Alley Cats Strike

Last updated

Alley Cats Strike
Disney - Alley Cats Strike.jpg
VHS cover
Genre
Written byGregory K. Pincus
Directed by Rod Daniel
Starring
Music by Bill Elliott
Country of origin
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producerCarol Ames
ProducerChristopher Morgan
Production locations
CinematographyPeter Benison
EditorRobert Souders
Running time88 minutes
Production company Rastar
Original release
Network Disney Channel
Release
  • March 18, 2000 (2000-03-18)

Alley Cats Strike is a 2000 sports comedy-drama television film directed by Rod Daniel, written by Gregory K. Pincus, and starring Kyle Schmid, Robert Ri'chard, and Kaley Cuoco. It premiered as a Disney Channel Original Movie on March 18, 2000.

Contents

Plot

A junior high school basketball game between the cities of East Appleton and West Appleton ends in a tie. The two cities, both vying for a trophy known as The Mighty Apple, must determine the winner through a bowling competition. Alex Thompson and his friends, Delia, Elisa and Ken, are in West Appleton Junior High School's bowling club; they discover that Todd McLemore, a popular basketball player, is also a member of the club, as his friends Leo and Flip had signed him up as a prank.

At a bowling alley operated by Alex's father, Kevin Thompson, Todd reluctantly trains for the upcoming bowling competition with Alex and his friends. He criticizes Alex and his friends for not demonstrating a strong willingness to win, which they deem as overconfidence. Alex later attends a party with Todd, rather than train at the bowling alley with his friends, upsetting them. Todd's bowling improves, while Alex's bowling becomes worse as he continues to spend time with Todd.

The children later redecorate Kevin's bowling alley to bring in customers. Todd uses his popularity to convince various businesses to donate supplies such as paint and flashing lights for the bowling alley, where a party known as the "Bowling Ball" is held and attended by dozens of people. Delia, Elisa, and Ken leave the party early, as they feel betrayed by Alex now frequently hanging out with Todd and his friends. After the party, Alex overhears Todd's friends talking among each other and discovers that they are only pretending to be friends with Alex to increase the chances of their school winning back The Mighty Apple.

Jeff McLemore, Todd's father and the mayor of West Appleton, makes a wager with mayor Hanburger of East Appleton: the winning team, in addition to receiving The Mighty Apple, will also get to choose the name for a new school that is under construction. Hanburger hires Whipsaw McGraw, a bowling champion, to train his bowling team. From the city, the West Appleton bowling team receives low-quality team shirts for the bowling competition. The team is also told about the wager between the mayors, after which Alex quits the team out of anger.

Todd attempts to convince Alex to rejoin the bowling team, and reveals new shirts with the team's name, Alley Cats, on it. Kevin later tells Alex that he used to be friends with Jeff when they were younger, but ended their friendship after accusing the other of losing a baseball game, which they both believe resulted in the city losing The Mighty Apple. Kevin tells Alex to not let a dispute end a friendship.

Alex rejoins the bowling team for the competition the next day. At the end of the competition, Todd's bowling results in a 7–10 split, which he could never master during his training. Delia substitutes for Todd. Using her knowledge of physics, Delia rolls a spinner slowly down the lane and spares, winning the competition, to everyone's surprise. Todd tells his father that it does not seem fair for a school to be named over a game of bowling. Alex and his friends decide to compromise and name the new school Appleton Central.

Cast

Production

Filming of Alley Cats Strike began on October 25, 1999. [2]

In 2014, the film's English Wikipedia article gained attention in Slate for having the longest film plot summary on the English-language version of the site. [3] [4]

