Descendants

For its 2015 movie musical, Disney Channel tries to make some familiar Disney characters into a “High School Musical” type story and the results disappoint.

At almost two hours, “Descendants” feels too long and completely intentional (Rob Owen noted in his review, “A final-seconds tease of a potential sequel seems like a grafted-on afterthought that is particularly presumptuous”).

Owen noted, “Director/choreographer Kenny Ortega, who made “High School Musical” a hit, is hamstrung by a paint-by-numbers plot in a script by writers Josie McGibbon and Sara Parriott, veterans of “The Starter Wife” and “Desperate Housewives.”” The songs are done far apart and few of the songs are catchy or memorable.

The movie’s story is smart though: Disney villains Maleficient (Kristen Chenoweth), the Evil Queen (Kathy Najimy), Cruella de Vil (Wendy Raquel Robinson) and Jafar (comedian Max Jobrani) have been banned to an island away from the fantasy mainland of Auradon, where Ben (Mitchell Hope), the 16-year-old son of Belle (Keegan Connor Tracy) and former beast King Adam (Dan Payne) from “Beauty and the Beast,” is about to be named king.

For his first rule, Ben wants to give the children of those four Disney villains a chance at healing on the mainland at his prep school.

Maleficient’s daughter, Mal (Dove Cameron), is somewhat the leader of the pack, along with Evil Queen’s daughter, Evie (Sofia Carson), Jafar’s son, Jay (Booboo Stewart) and Cruella de Vil’s cynophobic son, Carlos (Cameron Boyce).

The four start off by singing how bad they are (I’m rotten to the core/I’m not like the kid next door), but this is Disney Channel so by the end of the movie you know they will be making themselves good, mainly Mal, who falls in love with Ben. (“I can look into your eyes and tell you’re not evil,” Ben assures Mal.)

“Descendants” lets Kristen Chenoweth have a song, and for nostalgic reasons the Auradon Prep Family Day has a hip-hop version of Be Our Guest from “Beauty and the Beast.”

Owen ended his review by saying, “While “High School Musical” couldn’t lay claim to staking out new territory in teen drama, it benefited from a lack of TV musicals at the time of its pre-“Glee” premiere, a fresh cast with chemistry, and some toe-tapping earworms. These elements made “High School Musical” a fresh attempt to push the Disney Channel movie form through experimentation. The dull “Descendants” has none of that; it just seems like a widget – albeit an occasionally cute, harmless widget – churned out by the Disney machine.”

Now look, as smart as this idea may be, I still couldn’t find myself getting into this. Everyone acts like they are just following directions to a stage show, which I can’t blame them, as they are all doing the best they can. I just don’t really like the way this turned out. However, I know that people like this movie, so people can check it out, as it’s not one of the worst I have seen, but if you don’t want to see it, it won’t hurt you. If you feel you will find this boring and dull, it’s best you don’t see it then.

Look out tomorrow when I look at the sequel to this film in “Disney Channel Original Movie Month.”

Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension

In a fair and just world, children would have access to safe homes, healthy food, perfect educations, and smart, funny TV shows they could watch and re-watch so much. Noel Murray noted in his review, “In 2011, about all the powers-that-be can reasonably guarantee is the latter, thanks in large part to shows like the Disney Channel’s Phineas And Ferb. Since 2007, Dan Povenmire and Jeff “Swampy” Marsh’s snappy little cartoon series has entertained youngsters (and a fair number of their parents) with the adventures of two good-hearted, super-smart stepbrothers, who construct crazy inventions and defy their vindictive older sister Candace (Ashley Tisdale), all while their pet platypus Perry squares off covertly against evil-but-hapless scientist Heinz Doofenshmirtz. The appeal of Phineas And Ferb is immediately clear: The show is funny, fast-paced, and rooted in the “havin’ fun in the summertime” vibe that’s been the backbone of kid-friendly American entertainment since the days of AIP beach-party movies. It’s top-drawer escapism.”

