Zombies 3 Review: Integration and Diversity Are Back On Disney+ Musical That Wins
Stars: Meg Donnelly, Milo Manheim, RuPaul
Director: Paul Hoen
Streaming Platform: Disney+
Filmyhype.com Ratings: 3/5 (three stars) [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
Zombies 3 Review: The Zombies movie saga produced by Disney continues its mission to bring more and more sharing and monsters to the contemporary world. In fact, in the town of Seabrook, humans first left room for the non-living and then moved on to the pack of werewolves, now arriving in the third film to the most colorful and flamboyant alien invasion that has been seen on the small screen, from 15 July in the Disney+ catalog for July 2022. Zombies 3therefore continues in his noisy and psychedelic crusade trying to tell a story with a theatrical and excessive stage ensemble, but which matches the deliberately youthful and surreal tones of the channel’s cinematic operation – passed from TV to streaming – for children.
And it does so by enriching itself thanks to the exchange of its aces in the hole, actors who move from project to project within the Disney box, which still thinks with the mentality of the old guard of Disney Channel, and which sees the arrival in the film Zombies 3 an of the stars of High School Musical: The Musical: The series. And vice versa A zombie musical made by Disney seems antithetical just to write it, but the franchise surprised for various reasons, not only for the message of continuous inclusion but also for the songs that remain in the head after the vision (first goal of a musical). How did the third chapter fare? Let’s find out in our review of Zombies 3, starting July 15 on Disney+.
Zombies 3 Review: The Story
After the zombies of the first chapter and the werewolves of the sequel, in this third and final piece of the story told the aliens from space arrive to upset once again the precarious balance of Seabrook, the coastal town at the center of the story. A slightly exaggerated premise, which frankly leaves us perplexed but reiterates and continues the general theme of the franchise: the acceptance of diversity. A theme which, as the three chapters have shown, is not a point of arrival but a work in progress. When you think you have arrived at a balance on the part of the townspeople and the students of Seabrook High, a new arrival reminds you that there is always a difference to fear and wanting to fight for humanity – in an extremely current reflection – rather than choosing to welcome with open arms and try to understand newcomers as a first approach.
An approach that, instead, coherently to the character is the protagonist Addison (Meg Donnelly) against the three aliens who landed in Seabrook. Aliens immediately show themselves intent on carrying out a secret mission that they do not want to reveal (they must find the most precious asset hidden in the city). Hyper-intelligent and hyper-technological, they present themselves as a superior race that has eliminated emotions from their vocabulary and ended up seeing their planet destroyed, in order not to create imbalances and clashes among the population. A way to underline how discussions can be constructive and not the other way around.
The third and final chapter of the franchise also corresponds to the graduation year for the protagonists. The year therefore of life choices for college and the future. The most complex and pressured decision must be made by Zed (Milo Manheim) who must make sure that he is admitted to the university with a sports scholarship because this would finally open the doors of education to other zombies and other creatures (like werewolves) and, one day maybe, even the doors of work. Meanwhile, each of the characters must understand and find themselves – Addison herself may finally discover her identity and place in the world, while Elisa (Kylee Russell) is doing an internship that could allow her to break into the world of programming.
Addison as the new cheerleading captain must also host and manage the first national cheer-off, where everyone (including aliens) is allowed. Between the ranks of the plot, there is also a certain “dating game” in place, given that all the protagonists have grown up – also thanks to the long production times due to the pandemic – and a love triangle is created for which Zed becomes jealous. of the aliens towards Addison. Or there is a certain werewolf who would like to confess his feelings to Elisa who is distant. In short, the main couple of the film undergoes the first real rift from the beginning of the story and it will be necessary to see if they can stay together at the end.
Zombies 3 Review and Analysis
A huge step forward for the conservative Disney, which is increasingly trying to confront the reality that surrounds it without forcing bigotry that would otherwise be retrograde and anachronistic, and which can only surprise once again for the incisiveness it shows, aware of the great impact it could have especially on a young audience. The same one to which Zombies 3, like its predecessors, is addressing and which continues to be consulted in issues concerning growth, the fear of the unknown, the goals that one dreams of reaching and the difficulties that must be faced in front of them. at a time of great change. Those who are waiting for the characters of the film, arrival of the aliens or not. And that they will find themselves facing by emphasizing once again the value of friendship, the one that can also arise between different people (sorry, monsters).
Between musical numbers that are always thundering and unleashed dances, among which the sequence of the landing of the blue aliens in the American suburban town, Zombies 3, undoubtedly stands out it has its narrative policy, a target audience, and a message that, although transmitted with childish and marked lightness, reaches full volume. What the protagonists of the film raise, on which to wriggle between songs, university dreams and cheerleading. Zombies 3 confirms the skill of the composers of the soundtrack and the original songs of the film, using the arrival of the aliens to give an electronic-modern shock to the sound of the songs, such as the “Alien Invasion” that opens the film, but there are also other already memorable performances among those proposed, such as “Exceptional Zed” to remind us how important the people around us are to be able to be who we are.
Or the re-proposition – it was to be expected and we hoped for a bit – of the most famous song of the franchise, “Someday” which so far linked only to the Addison-Zed couple becomes choral, reflecting on the growth of all the characters and their gaze to the future., which starts from a premise that is too surreal even in a world inhabited by zombies, mixing fantasy and sci-fi, to arrive at an equally anachronistic epilogue in 2022. The staging and direction of Paul Hoen are dynamic and almost from a video clip. The musical performances are spectacular and evoke the strength of the team and group that made the fortune of High School Musical. However, some characters are left too quiet, such as Trevor Tordjman ‘s Bucky who has almost no reason to exist anymore.
Zombies 3 Review: The Last Words
Zombies 3 returns to show the diversity of everyone, monster or not. A story that continues in the exploration of integration, but this time also focuses a lot on discovering oneself, one’s roots and what it is that makes us feel in a place that we can call home. A film with its specific target audience, to whom it knows what kind of message it wants to send, talks about sharing, understanding and friendship. We conclude our review of Zombies 3 by underlining how, although starting from a premise that is too surreal and ending in an equally anachronistic epilogue, the third and final chapter of the Disney franchise manages to reflect on the growth of the characters and their moment of choices arrived at. last year of high school, while the theme of acceptance of diversity continues and the protagonists could find their true ‘me’.
