- This article is about the movie. For the titular camp, see Camp Rock (Place). For the official soundtrack, see Camp Rock Soundtrack.
Camp Rock is a 2008 American television film. This is also the 73rd Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM). Starring the Jonas Brothers and Demi Lovato. The music is written by Julie Brown, Paul Brown, Regina Hicks and Karen Gist. The film is directed by Matthew Diamond and produced by Alan Sacks.
The film debuted on the Disney Channel in the US on June 20, 2008. Camp Rock was the second Disney Channel Original Movie to air on ABC's The Wonderful World of Disney after its premiere on Disney Channel, and was placed on the iTunes Store for digital purchase shortly after its premiere on Disney Channel. The film was watched by 8.9 million viewers on the night of its premiere, making it the third highest viewed DCOM at the time, behind High School Musical 2 and Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie.
Camp Rock was filmed at YMCA Camp Wanakita in Haliburton, Ontario, Canada and Kilcoo Camp in Minden, Ontario.
Plot
The story follows Mitchie Torres (Demi Lovato), an aspiring young musician who hopes to become a professional singer. Mitchie wants to go to a prestigious music camp named "Camp Rock" for aspiring young musicians like her. Since the family can not afford the tuition, Mitchie's mother, Connie (Maria Canals Barrera), arranges to cater food for the camp, thus allowing Mitchie to attend. In return, Mitchie must help her mother out in the kitchen.
Meanwhile, spoiled pop star Shane Gray (Joe Jonas), of Connect 3, has been assigned to be in charge of dance classes for one month at Camp Rock by his bandmates Jason (Kevin Jonas) and Nate (Nick Jonas) and is forced to record a song with the winner of Final Jam. Shane accidentally hears someone singing on the first day and falls in love with the voice, but does not know the identity of the singer.
During Opening Jam, Mitchie learns that many of the campers have notable roots and is embarrassed that she was only able to come to the camp because of her mother's catering service. She lies and tells Tess Tyler (Meaghan Jette Martin), a girl known for her famous mother and her popularity, that her mother is the president of "Hot Tunes TV China". Tess, impressed, invites Mitchie to bunk with her group. Caitlyn (Alyson Stoner) warns Mitchie that becoming one of Tess's background girls will not be as she expects.
When Mitchie overhears Shane's new song, she compliments him. Shane, doubtful that his record label and his fans would accept the song, begins to fall for Mitchie. In the cafeteria, Tess and Caitlyn begin to throw spaghetti at each other and Mitchie gets in the middle of the fight. Brown, the owner of the camp, breaks the fight up and Tess frames Caitlyn for the incident. Brown punishes Caitlyn by having her work in the kitchen and Mitchie, who is worried that Caitlyn will learn her secret, does not help her out.
When Mitchie accidentally enters the kitchen while Caitlyn is working, Mitchie hides her head and tries to run off but before she could leave, she slips and falls. Caitlyn then sees her face and found out Mitchie's secret. Caitlyn thinks she should reveal her secret to the others and Mitchie doesn't seem to care about that anymore. Caitlyn wonders how long she would keep this a secret and says that her charade is "stupid and immature". Feeling miffed, Mitchie questions Caitlyn about her "I don't care" attitude and asks why she's even at Camp Rock if she truly feels that way. Connie soon comes in the kitchen and gets concerned over the mess her daughter made (and all that jazz). Caitlyn leaves and Mitchie (feeling regretful) wanted to speak to her but Connie stopped Mitchie and told her to change her clothes since they're ruined. At Pajama Jam, Mitchie supports Caitlyn when Tess attempts to upstage her show. Mitchie and Caitlyn then make up.
Shane spreads the word that he is searching for a girl with "the voice". When Tess sees Mitchie and Shane rowing together, she becomes jealous and after finding out about Mitchie's secret, tells the entire camp. Shane then believes that Mitchie gaslit him, so she could use him and Mitchie gets kicked out of Tess's group.
On the eve of Final Jam, Tess tricks Mitchie and Caitlyn into not participating until the Final Jam is over by telling Brown that they stole her charm bracelet. After Brown repeats that Mitchie cannot perform until "the end of Final Jam", Mitchie learns that she can still perform.
