''Lemonade Mouth'' is a 2011 American teen

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

, based on the 2007 novel of the same name by Mark Peter Hughes. The film was directed by

Patricia Riggen Patricia Riggen (born June 2, 1970) is a Mexican film director. She is best known for directing the 2007 film '' Under the Same Moon,'' the 2011 Disney Channel original film '' Lemonade Mouth,'' and the 2025 Amazon Prime action thriller film ...

and written by April Blair, and stars

Bridgit Mendler Bridgit Claire Mendler (born December 18, 1992) is an American entrepreneur and former actress and singer-songwriter. She first became known as a Child actor, child actress and continued acting into adulthood, which overlapped with a musical car ...

, Adam Hicks,

Naomi Scott Naomi Scott (born 6 May 1993) is an English actress and singer. Her accolades include an Astra Film Award and a Teen Choice Award, in addition to nominations for two Saturn Awards. After featuring on the Disney Channel series '' Life Bites' ...

, Hayley Kiyoko and Blake Michael. The film tells the story of five high school students who meet in detention and form a band to stand up for their beliefs and to overcome their individual and collective struggles. ''Lemonade Mouth'' was released on

Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...

on April 15, 2011, and received 5.7 million views on its premiere night, making it the third most-watched Disney Channel Original Film (DCOM) premiere of its year. DVR viewing raised the number to 7.1 million. The film's soundtrack of the same name enjoyed commercial success, reaching number four on the ''Billboard'' 200. The tracks " Breakthrough", " Determinate" and " Somebody" were released as singles and charted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The film and soundtrack received positive reviews from critics and audiences, with many praising the direction, performances, and themes. It is often considered one of the best DCOM films. ''Lemonade Mouth'' won the Popstar! Poptastic Award for Favorite TV Movie in 2011. Riggen was nominated for the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children's Programs in

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, and sound editor Amber Funk was nominated for the Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing in a Long Form Musical in Television.

Plot

High school freshmen Olivia White, Mohini "Mo" Banjaree, Charles "Charlie" Delgado, Stella Yamada, and Wendell "Wen" Gifford meet while in detention. When Miss Reznick, the music teacher supervising detention, leaves briefly, they tap out a beat and play instruments, with Olivia singing along. Miss Reznick returns and encourages them to enter the upcoming Rising Star music competition, which popular band Mudslide Crush is also slated to perform in. Stella enters them all in Rising Star as well as the upcoming Halloween Bash. The five agree to form a band with Olivia on

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

, Stella on

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

and

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

, Mo on

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

and backing vocals, Wen on keyboards,

keytar A keytar (a portmanteau of ''keyboard'' and ''guitar'') is a keyboard instrument similar to a synthesizer or MIDI controller that is supported by a strap around the neck and shoulders, similar to the way a guitar is held. Overview Though the ...

, and rapping vocals, and Charlie on

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

. At school, Stella spits lemonade on Ray Beech, the lead singer of Mudslide Crush, when he ridicules Olivia's

stage fright Stage fright or performance anxiety is the anxiety, fear, or persistent phobia that may be aroused in an individual by the requirement to perform in front of an audience, real or imagined, whether actually or potentially (for example, when perf ...

. He refers to her as "Lemonade Mouth", giving the band its name. The band later discovers the school's lemonade machine is being removed, to their chagrin. Mo breaks up with her boyfriend Scott Pickett, Mudslide Crush's guitarist, after she catches him flirting with a cheerleader. Prior to performing at the Halloween Bash, Olivia suffers a panic attack. Encouraged by her bandmates, Olivia performs with the band. Onstage, Stella objects to the removal of the lemonade machine and encourages her fellow students to freely express themselves. The principal, Stan Brenigan, angrily bans them from playing at school again, claiming their performance was a "political tirade." The next day, banners in support of Lemonade Mouth are posted around the school, raising their spirits. When Olivia is absent from school one day, the band visits her and learn that her cat, her only remaining memory of her late mother, has died, leaving her in a depressed state. They open up to one another about each of their respective struggles, and discover that their song "Determinate" is being played on the local radio. Shortly after, Mo contracts the flu, Charlie breaks his fingers, Wen sustains a black eye, and Olivia loses her voice during an argument with Wen. At Stella's behest, her bandmates reluctantly convene at the school to protest the removal of the lemonade machine. After being detained by police and contemplating the future of the band, they agree to perform at Rising Star. As each of their parents and guardians come to retrieve them from the police station, they reconcile their individual problems at home; Wen finally accepts his dad's girlfriend, Olivia gains the courage to send a letter to her incarcerated father, Mo gets her dad to accept her for who she is, Charlie realizes he doesn't have to live up to his older brother's prowess, and Stella realizes she doesn't have to be a genius to fit in with her family. While performing at Rising Star, Olivia and Mo's respective ailments begin to resurface in the middle of their performance. Dejected, the band is about to exit the stage when the audience begins to sing their song to support them. Scott, fed up with Ray's hostile treatment towards Lemonade Mouth, leaves Mudslide Crush and plays his guitar alongside Lemonade Mouth, while the crowd sings along and applauds. Mo and Scott later get back together. Charlie, who developed a crush on Mo while forming the band, takes an interest in a new girl. Wen attends his father's wedding as the best man. Stella meets Mel, the original owner of the lemonade machine, who helps donate a new music auditorium to the band's school with Principal Brenigan's approval. Olivia regains her voice, with Wen apologizing to her and gifting her a new kitten. Later, Olivia mails the entire story of the band's genesis to her father, wrapping up with news of Lemonade Mouth performing at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

