The Cheetah Girls 2

Whitney Pastorek started her review by saying, “There’s a long tradition of musicals for kids out there, stretching all the way back to Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney staging a play in an old barn.” Lately, the genre has gone to an unexpected level of commercial reputation: After “The Cheetah Girls” movie came out on the Disney Channel in 2003, its soundtrack was No. 2, a success that led in part to the unbelievable phenomenon of “High School Musical.” Now the group is back with a 2006 sequel “The Cheetah Girls 2” (directed by Kenny Ortega).

Based on the kids’ book series, the Cheetah Girls are a teen signing group led by determined Galleria Garibaldi, played by Raven-Symoné, who also executive produces. The other three members – sensitive Chanel (Adrienne Bailon), playful Aquanetta (Kiely Williams), disjointed foster kid Dorinda (Sabrina Bryan) – are both her backups and her best friends. When Chanel has to spend her summer in Barcelona, the entire group goes with her to participate in a music competition. On their trip, everyone learns lessons about friendship, class problems, and the scary truth that parents have lives of their own.

Pastorek said, “Yes, it’s a bit ridiculous watching four calculatedly multiracial girls lip-synch to peppy songs about changing the world. But even a saccharine version of girl power — or, to quote the Cheetahs, ”Growl Power” — is better than other tween-bait options, like MTV’s The Hills, that teach girls to put their boyfriends first.” The Cheetahs at least have a message…and the messages are always easier to learn when accompanied by a well-done dance.

Now I know what everyone is thinking, did I like this movie? Better than the first one, but it still came off as kind of boring. For the most part, it’s very forgettable, but not nearly as bad as the first one was. However, you can see it and be fine, but I would say give it a pass. Overall, I would say this is for those who love the Cheetah Girls and loved the first movie. They could see the second one and fall in love with it fine, but for everyone else, they won’t need to see it if they saw the first one and hated it. Like I said, they would like it fine and would take boring over the first one, but they would still forget about it very quickly.

Stay tuned tomorrow when I finally wrap up the “Halloweentown” franchise in “Disney Channel Original Movie Month.”