High School Musical broke new ground for Disney Channel, giving the cable network a franchise whose impact went far beyond the small screen, topping the Billboard charts, inspiring stage shows and live concerts, and concluding with a theatrically released third film. While ZOMBIES never hit the same level of success, the third (and final?) outting in this Disney Channel Original Movie franchise debuts on Disney+ on July 15th with a widescreen presentation that is bigger and bolder than the previous films. Tackling large themes of acceptance, ZOMBIES 3 showcases the power of coming together and accepting each other’s differences.
(Disney/John Medland)
It’s senior year and Addison (Meg Donnelly) is heading to Mountain College in the fall. She and Zed (Milo Manheim) would like to stay together as a couple, but long-distance relationships are hard. Therefore, Zed sets his sights on becoming the first zombie ever to go to college. But when a group of teenage extra-terrestrials arrive in Seabrook and enroll at the school, Zed suddenly finds his class rank slipping behind these new residents.
Taking a queue from High School Musical 3: Senior Year, the heart of ZOMBIES 3 is about its central couple coming to terms with a potential future without one another. Filling in the 90-minute runtime is a story arc that primarily couples up many of the tertiary characters, including some of the new alien arrivals. And this creates tension when one of the characters, A-spen (Terry Hu), develops a crush on Zed.
Previous ZOMBIES films have subliminally tackled themes of racism and classism. Similarly, ZOMBIES 3 adds phobias towards LGBTQ+ people, primarily through the character of A-spen, who is non-binary. Gender-neutral pronouns are used and the character’s story arc, learning about love, becomes applied to a few characters. Adding to the prideful celebration of this character is the Mother Ship, voiced by drag superstar RuPaul.
(Disney/John Medland)
As in the past, ZOMBIES 3 is a pop-infused musical with lavish dance numbers. The film appears to have a bigger budget than previous entries, with better visual effects, cinematography, and staging, although it’s still very much on the scale of a Disney Channel Original Movie, despite dropping “Channel” from the intro. The songs help keep the plot lively, particularly during some weaker story moments that feel stretched for time. But overall, it’s another fun entry to the series that should please its most diehard fans while attracting new ones on Disney+.
ZOMBIES 3 is billed as a likely final entry for the series as a film franchise, although the animated epilogue feels meant to drum up excitement for more projects, be it a series or spin-off film. A core theme of the entire series is inclusion and the third film is no exception, delivering a story about another kind of acceptance around the film’s pre-established characters. But if this truly is the end of Addison and Zed onscreen, fans of the series should feel satisfied by the time the last musical number finishes.
I give ZOMBIES 3 3 out of 5 cheer routines.
ZOMBIES 3 premieres Friday, July 15th, on Disney+. An extended version of the film will premiere on Disney Channel on August 12th with a bonus song.