Just Hear Me Out: ‘The Cheetah Girls’ May Be The Greatest Movie Of All Time
No other film is as Cheetah-licious as The Cheetah Girls.
There’s a soft spot in all of our hearts for Disney Channel Original Movies. They’re fun, camp, and have just the right amount of overacting to keep us hooked. But today, we’re here to talk about one of the original DCOMs, and that’s The Cheetah Girls. Why? Oh, because I’ve decided it’s the greatest thing to hit the entertainment industry since Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. In fact, it’s quite possibly better.
Here are 6 reasons why The Cheetah Girls is the greatest movie of all time:
#1. The Cheetah Girls Brought The Bangers
Movie musicals are hard to nail, we’ve seen them flop time and time again. Even with big-budgets, movies like Chicago, Les Misérables, and Hairspray fall short to the Disney Channel counterparts. How can this be? Well, it’s simple: DCOMs don’t have songs, they have bangers.
Instead of adapting scores that were destined for the Broadway stage, Disney takes its approach to songwriting into the realm of pop music. And for that, they really succeed. If you don’t believe me, I suggest checking out the songs ‘Cheetah Sisters’ or ‘Cinderella.’ Bubblegum pop at its finest.
#2. It’s Part of The Golden Age of Cinema
For me, there’s a clear answer to the best period in cinematic history, and that’s the late ‘90s and the early ‘00s. That era gave us Charlie’s Angels, Bring It On, Almost Famous, Coyote Ugly, 10 Things I Hate About You, but most importantly, The Cheetah Girls. All dramatic, all playful, and all are remembered 20 years on.
#3. It Introduced Us To Raven-Symoné
It’s hard to remember a time when Raven-Symoné wasn’t famous, but that’s exactly the context that The Cheetah Girls came out in. In 2003, Disney fans were introduced to a young Raven-Symoné through her own tv sitcom That’s So Raven and the TV-movie, The Cheetah Girls. Both played a role in skyrocketing the personality to mainstream success and for that, we are eternally grateful.
#4. The Representation Was Amazing
Even in 2020, Hollywood is struggling to nail representation in their flicks. However, in 2003 the Disney Channel absolutely crushed it. By casting Raven-Symoné, Adrienne Bailon, Kiely Williams, and Sabrina Bryan, the Disney Channel offered up an actually diverse group of teens for kids to look up to, with a plot that delved into the topics of race issues and generational poverty. Honestly, pop off Disney.
#5. The Vocals Were On Point
In the early days, it wasn’t uncommon for Disney to serve up pop stars who didn’t really have the ability to sing. But, that wasn’t the case for The Cheetah Girls. Props must be given to the Disney executive who hired two members of the girl-group 3LW, because Adrienne Bailon and Kiely Williams had some pipes! Although we have to say, we can’t help but wonder what the group would have sounded like if Solange had been cast.
Also, it should be noted that the soundtrack went double platinum in the United States. A soundtrack which had 8 songs in total, half of which were sung by the actual Cheetah Girls. Your fave? Simply could never.
#6. The Message Is Everlasting
We couldn’t end this list without talking about the message behind the movie. The discourse that we should all come together as one but also embrace our own uniqueness is still one that hits hard today.
There you have it. I said what I said. I hope we can all agree that The Cheetah Girls is the greatest movie of all time. There will be no further questions at this point in time, thank you very much.
But, while we’re on the subject of Disney Channel Original Movies, make sure you check out our ranking of the best High School Musical songs.