Chasing Childhood

This week we're exploring some "growl power" with one of our favorite DCOMs from childhood: The Cheetah Girls (2003). It's the story of an exceptionally talented and diverse girl group at a Manhattan performing arts school who want to make their dreams of fame and fortune come true. Unfortunately their path to success is riddled with creepy record producers, inflated egos, and personal life struggles that put the girls and their plan at risk. The chokehold this movie had on our generation of pre-teen girls was like no other and it definitely has all of the early 00s throwbacks that we remember. But does the music and storyline still hold up nearly 20 years later? Or should we hang up our matching cheetah bandanas for good? Let’s find out together!

We're opening our maps this week and jumping right into a DreamWorks original with The Road to El Dorado (2000). It's the story of two Spanish con artists who accidentally wind up shipwrecked with only their horse sidekick and a map of the road to El Dorado, the fabled city of gold. When they finally discover the people of El Dorado, they're mistaken for visiting gods and have their friendship, and con, pushed to the limit. The buddy-comedy talents of Kevin Kline and Kenneth Branagh are a shining feature, but we definitely have some questions about the inappropriate themes in this movie. Are the humor and music enough to keep us interested? Or can we set this one back on the shelf for good? Let’s find out together!

We’re diving super far into the past this week and going way back to the prehistoric era with The Land Before Time (1988). This movie is considered an ultimate found family trope and with good reason when you consider how they incorporated dinosaurs into the framework. So it’s no wonder that the film cemented its legacy into our brains through such unique storytelling... Not to mention about a billion sequels. As always we have to ask if this tale of survival and leaf eating is just as heartwarming to watch thirty years later, or would we rather feed the VHS to a Sharptooth? Let's find out together!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! After many listener suggestions, we have finally decided to tackle our first DCOM (Disney Channel Original Movie)! To celebrate the greenest of holidays, this week we are reviewing The Luck of The Irish (2001). At one point in history, this film was a reigning champion on Disney Channel in the earliest part of the DCOM era, only beaten by High School Musical's inception a few years later. Can this short tale of family heritage and gold charms still mesmerize us when we check back in 20 years later? Or are we just growing too old for a leprechaun's tricks? Let's find out together!

We're finishing up February's month of love and closing things out with sibling love by rewatching Brother Bear (2003). When their eldest brother Sitka dies while defending them from an enraged bear, Denahi and young Kenai are absolutely devastated. The latter seeks revenge and eventually slays the culprit, only to upset the Spirits who transform him into a bear as both a punishment and lesson. If that wasn't bad enough, Denahi arrived ten seconds late and thinks Kenai was slain by his bear self. Now hunted by his own brother and unable to return to his human form until he finds where the lights touch the earth, Kenai must wander the Alaskan wilderness with a young cub named Koda and learn what it means to be a true brother. It's a tale of brotherly love, forgiveness, and the power of self-sacrifice, but were we as taken with the storyline as we'd hoped? Or would we have preferred a moose movie? Let’s find out together!