Disney World

 

With High School Musical 2, available on DVD today, Disney continues the spic-n-span spin it’s been putting on life since it began making contemporary teen movies such as The Misadventures of Merlin Jones and The Monkey’s Uncle back in the mid-1960s.Not that there’s anything wrong with that.For what it’s worth, the music and choreography are excellent — and catchy. Disney has made a science of knowing what the ‘tween and early-teen set want. My 7-year-old daughter loves the soundtrack (much more than the movie), and I’ll admit the Sharpay/Ashley Tisdale-sung Fabulous occasionally pops into my head, where it remains stuck despite efforts to unstick it.But watching HSM’s young stars makes the mind wander. I wonder which paths these pretty young things will take after the Disney springboard has landed them who knows where. They could follow Mouseketeer Britney Spears (arguably bad). They could also become the next Ryan Gosling or Justin Timberlake (arguably good).hat outcome could be determined by motivation. Why do these young stars do what they do? Does a Corbin Bleu sing, act and dance because he is passionate about his work or because he wants to be celebrated? If it’s the former, there could be a train wreck ahead.

Several months ago, my daughter revealed she wanted to be a singer. Why? “Because I want to be famous,” she answered. There’s a lot wrong with that.ve of the art of acting, music, etc., may bring an added bonus of fame, but that love is the important thing; it should be there first.It becomes harder, then, not to be cynical about HSM’s staged innocence: Watching Troy and Gabriella fall further in love; Sharpay scheme and eventually find redemption; Ryan learn to stand up to his sister (Sharpay); and Chad be, well, a sidekick with quirky hair.Still, there’s a reason for Disney’s world. If HSM2 told a real-life story of teen love and high school drama, it would feel creepy.Last week, Superbad, a film that is much closer to real high school than HSM2, made its DVD debut. As a former teenage male, I can verify the movie’s authenticity, which makes me very nervous about what my daughter will have to contend with when she’s 15,16 or 17. It would be so much more easy for me if high school was like Disney’s East High.Disney’s wholesomeness is simply part of popular culture now — we’ve been conditioned to suspend disbelief in the realm of morality, and that brings us comfort. Just like the fries at a McDonald’s in Tulsa taste just like the fries at a McDonald’s in Tucson. It’s a brand. And maybe that’s OK.

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