Starring Liamani Segura, Hudson Stone, Sherry Cola, and Malachi Barton
Directed by Veronica Rodriguez
Music and Lyrics by various
The Camp Rock movies were among the biggest musicals ever on the Disney Channel, probably just under the High School Musical films. Talk of a third movie had been tossed around since the second was a massive success in 2010, but Demi Lovato ran into scandal and the Jonas Brothers fell out of popularity. One way or another, plans for the third film were pushed aside until the film was formally announced in September 2025. Is the new generation of campers just as talented as the previous one, or should this camp finally be closed for good? Let's start with excited new camper Sage Scott (Segura) and her brother Desi (Stone) as their parents drive them to the camp and find out...
The Story: Sage is thrilled to be at the camp where rock legends like the now-major star Mitchie Torres (Demi Lovato) first made their mark. She's determined to become a great singer, leaving the band she had with Desi to join a prestigious music school. Desi's resentful and angry at Sage for what he sees as her abandoning him. His sister is just excited to be among fellow music-lovers like goofy drummer Cliff (Casey Trotter), sweet cellist and classical-music lover Rosie (Lumi Pollack), upbeat dancer Callie (Brooklyn Pitts), and Fletch (Barton), who has a bad boy reputation after he arrives in a cop car. There's also social media influencer Maddie (Ava Jean) and her two back-up dancers, who think they run the camp.
Rock group Connect 3 (the Jonas Brothers) have reunited for a tour, but they need an opening act after their original choice broke up. Their manager Lark (Cola) holds a contest at the camp, with the winner joining Connect 3 on the tour. As the kids take part in three challenges leading up to Final Jam, Sage grows to know each of them better. She grows especially fond of Fletch, who writes love songs and isn't the bad kid everyone assumes he is. Maddie, furious after Sage bumps her and gets her out during the second challenge so Desi can move on, does everything she can to discourage the finalists, from destroying their most prized possessions to filming them on a bus during the last challenge when the kids aren't supposed to have a phone at the camp. It's Sage who learns the lesson, though, when she hurts Fletch to save her career, then realizes that her new friends are more important than any contest.
The Song and Dance: First and foremost, this one gets points for kids who are a lot more likeable than the ones in the original film. Sage may be focused on her career, but she's not a bad kid and genuinely shows that she cares, especially in the second half once she apologizes to her brother. There's also references to the original films, from bits of songs to Sage finding Mitichie's original song notebook. The musical numbers remain the stand-outs, with the chorus numbers in particular awash in energy.
The Numbers: We open with Sage performing "Brand New Day" as the kids arrive at Camp. "Come On Over" shows Connect 3 filming a music video...and reveals that they're no longer getting along. The Camp Rock kids have more fun with "One Beat Away" in a high-energy chorus routine after the contest is announced. "Play My Music" is a montage of the campers playing the song as the first challenge, in every style from Rosie's classical cello to a salsa dancer to a hip-hop performer and even a young Sinatra imitator. "Tomorrow" is Fletch's sweet acoustic ballad that he writes after interviewing Sage for the songwriter's workshop.
Fletch and Desi have a brief jam session that ends with Desi joking about Fletch's interest in his sister. "Start the Party" is the second challenge. The kids are supposed to show how well they can dance, but it ends with Sage bumping Maddie out to keep Desi, who doesn't dance, in. Angry, Maddie covers their most loved items in sequins and paint, leading to them throwing paint around to the tune of "It's On." Furious after the mess incident, Lark makes the last challenge having to live in a camp bus for 24 hours. The kids aren't happy at first, but the forced confinement turns into their group number "Echo." Desi and Sage finally reconcile singing "Rhythm's Only Right."
The first number at the final jam goes to Cliff, who does a comic drum rap solo to "My Own Drum." Rosie's cello number is artier, until she breaks out the black-clad dancers and silver halter to "Play It My Way." Callie helps Desi and his dancers with the upbeat "Get Ready." Fletch doesn't need dancers to reprise a now-longer "Tomorrow." Sage encourages Connect 3 to choose the other kids before singing "Work In Progress" without a band. The other kids eventually join her as they admit they may not be perfect, but they're looking forward to growing, as people and musicians. Connect 3 and the kids join for "We Rock" in the finale. The five finalists, Callie, and Maddie and her dancers perform "What It Takes" over the end credits.
What I Don't Like: The kids may be likable, but they're also bland. This manages to be even more cliched than the previous two movies. You can pretty much figure out what's going to happen with the contest way before the kids and Connect 3 do. Conflict is settled way too easily, especially after Maddie pretty much sells out Fletch to Lark over the song leak to save her career. Maddie and her back up dancers don't have nearly enough to do other than ruining their stuff. They probably should have been left in a little longer, or even made the final group.
In fact, a lot of threads are picked up and dropped. There's a side plot with Callie teaching Desi to dance that's ignored when Callie vanishes mid-way through the film and isn't acknowledged again (even when Callie returns for the finale), and another one with Cliff having a crush on Rosie. Rose's transformation from demure classical cellist to artsy hard-rock performer is a little too abrupt, too. Wish we could have seen more of how that changed happened.
The Big Finale: In the end, I suspect this franchise is just too bland for me, no matter how many stars it produces. For those who were huge fans of the original films or are in the appropriate 8 to 14 age range.
Home Media: This is a Disney Plus exclusive at the moment.
