Raven-Symoné is open to seeing the Cheetah Girls strut their stuff again. The actor and singer recently sat down with Entertainment Tonight to reflect on her decades-long career and immediately lit up when the interview mentioned the beloved Disney Channel Original Movie The Cheetah Girls.
The musical, starring Raven-Symoné, Adrienne Bailon-Houghton, Kiely Williams and Sabrina Bryan, was released in 2003 and told the story of four teen girls living in Manhattan who dreamed of their group, The Cheetah Girls, landing a record deal. The movie and the group became a cultural phenomenon, leading to a tour and two follow-up films.
Raven-Symoné drops hint on The Cheetah Girls reunion
Raven-Symoné has hinted at a potential reunion with her Amigas Cheetahs, highlighting the cultural impact of Disney Channel movies on early 2000s youth. “Another moment in culture that gave girl power, that gave fashion, that gave songs — [I’m] very blessed to be a part of that,” she told Entertainment Tonight of the movies, which also starred Adrienne Bailon-Houghton, Sabrina Bryan and Kiely Williams. “And can’t wait to see what the future holds with that. It’s gonna be interesting to see what the future holds in regards to the Cheetah Girls.”
Symoné further explained that, “if something happened where the Cheetah Girls came back together on screen,” a whole new generation of women would be able to grasp the importance of girl community. However, she believes this generation is already doing it.
“I come from a generation [of] catty girls and things of that nature. And then my mom’s generation [was] the same way,” she continued. “I think now it’s starting to change a little bit. I think girls are more like, ‘I got you, girl,’ and to be able to mirror that back in such an iconic, cool, innovative way that screams Cheetah… I mean, I’d be a part of it.”
This isn’t the first time the former Disney Channel star has mused about a potential reunion. In February 2023, Symoné reconnected with Bailon-Houghton in a sit-down with E! News and revealed she would do another Cheetah Girls project in a heartbeat.
“That’s why we did Raven’s Home, that’s why we’re here,” Symoné said of her connection with Bailon-Houghton. “That’s why any time she’s doing something, I’m down and I know she’s the same for me. And I think that there’s a wonderful thing to just encapsulate something and let it live. We are in the era of reboot, honey. We love a reboot.”
Bailon-Houghton chimed in, “We hate when they ruin it.”
“And we can’t ruin the Cheetah Girls, they can’t ruin it,” agreed Symoné. “So if there was anything, and I’m trying to be honest, I’ll say this to your face. I’m not trying to act that much anymore, I want to direct. But if there was something that we did together, it would be us and you would be surprised — it would smash.”
About The Cheetah Girls movies
The Cheetah Girls is a 2003 American musical television film based on the book series of the same name by Deborah Gregory. This film marks the first Disney Channel Original Movie as a musical.
Four teen girls in Manhattan, Galleria, Chanel, Aqua, and Dorinda, perform at a children’s birthday party as The Cheetah Girls. After the performance, Chanel rushes home to tell her mother about the show, but her mother is preoccupied preparing for a date with her new Parisian boyfriend.
Galleria comes home to her parents, who chastise her for not taking phone messages for her mother or walking their Bichon Frise dog, Toto. Meanwhile, Dorinda attends to her job, doing janitorial work at a community center.The girls hope to become the first freshmen to win the talent show in their school’s history.
The sequel, The Cheetah Girls 2 follows the same main characters as the first film. They travel to Barcelona, Spain to compete in a musical performance competition and continue pursuing their dreams of pop superstardom. Its premiere received a total of over 8.1 million viewers.
The movie begins at a graduation party for the Manhattan Magnet’s Class of 2006. While having a sleep-over at Galleria’s apartment, Chanel tells the girls that her mother, Juanita, is planning a trip to Barcelona, where they will visit Juanita’s long-term boyfriend. In an effort to spend summer together, the girls enter a music competition in Barcelona. Once there, a fellow competitor’s mother conspires to break up The Cheetah Girls to increase her daughter’s chances of winning. The whole film is shot in Barcelona, including the parts that took place in New York City.
The third film in the series, The Cheetah Girls: One World, was released August 22, 2008. It premiered with 6.2 million viewers.
Chanel, Dorinda, and Aqua are cast in a musical film that will be shot in New Delhi, India. Once they arrive in the exotic city, the girls receive an unpleasant surprise: the movie’s director must choose only one of them. The announcement puts a strain on the girls’ friendship. However, the happy ending has all three of them dancing in the film. This film was shot in Udaipur, India.
Raven-Symoné did not reprise her role as Galleria, resulting in her character attending college off-screen. Raven-Symoné passed on the film due to her negative experience during The Cheetah Girls 2. She has described her co-stars as having acted clique-ish, and recalled feeling excluded. Instead, she preferred to concentrate on her solo music career.
