogra in Marmaduke (2010), and Trusty in Disney’s live-action remake of Lady and the Tramp (2019). Elliott also played Beau Roosevelt Bennett in the Netflix series The Ranch (2016-20), and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Bobby Maine in A Star is Born (2018).

Butch’s son Nash was voiced by A.J. Buckley, who was cast as Adam Ross in CSI: NY (2004-13) from Season 2, and went on to play Percival “Sonny” Quinn in the series SEAL Team (2017-24). Buckley also played Jimmy Bottles in the Disney Channel Original Movie Motocrossed (2001). Butch’s daughter Ramsey was voiced by Anna Paquin, who was perhaps known for her roles Marie / Rogue in the X-Men film franchise, and Sookie Stackhouse in the HBO series True Blood (2008-14), winning the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Television Series in 2009, around the time of The Good Dinosaur. Paquin had also won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as Flora McGrath in The Piano (1993) early on in her career. More recently, Paquin was cast as Peggy Sheeran in The Irishman (2019), as well as playing Joanie Lockhart in Season 5 of The Affair (2014-19). 

The raptor rustlers are another group of villains in The Good Dinosaur. Having stolen the T-Rexes herd, they then proceed to attack them and Arlo and Spot after they attempt to get their herd back. The raptors are quick, and aren’t easy to deal with, however, by working together, and with Arlo having the nerve to fight back against them, they manage to scare the raptors away, and the T-Rexes retrieve their herd.

There are four raptors in the pack. Bubbha was voiced by Dave Boat, who voiced characters in Frozen (2013) and Frozen II (2019) for Disney. He also voiced Jim Hall in the English dub of the animated film White Fang (2018). Lurleane was voiced by Carrie Paff, who went on to provide additional voices for Pixar’s Finding Dory (2016), with Pervis being voiced by Calum Mackenzie Grant, who went on to have a voice role in Pixar’s Soul (2020). Earl was voiced by John Ratzenberger, known for voicing characters in various Pixar films. Having previously starred as Cliff Clavin in the long-running sitcom Cheers (1982-93) early in his career, Ratzenberger went on to become a regular cast member in Pixar’s movies, beginning with his character Hamm in the Toy Story franchise, lending his voice to other characters such as the Abominable Snowman in the Monsters, Inc. films, and Mack in the Cars series. Ratzenberger has since voiced the parts of Rootie in Luck (2022) and Milo the Monster Handler in Spellbound (2024) for Skydance Animation.  

Finally, one other character to mention is the Styracosaurus that collects pets. His name is Forrest Woodbush, also known as the Pet Collector. He has so many fears that each animal he has “collected” and that lives on his body has a role to play in protecting him from something, such as a salamander that protects him from creatures that crawl in the night, and a now-extinct opossum who stops him from having unrealistic goals… His favourite pet is a red bird called Debbie, although she flies away from him at one point. Forrest Woodbush is not in The Good Dinosaur for long, and is seemingly only there for comic relief. I personally don’t find this character funny, and just find him creepy. Apparently, Pixar had toyed with the idea of cutting Forrest Woodbush out of the film, but had such a strong reaction to him due to the comedy aspect of the character that they felt they had to keep him[1]. Director of The Good Dinosaur, Peter Sohn, voiced this character.

MUSIC

There are no songs in The Good Dinosaur at all, not even an End Credits song, so the film is entirely reliant on its score.

The score was composed by Mychael Danna and Jeff Danna, with The Good Dinosaur being the first Pixar film they had worked on, although the brothers did return to the studio to work on the score for Onward (2020). They went on to compose the music for The Addams Family (2019) and its 2021 sequel. Mychael Danna also won multiple awards, including the Oscar for Best Original Score, for his music in Life of Pi (2012).

I did like some of the music within The Good Dinosaur, as it had a folk-music sound to it, especially at the beginning of the film, which reminded me of the music in Brave (2012).

Within the score, one track I liked was “Homestead”, from the opening sequence of the film. It introduces the family farm, making it seem like an idyllic place to be, out in nature, living with the land. It is also accompanied by the beautiful landscapes that the audience see much more of as the story progresses. I also like “Hello Arlo”, “Chores”, and “Make Your Mark”, all from the first few minutes of The Good Dinosaur, as they continue to set up Arlo’s family’s farming lifestyle and adds a country element to the music too. “Fireflies” is a pretty piece of music, which accompanies the scene of Arlo’s father showing Arlo the field of fireflies. Other musical moments like this reappear in the last few minutes of the film, such as through “Goodbye Spot”, as Arlo encourages Spot to go with the family of humans instead of back to the farm with him; “Homecoming”, when Arlo is reunited with his family back home; and “Arlo Makes His Mark”, showing Arlo getting to put his mark on the silo with the other members of his family. All three pieces make up the ending of The Good Dinosaur.

There are also plenty of pieces within the score that accompany the perilous moments of the story, like “Swept Away”, which sees Arlo watch his father be washed away by a torrent of floodwater; “Sky Sharks”, signalling the return of the pterodactyls as they finally get their hands on Spot; and “Rescue”, as Arlo fights to rescue Spot.

The music in The Good Dinosaur was nominated at the Annie Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Music in an Animated Feature Production, but it was won by Michael Giacchino’s score for Inside Out. Mychael Danna and Jeff Danna did, however, appear to win a BMI Film Music Award to recognise their work on The Good Dinosaur.

PRODUCTION

It is well-known that animated movies can take years to make, not even just from animating the action, but adding in story development discussions as well.

The Good Dinosaur originally had a different story to what we were presented with in 2015. It was meant to be directed by someone different as well, and its release date was meant to be about eighteen months earlier than it ended up being.

The Good Dinosaur was initially set to be directed by Bob Peterson. Peterson had previously co-written Up (2009), voicing the character Dug for it as well; having worked on the earliest Pixar movie, Toy Story (1995), within the animation department, and later co-wrote the screenplays for Finding Nemo (2003) and Cars 3 (2017). He also voiced other Pixar characters, including Roz in Monsters, Inc. (2001) and its spin-offs, and Mr. Ray in Finding Nemo. Peterson also wrote, created, and directed the animated short series Dug Days (2021-23), as well as reprising his voice role of Dug.

The release date for The Good Dinosaur was set to be 30th May 2014, so it would have been Pixar’s only 2014 feature film release of the year, with Monsters University as the 2013 release and Inside Out as their 2015 release. Having one film release a year had been standard practice for Pixar from the 2000s, with only 2005 a notable omission up to this point. Further details of The Good Dinosaur were revealed at the D23 Expo in 2013, which showed concept art of Arlo and his family working as farmers, and that the other main character would be a human called Spot, who would not talk. The voice cast was also announced at this stage, with Lucas Neff, known for his role as Jimmy Chance in the sitcom Raising Hope (2010-14), voicing Arlo. Arlo’s father was set to be voiced by John Lithgow; Arlo’s siblings by Bill Hader, Neil Patrick Harris, and Judy Greer; and Frances McDormand would voice Arlo’s mother. They even had the Pixar short film that would play before it in theatres lined up, Party Central (2013), which was set after the events of Monsters University and premiered at the 2013 D23 Expo[2]. It was later added to the theatrical release of Muppets Most Wanted (2014) because there were many changes afoot at Pixar.

By the end of August 2013, it was being reported that Bob Peterson had been removed from The Good Dinosaur, with a new director not immediately announced. This was not a rarity for Pixar at the time either, as they had replaced the original director of Ratatouille (2007), Jan Pinkava, with Brad Bird. Just a couple of years later, the same thing happened on Brave (2012), with Brenda Chapman being removed partway through production, and Mark Andrews was the one to replace her. Chapman was said to be devastated by this decision. In this case, there does not appear to have been any animosity caused by the removal of Peterson as he continued to work at Pixar after this.

But it did mean there would be changes to the story of The Good Dinosaur, as clearly, something was not right with it, with story problems and an approaching deadline being the apparent reason for Peterson’s removal. It is not clear exactly what Peterson’s original concept was, although we do know that Arlo and Spot did remain in the story, as did Arlo’s family being farmers. From an introduction to a deleted scene, which would’ve seen the character of Butch being attacked by raptors, and Arlo and Spot making a trap to save him, it would appear that The Good Dinosaur was meant to be an outright parody of Western movies early on. This did not end up being the case in the final version of the film[3].

It would also appear that Bob Peterson wanted the character of Arlo to be older in his version of the film. When Peter Sohn was named as the new director, although he kept the species of dinosaur the same – that Arlo and his family are Apatosaurs – he decided to age down Arlo to be about eleven years old, and chose to focus on the “boy and his dog” concept, with Arlo being the innocent boy and Spot being the dog. This meant that many of the casting choices that had been put in place needed to be changed, as the rest of Arlo’s family were being aged down as well. This is why Frances McDormand ended up being the only original member of the voice cast to remain in the final film[4].

Given all these story changes, to streamline it and make it less complicated to the original version of the film that Sohn had been tasked with fixing, it was decided that the best option was to delay The Good Dinosaur, to give the new team a real chance to make the new film a hit. It was delayed until 25th November 2015, which was meant to be the date that Finding Dory would be released; Finding Dory was moved to Summer 2016. This meant that, for the first time, Pixar would be releasing two films in one year, as Inside Out was still sticking with its release date of 19th June 2015[5]. Pixar have released two films in the same year various times since, including in 2017, 2020, and 2026.

The Good Dinosaur was Peter Sohn’s directorial debut for Pixar, and he said it was quite a steep learning curve for him, so he relied on advice from anyone and everyone working on the film. Sohn had worked as a story artist on Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, and Up prior to The Good Dinosaur, and had voiced characters such as Emile in Ratatouille and Squishy in Monsters University as well. He had also directed and written the short film Partly Cloudy (2009). After The Good Dinosaur, Sohn went on to direct Elemental (2023) and is set to direct Incredibles 3.

The screenplay for The Good Dinosaur was written by Meg LeFauve. LeFauve also co-wrote the screenplay for Inside Out, with Pete Docter and Josh Cooley, receiving an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Screenplay for it, going on to write the sequel Inside Out 2 (2024) with Dave Holstein. Other story credits went to Peter Sohn and Bob Peterson, as well as Kelsey Mann and Erik Benson. Mann had previously written and directed the short film Party Central, and went on to contribute in the story department for Onward, before directing Inside Out 2. Benson had previously worked as a storyboard artist on Cars 2 and worked on the story for the short film Toy Story Toons: Hawaiian Vacation (2011).

There were still a few scenes that were cut from the final version of the film, mostly because they didn’t help explain Arlo’s nervousness and anxiety in quite the right away. One thing was that they had initially planned to have Arlo become so scared of the world because he was attacked by a dinosaur when he was younger. His parents would’ve been too distracted by Arlo’s siblings that they didn’t notice Arlo being attacked, and his father eventually had to fight the dinosaur off and come to Arlo’s rescue, but it was too late to stop Arlo from being traumatised for life. It was decided that they needed Arlo to have a deep-rooted fear that didn’t come from one specific incident though, so this was cut. Another scene would’ve seen Arlo, his mother, brother and sister waiting in their hut for Arlo’s father to return home, however, a nasty storm had brewed and they were waiting anxiously for him. Arlo thinks he can see his father coming but he is told by his mother to wait inside. He watches from the window as a group of dinosaurs tell his mother that her husband was killed after the floodwater took them all by surprise…Wow, I already thought The Good Dinosaur was dark. It looks like it could’ve been a whole lot worse!

It would seem that a new crew had been assembled for The Good Dinosaur around March 2014. Their objective was to turn the movie around and have it ready by November 2015. That’s not much time in the world of animation, so they had to get started. And what’s the best way to start any animated film? Go on a research trip for inspiration.

Director Peter Sohn grew up in New York so he didn’t have much experience of seeing the open plains that exist within the US, and these would be integral to the look of The Good Dinosaur because it is set in the American Northwest. Sohn loved the experience of going to places like Wyoming and Idaho to get a real idea of how expansive and stark, but beautiful, these areas could be[6]. Some specific areas that were said to be of inspiration were Salmon River in Idaho; and the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. The Pixar crew learnt a lot from their guides in these areas, about living with the land, learning from it, and understanding how it behaves. This was also the case when the team went to meet a ranching family in Oregon to get some inspiration for their T-Rex characters. Here, the team experienced cattle herding firsthand, as they rode horses with the McKay family to move their herd from one meadow to another. They also were further inspired by what happened after the day’s work had been done, as they listened to the family tell stories about their lives. This moment was used to help create the campfire scene with Butch, Ramsey, Nash, Arlo and Spot, where Arlo and Spot hear about the T-Rexes adventures[7].

To get the backdrops of The Good Dinosaur just right, the crew actually used United States Geological Survey data from real-life locations to then build a 3D surface over the top of it, customising the area to work for each sequence, to make photorealistic environments for their animated characters to navigate and walk through. They added in hundreds of types of vegetation, and used volumetric geometry to add clouds to the film, which basically involved building a library of different types of cloud, and picking and choosing which ones to put together for the scene. The Good Dinosaur involves lots of different weather systems, like storms, mist, and mixtures of cloud and sun, so there were many opportunities to make the weather different in every scene.

With all this nature in The Good Dinosaur, it meant a busy time for those who worked in Effects, as there are various elements within this department that had to be created for the film. One was the amount of water that exists in The Good Dinosaur, be that from the large amount of rain that features, or from the river, which is in over a hundred shots of the film, and ranges from being a calm, gentle body of water, to being a cascading, raging river. Some of the crew went white water rafting to get an idea of just how Arlo would feel falling in the river, understanding that just because the river doesn’t look forceful doesn’t mean it isn’t still powerful. There were also weather effects, like lightning, as well as wind, to be added in, to create atmosphere and movement in the scenes[8].

Because dinosaurs aren’t able to be studied up close, in order to help animate the dinosaur characters in The Good Dinosaur, the animators went to Oakland Zoo to observe elephants, as they were roughly the same size as they decided Arlo would’ve been. It was also important to see such a large, heavy creature move around and carry itself. They also looked at giraffes and camels to see how Arlo’s neck could move. For the T-Rexes, as well as using inspiration from the CGI dinosaurs in Jurassic Park (1993), the animators wanted the characters to behave like cowboys, and had their characters be inspired by those from Western movies, portrayed by actors like Clint Eastwood and Jack Palance. For Spot, the team studied wolves, raccoons, and of course, dogs, as they wanted Spot to vaguely resemble a human, a prehistoric one, but move and act like a dog[9].

Pixar love to add Easter eggs to their films, and some of them appear in every film they’ve made. The A113, referencing the number of the CalArts classroom that some of the original Pixar animators studied in, is slightly easier to spot, as it was made in the fence posts that make up Arlo’s family’s chicken pen. However, the Pizza Planet Truck’s location seems to be in two different areas, and I don’t think either particularly resembles the truck! The truck is said to be in the opening shot of the asteroids as a truck-shaped asteroid, whilst it is also made up of the rocks on the silo, with the footprinted ones marking the outline of the shape. Pixar also like to reference their next film in some way, and in this case, you can see Hank the “septapus” from Finding Dory in the water that Arlo falls into following his gopher encounter. With this in mind, you can see a structure that resembles Forrest Woodbush in one of Riley’s memories from her car journey to San Francisco with her family towards the beginning of Inside Out, as the nod to the film that followed it.

After all that work, Pixar debuted some clips of The Good Dinosaur at the D23 Expo in 2015, meaning they could get some real audience reaction to their new film. They apparently showed the scene of Arlo and Spot talking about their families, and they showed a sequence with the T-Rexes as well. Many in the audience felt hopeful that The Good Dinosaur would do well on its release even with its production issues[10]. Yeah, about that…

RECEPTION

After years of production difficulties, The Good Dinosaur finally premiered in the US on 25th November 2015, just in time for Thanksgiving Weekend, typically a good time for movie studios to release their films, especially ones aimed at children and families. It reached many international markets within a few days of its premiere date, if not at the same time.

Many had anticipated that The Good Dinosaur would not have a problem either financially or critically, based on clips of the film that had been released. After all, this was a new Pixar film, and Inside Out had only been released a few months before and had done exceptionally well in both areas. Pixar don’t have box-office disappointments – do they?

Well, in this case, they did. In fact, The Good Dinosaur is considered to be Pixar’s first box-office bomb. Ouch. If it helps, it wasn’t their last box-office bomb though. Actually, that’s not very helpful, is it? But it happens to everyone, so all it did was prove that Pixar wasn’t infallible and could make mistakes just like any other studio.

The Good Dinosaur did not have a strong opening weekend from the outset. On its opening weekend, it made $39 million in the US. Since this was a Pixar film, it was assumed that their figures would still improve in the weeks after. That turned out not to be the case as the film suffered a steep drop in takings, to just $15.5 million on its second week. There was hope that the festive period and global markets opening up might have been able to save the movie from becoming a flop, but that was not the case either. It was reported that Pixar needed $500 million to break even[11]. The Good Dinosaur did not make close to that.

By the end of its run, The Good Dinosaur had made $332 million worldwide, the lowest box office takings for a Pixar movie since A Bug’s Life in 1998, which took around $363 million. The Good Dinosaur was easily overtaken by Pixar’s own Inside Out, which finished 2015 at No. 7 in the Worldwide Box Office with $858 million, although both Pixar films were beaten by Minions, which took $1.1 billion, and sat at No. 5 in the list, showing what a strong year 2015 was for movies. The best-performing film of 2015 was Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, with $2.07 billion, so that meant Disney had done well at the box office, despite The Good Dinosaur’s disappointing results. They also did well with Avengers: Age of Ultron, making $1.4 billion, and even the live-action Cinderella, with around $543 million. To compare The Good Dinosaur to other animated films, Hotel Transylvania 2 also did better financially, with just under $475 million, as did Home with $386 million.

It could be argued that perhaps had The Good Dinosaur not been delayed for 18 months and stuck with its 30th May 2014 original release date, then it wouldn’t have faced such difficult competition, because there wasn’t a good chance of putting up a fight against the revival of the Star Wars franchise, the final part of The Hunger Games series, or the newest Bond film, Spectre, in 2015, and there was a lack of “decent” animated films released in 2014, with Pixar’s biggest competition being Mr. Peabody and Sherman and Rio 2. But everything looks better in hindsight, and who knows what state the film was in in 2014, as it was almost completely rewritten from its original concept to what we got in 2015.

The Good Dinosaur did fare better in audience and critic reviews, although these were both less impressive than those of Inside Out and other Pixar films before it.

Some felt that the film was very episodic and lacked any cohesion, as it was just Arlo and Spot having different interactions with numerous new characters. Although other films have had a similar story, in terms of following our hero on an adventure, the episodic nature of these types of films was not noticed so much in films like Finding Nemo (2003) or The Jungle Book (1967). It was also thought that The Good Dinosaur was not original enough when compared to those two examples, or to The Lion King (1994), or The Land Before Time (1988), or even How to Train Your Dragon (2010), which uses the “boy and his pet” concept too. Others said the characters were simply uninteresting and that the film was boring, slow, and forgettable, which was a shame since many could see that the initial concept, of dinosaurs not being wiped out from an asteroid and seeing how they might’ve evolved, was interesting. The biggest issue for most with negative opinions of The Good Dinosaur seems to be that it was just a disappointing film to get from Pixar, and had it been released by another studio, it maybe wouldn’t have had as many negative critiques.

For me personally, I am not a fan of The Good Dinosaur, partly because I find it quite slow and boring as well, and I am not that interested in dinosaurs – I only like the Jurassic Park films to see them eat people, not because I’m fascinated by dinosaurs – so that does not help. But my problem with the film is that it is not pleasant to watch; it doesn’t make me feel brighter about the world, and it doesn’t make me forget about how horrible the world is, because it constantly shows a scared young dinosaur and his friend being attacked by various predators. I hated the pterodactyls, and it was horrible to see them trying to eat a little boy. And I know that’s nature and that’s what could’ve happened, but I don’t watch Pixar films to see that sort of thing. I want something feel-good and escapist, not something that only reinforces my hatred of nature documentaries and their prey vs. predator storylines.

However, I will also say that I did enjoy the music in The Good Dinosaur; I did like the first ten or so minutes of the family on the farm; and the final couple scenes did make me well up a bit, so I am happy to admit The Good Dinosaur is not all bad, even for me, and that it simply isn’t to my taste. But I can’t say it is a “bad” film.

The Good Dinosaur has plenty of fans who feel duty-bound to fight against the sea of criticism and negativity about the movie. They appreciate its great visuals, with the photorealistic backgrounds, and the animated effects, as well as focusing on the film’s heartwarming story. They also liked Arlo as a character, as did I, which is why I couldn’t deal with him being attacked by predators. Fans also point out that at least Pixar had released an original film again after too many sequels coming out before and after it, but this is something that “purists” seem bothered by, not the average family, because, as we continue to see, it is Pixar’s sequels that do well financially and the original movies end up struggling.

Due to its mediocre response, The Good Dinosaur struggled in awards season. The most obvious failure is that The Good Dinosaur was not nominated for Best Animated Feature Film at the Academy Awards, which is quite rare for a Pixar original film. Unsurprisingly, Inside Out won the award. Elsewhere, although The Good Dinosaur was nominated for Best Animated Film at various ceremonies, such as the Critics’ Choice Awards, the Golden Globes, the Satellite Awards, and the Saturn Awards, it lost to Inside Out each time. It lost out on this award to Disney’s Zootopia (2016) at the Children’s BAFTAs too.

The Good Dinosaur was also nominated for a selection of Annie Awards, but Inside Out was once again tough competition as Inside Out won in the categories of Character Animation, Character Design, Production Design, Storyboarding and the all-important Best Animated Feature. The Good Dinosaur did, however, win the Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement in Animated Effects in an Animated Production. It also won three Visual Effects Society Awards, for Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature, Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Animated Feature, and Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature. The film was also nominated here for Outstanding Animated Performance in an Animated Feature, for Spot, but was won by Joy in Inside Out.

LEGACY

To promote The Good Dinosaur, the US Disney Parks put on an event for it.

Disney launched something called Dino Week, which ran from 14th November 2015, in the run up to The Good Dinosaur’s release date on 25th November 2015, as part of their marketing campaign. During that first weekend, Disney Stores across the US had dino-themed crafts for children to take part in, as well as selling the obvious merchandise. The merchandise consisted of things like themed clothing, play sets, and plush toys.

At Disney Springs at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, and at Downtown Disney at Disneyland in California, there was a Dinosaur Dance Party held between 21st November and 22nd November 2015, which had a live DJ set and lighting effects, with even the Rainforest Café and T-REX restaurants getting in on the action.

Inside the parks, specifically at One Man’s Dream in Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World, and at the now-defunct Bug’s Life Theater at Disney California Adventure at Disneyland, a sneak peek of The Good Dinosaur was being shown from around October 2015 until partway through December 2015 to encourage guests to see the film[12].

After that campaign though, very little reference to The Good Dinosaur has been seen at the Disney Parks across the world in recent years. This will be because it simply was not popular enough, with a fair proportion of Disney Park guests probably not even knowing this film exists. It is a shame too, because had The Good Dinosaur been successful, then it perhaps could’ve found a home within Dinoland, U.S.A. at Disney’s Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World. However, that area has since closed and is now being rethemed to Tropical Americas, so the ship has really sailed on that idea. You can, however, see a few glimpses of the film during sections of the nighttime show Wonderful World of Animation at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. This is the show where unloved and underrated films come to be remembered, even if only by a select few watching.

The Good Dinosaur was even left out of much of the celebrations for Pixar Fest at Disneyland in 2024, but you may be able to spot artwork from, or small nods to, the film at the Pixar Place Hotel at the resort, as this hotel revolves around Pixar and its films.

Outside of that, there doesn’t seem to be much merchandise still available to purchase on the Disney Store, but you might have more luck in the shops at a Disney Park, or it might be best to wait for a milestone anniversary.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The Good Dinosaur is now remembered for all the wrong reasons. For not being one of Pixar’s best, and for failing them financially. It has become one of many unsuccessful films that Disney and Pixar don’t reference often, in order to highlight their more popular films instead. Either that or they’re hoping that if they don’t reference them, we’ll forget they exist!

The Good Dinosaur had a tumultuous production process, leaving the team to basically start from scratch again with an even shorter timeframe. You can’t fault them for trying something different, especially given the fact the movie has just as many good points as it does bad ones. It just sadly did not resonate with the majority of viewers.

But that does not mean The Good Dinosaur does not have its fans. Some absolutely love this film, and find it touching and heartwarming. Just because something has been deemed a “flop” does not mean it has nothing to contribute.


REFERENCES

[1] Credit: Ryan Lambie, ‘The Good Dinosaur and Its Five-Year Path to the Big Screen’, DenOfGeek.com, 4th November 2015.