As a TV show, “Phineas and Ferb” usually has two 11-minute stories in a half-hour slot along with commercials. “Phineas And Ferb – The Movie: Across The 2^nd Dimension,” released in 2011, last exactly a completely epic 77 minutes, and the expansion shows some twist at times. The story is smart, with intelligent Phineas (Vincent Martella) and his reserved-but-capable brother Ferb (Thomas Brodie-Sangster) finally finding out that Perry (Dee Bradley Baker) is a secret agent at the same time all three of them are transported to a different dimension where Dr. Doofenshmirtz (Dan Povenmire) has finally figured out his goal of taking over “the tri-state area.” Murray said, “After all the opposite-world particulars are established, Across The 2nd Dimension turns more action-oriented, in ways that deviate from what the series does best.” However, there’s so much here to satisfy “Phineas and Ferb” fans, from the way the movie hinds to the heroes’ past inventions to the way both Doofenshmirtzes collects coins “in case vending machines become the dominant race.” It’s hard not to be entertained by any film that has lines like, “If I had a nickel for every time I was doomed by a puppet, I’d have two nickels…which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it’s happened twice, right?”

One of the enjoyments of “Phineas and Ferb” is its lack of sarcasm. The show makes fun of its own principles sometimes, but never sarcastically or jokily. Nevertheless, it’s an important part of growing up for young people to enjoy entertainment that’s rude, weird and/or smart-alecky.

I was very familiar with this show when it was airing on TV. I never saw it, but I did have a feeling there was a huge audience behind it and that it was actually one of the good, entertaining shows for the whole family to sit and watch. Since I know there are a large number of people who saw this show, check this movie out if you haven’t. As a person who never saw the show but did see this movie, I actually found myself, not surprisingly, thoroughly enjoying this film and would recommend everyone to watch it, if you have or haven’t seen the show. Maybe after watching this you will want to go and watch the show. Maybe I will, but I don’t know yet.

Look out tomorrow when I start looking at a franchise that revolves around the Disney characters I grew up watching in “Disney Channel Original Movie Month.”

The Suite Life Movie

“The Suite Life Movie,” released in 2011, is exactly what you think: a bit of a silly Disney movie. Based on the TV show “The Suite Life on Deck,” it’s about Cody (Cole Sprouse) and Zack (Dylan Sprouse) on their final spring break before going back to school for their last few weeks. Cody receives an internship that is sabotaged by Zack, who gets them another internship that gets them stuck. It is up to them to save themselves and everybody else who are also stuck. Cody and Zack have to get along for their own good and everybody else if they want to escape.

Sarah Peel said in her review, “I will say that I thought that the movie was going to be pointless and even silly to the point that no adult could enjoy it. But, like with many movies before this one, I was surprised at just how funny it was!” Look at when London, played by Brenda Song, thinks that dolphins are camels, which might get some laughs from kids. Or when Zack and Cody fight, which anyone who has a sibling can understand when that happens. It was well written, even if it was slow to begin. Peel said, “I will say that I also feel that they added a lot of thought to it, which is a nice touch for something that the public just learned about late last summer or early fall.”

Peel continued, “I am impressed with how well the characters stayed true to the TV show; I thought that they might get lost in the shuffle. But they stayed strong and were not weakened by Disney. Cody was my favorite, but Zack and London both keep the laughs rolling in. The other characters were just okay; I don’t think they carried the movie like Cody, Zack and London did. Still, I think it was well rounded for a Disney movie. Even if it was a little thick in the plot in some areas.”

The story was fine, but it is what you would predict from Disney. Still, it may be cute enough for even adults to find humor in the film. It was well written, acted and directed, which is fine for a Disney Channel Original Movie. Peel admitted, “However, I will say that it is clearly not the best movie ever made by any means. It was above what I expected, but I do think that they could have made it a stronger movie. With that being said, I can still say that I think most hard core The Suite Life On Deck fans will love it, and perhaps some who are not fans of the show would get a lot out of it.”

The sets and camera angles were sometimes awkward. Filming on a boat may not help their cause. Peel said, “I think that the first few shots did not have a proper angle; it did not show Zack’s whole face when he was with his friend. I think that sort of lowered the movie a bit, but during the rest it appeared to work fine. I think it helped that most of it was filmed on land; that bad angle was corrected, but I was shocked that Disney did not edit that out.” It does not reflect well on Disney in any way.

Peel admitted, “For my age group recommendation, I will say that I do think it is safe for even young kids to watch. Of course, I would not expect anything less from Disney.”

Peel continued, “As for my final thoughts on the movie, I will say that I did enjoy it. But I also did not allow myself to have high hopes for it, so it did not disappoint me. It in fact gave me a surprise in how well it turned out.” This film is not bad, but in no way close to being perfect.

I know that there is a fanbase for “The Suite Life” show, which I am familiar with, but never watched. This film is decent and is good for adults to watch only once, if they want to see it for themselves. But for kids who are fans of the show, they may want to watch it multiple times seeing how they are fans of this show. If adults can watch this more than once, good for them.

