Yes, Troy Bolton was a total hottie (you know you were jealous of Gabriela), and yes the Cheetah Girls had some truly memorable moments. But one movie that’s not mentioned or appreciated enough, is Lemonade Mouth. In the movie, there are many challenges faced by normal teens, living their everyday life as best they can.

Stella the guitarist is faced with not only going to a new school but her family as well. Wen, the pianist is challenged with having to watch his father move on from his mother and marry someone new. Olivia, main vocalist, lives with her grandmother after her mother died and her father went to jail (it is hinted her father killed her mother). Charlie, drummer, has to face living under his brother’s shadow at school because he will never be as great a soccer player as his brother, and the constant pressure from his parents to be exactly like his brother. Finally, Moe, guitarist and violinist, has to  face her parents and their religious and cultural beliefs pertaining to what kind of a woman they wanted her to become.

The movie begins with the band getting ready to perform, then it clips onto everyone’s first day of school. Stella and her mom are going to talk to the principal because it’s her first day in a new school. Moe is getting a lecture from her father about being too young for lip gloss. Charlie is looking at Moe because he has a secret crush on her. Olivia drops her books as Wen races by because the bell rang and they all need to get to class.

The next part of the movie pretty much shows how each one ends up in detention, where they eventually all meet. Once in detention the music teacher (which also happens to be the detention teacher) leaves the room and assigns the students the job of cleaning her new room which is now in the basement. Somehow they begin to make a beat with their cleaning utensils and Olivia starts singing, thus Lemonade Mouth came to be (however they didn’t know it yet). The

music teacher walks in and encourages them to start a band and enter Rising Star, a competition where multiple bands enter and the winner receives a record deal. The group then meets up for pizza and flips a coin: heads they’re in, tails it’s off. The coin flips in the most dramatic way possible and lands on heads. Their first rehearsal doesn’t turn out as well as expected but they soon get the hang of it.

They first perform at a Halloween Bash, where the principal actually bashes them for trying to save their lemonade machine that’s in the basement. Eventually, as they’re all getting ready for Rising Star, Charlie hurts his fingers, Olivia loses her voice, Wen’s vision is trash after he hurts his eye, and Moe gets a cold. The only one that’s fine is Stella. Then to make things worse they all end up in jail since Stella’s trying to save the Lemonade Machine they all dearly love. They get in an argument and just like in one of the first scenes, they make a beat with the things in the cell, then they all make up and decide to go to Rising Star even though their band is a mess. Eventually Moe’s boyfriend jumps in and helps them playing the tune of their song even though it causes him to be kicked out of his band. The audience sings along and all is well.

The last scene is … well, you’ll just have to watch it. This movie is, in my opinion, the best Disney Original movie because it shows normal teens and their everyday struggles. From a religious aspect to social status  and they make great songs.