March 18, 2000 – The Disney Channel Original Movie Alley Cats Strike! Premieres
“Then there’s school. You see Todd McLemore? You know, the one with the winning smile? This is his world, the world of serious athletics, the world I’ll never understand. And you’ve got to figure it’s always going to be that way.”
On March 18, 2000, the Disney Channel Original Movie Alley Cats Strike! premiered. The film was written by Gregory K. Pincus, and was directed by Rod Daniel. It stars Kyle Schmid as Alex Thompson, Robert Ri’chard as Todd McLemore, Kaley Cuoco as Elisa Bowers, Mimi Paley as Delia Graci, Joey Wilcots as Ken Long, Matt McCoy as Kevin Thompson, and Tim Reid as Mayor Jeff McLemore.
The movie begins with teenagers Alex, Ken, Elisa, and Delia heading to Alex’s father’s bowling alley for a few frames before school after eating at Nancy’s Old Fashioned Diner. The four love the style and the music of the ’50s and ’60s, and are considered outcasts at their school, West Appleton High. As Alex narrates the story, he points out the most popular kid in school, Todd McLemore, and how he dislikes the excessive attention paid to serious athletics. There are two schools in the district – West Appleton Jr. High and East Appleton Jr. High – who compete over a trophy known as the Mighty Apple. Since the two high schools will be integrated next year, only one school will be known as the better of the two, and it’s on Todd’s shoulders to bring the Mighty Apple to stay at West Appleton.
Alex and the gang spend another late night at the bowling alley, avoiding the basketball game everyone else is attending
Alex and his friends spend a late night at the bowling alley, with Alex and his father both concerned that no one wants to come bowl. Meanwhile, West Appleton wins the game, tying up the fight for the Mighty Apple. Todd’s father, Mayor Jeff McLemore, is excited about his son and the chance for West Appleton to be victorious over East, but is soon fretting over the sport that East Appleton has picked for the tiebreaker: bowling. When McLemore goes to see the bowling team, it consists of Alex and his friends, but everyone is soon surprised to find that Todd McLemore is signed up on the team list. Todd himself is shocked, but finds out that his friends signed him up in the beginning of the year as a joke. Although Todd greatly dislikes Alex and bowling, he is more concerned with keeping the Mighty Apple at West Appleton. However, his first attempt at bowling is a disaster, and Alex and his friends are unimpressed with his attitude about it.
Alex and Elisa walk home, with Elisa a bit nervous about the pressure. It is obvious that the two like each other. Todd tells his friends that he is certain he will win the apple for West Appleton, and gives the same speech to his father, acting like it’s no big deal. As he continues to practice, he doesn’t improve, and ends up throwing the ball like a baseball, sending it flying across the lanes. Thanks to his pride, he also rebuffs any help Elisa, Delia, and Alex offer him. Todd claims that they all need an attitude check; Alex says that Todd needs to actually learn how to bowl first. Todd finally agrees to listen to Alex and learn how to bowl properly, and Alex is invited to a party at a popular girl’s house by being associated with Todd. Todd is uncomfortable at the party, and heads to Elisa’s after it ends, where she excitedly shows him her scores for the day. She worries that she may lose Alex to the popular crowd, but he tells her not to worry, as it was only one party.
Alex and Todd spy on the East Appleton team, and are shocked to see how good they are
Todd decides after practice one day to go spy on East Appleton’s team, and surprisingly, Alex decides to join him. The two are shocked to find that the East’s team is surprisingly good, and coached by Whipsaw McGraw, a well-known pro bowler. Although Todd is discouraged, Alex offers to teach Todd in the mornings before school. Todd then comes up with a plan to create a party night to save the struggling alley, making the alley the place to be. While Alex reluctantly helps, he is still upset with the idea of changing the alley. Alex’s father tells him that change isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and if it will save the alley, it’s a good thing. While working toward the championship and saving the alley, Alex and Todd start to develop a strong friendship. However, Todd clashes with Alex’s friends, claiming that they have the wrong attitude when it comes to the championship. Entranced by all that Todd experiences, and getting a bit of that fame himself, Alex begins to abandon his friends.
The bowling alley is set up for a party night, and Todd brings everyone in town to bowl. While Elisa, Ken, and Delia are happy that the alley is getting some customers, they dislike how it’s changed, and are disappointed to see that Alex is trying to become like Todd. At the end of the evening, as Alex takes the trash out, he overhears Todd’s friends talking about how they can’t wait until the whole thing is over, as they dislike Alex and want to stop pretending he’s cool. Alex is hurt by this, as he liked being accepted by the other kids for once. The next day, Alex loses his focus, and doesn’t realize that his friends have begun to dislike him as well. Todd then reveals that Mayor McLemore has upped the ante, with the winning team picking the name for the new school. Angry about everything, Alex quits the team and walks away.
The Alley Cats, fully united, enter the bowling alley for the chance to win the Mighty Apple
The match quickly approaches, and the team hasn’t been able to talk to Alex. Elisa and Ken are still annoyed with Todd’s attitude, but Todd apologizes and lets them know that win or lose, they will get their proper credit for a good game. Todd then goes to Alex’s house to talk with him, and admits that bowling is fun, and he wouldn’t want to continue without Alex being there. He then presents Alex with their new bowling uniforms, which Alex accepts. Todd makes Alex promise that whenever he should bowl again, he should just have fun. The day of the match arrives, and the West Appleton team waits anxiously for Alex to show. They are thrilled when Alex decides to compete, and the match gets underway. The teams are closely matched throughout the game, but Alex realizes that they could win the game if he gets three strikes. The player on the East team would need three strikes to keep the lead. When he does, Todd finds that he only needs a spare to give West Appleton the victory. Unfortunately, he gets a seven-ten split, and knows he can’t make the shot. Delia, who didn’t want to bowl, is confident that she can make the shot, and is substituted in for him.
Delia, a math genius, quickly calculates in her head the perfect angle and rotation needed to make the shot, and the ball makes its way slowly down the lane, with everyone watching anxiously. The ball hits one pin, and rotates it enough that it knocks down the other, giving West Appleton the victory. Todd then tells his father that he enjoys the fun of bowling rather than the pressure of winning, and the team should decide what to name the school, which they call “Appleton Central.” The movie ends with everyone enjoying their time at the bowling alley, with swing music playing in the background.
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