Disney’s weekend release of Teen Beach Movie broke records on Friday night when it reached a nice 8.3 million viewers. This made it the biggest telepic hit for the last four years, even beating High School Musical . This production was aimed at the younger generation, six to 14 years of age and featured a 1960’s beach party theme.
Teen Beach Movie had several months of promotion through the usual channels and partners, so it’s not surprising its doing so well. In fact, it’s in the top three biggest Disney Channel movies of the last six years with only High School Musical 2 and Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie being ahead of it.
In this hip new twist on beach musicals, there are two main groups of teens that compete against each other, the “Bikers” and the “Surfers.” The story starts by taking two modern teens back in time to the 1960’s and onto the set of a beach party production called Wet Side Story . The two teens, played by Maia Mitchell and Ross Lynch, quickly make friends with a character played by Garrett Clayton among others.
Teen Beach Movie is a fresh mixture of the cult classics popularized by Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon, and really is a blast from the past. It’s full of bright colors, 60’s style two piece bikinis and swimsuits, as well as a nice serving of nostalgia. The teen actors loved their roles and raved over the wardrobe, reportedly wanting to keep some of the stylish outfits.
This fun new musical is expected to continue doing well and even has a positive message to young viewers to pursue their dreams and go the distance necessary to achieve them. The movie also brings back that American “carefree teenager” attitude missing in some modern shows and flics. Full of beach fun, music, decent choreography and even a summer romance to boot, Teen Beach Movie should be fun for the whole family!
