The Cheetah Girls: One World

Disney Channel’s “The Cheetah Girls” are back once again, trying to get that big break that really launches their career.

Now having the subtitle “One World,” this 2008 sequel in the movie franchise sees the three teen rock singers traveling to India, simply because one of the girls’ cell phones has such bad reception that she mistakes the invitation on the other side and hears Bollywood instead of Hollywood.

Disney’s first “Cheetah Girls” a few years prior was credited for having heard, a good beat and a little soul. However, now only the beat remains. Marilyn Moss said in her review, “Still based on the book series by Deborah Gregory (who also co-produces here), this latest cheetah creature is bare-boned and rift of the originality it once displayed.”

Moss continued, “Dan Berendsen's story -- with teleplay by Berendsen, Nisha Ganatra and Jennifer Small -- has little originality and heart, but director Paul Hoen does all he can to perk it up. He's aided by some pounding musical numbers, though they're about as shallow as the rest of the story.”

The girls – Chanel (Adrienne Bailon), Dorinda (Sabrian Bryan) and Aquanetta (Roshan Seth) – look so desperate at times to get the story started and get moving. They scream and jump up and down as is relatable to their age, but very soon we see that’s basically all we’re going to see. Moss noted, “Fatima Robinson's choreography and Donald Duncan's photography are lively but can't really salvage the telefilm's flatness.”

The good thing is that the locations – the cities of Mumbai and Udaipur – put a little color and spark, and some songs do lighten up the film, including Cheetah Love and I’m the One, both written by Kara DioGuardi, along with Dance Me If You Can, written by Matthew Gerrard & Robbie Nevil.

However, as often happens, the story line that joins the music isn’t really at the standards. The girls get to travel, find (and sometimes lose) romance and even sing as hard as they could. Sill, sometimes determination can go just a little much, and jumping up and down and squealing can get very annoying.

I’m sorry, but after Cheetah Love, the film goes downhill very fast. The film is definitely the worst in the trilogy. There’s nothing salvageable and nothing can save it from being so bad. This is definitely the worst sequel I have seen this month. I just cannot stand this film after the opening song. Just do yourself a favor and don’t see this movie, if you liked the other films. However, if you liked the past two films and enjoy this one, I can’t say that there isn’t an audience for this, because there has to be, but for adults, just avoid this one.

Tomorrow I will be looking at the last of the “High School Musical” trilogy in “Disney Channel Original Movie Month.”