| Genre: | Musical |
| Based On: | |
| Director: | Steve Carr |
| Starring: | |
| Composer: |
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| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Executive Producer: |
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| Producer: | Lisa Towers |
| Cinematography: |
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| Editor: | Craig Herring |
| Runtime: | 90 minutes |
| Company: | Bad Angels Productions |
| Network: | Disney Channel |
Freaky Friday is an American musical television film that premiered as a Disney Channel Original Movie on August 10, 2018. Based on the 1972 book of the same name by Mary Rodgers and the 2016 Disney Theatrical Productions stage adaptation by Bridget Carpenter; the movie is the fourth feature film installment in the Freaky Friday franchise. The adaptation stars Cozi Zuehlsdorff and Heidi Blickenstaff.
The film starts off with Ellie and her two friends, Karl and Monica, discussing an annual school-wide scavenger hunt. Ellie's brother Fletcher comes in and does a magic trick, but she is unimpressed. Fletcher steals an hourglass that Ellie's late father had given to her.Meanwhile, Katherine Blake is preparing for her impending wedding to her fiancé Mike. Katherine wishes that Ellie would take more responsibility for herself, while Ellie wishes her mother would understand what it is like to be her. When Katherine follows Ellie to her room they fight over the hourglass and switch bodies. They must find the identical hourglass given to Katherine, but Katherine sold hers. Katherine goes to Ellie's school and Ellie stays at the house.
The bulk of the film deals with the comic fallout resulting from the body-switching. Katherine (as Ellie) deals with bullying from mean girl Savannah and commiserates with Ellie's crush Adam, while Ellie (as Katherine) does her best to prepare for the wedding. At the same time, they discover that the missing hourglass has been purchased as an item for the school scavenger hunt.
"Ellie" takes Fletcher on a walk and tells him that parents lie and he will never go to Vegas. He becomes upset and runs away. Adam finds Fletcher and convinces him to return home. Adam then says that he might consider putting the hourglass on the list.
"Katherine" tells Mike she loves him and resolves to treat Fletcher better. "Ellie" obtains the hourglass in a fight with Savannah and wins the hunt. She then goes to the wedding and attempts to switch bodies with the real Ellie, but it does not work. The wedding starts, but she stops it and declares how much she loves Katherine, which causes them to switch back and they reconcile.
The film is based on the novel Freaky Friday by Mary Rodgers, and Disney's stage adaptation of the novel. Heidi Blickenstaff reprises her role as the mother, Katherine Blake, from the stage version, and Cozi Zuehlsdorff plays the daughter, Ellie Blake.[1] Steve Carr serves as director and executive producer, Bridget Carpenter serves as screenwriter, Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey serve as composers, Susan Cartsonis and Thomas Schumacher serve as executive producers, and John Carrafa serves as choreographer.[2] [3] The film premiered on Disney Channel on August 10, 2018.[4] [5]
IndieWire rated the movie A−, stating, "In the case of Disney Channel’s latest adaptation, dusting off “Freaky Friday” to reimagine it as a full-blown, Broadway-inflected musical is more than worth the effort thanks to its talented cast, infectious songs, and lively musical numbers."[6] Common Sense Media rated the movie 4 stars out of 5, indicating, "Musical reboot's heartwarming themes are great for families."[7]
During its premiere in the 8:00 PM time slot, Freaky Friday attracted a total of 1.58 million viewers with a 0.29 rating for people aged 18–49, making it the lowest-rated Disney Channel Original Movie premiere of the last decade,[8] until the premiere of Kim Possible in 2019. Over the course of seven telecasts during the first three days of airing, the film attracted a total of 7.2 million viewers, including 3.1 million among kids 6–14.[9]