To say you don't like "High School Musical 3: Senior Year" is to say you don't like candy. Or babies. Or puppies.

There's just no way to resist the movie's candy colors and pretty teen stars. Even its formulaic songs have a way of burrowing into your heart after awhile.

Everything about "High School Musical's" big-screen debut is bigger and better than its previous made-for-Disney Channel movies.

The many, many musical numbers are like G-rated Vegas productions with elaborate sets and multiple costume changes — especially Ashley Tisdale's "I Want It All" song.

The flirty outfits seem straight out of the pages of Seventeen magazine, including the ridiculously cute prom dresses.

And, most importantly, heartthrob Zac Efron — a big reason for the show's frenzy — is extra Zac Efrony.

Whether he's in a powder-blue tuxedo or in a grimy flannel shirt, his shaggy hair and blue eyes magnified on the big screen are enough to cause screaming fits in tween-filled theaters. (You don't even want to know how loud it will get when he takes off his shirt. Trust me.)

Once again, the story centers around Efron's character, Troy Bolton. The basketball star and his fellow Wildcats decide, once again, to perform in their school's spring musical. They're graduating, you see, and this is the last time they'll be able to do something together.

But along with rehearsing for the play, the gang also worries about what it's going to do after graduation.

Troy's girlfriend, Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens), got into Stanford early, but will she leave Troy? The drama kids, meanwhile, are competing for a Juilliard scholarship.

Troy and his best friend, Chad (Corbin Bleu), are on their way to playing basketball for the fictitious University of Albuquerque and the whole town is excited about it.

But after Troy's told he's also being considered for Juilliard, he questions whether he's making his own decisions or just following the path his father's laid out.

And along the way to self-discovery are songs. Happy songs in the cafeteria! Romantic songs in treehouses! Sad songs in the locker room.

The decent plot, as well as all the Efron close-ups, makes it easy to forgive the cast members' acting, which for the most part is one-dimensional and hammy.

Hudgens, especially, seems to coast on her cute, pouty faces. And very often, the lip-syncing during the songs is laughable.

Plus, isn't it completely unrealistic to have so many peppy teens in one room? Where's the moody emo boy? Or the troubled party girl? Or even an awkward, conflicted kid like "My So-Called Life's" Angela Chase?

A few gritty characters could make this movie a bit more fun, like "Grease." But instead it comes off as unequivocally Disney. And Disney isn't in the business of manufacturing reality — just complete and giddy escapism.

Still, with things looking pretty scary in the real world, it's that much more comforting to get lost in the magical land of "High School Musical."

"High School Musical 3: Senior Year." Rated: G. Running time: 1 hour, 40 minutes. 3 stars.

To find out more about Nina Garin and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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