At Final Jam, Ella (Anna Maria Perez de Tagle) and Peggy (Jasmine Richards) confront Tess and leave her group. When Tess performs her song, she learns that her mother is in the audience. Unfortunately, her mother leaves the room after getting a phone call and Tess stumbles on the stage. After Brown announces that Final Jam is over, Mitchie comes out on stage and performs her song, which Shane realizes is the same one he heard on the first day of camp. He sings with her on stage and makes up with her. The judges, Connect 3 (Kevin, Nick and Joe Jonas), announce the winner: Peggy, who had performed under the name "Margaret Dupree". The cast ends Final Jam by performing "We Rock".
In the extended ending, Caitlyn invites Mitchie, Tess, Peggy, and Ella to the recording studio built in Caitlyn's garage. They were impressed and went on to sing "Our Time Is Here" while inside.
Characters & Cast
- Mitchie Torres (Demi Lovato) is a girl who hopes to be a singer some day. Her dream is to go to Camp Rock, but her family cannot afford the expensive camp. The only way she could go was if her mother would be the cook, and she tries to hide that fact in fear of rejection.
- Shane Gray (Joe Jonas) is the famous lead singer of the band "Connect 3". He is sent to Camp Rock, in hopes that it would help him, and get rid of his cocky and arrogant attitude. At the camp, he hears a terrific voice, and spends most of his time trying to find the girl who sang (who is actually Mitchie.) Later, he meets Mitchie and they become friends, yet he doesn't know it is the girl with the voice. He eventually finds out she is the girl with the voice towards the end of the film.
- Tess Tyler (Meaghan Jette Martin) is the daughter of the famous T.J. Tyler, she wishes to be a singer, like her mother. She is a diva and often gets her way, even if she has to hurt people. She craves attention and is always hoping to impress Shane; the reason for her behavior is because her mother was often too busy with her career to care for or even pay attention to her. Upon meeting Mitchie, Tess immediately sees her as competition and makes several plots to get her out of the way. She is the main antagonist of the film.
- Caitlyn Gellar (Alyson Stoner) is Mitchie's best friend at camp, and is one of the few people who stick by her side when Tess reveals Mitchie's secret. She wants to be a music producer, and is often seen composing music on her laptop.
- Ella Pador (Anna Maria Perez de Taglé) is Tess's so-called friend and is a little air-headed.
- Margaret "Peggy" Dupree (Jasmine Richards) is Tess's other "friend", and often follows Tess, even when her own opinion is different.
- Connie Torres (Maria Canals Barrera) is Mitchie's mom, and also runs a family catering service called "Connie's Catering." Mitchie was, at first, embarrassed that her mother was the Camp Cook.
- Barron James (Jordan Francis) and Sander Loyer (Roshon Fegan) are break-dancers, and are best friends. They also rap, and sang at Final Jam with Ella. They are of the few that stayed on Mitchie's side.
- Lola Scott (Aaryn Doyle) is a singer, and sometimes raps. She is great friends with Caitlyn, and she is a talented singer. She stuck with Mitchie when her secret was revealed.
- Brown Cesario (Daniel Fathers) is Shane's uncle and also runs Camp Rock. He also said he was the guitarist of a band called the "White Crows" and he toured with Aerosmith.
- Nate Gray (Nick Jonas) and Jason Gray (Kevin Jonas) are the brothers of Shane and members of "Connect 3".