[2] Credit: T.J., ‘The Good Dinosaur Sneak Peek Details From the D23 Expo’, PixarPost.com, 9th August 2013.

[3] Credit: Pixar, “Deleted Scenes: Raptor Trap”, from The Good Dinosaur (2015), Disney+.

[4] Credit: Devan Coggan, ‘The evolution of ‘The Good Dinosaur’, Pixar’s long-in-the-works next film’, EW.com, 14th August 2015.

[5] Credit: Jennifer Wolfe, ‘Pixar Feature ‘The Good Dinosaur’ Moved to 2015’, AWN.com, 18th September 2013.

[6] Credit: Pixar, “The Filmmakers’ Journey”, from The Good Dinosaur (2015) UK Blu-Ray (2015).

[7] Credit: Pixar, “Following the T-Rex Trail”, from The Good Dinosaur (2015) UK Blu-Ray (2015).

[8] Credit: Pixar, “The World of The Good Dinosaur”, from The Good Dinosaur (2015) UK Blu-Ray (2015).

[9] Credit: Peter Scieretta, ‘How The Making Of ‘The Good Dinosaur’ Was Different From Other Pixar Movies’, SlashFilm.com, 8th October 2015.

[10] Credit: Eric Goldman, ‘D23 2015: The Good Dinosaur Looks to Be Another Pixar Tearjerker’, IGN.com, 15th July 2016.

[11] Credit: Brent Lang, ‘‘The Good Dinosaur’: Pixar May Suffer First Loss at Box Office’, Variety.com, 7th December 2015.

[12] Credit: Kristin Ford, ‘Disney celebrates Dino Week with events at Disney Parks in advance of ‘The Good Dinosaur’ Movie’, AllEars.net, 17th November 2015.

The Even Stevens Movie (2003)

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

BACKGROUND

I should start by saying I have never watched the series Even Stevens.

So, I have come to this film completely blind – well, apart from the fact I know that Shia LeBeouf and Christy Carlson Romano played the main characters.

For some reason, Even Stevens just never appealed to me. That’s probably got something to do with the main focus of the show being on the brother, Louis Stevens, and the sister, Ren Stevens, was perhaps too old for me to relate to at that time. I was only seven in 2000 when Even Stevens premiered.

Instead, I liked watching Lizzie McGuire (2001-04) on Disney Channel and As Told by Ginger (2000-06) on Nickelodeon – I still haven’t been able to rewatch that series; it never came to Paramount+ in the UK…

Anyway, back to The Even Stevens Movie. Since I hadn’t watched the series, I didn’t really know what to expect, other than some sibling rivalry. I also knew that the movie took place on an island, and the reason I know that it is I can still remember parts of the trailer for The Even Stevens Movie because it was being promoted so heavily on Disney Channel when I was watching the channel! I vividly remember seeing someone screaming “Noooo!” on the top of a cliff, for example. That person turned out to be actor and comedian Tim Meadows, who made seeing The Even Stevens Movie much more interesting for me.

In the end, I actually didn’t mind The Even Stevens Movie. I quite liked the reality TV and hidden camera storyline to it, and there were moments I found funny. I probably would have found it funnier had I known who the characters were, and perhaps understood their dynamics better from seeing them in the series. I also believe there were lots of references and nods to earlier episodes that I obviously did not pick up on.

The Even Stevens Movie was made to tie up the series in its entirety, because Even Stevens ended its run in June 2003 and was no more after that, other than this Disney Channel Original Movie. It was, in a way, overshadowed by another Disney Channel series coming to an end and getting its own film to serve as a finale. This was Lizzie McGuire and its theatrically-released The Lizzie McGuire Movie, also released in the summer of 2003.

However, I don’t think this lessens The Even Stevens Movie in any way. There were a few other decent DCOMs that came to screens in 2003, but this was one of few DCOMs that I haven’t seen in childhood and still actually found I liked.

PLOT

The Even Stevens Movie begins with someone searching through photos of various families on a computer. Eventually, one photo is selected, one of the Stevens family.

Meanwhile, the Stevens family are attending Ren Stevens’ junior high graduation. As she is about to stand up and give her Valedictorian speech, her older brother Donnie shows up late and sits next to their parents, Steve and Eileen. They ask where his younger brother, Louis, is. We then see Louis, and his friend Beans, using a controller to move a beach ball, making it fly across the crowd, in order to distract Ren, his older sister, from her speech. As the ball becomes too much of a distraction, Beans and Louis decide it is time for the big finale, where the beach ball will explode, raining down confetti on everyone. Except Beans misheard what Louis wanted the ball filled with and instead of confetti, spaghetti rains down on their gym teacher, Coach Tugnut. Principal Wexler promises to give Louis detention for this, right after school returns from Summer Break.

Ren is rightly annoyed at Louis for trying to ruin her graduation, so their parents decide they should spend more time together. But their three children all have plans now, and split off. Ren goes to a diner with her boyfriend, Gil, excited to talk about their summer plans, however, Gil says he has a summer job at a camp in Maine to go to, and he breaks up with Ren. Heartbroken, Ren goes home and cries to her mother.

Later, Louis shows off a gadget-filled chair he built, complete with a TV, to ensure he can have a lovely, lazy summer. He turns on a show called Gotcha. Ren, meanwhile, is trying to be upbeat and positive, but as soon as her father mentions her ex-boyfriend, she gets upset. Ren then decides she needs to keep busy and has offered to babysit Beans for the afternoon. Only Beans shows up with a suitcase – full of bacon – and tells the Stevens family that his parents have gone to Helsinki for two, maybe three, weeks!

To make things worse, Ren sees Louis has been stealing her stuff to use for his new chair and confronts him about it. Suddenly, the chair goes rogue and starts to attack Ren, ending up chasing both of them. Ren and Louis outrun the chair, but end up smashing straight into a visitor, who wants to talk to the family. This visitor is Miles McDermott and he has an offer for the Stevens family that they won’t be able to refuse. Miles gives a presentation on an island called Mandelino, saying the Stevens have won free holiday there, as a way of encouraging tourists to come and stay there. Since the Stevens are such upstanding citizens, with Steve Stevens being a lawyer, and Eileen Stevens being a Senator, they are the best people to come and give their feedback. The family discuss this idea. Ren very much wants to get away this summer, so she is happy to go, as are Donnie and their parents. The only person who doesn’t want to go is Louis, but his opinion is ignored and he is outnumbered away. The Stevens family decide to go.

A little while later, the family – and Beans – arrive by sea plane on the island of Mandelino, where they are welcomed by the locals, including Chief Tuka, the chief elder there. They are given ceremonial hats of friendship – that are actually pineapples – and are taken to the island’s palace to stay, as the island doesn’t have a hotel. Ren also meets islander Mootai, who she seems to take a shine to. Ren and Louis begin to fight over he is going to get to sleep in the Royal Bedroom. Miles warns the group that the palace is thought to bring good fortune to the people of Mandelino, so they shouldn’t mess with it.

The group later end up on the beach, where they are pampered by the islanders. Ren talks to Mootai, who tries to tell Ren not to be sad, even giving her a flower to try and boost her mood after her break-up. Donnie passes by someone and thinks he recognises him as someone who went to his high school. Donnie tells his family but they laugh it off.

The family is summoned to a feast, where they are given large slugs to eat. Miles tells them it is the local delicacy and if they refuse it, they will offend their hosts. They try their best with the food, but Louis just can’t bring himself to do it. Miles whispers to Louis that the Chief does have some snacks hidden away in his palace. Louis immediately heads to the palace to search. He finds all the snacks in the pantry and starts grabbing anything and everything. Louis then notices a gold statue in there, which unlocks the Forbidden Chamber of Mystery, a secret room in the palace. Louis enters the forbidden room and finds a throne in the middle of it. He takes a seat, ready to tuck into his treats. Seeing a lever next to the throne, and assuming it must be some sort of foot rest, he pulls it. However, Louis soon discovers this was not the right thing to do as the whole palace collapses around him. Everyone notices the palace is now destroyed, with Miles saying the islanders now believe this has unleashed a curse on the entire island. He tells the Stevens to leave the area.

The group end up on the beach, where Miles tells them they should build a shelter. The family ask Miles where he is staying and he says he has a hut on the island, but he will check in on them later to see how they are getting on. Ren and Louis argue, with Ren blaming Louis for the mess they are in – which is actually true; it was his fault. Their mother steps in and separates them, by getting Louis to come with her and Donnie to collect wood. As they are searching for firewood, Miles arrives and tells them they should apologise for their mistake at the tribe’s Elders meeting that is happening. The three want to get Ren, Beans, and Steve, but Miles tells them they have to go in groups of three and no more. At the meeting, Louis is told to speak to the Fire God statue. Louis offers the god an apology. Chief Tuka says the god will consider their apology, but now, it is time to feast.

Back on the beach, the other three have built a shelter, so Ren goes to look for the rest of them. She soon encounters a snake but is saved by the arrival of Mootai. Mootai gives Ren his necklace as a token of their friendship but Ren isn’t so sure about getting close to someone so soon after her break-up. Mootai says he will wait for her. He then tells Ren that the rest of her family are at a feast with the tribe. Ren watches as her mother and brothers feast, feeling angry that they wouldn’t tell her and the others about it. Miles tells Ren that the three were only too happy to feast without them, as it meant more for them.

Back with Louis, his mother, and Donnie, the Fire Goddess, Oprah, is about to give her verdict on whether they can be forgiven. Her eyes glow red, and she spits fire. It is revealed that Oprah thinks they are unworthy of forgiveness so the family are shunned. The three tell Miles they want to go home, but are told there isn’t a plane for seven days. They are stuck here. To make things worse, Ren confronts them when they finally return to the beach. They tell the others what happened with the Fire Goddess Oprah, but it sounds so ridiculous, Ren doesn’t believe them. They shelter from the rain, angry with each other.

In the “real world”, we see that Miles is actually the host of a hidden camera reality show called Family Fakeout, and that the Stevens family ordeal is being shown live to a huge television audience. Louis’ friends, Alan Twitty and Tawny Dean, watch the show from a diner, with Alan admitting that it is his fault they are on the show, because he gave information on them to Miles. They watch as Ren screams that she wants to go home, with Miles upping the thunder and the rain to make the family even more uncomfortable.

The Family Fakeout production site is hidden on the island. Here, Miles hopes that this show will be better than Gotcha, which he was fired from. Miles then comes across the islander that Donnie recognised, who is an actor hired for the show, and tells him he is fired, before realising that they could have some fun with this and rehires him.

Meanwhile, it’s a new day for the Stevens family, as they wake up on the beach. Ren, her father, and Beans head out in search of food since they didn’t eat last night, whereas the others did. Steve Stevens sees a squirrel up ahead and says that will have to be their food. They try to grab it, but it chases them. They run into Miles on their escape, who tells them he arranged a food drop for them, however, as they watch the food being dropped from a plane, they discover it was sent to the other side of the island. Miles tells the three to follow the red trail markers to find it. Steve thinks they should tell the others, but Miles tells Steve he is capable of getting the food himself. They follow the trail to find it.

Donnie is collecting firewood for the others, when he sees the guy from his school again, but this time, he acknowledges Donnie and dressed as a student, says he is late for class. Donnie tells his mother and Louis about the encounter, but they tell him he is just hallucinating from the heat and the hunger. Miles then tells these three about the food drop, but tells them to follow the blue markers to find it. They do just that. However, once they reach the food drop, they see only empty packets. Louis, Donnie, and their mother believe the others must’ve eaten it all without them. It turns out the same has happened to Beans, Steve, and Ren and they blame the other three as well. This splits the family into two separate factions after a big confrontation on the beach. Miles orchestrates a meet up between Ren and Mootai, where she tells Mootai that she doesn’t think she’s ready to kiss him, leading Miles to start a public TV vote on whether the two should or shouldn’t kiss.

Back home, Alan and Tawny continue to watch the show in the diner, feeling more and more guilty that they can’t stop it. However, Coach Tugnut tells them that actually the production is on an island just off the coast, so not far to get to. This gives them an idea and they go to their friend Tom, who happens to have a sailboat and will do anything to help Louis. They set sail for Catalona Island to warn the Stevens. As they get close to the shore, Tom says the two will have to go the rest of the way in a dinghy.

Miles is quietly pleased with himself for how Family Fakeout is doing in the ratings, but it has barely surpassed those of Gotcha, so he tells Jason, the actor playing Mootai, that he needs to get that kiss from Ren and then to dump her immediately after, to really make the show a hit and a must-watch. Jason doesn’t feel comfortable doing that though.

After battling huge waves, and Alan falling out of the dinghy, Tawny arrives on the beach, but is hit by a falling coconut and forgets why she is there. Alan swims in but is caught by production and interrogated about why he is here. He tries to lie about who he is, but Miles remembers him from when he gave them information on the family. He orders Alan to be locked in one of the trailers.

It’s another new day, but the family are still in their two factions. Eileen, Donnie, and Louis wake up and fight over a peanut Louis found in his pocket, however, it is stolen by that squirrel. Louis tries to chase it down to get it back. Steve, Beans, and Ren wake up to find they have no fire as Beans peed on it in the night. They begin to blame each other for why they are stuck on this island; with Steve reminding Ren she wanted to come here so badly to get away from her ex-boyfriend. This upsets Ren again and she goes to find Mootai. He tells Ren she will get home soon and the two finally kiss. Feeling guilty, Mootai breaks his cover, telling Ren that this isn’t real, however, before he can fully explain, the “chief” arrives and takes Mootai away, saying he shouldn’t be talking to Ren. The chief is told by Miles to tell Ren that Louis was the one who let slip about their meeting, although this is a lie. But it’s enough to anger Ren who searches for her brother to get revenge.

Meanwhile, Alan has managed to get into one of the show’s costumes, to blend in backstage, and unplugs all their equipment, disrupting their live feed. Miles knows that Alan must’ve done this and has the crew search for him, but Alan manages to leave the site unseen. He goes to find Tawny and the Stevens family to tell them what is going on.

Eileen and Steve reconcile after their earlier arguments, mostly around how Steve feels inadequate for being out of work, when Donnie arrives with Tawny, proving that something dodgy is going on here. They then find a cable down by the beach, which goes against what Miles said about this island not having any modern conveniences. They mention Miles, and this leads Tawny to remember why she is here and tells them that he is the host of Family Fakeout, a hot new show, that they happen to be on. This all makes sense to the family and they wander the island looking for answers. Eventually, they find someone dressed as an islander and they tackle him to the ground. It is Alan, who admits what he did. He shows them the production site, and the crew scrambling to get their cameras back on.

Family Fakeout is finally back on air, but the Stevens have a plan to get their own back on Miles. On the show, Ren is shown to have gone savage, fashioning herself a weapon so she can go after Louis. She finds him and confronts him about all the bad things he’s even done to her. She chases him to a cliff, threatening to push him off it, when Miles arrives, not wanting anyone to get hurt on his show, especially because of his actions. Miles and the family plead with Ren not to do anything stupid, but she pushes Louis off anyway, believing it was all just a way of protecting Louis and not her. The family blame Miles for the apparent death of Louis, with Miles inconsolable as well.

Suddenly, they hear the sound of a helicopter, and it is revealed that Miles is actually an unwilling participant on his old show, Gotcha. It turns out the family managed to plan this revenge plot with Gotcha’s host Lance LeBow, and Louis only jumped into a net. Miles quickly tries to end Family Fakeout, but not before Lance tells everyone to switch over to Gotcha. On Gotcha, Eileen says they figured it all out and that their family is too strong for a TV show to break it. They, along with Alan and Tawny, called Gotcha to set the prank up, by finding Ren and Louis, with Louis hiding from Ren up a tree, and telling them to put aside their differences so they could get their own back on Miles whilst the cameras were off.

Later that day, Louis tells Ren the plane is here to take them home, but before they leave, Ren apologises for blaming Louis for everything, with Louis saying although he likes to prank her and mess with her, he wouldn’t do anything to hurt her. Louis then tells Ren to talk to Jason, the actor who played Mootai. Jason says sorry for everything that happened on the show. Ren appreciates that he warned her and understands it was just his job as an actor. Jason says it wasn’t all acting, and asks if they can see each other again. Ren kisses him and says they can. The Stevens then board the plane and go home.

Back at home, Beans has written about this strange summer vacation for a school paper, where he reveals that Donnie went off to college, Mr. Stevens got a new job at a great law firm, Louis got back to his gadget-filled chair, and Ren and Jason became an item. Beans says he had a great summer with his favourite family. He then shows up uninvited to a Stevens family dinner, shocking everyone. This begins yet another argument!

CHARACTERS & CAST

Plenty of the characters and cast from the Even Stevens series appear in The Even Stevens Movie, with additional new characters also brought in for the expanded storyline.

Louis is the youngest sibling in the Stevens family. He is reckless, impulsive, and a prankster. He is also a clever inventor though, if only to make gadgets to embarrass his sister, like the spaghetti-filled, remote-controlled beach ball, or to be lazy, like his gadgety chair. Louis is the only one of the family not to want to go to Mandelino, and he was right to have reservations as his disregard for the rules causes the family to be “shunned” by the islanders. It turns out to all be part of a show, and yet it still makes his family turn on him for his stupidity, more so Ren who practically lists off all the ways that Louis has ruined her life. It’s all a little bit unfair, and you kind of have to feel sorry for Louis when he is pleading with Ren for his life once she’s cornered him on the edge of a cliff, even if it was all part of a ruse to get back at Miles. Still, Louis manages to make amends with his sister before going home and although they might argue and prank each other, they’ll always be there for one another.

Shia LaBeouf was cast as Louis Stevens. His role in the series is considered his breakout role, later starring in other Disney projects, including as Eddie Walker in the DCOM Tru Confessions (2002) and as Stanley “Caveman” Yelnats in Disney’s Holes (2003). After that, LaBeouf was cast as Farber in I, Robot (2004); as Kale Brecht in Disturbia (2005); and voiced Cody Maverick in Sony Pictures’ Surf’s Up (2007). He then starred as Sam Witwicky in the first three Transformers films. He also played Mutt Williams in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) around this time. He later portrayed John McEnroe in the biopic Borg vs. McEnroe (2017) and wrote and starred as James Lort in the film Honey Boy (2019), which was loosely based on LaBeouf’s childhood.

Ren is Louis’ older sister, and she is quite serious, despite her young age. She was Valedictorian at her graduation, showing she is very smart and dedicated to her studies, and is also shown to be a favourite student of the school’s principal. She is a little bit uptight, with her personality being very different to her brother’s, but she doesn’t deserve Louis trying to find new ways to embarrass and annoy her! Ren also turns out to be quite unlucky in love as her boyfriend breaks up with her right after graduation and right before summer. This causes her to want to escape for the summer with an island holiday to Mandelino being her best chance of doing that. However, once on the island, she continues to argue with her brother, losing her cool with him so much that she tries to attack him, and is also duped into falling in love with Mootai, who is actually just an actor called Jason. In the end though, by working together to get their own back on Miles, Ren and Louis realise they can get along sometimes, when they need to. She also finds love with Jason by the end of the film.

Ren Stevens was played by Christy Carlson Romano, who, thanks to her role in the series, went on to be cast as Cadet Captain Jennifer Stone in one of the greatest DCOMs of all-time, Cadet Kelly (2002). She then became the voice of Kim Possible for the Disney Channel series and its 2005 film So the Drama, even returning to the franchise to play Poppy Blu in the 2019 reboot DCOM Kim Possible. After her role in Even Stevens, 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. She also took part in Season 3 of the reality show Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test (2023-present), an adaptation of the British series SAS: Who Dares Win, in 2025.

Louis and Ren’s parents are Eileen and Steve Stevens. Eileen is a Senator and Steve is a lawyer, showing just where Ren gets her intellect and drive from. Eileen tries to hold the family together as best as she can during the events on Mandelino, but struggles to stop Louis and Ren fighting, whilst finding herself in a longstanding argument with her husband, due to the fact he has been out of work and has started to feel inferior to his wife, with Steve wanting to prove his worth by building the family shelter and finding them food. It’s just a shame the odds were stacked against them due to Miles’ antics to cause conflict. In the end, Eileen and Steve have a heart-to-heart about everything and manage to make up, shortly before they discover this whole vacation has been manipulated for a show. They then come together with their children and Louis’ friends to cook up the perfect revenge for Miles. Plus, by the end of the film, we learn Steve did get a new job.

Eileen Stevens was played by Donna Pescow. Pescow appeared as Annette in the film Saturday Night Fever (1978) with John Travolta before moving into TV work, by starring as Angie Benson in the ABC sitcom Angie (1979-80), and playing Donna Froelich-Garland, in Out of This World (1987-91). After Even Stevens ended, Pescow was cast in the recurring role of Sharon Finkel in Season 4 of The CW series The Flash (2014-23). Tom Virtue was cast as Steve Stevens. Virtue had previously played Tom Vandoozer on Bonnie (1995-96), Bonnie Hunt’s sitcom, before being cast in Even Stevens. Virtue may also be familiar to Disney Channel fans for his role as Ralph Bartlett in the DCOM Read It and Weep (2006), starring Kay and Danielle Panabaker. Virtue later was cast in the recurring role of Reverend Sam Stone in the ABC Family show The Secret Life of the American Teenager (2008-13).

Then, there is Donnie Stevens, the older brother of Ren and Louis, whose thoughts during The Even Stevens Movie are written off quite early on due to Donnie’s lack of intelligence, because he is more of a jock, focused on sports. For example, the family dismiss Donnie saying that he saw a former student at his school, dressed up as one of the islanders, yet if they’d listened to him, the family would’ve worked out much earlier on that this whole free holiday was a scam and could’ve left without going through all that trauma! By the end of the film, we learn that Donnie went off to college to focus on sports, with a joke from Beans being that he was going to study philosophy as well. Nick Spano was cast as Donnie Stevens, who had previously played Chad in 1999 in the soap opera The Young and the Restless (1973-present) before being cast in Even Stevens.

There is also Beans, who is not part of the family, but seems to prefer spending time with the Stevens’ than his own family. And I don’t blame him if his parents think it’s alright to go to Helsinki for weeks without him! Beans is friends with Louis, so that is why he hangs around the family so much, however, in The Even Stevens Movie, apart from being a little bit annoying and a little bit gross, he isn’t used to create additional conflict for the Family Fakeout show. Beans doesn’t have too much influence on the events within The Even Stevens Movie, but he was a fan-favourite within the main show. Beans was played by Steven Anthony Lawrence, who went on to appear as Dylan Shenk in Cheaper by the Dozen (2003) and as Mark Avery in Kicking & Screaming (2005), which starred Will Ferrell. He was a contestant in Season 5 of the US version of game show The Floor (2024-present) in 2026.

The villain of The Even Stevens Movie is Miles McDermott. Miles comes across as a friendly, approachable man at the start of the film, seemingly just wanting to help the tourism board of the island Mandelino. However, it soon becomes clear that Miles is using the Stevens to boost his television career, by launching a new show to rival the hidden camera show he got fired from, Gotcha. Miles is only bothered about ratings and not the welfare of the Stevens family who are tearing themselves apart because of his sabotages and pranks on them. Miles is later shown to have the briefest glimpse of morality, as he is reminded that the show is responsible for its participants and therefore, one participant potentially killing another because they’ve been driven mad by that same show is only going to lead to lawsuits and possible criminal convictions… So, Miles is determined to stop Ren from hurting Louis, but believes he is too late and is very remorseful for his actions from that point. And luckily, it was all caught on camera, because he was tricked by the Stevens and pranked by his former employer, those at Gotcha, putting his own television career in limbo.

Miles was played by none other than comedian and actor Tim Meadows. Meadows was a cast member on Saturday Night Live (1975-present) from 1991 until 2000, along with such names as Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, and Will Ferrell. Meadows is also known for playing Principal Duvall in Mean Girls (2004); Mean Girls 2 (2011); and the 2024 musical adaptation. He is also known for various other roles in comedy films, such as playing Cornelius Banks in Semi-Pro (2008); Malcolm in Grown Ups (2010) and Grown Ups 2 (2013); and Lester Hennessey in Hubie Halloween (2020). On television, Meadows was cast as Jonathan “Andre” Glascott in the ABC sitcom The Goldbergs (2013-23) and reprised his role in its spin-off Schooled (2019-20). He has also voiced the recurring role of Mike Wobbles in the animated series Bob’s Burgers (2011-present), and voices Swooper Goodfly in the animated sitcom Digman! (2023-present) starring Andy Samberg. Recently, Meadows was cast as Langston Fleury in Season 2 of Peacemaker (2022-25) and played Gregg in the sitcom DMV (2025-26), which deserved more than just one season.