Stay tuned tomorrow where I look at another film that I really enjoyed in the next review in “Disney Channel Original Movie Month.”

A Christmas Story

You may want to debate the idea, but “A Christmas Story,” released in 1983, has become the most watched Christmas movie ever. “It’s a Wonderful Life” sometimes seems to not be thought about. Any version of “A Christmas Carol” is known because Scrooge still ends up old and, for the most part, alone. Only “A Christmas Story” takes you on a remembrance to your youth and keeps you laughing and entertained all the way up to the very satisfying finale.

Brothers, Ralphie (Peter Billingsley) and Randy (Ian Petrella) live with their parents somewhere in the Midwest. The father, played by Darren McGavin, is an excitable man who likes to swear and fight with the furnace and neighbors. The mom, played by Melinda Dillon, has almost endless patients. Randy is the little brother who just wants to fit in with Ralphie and his friends.

Finally we have Ralphie. He is the main part of the movie and represents every child on Christmas. He wants more than anything to have the real Red Ryder 200-shot Carbine Action Air Rifle for Christmas. The only problem is that everyone keeps warning him that “You’ll shoot your eye out.” Even Santa Claus, played by Jeff Gillen, puts down his spirit in one of the funniest Christmas moments ever seen on film.

What makes “A Christmas Story” a classic is that everyone can relate to Ralphie. In Ralphie’s dilemma we see the genuine spirit of what Christmas is all about: Getting Presents! Eric said in his review, “Yes, I know of the Nativity Story and the lesson of "It is better to give than receive", but to a child, Christmas is the one time of year when it is not only okay to be greedy, it is encouraged.” Adults still enjoy the holidays, but for children, Christmas is just a joyous occasion. They ask for gifts and wait for that magical morning to see if their gifts have been given. Ralphie’s journey takes the adult audience through a trip down memory lane while children easily recognize themselves in him.

“A Christmas Story” is a true holiday movie that it gets shown on Christmas Day on AMC. It’s seen so many times around the holiday time. Eric noted, “The house where the movie was filmed has recently been bought and renovated to look like the movie set. You can take tours. I have seen shirts with the cast on them. I saw ornaments based on the movie for sale in stores. I have even seen the Red Ryder BB Gun for sale. One store was giving a copy of the DVD away with every purchase of the gun.”

Like all classic films, “A Christmas Story” is filled with memorable lines, “Only I didn’t say ‘Fudge.’ I said the word, the big one, the queen-mother of dirty words, like ‘F-dash-dash-dash’ word!” “Fra-gee-lay. That must be Italian.” “Randy lay there like a slug! It was his only defense!” “Well I double-DOG-dare ya!”

Eric ended his review by saying, “No matter who you are, A Christmas Story is as satisfying as having a warm mug of hot chocolate and a Christmas cookie after a day of sledding down a snow covered hill with family and friends.”

It’s not like the works of Jean Shepherd have been refused so many radio, television, and movie interpretations over the years, but making a direct sequel to the holiday returning “A Christmas Story” almost 30 years after its theatrical release? Brain Orndorf said in his review, “That seems like a foolish idea, or perhaps an act of loathsome corporate teat-yanking with a cinematic gem. Indeed, we are now faced with a follow-up to a bona fide classic, and it happens to be the most environmentally conscious feature I’ve come into contact with, unafraid to brazenly recycle anything and everything about the 1983 film, hoping to entice a new generation of Ralphie admirers. Shamelessly derivative and plasticized, “A Christmas Story 2” will only have you wondering why you’re not watching the original picture again.”

A few years have passed for the Parkers, but nothing really has changed. Randy, played by Valin Shinyei, is crazy over Buck Rogers, going around the neighborhood in costume. Ralphie (Braeden Lemasters) is close to his 16^th birthday, wanting to get a car to impress his crush (Tiera Skovbye). His mom (Stacey Travis) stays a loyal housewife, trying to hold everyone together with “bite the bar” threats while losing her patience with his dad (Daniel Stern), who continues to complain about everything, give clichéd words of wisdom, and fight with a broken furnace. When Ralphie tries to see the inside of his dream car, he releases the breaks and gets it into an accident, so this poor protagonist needs cash quick to pay for the damages before his parents find out, getting a part-time job at local department store Higbee’s, along with his friends Flick (David W. Thompson) and Schwartz (David Buehrle). Not being able to take the frustration of the holiday shopping season, Ralphie sees trouble, while his dad, not wanting to pay the overpriced amount for his favorite Christmas turkey, goes out into the freezing cold to ice fish his family a holiday meal.

