Cloud 9 is one of the best Disney movies and one of my childhood favorites. Kayla loves snowboarding and is on the elite Swift snowboarding team with her boyfriend, Nick, who’s dad is the coach. But what she does not realize is that she isn’t that good at snowboarding and only made the team because her rich dad, the owner of the ski resort, funds the team. When Kayla is framed for misconduct that destroys both resort property and the property of resort employee, Will, she gets kicked off the team, broken up with, and is forced to work for Will at his dog kennel. Will also gives her a reality check that she is untalented and benefits from nepotism and rigged competitions. Kayla discovers that Will is an exceptional former snowboarder who faced a fatal accident years prior and enlists Will to help her become the best snowboarder and win in the Fire and Ice competition against her former team.

This movie was released in January of 2014, right around the time of the Winter Olympics. A lot of people were very excited to watch these winter events so having a movie with a similar theme was popular. It also stars Dove Cameron who had just launched into stardom on her hit Disney show, Liv and Maddie, and this movie helped showcase her acting abilities. Will is played by Luke Benward, who was also in the DCOM Girl vs Monster which came out in 2012. These actors have exceptional chemistry and are both very talented, especially with the wide range of emotions featured in this film. Crying scenes, near death for both characters, love, anger. They ace it all. Though the love story is not the main part of this movie as much as overcoming adversity is, you can’t help but kick your feet and giggle when Kayla’s ex gets jealous at her holding Will’s hand or when Will storms back up the mountain to kiss Kayla.

The obvious message of this movie is that anything is possible with hard work- the phrase “nothing is impossible” is actually repeated multiple times. But there are actually several others. First is the very cliche lesson to follow your own dreams, not your parents’, which is shown by Nick revealing at the end that his dad forced him to frame Kayla and break up with her, and that he was sick of never being good enough for his dad. There also is the lesson to not underestimate people, as everyone assumed that Kayla could not be a good snowboarder because her dad is rich and she is a girly girl. But she proves them wrong, and one of my favorite scenes is when all-star snowboarder Skye Sailor, who served as Kayla’s replacement on the Swift team, stands up to Nick’s dad. Nick’s dad snaps at Skye saying, “You said you could beat her”, with Skye responding, “and you said she was a pampered princess with no talent. But you were wrong. That girl can ride”. Though it’s subtle, this scene of women supporting women is very impactful on viewers. Plus, it’s great to see two women being girlbosses and dominating their sport.

The perseverance shown by many characters is admirable. Obviously, Kayla has to work extremely hard to get to the snowboarding level she wants to be at. There are montages of her continuously falling and trudging back up the mountain over and over. This shows the reality of hard work- its a process not just an outcome. Kayla has to leave her comfort zone throughout the movie, especially working at the dog kennel. But she makes the best of it and turns it into a great experience. After Will’s snowboarding injury in which he collapsed his lung and broke his back, among other things, he also has to overcome adversity and that mental block from his injury. He, too, must go out of his comfort zone.

Though Kayla’s family is extremely rich, this movie does show some struggles with money through Will’s mom who is struggling to pay rent. Though it’s not a main plot point, it is interesting to see this sort of representation for working class families.

I know I say this for every DCOM, but this movie is seriously so quotable and so funny. And despite not being a musical, the one song within the movie that plays over one of the snowboarding montages is one of the best Disney Channel songs to exist. It is so catchy and both characters are exceptional singers. This overall is such a feel good movie and despite being a little predictable, it is definitely worth the watch.