Those are the main cast members in The Even Stevens Movie, but there are a few others to mention. Within the production of Family Fakeout are a variety of actors pretending to be natives of Mandelino. To be fair, they are just doing their jobs, but most of them don’t question Miles’ instructions and just go along with what he says. This includes Chief Tuka and Donnie’s former classmate Patrick Green. The only one who tries to be honest is Mootai, or Jason, who attempts to reveal the truth to Ren.

Chief Tuka was played by Keone Young, who has appeared in two others DCOMs: as Bo the lawyer in Rip Girls (2000) and as Silas Sinister in Return to Halloweentown (2006). Young also has links to other Disney projects, including voicing Lord Qin in the direct-to-video Disney sequel Mulan II (2004); voicing Luong Lao Shi in Disney Channel’s animated series American Dragon: Jake Long (2005-07); and voicing characters in Disney XD’s Star Wars Rebels (2014-18). Patrick Green was played by Walker Howard. Josh Keaton played Mootai/Jason, and has since voiced characters for series like the Spider-Man franchise, having previously played Bryce Lester in The Secret World of Alex Mack (1994-98).

Outside of that, others from the Even Stevens series also make appearances in The Even Stevens Movie. Three of these are Louis’ friends: Alan Twitty, Tawny Dean, and Tom Gribalski. Alan and Tawny are the two to go to the island to warn the Stevens’ about the reality show, with Tom helping them travel there on his sailboat. A.J. Trauth played Alan Twitty, and starred as Alex Lansing in the DCOM You Wish! (2003), released a few months before The Even Stevens Movie. Margo Harshman played Tawny, going on to star as Brooke Franklin in sitcom Run of the House (2003-04), before later being cast in the recurring role of Alex Jensen in Season 6 of The Big Bang Theory (2007-19), and as Delilah Fielding in NCIS (2003-present) from 2013. Tom was played by Fred Meyers.

Coach Tugnut and Principal Wexler are two other characters from the series to appear in the movie. Principal Wexler and Coach Tugnut are both present at the graduation ceremony, with neither being happy with Louis’ spaghetti prank. Coach Tugnut later tells Louis’ friends the location of the reality show’s production allowing them to warn the Stevens. Coach Tugnut was played by Jim Wise, and Principal Wexler by George Anthony Bell.

Finally, Dave Coulier, known from his role as Joey Gladstone in the sitcom Full House (1987-95), reprising his role for the revival Fuller House (2016-20), makes an appearance in this film as Lance LeBow, host of the in-film show Gotcha.

MUSIC

There are very few songs that appear within The Even Stevens Movie.

The most notable song is “Dream Vacation”, which is performed by Christy Carlson Romano and is the End Credits song. To accompany the song and its music video, clips showing the cast and crew dancing to the song, as well as outtakes from the film, are interspersed within it. The song was written by Jim Wise and John Coda. Honestly, although I liked that Christy Carlson Romano got the chance to perform a solo, I didn’t like the song.

The only other song credited within The Even Stevens Movie is the graduation song, seemingly titled “Alma Mater”. It is a typical school song, full of school spirit and sentimentality, as the students graduate junior high and set off for high school. The song was written by John Coda, Dennis Rinsler, and Marc Warren.

There is also a song playing during the scene in the diner, when Ren is trying to talk about summer plans with her boyfriend Gil, only for him to dump her. I don’t know what this song was, or whether it was just generic stock music. You can also briefly here the character Tom singing the classic sea shanty “Blow the Man Down” as he takes Alan and Tawny over to the island on his boat – and they’re both finding his singing really irritating!

I will also just mention the song “Summertime”, performed by Aaron Carter and featuring Baha Men, because it appears to have been cut from the Disney+ version of The Even Stevens Movie. As I have not watched the original version of the film, either on Disney Channel or on DVD, I’m not sure if this song definitely did play during The Even Stevens Movie, but from what I can tell, it supposedly was used for a scene of the Stevens family enjoying their time on the beaches of Mandelino during their free vacation.

The score of The Even Stevens Movie, which features plenty of relaxing, beachy music, complete with steel drums, was composed by Mark Mothersbaugh and Bruce Berman. Both Berman and Mothersbaugh had previously composed music for the DCOM The Other Me (2000). Mothersbaugh also composed music for various others Disney Channel movies, including Halloweentown (1998), and its first sequel, Halloweentown II: Kalabar’s Revenge (2001), as well as Can of Worms (1999). Outside of this, Mothersbaugh has composed music for the Rugrats franchise, including for the original series, and its three theatrically-released movies The Rugrats Movie (1998), Rugrats in Paris: The Movie (2000), and Rugrats Go Wild (2003). He has also worked with Pixar previously, on the music for their series Cars Toons (2008-14) and composed the score for their new movie Hoppers (2026).

PRODUCTION

Obviously, The Even Stevens Movie would not have existed without the original series.

Even Stevens premiered on Disney Channel with its first episode on 17th June 2000. It was created by Matt Dearborn, who went on to produce the Disney Channel series Phil of the Future (2004-06), also co-writing with Tom Burkhard, and directing some episodes. Dearborn and Burkhard then created the Disney XD series Zeke and Luther (2009-12). 

Work on the series began in 1999, under the original title Spivey’s Kid Brother. A nationwide search led to an audition process considering over 2,000 boys for the lead role of Louis Spivey. Shia LaBeouf brought a lot of energy and authenticity to his audition, although it was of some concern that LaBeouf was telling fellow auditionees that he had already got the role during the casting process. Regardless, it was felt that LaBeouf was the best for the role. A pilot was shot; however, test audiences did not warm to LaBeouf’s character, feeling his character was not comedic enough. A new search for the lead began, but none matched up to LaBeouf, who was made to re-audition for the part he’d already got – before being offered it once again! LaBeouf’s performance in Even Stevens proved to be popular with audiences when the show did air, helping to launch a strong career outside of Disney.

However, the teething problems did not stop there, as the scripts for the first few episodes were not working, so two writers, Marc Warren and Dennis Rinsler, were brought in to fix them, to get the tone and the humour right. It has also been said that Shia LaBeouf and his co-star Christy Carlson Romano did not get along too well during filming of Even Stevens, mostly due to the fact they were two very different people with very different approaches to their acting. The writers supposedly pushed the tension between the two actors by involving plenty of sibling rivalry storylines in the series. It was said that the cast and crew of Even Stevens were largely left to get on with making the show, away from the prying eyes and interference of any executives[1].

Season 1 of Even Stevens consisted of 21 episodes, airing from 17th June 2000 to 23rd February 2001. One of the more memorable episodes in this series was Episode 15 “Heck of a Hanukkah”, as well as the first-ever episode, “Swap.com”. The second season then began on 15th June 2001 and ended on 15th February 2002. One very popular episode in this season was Episode 21 “Influenza: The Musical”, which is a musical episode of the show, featuring songs like “We Went to the Moon (in 1969)”. The storyline of the episode revolves around Ren Stevens having a fever dream about her day at school due to her being ill with the flu. That’s So Raven (2003-07) later did a musical episode too thanks to this, the Season 2 episode “The Road to Audition”, which was always one of my favourites.

In July 2001, it was confirmed that Even Stevens had been greenlit for a third and final season, consisting of 22 episodes. Production began in September 2001, with the episodes airing in the second-quarter of 2002[2]. Season 3 aired its 22 episodes from 22nd February 2002, with its final episode coming on 2nd June 2003. As well as the finale episode “Leavin’ Stevens”, where the family think they are moving to Washington D.C. for Eileen’s work but by the end of the episode learn they are not, Episode 7 “Raiders of the Lost Sausage”, a parody of Indiana Jones films, was another memorable one.

By the end of its third season, Even Stevens had aired 65 episodes and that meant only one thing: cancellation. For some reason, Disney Channel chose to cap all their series at 65 episodes, under the “65-Episode Rule”. It was apparently simply due to the fact that 65 episodes is good for scheduling, as it means one episode of a show can air daily for 13 weeks, taking up a quarter of the year, without repeats. It was a stupid rule, with many fans not agreeing with the decision to cancel the Even Stevens just because it had made “too many” episodes. But at least it was given its own Disney Channel Original Movie to tie up the series, an attempt to appease those fans who were annoyed their favourite show was over.

Although too late for Even Stevens, the “65-Episode Rule” was later abolished by Disney Channel thanks to the success of That’s So Raven, which aired 100 episodes in total, going over the 65-episode limit around 2004. Kim Possible later followed in its footsteps. Originally, the series was going to end after its third season and total of 65 episodes. The DCOM Kim Possible: So the Drama (2005) was made to wrap up the show, however, Kim Possible ended up getting a fourth season. This season was the final season of Kim Possible to air, with a total of 87 episodes in the end[3].

During its run, Even Stevens won numerous awards. One was the Children’s BAFTA for Best International series in 2002, where it was up against Disney Channel’s other hit series of the time, Lizzie McGuire. The young cast were nominated for Young Artist Awards, with Christy Carlson Romano winning for Best Performance in a TV Comedy Series: Leading Young Actress in both 2001 and 2002, as did Lauren Frost in 2002, who played Ren’s friend Ruby, for Best Performance in a TV Comedy Series: Supporting Young Actress. In 2003, Steven Anthony Lawrence won his own Young Artist award for Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama) – Supporting Young Actor. Shia LaBeouf won the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Performer in a Children’s Series in 2003.

The Even Stevens Movie had to maintain and sustain the humour of its 20-odd minute episodes for the length of a feature film, around 90 minutes, choosing to move the Stevens family away from the familiar surroundings of school and home life to a new exotic location. It was a good idea to have the movie take place after Ren’s graduation and during the summer break, as this meant those who had not watched the series before could jump into it without having to understand character dynamics straight away, as well as signalling that the Even Stevens was over, by moving the show in a new direction for the film.

The writers of various episodes within the Even Stevens series, Marc Warren and Dennis Rinsler, were tasked with writing this feature-length movie. The two went on to executive produce, write, and direct episodes of That’s So Raven, leading to them creating one of its spin-off series, Cory in the House (2007-08). The creator of Even Stevens, Matt Dearborn, was not asked to contribute to the writing of The Even Stevens Movie, so by way of an apology, Dearborn was told he could write any movie he wanted for Disney Channel – and that is how Cow Belles (2006) starring Aly and AJ Michalka came to be, apparently!

Sean McNamara directed The Even Stevens Movie, having previously directed episodes of the series. McNamara went on to direct episodes of other Disney Channel series, such as That’s So Raven and Zeke and Luther. He later directed The Suite Life Movie (2011) for Disney Channel. Recently, McNamara directed the Hallmark festive films Sister Swap: A Hometown Holiday (2021) and Sister Swap: Christmas in the City (2021).

The Even Stevens Movie was filmed in both California and Hawaii, with the home and school portions taking place in California, as per the series, and the scenes in fictional island Mandelino being filmed in Hawaii. Within California, one specific filming location used in the film was Pink Motel – Cadillac Jack’s Diner in Sun Valley, which is called Roller Cakes diner in the movie. Filming took place in Hawaii on the island of Oahu for a few days in August 2002, with Hawaii supposedly edging out Australia to get the shoot. It was reported in the press that the film was originally titled The Stevens Get Even at the time, with a release date for the movie expected in August 2003. It was moved up to June 2003 evidently[4].

Some have said that The Even Stevens Movie is heavily inspired by the Jim Carrey film The Truman Show (1998), about a man growing up not realising his whole life has been filmed and manipulated for a reality television show. Apparently, the initial concept for The Even Stevens Movie was for the Stevens family to go on vacation and for Louis to cause destruction to Mount Rushmore, but the writers were told to come up with something related to The Truman Show. For me, The Even Stevens Movie reminded me of the Mary-Kate and Ashley film The Challenge (2003), which was also about a reality show, but there was no hidden camera element to that show, although it was heavily controlled. Regardless of the actual inspirations for The Even Stevens Movie, we can all agree that it must’ve been based on the rise of reality television, which took off in the early 2000s, with the launch of shows like Big Brother and Survivor, which had very little regard for the welfare or the wellbeing of those participating in them, being seen as exploitative, and even cruel, nowadays.

Family Fakeout is definitely exploitative, whereas Gotcha is a prank show meant to embarrass its contestants. Randomly, Gotcha made a reappearance in an episode of Hannah Montana (2006-11), the Season 3 episode “Jake…Another Little Piece of My Heart”, where Jake Ryan pranks Hannah into making her believe he is getting married in Vegas. Lance LeBow was not the host in this episode, as he was in The Even Stevens Movie.

Another fact about the filming of the movie is that within the school graduation scene, actor Jim Wise, who played Coach Tugnut, said that the weight of the spaghetti being dumped on his head from that beach ball almost caused him to go unconscious[5]!

RECEPTION

The Even Stevens Movie premiered on Disney Channel in the US on 13th June 2003, less than two weeks after the series finale aired. It was the third DCOM to premiere that year. It is unclear exactly when the film reached international channels outside of North America.

It has been said that The Even Stevens Movie was viewed by 5.1 million people on its premiere date. It was outperformed later in 2003 by the premiere of The Cheetah Girls, which had viewing figures of 6.5 million, but The Even Stevens Movie did better than other 2003 DCOMS, like Eddie’s Million Dollar Cook-Off with 3.7 million and Full-Court Miracle with 4.4 million. Its viewership was pretty good, albeit not record-breaking for the channel.

Many fans of the original Even Stevens series enjoyed The Even Stevens Movie, with it signalling the official conclusion of a series that they had loved throughout childhood. Within that audience, The Even Stevens Movie is considered to be hilarious and highly quotable. Some viewers also said that they enjoyed the surprise twist ending, of Miles ending up being the victim of the show Gotcha, instead of the Stevens being the victim of Miles’ show Family Fakeout. Some might say they could’ve guessed that ending, but I didn’t and I thought it was quite clever. Others also think that The Even Stevens Movie is one of the better earlier Disney Channel Original Movies, especially when compared with those new films that Disney Channel are making today.

On the other hand, there were actually some fans of Even Stevens that felt slightly down by this film ending the series, because they felt that the finale episode of the series was better than what the film gave them. Other general comments were that the movie was slow at times, had bad effects, namely the chase scene with the squirrel, and was generally just average. Some took issue with the disrespectful stereotypes of the Mandelino natives, which is perhaps made even worse by the fact that the audience learn that the natives are actually actors in the movie, so those in-film actors are playing into the outdated stereotypes deliberately… Finally, some said that Tim Meadows was “too good” for this film. All I can say is that he did very well with the role and the material he was given, and had Meadows not been in this film, I probably wouldn’t have liked it much at all, not having the love of the original series to keep me interested.

The Even Stevens Movie was nominated at the Directors Guild of America Awards, specifically for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children’s Programs for its director Sean McNamara. Episodes of the original series had also been nominated in this category in the three years before. However, The Even Stevens Movie did not win, nor did Oz Scott’s directing of fellow DCOM The Cheetah Girls. The winner was actually Kevin Lima for his work on Eloise at Christmastime, a television special aired on ABC as part of The Wonderful World of Disney anthology series (1997-present).

Some of the young cast of The Even Stevens Movie were nominated at the Young Artist Awards. These included Steven Anthony Lawrence, who played Beans, and Margo Harshman, who played Tawny, being nominated for Best Performance in a TV Movie, Miniseries or Special – Supporting Young Actor and Young Actress respectively. In the category of Best Young Adult Performer in a Teenage Role, Christy Carlson Romano, for her role as Ren, was nominated, but the award was won by Josh Keaton, who played Mootai. 

LEGACY

After Even Stevens ended, thanks to Disney’s self-imposed 65-episode rule, most of the cast members moved away from Disney and Disney Channel to focus on new projects. This included the two main leads of the show, Shia LaBeouf and Christy Carlson Romano.

However, this wasn’t meant to be the case, as there had been plans for Christy Carlson Romano to star as Ren in a spin-off series for ABC. It would’ve seen Ren working as an intern on Capitol Hill, but for whatever reason, the plans were not progressed and ABC had shown themselves to not be interested in the idea[6].

In the years since, as revival after revival of various shows, Disney and non-Disney alike, have come out, many of the former Even Stevens cast members have been asked about whether they would ever do a reboot. Christy Carlson Romano has stated before that she would be vaguely interested in doing a reboot, however, as she doubts Shia LaBeouf would ever return to Disney to do that, making that assumption based on the fact he doesn’t attend cast reunions, then she doesn’t believe that Disney could or would ever want to make it without him. Shia LaBeouf was arguably the star in Even Stevens, and would be the biggest draw in enticing an audience back for a reboot[7].

But you can always rewatch the original series instead, right? Although the series is still found on Disney+ in the US, in some other countries, including in the UK, it has not been made available. For the UK, the reason for this is perhaps because Even Stevens originally aired on BBC, as part of its children’s programming CBBC, before later moving to CITV in the early 2010s. Yet, the series is also not available to view on either BBC’s or ITV’s streaming service. But the first episode and the last episode of Even Stevens have been made available free to watch on Disney Channel’s official YouTube Channel.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Despite never having seen the series before, I quite liked The Even Stevens Movie. Had I actually seen the show, I probably would’ve liked it more, although I’m not sure the humour would’ve been exactly to my taste. I wasn’t a big fan of the spaghetti prank, for example!

However, for fans of Even Stevens, this movie gave them a chance to see the Stevens family in a completely different environment and have a fuller storyline to focus on. It served as both a series finale as well as working as a standalone movie.

Even Stevens did not reach the heights of Disney Channel’s other hot property at the time, Lizzie McGuire, but it was still very popular, with many fans still remembering – and quoting – their favourite moments from their favourite episodes even decades later.


REFERENCES

[1] Credit: Ashley Spencer, Disney High: The Untold Story of the Rise and Fall of Disney Channel’s Empire (2024), ‘Even Stevens: Talent and Turmoil’, pp. 34-48.

[2] Credit: Laughing Place, ‘Disney Channel Renews Even Stevens and Lizzie McGuire for Additional Seasons’, LaughingPlace.com, 10th July 2001.

[3] Credit: TanChun Watkins, ‘This Disney Channel 65-Episode Rule Killed Your Favorite Shows’,  Collider.com, 17th August 2024.

[4] Credit: Tim Ryan, ‘Disney’s ‘Even Stevens’ to film TV movie on Oahu’, StarBulletin.com, 15th July 2002.

[5] Credit: Stacey Grant, ’23 Surprising DCOM Secrets Even Die-Hard Fans Didn’t Know’, Seventeen.com, 25th October 2017.

[6] Credit: Ashley Spencer, Disney High: The Untold Story of the Rise and Fall of Disney Channel’s Empire (2024), ‘Even Stevens: Talent and Turmoil’, pp. 34-48.

[7] Credit: AJ Pitts, ‘Christy Carlson Romano Says an ‘Even Stevens’ Reboot Will Likely Never Happen’, JustJaredJr.com, 3rd January 2022.

Madagascar (2005)

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

BACKGROUND

As Disney Animation was floundering in amongst this new world of computer animation, DreamWorks SKG, a relatively new studio in comparison, was thriving.

The studio was co-founded by former Chairman of The Walt Disney Studios, who heralded the return of Disney Animation back to its finest, Jeffrey Katzenberg, along with director Steven Spielberg, and producer David Geffen. DreamWorks’ animation department had had quite a lot of success from the outset, thanks to their push towards comedy and all-star castings. This had begun with Antz (1998), but was later demonstrated fully with one of their biggest films still to this day, Shrek (2001), which also playfully mocked some of the best Disney animated fairy-tale musicals that Katzenberg had helped make.

This time, instead of taking us to a fairy-tale world or under the sea, as they had just done with Shark Tale (2004), DreamWorks were moving their new story to the lesser-known island of Madagascar, a perfect setting to show off their computer-animated techniques.

At the same time that Disney was struggling to find its new place in the world of animation, and DreamWorks was seemingly thriving, there was another animation studio surpassing both of them, and that was, of course, Pixar, probably still the greatest studio when it comes to computer animation. However, as luck would have it, DreamWorks’ new film Madagascar was going to be released in 2005, a year when Pixar was not planning on releasing a new film. The stage was set for DreamWorks to really dominate.

And they certainly did dominate Disney, because Disney’s 2005 film of that year was Chicken Little, a movie that is still criticised and derided to this day – even though I actually quite like it. But it admittedly doesn’t feel much like a Disney animated film. Madagascar was able to outdo it by having a well-known voice cast enhance film, as DreamWorks had already been doing from the outset, and really pushed the envelope with their humour.

I watched Madagascar at the cinema, and remember finding it very funny, as did the rest of my family. It’s a very silly story, with some outrageously good gags and slapstick comedy, as well as a whole list of Easter eggs that refer back to other movies. Having said that, I don’t rewatch this film often, and actually prefer its two sequels. Although I still like it and enjoy quoting lines from it, which is very easy to do with this film, I do find the story is quite lacking after the four zoo animals arrive on the island of Madagascar, only recently realising how much of a distraction King Julien and the other lemurs are from the lack of plot.

PLOT                   

Madagascar begins with a zebra daydreaming about life in the wild. As the zebra dreams about getting to the watering hole nearby, a lion appears to be chasing him. All of a sudden, the lion jumps out in front of the zebra, causing the zebra to snap back to reality.

That reality is living in Central Park Zoo in New York City – and it’s ok that the lion is here with the zebra, because this lion and zebra are best friends and neighbours in the zoo. Alex is the lion, and Marty is the zebra. Today is Marty’s 10th birthday and Alex just wanted to surprise him and wish him a happy birthday. He then feigns toothache and asks Marty to inspect. Inside his mouth, Marty sees a snow globe – of Alex – wedged behind one of Alex’s teeth. This is Marty’s birthday present. Gee, thanks…Marty complains that he finds his zoo life really boring and decides to use this new day to start a new, fresh routine. And it’s a good day to do that, as it is Friday at the zoo, and that means it’s Field Trip Day.

The zoo starts to fill up with adults and children alike, who want to see the main attraction of Alex the lion, doing his big performances in his enclosure. Marty is known for doing tricks with water, ending his routine by spraying it at the parents! Gloria and Melman are the two other animals who live next to Marty and Alex at the zoo. Gloria is a hippo who entrances the zoogoers with her water ballet, and Melman is a giraffe, although he doesn’t do much other than panic that he is dying of some deadly disease. By the end of the day, Marty is still not satisfied with his life, even by trying to do something new. His thoughts are interrupted by the arrival of the zoo’s penguins in his enclosure. They had been trying to dig for freedom, but are still in the zoo. They’re disappointed not to have found their way to Antarctica – yet. At least Marty isn’t the only one who wants to leave and go to the wild. The penguins tell Marty he didn’t see anything and disappear down their tunnel….

After the zoo has closed for the day, the animals are treated like kings – and queens – by their keepers, before Gloria, Melman, Marty, and Alex come together to have a birthday party for Marty, with Melman giving Marty his first rectal thermometer as a gift. How thoughtful…But there is cake, and Marty is told to blow out his candles and make a wish. The other three desperately want to know what he wished for, but Marty says if he tells them, it will mean bad luck. However, their demands to know break Marty down and he tells them he wished to go to the wild. This shocks everyone, as they couldn’t possibly imagine leaving their cushy lives at the zoo to go to the untamed nature of the wild. Marty says the penguins want to leave too as his defence, to which Alex simply says the penguins are psychotic. They want to know what Marty wants from the wild, and he says large spaces. Gloria says Connecticut has large spaces, and you can get a train there from Grand Central Station. Marty is sad at his friends’ lack of support and decides to call it a night. Gloria convinces Alex to talk to Marty about it. Alex reminds Marty that the grass isn’t always greener and that Marty should be happy with everything the zoo and the city have. Alex then goes back to his enclosure to sleep, believing Marty has let go of this whole dream of going to the wild.

However, Melman wakes Alex up in the night to say that Marty has gone. Alex realises he must be heading for Connecticut, and decides they’ll have to get him back since they can’t call “the people”. Believing Marty to be lost and confused in the city, Alex, Melman, and Gloria break out of the zoo to find him. Two chimpanzees, Mason and Phil, also leave the zoo that night – to go and throw poo at author and journalist Tom Wolfe, apparently. Yet, Marty isn’t lost or confused. He’s having a great time looking for Grand Central Station. He even finds time to go ice skating! Marty asks a police horse for directions at one point though, causing the human officer to call in this strange encounter. Alex, Gloria, and Melman are having less of a good time, as they freak out all the locals on the subway on their way to the station. Alex scares one to death as he laments the latest loss for the New York Knicks. What a difference 20-odd years can make to a basketball team!

Eventually, all four of them are reunited at Grand Central Station, and more people flee in terror at the sight of the wild animals at the train station – all except an old lady who tries to beat up Alex with her handbag! Marty and Alex start fighting, but they are soon surrounded by officers. The chimpanzees and even the penguins are caught alongside the four. As Alex tries to explain what happened to “the people”, he is shot by a tranquiliser dart.

