Disney mining “High School Musical 2”
Joanne Ostrow Migration
Disney mining "High School Musical 2"
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The Denver Post
You want fabulous?

The sequel lacks the air of spontaneity that distinguished the original, as if the players are concentrating too hard, knowing how much is riding on the project. Some of the Wildcats have aged out of their roles. And the country-club setting is too retro-preppy to feel relevant.

But “High School Musical 2” is a hit even bigger than the first, and the Disney marketing machine shows no signs of slowing.

Can a “Middle School Musical” and theme-park ride be far behind?

“HSM2” is sweetly energetic, although the songs don’t stick in the head of the post-teen viewer. I can’t summon many lyrics beyond “Fabulous,” but I can still see the aerobic production numbers in all their cheerleader-jumps-meet-hip-hop exuberance.

Last week’s debut of Disney’s tween sequel was the highest-

rated basic cable telecast of all time, with 17.2 million viewers tuning in. More kids watched it than saw any hour of “American Idol.” Nielsen reported two out of three kids age 6-11 and tweens age 9-14 watching television were tuned to “High School Musical 2.” The share was even higher among girls 6-11 (four out of five of those watching TV).

Disney executives are heralding their latest success as evidence that cable has closed the gap with the broadcast networks. Among “HSM2’s” coups: Its debut was the most-watched telecast on network or cable since the finale of “House” in May and drew the biggest Friday-night audience for anything since an episode of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” five years ago. It outperformed the most-watched network show on Friday – ABC’s “20/20” – by more than 10 million viewers.

In terms of driving eyeballs to other shows (hello, Miley Cyrus) and bringing in revenues across the board, “HSM2” is Disney’s Super Bowl.

Whereas kids made “HSM” a surprise gold mine for the company last year, “HSM2” was a tightly scripted corporate production involving every Disney division. A stage show opened this month; an ice-skating extravaganza launches next month; a theatrical film is due next year. Some 300 licensed products – DVDs, CDs, books, video games, ring tones and more – will be in stores, driving the franchise to omnipresence.

Disney estimates “High School Musical” will contribute $100 million in operating income this year, not counting overseas earnings.

For the week of the premiere, the Disney Channel ranked as the No.3 network, beating NBC.

So how are Troy (Zac Efron), Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens) and Sharpay (Ashley Tisdale) doing this time around?

Their love triangle is still holding the story together, their moral lessons are still overshadowed by director Kenny Ortega’s high-octane choreography.

The standout production number has been relocated from basketball court to baseball diamond, but the film only makes audiences wait one minute before launching into the trademark musical glee (“What Time is It? Summertime!”).

Basketball star Troy is hooked on brainy fellow student Gabriella, but scheming, superficial Sharpay is intent on winning the school’s most popular boy for herself while pulling strings at her parents ritzy country club. (She “wants fabulous,” spending “endless days in my chaise,” in the number that includes a pink baby grand piano in the pool). Can she hold a scholarship over Troy’s head in order to make him heel just like her Paris Hilton-esque pooch?

Tisdale’s villain is campy fun, as she struts from manipulative to ditzy and back. Efron is busy posing for the camera, taking his tween stardom a tad seriously. (When he gazes at his reflection in water, Narcissus-like, he recalls decades of Disney animated heroes.)

While a social-class hierarchy dilemma serves the plot, once the lessons of teamwork and friendship are learned, all is forgiven.

If the original was about following one’s bliss, the sequel is a cautionary tale about losing one’s way. Your moral compass will spin out of control, the story suggests, if you sacrifice team loyalty and inner truth for personal gain.

Like the original, the sequel is about the tricky social order as established in high school, the renewable energy source that is the musical, and the power of a certain American entertainment empire. Not fabulous, but fun.