"THE CHEETAH GIRLS 2"
DVD Review
by Rachel Buccicone
| MOVIE: **1/2 (out of 5 stars)
DVD EXPERIENCE: *** (out of 5 stars) STARRING Raven as GALLERIA Adrienne Bailon as CHANEL Kielly Williams as AQUANETTA Sabrina Bryan as DORINDA Rated G Studio: Disney Directed by: Kenny Ortega Back to DVD Review Home |  |
The Cheetah Girls are back. If you’re an elementary-age girl, your excitement is surely overwhelming you. If you’re a parent or anyone else who was subjected to the first Cheetah Girls movie, you have been dreading this day. Surprisingly, this second of the Cheetah (dare I say) franchise is not nearly as horrible as the first.
The Cheetah Girls have graduated from their junior year of high school and it’s off to Barcelona. Chanel (Adrienne Bailon) is forced to spend a month in Barcelona so her mother can coax a proposal out of her Spanish boyfriend. Of course the Cheetah Girls are not going to be separated, so fate presents the opportunity to enter an amateur music festival in, where else, Barcelona. Galleria (Raven), Aquanetta (Kielly Williams), Dorinda (Sabrina Bryan) and Chanel plus two mothers fly off to Spain to stay at the boyfriend Luc’s (Abel Folk) enormous villa.
The girls have the time of their lives exploring Barcelona. Dorinda becomes smitten with a dancer, Aqua has gone fashion crazy, and Chanel has I-don’t-want-a-new-daddy issues. Meanwhile, Galleria is annoyed because no one wants to practice.
To make matters worse, the girls meet fellow competitor Marisol (Belinda) and her conniving mother. Marisol has lost the festival competition twice already, but Chanel can sing in Spanish, so Marisol’s mother plots to split up the Cheetah Girls and pair Marisol with Chanel.
Things go wrong, but nothing can break the bond between the Cheetah Girls. The film ends as expected with a Cheetah performance and overall merriment.
I am glad that Raven (“That’s So Raven” [TV]) actually toned down her performance from the first Cheetah movie and her television show. Overall, the girls give decent performances. They all act, sing, and sometimes dance, so they have that going for them.
Writing-wise I cannot be as generous. First, where did these names come from: Aquanetta (like the color?), Galleria, Chanel (like the perfume?), and Dorinda? With names like those, these characters were destined for divadom. Also, phrases like Cheetah-licious should never have been created, and yet, we are plagued by them. Finally, whoever wrote the ending performance seen went too far. A group of dancers, a marching band, and the festival director on trumpet are all part of the Cheetah act…I don’t think so.
I believe we owe the improvement of the Cheetahs to the director, Kenny Ortega (“High School Musical”). The man has directed and choreographed a number of musicals unlike the first Cheetah director, Oz Scott, whose specialty is television.
If this film had been produced by any studio other than Disney, these seventeen-year-old pop singers would have sexy written all over them. Both the costumes and the dancing keep this film G-rated. The girls are well covered, and, like the clothing, the dancing is hip but not suggestive.
The DVD gives the option of watching the extended version or the sing-along version, so parents, you will know these songs by heart in no time. Plus, “Cheetah Tips”, is a segment about how to be Cheetah-licious. This is basically the actresses telling little girls how to be themselves. Of course, what Cheetah DVD would be complete without a music video?
Having been subjected to the first Cheetah Girls movie, I was expecting complete misery from this sequel. Add in Disney’s tendency to make horrid, horrid sequels and you have the potential for a terrible movie. Luckily, I was surprised by what I found in “Cheetah Girls 2”. The plot line and performances have improved significantly and Disney pulled out all the stops budget-wise for this made-for-TV movie. The bottom line is that while “Cheetah Girls 2” may be an improvement, it’s still more likely to win a Razzie than any complementary award. Little girls will love this movie, but parents are bound to loathe it.
Specifications: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. Full Screen (1.33:1). English and Spanish Language Track.
