Dadnapped
| Dadnapped | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Written by | Alan Silberberg |
| Directed by | Paul Hoen |
| Starring | Emily Osment David Henrie Moises Arias Jason Earles Denzel Whitaker George Newbern Phill Lewis |
| Theme music composer | Adam Cohen |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Producers | Don Schain Douglas Sloan |
| Editor | Terry Stokes |
| Running time | 90 minutes |
| Production company | Salty Pictures |
| Budget | $4.5 million[1] |
| Original release | |
| Network | Disney Channel |
| Release |
|
Dadnapped is a Disney Channel Original Movie which premiered February 16, 2009. Starring actors from Disney Channel Original Series,[2][3][4] the movie had 4.6 million viewers for its premiere. Although the story centers on a hostage situation, the kidnappers are inept and the film "practically oozes kid-pleasing content".[5]
Plot
Melissa Morris desperately tries to gain more attention from her always preoccupied father, Neal, a best-selling author. Melissa lives in the shadow of Tripp Zoome, the adventurous and clever hero from her father's popular spy novels. Before a long overdue father-daughter vacation, her father gets kidnapped by obsessive fans: Wheeze with his friend, Sheldon and his brother, Andre.
However, the tables turn when she must team up with them to find and rescue him from Merv and his brothers, Maurice and Skunk. It turns out Merv is just using Skunk and Maurice as part of a plan to get Neal to write one final book and uses his daughter as a hostage. Wheeze, Andre and Sheldon get all of the Trip Zoome fans in town to gather together to rescue Melissa and Neal and they attack when Melissa manages to signal them.
The fans attack Merv, Maurice and Skunk and they try to run but are stopped by more fans. Merv sneaks out with Neil while Skunk and Maurice go after Melissa who escapes. Melissa defeats them and ties them up. Merv nearly gets away, but Sheldon, who had been trying to find where everyone went, spots him and alerts everyone else. Neil is rescued, but Merv tries to get away.
As he runs, Skunk, still tied up, come out and see this and, regretting what they've done, use the floss they're bound in to trip Merv, knocking him down and ending his escape. The police arrest Maurice, Merv and Skunk while Neil thanks his fans. Wheeze gives his number to Melissa before she and her father leave on their long-overdue vacation.
Cast
- Emily Osment as Melissa Morris
- David Henrie as Wheeze
- Jason Earles as Merv Kilbo
- Moisés Arias as Andre
- Denzel Whitaker as Sheldon
- Phill Lewis as Maurice
- Charles Halford as Skunk
- Jonathan Keltz as Tripp Zoome
- George Newbern as Neal Morris
- Jennifer Stone as Debbie (voice)
Reception
Its premiere attracted 4.6 million viewers, outshining Nickelodeon's movie, Spectacular!, which premiered at the same time, by 39%.[6]
Despite its commercial success and positive fan response, it was negatively received by critics. David Nusair called the movie (along with Hatching Pete) "typically underwhelming Disney Channel fare."[7]
Adaptations
Dadnapped: Junior Novel is a book based on the movie, which was due to be released September 30, 2008 in the United States[citation needed] and October 21, 2008 in the UK,[8] but the release date was changed to February 2009 to coincide with the movie's release.
References
- ^ "Salty Pictures gets incentive to shoot 'Dadnapped' in Utah". BNET. 2007-08-18. Retrieved 2008-07-25.
- ^ Dave Smith. "Disney A to Z: The Official Encyclopedia" (PDF). Disney Channel. Retrieved 2008-07-25.
- ^ Alan Baltes (September 2007). "Dadnapped! Casting Information". Retrieved 2008-07-25.
- ^ "Dadnapped TV Show - Reviews, Cast, Schedule & Times and More. Television Shows at Film.com". Film.com. Retrieved 2008-07-25.
- ^ Emily Ashby. Dadnapped. CommonSenseMedia.org. Accessed 2009-03-01.
- ^ "Disney Channel Shines with "Night of Stars" Programming Event" (Press release). Disney Channel. February 17, 2009. Retrieved 2016-08-12 – via TV by the Numbers.
- ^ "Hatching Pete/Dadnapped". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on 2011-06-04. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Amazon.co.uk: Dadnapped: Junior Novel: Disney Press: Book". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2008-07-25.
External links