12 Things I Noticed Rewatching The Cheetah Girls

The best girl group of our generation is... The Cheetah Girls? Sure, they probably wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the world domination of the Spice Girls and global success of Destiny’s Child, but the fictional-turned-chart-topping foursome in Disney Channel’s first musical Original Movie paved the way for the most empowering artists of the early 2000s, both real and fictional. Galleria, Dorinda, Aqua, and Dorinda (Raven-Symoné, Adrienne Bailon, Kiely Williams, and Sabrina Bryan) brought their girl group predecessors’ motto of “Girl Power” to the Disney Channel generation — and actually made a hit song out of it.

The girls had femme-forward, R&B-pop anthems like “Cinderella” that rank among the best girl group hits. Their choreography proved they could move with the best of them, while their gripping family stories gave the film its heart. The film’s success spawned two sequels that gave the Cheetah Girls some welcome global flair (“Amigas Cheetahs” is their best song, don’t @ me), and made it believable when Bailon, Bryan, and Williams transitioned from characters to real touring artists.

The Cheetah Girls debuted 20 years ago on Aug. 15, 2003, making now the perfect time to celebrate their legacy and revisit the original film. After two decades, the movie has aged surprisingly well, and those songs haven’t lost their sparkle. Here are 12 things I noticed rewatching The Cheetah Girls for the umpteenth time (I’ve lost track) to celebrate the movie’s 20th anniversary.

1. Whitney Houston Is An Executive Producer

It’s very common to ignore a movie’s opening credits on the first (and second, and third) watch, which is why many fans aren’t aware that one of the executive producers of The Cheetah Girls is none other than the legendary Whitney Houston, who worked with Walt Disney Studios through her company BrownHouse Productions. The late singer doesn’t appear onscreen, but she’s certainly a huge inspiration for the girls.

2. Aqua Is Ridiculously Smart

Galleria says The Cheetah Girls could become the first freshmen students to win the Manhattan Magnet talent show before Aqua taxis off to New York University for a trigonometry class well above freshman level. Who knew that she had that much brain power?

3. Galleria Says Stars Don’t Carry Hot Sauce

While prepping for their meeting with super-producer Jackel Johnson, Galleria tells Aqua that “stars don’t carry hot sauce in their bag” and demands her to act more professional. But in 2016, Beyoncé uttered eight famous words in her seminal hit “Formation” that proved her wrong: “I got hot sauce in my bag, swag.” If Beyoncé says it’s allowed, then it’s allowed.

4. Global Getdown Were The OG Furries

Jackel Johnson wanted the Cheetah Girls to become Global Getdown, an internationally inspired girl group that sings with animal masks shielding their faces. Sounds like furries to us.

5. Def Duck Records Should’ve Been A Sign

The record label in the film is called Def Duck Records, a parody of the real-life Def Jam Records, but their mascot is a duck. They wanted to turn the Cheetah Girls into an animal-singing group and may only be interested because they already called themselves “cheetah.” The girls should’ve seen Global Getdown coming, as they’re clearly only interested in musical acts that involve animals.

6. “All Around the World” Is A Low-key Bop

As much of a disaster Global Getdown seemed to be, the label’s song pitch, “All Around the World,” isn’t as bad as Galleria made it out to be. Try getting that hook out of your head.

7. Where Does Aqua Live?

Early in the movie, Texas native Aqua says she agreed with her father to live in New York, not under New York, i.e. taking the subways. But where exactly does she live? Her family is never seen onscreen, and she only speaks of her father, meaning she could be living her Eloise fantasy in a hotel for all viewers know.

8. Is “Kaflama” A Real Word?

Galleria describes one of her meetings with Jackel as “drama and kaflama,” a word that I cannot believe has bypassed me all these years. “Kaflama” is not an actual word, as suspected, but there is a “caflama” in the Urban Dictionary, which apparently means “bullsh*t, horse-sh*t, exaggeration, over-embellishment, and general excessiveness.” No wonder Disney chose “kaflama” instead.

9. Galleria’s “Boo” Proclaims To Be A “Real Artist”

Galleria’s secret crush-turned-“boo,” Derek, proclaims to be an artiste, even turning up with the typical acoustic guitar at talent show practice, where he overhears Galleria sing the intro of “Cheetah Sisters” and tells her she’s also a “real artist.” Cue to Derek white-boy rapping at the talent show with bars that don’t hold a candle to Galleria’s penmanship. Even in women empowerment Disney Channel movies, men get so much more with much less effort.

10. Toto Is The True Main Character

Galleria’s dog, Toto, is arguably the first-known fan of the Cheetah Girls, more adorable than any human onscreen, and the cherry on top of their impressive talent show audition. But he also low-key drives the entire film. Who falls into a construction pit, single-handedly causing a massive traffic jam, cutting off power and gas across Manhattan, interrupting said talent show, attracting national TV coverage, reuniting the Cheetah Girls once again, and giving them the platform to make their TV debut? That’s right, Toto. The girls really have him to thank for their newfound fame.

11. 14th Street Is Not Midtown Manhattan

As the entirety of New York circles around Toto (as they should), reporters remark that he’s shut down Midtown Manhattan before Aqua is seen getting off the subway at... 14th Street. Unless you don’t consider anything above Canal Street to be relevant in New York, 14th is not Midtown.

12. How Did The News Have Time To Broadcast The Cheetah Girls’ Performance?

The news was all over TotoGate (rightfully so), but most TV news shows are limited to half-hour or hour-long broadcasts sporadically throughout the day, where time must be allotted to actual breaking stories, weather forecasts, and boring things like sports. Somehow, Galleria and Derek managed to keep reporters’ cameras on them as she slowly reunited the Cheetah Girls one by one, leading into an epic primetime debut performance with iconic color-coordinating cheetah sweatsuits. Maybe more people would watch the news if things like this happened in real life.