The next morning, Alex wakes up at the zoo. A news reporter is doing a live report from the zoo, saying how the animals’ behaviour led the public to realise they don’t belong there and are instead going to be returned them to the wild. Alex is soon spotted waking up and is shot with another dart to send him back to sleep.

The next time Alex wakes up, he is shocked to discover he is inside a crate. He hears Melman, Gloria, and Marty’s voices nearby, finding they are also inside crates. The three instantly turn on Marty and blame him for this, believing they are headed for a zoo transfer because of his insistence on going to the wild. As the four argue amongst themselves, we see these crates are on a cargo ship in the middle of the ocean. Also on this ship are the two chimps and the penguins. The penguins look out of a hole in their crate and see a label on it. They ask the chimps if they can read the label. One of them can – Phil – but he is mute, so the other chimp – Mason – translates his sign language. Mason says that they are headed for Kenya Wildlife Reserve in Africa. The penguins can’t accept that, and escape their crate.

Meanwhile, Marty and Alex’s arguing and tussling has caused their crates to break from the strap securing them, only they aren’t aware of this. The penguins have gotten to the bridge and have tied up the ship’s captain, deciding to turn this ship around and finally get to Antarctica. However, with the ship turning so abruptly, the crates containing Alex, Marty, Gloria, and Melman go overboard and start bobbing in the ocean. Alex sees through the holes in the crates that the other three are nowhere near him now. He is alone.

Eventually, his crate washes up on a beach and Alex tumbles out of it, onto the sand. Alex searches for his friends, wandering the beach all night. The next day, he comes across Melman, who is stuck inside his crate. Alex rushes over to him, happily, and tries to get Melman out of the box. As Alex is about to use a branch to push Melman out of the crate, Melman sees Gloria’s crate has just washed up on the beach. Alex rushes over to her instead, with her foot crashing through the crate and hitting Alex, who is tossed high into the air and lands on Melman’s crate, destroying it and releasing Melman. The three then look for Marty, and don’t have to look too far, as he surfs in on some dolphins. Alex and Marty go to hug each other in what appears to be a lovely reunion, except partway through this slow-motion hug, Alex realises that they are lost all because of Marty. He starts to try and fight him again, but they are stopped by Gloria, who reminds them that they are all at least together. Melman theorises that they must be in San Diego Zoo and that this beach isn’t even real.

As they wonder where the people are, the four animals hear music and head through the jungle to find the source of it, because where there’s music, there must be people, right? After Alex discovers that he doesn’t like nature much, the four arrive at a huge party, but it’s not people at all, but strange, fluffy creatures these zoo animals have never seen before. The party is wild and out of control, reminding Marty of a Puffy party… The less said about that, the better… Alex, Marty, Gloria, and Melman watch the frivolity in front of them abruptly come to an end as someone screams that the Fossa – also spelt Foosa here – are attacking! Alex decides to try and talk to the Fossa, who are about to eat one of the fluffy things, when he sees a huge spider on his back. Alex panics and starts screaming, scaring off the Fossa with his roar and teeth. The other creatures start to wonder if they should be afraid of these new animals in their jungle, and decide to push one of their kind – Mort, who was about to be eaten by the Fossa – in front of them to see if they eat him or not! Mort instantly starts crying as Alex approaches him, but Gloria picks him up and decides he’s cute. This leads the others to realise they are not savage killers and come out to introduce themselves.

Alex, Marty, Gloria, and Melman are surrounded by their new fans, who they think are squirrels. They are corrected by being told they are all lemurs, and they are led by their king, King Julien. King Julien decides to dub them the New York Giants. The four ask King Julien if he knows where the people are. He says they have the people and point up towards a tree, where the skeletons of humans are dangling. The animals believe the lemurs must’ve killed the people; they didn’t, it seems to have been a plane crash that killed them. The four wonder how they can be somewhere with no people. King Julien says this is the wild, specifically Madagascar, so there are no people. Alex decides to run into the ocean and try to swim to New York, not wanting to be in this place, nor do Gloria and Melman.

They decide to try and find a way out of there, hoping that someone will realise they are missing soon and come and find them. Melman even digs himself a grave to wait for death. Marty tells the other three that they are overreacting, which annoys Alex, who splits the beach into two halves, telling Marty to stay on his side, whilst they stay on theirs and try and find a way back home. Firstly, Alex builds a huge Lady Liberty out of firewood, whilst Marty has built himself a camp. Melman has been tasked with creating fire to light up their Lady Liberty beacon, but ends up accidentally setting fire to the whole creation. It burns up entirely. Gloria and Melman decide to join Marty on the “fun side” of the beach.

Meanwhile, the lemurs have a meeting on the people’s crashed plane to decide what to do about these newcomers. They decide that Alex can keep them all safe from the Fossa, but Maurice, King Julien’s right-hand man, is concerned about Alex, and doesn’t think they will be safe from him. King Julien tells him he is talking rubbish, and say they will officially welcome them to their home tomorrow morning.

Back on the beach, Alex has attempted to make a new sign, this time saying “Help”, but it eventually breaks, turning into “Hell” instead. Marty invites Alex to join their camp, but he refuses. Marty leaves the offer open. Eventually, Alex comes to his senses and goes over to the camp. He apologises for how he’s been acting. Marty welcomes Alex to his camp, providing him with drinks – of seawater, which they all just spit out – and food – of seaweed kebabs, which Alex just can’t swallow. That night, Alex is so hungry that he dreams of steaks, and wakes up to find himself licking Marty’s back. All the others are confused, but Alex quickly pretends to go back to sleep to avoid being questioned. King Julien, Maurice, and the others are watching all this, and Julien tries to rationalise the lick, saying it was simply out of friendship. Maurice isn’t at all convinced.

The next day, having arrived in Antarctica, the penguins decide they don’t like the cold, or the emptiness of the continent and get back on the ship. Back in Madagascar, the four wake up to find themselves off the beach and in the lemurs’ area. They are shown how great this island is with its spectacular views. Marty and Alex chase each other around this area, with Alex going hyper from being so hungry. They join the party, back with Melman, Gloria, and the lemurs, with King Julien very happy with how his plan to keep Alex on side and the Fossa away is playing out. Randomly, King Julien hears the newcomers talking about him Alex is a king. Alex explains that he was the King of the Central Park Zoo and is encouraged to show off his performance. However, as he does, Alex starts to hallucinate that everyone in front of him is a steak and lets out a real roar, not a performative one. He then jumps down and bites Marty on the butt. They are all horrified. Maurice explains that Alex is a predator and that his “friends” are actually his prey. King Julien accepts his plan didn’t work and tries to banish Alex, but he goes savage again and starts chasing Marty to try and eat him. Maurice throws a coconut at Alex, stopping him in his tracks and letting him come to his senses. Alex hates what he is becoming and chooses to go over to the Fossa side of the island and pens himself in, to keep his friends safe from him.

The other three get back to the beach after hearing the sound of a ship’s horn. They see that the penguins have taken over the boat, having put all the people on a lifeboat. Gloria, Melman, and Marty see what is going on, wanting to go back home. Marty wants to find Alex so he can go home too, but Gloria and Melman warn him against going to find him. However, Marty goes alone, into Fossa territory. Alex continues to dream of food, this time in New York City and that all his adoring fans at the zoo are steaks. Marty finds Alex and tells him the boat his here for them. Alex warns Marty against coming close to him, as he keeps going savage and doesn’t want to hurt him. Marty reiterates that he isn’t going anywhere without him. The Fossa then surround Marty and chase him. Melman swings in on a vine and tries to save him, with him, Gloria, and Marty setting off on a run. The penguins attempt to help to, by using a flare gun and themselves to distract the Fossa. They find themselves surrounded quickly though and think all looks lost. Suddenly, Alex approaches them and announces that they are all “his kill”. He whispers to Marty that it is showtime and should just go along with it. Alex picks all of them up and runs with them, with the three pretending to be scared. Alex threatens all the Fossa and they flee, going far away from them. King Julien sees all this and decides his plan did work after all.

Back on the beach, the penguins introduce Alex to sushi, which satisfies Alex’s appetite and stops him wanting to eat all his friends. The lemurs set up a goodbye party for all of them, with King Julien even giving Alex his crown – but only because he got a bigger, better one, complete with a free gecko! Alex and the others get back on the boat and are ready to leave, although Alex says they don’t have to go back to New York right away, and could explore some other places first. They wave goodbye to everyone, but something isn’t quite right. The penguins are still on the beach, sunbathing. They wonder when they should tell the others that the boat has no fuel left!

CHARACTERS & CAST

Alex is a lion, so, naturally, he is one of the main attractions at the Central Park Zoo, which has caused him to be just a little bit arrogant and full of himself. Alex loves his life at the zoo, with his adoring fans, frequent performances, and juicy steaks whenever he wants them. This makes it a real shock when he discovers that best friend Marty wants to trade all this in for the open spaces of the wild; it has never occurred to Alex to go to the wild. It just doesn’t appeal to him. However, quite ironically, by Alex being so determined not to let Marty go to the wild, and heading into the city to find him, he ends up getting them all sent to Kenya, whereas had he let Marty go off alone, he could’ve remained at the zoo forever. Instead, he blames Marty, and their new surroundings are a frequent source of tension between the two – which only gets worse when Alex finds himself wanting to eat his best friend. But Alex knows he is not really a monster, so struggles to come to terms with his natural instincts. Sadly, Alex feels he has no choice but to make himself a sort of prison in Fossa territory to keep everyone else safe from him. Alex then shows his loyalty to his friends by saving them all from the Fossa, so even though Alex might seem egotistical and loves the spotlight, he also has other qualities which make him a fun guy to be around.

Alex was voiced by director and actor Ben Stiller. Earlier in his career, Stiller created, wrote, and starred in his own show, The Ben Stiller Show (1992-93), which won him an Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Variety or Music Program. He went on to direct other movies including his directorial debut with the rom-com Reality Bites (1996) starring Winona Ryder and Ethan Hawke; Stiller played Michael Grates. He then directed The Cable Guy (1996) starring Jim Carrey and Matthew Broderick. Stiller is also well-known for various acting roles, such as being cast as Ted Stroehmann in There’s Something About Mary (1998) opposite Cameron Diaz; playing Gaylord “Greg” Focker in the Meet the Parents film series, with the newest addition to the franchise coming in 2026 with Focker-in-Law; playing Reuben Feffer in Along Came Polly (2004) with Jennifer Aniston; and starring as Larry Daley in the Night at the Museum film series. He also directed and starred in Zoolander (2001) and its 2016 sequel, going on to direct and play Tugg Speedman in Tropic Thunder (2008), and direct and star in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013) in the title role. Stiller has also won a Directors Guild of America Award for his work on the limited crime series Escape at Dannemora (2018). More recently, Stiller directed some episodes of Apple TV’s Severance (2022-25). He is set to play Dr. Stone in upcoming film The Dink (2026) for Apple TV. 

Marty is a cool, calm, and collected zebra, who doesn’t let much bother him, although what is bothering him is his boring zoo life. This questioning has come from a “mid-life crisis” of sorts, as Marty celebrates his 10th birthday. Marty just wants to be free and have new experiences, frequently daydreaming about running in nature, not in the concrete jungle of the Central Park Zoo. Marty loves being in Madagascar, thinking that the beach and the jungle are cool places to be, although admittedly they are completely different to their zoo enclosures. Marty tries to make the most of things on the island, by building a camp and getting involved in the party atmosphere, but things start to become difficult to enjoy when Marty sees Alex going savage, and doesn’t know how to deal with this new version of his friend. However, when the boat returns, knowing how much Alex hates the wild, he bravely goes to find Alex, dodging the Fossa on the way, because he can’t leave him behind. In the end, Marty is willing to give up the dream of staying in the wild to keep his other friends happy. Although as luck would have it, that boat can’t leave Madagascar anyway!   

Comedian and actor Chris Rock was cast as the voice of Marty, having begun his career in stand-up, before becoming a cast member in Saturday Night Live (1975-present) from 1990 to 1993, joining up with other great comedy talents, like Adam Sandler, Chris Farley, and David Space. In film, Rock voiced the character of Rodney the guinea pig in Dr. Dolittle (1998), starring Eddie Murphy; voiced Mooseblood the Mosquito in Bee Movie (2007) and was cast as Aaron Barnes in Death at a Funeral (2010), alongside an all-star cast. Rock is also no stranger to appearances in Adam Sandler’s films, like playing Kurt McKenzie in Grown Ups (2010) and its 2013 sequel – both of which I love, even if Adam Sandler did only make them so he could work with his friends! – and Kirby Cortice in The Week Of (2018). More recently, Rock played Milton King in Amsterdam (2022) and portrayed Roy Wilkins in the biopic Rustin (2023), which starred Colman Domingo as civil rights activist Bayard Rustin. In television, Rock had his own late-night show on HBO called The Chris Rock Show (1997-2000), and created the semi-autobiographical sitcom Everybody Hates Chris (2005-09) about his teenage years. Rock also played Loy Cannon in Season 4 of Fargo (2014-24).

Gloria the hippo is the only female member of the cast, which means she has her hands full keeping the guys in line. She has to stop Marty and Alex’s incessant fighting, keep Melman from going crazy, and tries to look after everyone, and give them some hope that they will escape this island. But just because Gloria is caring doesn’t mean that she is a pushover. In fact, Gloria is the toughest of all of them and doesn’t suffer fools gladly. Gloria initially doesn’t like the look of this island, but soon finds herself able to join the party there, despite the fact the boat is a very much welcome sight when it returns.

Gloria was voiced by Jada Pinkett Smith. Her earlier films roles include playing Carla Purty in The Nutty Professor (1996), opposite Eddie Murphy; Sonji Roi in Ali (2001) with Will Smith in the title role; and Niobe in The Matrix film franchise, from The Matrix Reloaded (2003) onward. After Madagascar, she starred as Christina Hawthorne in the medical drama Hawthorne (2009-11), winning an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series for her performance in 2010. She also later played Lisa Cooper in Girls Trip (2017) alongside Queen Latifah, Regina Hall, and Tiffany Haddish, and was cast as FBI Agent Helen Thompson in Angel Has Fallen (2019), part of the Has Fallen series. More recently, Pinkett Smitt hosted the Facebook Watch talk show Red Table Talk (2018-22) with her mother, and her daughter Willow, which was nominated for Daytime Emmy Awards in the category of Outstanding Talk Show Informative, winning one in 2021, as well as nominations for Outstanding Informative Talk Show Host. She also recently produced and narrated the Netflix miniseries African Queens (2023).

Melman is a giraffe, who is a complete hypochondriac. The best thing about living in a zoo for him is the around-the-clock medical care he gets at the Central Park Zoo. So, when Melman arrives in Madagascar, he is horrified and believes he is going to die without his treatments and medications. Obviously, that doesn’t happen, but he does hate nature and doesn’t want it anywhere near him at risk of it causing serious illness. As a fellow hypochondriac, I can completely understand Melman’s overreactions in this film! Melman doesn’t like how everything changes when they get to Madagascar, and begins to fear Alex and his “savage” mood swings. It’s all a bit much to cope with so naturally, Melman wants to get back to somewhere safe and familiar. He’ll have to wait a little bit longer for that though!

David Schwimmer was cast as Melman, with Schwimmer being best known for his role as Ross Geller in the sitcom Friends (1994-2004), also directing some of the later episodes. Over the years, Schwimmer has had a mixture of comedy roles and more dramatic ones. Within comedy, Schwimmer more recently played Jerry Berstein in the Sky comedy series Intelligence (2020-23), written by Nick Mohammed. Schwimmer also directed the film Run Fatboy Run (2007), which starred Simon Pegg. On the more serious side, Schwimmer was cast as Captain Herbert Sobel in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers (2001), created by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, winning the Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Television for his performance, and he portrayed Robert Kardashian in The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story (2016), being nominated for a Primetime Emmy award. He also received a nomination at the Children’s and Family Emmy Awards for his role as Anthony Brewer in Season 2 of the Disney+ series Goosebumps (2023-25).

King Julien is the king of the lemurs in Madagascar, and, as far as he is concerned, he might as well be king of the world. King Julien is flamboyant, eccentric, and performative, and believes that everyone around him adores and worships him. When Alex, Marty, Gloria, and Melman arrive, King Julien is initially fearful of them but soon comes to realise that they might be able to help them keep the Fossa away once and for all. However, King Julien becomes threatened when Alex starts talking about being the King of New York City, and later finds that Alex is turning savage and putting their lives at risk. It was King Julien’s plan, after all, to keep Alex with them, despite his right-hand man, Maurice, telling him otherwise. Still, King Julien likes to believe that he has all the best ideas, and even claims that his initial plan did work in the end, as Alex does eventually scare all the Fossa away. King Julien is a complete scene-stealer in Madagascar, and the best character in the film for me.

Sacha Baron Cohen was chosen to voice King Julien. Baron Cohen is known for playing outlandish characters in both television and film, with one of his first being Ali G, who was originally used for the Channel 4 comedy series The 11 O’Clock Show (1998-2000). He later used this character again for Da Ali G Show (2000-04), which won BAFTAs and nominations at the Emmy awards. Baron Cohen later wrote and starred as Ali G in the film Ali G Indahouse (2002), before writing and starring in Borat (2006), and Brüno (2009). Borat eventually got its own sequel in 2020, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm. Both Borat films were nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay at the Academy Awards. Sacha Baron Cohen also won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for his role as Borat. Although clearly very comfortable in comedic roles, Sacha Baron Cohen has been known to delve into more serious ones too. To showcase his musical talents, he was cast as Adolfo Pirelli in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007), and later as Monsieur Thénardier in Les Misérables (2012), alongside Helena Bonham Carter. He also portrayed Abbie Hoffman in The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020), which earnt Baron Cohen a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the Oscars. More recently, Baron Cohen played Robert Ravenscroft in the Apple TV series Disclaimer (2024) which also stared Cate Blanchett and Kevin Kline. In 2026, Baron Cohen has returned to comedy with roles such as Pavio Curto Bundchen in Balls Up (2026) for Amazon Prime, and Damien Sachs, opposite Rosamund Pike, in Ladies First (2026) for Netflix.

Maurice is the serious, intelligent sidekick of King Julien. He doesn’t just go along with King Julien’s ideas, despite being treated like his servant, having Maurice wave his arm for him when King Julien gets tired, for example! Maurice is the first to raise suspicions about Alex, with these suspicions being warranted as Alex shows that he is a predator willing to kill for food, as he starts to see all the other animals as steaks. However, Maurice is not listened to by King Julien, because King Julien likes to think he’s the smartest animal in the jungle. Poor Maurice. He should really look for a different employer who actually appreciates him.

Maurice was voiced by Cedric the Entertainer, a stand-up comedian and actor. Cedric the Entertainer actually has soon history in voice acting, by voicing Carl the Embolotherium, a prehistoric rhino, in Ice Age (2002); Golly the Gander in Charlotte’s Web (2006); and Leadbottom in Disney’s Planes (2013) and its sequel Planes: Fire and Rescue (2014). Also for Disney, he voiced the recurring role of Bobby Proud in The Proud Family (2001-05), reprising his role for its revival The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder (2022-present). Outside of that, in television, Cedric the Entertainer was cast as Cedric Jackie Robinson in the sitcom The Steve Harvey Show (1996-2002) and played Reverend Sherman Boyce Ballentine in the sitcom The Soul Man (2012-16). More recently, Cedric the Entertainer played Calvin Butler in The Neighborhood (2018-26) sitcom for CBS and was the Honey Pot in Season 13 of The Masked Singer (2019-present) in 2025.

Mort is the smallest, cutest, fluffiest little lemur in all of Madagascar. He giggles a lot, talks too much, and everyone seems to find him really irritating – although I don’t. Mort is quite upbeat as well considering he is used as a sacrificial lamb when King Julien wants to test if either Alex, Marty, Melman, or Gloria is a killer that wants to eat them. Nobody even comes to Mort’s defence or chooses to sacrifice themselves instead. Mort is a bit of a sycophantic fan of King Julien’s though, so I guess that’s why he finds Mort so annoying!

Mort was voiced by Andy Richter, who is known for being Conan O’Brien’s “sidekick” – because all great late-night hosts have one – on Late Night with Conan O’Brien (1993-2009), although Richter did leave in 2000 and started to pop up in various films. Some of these included playing Morris, one of the children’s book writers, in Elf (2003); Bennie in the Mary-Kate and Ashley film New York Minute (2004); and Bobby Dee in Semi-Pro (2008) with Will Ferrell. Richter later returned to be by Conan’s side for both The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien (2009-10), and, after some drama and disagreement which led to O’Brien launching his own show, Conan (2010-21). More recently, Richter was a participant in Season 34 of Dancing with the Stars (2005-present) in 2025, and appeared as Dust Bunny in Season 12 of The Masked Singer in 2024.

The penguins in Madagascar are determined to escape the zoo to get to Antarctica, the place where they belong. Eventually, they find themselves in the perfect circumstances to commandeer a ship and sail right to it. However, on arrival, they find it too cold and head to Madagascar, finding the other former Central Park Zoo animals in the process. The penguins are incredibly resourceful, with each having their own purpose. Skipper is the leader of the group, and puts their plans into action. Kowalski is the brains behind the operation, being highly analytical and intelligent. Rico is the one with all the weapons and tools to complete their missions, and Private is the youngest and smallest one, who tends to be used as distractions. He is also the most nervous of the penguins.

All the penguins were voiced by DreamWorks employees. Skipper was voiced by co-director of Madagascar Tom McGrath. Kowalski was voiced by Chris Miller, who had been a storyboard artist on Antz (1998), Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003) and Shark Tale (2004) prior to Madagascar. He went on to direct Shrek the Third and Puss in Boots (2011) for the company, and was the voice of the Magic Mirror in Shrek (2001) and Shrek 2 (2004). Private was voiced by Christopher Knights, who had worked in the editorial department for the Shrek films, as well as more recent DreamWorks films like Kung Fu Panda 4 (2024). He was also the voice of the Three Blind Mice in the Shrek films. Strangely enough, Jeffrey Katzenberg, the co-founder of DreamWorks SKG and the CEO of their animation department, was the “voice” of the non-speaking Rico. He is uncredited though.  

Lastly, Conrad Vernon, another DreamWorks employee, provided the voice of Mason, the chimpanzee who can speak, in this film, as his friend Phil doesn’t talk. Vernon had previously co-directed Shrek 2 (2004), and later co-directed Monsters vs. Aliens (2009). Outside of DreamWorks, Vernon co-directed The Addams Family (2019) and its 2021 sequel with Greg Tiernan. Vernon was the voice of the Gingerbread Man in the Shrek films.

MUSIC

The soundtrack for Madagascar features a variety of different songs, of many styles and genres. The official soundtrack was released on 24th May 2005.

The first song used within Madagascar is the song “Born Free”, which we hear through the opening sequence, of Marty daydreaming about running free in the wild, just before Alex scares him and jolts him out of his daydream. “Born Free” was written by John Barry and Don Black and performed by The Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

“Boogie Wonderland” is then used as the zoo animals get ready for a new day at the Central Park Zoo, with Alex specifically trying to hype everyone up for the day, as it is Field Trip Day. “Boogie Wonderland” was written by Jon Lind and Allee Willis, and performed by Earth Wind & Fire. As Marty is strutting down the streets of New York, trying to find Grand Central Station after breaking free from the zoo, a snippet of “Stayin’ Alive” can be heard. It was written by Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, and Maurice Gibb and performed by the Bee Gees.

A couple of other songs are briefly heard as the animals arrive on the beach of Madagascar. One is the “Hawaii Five-O Theme”, written by Morton Stevens, and performed by The Ventures. It was used for the part where Marty surfs on to the beach on dolphins. Shortly after, “Chariots of Fire”, written and performed by Vangelis, is used for Alex and Marty running to each other in slow motion on the beach, with Alex deciding that this shouldn’t be a happy reunion because it’s Marty’s fault they’ve ended up stranded.

When Alex, Marty, Gloria, and Melman go to find the people in Madagascar, they hear music. It is the song “I Like To Move It, Move It”, which was written by Erick Morillo & Mark Quashie and originally performed by Reel 2 Reel feat. The Mad Stuntman. Here, though, there are additional vocals performed by Sacha Baron Cohen as King Julien, performing for all the lemurs at the party. It is also heard again in the End Credits.

The other song to feature in both the film and the soundtrack is “What A Wonderful World”, with this upbeat song used to contrast with the quite sad scene in the film, as Alex trudges off to Fossa territory alone, thinking he’s becoming a monster, whilst the other three see a world dominated by predators. This song was written by Bob Thiele and George David Weiss and was Performed by Louis Armstrong.

The other tracks to appear on the soundtrack are mostly instrumentals, although it is worth pointing out that these tracks do not make up the entire score.