International Titles
Dubs
- Cantonese - 搖滾夏令營
- Czech - Camp Rock
- Danish - Camp Rock
- Dutch - Camp Rock
- Filipino - Camp Rock
- Finnish - Camp Rock
- French - Camp Rock
- German - Camp Rock
- Greek - Μουσική Κατασκήνωση
- Hindi - कैंप रॉक
- Hungarian - Rocktábor
- Indonesian - Camp Rock
- Italian - Camp Rock
- Japanese - キャンプ・ロック
- Korean - 캠프 락
- Malay - Camp Rock
- Mandarin (Taiwan) - 搖滾夏令營
- Mizo - Camp Rock
- Norwegian - Camp Rock
- Polish - Camp Rock
- Portuguese (Brazil) - Camp Rock
- Romanian - Tabăra de rock
- Russian - Camp Rock: Музыкальные каникулы
- Spanish (Latin America) - Camp Rock
- Spanish (Spain) - Camp Rock
- Spanish (United States) - Camp Rock
- Swedish - Camp Rock
- Turkish - Camp Rock
- Ukrainian - Рок-табір
Voice-overs
- Bulgarian - Рок лагер
- Georgian - მუსიკალური არდადაგები
- Polish - Camp Rock
Subtitled versions
- Albanian - Kampi muzikor
- Chinese (Simplified) - 摇滚夏令营
- Hebrew - קאמפ רוק
- Icelandic - Rokkbúðir
- Slovak - Camp Rock
Soundtrack
The Camp Rock original soundtrack debuted at #3 on the Billboard 200 album charts, selling over 188,000 units in its first week. The album was certified Platinum by the RIAA and sold over 1,257,000 copies to date. In Brazil, the album was certified Platinum by the ABPD and sold over 60,000 copies until 2009.
Reception
Camp Rock premiered on the Disney Channel on June 20, 2008 with 8.86 million viewers. Its June 21 showing on ABC had 3.47 million viewers, and its June 22 showing on ABC Family had 3.73 million viewers.
Its Disney Channel Italy premiere received 1.14 million viewers on September 2008.
Critical response
The film received moderate reviews from critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 48% based on 21 reviews, with an average rating of 4.4/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Camp Rock wants to be the next High School Musical, but its forgettable songs and dull premise hold it back". Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 64 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Brian Lowry of Variety stated that "it's difficult not to grudgingly admire the marketing savvy with which Camp Rock was assembled". New York Post critic Austin Smith called it a "really great movie, like a modern-day version of an old Judy Garland-Mickey Rooney picture" in which the kids "put on a show that improves the lives of all who see it". Barry Garron of The Hollywood Reporter admired Matthew Diamond's "solid enough" direction and Demi Lovato's performance. He also said that with Camp Rock, "Disney plucks another fresh face off its deep bench of young talent." Robert Lloyd of Los Angeles Times wrote that the film "isn’t particularly good, but it’s good at what it does", and called it "inauthentic". USA Today's Robert Blanco called the film "simultaneously overdone and underproduced" and said that "it jerks its way from point to point without bothering to explain the characters' behavior or inject any life into its musical numbers". Entertainment Weekly's Gillian Flynn said "the strange and objectionable thing about the film's morality tale is that no one makes an outright decision to be brave or better", and called it "so rigidly formulated and unremarkable" that by the time the cast sings its finale, We Rock, "it's hard to agree".
Following the critics' line of comparison to High School Musical, Jennifer Frey of The Washington Post said that Camp Rock's music is "in the same easy-to-memorize, dance-inspiring mode" as that of the previous franchise, "but not as catchy". Daily News's David Hinckley agreed, saying that "the songs don't feel as fresh" and "the film is specifically designed to ride on the success of the previous one", but he praised its formula that "goes back to the animated Disney classics of decades past", and called it "catchy and fun, a rock-steady Disney hit". Hinckley also praised the talent and performance of leads Joe Jonas and Lovato.
In 2016, Billboard's Maria Sherman named Camp Rock Lovato's best film to date, describing it as "something of a coming of age tale, one not only about believing in yourself, but accepting yourself". USA Today added Camp Rock to the top ten best summer camp movies of all time. Rebecca Alter of Vulture ranked the film as one of the best Disney Channel Original Movies of all time.
Home media
The DVD and Blu-ray release for the film, titled "Camp Rock: Extended Rock Star Edition", was released on August 19, 2008. It was released in November in other countries. It was released on December 1, 2008 in the UK on DVD only.
Both the DVD and Blu-ray release contain the following bonus features.