, with Scott as their new

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a guitar technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse (music), pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., d ...

ist. In a

post-credits scene A post-credits scene (also known as a stinger, end tag, or credit cookie) is a short teaser clip that appears after the closing credits have rolled and sometimes after a production logo of a film, TV show, or video game has run. It is usually ...

(exclusive to the DVD edition), Lemonade Mouth is invited to an interview. On air, the interviewer asks about Mo and Scott's relationship, raising suspicion from her father, until Olivia interrupts to reveal that she and Wen are dating. After the interview, they perform "Livin' on a High Wire", with Mo's father and the audience enjoying the performance.

Cast

as Olivia White * Adam Hicks as Wendell "Wen" Gifford * Hayley Kiyoko as Stella Yamada *

as Mohini "Mo" Banjaree * Blake Michael as Charles "Charlie" Delgado * Nick Roux as Scott Pickett * Chris Brochu as Ray Beech * Tisha Campbell as Miss Jenny Reznick * Christopher McDonald as Principal Stanley Brenigan * Scott Takeda as Stella's Father * Ariana Smythe as Sydney * Judith Rane as Brenda * Isaac Kappy as Mel * Ryan Montano as Tommy Delgado * Lauren Poole as Moxie Morris * Bob Jesser as Mr. Gifford * Leedy Corbin as Georgie Gifford * Lance Capaldi as Ticket Taker * Shishir Kurup as Mr. Banjaree * Thomas Sanchez as Cop * Johnie Hector as Coach * Paul Clark as Andrew * Caitlin Ribbans as Jules * Phil Luna as Charlie's Dad * Chiara Brokaw as Alex * Lora Martinez-Cunningham as Charlie's Mom * Jayna Sweet as Victoria * Nicholas Martinez as Freshman Singer * Tom Romero as Mr. Prichard Author Mark Peter Hughes makes a cameo appearance as an extra dressed as a bee at the Halloween Bash.Bob Tremblay (April 3, 2011)
Film: Wayland author's 'Lemonade Mouth' opens wide
. Metro West Daily News. Accessed January 16, 2012.

Production

In May 2010, ''Lemonade Mouth'' was announced by

initially as an upcoming musical franchise.

, Adam Hicks,

, Hayley Kiyoko, Blake Michael, Nick Roux, Chris Brochu, Tisha Campbell-Martin and Christopher McDonald were announced as the principal cast of the film. Production began in August 2010, and filming took place in

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

. The film was Scott's first American production, who in an episode of ''Collider'''s ''Ladies Night'' podcast said that "I lsoremember being introduced to craft services for the first time. And for me, it’s this US production and I was like, oh my gosh, they have a trolley of candy that just came around! And to me I just thought, I’ve made it. This is what I’ve wanted. This is what it’s all about. It’s all about candy on a trolley." The names of five characters in the

book A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, ...

were changed for the film; the character of "Olivia Whitehead" was shortened to "Olivia White", "Wendel Gifford" was changed to "Wendell Gifford", "Stella Penn" was changed to "Stella Yamada", "Mohini Banerjee" was changed to "Mohini Banjaree", and "Charlie Hirsh" was changed to "Charlie Delgado".

Music

''Lemonade Mouth'' features ten original songs, and was released by

Walt Disney Records Walt Disney Records is an American record label owned by the Disney Music Group. The label releases soundtrack albums from the Walt Disney Company's Walt Disney Studios (division), motion picture studios, television shows, Disney Experiences, them ...

as a soundtrack album on April 12, 2011. It peaked at number four on the US ''Billboard'' 200, number three on the US Top Digital Albums, and topped the US Top Soundtracks and US Kid Albums. In September 2012, the album was reported to have sold 402,000 copies. The tracks " Breakthrough", " Determinate" and " Somebody" were released as singles, all of which appeared on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Mendler was once open to the idea of Lemonade Mouth becoming a real band. In an interview with Christopher John Farley of ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'', she said that singing with the cast was "really fun, it's possible, we can do it. At this point in time because we haven't had any time to practice it, I'd say we'd need some backup assistance, but down the road it's something we'd be able to do on our own."

Reception

''Lemonade Mouth'' was watched by 5.7 million viewers on its premiere night, ranking as the No. 1 TV Telecast among Kids 7–11 (2.3 million/9.4 rating) and Teens (2.1 million/8.5 rating), and cable's No. 1 original movie of 2011 among Total Viewers. With DVR viewing included, its total was 7.1 million viewers. On the

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, 80% of critics' reviews are positive. Family-oriented reviewers at

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an American nonprofit organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

praised the film for its themes of

honesty Honesty or truthfulness is a facet of moral character that connotes positive and virtue, virtuous attributes such as integrity, truthfulness, straightforwardness (including straightforwardness of conduct: Good faith, earnestness), along with the ...

empowerment Empowerment is the degree of autonomy and self-determination in people and in communities. This enables them to represent their interests in a responsible and self-determined way, acting on their own authority. It is the process of becoming strong ...