The score for Madagascar was predominately composed by legendary composer Hans Zimmer, who had already written the score for the DreamWorks’ films The Prince of Egypt (1998) and The Road to El Dorado (2000). He is also known for his work on blockbuster hits Inception (2010), Interstellar (2014), and Dunkirk (2017), being nominated for Best Original Score at the Academy Awards for all these movies, winning the award for his music on Dune (2021), alongside a Golden Globe for Best Original Score for this movie too. Zimmer has won Grammy awards for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media for both his work on The Dark Knight (2008), alongside James Newton Howard, and Dune: Part Two (2024). Let’s also not forget that he was part of the all-star music team that worked on Disney Animation’s The Lion King (1994). The Lion King soundtrack won numerous awards, like the Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Original Score, amongst others.

 “Best Friends” is the first track, although I am not actually sure where in the film it appears. It was composed by Zimmer, Hector Pereira, James S. Levine, and Ryeland Allison. “Whacked Out Conspiracy” is the instrumental playing as the penguins try to escape from the zoo, using spoons to tunnel their way out. It has a spy-film quality to it, since the penguins seem to think that they are always completing high-risk missions. It appears again as they turn up in Marty’s enclosure, disappointed to find they are still in New York. The title of the track references Skipper saying it is all a “whacked out conspiracy” that these animals are kept captive in the zoo. Composer James Dooley wrote this piece for the film, having worked as an assistant to Hans Zimmer on movies like Gladiator (2000), Pearl Harbor (2001), and DreamWorks’ Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002) beforehand.

“Zoosters Breakout”, written by Hans Zimmer, is used for the sequence of Alex, Melman, and Gloria breaking out of the zoo and finding their way across New York to find Marty. This is my favourite piece within the score. “The Foosa Attack”, composed by Heitor Pereira, is obviously used as the Fossa attack the lemur party and start trying to eat Mort. Pereira had previously worked with Hans Zimmer on the film Riding in Cars with Boys (2001), before collaborating again on the music for the rom-com It’s Complicated (2009). More recently, Pereira has composed the music for the Despicable Me film franchise and the Angry Birds movies. “Beacon of Liberty” is used as Alex builds his Lady Liberty statue, ready to burn the beacon and call attention to their distress so they can be rescued. It was composed by Zimmer and James S. Levine. Recently, Levine has co-composed the music for the anthology series American Horror Story (2011-present), having previously composed for the popular drama series Glee (2009-15).

Zimmer was nominated at the Annie Awards for his work on the music of Madagascar, specifically in the Music in an Animated Feature Production. Despite only having two nominees in this category, Zimmer lost out to Julian Nott and his music for Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005). The soundtrack did however reach the No. 3 spot on the US Billboard Soundtrack Albums chart and No. 36 in the Billboard 200.

As well as what is on the official soundtrack, Madagascar contains various other music tracks that are still credited and clearly audible within the film, to either enhance the atmosphere, or to add to one of the film’s jokes.

Three of these take place during the opening events at the Central Park Zoo. “Holiday for Strings”, written by David Rose and performed by The Voices of Walter Schumann is playing as Alex, Marty, Gloria, and Melman are pampered by their keepers after a hard day’s work at the zoo. This is shortly followed by Alex, Gloria and Melman performing their version of “Happy Birthday to You”, originally written by Mildred J. Hill and Patty S. Hill, to Marty during his birthday party. In this case, they’ve altered the lyrics to say “Happy birthday to you, you live in a zoo. You look like a monkey, and you smell like one too”, which the chimpanzees Mason and Phil overhear and are very insulted by – seemingly forgetting that they are actually apes and not monkeys! Alex then sings “New York, New York” to Marty as a way of trying to encourage him to stay at the zoo and not think about life in the wild. Later in the film, Marty does the same for Alex, by singing this song to him to encourage him to leave Fossa territory and to get on the ship back home with them. This song was written by John Kander and Fred Ebb.

Following on from that, you can briefly hear part of “Piranhas Are a Very Tricky Species”, a track from the film Rushmore (1998), which was written by Mark Mothersbaugh. This is used as Alex, Melman, and Gloria disembark the subway and head to Grand Central Station, passing by a drumming busker. After Alex is shot by a tranquiliser dart during their capture at the train station, he starts to hallucinate. This hallucination is accompanied by the song “The Candy Man”, written by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley, and performed by Sammy Davis Jr. It plays again, sped up, after Alex is shot for the second time.

Later, as the penguins commandeer the cargo ship, the song “I Second That Emotion”, written by William Robinson Jr., also known as Smokey Robinson, and Alfred Cleveland, and performed by The Chosen Few, is playing as the captain is attacked by one of the penguins. Shame, because the captain seemed to be enjoying the song as well!

On arriving at Madagascar, two excerpts of other tracks can be heard. “Dead Already”, from the film American Beauty (1999), written by Thomas Newman, is playing as Alex is dreaming about steak on the beach and wakes up to find himself licking Marty. This dream of Alex seeing steak fall on him is a parody of a scene from American Beauty, where rose petals are raining down instead of raw meat. Finally, you can briefly hear the “National Geographic Fanfare”, composed by Elmer Bernstein and performed by The United Kingdom Symphony Orchestra, as Alex chases down his friends after going savage from hunger.

PRODUCTION          

By the mid-2000s, DreamWorks was making a name for itself within the animation space, despite the fact only two of their films – Shrek and Shrek 2 – had been major hits for them.

Others had had modest success, such as Antz (1998) and The Prince of Egypt, whereas the likes of The Road to El Dorado and Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003) had failed to hit the mark. With Shrek being as popular as it was, DreamWorks knew they could create a major franchise from it, since it had proven appeal. Now was the time, though, for DreamWorks to begin creating another one.

The idea behind Madagascar is said to have come from a one-line synopsis. Basically, what would happen if you took zoo animals from New York City, completely accustomed to their way of life there, and threw them in the wild? How would they survive? This is essentially the backbone of the storyline, making you realise just how little plot the film actually involves. Yet, it still manages to entertain me for just under an hour and a half.

The directors of Madagascar were Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath. McGrath had previously worked in the animation and storyboard departments for non-DreamWorks films, including Space Jam (1996) and How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000). McGrath went on to direct other films for DreamWorks outside of the Madagascar franchise, including Megamind (2010), The Boss Baby (2017), and its sequel The Boss Baby: Family Business (2021). Darnell worked for DreamWorks until around 2015, having previously co-directed DreamWorks Animation’s first feature-length film Antz (1998) as well as working on the Madagascar franchise. He founded his own studio in 2015, called Baobab Studios. As well as directing the films, McGrath and Darnell both voiced the Fossa in this film.

Joining McGrath and Darnell as the writers of Madagascar were Mark Burton and Billy Frolick. Burton had written for the British satirical show Spitting Image (1984-96) before moving into screen writing, first writing for the BBC sitcom The Peter Principle (1995-2000), which starred Jim Broadbent. Burton then worked on the screenplays for animated films like Aardman’s Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005) and Starz Animation’s Gnomeo & Juliet (2011), later co-directing and co-writing Shaun the Sheep Movie (2015) and its sequel A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon (2019) for Aardman Animations again. Billy Frolick recently co-wrote the screenplay for Paw Patrol: The Movie (2021).

It was decided that the zoo animals would be from Central Park Zoo in New York City. New York is known for being busy and loud, full of large buildings and lots of people, which is in complete contrast to the quiet, natural spaces of the wild. Since the film is titled Madagascar, obviously Madagascar was the inspiration for the movie’s other setting.

Madagascar sits about 250 miles south east of the African mainland. It is the fourth-largest island in the world, behind Greenland, New Guinea, and Borneo. The reason that Madagascar was such a fascinating place for the DreamWorks team to use as a setting for their new film was because it is full of rare plant and animal species, with many of them only being found in Madagascar, making it a unique area with lots of animation possibilities.

Just one of the plant species that the animators studied for Madagascar were the Baobab trees, because they are some of the most known trees to exist in Madagascar, towering high above the other trees there. The animators built various models of the Baobab trees, before they were computer-animated. These trees create the atmosphere of Madagascar, blending nicely into the background to add to the jungle landscape.

The Madagascar-specific animals that the DreamWorks team focused on were the lemurs, with over a hundred different kinds of lemurs inhabiting the island. It would be very hard for DreamWorks to animate every single species of lemurs that reside on Madagascar, so they chose to animate around 20 unique lemur designs for the film. In Madagascar, the film, lemurs are known for being party animals, with the party scene being a particular challenge to animate, because of it being such a big crowd scene. Lemurs were a great animal to use within an animated film such as this because they are able to move in funny ways, and have such expressive faces. Fossa are also real animals that are native to Madagascar, and they are slender, cat-like predators who prey on lemurs. The animators made the fossa look more mangy and savage than they do in real life.

However, although some animated films, namely those from Disney, like to portray realism within their animation, particularly in their backgrounds, like in Bambi (1942), DreamWorks had no intention of meticulously recreating Madagascar. Despite researching the area, and the animals and plant life that exist there, they were actually more inspired by the French painter Henri Rousseau, who would paint exotic and fantastical jungle landscapes, despite having never been to the jungle itself. It gave the essence of the place without painting it from life. This was what DreamWorks intended to do in Madagascar[1].

The animators’ choice to create more stylised and cartoonish animation for the characters in Madagascar. Lead character designer Craig Kellman said that the designs were inspired by simple illustrations from things like Golden Books, and was asked to draw some initial sketches for what some of the animal characters might look like. From these graphic designs, the four main characters were chosen.

With this in mind, they could then work on animating the characters in the computers, benefitting from the studio’s many years of development of their toolsets for animation that they had built and created for earlier films. There is plenty of slapstick humour within Madagascar, and a lot of cartoon gags, pushing, squashing and stretching their characters to inflict the most pain on them – for comedic effect, of course – for example, in the scenes of the characters coming out of the crates, and all the fights and falls they have during the film. This is because the animators were inspired by the work of Tex Avery and Chuck Jones, who had created the Looney Tunes characters[2]. Even back then, there was a clear distinction between the comedy and style of their characters versus those from Walt Disney and his studio. This has continued to carry over into present day, where it is fairly obvious to know if you are watching something from Disney or something from DreamWorks.

The team also had to animate all the effects within the film. This included various elements, such as the movement of the jungle, to show that it is alive as well as moving in the breeze; the sand, from its particles and how they interact with fur, and the footprints that the characters leave in it; and the waves and sea form. It was also a particular challenge to animate the waves that Marty is surfing when he arrives on the beach of Madagascar, which had to be shaped and sized by the animators, who basically choreographed the waves to suit the sequence. This was a similar way they dealt with controlling the uncontrollable nature of fire, after Melman sets fire to Alex’s Lady Liberty wooden structure.

Overall, it took around four years to make Madagascar, with animation taking place over two different sites within California[3].

RECEPTION

After having its official premiere in New York City, Madagascar was released to the general public on 27th May 2005 in the US and Canada. It gradually made its way across the world over the next couple of months.

In the US, Madagascar had made $101 million within its first 10 days in theatres. It had not opened in top spot at the US box office, with that spot being held by Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, but in its second week, Madagascar did manage to reach No. 1 at the box office. Madagascar actually passed the $100 million mark a day quicker than DreamWorks’ Shrek had in 2001, and five days quicker than DreamWorks’ 2004 film Shark Tale[4]. In the UK, in July, Madagascar took the top spot at the box office from War of the Worlds, taking £5.43 million in its opening weekend[5].

By the end of its run, Madagascar had made a respectable $542 million worldwide to put it in sixth position in the Worldwide Box Office for 2005. This figure meant it was ahead of other family-friendly releases that year, like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which made just under $475 million; Disney’s Chicken Little, which made $314 million; and Aardman Animation’s Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, which made just under $193 million. However, Madagascar was way behind some other movie releases that year that also appealed to families and children, such as Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, with $896 million; Star Wars: Episode III, which made a little under $850 million; and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, with $745 million.

When it comes to reviews, Madagascar was mostly met with mixed reviews. On the more positive side, some very much enjoyed the humour, saying it was unhinged – but in a good way. It also benefitted from a strong cast, specifically that of Sacha Baron Cohen who was praised for his performance as King Julien. Many also liked the more stylised animation style, with its nod to the best cartoons of the past.

On the other hand, Madagascar was criticised for its lack of a coherent and interesting story, saying that, despite being set up nicely when the characters are in New York City, once Alex, Marty, Melman, and Gloria reach the beach, not much actually happens after that. I kind of agree with this comment, though I hadn’t really noticed that until recently; I think King Julien is a big distraction from the lack of story. Some said it was dull and generally lacked a purpose. It was not seen to be threatening to Pixar, or even to Shrek, but was considered better than DreamWorks’ previous film, Shark Tale – so that’s something!

Madagascar was nominated for numerous awards, although it did not win much. For example, it was nominated in six different categories, including for music, at the Annie Awards, however, it did not win any. It lost out on Best Animated Feature, Animated Effects, Character Design, Production Design, and Directing to Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, which I completely agree with, even though I have always liked Madagascar.

It was also nominated for Choice Movie: Animated/Computer Generated at the Teen Choice Awards, but lost to Shrek 2; and was nominated for Favorite Family Movie at the People’s Choice, with the winner being Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. At the Critics’ Choice Awards, it was once again nominated for Best Animated Feature, but lost out to Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit again. Madagascar was not nominated at some of the other major award ceremonies in the Best Animated Film category. This did not exist at the Golden Globes until 2007, and did not come to the BAFTAs until 2007 either, so that’s two excuses, but Madagascar was simply snubbed by the Oscars.

The film did win two Kids’ Choice Awards though, for Favorite Animated Movie, and Favorite Voice from an Animated Movie, for Chris Rock as Marty. Madagascar thankfully did not win for Worst Animated Feature at the Stinkers Bad Movie Awards. Sadly, for me, the “award” went to Chicken Little. Come on, it’s not that bad, is it?  

LEGACY        

Since the release of Madagascar in 2005, there have been multiple further screen projects and spin-offs, leading this film to span a big franchise for DreamWorks, as Shrek has done.

Following on from Madagascar, the sequel Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa was released in 2008, where the group find their way to a nature reserve in Kenya. Although new characters were introduced as well, many of the original characters and their voice actors returned for this sequel, as did the two directors of the first film. This was a similar situation for the third film, or the “threequel”, Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted, released in 2012 and set in various European countries and the US, although Conrad Vernon also joined Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath in directing this one. I actually prefer both of these films to the original. I was quite surprised they did a third film to be honest, but for me, luckily, it worked. A fourth film was said to be in development in the mid-2010s; however, the project was never moved forward. I don’t think there needs to be a Madagascar 4, but in this day and age, perhaps we should expect it at some point. I didn’t think there was a need for Shrek 5

There were also various television series, specials, and short films created around Madagascar. The short film The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper was released in 2005, to go alongside the theatrical release of Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. This was followed up with the penguins starring in their own series, The Penguins of Madagascar (2008-15), which aired on Nickelodeon and Nicktoons for three seasons. Some of the voice actors returned here from the films, but many were changed. The series is not meant to take place at any specific point in the Madagascar films’ timeline, as the penguins and some characters from Madagascar, like King Julien, are all living at the Central Park Zoo together, so this lack of continuity might be confusing to some. However, the 2014 film Penguins of Madagascar coincides with the storylines from the three Madagascar films, as the events of this film take place after the third film has ended.

Later spin-off series chose to focus on King Julien and not the penguins. A Netflix series titled All Hail King Julien ran from 2014 to 2017 and is considered a prequel, set prior to the events of Madagascar. The series had five seasons, with a separate season set between Seasons 4 and 5 titled Exiled. Although Andy Richter returned to voice Mort on numerous occasions, Sacha Baron Cohen and Cedric the Entertainer did not reprise their voice roles of King Julien and Maurice outside of the main films. They are voiced by Danny Jacobs and Kevin Michael Richardson, who voiced the characters from The Penguins of Madagascar onwards. All Hail King Julien won seven Daytime Emmy Awards over its run. A further prequel series called Madagascar: A Little Wild aired on Hulu and Peacock from 2020 to 2022, over eight seasons. This series followed Alex, Marty, Melman, and Gloria as children growing up in the Central Park Zoo.

A 30-minute television special, Merry Madagascar, was first broadcast on NBC in November 2009. It sees Alex, Marty, Gloria, and Melman attempt to return to New York City for Christmas. It is set sometime between the first and second films, and sees them, the lemurs, and the penguins come face-to-face with Santa Claus himself. Many of the original voice cast returned here, although Sacha Baron Cohen did not return to voice King Julien, being replaced by Danny Jacobs. Carl Reiner voiced Santa Claus for this special. Merry Madagascar won an Annie Award for Storyboarding in a Television Production.

There were then various short films created based on the Madagascar films, including the short film Madly Madagascar, released in 2013 ahead of Valentine’s Day, and set after Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa. Once again, most of the voice cast returned, except Baron Cohen, with Danny Jacobs returning to voice King Julien. Two short films were also created in 2017 for the All Hail King Julien series, titled All Hail King Julien: New Year’s Eve Countdown, and All Hail King Julien: Happy Birthday to You.

Madagascar has also spanned a wide selection of merchandise, including figurines, clothing, posters, plush toys, and the usual DVD and Blu-Ray releases. Some of the characters were also featured in video games, like ones based on the films, and ones from DreamWorks, like DreamWorks Super Star Kartz and DreamWorks All-Star Kart Racing. Madagascar recently celebrated its 20th anniversary too, in 2025, with the film being re-released in US theatres at the beginning of January 2026. Other theatres around the world seem to have had special showings of the film in 2025 for this event.

Madagascar also had quite a presence at various theme parks around the world. At Chessington World of Adventures Resort in the UK, there used to be a show called Madagascar Live: Prepare to Party, which ran for a few years, from 2012 to 2014. In 2015, and into 2016, Chessington promoted the Penguins of Madagascar film with themed rooms at their Safari Hotel, a drop tower called Penguins of Madagascar Mission: Treetop Hopper, and the show Penguins of Madagascar Live! Operation: Cheezy Dibbles. Madagascar Live: Prepare to Party was also used for Dreamworld on the Gold Coast in Australia, opening in 2012 and running until 2023. The show coincided with the DreamWorks Experience area opening in 2012. It later closed in 2023 so it could be rethemed to Kenny & Belinda’s Dreamland. Within the DreamWorks Experience area was Madagascar Madness, which featured a suspended roller coaster called Escape from Madagascar, a ball play area called MAD Jungle Jam, and King Julien’s Theatre in the Wild, which staged Madagascar Live.

The stage show Madagascar Live: It’s Circus Time! based on the third film ran for a limited time at Everland Resort in South Korea, Heide Park in Germany, and Gardaland in Italy from 2012, when the film came out, to the mid-2010s. Madagascar Live! Operation: Vacation was another stage show, but this time it ran in two US theme parks: Busch Gardens Tampa, and SeaWorld San Diego. The show ran from around 2013 to 2015.

Elsewhere, there was a Madagascar-themed land in Universal Studios Singapore, which featured a carousel called King Julien’s Beach Party Go-Round, the boat ride Madagascar: A Crate Adventure, the shop Penguin Mercantile, and two food outlets: Marty’s Casa Del Wild Food Court and Gloria’s Snack Shack. Guests could also meet characters from the movie here, before the land closed in 2022 to be re-themed for Minion Land.

Although much of these theme park offerings have vanished, there is still a Madagascar area at the indoor DreamWorks Water Park in New Jersey. There is also a DreamWorks Animation area at Motiongate Dubai, with many attractions, like the Melman-Go-Round; the rollercoaster Madagascar Mad Pursuit; and Penguin Air. You can ride the Madagascar Crazy River Adventure! and see the Madagascar Circus Show, as well as meet some of the characters from the film, at Beto Carrero World in Brazil too.

Adding to this, some of the other Universal Resorts also have references to Madagascar, although not by way of an attraction or ride. At Universal Studios Hollywood, there have been character meet and greets with characters like King Julien, Alex, and some of the penguins. King Julien appears to have a dedicated daily spot to meet guests at Universal Plaza here. Universal Orlando also may have these same meet-and-greets either in the DreamWorks Land area of the Universal Studios Park, or just randomly. King Julien also ends the dance party at the DreamWorks Imagination Celebration show in DreamWorks Land. During the festive period, Universal put on their Universal’s Holiday Parade featuring Macy’s, which features many DreamWorks characters, including those from Madagascar. The Madagascar section consists of floats and dancers for the penguins, King Julien, and the main four of Alex, Marty, Melman, and Gloria. Universal Studios Beijing also has parade floats themed to Madagascar for their park’s parade Universal on Parade.

In 2027, a new stage show, Madagascar – A Musical Adventure, will debut at all three Butlins resorts in the UK at the start of the year. This follows on from the stage adaptation of the film with Madagascar Live! debuting in January 2011 as a touring production across the US, however, it was cancelled after its New York shows in April 2011. It later toured the UK in 2013. The show reappeared as Madagascar: The Musical around 2018 in some countries.

Finally, I just want to mention the film The Wild (2006), which many have considered to be a rip-off of Madagascar. It too follows animals leaving Central Park Zoo, in this case to find a lion’s young son who has been shipped off to Africa alone. The Wild is not counted as a Disney animated classic because it was animated by C.O.R.E. Feature Animation, but it was promoted as a Disney film since Walt Disney Pictures distributed it. I remember seeing trailers for The Wild at the time and thought it was just a bad imitation of Madagascar even back then. This has been many people’s reactions to The Wild, who find it much too close to Madagascar, as well as Pixar’s Finding Nemo and Disney’s The Lion King. It was not received well and did not do well financially. The question is: was The Wild a rip-off, or was their idea stolen by DreamWorks? Who knows, and really it doesn’t matter. Watch both and decide which one you prefer. So, I did that, and came to the conclusion that Madagascar is infinitely better than The Wild in every possible way. The Wild’s animation quality is poor and should not have the Disney label attached to it, and despite the big-name castings, their performances were so over-the-top that it was just awkward to listen to. I think Disney was happy to attach themselves to The Wild because they didn’t release their own film in 2006.

FINAL THOUGHTS

For me, Madagascar is a fun, colourful, hilarious adventure, that benefits hugely from its stellar voice cast, who somehow manage to distract most of us from the film’s lack of an engaging storyline! However, I am aware that Madagascar was made predominately with children in mind so having a complex plot would not have appealed to their target audience.

Madagascar went on to develop quite a franchise in the years since the release of the first film, not quite surpassing that of Shrek, but still showing that it is an integral part of the history and progression of DreamWorks Animation.

It also proved that DreamWorks was one to watch when it came to studios at the forefront of computer animation, although many of us would say that Pixar always has outperformed even DreamWorks. Still, in the 2000s, it was Pixar and DreamWorks who were leading the way in animated family-friendly films, both able to capitalise on Disney Animation’s shifting focus causing them to lose their grip on the market, if only momentarily.


REFERENCES

[1] Credit: DreamWorks Animation, “Enchanted Island”, from Madagascar (2005) UK DVD (2005).

[2] Credit: DreamWorks Animation, “The Tech of Madagascar”, from Madagascar (2005) UK DVD (2005).

[3] Credit: Credit: DreamWorks Animation, “Behind the Crates”, from Madagascar (2005) UK DVD (2005).

[4] Credit: Variety, ‘‘Madagascar’ tops box office’, Variety.com, 5th June 2005.

[5] Credit: BBC, ‘Madagascar leads UK’s box office’, News.BBC.co.uk, 19th July 2005.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)

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

BACKGROUND

If Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was the story that gently reminded viewers of just how dark the Wizarding World could be, then Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire has to be credited with plunging its audience into that darkness. 

With the backdrop being an intercontinental school competition, you might be expecting something boring, like a sports tournament or a quiz. But this is no friendly rivalry between fellow wizard boarding schools. This is the Triwizard Tournament, where three students, one from each of three schools, compete to win the Triwizard Cup. And it’s dangerous, so dangerous that only those over the age of 17 can enter. 

So, how does this relate to 14-year-old Harry Potter? Well, once again, evil forces have come out to play and have continued to mess with Harry’s life. Naturally, he becomes a participant in this tournament, a very inexperienced and ill-prepared one. 

To top it all off, not only have we got this terrifying tournament going on, but it all leads to that big moment that the stories have been leading up to: Lord Voldemort has returned; he is back. Finally.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is not for the faint of heart. It is much scarier than the other three films, and has a lot more death. It’s not escapism, it’s not mystical or magical, it’s just dark, making us all realise that the whimsical days of the first two films are long gone.

Much like with Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, I did not watch Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in the cinema with my family. I was not even close to calling myself a Harry Potter fan by this point. In the end, I watched it on DVD with my dad and sister at least a year after it came out. I’d visited my aunt and cousins a bit before that though and my cousins, who were big Harry Potter fans, were horrified that I hadn’t seen it and insisted they put it on. We only got as far as the Quidditch World Cup scenes though, only about 10 or 15 minutes in, before my mum said it was time to go home. 