- Extended ending
- Sing-along and karaoke functions
- Music videos
- "How to Be a Rock Star"
- "Jonas Brothers: Real Life Rock Stars"
- "Introducing Demi Lovato"
- "Too Cool: Setting the Stage"
- "Hasta La Vista: From Rehearsal to Final Jam”
- "Camp Memories" - a still gallery with video feature
There were some hidden bonus features in the Camp Rock: Extended Rock Star Edition DVD.
- "We Rock Crew Video" - the crew of Camp Rock dances to "We Rock".
- "1234 Goodbye" - Demi Lovato wrote and performs an original song named "1234 Goodbye" for the cast and crew on October 6, 2007, the day the principle photography wrapped. She uses phrases from the soundtrack during this performance.
Merchandise
Merchandise of the film is sold at Target, Claires, and Limited Too. They include clothing (such as pajamas, T-shirts, and underwear), bags (tote bags, backpacks, etc.), bedding collection, toys, and dolls of the characters. Play Along Toys, so far, has only released dolls of Mitchie and Shane. On May 13, 2008, Disney published Camp Rock: the Junior Novel, by Lucy Ruggles, the novelization of the film. Target retail stores sell "special editions" of the novel, hardcover books that include photos.
Sequel
Gary Marsh, the president of Entertainment, Disney Channel World, confirmed that a script was almost complete for Camp Rock 2. According to The Hollywood Reporter, all the principal cast was expected to return, with a special appearance by the Jonas Brothers' young brother, Frankie Jonas. According to a blog in myspace, shooting will begin as soon as the Jonas Brothers complete their North America leg on their world tour and before their next leg in Europe and also when Demi Lovato finishes her tour.
Production on the film titled Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam began on September 3, 2009 and is scheduled to premiere in 2010. According to Popstar online.com, Chloe Bridges is expected to become a new camper as Dana Turner. According to Hollywood Reporter.com, the official plot is that Shane Gray and Mitchie Torres return to Camp Rock, only to discover that some of the students and instructors have abandoned it for nearby rival Camp Star. Also joining the cast for Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam is a popular hip-hop artist named Matthew "Mdot" Finley. Finley will play the reigning hot-shot singer across the lake at Camp Star who challenges Camp Rock to a musical showdown. There's even a romance moment between Nate and Dana, the daughter of Camp Star's owner. The film is a Disney Channel Original Movie.
Other media
In an episode of Demi Lovato's show Sonny With a Chance, a parody of Camp Rock was made. The episode guest-starred Selena Gomez as herself, auditioning to play the role of "Sonny" in a film directed by Sonny's rival, Chad Dylan Cooper. As Sonny and Gomez fought to earn the role of "Sonny", Gomez eventually storms off the set, proclaiming that she didn't need the role, as she had been in "Camp Hip-Hop". The episode later showed Gomez performing a parody of Camp Rock, herself as Mitchie, as she hip-hop danced with fake Jonas Brothers and Big Rob dancing in the background.
Trivia
- Camp Rock took 25 days of filming and 7 months of editing.
- During Mitchie's solo (This is Me), the Jonas Brothers' and Demi Lovato's parents were in the crowd.
- In a scene when Joe Jonas was running, he tripped. The director decided to keep it in the movie.
- Peggy wore a total of 14 headbands.
- Meaghan Martin actually dislocated her shoulder while filming the song played at the campfire jam, Too Cool.
- Jason and Nate did not exist in the original script of the movie. They were added in after Joe Jonas was cast as Shane, as Disney wanted to turn the film into a vehicle for the Jonas Brothers but no roles existed for Kevin or Nick.
- It's the first Disney Channel Original Movie to have access rights to other cable networks of the Disney company from ABC to ABC Family in airing the film's screen debut.
- The previous titles for the movie were 'Rock Camp Rules', then 'Camp Rock On', then finally 'Camp Rock'.
- The film was sponsored in part by Aeropostale.
- In the scene where Mitchie has returned home from work, her father says "So, how was work?" Mitchie responds by saying "You know Barney's. We serve burgers with a Barney smile." This is possibly a nod to Demi's involvement in the 1992 children's series "Barney & Friends", while she was with Selena Gomez from 2002 through 2004.
- This is Meaghan Martin's debut film.
External links
Gallery
