Raven Symone

In the beginning there were the Cheetah Girls. Way back in 2003, when Hannah Montana was but a gleam in the Disney Channel's eye, Galleria (Raven-Symone), Chanel (Adrienne Bailon), Aqua (Kiely Williams) and Dorinda (Sabrina Bryan) became a bouncy, lovely pop band. Their message was simple: Nothing can keep you from being a star, but only if you remember that friends are more important than fame. Disney has since made billions embracing this creed: the "High School Musicals," "Hannah Montana" and "Camp Rock" all celebrate the glories of stardom while admonishing their audience to always choose friendship over personal glory.

In the beginning there were the Cheetah Girls. Way back in 2003, when Hannah Montana was but a gleam in the Disney Channel's eye, Galleria (Raven-Symone), Chanel (Adrienne Bailon), Aqua (Kiely Williams) and Dorinda (Sabrina Bryan) became a bouncy, lovely pop band. Their message was simple: Nothing can keep you from being a star, but only if you remember that friends are more important than fame. Disney has since made billions embracing this creed: the "High School Musicals," "Hannah Montana" and "Camp Rock" all celebrate the glories of stardom while admonishing their audience to always choose friendship over personal glory.

Raven-Symone wanted to talk "Cheetah." The 20-year-old star of Disney Channel's longest-running series, "That's So Raven," was holding court during the TV industry's press tour at the Ritz-Carlton Huntington Hotel in Pasadena on Monday and was not about to be dissuaded from the task at hand: promoting the August premiere of "The Cheetah Girls 2."

"College Road Trip" is the kind of movie that its audiences will use for blowing off steam and then toss aside as if it were shrink-wrap. This conscientiously juvenile farce, in which an overprotective oaf of a father (Martin Lawrence) shepherds his daughter (Raven-Symone) to a college interview far from home, closes off genuine emotional investment by over-inflating, even excusing its characters' boorish behavior. Lawrence has pulled off this mugging man-child act for so long now that you can leave for refreshments in the middle of his shtick not only feeling you haven't missed much, but able to play your own fill-in-the-missing-Martin-Lawrence-bits game when you return to your seat.

The future head of the would-be Raven-Symone Enterprises or Raven-Symone Inc. sits in a Toluca Lake diner, chewing ice out of a plastic cup, outlining her plans for world domination. "I want to have a record label and a licensing company," declares Raven-Symone. "I want to have a publishing company and a management company where I can launch all kinds of artists. I want to do everything." After a brief pause, Raven-Symone delivers the bottom line, without a trace of irony: "I want to be Disney."

"College Road Trip" is the kind of movie that its audiences will use for blowing off steam and then toss aside as if it were shrink-wrap. This conscientiously juvenile farce, in which an overprotective oaf of a father (Martin Lawrence) shepherds his daughter (Raven-Symone) to a college interview far from home, closes off genuine emotional investment by over-inflating, even excusing its characters' boorish behavior. Lawrence has pulled off this mugging man-child act for so long now that you can leave for refreshments in the middle of his shtick not only feeling you haven't missed much, but able to play your own fill-in-the-missing-Martin-Lawrence-bits game when you return to your seat.

FINALLY Tour set: Actress-singer Raven-Symone will launch a 55-city concert tour of the United States on April 26. It includes performances July 7 at the Nokia Theatre in L.A. and July 9 at the Honda Center in Anaheim. Tickets go on sale Friday. New show: "Farmer Wants a Wife," an eight-episode dating series with 10 city women competing to win the love of a farmer, will debut on the CW April 30.

Three's a Crowd: The ABC sitcom "Hangin' With Mr. Cooper," which has been described as an African-American "Three's Company," will be less crowded this fall with the departure of actress Dawnn Lewis. Sources say the producers want to take the series in "a different direction." Her character will not be replaced, but ABC earlier announced that Raven-Symone, the littlest Huxtable from "The Cosby Show," will join the cast next season.

Do luminaries get the munchies? You bet your sweet patootie they do. When the famous are famished they nibble just like the rest of us. Here's a sampling. * Richard Riordan, mayor: cheese and fruit or Bob's Big Boy hamburger * Frederica Von Stade, mezzo-soprano: potato chips (any variety) * Peter Ueberroth, businessman: Brach's Starlite mints and Butter Toffee candy. * Raven-Symone, actress: fruit, granola bars, Oreo cookies, pizza.

The Bank Job | Thieves steal millions' worth of jewelry in 1970s London. CJ7 | Stephen Chow wrote, directed and stars in this tale about a father whose son receives an otherworldly toy. College Road Trip | An overprotective father crashes his daughter's (Raven-Symone) tour of schools. Girls Rock! | Girls ages 8 to 18 travel from all over the country to attend rock 'n' roll camp in this documentary. Last Stop for Paul | Two friends travel around the world to scatter the ashes of their deceased pal. Married Life | A man decides he must kill his wife so she doesn't suffer when he leaves her. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day | In 1939 London, a proper governess gets caught up in the whirlwind of a glamorous American.

The future head of the would-be Raven-Symone Enterprises or Raven-Symone Inc. sits in a Toluca Lake diner, chewing ice out of a plastic cup, outlining her plans for world domination. "I want to have a record label and a licensing company," declares Raven-Symone. "I want to have a publishing company and a management company where I can launch all kinds of artists. I want to do everything." After a brief pause, Raven-Symone delivers the bottom line, without a trace of irony: "I want to be Disney."

Raven-Symone wanted to talk "Cheetah." The 20-year-old star of Disney Channel's longest-running series, "That's So Raven," was holding court during the TV industry's press tour at the Ritz-Carlton Huntington Hotel in Pasadena on Monday and was not about to be dissuaded from the task at hand: promoting the August premiere of "The Cheetah Girls 2."

Television's popular Huxtable clan garnered nominations in five categories of the 17th Annual People's Choice Awards on Wednesday in Los Angeles. "The Cosby Show" landed a nomination as favorite comedy series, and star Bill Cosby was voted a contender for top male television performer and all-around male entertainer. "Cosby" co-star Phylicia Rashad, who plays Clair Huxtable, was nominated for female TV performer.