Bypassing Disney Channel and proceeding directly to Disney+, the story reassembles the usual suspects, in a town which has grown from human beings and zombies coexisting to include werewolves and today, in a particularly fragile flourish, aliens. Naturally , the UFO that appears over Seabrook High brings yearbook-photo-ready teens whose alien lineage is defined by their blue curly hair and a few dots on the face, just not the type of face dots about which most children fret.
Adding a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it environmental message to the package, the aliens have come to Earth seeking a new house, with ecological devastation having destroyed their world. But they must locate Seabrook’s many precious artifact to find it, giving them a reason to hang around, get to know the gang plus engage in some gravity-defying cheerleading, offering the preview of the actual 17th season associated with “Glee” might have appeared as if.
When it comes to original players, living dead Zed (Milo Manheim) is eager to become the first monster to get admitted to Hill College, primarily to prevent worrying about breaking up with their girlfriend Addison (Meg Donnelly). After all, long-distance relationships can be challenging, even before the on the planet ? invasion puts an alternative spin on that phrase.
Back in 2018, long before the recent conservative assaults against the studio , “Zombies” felt enthusiastic and progressive by Disney Channel requirements, and the film continues along those lines, as one of the aliens (Terry Hu) signifies a non-binary character. Yet as built almost everything here merely feels louder plus clunkier, as if throwing more people in to the song-and-dance numbers will certainly compensate for their mediocrity.
The exceptions, not surprisingly, are a reprise of the soulful ballad “Someday” from the original film and a new one sung by Donnelly, “I’m Finally Myself, ” which delivers underlying feelings of being different and coming to grips with who seem to you really are that will resonate in a way little else here does.
Disney has been especially skilled at minting younger stars as it helps to keep the musical with your life through these teenager formats, built in regards to colorful mix of music, magic and wide comedy. But this kind of commodities also come with expiration dates that will aren’t always easy to pinpoint in advance yet become painfully apparent with the benefit of hindsight.
As a case study look no further than “Zombies 3, ” that might not need to be look over its last rites but at least should schedule an extended relaxation before anyone starts thinking about bringing the franchise back to life once again.
“Zombies 3” premieres July 15 upon Disney+.