Obviously, there’s no need for “A Christmas Story 2,” released in 2012, to be made without the involvement of the original cast and crew (sadly, a few have passed away over the decades). Orndorf noted, “However, that doesn’t stop director Brian Levant from attempting the impossible, hoping to match the warm nostalgia and acidic sense of Shepherdian humor from the earlier picture by simply reworking the same jokes with an adolescent Ralphie. It’s actually shocking to find the script by Nat Mauldin (who also accepts narration duties) so slavish to the original, as though anyone sitting down to watch “A Christmas Story 2” might have no working knowledge of the earlier effort, requiring a refresher on established temperaments, habits, and slapstick situations.”

Except for the Bumpus dogs and the fear of Scut Farkus, every single joke and situation of disaster comes back in “A Christmas Story 2.” Like Randy and the amount snow gear, the father’s furnace fight and turkey love, Ralphie’s “Fuuuuuudge!” yell and many daydreams of heroism, a twist with an irritable department store Santa, played by Garry Chalk, the leg lamp, the chop suey/bowling alley location, the reveal of Aunt Clara’s Christmas morning costume, and Flick’s pressure to stick his tongue in terrible areas (in this film, a pneumatic tube). From beginning to end, it’s a completely copy.

In small amounts, references to the 1983 film are nice, good for a few laughs as Ralphie’s story continues. Levant basically ends the sequel in copying; hoping this extended copy of “A Christmas Story” is enough to call it as a sequel. Orndorf noted, “There’s also some initial effort to match the brief flashes of profanity that marked the original, while the follow-up chases its own sauciness by building sight gags around female undergarments and chest-centric tomfoolery, bending the PG rating.”

Orndorf continued, “What’s new here is the Old Man’s ice fishing obsession, though the sense of isolation and ungodly cold is undercut by the use of cheap backgrounds and echoed sound, keeping the movie uncomfortably set-bound, while crude CGI takes cares of the time machine aspects of the story. Ralphie’s maturation is perhaps the most interesting subplot of the picture, watching the once geeky kid grow as a teenager, developing crushes on girls and praying for some four-wheeled independence to come his way.” It’s a terrible job to be like Peter Billinglsey, but Lemasters does what he can, creating a concerned, whiny Ralphie who always gets problems. His work at Higbee’s would normally be a perfect escape from the family film cliché, but Levant doesn’t want to do that, going back on annoying slapstick routines as an easy way.

Orndorf ended his review by saying, ““A Christmas Story 2” closes with a conventional display of holiday charity and do-goodery, along with a tree-side present unwrapping montage to successfully mirror the original film. It’s a cheap sense of seasonal morality, but appears perfectly at home inside such a relentlessly artificial production. Instead of bringing these itchy characters into a new realm of domestic destruction, encouraging a sequel that urges the franchise forward, “A Christmas Story 2” merely traces over previous accomplishments, hoping adults won’t mind the repetition and kids won’t understand they’re being fed moldy leftovers.”

I’m sorry, but even though the first one is overplayed, it’s still a classic Christmas movie that I wouldn’t mind seeing again, just not every year. However, the sequel was really unneeded. I think the blame is for people overplaying the first movie and marketing off so many merchandise and accessories that of course they would make a sequel because they wanted to make a huge money grab. If you loved the first movie, like everyone does, stay away from the sequel at all costs. You will plague the day that you even thought of checking it out.

Yes, I know they made “A Christmas Story Live” a couple of years back, but I’m not seeing that one at all.

Happy Holidays to all my online readers. I hope that everyone had a blessed day today, and hopefully you got plenty of good gifts. Stay tuned tomorrow for the continuation of “Disney Channel Original Movie Month.”

Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam

A recurring them throughout “Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam,” released in 2010, is how one loses their essence and identity when looking for something bigger and less successful. Ryan Cracknell said in his review, “It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy as the bubble gum sequel hardly attempts to add any sort of depth or purpose to its characters.” Instead, it looks more like a commercial for the soundtrack.

Cracknell said, “Don’t get me wrong, Camp Rock wasn’t exactly a P.T. Anderson exploration of character nuance. It was a cutesy summer film aimed at pre-teen girls with crushes on one of the brothers Jonas. Relatively harmless, it was lightly enjoyable and disposable at the same time. This time around, things are a little more snarky.” The story is not about teenage love and music put wanting votes and doing large performances that distract from dull music.