, overcoming adversity, self-expression, standing up for what one believes in, and for its emphasis on the importance of

the arts The arts or creative arts are a vast range of human practices involving creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. The arts encompass diverse and plural modes of thought, deeds, and existence in an extensive range of m ...

and of

friendship Friendship is a Interpersonal relationship, relationship of mutual affection between people. It is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than an "acquaintance" or an "association", such as a classmate, neighbor, coworker, or colleague. Althoug ...

and

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

. Writing for publishing-platform ''Medium'', Jaime Ryan called it "one of the best movies the Disney Channel has put out." He praised the "Superb music, talented cast, good script, a well used production design budget — this one hit the nail on the head. More than that, we love the spirit of ''Lemonade Mouth''. The outcasts fight for equality with the cool crowd and stand up against the powers that be with music." Alan Ng of the online publication ''

Film Threat ''Film Threat'' is an American online film review publication, and earlier, a national magazine that focused primarily on independent film, although it also reviewed videos and DVDs of mainstream films, as well as Hollywood movies in theaters. ...

'' opined that the "protest music" and narratives gave the film an edge, but believed that it ultimately "played it safe in the end." H.F. Chacon Jr. of ''The Tartan'' gave the film seven out of ten stars, writing that "the plot is not as sappy and childish as DCOMs are often thought to be, and can be respected for attempting to speak on the topics that children maturing into young adults have to deal with." Khalid McCalla of '' The Oberlin Review'' lauded the cast, describing Mendler and Hicks as "likeable and amazing" and Michael, Scott and Kiyoko as "equally amazing. These five leads are expertly cast and do a phenomenal job taking their characters from a group of misfits and loners to a

-booking band." The soundtrack of the film was received positively by critics. Christopher Monger of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

praised the film for tackling "the usual teen subjects" through its music and called it a blend of "the dewy-eyed romanticism of the

Jonas Brothers The Jonas Brothers () are an American pop rock band formed in 2005 comprising brothers Kevin Jonas, Joe Jonas, and Nick Jonas. Raised in Wyckoff, New Jersey, the Jonas Brothers moved to Little Falls, New Jersey, in 2005, where they wrote thei ...

and the quasi-rebellious angst of early

Avril Lavigne Avril Ramona Lavigne ( ; ; born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She is a key musician in popularizing pop-punk music, as she paved the way for female-driven, punk-influenced pop music in the early 2000s. List of awa ...

, resulting in a winning, if not entirely original, collection of new ''

High School Musical ''High School Musical'' is a 2006 American Musical film, musical television film produced by and aired on Disney Channel as part of the network's List of Disney Channel original films, slate of original television films. The first installmen ...

''-inspired homeroom anthems." McCalla called the music "magnificent" and singled out the songs "She’s So Gone" and "Determinate" for praise, writing that "Scott absolutely crushes it. … Hicks is a better rapper than your favorite rapper. Argue with yourself." "She's So Gone" was featured on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'''s list of "The 100 Greatest Disney Songs of All Time" and ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

s "Fake Bands, Real Songs: The 50 Best Tunes by Made-Up Musicians". ''Lemonade Mouth'' has often been considered one of the best Disney Channel original films, appearing high on several media lists ranking DCOMs.

Cancelled sequel

In 2011, the author of ''Lemonade Mouth'' said that he had been working on a sequel. Actor Blake Michael said: "It's all up to the fans, it's in their hands. If people enjoy it and they love it and they want more, they'll get it. I think Disney is just a great organization in general and they're always one step ahead of the game. So you never really know what's gonna happen." On June 15, 2011, it was announced during the 2011 Licensing International Expo that ''Lemonade Mouth 2'' was in the works. On April 6, 2012, Brochu announced on his Twitter account that the sequel was no longer going into production. In interviews with ''Kidzworld Media'' and ''BSCKids'' in May 2012, Mendler confirmed that a sequel would not be produced, noting that "they tried to figure something out for a sequel, but everyone at Disney felt like the movie had completed its story in the first movie."BSCKids: Bridgit Mendler - Lemonade Month Won't Make a Sequel
May 17, 2012. Accessed June 10, 2012.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lemonade Mouth (film) 2011 television films 2011 films 2011 comedy-drama films 2011 in American television 2010s American films 2010s English-language films 2010s high school films 2010s musical comedy-drama films 2010s teen drama films American comedy-drama television films American musical television films American high school films American musical comedy-drama films American teen drama films American teen musical films Disney Channel Original Movie films Films about musical groups Films based on American novels Films based on young adult literature Films directed by Patricia Riggen Films scored by Christopher Lennertz Films set in Rhode Island Films shot in New Mexico Television films based on books English-language musical comedy-drama films 2011 musical films