In the tradition of Disney Channel music-driven films, “Lemonade Mouth” is a fun and enjoyable teen film with good music and a positive message. Granted, I wish the soundtrack was included with this Extended Edition but for the most part, if you enjoyed the film or really want to see it, I definitely recommend checking “Lemonade Mouth: Extended Edition” out!
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DVD TITLE: Lemonade Mouth: Extended Edition
DURATION: 107 Minutes
DVD INFORMATION: Widescreen (1:78:1), Enhanced for 16×9 Televisions, Audio: English, French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, Subtitles: English SDH, French and Spanish
COMPANY: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
RATED: TV G
RELEASE DATE: May 24, 2011
Directed by Patricia Riggen
Novel by Mark Peter Hughes
Producer: Matias Alvarez
Executive Producer: Debra Martin Chase
Co-Producer: Gaylyn Fraiche
Music by Christopher Lennertz
Cinematography by Checco Varese
Edited by Girish Bhargava
Production Design by Guy Barnes
Art Direction by Rosario Provenza
Set Decoration by Wendy Ozols-Barnes
Costume Design by Mona May
Teleplay by April Blair
Starring:
Bridgit Mendler as Olivia
Adam Hicks as Wen
Hayley Kiyoko as Stella
Naomi Scott as Mo
Blake Michael as Charlie
Nick Roux as Scott
Chris Brochu as Ray
Shishir Kurup as Mo’s Father
Tisha Campbell-Martin as Miss Reznick
Christopher McDonald as Principal Brenigan
Bob Jesser as Wen’s Dad
Aimee Dale as Stella’s Mom
Ariana Smythe as Sydney
Caitlin Ribbans as Jules
This spirited, music-driven movie introduces an unlikely ensemble of five students — Olivia, Wen, Stella, Mohini and Charlie – who, after meeting in detention, gradually realize their shared musical connection and belief that it’s time for the students of Mesa High to stand up and be heard on things big and small (ranging from the school Principal’s exclusive support of the athletic programs to the removal of the popular organic lemonade from the cafeteria). Ultimately, as they open up to each other and form friendships, they start a band — Lemonade Mouth — that soon resonates with students sidelined by the high school elite. However, not everyone in the school is ready to cheer them on, especially since the popular rock group Mudslide Crush is determined to maintain their headline status and win the coveted Rising Star music competition.
In 2007, Mark Peter Hughes wrote a fictional novel titled “Lemonade Mouth” about five teenagers who meet in detention and form a band despite the personal problems that these kids are experiencing in their personal lives.
Sure enough, a loosely-based film adaptation in 2011 was written by April Blair (“Monte Carlo”, “Christmas Caper”) and directed by Patricia Riggen (“Under the Same Moon”) and premiered on the Disney Channel on April 15, 2011.
The film was watched by 5.7 million viewers and the soundtrack for the film debuted at #18 on the Billboard 200 chart and the following week, jumping up to #4.
“Lemonade Mouth” is a film that revolves around five teenagers, each with their own personal quirks and have their own issues that they are trying to overcome. One day, each of them got into trouble and had to serve a day in detention. While together in detention, Miss Reznick (played by Tisha Campbell-Martin, “Martin”, “My Wife and Kids”, “Rita Rocks”), she has the kids cleaning the basement in order to make it a music room.
While she gives principal Brenigan (played by Christopher McDonald, “Thelma & Louise”, “Happy Gilmore”, “Requiem for a Dream”) a piece of her mind, for moving extracurricular activities (such as clubs, music and art) tot he basement of the school in order to make room for a gymnasium.
While the kids are cleaning up the music room, sure enough, the five start playing their instruments and perform with each other. Each do a magnificent job that Mizz Reznick wants them to continue their music and form a band.
These five individuals at first are reluctant but because they all have their own personal issues, they all become good friends and form the band known as Lemonade Mouth.
But while they try to make Lemonade Mouth a success, the popular band in school, Mudslide Crush want to make sure there is no room for another band on campus. How will the members of Lemonade Mouth respond?
“Lemonade Mouth: Extended Edition” will be released on DVD and will come with a DVD and digital copy version of the film.
The five members of “Lemonade Mouth” are:
Stella – Stella Yamada (played by Hayley Kioko, “Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins”, “Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster”) is the leader and electric guitarist of Lemonade Mouth. The band got their name because the band members tend to drink lemonade all the time. Very blunt, Stella is the type of person who wants to be different. May it be a vegetarian, may she be fighting for something she believes in or wearing a shirt that she believes in, unfortunately it gets her into trouble with principal Brenigan. Her personal life is a challenge because she doesn’t get any attention from her busy mother, her brothers are geniuses and her dad is a doctor who is constantly on her case. But it’s the lack of a relationship with her mother that hurts her.
