Josie (Rachael Leigh Cook), Melody (Tara Reid) and Val (Rosario Dawson) are life-long friends from Riverdale determined to take their band out of the garage and into the stratosphere - while staying true to their own look, style and sound. Their look's not trendy, and they don't care. Neither is their sound, but they mean every word they sing. And when nobody show up at their gigs they understand that real musicians have to pay their dues. Unfortunately, the Pussycats live in a glitz-obsesses world where trends change every week, and labels, status symbols and brand names rule.

Courtesy photo

Within days, they have the number one single in the country, everyone is wearing cat ears, and they are swarmed when they walk the city streets. They look amazing, and their calendars are filled with recording sessions, photo shoots, MTV tapings, concerts and parties.

But they soon learn that there is an insidious element behind all the glitz and glamour. All is not what it seems and the Pussycats will ultimately have to bare their claw and fight to save their lives.

Josie and the Pussycats first appeared on the pages of an Archie comic book in 1963. They developed their moves with a Hanna-Barbera cartoon series from 1970-72, and now they have become living, breathing, 21st century heroines for a new generation of fans.

Chuck Grimes and Tony DeRosa-Grund joined with film veteran Marc Platt to initiate the project. Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont wrote the screenplay and directed the film as a team. But filmmakers agreed that the music had to represent the voice and energy of the girls. So music producer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds and wife, film producer Tracey Edmonds, were added to the production team. In fact Babyface serves as one of the film's executive producers.

Babyface produced all the music with Dave Gibbs, who co-wrote many of the songs. To achieve the authentic musical feel of the film the three actresses had to endure an intense two-week `band camp.' Everyone had to work on their own instruments to make it look effortless but they were in fact expected to sing back up on all the songs in the film. Josie's vocals is actually delivered by Kay Hanley, lead singer for the group Letters to Cleo.

"There was no question going into this project that somehow we had to create and bring a high level of authenticity to the music," said Tracey Edmonds. "So in essence the major challenge was to engender originality while achieving believability with the girls. What resulted can be likened to sort of a female Blink 182."

"When you're not really a musician, the instruments are foreign to you said Dawson, who has also starred in Spike Lee's "He Got Game" and alongside Vanessa Williams and Usher Raymond in "Light It Up." "They taught us to play without being too conscious of the instruments, so that we could sing at the same time - and make it look fun and effortless." Tracey Edmonds savored their transformation. "One of the most gratifying aspects of this project was witnessing the progressive confidence gained by the girls - they really started to feel like a band."

Universal Pictures' "Josie and the Pussycats" opens April 11.