I hadn’t thought much of it to be honest and when I did finally watch the whole film, I was either bored or scared – or both – so didn’t end up paying much attention and could barely remember any of it by the time I revisited it a few years later. Now, although Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is not my favourite, I do like it and appreciate how it sets the tone for what is to come, having stopped teasing us with just talk of Voldemort’s return. 

PLOT

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire begins near a graveyard, where a caretaker, watching over an estate, the former home of the Riddle family, as in Voldemort’s family, sees the lights on at this residence. He goes to investigate, and sees two men and a strange creature in the room. A snake slithers by, signalling to the group that they are being watched. Wormtail, or Peter Pettigrew, who we met in the previous film, comes to the door to see who is watching them. He is then told by the creature, a scrawny, skeletal, non-human Voldemort, to step aside. Voldemort delivers the curse Avada Kedavra, instantly killing the caretaker.

We see that this was all a dream that Harry Potter was having, as he wakes up with a start. He has been staying at the Weasley family residence, The Burrow, this summer, and wakes to see Hermione in the room with him and Ron. She tells the boys to wake up because they are going out early somewhere. Ron and Harry aren’t too pleased as they are frog-marched by Ron’s father, along with Ron’s siblings Fred, George, and Ginny, on some sort of excursion they haven’t been told about. They soon meet up with two others, a colleague of Mr. Weasley called Amos Diggory, and his son, Cedric, who also attends Hogwarts but is older than the other teens. They head towards an old boot, which everyone starts to touch, confusing Harry, who is told to grab hold of it. The boot transports them all to a field, because the boot was a Port Key. They end up at the Quidditch World Cup.

The Quidditch World Cup final is full of fun and frivolity, with the Weasleys, Hermione, and Harry settling into their tent, which is much bigger inside than it appears on the outside, like the TARDIS in Doctor Who. They head to the match, contested between Bulgaria and Ireland, but are mocked by Draco and father Lucius Malfoy for having seats so high up in the stands, whereas they are in the Minister of Magic’s box. After the match, which Ireland won, the teens discuss their favourite moments of the match, with Ron becoming a major fan of Bulgaria’s seeker, Viktor Krum, which the others all tease him about.

Suddenly, the celebrations come to an abrupt halt, as the fans’ camp is attacked, by men in masks and dark robes. These are followers of Lord Voldemort. In the chaos to get away, Harry is separated from Ron, Hermione, and the rest of the Weasleys, and is knocked unconscious. When he comes to, the camp is destroyed but empty – apart from one man, who casts a spell into the sky. Harry is curious by the symbol that has appeared there. Hermione and Ron rush to Harry’s side as they finally find him, however, they are then attacked by members of the Ministry of Magic, who believe them to be the culprits. Mr. Weasley barrels in and tells them his son and his friends categorically had nothing to do with this. They all stare in horror at the symbol in the sky, which Hermione explains to Harry – because he really doesn’t know much about Wizarding History – is the Dark Mark, Voldemort’s signal to all his followers, the Death Eaters. Harry also finds his scar hurts.

But there’s no time to dwell on this traumatic experience, because it’s time for Harry and his friends to head back to school for their Fourth Year – yay! – where Harry and fellow Hogwarts student Cho Chang’s eyes meet over the sweet trolley; Harry might just have a little crush on her. Back at school, Harry almost immediately writes to godfather Sirius Black, telling him about the dream he had and what he saw at the Quidditch World Cup.

During assembly, Professor Dumbledore welcomes everyone back to Hogwarts, but explains that this is not going to be an ordinary year. When is it ever? Except this time, it is planned because Hogwarts is to be the home for two other wizarding schools, as Hogwarts becomes the host venue for the Triwizard Tournament, a testing series of challenges that pits one student from each competing school up against each other to win the Triwizard Cup. The two additional schools taking part are the all-girls school from France, Beauxbatons Academy, and the all-boys school from Bulgaria, Durmstrang. Cue the teenage hormones going into overdrive… A late arrival suddenly comes into the Great Hall, interrupting the speech and causing the enchanted ceiling to go into panic mode. It is Alastor Moody, the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. I wonder if they can keep this one for more than a year? The speech continues, with Bartemius Crouch Sr., the Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, who will be overseeing the tournament, taking over. He says that due to the risky nature of the tournament, anyone under the age of 17 cannot put their name forward to compete, annoying some younger students. Students are told if they are of the correct age and wish to compete, they must put their names into the Goblet of Fire, which will choose the names of the three participants at random.

The next day, Harry and his classmates attend their first Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson with Professor Moody, who isn’t the teacher they were quite expecting. Moody asks the students to tell him the names of each of the three so-called Unforgivable Curses, which are illegal in the Wizarding World. Ron gives the name of the first curse, the Imperius Curse, which allows someone or something to be controlled by someone else. Moody demonstrates on a spider, moving it around the room. Neville is called upon to give the next curse, which he names as the Cruciatus Curse. This inflicts pain on another. Moody once again demonstrates on the spider, which causes great distress to Neville and Hermione, who pleads with Moody to stop. He does, and asks Hermione to give him the name of the final curse. She does not, so Moody tells everyone it is the Killing Curse, with only one person having survived this spell meant to cause instant death – and that person is Harry Potter.

Later, once that traumatic class is over, Hermione, Harry, and Ron go to the Great Hall, where they witness students putting their names in the Goblet of Fire. Ron’s brothers Fred and George think they have found the perfect spell to outwit Dumbledore’s “Age Line”, which has been placed around the Goblet to stop underage wizards from submitting their name. They are able to walk next to the Goblet, but are soon thrown away from it, as their spell backfires, making them age into elderly men. They fight in front of everyone.

Everyone then gathers in the Great Hall that evening so the three participants – to be known as the three Champions – can be selected. The first name to come out of the Goblet of Fire is Viktor Krum’s, as the Champion for Durmstrang. This is followed by Fleur Delacour, the Champion for Beauxbatons, and Cedric Diggory, the Champion for Hogwarts. However, as Dumbledore is about to continue, the Goblet produces another name. Dumbledore reads it out loud: Harry Potter. Visibly shocked, Harry doesn’t want to move. Dumbledore calls his name again and Hermione forces him to go to Dumbledore. He gives Harry the piece of paper and sure enough, his name is on it. He goes to the Trophy Room with the other three, who are confused by this fourth champion. The teachers shortly follow, with Dumbledore demanding to know if Harry put his name in the Goblet. He says he did not. He is believed, as they don’t think Harry has the capability of producing a spell to outwit the Goblet. Dumbledore defers to Bartemius Crouch to decide what to do. Crouch says the rules of the Goblet are absolute, and Harry Potter must compete in the Triwizard Tournament. Gulp.

Harry wakes up as a Triwizard Champion and is forced to attend a press day with the other three Champions. They are interviewed by journalist Rita Skeeter, who has a nose for a good story. She instantly gravitates towards Harry and starts trying to interview him, but constantly gets his age wrong – saying he is 12 and not 14 – and baits him into getting irritated with her, so she can get an interesting quote from him. The article is written and printed for that evening, where Harry is annoyed that he fell for Rita’s tricks and sees lies written about him. However, Harry has to meet Sirius in the Gryffindor Common Room to talk about everything that has happened. Sirius appears in the fireplace that evening and tells Harry that he is concerned about all these events and what they mean. He is unable to comfort Harry, simply saying that whoever put his name in the Goblet is no friend of Harry’s because people die in this tournament. Their conversation is interrupted by Ron who is annoyed at Harry, believing he did put his name in the Goblet of Fire and didn’t tell him.

A new day dawns at Hogwarts, and Harry is feeling isolated from his friends who all think he cheated to get into the Triwizard Tournament. He speaks to Neville who is very excited about a Herbology book that Moody gave him after that class they had. Hermione arrives with Ron and sister Ginny in tow, and delivers a message to Harry, saying that Hagrid is looking for him. He meets with Hagrid later that night, and they walk into the Forbidden Forest. Harry is told to wear his Invisibility Cloak, and the reason for this is that Harry is actually interrupting Hagrid’s “date” with Beauxbatons Headmistress Olympe Maxime. They marvel at a delivery of dragons that has arrived. Harry is immediately scared because this means that these dragons must have something to do with the tournament’s first task…

The next day, Harry relays this information to Cedric so he can be prepared, but comes up against further hostility from Hogwarts students, including Draco Malfoy, who taunts Harry by saying he doesn’t think he’ll last 10 minutes in this tournament. Harry is about to walk away, when Moody sees that Draco was about to curse Harry behind his back. As punishment, Moody transfigures Draco into a ferret and torments him. Professor McGonagall comes over and demands Moody change Draco back at once. She angrily reminds Moody that such spells are not tolerated as punishment at Hogwarts. Moody then takes Harry aside, saying he will help Harry get through this tournament, given his age and lack of experience compared to the others. He wants to discuss a strategy, where Harry says his best strength is flying but he can’t use a broom. Moody reminds him he can use a wand.

The day of the First Task rolls around, and the four Champions await their fate in a tent. Rita Skeeter causes problems again, taking a picture of Harry and Hermione hugging, before Dumbledore and Crouch arrive. The Champions are told the task requires them to outsmart a dragon to collect an egg, which will be key to figuring out their next task. They each select a miniature dragon from a bag at random. Fleur gets the Welsh Green; Krum the Chinese Fireball; Cedric the Swedish Short-Snout; and Harry the Hungarian Horntail, the most challenging one of them all. Harry is the last one to go, so that will have helped his nerves! When it is Harry’s turn, he steps foot in an arena away from the school grounds, with everyone watching from the stands around it. The Hungarian Horntail comes out all guns blazing, instantly putting Harry on the defensive. He is finally able to call for his broom with his wand and flies away from the arena, towards the school. The dragon breaks from its chain and follows him. The dragon chases Harry around Hogwarts, until Harry falls from his broom onto a rooftop. The dragon tries to get to him, but finds it difficult to navigate the roof tiles. Harry eventually finds his broom and is able to fly back to the arena. However, as they fly back, they come to a bridge and smack into it. Harry and the dragon fall to the ground, with the crowds unable to work out what has happened to him, fearing the worst. Suddenly, Harry reappears on his broom and flies back, retrieving the egg and ending the task.

Harry celebrates his victory with his friends, holding the egg aloft. They tell Harry to open it, to figure out the next task, but all they hear his screeching. Harry quickly closes it. Ron appears and apologises to Harry, having come to the realisation that Harry would have to be crazy to put his own name in the Goblet of Fire. Yeah, you think!

In the morning, Hermione is upset about Rita Skeeter’s article this time, as it suggests that she is chasing after famous wizards and now has her sights set on Viktor Krum. At the same time, Ron receives a parcel of something frilly from his parents. He thinks it is a dress for Ginny sent to him by mistake, but Hermione says they are traditional dress robes. These robes are for the Yule Ball, which is a tradition held during the Triwizard Tournament for the festive period. Professor McGonagall explains that the Yule Ball is not just a party, but is a dance, so must teach everyone how to waltz. Ron is asked to come up and demonstrate with McGonagall, embarrassing him in front of everyone. Everyone else is asked to join in, with Neville being the one boy who seems excited by it. The Yule Ball then triggers a stressful situation for the boys, especially Ron and Harry, as they now have to find girls to ask to this dance. During a study session, Ron is teased by his brothers for not having a date yet, seemingly finding it much easier to ask girls out than their little brother. Ron tries to ask Hermione to the dance in a roundabout way; by assuming she doesn’t have a date and surely has to go with either him or Harry to not look sad. She angrily says she already has a date, but refuses to say who it is.

All looks lost for Harry and Ron on the dating front, despite their greatest efforts as Cho Chang sadly turns down Harry as she already has a date and Ron has a disastrous encounter with Fleur Delacour as he basically shouts at her to ask to be his date. In the end, Harry gets Parvati Patil to go to the ball with him, and her twin sister, Padma, goes with Ron.

At the Yule Ball, Ron arrives in his bizarre suit and looks completely out of place with all the other boys, whilst the girls have all got dressed up in their finest dresses. Ron and Harry meet up with Padma and Parvati. As they wait for the Yule Ball to begin, Professor McGonagall tells Harry that he and his date will lead the dancing with the other three Champions and their partners. This surprises Harry who is not at all prepared! They are about to go into the Great Hall, when Hermione makes her grand entrance, looking absolutely stunning, shocking everyone. A bigger shock is to come when they discover her date to the dance is none other than the “Bulgarian bon-bon” Viktor Krum, just like Rita Skeeter predicted! It turns out Cho Chang is Cedric’s date, which kind of upsets Harry.

As the dancing begins, Harry’s embarrassment mercifully doesn’t last long as the teachers and the other students join in the waltz after only a minute or so of the four Champions dancing with their dates. The ball then turns into a big party as rock band The Weird Sisters come to lighten up the atmosphere. After some time, Harry and Ron become bored and ignore Parvati and Padma, who dance with other people. Hermione comes over to them and asks if they’d like to have drinks with her and Krum. Ron says they would not like to do that, and tells Hermione that Krum is not just looking for friendship with her. Hermione is furious about this, and continues the argument later, telling Ron he spoilt everything with his jealousy and should just ask her to the dance next time if her having a date bothers him so much. He doesn’t respond to that. Harry comes by shortly after, and Hermione sarcastically tells them it’s time they went to bed. Hermione is left alone on the stairs in tears. Well, there’s always someone crying at the end of a party, isn’t there? That night, Harry has a restless sleep, as he has the recurring dream about that graveyard again. Harry wakes with a start, only to find Neville in the dormitory, having only just got to bed after the Yule Ball. At least someone had a good time!

In the days that follow, Hermione starts to bother Harry about his second task, reminding him it is only two days away and he has yet to work out from the egg just what is required. In the end, Harry is given a hint by Cedric who tells him to have a bath in the Prefects’ Bathroom and take his egg with him. Uh, ok, weirdo. But magic is weird so Harry does have a bath with this egg in the Prefects’ Bathroom – except he’s not alone in there. As Harry opens the egg up, only for it to screech again, a familiar figure appears. It is Moaning Myrtle, the ghost Harry met when he was figuring out the mystery of the Chamber of Secrets. She’s always had a crush on Harry and seeing him in the bath has just made her day! She does give Harry another clue to the egg though, telling him to put the egg under the water, like Cedric did. When Harry does that, he hears the egg singing a song, talking about having an hour to search for something underwater.

With this information, Harry, Ron, and Hermione are then tasked with figuring out how Harry can hold his breath underwater for that long. In the library, they scour numerous books but can’t come up with anything – and it’s the night before the second task. Professor Moody arrives, telling Ron and Hermione that they have been summoned by Professor McGonagall. He tells Harry to get an early night and asks Neville to help put all the books away. As Neville is about to give Harry a fact about some plant he’s found, Harry gets frustrated, saying he only wants to know about plants that can help him breathe underwater. This leads to Neville telling Harry about Gillyweed. That should do the trick.

The next day, the second task is about to take place in the Black Lake near Hogwarts. Harry can’t see Ron or Hermione anywhere, only having Neville for support who decides to tell him now that the Gillyweed may not be effective in all types of water. Harry lines up with the other Champions ready to dive into the lake. Moody tells Harry to eat the Gillyweed just as the time is about to start. He does, but struggles to swallow it. He then finds himself in immense pain and is basically pushed into the lake by Moody. Harry finds himself growing gills and webbing on his feet and hands. Harry is happy with the transformation and springs out of the water, easing Neville’s fears that the Gillyweed was going to kill Harry! Harry swims off, searching for…something.

Harry swims through reeds and plants, eventually coming across an underwater kingdom. He sees something floating outside and discovers they are four people, specifically Hermione, Ron, Cho Chang, and Fleur’s little sister. These are what the Champions have to find. The four are under a sleeping spell for this task. Harry tries to figure out who to save, seeing Cedric come by and take Cho first, and attempts to save both Ron and Hermione, however, mermaids threaten him with tridents and tell him to save only one. At that moment, Viktor Krum comes past and scares the mermaids away, having turned himself into a half-shark, half-human creature for the task. Harry looks around for Fleur but cannot see her. It turns out Fleur was unable to finish the task after being attacked and is standing with the other spectators, fearing the worst as she sees that the other Champions are saving their loved ones. Harry decides to risk it, and takes both Ron and Fleur’s sister. He starts to swim to the surface but is attacked by a swarm of squid-like Grindylows. Harry pushes Ron and Fleur’s sister to the surface, as he tries to defend himself, seeing that the Gillyweed is wearing off. Harry has just enough energy to use his wand to get the creatures off him, but starts to lose consciousness as the task’s hour is up. Eventually, he finds it in himself to cast the spell Ascendio, launching himself up and out of the lake, onto the spectators’ platform. He believes he has come last, but Hermione tells him that Fleur, who is eternally grateful to Harry – and Ron – for saving her sister, that she didn’t finish, so he actually placed third. Thanks to Dumbledore though, it is decided Harry should place second given his intentions to save everyone, with his dithering costing him time.

After the task, Bartemius Crouch congratulates Harry on his performance, and tries to empathise with Harry over the loss of his parents, saying they would’ve been proud of him today. However, Professor Moody interrupts the conversation and does a weird thing with his tongue, which makes Crouch suspicious of something. That evening, Harry, Ron, and Hermione meet with Hagrid and take a walk in the Forbidden Forest to talk about Harry’s chances of winning the Triwizard Cup. Harry finds Crouch’s body; he has been murdered.

Harry goes to Dumbledore’s office, and overhears Dumbledore talking with Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge, asking that the Triwizard Tournament be cancelled because of the death. Fudge refuses to do that. Moody alerts the two that someone is listening in and Harry is let into the office. He is told to wait for Dumbledore to return. As he does, Harry sees a cabinet open. Going to inspect it, Harry ends up falling into it. He turns up in a memory from the days after the downfall of Voldemort thirteen years before. Here, Dumbledore is watching as Death Eater Igor Karkaroff, who just so happens to be the Headmaster of Durmstrang, gives further evidence to try and lessen his sentence as a follower of Voldemort. Karkaroff starts to give up names of other followers, but these aren’t of much use to Crouch, who is overseeing the meeting. Karkaroff finally reveals one other name: a Bartemius Crouch…Junior, Crouch’s son. Crouch Jr. is arrested and sent to Azkaban, by his own father. Harry is taken out of this memory, returning to Dumbledore’s office, where he sees Dumbledore. This was the Pensieve, something that Dumbledore uses to revisit memories, as he tries to make sense of what is going on at the moment. Harry tells Dumbledore that he has seen Crouch Jr. before; he’s the other man in his recurring dream. Dumbledore seems concerned, but tells Harry to cast it aside. As Harry leaves Dumbledore’s office, he sees Snape talking to Karkaroff, seeing the Dark Mark on Karkaroff’s arm. Snape then tells Harry to stop stealing from his store, believing Harry has been making Polyjuice Potion again.

A few days later, it is time for the third and final task. The Champions are placed in front of four different entrances to an enormous maze. They must search the maze for the Triwizard Cup, which Professor Moody has hidden. The first one to touch the Cup wins the tournament. But Dumbledore warns the students that people change in the maze, and may become very different people there. Harry enters the maze cautiously, seeing that the maze can close at random and push them towards other areas of the maze. He soon hears a scream and rushes to it, where he sees a seemingly bewitched Viktor Krum, who has attacked Fleur. She is about to be consumed by vines and the maze itself. Harry sends out red sparks to alert the teachers to her location to save her. Harry goes on, eventually finding Cedric, who saves Harry from being attacked by Krum. Harry stops Cedric from attacking Krum. They then see the Cup up ahead and race for it. Cedric falls down and is consumed by vines. Harry thinks about leaving him, but goes back to save him. They both head to the Cup, where Harry says they should both touch it at the same time.

The Cup transports Harry and Cedric but not back to the start of the maze. Instead, they come out at a graveyard. Harry realises it is the graveyard from his dream, but before he can tell Cedric, Cedric is killed by Wormtail, who has appeared with the skeletal form of Voldemort. Harry is trapped against the tombstone of Voldemort’s Muggle father, and Wormtail starts up a potion, putting Voldemort’s body into a cauldron, along with the bone of Voldemort’s father, Wormtail’s own arm as a sacrifice, and some of Harry’s blood. With all this combined, a transformation begins, resurrecting Voldemort into a full physical form. He calls his Death Eaters, including Lucius Malfoy, and tells them he is disappointed in their lack of loyalty, before rewarding Wormtail for his by giving him a new arm. Lord Voldemort is then reminded that Harry is still there after Harry tells Voldemort not to touch Cedric’s body. Voldemort explains that because Harry’s blood was used to resurrect him, the ancient magic of his mother’s protective sacrifice is now in his own veins, so he can harm him now. Voldemort instantly demands that Harry duels with him, planning to kill him. Harry casts a defensive spell back at him and the two wands connect. Within this connection, the spirits of the last few people that Voldemort killed appear, these being the caretaker, Cedric, and Harry’s parents. Harry’s parents tell Harry they can break the connection for a few seconds and tell Harry to get back to the Cup to get away from here. Cedric asks for his body to be taken back to his father. At the right moment, Harry stops his spell and dashes to the Cup.

Back at Hogwarts, the students celebrate the winner of the Triwizard Tournament finally being revealed, however, they soon discover Harry has returned with Cedric’s dead body, and Harry reveals that Voldemort is back. Everyone moans the loss of Cedric, but none more so than Cedric’s father who is rightly inconsolable. Professor Moody takes Harry back to his office. Harry thinks this is to support him through his grief, but in actual fact, Moody wants all the details from his time in the graveyard. This makes Harry realise that something isn’t quite right, as he never mentioned going to a graveyard. Moody starts to behave strangely, saying he led Harry to this point of the tournament, by getting everyone else to help him with his tasks. Harry realises Moody put his name in the Goblet of Fire too, and must have killed Bartemius Crouch. Moody says he will now be rewarded by the Dark Lord, and is about to attack Harry when Dumbledore, Snape, and McGonagall arrive. Snape forces Moody to drink Veritaserum, which makes him reveal the truth: that he is not Professor Moody, and has actually had Moody kept in a trunk in his office the whole year. Snape sees that this Moody is Barty Crouch Jr., who has been using Polyjuice Potion all year to keep his real identity hidden, having escaped from Azkaban Prison. This is the person stealing from Snape’s stores. Crouch Jr. is taken to Azkaban – again.        

Dumbledore holds a memorial service for Cedric Diggory with all the Hogwarts students, and those from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons. He reveals that Cedric was killed by Lord Voldemort who has returned, with the Ministry of Magic not wanting this information told. The students and teachers mourn the loss of their friend. Afterwards, Dumbledore speaks with Harry in his dormitory. Dumbledore tells Harry that his wand connecting with Voldemort’s is a phenomenon called Priori Incantatem, and asks if he saw his parents. He warns Harry that no spell can reawaken the dead, and there will be difficult times ahead, but he has friends to help him choose between doing the right thing instead of the easy thing.

As the school year ends again, the Hogwarts students say goodbye as the Beauxbatons and the Durmstrangs leave and head back home. Krum asks Hermione to write to him, and Fleur kisses Ron on the cheek to thank him for his bravery in saving her sister. Hermione states that everything is going to change now. Harry confirms that it is but they’ll still have each other to face any dangers that come their way.

CHARACTERS & CAST

During the events of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, we once again see the trio of Harry, Ron, and Hermione navigating school, hormones, and the usual dangers along the way, although Harry does face some much tougher tests here and has to do so alone. The usual teachers, like Professor Dumbledore and Professor Snape, also make a return, but thanks to the Triwizard Tournament, and the need for yet another Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, there are plenty of new characters introduced in this fourth film. 

Professor Alastor Moody, also known as “Mad-Eye”, because of his magical left eye, is the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher for Harry and his friends during their Fourth Year at Hogwarts. He is quite eccentric, breaking plenty of rules of teaching during his year, such as discussing and demonstrating the three Unforgiveable Curses in the classroom, and transfiguring Draco Malfoy into a ferret as a punishment. Despite his quite cold demeanour, and no-nonsense attitude, Moody can also be caring at times, as can be seen with his handling of Neville’s trauma after that first class. He is also a good mentor to Harry during the Triwizard Tournament, although we discover he was not doing that out of the goodness of his heart, but to lead him to the graveyard in order to resurrect Lord Voldemort… However, it should be pointed out that the Professor Moody we see throughout Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is not even the real person. The only time we see the actual Moody is when Dumbledore opens up that trunk in the office, and the only thing we can glean from his personality in that brief scene is that Moody seems pretty sad and dejected. But then wouldn’t we all be like that if we’d been captured and trapped in a box for a full school year! We should assume that Barty Crouch Jr. had learnt how to behave just like Moody in order to get through the year and the Triwizard Tournament undetected. The real Mad-Eye Moody went on to reappear in other Harry Potter films.