Soundtrack

No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Pedal to the Steel"Chris Browne, Shaffer Smith, Wade Robson, Kenny Blank, and Kel Mitchell Youngstown 
2."Just Allow"Norwood Fisher Fishbone and The Familyhood Nextperience 
3."Body Rockin' Time"Douglas Shawe, Tom Mgrdichian, and Teddy Castellucci Christian Davis 
4."Anywhere You Are"Tom Snow and Jack FeldmanChan Andre 
5."Pitiful"Jim Cushnie, Ricky Estrada, David Ferreria, Richard Ferreira and Dennis LeipertPushover 
6."Hey Louise"Matt LeonardSquirtgun 
7."Camp Hollywood Special" Bill Elliott The Bill Elliott Swing Orchestra 
8."When We Dance"Bill ElliottThe Bill Elliott Swing Orchestra 
9."The Shim Sham Song"Bill ElliottThe Bill Elliott Swing Orchestra 
10."Let's Get Married"Bill ElliottThe Bill Elliott Swing Orchestra 
11."Swinging the Century"Bill ElliottThe Bill Elliott Swing Orchestra 
12."I'm Fallin' in Love Again"Bill ElliottThe Bill Elliott Swing Orchestra 
13."Skiing Moguls"Phil MarshallMersh Bros. Band 
14."Wind Surfing"Phil MarshallMersh Bros. Band 

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ten-pin bowling</span> Type of bowling

Ten-pin bowling is a type of bowling in which a bowler rolls a bowling ball down a wood or synthetic lane toward ten pins positioned evenly in four rows in an equilateral triangle. The objective is to knock down all ten pins on the first roll of the ball, or failing that, on the second roll.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skittles (sport)</span> Old European lawn game

Skittles is a historical lawn game and target sport of European origin, from which the modern sport of nine-pin bowling is descended. In regions of the United Kingdom and Ireland the game remains as a popular indoor pub game.

<i>Ed</i> (TV series) American comedy-drama television series

Ed is an American comedy-drama television series that was co-produced by David Letterman's Worldwide Pants Incorporated, NBC Productions and Viacom Productions that aired on NBC from October 8, 2000, to February 6, 2004. The hour-long comedy drama starred Tom Cavanagh as Ed Stevens, Julie Bowen as his love interest Carol Vessey, Josh Randall as his friend Dr. Mike Burton, Jana Marie Hupp as Mike's wife Nancy, Lesley Boone as their friend Molly Hudson, and Justin Long as awkward high-school student Warren Cheswick. Other supporting cast members included Michael Genadry and Ginnifer Goodwin as Warren's friends Mark and Diane, and Michael Ian Black, Mike Starr, Rachel Cronin, and (later) Daryl Mitchell as the employees of Ed's bowling alley. Long term guest stars included John Slattery as Dennis Martino and Sabrina Lloyd as Frankie Hector. The show was created by executive producers Jon Beckerman and Rob Burnett. David Letterman is also credited as one of the show's executive producers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kaley Cuoco</span> American actress (born 1985)

Kaley Christine Cuoco is an American actress. After a series of supporting film and television roles in the late 1990s, she landed her breakthrough role as Bridget Hennessy on the ABC sitcom 8 Simple Rules (2002–2005). Thereafter, Cuoco voiced Brandy Harrington on Brandy & Mr. Whiskers (2004–2006) and appeared as Billie Jenkins on the final season of The WB television series Charmed (2005–2006). She later starred as Penny on the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory (2007–2019), which earned her a Satellite Award, a Critics' Choice Award, and two People's Choice Awards for the role. Since 2020, Cuoco has starred in and served as executive producer for the HBO Max comedic thriller The Flight Attendant, which received widespread critical acclaim. For this performance, she has received nominations at the Primetime Emmy Awards, the Golden Globe Awards, the Screen Actors Guild Awards, and the Critics' Choice Awards.

"Blind Ambition" is the third episode of the fourth season of the American animated sitcom Family Guy. It was first broadcast on Fox in the United States on May 15, 2005. In the episode, Peter swallows an excessive number of nickels, causing him to become blind. He later becomes a hero after unwittingly saving Horace the bartender from a fire at his bar, The Drunken Clam, and then regains his sight. Meanwhile, Quagmire is forced to refrain from perverse sexual behavior or risk being driven out of the neighborhood following his arrest for spying on Lois in a ladies' lavatory.

