High School Musical 2: Extended Edition (2007)

"Curiosity killed the cat." This cat {guiltily} enjoyed this Disney Channel Original movie. Building on the success of the first one, the entire cast returns for more singing, dancing and innocent cavorting.

High School Musical 2 finds us back at East High School and summer break at hand. Not three minutes into the movie and a song! Led by Troy (Zac Efron) and Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens), summer begins. Like any teen, the entire student body is looking to 'make bank'. {Kids, these days.} Endless interviews bring no hope, until... Sharpay Evans (Ashley Tisdale), nemesis of Gabriella, decides that she and Troy should be together. Miraculously, Troy {and the entire student body} land summer jobs at the country club owned by the Evans family.

When Troy and Gabriella team up for the club's talent show {surprise}, jealous Ryan (Lucas Grabeel) and sis, Sharpay scheme to break it up. Troy gets caught up in a group not his own, the rich and popular group of Sharpay and family as they open the door to the college of his choice. Fortunately best bud Chad (Corbin Bleu), Gabriella and the entire student body are there {from the wrong side of the tracks} bring him back to earth and straighten him out. YEAH! Everyone is bursting with song and ends up happy. Even Ryan.

The infectious disease that is HSM is taken to the next level here. The production is pure Disney and that's not necessarily bad. Moral predicaments arise, friendships are tested, but all are neatly handled in true Disney fashion. Parents are mere background noise, popping up to help a teen 'talk it out'. All the real breakthroughs are in song.

The songs are fun and singable. Each main character gets a moment to shine {sometimes cheesily} in a song/dance number of their own. I was glad to see Lucas Grabeel's character get a chance to stretch and on the baseball diamond no less. Memo to Troy, you need less needy friends.

Allow my 20-something brain to dwell on the downside. This isn't Broadway, people. Sitting your children in front of something so mind-numbing could be dangerous to their health. Also, these kids are perfect. The images they reflect, physically, are a bit uncomfortable and for all the play on innocent romance-- yeah, I don't know about that.

Regardless, High School Musical 2 is fun {and better than it's original}. It's a nice family oriented movie that everyone could {if they really wanted to} gather around. Oh, and I mean it when I say 'infectious'.