Camp Rock

Plot

Mitchie Torres is an aspiring young musician who hopes to become a professional singer. Mitchie wants to go to a music camp named "Camp Rock". Since the family cannot afford the tuition, Mitchie's mother, Connie, arranges to cater food for the camp, thus allowing Mitchie to attend. In return, Mitchie must help her mother out in the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Shane Gray, the spoiled and arrogant lead singer of the popular music trio Connect 3, has been assigned to be in charge of dance classes for one month at Camp Rock by his band mates Jason and Nate 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 convinces Tess Tyler, 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 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, Caitlyn learns about Mitchie's secret. At Pajama Jam, Mitchie supports Caitlyn when Tess attempts to upstage her show. Mitchie and Caitlyn reconcile.

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 thinks that Mitchie deceived him just to use him and Mitchie is forced out of Tess's group.

On the eve of Final Jam, Mitchie and Caitlyn are framed by Tess for stealing her charm bracelet and Brown bans them until the end of Final Jam.

Final Jam arrives and everyone is ready for performances. Peggy and Ella confront Tess and leave her group. Ella performs with Barren and Sander in "Hasta La Vista". After that, Tess performs "2 Stars" and realizes her mom is attending, however she stumbles when her mom has to step out for a call. During the song, Mitchie and Caitlyn realize they can perform and run to the stage. Before the final song, Peggy performs "Here I Am" and reveals her name is actually Margaret Dupree. As Brown announces the end of Final Jam, the spotlights turn on and he allows Mitchie to perform (saying he knew that they would catch on: as their performance was not in the lineup, and after "the end of Final Jam"). Mitchie performs "This Is Me", which Shane realizes as the voice and soon joins in. Finally, the Connect 3 Members vote and decide that Peggy won the trophy and the song recording. The entire Camp sing We Rock. Backstage, Mitchie and Shane reconcile, and agree to meet next summer.

In the extended edition, Mitchie, Peggy, Lola, Tess and Ella gather in Caitlyn's garage (now a recording studio) and sing "Our Time Is Here".

Soundtrack

The Camp Rock 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 premier received 1.14 million viewers on September 2008.

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 only on DVD.

Both the DVD and Blu-ray release contain the following bonus features.

There were some hidden bonus features throughout parts of the Camp Rock: Extended Rock Star Edition DVD.

According to the Camp Rock section of moviemansguide.com, there is another easter egg, but it is possibly untrue. In their words, "...and a short easter egg in the Music Video part of the disc (keep pressing down until you see a Pink Guitar)".

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 premiered in 2010. According to Popstar online.com, Chloe Suazo is expected to become a new camper as Dana Alee. 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 popular hip-hop artist Matthew "Mdot" Finley. Mdot 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.