Brendan Gleeson was cast as Mad-Eye Moody. Gleeson is known for a variety of acting roles in both film and television. In film, some of his earlier roles include playing Hamish in Braveheart (1995); John C. McCloy in Mission: Impossible II (2000); Frank in 28 Days Later (2002); and Menelaus in Troy (2004). After Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Gleeson went on to be cast as Ken in the comedy crime film In Bruges (2008), alongside fellow Irish actor Colin Farrell, which earnt him a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Gleeson and Farrell later teamed up again for the movie The Banshees of Inisherin (2022), with Gleeson playing Colm Doherty. This led to an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor, as well as a BAFTA, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild nomination too. More recently, Gleeson was cast as Jackie Sullivan in the sequel Joker: Folie à Deux (2024), and as Alisdair Macdonald in H Is for Hawk (2025). In TV, Gleeson was nominated for a BAFTA award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in Into the Storm (2009), where he portrayed Winston Churchill. Gleeson did win an Emmy for his performance, and was later nominated for another for Outstanding Actor in a Short-Form Comedy or Drama Series for his role as Scott in Season 2 in State of the Union (2019-22). Gleeson may also be known for his roles as Father James Lavelle in Calvary (2014); as Knuckles McGinty in Paddington 2 (2017); and as William “Bill” Hodges in crime drama series Mr. Mercedes (2017-19).

Barty Crouch Jr. is a Death Eater and loyal follower of Lord Voldemort. It would seem he had hoped that he would avoid being discovered as a supporter of Voldemort after the Dark Lord’s disappearance, perhaps because his father was quite a high-ranking official within the Ministry of Magic at the time. However, Crouch Jr. is outed as a Death Eater by Igor Karkaroff and is sent to Azkaban by his own father. If Crouch Jr. wasn’t already considered to be mentally unhinged, with his tongue-flicking tick giving that away as well, then this must’ve sent him over the edge, as he escapes from Azkaban and commits himself to serving Voldemort once again, using a teenage boy to ensure the Dark Lord’s return. Barty Crouch Jr. is evil and twisted, but is quite skilled at deceiving others, as his identity is only discovered at the last minute, and after the events of Voldemort’s return have already played out. He expects to be welcomed back to Azkaban as a hero amongst others who support Lord Voldemort – and by ensuring his return, I’m sure he would’ve been…

David Tennant was cast as Barty Crouch Jr. Around this same time, Tennant was about to become well-known for an even bigger role: playing the Tenth Doctor in the long-running BBC series Doctor Who (2005-25), becoming a favourite Doctor of many. Tennant won the National Television Award for Most Popular Actor and Outstanding Drama Performance for his role in Doctor Who. Also within the realm of science-fiction, Tennant voiced the droid Huyang in the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008-13), winning an Emmy for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program, before reprising the role for the Disney+ series Star Wars: Ahsoka (2023-present). Outside of this, Tennant is also known for other television work, including being cast as DI Alec Hardy in the ITV crime drama Broadchurch (2013-17), and for portraying serial killer Dennis Nielsen in the ITV miniseries Des (2020), for which he won an International Emmy for Best Actor. Tennant is also known for voice acting roles, including voicing Scrooge McDuck for Disney’s DuckTales (2017-21), voicing Charles Darwin in Aardman Animation’s The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! (2012), and voicing Spitelout Jorgenson in the How to Train Your Dragon franchise. Recently, Tennant has played such roles as Crowley in the fantasy series Good Omens (2019-26) for Prime Video; Tony, Lord Baddingham in the Disney+ series Rivals (2024-present); and Ian Ventham in The Thursday Murder Club (2025) on Netflix.

Having only seen Voldemort as half of a head, and then as his teenage self in the series to this point, in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, we get to see Voldemort become a (sort of) full human, having apparently become a skeletal kind of baby since the events of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Lord Voldemort returns as a veiny, creepy-looking person, with no hair and no nose, supposedly to make him seem snake-like, because that suits his personality. Voldemort is obviously pleased to be back to a relatively normal physical form; however, he acts erratically after being “reborn”. Voldemort initially seems to be happy to be surrounded by his followers, before getting angry that they weren’t loyal enough to him. He speaks to Harry with an almost charm at first, but then demands that he duel with him, meaning that Voldemort just wants to get on with it and finally kill Harry Potter – and yet, Voldemort insists on all the formalities of duelling, like bowing to each other, which no doubt confuses Harry and puts Harry on the back foot instantly. Voldemort is, obviously, deranged, evil, and full of hatred. None of these things have changed in the years since he first came to power in the Wizarding World and they certainly aren’t going to change now he’s back. Voldemort is intent on seeking his revenge on everyone who was against him the first time, and now he has the means to do so. He may’ve lost this battle, but he has no intention of losing this new war he’s beginning.

Lord Voldemort was played brilliantly by actor Ralph Fiennes. In the earlier days of his acting career, Fiennes was known for his roles as Amon Göth in Spielberg’s Schindler’s List (1993), for which he was nominated at the Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor, and for playing Count Laszlo de Almásy in The English Patient (1996), where he was once again nominated for an Oscar, this time in the Best Actor category. Fiennes did not win either award, although both films did win the award for Best Picture, amongst many others. Fiennes has been cast in numerous films of many different genres since then, including as Christopher Marshall in the romcom Maid in Manhattan (2002), alongside Jennifer Lopez; and as Justin Quayle in the thriller The Constant Gardener (2005). In more recent years, Fiennes has been cast as M in the James Bond movies, first appearing in Skyfall (2012) and played the characters Orlando, Duke of Oxford in the Kingsman prequel The King’s Man (2021) and Chef Julian Slowik in The Menu (2022). He was also nominated for another Oscar in 2025 for his role as Cardinal Thomas Lawrence in Conclave (2024). Fiennes reprised his role as Dr. Ian Kelson in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (2026) and is set to play Coriolanus Snow in the prequel The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping (2026). On the lighter side, Fiennes has also done some voice acting, having voiced Rameses in DreamWorks Animation’s The Prince of Egypt (1998), and later voiced Victor Quartermaine in Aardman Animation’s Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005). Fiennes is also known for his stage work, with recent productions that he has starred in include a tour of Macbeth in 2023, where he played the title role, and starring as Robert Moses in the play Straight Line Crazy in 2022, both in London and Off-Broadway. He is currently portraying Henry Irving in Grace Pervades on London’s West End until July 2026.

The character of Voldemort was not something that Fiennes was familiar with when he was first considered for the part. He discussed it with his sister, who had children that were fans of the series, and told him that he absolutely had to take the part. After being shown designs for Voldemort, Fiennes thought that it was an interesting character and accepted the part. Despite taking around three hours in hair and makeup every day, to have veiny transfers applied to his skin, and having some prosthetics added around his eyebrows, as well as having his nose removed via CGI to make Voldemort more snake-like, Fiennes has said on numerous occasions how much he enjoyed playing the character[1].

Bartemius Crouch is the Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, meaning he is leading the organisation of the Triwizard Tournament. He seems quite strict and stern, wanting to follow the rules of the tournament regardless of the outcome, like continuing to believe that Harry should have to compete in the tournament, despite being underage and unwilling. Crouch later congratulates Harry for his performance in the tournament, and they have a conversation about his parents and their untimely demise at the hands of evil. However, Crouch is later found dead by Harry and we discover he was murdered by his own son, whilst he was pretending to be Mad-Eye Moody. This was part of a revenge plot by Crouch Jr. against his father because Crouch sent his son to Azkaban for being a follower of Voldemort’s when Crouch was prosecuting those involved.

Roger Lloyd-Pack was cast as Bartemius Crouch, who is likely well-known for his roles as Trigger in Only Fools and Horses (1981-2003), and Owen Newitt in The Vicar of Dibley (1994-2007). Outside of that, Lloyd-Pack was cast as Mendel in the film Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011) and George in Made in Dagenham (2010). He passed away in 2014.

Now that the main actors within the villain’s plot have been discussed, it is time to move on to some of the students and teachers. Firstly, we have Cedric Diggory, a Sixth-Year student who is the official Champion in the Triwizard Tournament for Hogwarts, although Harry is the other one. Cedric is intelligent, highly skilled at magic, and is generally a considerate person. Despite Cedric’s friends mocking and hating Harry for his participation in the tournament, Cedric doesn’t seem to care about all that, and in fact helps Harry figure out the second task, and even warns him not to run out of time during it. This is perhaps partly down to the fact Harry gives Cedric a heads-up about the first task. Cedric becomes a little bit more competitive by the final task, wanting to win the Triwizard Cup by beating Harry to it, but after Harry comes to his rescue, Cedric tells Harry to take the Cup. Sadly, it would’ve been better for both of them had Harry just taken the Cup on his own, because with Harry’s suggestion they take it together, this leads to Cedric’s death as he comes face-to-face with Wormtail and Voldemort in the graveyard. It is a shame that Cedric had to die in this story, because he could’ve been very useful in later stories, with his determination and skill.

Cedric had previously appeared in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, during the Quidditch match, however, this same actor, Joe Livermore, did not return for the fourth film. Instead, Cedric Diggory was played by Robert Pattinson, who would go on to have another role in a teen-centric movie franchise, and that is his role as Edward Cullen in the Twilight films, which made him a teen heartthrob, whether he liked it or not! Over the years, Pattinson has managed to break away from his Twilight role, with a variety of different roles. In recent years, he was cast as Neil in Tenet (2020), and played Batman in The Batman (2022) with a sequel in the works for 2027. He also recently starred as Charlie Thompson in the comedy The Drama (2026) opposite Zendaya. Pattinson is set to play Antinous in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey (2026), and will play Scytale in Dune: Part Three (2026). Part of the Harry Potter fandom allegedly wanted Henry Cavill to play the role of Cedric, and not Pattinson. I think Cavill did alright for himself though, being literally Superman and all.

Then, we have Cho Chang, a Ravenclaw student, who becomes Harry’s love interest in this film. Cho is sweet, kind, popular, and smart. Harry becomes quite smitten with Cho over the course of the film, even plucking up the courage to ask her to the Yule Ball. And it looks like she would’ve accepted his invitation – had she not already said she’d go to the ball with Cedric Diggory. Cho does apologise though, saying that she really was sorry she couldn’t go with Harry. Although there aren’t all that many scenes with Cho and Harry here, this film lays the groundwork for a potential romance, albeit thanks to Cedric’s death…

Katie Leung was cast as Cho Chang, having beaten out around 5,000 other girls who were all vying for the role at an open casting call in February 2004. It has been said that her father saw an advert for the casting call on television and encouraged her to go for it. Leung’s casting was announced around May 2005, with this being an important new casting for the series[2]. I think I remember it being announced on CBBC’s Newsround, that’s how big a deal it was! This might’ve seemed like a dream come true for anyone, however, recently, Leung has since said that she received a large amount of backlash and racist comments around her casting from fans of the Harry Potter series, which affected her negatively. It was overwhelming already being in the media swirl that surrounded Harry Potter generally, but to have comments picking apart her appearance was mean and not the experience she’d hoped for[3]. It would seem that with Cho Chang being Harry’s first love interest, fans seemed to think they were right to have opinions over what she “should” look like. Newsflash: they didn’t. Despite all that, Leung committed to reprising her role in later Harry Potter films, and continued to act afterwards. Leung went on to play Mei Ashley in the BBC miniseries One Child (2014), and was cast as Lau Chen in the ITV crime drama series Strangers (2018). More recently, Leung was cast as DC Blair Ferguson in the BBC crime series Annika (2021-23) with Nicola Walker in the title role. Also, for the BBC, Leung appeared as Rachel Li in their thriller series Nightsleeper (2024), before going on to star as Lady Araminta Gun in Season 4 of the popular Netflix series Bridgerton (2020-present).

For Beauxbatons, the Champion representing them is Fleur Delacour. Like the other Beauxbatons, Fleur is elegant, graceful, and pretty, but we are reminded that despite appearances, Fleur must be very talented, brave, and determined, otherwise why would she put her name in the Goblet of Fire? We don’t actually get to see Fleur compete in the tasks much, seeming to have completed the first task with the dragon, but she is forced to abandon the other two tasks, due to being attacked on both occasions. I’d like to think Fleur was simply unlucky, or was even being sabotaged to help Harry win the tournament, because it would’ve been great to see the only girl in the competition do well against the boys, and not seem like the damsel-in-distress, as she ended up appearing to be.

French actress and model Clémence Poésy was cast as Fleur Delacour, going on to reprise her character in later films. Prior to this though, Poésy had portrayed Mary, Queen of Scots in the BBC miniseries Gunpowder, Treason & Plot (2004). Not long after Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, she was cast as Chloë Villette in In Bruges (2008), before going on to portray Joan of Arc in the French historical film The Silence of Joan (2011). She also appeared as Rana in the biopic 127 Hours (2010), which starred James Franco, and played the recurring role of Eva Coupeau in Season 4 of the teen drama series Gossip Girl (2007-12). More recently, Poésy was cast as Barbara in Tenet (2020), and played Matilda in the BBC historical drama series King & Conqueror (2025). She was also cast as Isabelle Carriere in Seasons 1 and 2 of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon (2023-26).

The Headmistress of Beauxbatons is Madame Olympe Maxime, a half-giant, who is quite sophisticated, but then, she would be, being French, and has a close friendship with Hagrid, who is also half-giant. The two even get to dance together at the Yule Ball, and bond over their love of magical creatures. Olympe Maxime is Fleur’s mentor during her time in the Triwizard Tournament, arguing against Harry’s inclusion in the tournament, and wanting Fleur to do her best to win. Sadly, things do not work out well for Fleur but Madame Maxime is still there supporting her during the difficult tasks.

Frances de la Tour was cast as Madame Maxime. Just after Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, de la Tour won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress for her role as Dorothy Lintott in the Alan Bennett play The History Boys, later receiving a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actress for reprising the role in the 2006 film. She was also known for her role as Miss Ruth Jones in the sitcom Rising Damp (1974-78) and its 1980 film. After Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, de la Tour could be seen in a variety of family-friendly films, including as Aunt Imogene in the live-action Alice in Wonderland (2010), as Madame Emile in Hugo (2011), and as The Giantess in Into the Woods (2014). She later was cast as Violet Crosby in the ITV comedy series Vicious (2013-16), which was very funny, and starred Derek Jacobi and Ian McKellen. Recently, Frances de la Tour was cast as The Dowager in the Netflix film Enola Holmes (2020), with Millie Bobby Brown in the title role, and plays Adelaide Tempest in the ITV crime drama series Professor T. (2021-present).

Viktor Krum is the Champion in the Triwizard Tournament for Durmstrang. Krum also plays as the Seeker for the Bulgarian national Quidditch team, with this being seen in the final of the Quidditch World Cup, making Ron an instant fan of Krum’s. Ron is even more starstruck when Krum arrives at Hogwarts for the Triwizard Tournament, but soon becomes jealous of Krum when it is discovered he is Hermione’s date for the Yule Ball. Krum is seen as very strong and masculine, but isn’t the smartest guy around, which means him and Hermione were never really meant to be. In the tournament, Krum is seen to do well, although his second-place finish in the second task is, perhaps a little unfairly, demoted to a third-place finish due to Harry’s “outstanding moral fibre”. However, at the end of the tournament, Krum is possessed and tries to attack the others in the maze, tainting the ending of the tournament for him. Still, he leaves Hogwarts with his life in tact and with a potential pen-pal friendship with Hermione. Viktor Krum was played by Bulgarian actor Stanislav Yanveski. After Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Yanevski was cast as Bernhardt in the film Resistance (2011), before landing a recurring role as Angel Yakimov in the first two seasons of Bulgarian crime drama Undercover (2011-16). Yanevski was apparently spotted by a casting director for Harry Potter as he was running late for afternoon registration at his drama school in London and was invited to an audition. He didn’t think this was a serious comment so didn’t go, but later got a phone call asking why he hadn’t gone!

Igor Karkaroff is the Headmaster of Durmstrang, meaning he is Krum’s mentor during his time in the tournament and advocates fiercely for Krum in the competition, showing his annoyance at Krum being demoted to third-place in the second task. Yet, Karkaroff is clearly still proud of his student, as can be seen at the start of the third task. However, we learn that Karkaroff was once a Death Eater and follower of Voldemort, who gave names of others to the Ministry of Magic to have his sentence in Azkaban lessened, signalling him turning his back on Voldemort and the other Death Eaters. During the events of this film, we see Karkaroff talking to Snape on occasion, with Snape having also been a former Death Eater, but solely as a spy, according to Dumbledore. Karkaroff appears to be speaking to him about the potential return of Lord Voldemort, and in a deleted scene set during the Yule Ball, it shows Karkaroff is anxious about this, fearing revenge for his betrayal. Serbian actor Predrag Bjelac was cast as Karkaroff. Shortly after this film, Bjelac went on to be cast as Lord Donnon in The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008), before going on to be cast as Miloš Marić in Season 1 of the anthology series Genius (2017-24). More recently, Bjelac appeared as Grigoriy in Series 3 of the acclaimed series Killing Eve (2018-22).

Then, there are a few more minor characters that appear in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. One of these is journalist Rita Skeeter, who is more than just a little bit shady. She tries to come across as friendly and enthusiastic, wanting to lure people in to telling her their secrets. But it’s not a problem if they don’t because she’ll just make them up otherwise! In this case, Rita tries to make out that Harry intentionally entered the Triwizard Tournament, which he didn’t, and thinks he’s two years younger than he is, not listening when Harry tries to correct her. In a different article, she goes after Hermione, making it seem like she is making her way around all the Triwizard Champions, after Rita takes a photo of her hugging Harry before the first task, saying Hermione is after Viktor Krum next. Despite Rita’s dodgy journalistic antics, she is a fun and funny character, breaking up some of the tension.

Rita Skeeter was played by the Miranda Richardson. Prior to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Richardson was known for her role as Queenie in Blackadder II, the second series of Blackadder (1983-89), before going on to win awards for her roles in various films, including winning the Golden Globe for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical in 1993 for her performance as Rose Arbuthnot in Enchanted April (1991), and winning the BAFTA for Best Actress in Supporting Role for her role as Ingrid Fleming in Damage (1992) as Ingrid Fleming. Later roles of Richardson’s include being cast as Lady Mary Van Tassel in Sleepy Hollow (1999); Madame Giry in The Phantom of the Opera (2004); the Duchess of Kent in The Young Victoria (2009); and Clementine Churchill in Churchill (2017). Recently, Richardson was cast as Rosalind Hale in Season 2 of the Netflix series Fate: The Winx Saga (2021-22) and voiced Mrs. Tweedy in Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (2023) for Netflix. Apparently, Rosamund Pike had initially been offered the role of Rita Skeeter[4].

Then, there is Amos Diggory, Cedric’s father, who believes his son has a real chance of winning the Triwizard Tournament, so much so that he attends the final task and stands up with Cedric as he is applauded by the spectators prior to entering the maze. We first meet Amos as Harry, Hermione and the Weasleys join Amos and Cedric to go to the Quidditch World Cup together; Amos also works at the Ministry of Magic, so is a colleague of Mr. Weasley. Sadly, Amos’ time in the movie does not end well as we see a distraught Amos next to his deceased son’s body. It’s a heartbreaking moment and makes me cry every time.

Amos was played by Jeff Rawle, who had previously been known for roles such as playing Billy Fisher in the sitcom Billy Liar (1973-74); playing George Dent in the sitcom Drop the Dead Donkey (1990-98); and being cast as Paul in the comedy series Faith in the Future (1995-98) for ITV, which starred Lynda Bellingham and Julia Sawalha. After Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Rawle later played the recurring role of serial killer Silas Blissett in the British soap Hollyoaks (1995-present) from 2010 to 2022. He also played television producer Mervyn Pinfield in the BBC television movie An Adventure in Space and Time (2013), which recounted the story of how Doctor Who first came to our television screens.

There are a few other characters to mention and one is Frank Bryce, the Caretaker at the Riddle family home. He doesn’t last long in this film, only appearing in the opening sequence, as he investigates who is in the house that shouldn’t be there. Sadly, this was a mistake as he is instantly killed by Voldemort for eavesdropping on their conversation. Frank Bryce was played by actor, comedian, and writer Eric Sykes, who wrote for sketch show The Tony Hancock Show (1956-57), and co-wrote and starred in his own sitcoms like Sykes (1972-79) during his career.

Then, there are students Parvati Patil and Padma Patil, twin sisters who are Harry and Ron’s dates to the Yule Ball. Every time they see Harry both of them say to hello to him and giggle as they walk past him. After they’ve done this a couple of times, Harry gets the idea to ask them to the Yule Ball, since he and Ron can’t get dates. Nice. Initially, Parvati at least seems happy to go to the ball with Harry, even getting a special entrance into the hall as a date of one of the four Champions, however, Padma is not at all happy about being paired up with Ron. She certainly got the short straw as Ron is moody the whole evening, after seeing Hermione with Krum, and refuses to dance with her. Harry stays by Ron’s side, probably out of loyalty, and also doesn’t dance with Parvati after the first dance, so both Parvati and Padma eventually go and find other people to dance with. I don’t blame them! Parvati was played by Shefali Chowdhury, and Padma was played by Afshan Azad, with both of them reprising their roles in later films.

There is also Nigel, Ron’s “assistant”, who delivers a parcel to him, hoping for an autograph from Harry Potter as his reward. He doesn’t even get one, so Ron is just using him as some sort of slave! William Melling was cast as Nigel, having previously been credited as Young Rawdry in the ITV miniseries Vanity Fair (2004). Melling reprised his role as Nigel in later films, before going on to be cast as Joe in the BBC sitcom Fried (2015-16). It would seem that Nigel was not a character in the novels, only appearing in the films.

Finally, just because this is an interesting cameo for British sitcom fans, Roger Davies, Fleur’s date to the Yule Ball, is played by Henry Lloyd-Hughes, who had a recurring role as bully Mark Donovan in the sitcom The Inbetweeners (2008-10) and its 2011 movie after his minor appearance here. He went on to be cast as Ralph Whelan in the Channel 4 drama Indian Summers (2015-16); landed the role of Aaron Peel in Series 2 of Killing Eve (2018-22); and played Colonel Pontmercy in the BBC miniseries Les Misérables (2018-19). He was also cast as Allen Scott-Frank in Now You See Me 2 (2016). Recently, Lloyd-Hughes appeared as Bogdan in The Thursday Murder Club (2025) and as Casper Boyd in Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day (2026).

MUSIC

For Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the soundtrack moves in a slightly different direction from the first three movies, and not just because John Williams was unavailable to score this fourth film due to his busy schedule.

The score instead was composed by Patrick Doyle, although Williams’ “Hedwig’s Theme” does reappear as a motif on occasion within the musical score. Some of Doyle’s previous works include the score for Sense and Sensibility (1995), being nominated at the Academy Awards, the BAFTAs, and the Golden Globes for it; Hamlet (1996), also being nominated for his score at the Academy Awards and the Satellite Awards; Gosford Park (2001), winning the World Soundtrack Award for Soundtrack Composer of the Year; Bridget Jones’ Diary (2001); and Nanny McPhee (2005). More recently, Doyle has composed the scores for Pixar’s Brave (2012); Disney’s live-action Cinderella (2015); and the Poirot films Murder on the Orient Express (2017) and Death on the Nile (2022) both directed by and starring Kenneth Branagh. Doyle had previously worked with director of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Mike Newell on his films Into the West (1992) and Donnie Brasco (1997).

Within the score, my favourite track is “Potter Waltz”, which is used as the opening dance at the Yule Ball. Another track I like is “Harry in Winter”, which plays as Harry asks Cho Chang to the Yule Ball but she turns him down. “Hogwarts March” is quite a fun piece, like a school brass band, and is used for the moment that the Champions head into the maze for their final task in the tournament. Others that I enjoy are “The Story Continues”, which is the opening track for the film. It is spooky and mysterious, letting the viewer know that this isn’t going to be a light-hearted opening sequence. “The Death of Cedric” is a further piece of music that moves us away from the magical elements of Harry Potter, into the darker, emotional moments.

Outside of the usual score, there are some additional songs included in the soundtrack, and these were written for a fictional band called The Weird Sisters who are the band playing at the Yule Ball; they turn up to get the party started after the traditional waltz has taken place. The Weird Sisters consist of lead singer Jarvis Cocker, the frontman of the band Pulp; lead guitarist of Radiohead Jonny Greenwood; Jason Buckle of the electronic music group All Seeing I; drummer from Radiohead Phil Selway; Steve Claydon from electronica band Add N to (X); and Steve Mackey, the guitarist from Pulp.

