I first happened upon the first 'High School Musical' in a hotel room. There I was, flipping through the channels when a blast of sound and colour filled the room. What initially began as a morbid fascination soon turned into a grudgingly enjoyable movie experience.

A while later, 'High School Musical 2' came out on DVD. Again, curiosity got the better of me — but this time around it was a bit too colourful and way too sugary for the tastes of this 30-year-old manly man (who secretly likes the occasional musical).

And then when the press preview of 'High School Musical 3' came around I was astonished I could elbow and body-slam my way through the crowd of frantic journalists to grab the opportunity. (OK, not really, but it sounds better...)

The third film in any trilogy has a lot stacked up against it. It has to out-play, out-dazzle and out-gasp its predecessors to score. Fortunately for 'HSM3', the previous film didn't live up to the standards of the first, so it couldn't really be worse. But what I didn't expect is for it to be better — a heck of a lot better!

If you enjoyed the first movie — and to a lesser extend the second — then you'll love the third. Disney have taken everything that worked for the first, toned down on what didn't work for the second, and turned up the volume. The result is simply buckets and buckets of fun.

Fans will be happy to know that none of the crucial ingredients are missing: it's still about Troy, Gabriella and co breaking out in song; dazzling choreography (watch out for the junk yard scene); plenty of foot-tapping music; and teen love as only Disney can picture it.

The cheese and syrup still run in abundance, but it's definitely more palatable. And while the story could have been better, 'HSM3' makes up for it by successfully capturing the magic of stage musicals.

It’s certainly not 'Moulin Rouge'. But where 'Moulin Rouge' was art, 'High School Musical 3' is theatre — in the good, clean, utterly enjoyable sense of the word; the kind of theatre where you walk away with a smile.