Seventeen million viewers tuned in to see Disney’s High School Musical II, the largest cable audience ever. Who knew that there were that many “tweens?” HSM is even bigger than the Disney princess phenomena. There are live concerts, CDs, and soon-to-be-announced ice skating shows. The “kids” in these films are now certified stars, as the paparazzi wait for the cast-members’ first Lohan-like crashes.

This sequel is fun and harmless in a “class struggle” kind of way, sort of Marx with Mouse’s ears. It’s a saccharine teen musical, without the hormones of Grease, and has little to do with adolescence. It’s Caddy Shack meets Andy Hardy (“let’s put on a show”). The HSM gang has summer jobs at a country club, seemingly owned and dominated by the evil Sharpay who tries to turn Troy into an Italian shoe-wearing snob. From a psychological perspective, Troy does find his way (in the desert) giving up some material success and becoming true to himself. I just love when Disney, which sells everything, promotes anti-consumer values.

All ends well in a glorious show put on by the whole group. Zach Efron (Oh my god, Troy) is charismatic and more than one dimensional, as seen by his excellent performance in Hair Spray. Vanessa Hudgens (Gabriella) has real Diva possibilities with a golden voice, but Ashley Tisdale, who plays Sharpay, steals the film with her over-the-top singing rendition of “Fabulous.” As with the first movie, the most entertaining aspect of HSM2 is the dancing. Prosocial messages predominate and there is no sex save for some revealing swimsuits (no bikinis here!) and maybe three kisses. The movie has no violence and limited special effects. This time, Mickey forgoes technology as well as the angst in adolescence.

Michael Brody M.D. mbrody@umd.edu