Candy-colored sequel to two Disney Channel television movies with which the viewer is presumed to be conversant. (In what way, you might have to wonder, did Gabriella change East High forever? And what’s the deal between Troy and Rocket Man?) Evidently intended as an anti-anxiety pill for growing tweens, it should work almost as well for hoary old nostalgists who mourn the illusory innocence of Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland musicals, and who will only need to grit their teeth for the vocal and dance styles. (The roof-garden waltz is most unobjectionable.) Two boys dashing out of the locker room in nothing but towels, straight through a girls’ volleyball game, and into the thick of a stage rehearsal, is about as racy as it gets. The well-scrubbed cast — Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel, Corbin Bleu, Monique Coleman — looks unsettlingly like a collection of dolls. It would not be surprising to find them for sale, singly or as a set, at the Disney Store. Directed and co-choreographed by Kenny Ortega. (2008) — Duncan Shepherd
This movie is not currently in theaters.