Cracknell said, “Channeling equal parts American Idol and Glee, Camp Rock 2 adds far too much glitz to the summer camp atmosphere. Camp is a place normally reserved for lake-side belly flops off rickety docks, poison ivy and slop house mashed potatoes.” This time it’s fireworks and spotlights as the competitive Camp Star locates right next to Camp Rock. Sacrificing relationships for professional material, Camp Star is a place of all work and no unstable docks. It’s a place of high expectations and surplus. Because of this expensive method, it’s threatening to actually close down the comfortable Camp Rock. The best solution they can come up with is to make a performance contest on TV. Cracknell was funny when he asked, “Where’s Simon to smack some sense into these folks?”

Even though they were past the peak in popularity, the Jonas Brothers were still more familiar than they were in the first film. It’s not a surprise when all three Jonas Brothers have taken on the starring roles instead of just Joe Jonas and small parts for his brothers. Cracknell said, “And while I do consider them much more talented than most of their other teenaged Disney peers, their mix of music and goofiness (not to mention pretty-boy hairstyles) make me think of The Monkees. Whether or not that’s good or bad depends on your view of The Monkees, I guess.”

Demi Lovato got her break starring as Mitchie in the first movie (something I didn’t know is that she was on an episode of “Barney”). Cracknell noted, “She was quirky, a little bit awkward and adorable in a Blossom sort of way. Here she’s a little too Mean Girls minus the sarcastic wit. Her character is the biggest disappointment in the film, getting shuffled aside to play the buzzkill of the Camp Rock group.”

“Camp Rock” isn’t really the huge popularity that “High School Musical” was. Cracknell noted, “Still, this second outing feelings like a bookend to a profitable era for Disney. No doubt they will reinvent themselves shortly with a new flavour of the month.” “Camp Rock 2” isn’t ending off on a high note, except for that nobody will have to deal with it any longer.

I’ll be honest, this film I surprisingly liked better than the first one. I guess the reason why is because the first one was just a pain and hurt to watch and this one is just a basic bad sequel. There wasn’t anything that really drove me to my boiling point, but I was noting everything that just made a typical sequel bad. I guess it wouldn’t hurt to watch it, especially for those who were fans of the first movie. However, for everyone else, you can just watch it once and never have to see it again.

Stay tuned later today when I review my usual Christmas film.

Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie

If Disney is slowly trying to get every child into looking and acting like Miley Cyrus (with all those tattoos), parents might want to have their children watch “Wizards of Waverly Place” instead.

Despite “Wizards of Waverly Place” not being as tense as “Hannah Montana,” its first official movie, released in 2009, is a surprisingly helpful and family-friendly movie that should keep tweens wanting magical powers, not tattoos.

Roxana Hadadi said in her review, “Though stars Selena Gomez, David Henrie and Jake T. Austin aren’t nearly as Broadway-ready as those kids from “High School Musical” or as goofy as the ones from “Hannah Montana,” it’s their acting skills that carry the film, which was watched by 11.4 million viewers when it premiered back in August.”

The film starts like a usual episode of “Wizards of Waverly Place,” all about the Russo family, where three kids Alex, Justin and Max (Selena Gomez, David Henrie and Jake T. Austin), all have magical powers they got from their dad, Jerry (David DeLuise). Despite Jerry giving up his powers when he married their mortal mom, Theresa, played by Maria Canals Barrera, he teaches the kids their spell-learning and training for the day when the three of them will fight to become the family’s full wizard – the winner will get all the magical powers and the other two will lose theirs. Even though the oldest brother Justin studies for the test everyday, 16-year-old slacker sister Alex would like to use her powers for her own purposes, like turning the family’s train shop into a train car that can take her and best friend Harper, played by Jennifer Stone, to a party that her parents’ don’t want her to attend.

As a result, her parents find out about her train shop-turned-train car attempt and force Alex to join them on a family vacation to the Caribbean, where Jerry and Theresa first met and fell in love. Just one condition: Theresa, who doesn’t like it when her children use magic to go against her or what they want, forces them to leave the wands at home. Obviously, Justin – who can’t stop using the family’s titanium wand, which works best for him – sneaks that with them, while Alex – who swiped the family’s book of forbidden spells from Justin without his knowledge – packs that in her luggage. The two bring their competitive attitude with them, as well, and soon their different interests (and Alex’s misbehavior and not being able to get along with her mother) make Alex wish her parents had never met. That was bad, Alex.

