ALL SCI-FI

[Pow]

"Tiger Cruise" August 6, 2004 was a made-for-television Disney Channel original movie.

Teenage Maddie Dolan has been invited by her father, Commander Gary Dolan, to participate in Operation Tiger which is a week-long cruise for military family & friends on board USN vessels.

Maddie accepts her dad's invitation because she desperately wants him to resign his commission and come home to be with the family.

Along the way, Maddie befriends fellow "tigers" Tina and Anthony who both have siblings on board the the USS Constellation.

Shortly into the cruise, America is attacked by terrorists on September 11, 2001.

When the Constellation is ordered to full alert, both crew and guests must deal with the fear and uncertainty that lays ahead of them.

This was a very interesting TV~movie set around real life tragic events.

Seeing how Maddie, Tina, and Anthony cope and truly realize the importance of their loved ones work on board the Constellation.

Filmed aboard the USS John C. Stennis and the USS Nimitz in San Diego.

The actual filming on board USN vessels added to the realism of this TV-movie. No Hollywood sets here, you experience the real deal.

Maddie, Tina, and Anthony all have some growing up to do.

And they all do so admirably over the course of the film.

The TV-movie is partly based on the real life event when the USS Constellation was ordered to return from her 2001 Pacific deployment with "Tigers" on board during the September 11, 2001 attack.

[Bud Brewster]

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I'd love to see this movie, but IMDB says, "Like most other Disney Channel Original Movies before High School Musical (2006), this one never made it to video."

I can't even find a trailer on YouTube!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

IMDB has several interesting trivia items for this production.
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~ After the scene where everyone is in the bakery and banging on pots, it took three months of thorough cleaning to finally get the space back up to Naval Health Standards.

Note from me: I question this claim. Why would it take three freakin' months just to clean a bakery?

~ Tiger Cruise is one of the few Disney Channel original movies to have a TV-PG rating. This was given due to containing references to the events of September 11, 2001.

Note from me: Perhaps I'm being insensitive, but I don't quite get why young people should be shelter from knowing about the attack. The kids would either be old enough to appreciate the situation or too young to really understand it. And this movie merely "contains references to the events".

What am I missing here, guys? After all, I'm a retired elementary school teacher, the father of two, and the grandfather of two. I should understand the nature of children pretty well.

~ Like most other Disney Channel Original Movies before High School Musical (2006), this one never made it to video.

Note from me: Thankfully, this is no longer true. It is in fact now available.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Pow]

You're spot on regarding that the older children should be informed as to the tragic 911 attacks, while the youngest kids would not be able to comprehend the situation, Bud. Although at least some of younger ones would probably pick up on the adults and older kids' demeanor having changed after the attacks.

Your teaching background would absolutely qualify you, Bud, to make that insightful analysis.

Come to think of it, the script could have been written to have someone just like you as one of the Tiger Cruise guests on board.

A male or female elementary teacher is consulted by the EXO for guidance as to how to handle the youngsters in this situation since it sure ain't in the Navy Rule Book.

[Bud Brewster]

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As a matter of fact, I was a 4th grade teacher in 2001, and when the word about the World Trade Center attack spread throughout the school, all the teacher were told not to turn on the news programs and allow their students to see the the shocking pictures of the Trade Center towers on fire.

The thinking by the school administrators was that the children's parents should be allowed to talk with their kids about the situation after they got home. And these parents could then decide what to let the kids see on television after they'd reassured them that the situation didn't threaten them or their families directly.

My point, of course, is that on September 11, 2001 — the day the horrible attack took place — professionals who deal with young children knew that adults all across the nation would be helping their kids deal with the knowledge of the terrorist attack. It was a subject that could not be avoided.

But it seems odd that Disney would think that kids who watched Tiger Cruise in August of 2004 — three years later — wouldn't have long since accepted the reality of 9/11 and learned to deal with it.

I assume the movie includes news footage of the event, and the characters aboard the ship would react with horror at the TV images. But by late 2004 those images had been seen countless times on television, so it seems unlikely that it would be especially upsetting by the time.

Apparently Disney decided to err on the side of caution (aka, "cover their ass") by giving the movie the TV-PG rating.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Pow]

The musical score for Tiger Cruise is wonderful.

The scene towards the end of the movie where Maddie and her father talk is beautifully done and nicely supported by the score leading to a terrific rousing piece of music as they show the carrier in the finale.