Back when many of us were kids television was primarily for the grown-ups. The three networks devoted the majority of their resources to the all important prime time schedule. For the younger set all we had was Saturday morning and after school cartoon shows sometimes hosted by an aging comedian. From an age perspective there were only two categories; adults and children. Little if any programming was geared to specific age range with the possible exception of a teen dance shows. This started to change with a series airing on Sunday evening right after dinner; ‘The Wonderful World of Disney’. Walt Disney consistently was busy with his team of ‘Imagineers’ reinvent family entertainment. Now after some sixty years of doing this the Disney Studios are still coming out with the best family shows around. The incredible number of cable stations permits more specific niche programming and once again Disney is leading the pack. Many of their new series are aimed at the tweens, kids from about 10 through 13 or so. Tweens, especially the girls are one of the most powerful demographics driving a multibillion dollar market. One of the latest entries is particularly good for both kids and adults; ‘Sonny With A Chance’ this is a fresh, imaginative series unlike anything I’ve ever come across. True to the long stand Disney motto the basic premise here is dreams can come true. The belief in this is something that even as adults we need to hold on to. Many series are quick to make the clam ‘fun for the whole family’ but few can make good on such as promise like this show does. I am a very long way from the target demographic, even my daughter has left her tweens years behind, but I still found myself unable to keep from enjoying myself. It was amazingly simple to forget adult problem and let the proverbial inner child come out a bit.

The foundation of the series revolves around the title character of Sonny Munroe (Demi Lovato). She is one of the rising stars in the Disney family. They have successfully brought back the old Hollywood studio system where potential stars are carefully groomed with formal training in acting, comedy, singing and dance. Ms Lovato has an excellent singing voice, an amazing stage presence and impeccable comic timing. Helping her introduction to tween fame she is also best friends in real life with the star of another Disney sit-com, ‘Wizards of Waverly Place’, Selena Gomez. Here her character is a nice down-home girl from Wisconsin who had a popular web site that won her a sport on the tween oriented sketch comedy show ‘So Random’. This necessitates the overly enthusiastic Sonny moving to Los Angles with her constantly worried mother, Connie (Nancy McKeon). There is an excellent mother-daughter dynamic between the two, Sonny is full of hope, wonder and a need to be liked while mom is supportive and accepting.

The twist here is the show within a show plot device. This can get tedious quickly if not handled properly but with the implementation here the results keep the series well paced. The format helps with the hackney ‘new girl/ mean girl’ relationship. Sonny confronts the shows’ leading actress Tawni Hart (Tiffany Thornton). She is a diva in the making completely self serving and used to getting her own way. The writers fortunately do not dwell on the rivalry but allows both characters to grow a bit. Nico Harris (Brandon Mychal Smith) and Grady Mitchell (Doug Brochu) are best friend usually playing slapstick roles in the sketches. They are a pretty workable comedy team. Zora Lancaster (Allisyn Ashley Arm) is about 11, the youngest cast member. She has a very high IQ but loves to hind in the props or air vents. Being a series for tween girls there has to be a romantic character which is filled by Chad Dylan Cooper (Sterling Knight). He is the handsome leading character in the tween soap opera ‘MacKenzie Falls’. There is a long standing feud between the two shows trapping Sonny in the middle with a crush on Chad but needed to be part of the team with her show. There are also a couple adults that provide the required comic foils, Marshall Pike (Michael Kostroff) is the executive producer for both shows who tries to keep a positive outlook even when things are spinning out of control. He still lives with his mother and is easily intimidated by Connie. The onset teacher is Joy Bitterman(Vicki Lewis), a stern, humorless person with a tendency to being exceptionally rigid.

There are four episodes here that are light hearted an very enjoyable to watch. The show is a natural for the kids but the parents will get into before the first episode is over. in usual Disney fashion there are plenty of bonus features included. One is the season finale of ‘MacKenzie Falls’, the other main extra is Sonny’s audition. This is perfect for an evening with the family.