Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century

It will be interesting in the year 2049 to see if the future world predicted in Zenon: Girl Of The 21st Century is actually here. At this point in time many science fiction future films have fallen short of the mark. Don't mean they're not good entertainment and this one from Disney Studios certainly is.

Kirsten Storms is in the title role and Zenon's a bright and spunky child who with her family is on a traveling space station that has explored a lot of the solar system and beyond. But she suspects something is amiss with millionaire Frederick Coffin and his sleazy aide Bob Bancroft who have endowed a lot of their money to the project. In these films the hero/heroine always has good instincts.

Her good instincts uncover a plot to destroy the space station itself with a computer virus during the first outer space rock concert by a futuristic David Bowie named Proto Zoa played by Phillip Rhys. Do you doubt that our resourceful teen saves the day? All of course after the ultimate grounding of being kicked off the station back to the home world.

Zenon: Girl Of The 21st Century is one of the better Disney television films and it was popular enough to spawn a sequel. Look for a nice performance by Raven Symone as Storms's best friend who runs interference for her. And Coffin and Bancroft are a pair of villains like Captain Hook and Smee.

I was surprised to say that I actually enjoyed this. Although it was a cheesey, teeny-bopper flick, I found myself cheering it on. I found myself feeling as if I were 13 again.

"Zenon" aired on the Disney Channel earlier this spring and was, to my surprise, one of the best made-for-TV teen movies I have seen. True, the film is quirky, and its humor is effervescent; but its idiosyncrasies seem to add to the enjoyment, along with a story that is strong enough to contain its own silliness. The movie draws you in unexpectedly and, as an adult, you will probably think to yourself at some point in the show, "I can't believe I'm watching this - AND liking it!" I think the appropriate term here is "overbrain." The scenes are very well thought out, the acting is good enough, and the story matches with all the other elements to create that magical "likability factor" which makes the movie quite a success. Therefore, the behind-the-scenes overlords who wrote/produced/directed this film must have had - a brain!

On a lighter note, this film makes for a great drinking game [soda pop, please!] Here are a few rules to get started... 1. Whenever you hear "Ceedus Lapeedus" 2. Every time Greg strikes a pose meant to slay a young lady's heart. 3. Whenever you see Protozoa (two drinks), or hear one of his songs (three drinks) Big Unanswered Question: Didn't anyone else in the crowd know the code needed to upload the "undo" file??

Finally, no the movie should not be made into a TV series because the elements which came together to make the movie work would be very hard to capture week after week. However, if it does happen - Protozoa should marry a lead singer, she could be called - Amoeba!

This has the best lines like major. It is so good, zetus lopetus, go see it now. Anyone who hasn't seen it is totally minor. The costumes are great and original major! Raven and the blonde girl show so much promise in their future, so llok out, because they will become the next Oprah Winfreys or Bill Clintons like major!

This movie came out when I was maybe, 6 or 7 years old. I fell in love with it, and the sequel "Zenon the Zequel." Truthfully, after a while I outgrew the Disney Channel, especially once the DCOM started to get beyond corny. However, Zenon game out in the "golden age" of DCOMs. Is the movie a bit unbelievable? Yes, of course it is. Is it cheesy? Yeah, the lingo makes you cringe sometimes. I watched the movie again last night though, and realized that this movie has something that the recent DCOMs doesn't: good acting. Kirsten Storms is amazing as Zenon, with her insanely expressive eyes. She works as hard as she can to make the words she's saying not make you laugh, especially the 7 odd times she exclaims "Ceedus Lepeedus!" As of last night, I've decided that I shouldn't be ashamed if I still like this movie. The clothes are hilarious, since in the future we apparently have flashbacks to the 80s, and same with the words (Stellar, etc). This movie also has a plot that you can't predict right away. When Lutz puts the disc into the Class 4 system, we don't know what he's doing, and neither does Zenon. And the idea of "grounded" meaning being sent to Earth is brilliant. Overall, this movie is a bit hyper and a bit corny, but it's one of the few DCOM that I've watched recently that actually has a somewhat believable plot and great acting. So those of you around my age: don't be ashamed if you still love this movie. It's much better than being in love with High School Musical.