Plot: What’s it about?
The Cheetah Girls are back and this time, they embark on their biggest adventure yet, one that makes them international stars. Galleria (Raven Symone), Chanel (Adrienne Bailon), Aquanette (Kiely Williams), and Dorinda (Sabrina Bryan) are still best friends and hot performers, with their senior year of high school looming after what could be a fantastic summer. The girls have big plans for the summer, as they want to travel to Spain to compete in a musical contest. What could be their big break turns sour however, as only Galleria seems to have the focus on the music, the reason for the trek. Dorinda finds romance with a foreign dude, Chanel finds herself in a family fued, and a rival pop star (Belinda) threatens to end their path to stardom. The tension proves to be too much for even these best friends, as The Cheetah Girls disband and head in separate directions. But as they face their problems alone, will they realize they are much stronger together? And even if they do regroup, will they ever be able to outperform their new rival?
If you watch The Disney Channel, then you’ve heard of The Cheetah Girls, a movie that was a smash hit and helped launch Raven back into teen stardom. If you don’t watch The Disney Channel, then you probably haven’t heard of The Cheetah Girls. In any instance, the first movie was a huge success on television and now, the girls are back in a sequel. This movie has a specific audience in mind, young girls and while it delivers for that group, there isn’t much for anyone else. I can’t really be too harsh on the flick, as it knows the audience and plays to that demographic with great skill, so it succeeds in its aim. If you or your children watch The Disney Channel, this is a movie you’ll have to grab, as those who enjoy Disney’s live action shows, like That’s So Raven, are sure to find this to be a lot of fun. But as I said, outside of that group, the movie fails to entertain and while that makes it limited, it still caters to its intended fans. Raven and her fellow Cheetah Girls all look good and put on fun performances, but keep in mind, this is light, harmless material. I didn’t like the movie that much, but I still recommend it to those interested, as it is on the same level as the original movie. So if you’re a fan of the original or Raven’s show, then The Cheetah Girls 2 is worth a look.
Video: How does it look?
The Cheetah Girls 2 is presented in full frame, which is bad news. The movie was shot in widescreen, so I have no idea why this botched transfer was included. As far as technical merits, the movie is clear and shows no real problems, but that isn’t good enough. The flick was intended to be shown in widescreen, but we’re stuck with this lame duck full frame presentation. As I said, the movie is watchable, but why would we want to watch a butchered version?
Audio: How does it sound?
This movie is about an all girls pop music squad, so the Dolby Digital 5.1 option has ample chances to shine and it does. The most active element is the musical soundtrack, which has deep bass and great overall presence. The performances have a lot of life and really enhance the experience, so I was pleased to hear such rich sound provided for those sequences. As for non musical moment, the track is your standard comedic effort, so power is minimal, but overall sound is solid. The vocals are clear and crisp, with no volume errors or harshness to contend with. This disc also includes a Spanish soundtrack, as well as English subtitles.
Supplements: What are the extras?
A ten minute fashion advice featurette is found here, as well as a music video.