<i>Canary Row</i> 1950 film by Friz Freleng

Canary Row is a 1949 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies short directed by Friz Freleng and written by Tedd Pierce. The short was released on October 7, 1950, and stars Tweety and Sylvester.

<i>The Three Lives of Thomasina</i> 1964 film by Don Chaffey

The Three Lives of Thomasina is a 1963 fantasy film directed by Don Chaffey about a cat's influence on a family. Patrick McGoohan and Susan Hampshire star alongside child actors Karen Dotrice and Matthew Garber. Based on Paul Gallico's 1957 novel Thomasina, the Cat Who Thought She Was God, the film was shot in Inveraray, Argyll, Scotland, and Pinewood Studios, England, with a screenplay by Gallico and Robert Westerby.

The following lists events that happened during 1946 in New Zealand.

The Alley Cats are an American doo-wop group singing in a cappella.

<i>Pink Panther and Pals</i> Animated television series

Pink Panther and Pals is an animated television series and a modern adaptation of the classic DePatie-Freleng Pink Panther shorts from the 1960s. The program was produced for Cartoon Network by Desert Panther Production and Rubicon Studios in association with The Mirisch Company and MGM Television. It premiered on March 7, 2010.

The 2007 Friends Provident Trophy was an English county cricket tournament, held between 22 April and 19 August 2007. The tournament was won by Durham.

The 36th Annual Annie Awards, honoring the best in animation for 2008, were held on January 30, 2009, at Royce Hall in Los Angeles, California. Below is a list of announced nominees. Kung Fu Panda received the most awards with 10, winning nearly all of its nominations, albeit amid controversy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bowling</span> Class of sports in which a player rolls a ball towards a target

Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins or another target. The term bowling usually refers to pin bowling, though in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries, bowling could also refer to target bowling, such as lawn bowls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sleeper Agent (band)</span> American band

Sleeper Agent was an American band from Bowling Green, Kentucky, United States. Their debut album, Celabrasion, was released on September 27, 2011, following the digital release of the album in August. Rolling Stone noted the group as a "band to watch" prior to the LP's release.

The 19th Youth in Film Awards ceremony, presented by the Youth in Film Association, honored outstanding youth performers under the age of 21 in the fields of film, television and theatre for the 1996-1997 season, and took place on March 14, 1998, in Hollywood, California.

<i>The Wedding Ringer</i> 2015 film by Jeremy Garelick

The Wedding Ringer is a 2015 American buddy romantic comedy film directed and co-written by Jeremy Garelick. It stars Kevin Hart, Josh Gad, and Kaley Cuoco. The film was produced by Adam Fields, Will Packer Productions and Miramax, distributed by Screen Gems, and released on January 16, 2015.

<i>Deadbeat</i> (TV series) 2010s American sitcom

Deadbeat is an American supernatural sitcom created by Cody Heller and Brett Konner about medium Kevin Pacalioglu, played by Tyler Labine, and was first released on Hulu on April 9, 2014. Three seasons were broadcast before Hulu canceled the series on June 5, 2016.

Schmigadoon! is an American musical comedy television series created by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio, with all songs written by Paul, who also serves as showrunner. The Apple TV+ series premiered July 16, 2021, starring an ensemble cast led by Cecily Strong and Keegan-Michael Key. The story centers around a couple from New York, both doctors, who become trapped in magical musical theatre settings and learn lessons about love and happiness.

References

  1. 1 2 "Alley Cats Strike". LUMIERE: Data base on admissions of films released in Europe. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  2. Hettrick, Scott (October 20, 1999). "Disney Channel rolls a 'Strike'". The Hollywood Reporter .
  3. Blatt, Ben (June 26, 2014). "The Longest Movie Plot Summary on Wikipedia". Slate . Retrieved June 30, 2014.
  4. Blatt, Ben (June 30, 2014). "The Screenwriter of Alley Cats Strike on Inspiring the Longest Plot Summary on Wikipedia". Slate . Retrieved June 30, 2014.