The heyday of the Disney Channel Original Movie is unfortunately well in the past. Throughout the late ’90s and early ’00s, the Disney Channel would put out original movies almost monthly, and they were treated like a must-attend event for tweens everywhere. When things started to feel like they were dying down in the mid-aughts, the DCOM got a shot of adrenaline in 2006 with the success of “High School Musical.” Suddenly, the Disney Channel became the home of squeaky-clean phenomenons, and the Disney Machine started cranking out superstars like Miley Cyrus, Zac Efron, Hilary Duff, Selena Gomez, and Zendaya.
There were most certainly Disney figures before and after this period to reach crossover success as adults (Shia LeBeouf and Olivia Holt for example), but the window of the Disney Channel’s peak popularity and cultural relevance has certainly splintered thanks to the advent of the internet and the launch of Disney+. Hell, most of the new big names like Jenna Ortega, Olivia Rodrigo, and Sabrina Carpenter aren’t burdened with the Disneyteen Idol Curse because the shows and movies aren’t as omnipresent as they once were — meaning people outside the target demo are blissfully unaware of their child star history.
This also means that legions of horror fans are going to be absolutely dazzled by “Smile 2” star Naomi Scott’s incredible performance as pop sensation Skye Riley, completely unaware that she’s already played a music superstar before. While her first role was on the Disney Channel UK series “Life Bites,” Scott gave her breakout performance in one of the most underrated DCOMs: the beloved “The Breakfast Club” meets “School of Rock” flick, “Lemonade Mouth.”
She’s so gone
“Lemonade Mouth” is based on the book of the same name by Mark Peter Hughes about a group of teenagers from different cliques who are forced to take detention together supervised by the music teacher in the basement. The group realizes they’re all musically inclined and decides to start a band, using their music to help fellow young people see the power within themselves, work through their own traumas, fight against their oppressive principal, and eventually become the biggest rock band in the world. Naomi Scott plays Mohini “Mo” Banjaree, the bass player and backing vocalist for the band, but who also takes center stage on the absolutely addictive “She’s So Gone” as lead vocalist.
The song is genuinely incredible, peaking on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles at number 3, being featured on Billboard’s list of “The 100 Greatest Disneyverse Songs of All Time,” and nabbing a spot on Rolling Stone’s “Fake Bands, Real Songs: The 50 Best Tunes by Made-Up Musicians” at number 35. It’s a girl-power anthem about owning who you are and leaving your haters in the dust. However, because the film came out in 2011, unless you were actively watching the Disney Channel or were related to someone who was, the film didn’t get nearly the attention that “High School Musical” or even the Demi Lovato/Jonas Brothers flick “Camp Rock” did. I mean, just check out these lyrics:
“Here I am, this is me / And I’m stronger than you ever thought I’d be / Are you shocked? Are you mad? / That you’re missing out on who I really am / Now it looks like the joke’s on you / ‘Cause, the girl that you thought you knew / She’s so gone.”
Because it’s a DCOM, the stakes of “Lemonade Mouth” are understandably low in the grand scheme of things, but I definitely classify it as “Baby’s First Rebellious Movie.” Scott’s character’s major struggle is with learning how to express herself freely while having a strict father who forbids her from dating her boyfriend and wants her to play a classical instrument instead of the bass guitar. “She’s So Gone” is a bit of wish fulfillment for Mo, a way to tell the world that the bookish girl they think they know can’t come to the phone right now, because she’s so gone.
She’s so back
In “Smile 2,” Scott plays Skye Riley, an international pop sensation about to launch a comeback tour after taking a year off to get her substance abuse issues in line and recover from a tragic car accident that took the life of her actor boyfriend Paul Hudson (Ray Nicholson). Her new EP of music features songs like “Grieved You,” “Just My Name,” “New Brain,” “Death of Me,” and the far-and-away breakout single, “Blood on White Satin.” Every song sounds like something that would pop up during Eurovision Song Contest, but they’re also all reflective of Riley’s difficulties with her own mental health, self-esteem, survivor’s guilt following the crash, and her relationship with being a pop superstar. The musicality feels like a blend between Ariana Grande and Melanie Martinez — soulful pop with the plinking rhythms of a music box.
If we wanna get meta with things, Skye Riley almost feels like a commentary on what happens to a lot of the kids pushed through the Disney machine. Demi Lovato was a Disney Channel star turned pop idol who has been incredibly open about their difficulties with substance abuse, and poor mental health, recently directing the documentary “Child Star,” which examines the complications of experiencing child stardom, fame, and working in the entertainment industry at a young age.
Scott’s performance in “Smile 2” is with no exaggeration, one of the best of the year, but there’s an added layer to it all when you consider she got her start playing in a band in-universe described as “geniuses” and “revolutionaries.” As aspirational as it is for young kids with dreams everywhere, that’s a huge amount of pressure to put on the shoulders of a performer or band. Skye Riley was deeply unwell even before she became the victim of the metaphysical nightmare demon known as The Smile Entity, and constantly being in the public eye isn’t the best place to deal with personal demons of any size. If only Skye Riley had listened to “She’s So Gone” before going on tour — maybe she would have felt a little better about herself and all of this could have been avoided.
“Smile 2” is playing in theaters and “Lemonade Mouth” is available to stream on Disney+.
This post was originally published on here
