Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context Film / CadetKelly

Go To

1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cadet_kelly_1.jpg]]
2
3''Cadet Kelly'' is a 2002 Creator/DisneyChannel Original Movie starring Music/HilaryDuff.
4
5When Kelly Collins's mother marries a retired general, they move, giving Kelly a surprise--she has to go to George Washington Military Academy. She wants to assert her individuality by wearing accessories and carrying around her old blanket, but keeps on getting punished for that by Cadet Captain Stone. Eventually, she can't take it anymore and takes revenge on her. Kelly gets court-martialed and forced to clean the gear of the school's rifle team, leading to acceptance of her stepdad and of the school.
6
7----
8!!Tropes associated with ''Cadet Kelly'' are:
9
10* AmicableExes: Kelly's birth father and mother are alright with one another, but it's a little obvious why they divorced.
11* ArtisticLicenseMilitary: Had Jennifer and Kelly been in the military for real, they would have both been discharged for what they did to each other instead. While it may be justified for how they are in military ''school'', kids in military schools ''are'' held to (albeit watered-down) military standards.
12* TheBully: Cadet Captain Stone towards Kelly.
13* CharacterDevelopment: Kelly and her stepfather Joe eventually give each other the signs of respect and affection which they respectively wanted, Kelly saluting Joe and Joe giving her a fatherly hug.
14* DeliberateValuesDissonance: Kelly of course exhibits much different values than her peers and her stepfather. This is actually [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools not a bad thing for this movie]], and it [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome is done pretty realistically]].
15* DisappearedDad: Averted - surprisingly for a Disney Movie. Kelly's father is a big-time nature buff and explorer, thus he can't exactly take care of Kelly.
16* FireForgedFriendship. Kelly and Jennifer are this to a degree by the end of the movie. At the beginning of the movie, Jennifer sees Kelly’s free-spirited nature as a sign of weakness. At the end of the movie, she sees all the hard work Kelly puts into drill team and gains some respect for her. The two end up rubbing off on each other, with Kelly a little less free-spirited and Jennifer being a little more relaxed. At the end, Kelly is actually disappointed that Jennifer is leaving the school.
17* HardWorkMontage: When Kelly is learning how to twirl the rifle to audition for her school's rifle team.
18* HiddenDepths: One of the fellow cadets who drills Kelly turns out to have a poetic spirit when she reveals she does often think of the beaches from back home.
19* MaliciousMisnaming: Captain Stone often calls her students "maggots".
20* MilitaryBrat: Kelly becomes a military brat because her mother married an ex-general turned commandant of a military school. Jennifer is a much more clear-cut example, revealing at the end of the movie that she has to move away because her father got reassigned.
21* MilitarySchool:The main setting of the film.
22* OrderVersusChaos: Kelly just wants to express her creativity and individuality, while Jennifer just wants to enforce the rules. Ultimately, [[spoiler: Kelly finds a way to be creative through her school's rifle team.]]
23* {{Revenge}}: Because Cadet Captain Stone destroyed Kelly's blanket, Kelly gets back at her by painting her hair while she sleeps.
24* SeriousBusiness: The Drill Team. As anyone can tell you, this is actually TruthInTelevision - It's considered to be a big ''honor'' to be in the Drill team or the Color Guard.
25* WickedStepfather: Surprisingly averted with General Joe Maxwell, Kelly's stepfather. He is strict and authoritative, but mostly because he's a ''military general'' in charge of a ''military'' school and is trying to learn how to be a good father. It causes some strain, but in the end he and Kelly do warm up and compromise with each other.

Top