Johnny Tsunami

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Johnny Tsunami
Johnny Tsunami promotional advertisement
Directed by	Steve Boyum
Produced by	Gerald T. Olson
Written by	Ann Knapp Douglas Sloan
Starring	Brandon Baker Lee Thompson Young Kirsten Storms
Music by	Phil Marshall
Distributed by	Disney Channel
Release date(s)	July 24, 1999
Running time	88 minutes
Language	English
Followed by	Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board
IMDb profile

Johnny Tsunami was a Disney Channel Original Movie released in 1999.

1 Plot Summary
2 Cast
3 Trivia
4 Sequel
5 External links

[edit] Plot Summary

It is about a surfer named Johnny Kapahala who lives in Hawaii. He and his family move to Vermont where he goes to a new school and makes friends as well as enemies. Here he coins the phrase "go big or go home", which becomes his favorite.

In his town, there are two schools: one is a private school where the students are all skiers, and the other is the public school where all the students snowboarders. Although Johnny goes to the skiers' school, he would prefer to snowboard because he thinks it is more like surfing. Although he has a hard time at first, Johnny eventually learns how to snowboard with some help from Sam Sterling (Lee Thompson Young). While at his new school, Johnny meets a girl named Emily, whom he becomes good friends with. However, a skier named Brett who likes Emily as well, challenges Johnny to a race. If Johnny wins the race then the skiers must share the mountain with the snowboarders. But if the skier wins then the snowboarders must leave the mountain completely.

At the same time, Sam's father, who is a sergeant in the U.S. Army, is being relocated, and Sam may move without getting a chance to see the race. As a solution, he and Johnny fly back to Hawaii on a Cargo plane. When Johnny and Sam meet with the Johnny's grandfather (the famous "Johnny Tsunami") who convinces Johnny to go back and face his enemies, and for Sam to go with his father, as it is his destiny. The two head back to Vermont, where Sam ends up being able to stay. Johnny goes on to defeat Brett, allowing him and Emily to begin a relationship.

The two brothers who own the opposite sides of the mountain finally reveal their story. Their parents couldn't agree on what should happen when they inherited the mountain, which ended up being split between the two families. After the race, they finally re-unite.

[edit] Cast

Brandon Baker - Johnny Kapahaala

Yuji Okumoto - Pete

Mary Page Keller - Melanie

Lee Thompson Young - Sam Sterling

Kirsten Storms - Emily

Zachary Bostrom - Brett (as Zach Bostrom)

Gregory Itzin - Headmaster Pritchard

Cylk Cozart - Sgt. Sterling

Steve Van Wormer - Randy

Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa - Johnny Tsunami

Gabriel Luque - Matt

Taylor Moore - Jake

Anthony DiFranco - Eddie

Noah Bastian - Aaron

Anne Sward - Miss Arthur

Ray Bumatai - Mike

[edit] Trivia

This is the 10th Disney Channel Original Movie made by the Disney Channel.
In the scene when Sam and Emily are stuck on the cliff, Emily's snowboard is taken off, but in a later shot when Johnny arrives with help, the snowboard is back on her feet.
The scenes in Vermont were shot in Utah.

[edit] Sequel

A sequel is planned for June 2007. The title is, "Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board" and is going to be filmed in Auckland, New Zealand from January 22 to February 23, 2007.