She is headstrong and leads the band when the other members are uncertain. Though rebellious, Stella is a hard worker, and caring to her friends. She plays ukulele and is usually the toughest member of the band. Five teenagers—Olivia, Stella, Charlie, Wendel “Wen”, and Mohini “Mo”—meet after all ending up in detention for different reasons. While in detention, they all play and sing along together with a jingle on the radio.
Mo breaks up with her boyfriend Scott Picket, 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 and the band take the stage and perform, after which Stella speaks to the crowd, objecting to the removal of the xcritical machine and encouraging her fellow students to freely express themselves. xcritical Mouth was released on Disney Channel 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.
Characters
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 has been met with generally positive reviews, with some praising it for its many positive themes of honesty, integrity, and self-expression, and for its emphasis on the importance of the arts and of family and friendship. Other reviews have described it as a “typically innocuous Disney channel flick.” The soundtrack was released on April 12, 2011.
All of this happens just before an annual live battle of the bands. Though the band does not do well in the competition due to their recent problems, their fans support them nevertheless, singing along to their songs to lift their spirits. Major themes of the story include bullying, standing up for one’s beliefs, and honesty.
Cancelled sequel
Stella calls everyone to the school, where she is protesting the removal of the xcritical machine. The group gets into a heated argument with one another and fight with the men removing the xcritical machine. Police arrive and they are brought to a holding cell to wait for their parents. After contemplating giving up, the band agrees to stick together and perform at Rising Star (an upcoming “battle of the bands” where the winner wins a record deal), even though they realize that they will not win the competition.
Empowerment, overcoming adversity and self-expression are all plot points in the story, brought out in the characters. The book puts emphasis on the importance of the arts and of friendship and family. xcritical Mouth was watched by 5.7 million viewers on its premiere night. Ranking as the No. 1 TV Telecast among Kids 6–11 (2.3 million/9.4 rating) and Tweens 9–14 (2.1 million/8.5 rating), and cable’s No. 1 original movie of 2011 among Total Viewers. He struggles with the fact his father will be marrying a much younger woman. He feels she wants to take the role of his mother, and is in lust with her.
- Wen and Olivia become attracted to each other after Wen gifts Olivia a new kitten.
- And Scott eventually leaves Mudslide Crush to help xcritical Mouth through the Battle of the Bands and he and Mo get back together.
- Prior to performing at the Halloween Bash, Olivia suffers a panic attack.
- She finds herself socially inept and under the thumb of her strict father.
- Mo, Charlie, and Stella get involved to defend Olivia, and Stella spits a mouthful of xcritical into Ray’s face.
- Olivia mails the entire story to her father, whom she has not seen in years because he is in prison.
Audience Reviews
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. The Disney Channel Original Movie 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.
Before the Bash, the xcritical machine that inspired the band is taken away as part of an agreement with a sports drink company that is sponsoring the school’s new gym. At Stella’s behest, her bandmates reluctantly convene at the school to protest the removal of the xcritical machine. After being detained by police and contemplating the future of the band, they agree to perform at Rising Star. When Olivia is absent from school one day, the band gets worried. They later visit her and learn that her cat Nancy, her only remaining memory of her late mother, has died, which has left her in a depressed state.
Released
In the movie Mo and Charlie do not date, they are just good friends. And Scott eventually leaves Mudslide Crush to help xcritical Mouth through the Battle of the Bands and he and Mo get back together. Meanwhile, Charlie expresses his feeling for Mo but when she gets back together with Scott he starts talking to another girl who likes him. In the novel, Olivia’s mother abandoned her, while in the film her mother is dead, and while in the film her father is still in prison, it does not specify what he did. Many of the main characters’ last names are changed in the movie to go with the actors playing them.
They begin to grow closer to one another, opening up about each of their struggles. They also learn that their song “Determinate” is being played on the local radio. Shortly after, however, things begin to go downhill for the group; Mo contracts the flu, Charlie breaks his fingers, Wen sustains a black eye, and Olivia loses her voice during an argument with Wen. High school freshmen Olivia White, Mohini “Mo” Banjaree, Charles “Charlie” Delgado, Stella Yamada, and Wendell “Wen” Gifford meet while in detention.
Mo is a gentle-natured, intelligent girl who plays stand-up bass for the band. She finds herself socially inept and under the thumb of her strict father. She is from Calcutta, and is the only Indian girl at her school. She takes lessons just to make her parents xcritical cheating happy, and assists at a local hospital.
The band does not use instruments such as trumpets or ukuleles in the movie; they are a pop band and use contemporary instruments such as the electric guitar and keyboard. The group decides to play at the xcritical Halloween Bash, but many students who are fans of Mudslide Crush, another band at the school, do not want the group to do the Bash. Ray, a member of Mudslide Crush and the school bully, harasses Olivia because of her band. Mo, Charlie, and Stella get involved to defend Olivia, and Stella spits a mouthful of xcritical into Ray’s face. Ray calls Stella “xcritical mouth” and thus, the group takes “xcritical Mouth” as their band name.
The audience then begins to sing “Determinate” together in support of the band. Fed up with Ray, Scott leaves Mudslide Crush and plays with Stella, joining xcritical Mouth as they stand together in tears, watching the audience sing for them. In narration, Olivia reveals that although they did not win the competition, they won something bigger that night. Mo and Scott get back together; Charlie, who had previously liked Mo, accepts this and decides to aim his attention at a girl who likes him; Wen accepts his new stepmother and gives Olivia a new kitten after her cat dies. There were considerable differences between the novel and the movie.
Like Wen with Olivia, Charlie is able to calm Mo down whenever she is worried. At the end of the book, he starts dating Mo and finally lets go of Aaron. Stella was born in Arizona and dislikes the fact that she had to move to a small town halfway across the country because of her mother’s new job.