Hadadi noted, “It’s at that point where Disney takes a little dash of pop culture know-how from “Back to the Future” and some more from “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” and uses those tidbits to round out the storyline: If Alex, Justin and Max can’t reverse the spell or get their parents to fall in love again, they’ll disappear (kind of like Marty McFly). And the only way to reverse the spell is using the Stone of Dreams (kind of like Nicholas Flamel’s alchemy work), which is conveniently buried on the same island the kids are staying at and which Justin and Alex go after.”

Even though you can predict the story – this is Disney, and siblings have to get along while parents faithfully love them – it’s the kids – acting and surprisingly believable special effects which make the film work. Hadadi said, “Gomez is a master at being the annoying, selfish Alex, and her portrayal of a typical 16-year-old rings entirely true (trust me, I’d know), while Henrie works well as the know-it-all Justin, who thinks magic is the only way he’ll amount to anything. The film does a good job at building upon the familial relationships that the show uses on a weekly basis, and though scenes like Alex’s and Justin’s (numerous) heart-to-hearts drag on, they’re necessary to further the film’s plot.”

Put that together with some surprising cool effects, like when Alex and Justin use levitating rocks to cross a huge abyss or their weather-heavy magical fight to be the full wizard, and the film should hold fans of the series while also making some exchanges. Hadadi noted, “It’s frothy and actually fun, and though the special features are somewhat lacking (there are some interviews with the film’s producers and stars about stunts and special effects, but they’re nothing spectacular or particularly insightful), at least it’s not a “Party in the U.S.A.””

That’s actually a good thing, since I never was interested in seeing this show. However, this film is actually good, seeing how it took place in between seasons. I don’t think that I will check out the show after seeing this, but I had an enjoyable time seeing this. If you were a fan of “Wizards of Waverly Place,” then you should see this movie. I think that anybody could see this movie and enjoy. However, if you don’t like the whole “Back to the Future” “It’s a Wonderful Life” copycats, then it may not be for you. For anyone else, check it out and see it for yourself.

Hold on to your seats because tomorrow I’m going to look at the “Camp Rock” sequel in “Disney Channel Original Movie Month.”

High School Musical 3: Senior Year

Jim Schembri started his review by saying, “TWEENS everywhere, brace yourselves for another mega-dose of old-school, clean-cut, family-friendly Disney values as the whole wholesome gang return to dance, jump and sing their way through their final year at the only public high school in America that doesn't have a metal detector.”

Singing basketball player Troy (Zac Efron) is still really in love with his fellow classmate Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens), but while their one-step at a time love for each other knows no bounds there is now the fear of separation.

Gabriella has to leave to get a first look at a potential college, meaning that Troy must have to separate on good terms. He also has to fight with choosing between what he wants and what his somewhat insistent father, played by Bart Johnson, wants.

Schembri noted, “The third instalment of the phenomenally successful - and purely accidental - Disney film franchise is the first to hit the cinema, and while it certainly has the candy-coloured innocent charm of the first two TV movies, the strain is beginning to show as the kids work extra-hard to fill the big screen frame with their youthful energy and playful scheming, with mean girl Sharpay (Ashley Tisdale) still the only dramatically interesting character in the class.”

Alternately animated and expressive, “High School Musical 3: Senior Year,” released in 2008, overstays its welcome, being 20 minutes longer than it needs to, thanks mainly to a final congratulatory roll that just doesn’t want to end.

With that, it is hard not to feel some amount of affection for this confection, since we see the kids graduate and leave to college, where they will continue their education, meet new people and maybe see what love life is.

I know that this was the only theatrically released film in the trilogy, so you might be thinking why I didn’t review this last year? Because I wasn’t going to watch the trilogy out of order! It made more sense to wait until I saw the first two before watching this one or else I wouldn’t have understood anything.

As everyone might guess, I think this one is alright, but I’m not the right age group to see this. Even when these films were coming out when I was in high school, I wasn’t even interested in seeing them since I was at that age where I didn’t watch anything on the Disney Channel. I know there is an audience and fan base for these films, so if you liked the first two, then you can see this one. Everyone else can stay far away from this if you’re not into teen musicals.

Let’s take a break tomorrow from all these musicals and look at another Disney Channel TV show film in “Disney Channel Original Movie Month.”