Olivia – Olivia White (played by Bridgit Mendler, “Wizards of Waverly Place”, “Good Luck Charlie”) is the lead vocalist of Lemonade Mouth. She is shy, doesn’t have many friends but she can sing! Olivia is having a hardtime dealing with her mother leaving her and the fact that her father is incarcerated embarrasses her. She lives with her grandmother and has discovered new friends with her new bandmates.
Wen – Wen Gifford (played by Adam Hicks, “Zeke & Luther”, “Jonas”) is the keyboardist and rapper of Lemonade Mouth and is always there for Olivia. He doesn’t care for his father’s fiance and gets upset when people talk about how his soon-to-be-mother is “hot”.
Mo – Mohini “Mo” Banjaree (played by Naomi Scott, “Life Bites”, “Terra Nova”) is the bassist and vocalist of Lemonade Mouth. Mo is a South Asian who has a strict father who wants her to not focus on boys but to be daddy’s little girl. But the truth is that she is dating Scott, the lead guitarist of Mudslide Crush, the rival of Lemonade Mouth. Because she and Scott are rivals, it becomes a problem and the two need to separate. Now with having to deal with her demanding father and now her boyfriend Scott who wants her to quit the band, will she?
Charlie – Charlie Delgado (played by Blake Michael, “No Limit Kids: Much Ado About Middle School”, “Living with N.A.D.S.: The Jimmy Epson Story”) is the drummer for Lemonade Mouth. He loves drumming but his mother wants him to be a soccer star like his older brother, a sport that he is forced to play and something he doesn’t care about doing. He joins Lemonade Mouth because he has fallen for Mo.
VIDEO & AUDIO:
“Lemonade Mouth” is presented in widescreen (1:78:1 – enhanced for 16×9 televisions). The picture quality of the DVD is very good. As expected with DVD, you can see some artifacting but for the most part, picture quality is good.
As for audio, “Lemonade Mouth: Extended Edition” is presented in English and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1. The soundtrack features a front and center-channel driven soundtrack with crowd ambiance being utilized through the surround channels. While the dialogue is clear, the highlight of “Lemonade Mouth” is the film’s music.
As one would expect from a Disney Channel film driven by its musical soundtrack, you can definitely expect catchy pop tunes, especially the song “Determinate” which is a pretty solid song and I don’t know of which members really did sing for the soundtrack but if it was the actual cast, especially the female members of the group, they did a pretty solid job. Also, for the guys of Mudslide Crush.
Once again, another Disney Channel film with a pretty solid musical soundtrack!
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“Lemonade Mouth: Extended Edition” comes with the following special features:
- Rock-Along – Rock with the band to all your favorite songs while watching the film. During the music scenes, karaoke style subtitles are displayed on screen.
- Exclusive Scene – (5:31) The band members of Lemonade Mouth is interviewed for a television show.
EXTRAS:
“Lemonade Mouth: Extended Edition” comes with a slipover cover case and a digital copy of the feature film which works with iTunes and Windows Media Player.
“Lemonade Mouth” is another exciting and catchy Disney Channel film that showcases teenagers and music.
While the novel focused on a story told by a freshman and some storylines being changed for the film adaptation, for the majority of the story, “Lemonade Mouth” still manages to contain the positive vibe of the film. What one can expect is a group of friends taking on their own personal problems. At first, these individuals had issues but when they get to know each other, they realized that they all have issues and together they manage to grow, become friends and each of them are able to take on their own personal challenges.
And these are stories that can easily relate to teens. With Stella, being an activist and trying to fit in; Mo, is a girl who has a strict father and because of culture, she is unable to do the things that she wants to do; Charlie is a guy who constantly gets compared to his athletic brother and is expected to perform at that same level, even if he’s not athletic; Olivia, being the shy girl who doesn’t have her parents around and struggles with that, while Wen does have a family but can’t stand his father dating a young woman.  These are problems that teenagers face and the film does take on themes of honesty, empowerment and expressionism but most of all, each of them overcoming adversity.
Sure, it’s a musically-driven film like many Disney Channel teen films that came out but in this case, it was fun to have this “Breakfast Club” type of storyline but to see these teens form a band and have fun together. The musical soundtrack is very good and if there is one thing that I wished was included on the “Extended Edition”, was the fact that it should have come out with a soundtrack like last year’s Disney Channel film “StarStruck”. But you do get a digital copy of the film which you can watch on your laptop, iPhone, iPod or iPad via iTunes or Windows Media Player.
I do feel that “Lemonade Mouth”, similar to “High School Musical” has the potential to grow and have its own sequel. It’s a fun series and because there are a good amount of characters to focus on, it would be cool to see the group move on to the next level and performing for larger audiences (as hinted on the “extended music scene” that was featured at the end of the credits and on the special features) and tackling a whole new set of fears and challenges. And also, there are potential romantic situations that can easily be focused on in this film.
Overall, “Lemonade Mouth: Extended Edition” is another solid Disney Channel music-driven teen film. The story was good, characters were fun and I enjoyed the musical soundtrack.
If you loved the film or you missed it on the Disney Channel, definitely give it a chance!