Within their set, the first song they perform is “Do the Hippogriff”, which was written by Jarvis Cocker and Jason Buckle. This is the best of the songs performed at the Yule Ball for me; it’s a good track to dance to. They then move onto “This is the Night”, written by Jarvis Cocker, although this isn’t as obviously heard as it plays in the background whilst Ron and Hermione argue about Krum. Their final song is “Magic Works”, also written by Cocker, which is a slow song to end the night. It plays as Ron and Hermione argue, again, a bit later in the night, and as some of the other couples, like Hagrid and Madame Maxime, dance.

In terms of awards, Patrick Doyle’s score was nominated at the Saturn Awards for Best Original Score, but lost out to John Williams – ironically – for his work on Star Wars: Episode IIIRevenge of the Sith (2005) and War of the Worlds (2005). The song “Magic Works” was nominated for two awards: the Satellite Award for Best Original Song, losing out to “A Love That Will Never Grow Old” from Brokeback Mountain (2005), and a World Soundtrack Award for Best Original Song, this time losing to the song “Our Town” from Pixar’s Cars (2006).

There are a couple of other sort-of-songs that appear in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire too. The first is the riddle-like song, apparently known as the Mersong, that is playing from the egg that the Champions had to retrieve on their first task with the dragons in order to figure out the second one. I only really mention it because I like it; I think it’s both clever and pretty. It was also composed by Patrick Doyle and is part of the track “Underwater Secrets” in an extended version. Abigail Doyle provides the vocals. 

The other song to mention is the Hogwarts School Song that Hermione and Hagrid sing in the woods, as they discuss Harry’s chances of winning the Triwizard Tournament, just before Harry finds Bartemius Crouch’s dead body… The inclusion of this song would’ve made more sense had we heard this school song at any other point in the movie series, however, it does not. It was meant to be in the film, as can be seen from the deleted scene of the students singing the song together after the students of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang have been welcomed to Hogwarts. The lyrics to this song were written by J.K. Rowling and first appeared in the first novel.

PRODUCTION

The novel Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was published in July 2000, ending up being over 700 pages long. The fourth book was, according to Rowling, the hardest one of the novels to write to this point, due to the plot’s complexity and the darker themes that were being explored within it. The working title was at one point said to be Harry Potter and the Doomspell Tournament, before changing to Harry Potter and the Triwizard Tournament, however, Rowling found she liked Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire better because it had a “cup of destiny” feel to it[5]. The fourth novel proved to be incredibly popular with fans.

But with every book-to-screen adaptation sacrifices have to be made for the good of the movie, whilst also adhering to the necessities of the original source material. In this case, Steve Kloves was once again tasked with adapting the novel and writing the screenplay for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, having written the screenplays for the previous three films. Given the length of this novel, Christopher Columbus, the director of the film two Harry Potter films had actually suggested Warner Bros. split the fourth movie into two films[6].

That never happened. Instead, to deal with the hefty novel, it was decided that any subplot or character not specifically related to Harry and the Triwizard Tournament would be omitted. This led to many elements of the original story being missed out of the film, which irked some fans of the book. For example, a large proportion of readers were upset or annoyed that a whole subplot about Hermione creating an organisation called Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare, where she campaigned for greater rights for the house-elves in the Wizarding World, was left out of the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire film. The catalyst for Hermione creating this society was seeing the mistreatment of Winky the House-elf by the Crouch family, who was later fired and began working in the kitchens at Hogwarts. Since this was not related to either Harry, Voldemort, or the Triwizard Tournament, it would’ve been unnecessary material for the film. However, Rowling has since said she regrets allowing this element of the story to be omitted from the film, as it gave Hermione a purpose in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and was linked to later events[7].

There were numerous other changes and differences between the book and film too. One is that Durmstrang and Beauxbatons are not single-sex schools in the books. I believe this change was made for the film to make the distinction between the two schools absolutely clear, without having to explain too much. Another is that in the dragon task in the novel, the Hungarian Horntail does not break its chain, and the battle is contained to the arena, however, having the dragon chase after Harry is much more cinematic. The third task was not just a maze in the novel either, as it was meant to be populated with creatures, such as a Boggart, an Acromantula, and a Sphinx guarding the route to the Cup that wouldn’t move until a riddle was answered. Very little of the Quidditch World Cup appears in the movie when compared to the book, and the Dursleys do not appear in the film either.

Further differences include altered or missing characters. In terms of characters being altered, Rita Skeeter’s role in the film is smaller than the book, and a major element of her character that is missing is that she is an unregistered Animagus in the book, turning into a beetle in order to eavesdrop on conversations and find out gossip, this being something Hermione discovers and threatens her with. Another character change is that Dumbledore in the book calmly asks Harry if he put his name in the Goblet of Fire, however, in the film, some have since taken to mocking Dumbledore’s quite aggressive questioning of Harry in the film. Personally, I quite like it because it shows Dumbledore is struggling to understand what is going on and is lashing out through sheer frustration, just like all humans do.

Missing characters include Ludo Bagman, who is a washed-up Quidditch player with a gambling addiction. Bagman appears throughout the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire book as he is involved in organising the Quidditch World Cup and is a judge in the Triwizard Tournament; Bagman’s official job title is Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports. Also, Dobby is a character in the book, giving Harry the Gillyweed for the second task, having been manipulated by Barty Crouch Jr. to steal it for the task. I think Neville and the Herbology book makes perfect sense for the movie though.

Finally, in the film series, we never hear about Crouch Jr. again, being led to believe he was returned to Azkaban prison. In the book though, he had a completely different ending, being given the Dementor’s Kiss, apparently ordered by Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge in order to silence him so that the Ministry’s narrative of Lord Voldemort not being back would stick. This would’ve been good information to know ahead of the fifth film[8].

After having the same director for both Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Christopher Columbus, a new director was sought for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, because Columbus was too exhausted to commit to doing any further films. In this case, Alfonso Cuarón was brought in to direct the third film. However, he, too, was said to be too exhausted to do another Harry Potter film, so British director Mike Newell was brought on for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Newell had previously directed films such as Enchanted April, which was nominated for three Academy Awards, and three Golden Globes, including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy there; and popular British romantic comedy film Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), written by Richard Curtis and starring Hugh Grant. Four Weddings and a Funeral was nominated for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay at the Oscars, and won Best Film and Best Direction, for Newell, at the BAFTAs, amongst many other awards. After Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Newell went on to direct such films as Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010); Great Expectations (2012); and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2018).

Newell was the first British director for the Harry Potter series, and was ready to push the danger and threat level up a notch, and wanted to push the young actors further with their acting ability. Newell was well-liked by the cast for his excitable nature and for giving the young cast detailed notes to help improve their performances. He was also not afraid to get stuck in with the scenes, as was demonstrated when Newell jumped in to help James and Oliver Phelps with the scene where Fred and George are fighting after their spell backfires and they become old. Newell tried to show them how to really fight each other, but ended up cracking a couple of ribs in the process[9]!

Newell may have still taken some inspiration from Alfonso Cuarón in his direction of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in some ways, including with the weather in this film. Cuarón can be credited with beginning the moody atmosphere that dominates all Harry Potter films after the third one, with all the grey, cloudy skies. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire goes one step further with even darker, greyer skies, as well as plenty of rain, especially at the start of the film! Beautiful landscapes are something else that is replicated in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, despite the cast not filming the fourth film in Scotland, whereas much of the third was.

Within Scotland, it would seem that Loch Shiel was used for the establishing shots of the Black Lake, the setting of the second task in the Triwizard Tournant, but the cast did not film there. This was also the case with Steall Falls in Glen Nevis, which was used as the backdrop for the first task with the dragon chase[10].

Some locations the cast did travel to for filming though include the Ashridge Estate in Hertfordshire, used for the wooded area where the Weasleys, Ron, and Hermione meet up with the Diggorys to go to the Quidditch World Cup, with Cedric jumping down from a tree in the Frithsden Beeches part of the estate. It was reported the tree had split in two in 2014[11]. The cast and crew also went back to Oxford, where the Divinity School at Oxford University was used for the scene of Professor McGonagall attempting to teach the students how to dance for the Yule Ball. The Bodleian Library was also used as the setting for the Hogwarts library, when Harry, Ron, and Hermione are trying to find him something to use to breathe underwater for the second task. The New College area was also used for various scenes in the film, like when Draco Malfoy is turned into a ferret by Mad-Eye Moody[12]. Other locations used were Black Park in Buckinghamshire, used as the filming location for the Forbidden Forest, and Virginia Water in Windsor Great Park, used for the scene when Harry is given a message from Ron by Hermione and she responds with that great line: “I’m not an owl!”.

Although Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire does not benefit from the cast and crew filming long stretches of the film in person in Scotland, as its predecessor had been, there were still a huge number of impressive sets built for this film.

One of these was the transformation of the Great Hall for the Yule Ball. It was described in Rowling’s novel as looking like an ice palace, so it was up to the set designers to decide how to best show that on film, because using ice was not going to be feasible for this type of production! Instead, they found they could use a highly reflective silver fabric and cover the entire Great Hall set in it to transform the area into something fit for the Yule Ball. It took over four weeks to complete but it was worth it, as everyone was stunned by the transformation[13]. It wasn’t just the sets being transformed either; all the cast had to be dressed up for this fancy dance, with the boys being made to look elegant in their suits, tuxedos, and cloaks. Well, all except Rupert Grint who had to wear those awful dusty pink, frilly “dress robes”! Hermione was the character to receive the biggest “glow up” though, as she was given a real grand entrance into the Yule Ball in a beautiful pink, floaty gown. Emma Watson was said to be quite scared about ruining the dress, so much so that she wouldn’t even sit down in it whilst on set! She also didn’t like Hermione’s big moment of walking down the stairs, with director Mike Newell giving her direction on how she needed to walk down the stairs for the scene. Awkwardly, Watson even tripped at one point. Outside of that, the dancing of a traditional waltz was another challenge for the young actors, who had lessons to be taught the proper choreography, with some getting around three weeks’ worth of it. Daniel Radcliffe though was only given a few days to learn it. He struggled through it but he got there. Besides, Harry is supposed to look like he’s struggling in that scene anyway[14].

A full new set that had to be built for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was the maze set for the third task. Large sections of the maze were created, with this being an early challenge during production as it was one of the earliest scenes to be filmed. The team made walls that were 25 feet high, in some cases, more like 40 feet, but were only about 5 feet wide, making small channels for the cast to run through, which Daniel Radcliffe said did feel a bit claustrophobic at times. Although some portions of the third task were filmed with the cast, running through these channels with wind machines blowing and leaves being thrown at them, and Robert Pattinson being pulled by ropes for the moment that Cedric falls and is attacked by roots, some computer-generated hedges were also created, to show the hedges moving up close and to do the wide shot showing how large the maze is supposed to be. The roots were also computer-animated[15].

For the second task, the underwater task, the crew found that the only way they could get this scene to look realistic was for the cast to actually shoot their scenes underwater. To do this, a huge tank was built. This tank could hold 2.5 million litres and measured at 60 x 60 feet and was almost 20 feet deep. Radcliffe, who had the most scenes to film for this task, was given dive training for around six months prior to filming so he would be prepared for this difficult challenge. The other three actors, Clémence Poésy, Stanislav Yanevski, and Robert Pattinson also had to learn to scuba dive for their scenes, which was particularly difficult for Yanevski who had a fear of deep water. They all found it was challenging to complete their scenes, with the chlorinated water making it hard for them to keep their eyes open. Communicating with the director was also a little bit difficult, given they were kept underwater for hours at a time, despite only filming shots in around 10-second bursts before being given air. They had built a dry area within the tank though that the actors could swim to, so they could have a rest break and communicate better with the crew who were on dry land. Radcliffe later said that he was given a logbook detailing all of his dives by the stunt team as a Christmas present. It said he had spent 41 hours and 38 minutes in the tank over the space of three weeks to film these scenes. The cast, who were represented as dummies in the tank, to mimic the students being put under a sleeping spell for the duration of the task, also had to film their scenes of coming up to the surface and swimming to the spectators’ platforms within the tank[16].

Once the live-action shots were completed, it was then passed over to the team to create the computer-generated underwater environment and the creatures, to go over the blue screen that had been used in the tank. For this task, a reed-filled forest is first seen and swum through by Harry, before coming to an underwater kingdom. The water had to look like a dark lake though, so the water was green and not clear, unlike tropical waters. The creatures created here were mermaids and Grindylows, who look like small squid-like things. The animators looked at squid and octopus to figure out how to animate the movement and skin texture for the Grindylows. For the mermaids, it was decided they couldn’t look like a person in a mermaid tail, and although they had to be graceful and be beautiful to some extent, they did also need to be scary, so the mermaids in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire have fish faces, Medusa-like hair, and sharp teeth[17].

There are the usual owls here used for a filming, even a ferret this time, but most of the creatures seen in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire are computer-generated. The other creatures within Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire that were made using CGI were, of course, the dragons, specifically the Hungarian Horntail. A model was first designed by the Model and Creature shop to get an idea of what the dragon’s proportions and overall design would be, using some information from the original novel and expanding on it. This model was then scanned into a computer, where the animators could figure out how the character would move and behave. They decided it would fly and attack like eagles and hawks, but also watched how dragons moved in other films, paying attention to their aerodynamics. Meanwhile, as all this was being done, Daniel Radcliffe was busy filming the stunts for it, like jumping onto the broomstick, and falling down the rooftop as the Horntail is chasing him through Hogwarts. Radcliffe had real trust in his stunt team who talked him through the stunts beforehand, but it was still quite a physical shoot, with Radcliffe actually jumping from a roof set, whilst attached to a wire[18]. Despite the dramatic chase scene, it does say in the credits that no dragons were harmed in the making of this movie.

After filming Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire for just over 10 months, many of the young actors were glad to take a break before filming began for the fifth film. Others, though, weren’t quite so happy because that meant it was soon time to take their GCSE exams!

RECEPTION

After holding its London premiere on 6th November 2005, followed by another in Paris on 8th November, and one more in New York City on 12th November, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire came to cinema screens in countries like the UK and the US on 18th November 2005, with a few others seeming to have released the film a couple of days earlier. By the end of 2005, the film had reached the majority of other international countries. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was also released in IMAX too, and was the first in the film series to be given a 12, or PG-13 rating, signalling the change to a darker tone.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was incredibly successful at the box office, breaking many records during its opening weekend. It ended up topping the worldwide box office with a total of a little under $896 million. The fourth film in the franchise beat out some tough competition, which included Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, which made just under $850 million; and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, with $745 million. Other films in the top 10 that year were family-friendly movies like DreamWorks’ Madagascar at No. 6 and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at No. 8, as well as blockbusters like Batman Begins, at No. 9, and King Kong, in fifth spot. This was the second time a Harry Potter film had topped the worldwide box office, after the first movie Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone had done in 2001. The other two finished second.

However, just because Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire performed well financially, that doesn’t mean that it was all praise and acclaim for the film. In fact, viewers seem to respond quite differently to this film. I, for one, really like this fourth film. It took me a while to like it, but now I’d say I much prefer it to either the first or the third film. Many, however, took aim at the fact that Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire had cut out way too many parts of the book, and had altered the personalities of some of the characters, annoying fans of the original novels. Some of these fans did admit that Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire likely appealed to those who had not read the books though. The other reason Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire seems to have divided audiences is because of the love some have for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, with this film paling in comparison. Others commented on its rushed pace, yet spent too much time on “non-essential” sequences, such as the Yule Ball, and that it was too dark, no longer feeling appropriate for younger children to watch. Another humorous comment about Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire comes about from the fact that the boys in this film all have quite shaggy hairstyles, with some calling this film Harry Potter and the Year of the Bad Haircuts. Having been a similar age to the characters whilst the films were coming out, all I can say is, although I don’t like these hairstyles, I knew many teenage boys who had hair just like them in the mid-2000s!

On the other side, there are still plenty of positive comments for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The story is full of dramatic sequences and plenty of action, pushing the story forward, leaving viewers with much to enjoy. Some also felt that, despite some story elements being omitted from the movie, the scene of Voldemort’s return was a particular highlight, largely due to Ralph Fiennes portrayal of the character. Brendan Gleeson was another new cast member to the series who was also praised. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was considered to have, on the whole, managed to balance a lot of different emotional elements and moments, and mix a range of film genres together well.

Much like its predecessors, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was nominated for numerous awards. One of these was an Academy Award nomination for Best Art Direction, a category the first film had also been nominated in. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire lost out to Memoirs of a Geisa on this occasion. The Harry Potter films had historically had more luck at the BAFTAs though, and that was still the case for the fourth film, where Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was nominated for Best Makeup and Hair, losing to The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; and Best Special Visual Effects, but lost to King Kong. It did, however, win the award for Best Production Design, having previously had nominations in this category for the other three films.

Elsewhere, at the Satellite Awards, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was up for Best Costume Design, which was won by those behind the costumes for Pride & Prejudice. At the Saturn Awards, honouring the genres of fantasy, horror, and science fiction, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire received numerous nominations. These included Best Fantasy Film, won by Batman Begins; Best Director for Mike Newell, which Peter Jackson won for King Kong; Best Screenplay for Steve Kloves, with the award going to Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer for Batman Begins; Best Costume and Best Make-Up, both won by The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; and Best Visual Effects, which went to King Kong. Daniel Radcliffe was also up for Best Young Actor/Actress, but Dakota Fanning was the winner this time for her performance in War of the Worlds. Emma Watson was up against Dakota Fanning at the Critics’ Choice Award for Best Young Actress and once again, the prize was won by Fanning. For Daniel Radcliffe at this ceremony for Best Young Actor, this time he lost to Freddie Highmore from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe won Best Family Film here.

At the MTV Movie Awards, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire received some further nominations, including the trio of Ron, Hermione, and Harry being nominated for Best On-Screen Team; this award went to Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughan in Wedding Crashers, which I kind of understand. Ralph Fiennes lost out on Best Villain here to Hayden Christensen in Star Wars: Episode III, which I don’t understand. Daniel Radcliffe lost Best Hero to Christian Bale in Batman Begins; obviously a superhero was going to win this one! Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire did have some wins though. At the Teen Choice Awards, it won for Choice Movie: Drama and won the Kids’ Choice Award for Favorite Movie.

LEGACY

A few months before the fourth Harry Potter film came to cinemas, fans of the books were already absorbed in the story of the sixth book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which had been released on 16th July 2005 around the world.

The release did not go off without its own problems though. Fans were excited for this sixth book as author J.K. Rowling had teased the death of a major character in this new story. This meant that people wanted to be the first to know who this character was, so much so that extra security was hired to patrol the printing process to avoid any leaks. Rowling even stated that she had seen people rooting through her trash to find any information on this sixth novel! Reporters were allegedly trying to bribe workers, and GCHQ even contacted Bloomsbury Publishing to say they had discovered an early copy of the sixth book online earlier in 2005. However, once a page of it had been read out to an editor, it was confirmed to be a fake[19]. Some bookstores also accidentally sold a few copies of the book earlier than the official release date. With all this in mind, it was clear just how important this new book was to a whole legion of Harry Potter fans, and some stores were opening at midnight to allow readers to purchase the book at the earliest opportunity[20].

It might seem like production on the Harry Potter films was beginning to catch up with Rowling’s novels, but no worries; that was not the case, as fans would have to wait until 2007 for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix to come to their screens, and the final book was released in July 2007.

After the release of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the usual merchandise was available to purchase to coincide with it, such as posters, LEGO sets, and of course video games. The game version of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is nowhere near as good as the ones based on the first three films though. The Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup game was also already available to purchase in 2005, having first been released in 2003. It even featured Seeker for the Bulgarian National Team Viktor Krum.

A few years later, as the Harry Potter film series were coming to an end, theme park lands were built in some Universal resorts. The first one was at Universal’s Islands of Adventure Park in its Orlando resort, opening in June 2010. Here, a previous rollercoaster called Dueling Dragons, which opened in 1999 and consisted of two different coaster trackers, was rethemed to fit in with the new Wizarding World area. It was renamed to become Dragon Challenge. It was therefore rethemed to match the dragon task in the Triwizard Tournament in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, with the two tracks being called Chinese Fireball and Hungarian Horntail, matching two species of dragon used in that task. This rollercoaster, which had been unable to “duel” on multiple occasions due to guests being injured by loose objects falling from one train onto another as they passed each other, was later closed down in September 2017 to make way for a new attraction. This turned out to be Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, which opened in June 2019. Dragon Challenge was not replicated at any other Wizarding Worlds.

Also at the Wizarding Worlds in Universal Orlando, at its Islands of Adventure Park; Universal Japan; Universal Beijing; and Universal Hollywood, you can watch the same short stage show titled Triwizard Spirit Rally, which sees a Hogwarts student welcome the girls of Beauxbatons and the guys of Durmstrang to the stage to perform dance and acrobatic routines together ahead of them taking part in the Triwizard Tournament. It takes place a few times a day on a small stage by Hogwarts Castle.

Outside of that, at the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter, there have been events themed around Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. In 2025, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of this film, additional costuming and elements from the film were included in the tour. It also allowed for guests to put their name in the Goblet of Fire. There has also been a specially ticketed event called Dinner in the Great Hall, held around the festive period, which sees guests enjoy a two-course meal in the Great Hall. On occasion, it appears to have been decorated with some elements that appear in the Great Hall for the Yule Ball in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. 

FINAL THOUGHTS

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire works as a dramatic thriller, perfect for the big screen. Although it is not a perfect adaptation of the book, it works well from a cinematic standpoint.

It has emotional drama, mixed in with comedically embarrassing teenage moments, that will have resonated with the teen fans around the world. It also has moments of peril, encounters with terrifying creatures, the risk of certain death, and some very evil characters.

This film is a major turning point because you can consider the Harry Potter series as being split into two halves, with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire ending the first half where us – and Harry – are getting to grips with the fantastical, magical elements of the Wizarding World, as well as Harry’s past and his destiny.

With the return of Lord Voldemort, the second half of the story refocuses on him and his plans for revenge, domination, and total control, as Harry and his friends do their utmost to stop him once and for all.


REFERENCES

[1] Credit: HBO Max, Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts (2022).

[2] Credit: CBBC Newsround, ‘Exclusive: First official Cho pic’, News.BBC.co.uk, 16th May 2005.

[3] Credit: Zach Sharif, ‘Katie Leung Says Racist Backlash Over ‘Harry Potter’ Casting as Cho Chang ‘Probably Made Me Less Outgoing’’, Variety.com, 9th January 2026.

[4] Credit: Ben Sherlock, ’10 Actors Who Were Almost Cast In Harry Potter Movies’, ScreenRant.com, 28th April 2020.

[5] Credit: Jeff Jensen, ‘J.K. Rowling talks about writing Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’, EW,com, 4th August 2000.

[6] Credit: Lexy Perez, ‘‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’ Turns 20: Director Chris Columbus Reflects on Pressures to Adapt Book and Hopes to Direct ‘Cursed Child’’, HollywoodReporter.com, 11th November 2021.

[7] Credit: Warner Bros., Creating the World of Harry Potter Part 7: Story (2012), Special Features YouTube Channel, 31st March 2024.

[8] Credit: Matthew Rudoy, ‘Harry Potter: 10 Differences Between The Goblet Of Fire Book & Movie’, ScreenRant.com, 20th August 2020.

[9] Credit: HBO Max, Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts (2022).

[10] Credit: Visit Britain, ‘Visit Harry Potter filming locations’, VisitBritain.com, date unknown.

[11] Credit: National Trust, ‘Explore Harry Potter filming locations’, NationalTrust.org.uk, date unknown.

[12] Credit: Naomi Gordon, ‘Where was Harry Potter filmed?’, RadioTimes.com, 19th October 2022.

[13] Credit: ITV Granada, Harry Potter: Behind the Magic (2005)’, Special Features YouTube Channel, 5th April 2024.

[14] Credit: Warner Bros., ‘Preparing for the Yule Ball’, from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) 11-Disc Blu-Ray Set (2011).

[15] Credit: Warner Bros., ‘The Maze: The Third Task’, from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) 11-Disc Blu-Ray Set (2011).

[16] Credit: ITV Granada, Harry Potter: Behind the Magic (2005)’, Special Features YouTube Channel, 5th April 2024.

[17] Credit: Warner Bros., ‘In Too Deep: The Second Task’, from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) 11-Disc Blu-Ray Set (2011).

[18] Credit: Warner Bros., ‘Harry vs. The Horntail: The First Task, from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) 11-Disc Blu-Ray Set (2011).

[19] Credit: BBC, ‘Harry Potter: GCHQ ‘intervened over Half-Blood Prince leak’, BBC.co.uk, 10th April 2016.

[20] Credit: BBC, ‘Potter fans snap up latest book’, News.BBC.co.uk, 16th July 2005.