[This story contains spoilers from Camp Rock 3.]
It’s been 16 years since viewers got their last look at Camp Rock.
Disney Channel’s two Camp Rock films, starring the Jonas Brothers and Demi Lovato, were released in 2008 and 2010. They made a star out of Lovato and gave the Jonas Brothers — Kevin, Joe and Nick — even more exposure and fueled their rise to global superstars. Camp Rock and Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam rank among the Top 10 Disney Channel Original Movies of all time.
Now, Disney Channel and Disney+ are reviving the franchise with Camp Rock 3, which finds the Jonas Brothers returning as the band Connect 3, who are now looking for a new opening act. Of course, they head back to Camp Rock to discover the next big thing. Hot up-and-comers (and Disney favorites) Liamani Segura (Descendants: Wicked Wonderland) and Malachi Barton (Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires) star in the new movie, along with Lumi Pollack, Sherry Cola, Hudson Stone, Casey Trotter, Brooklynn Pitts and Ava Jean. And Maria Canals-Barrera reprises her role as Connie, mom to Mitchie Torres, played by Lovato in the first two films.
Veronica Rodriguez (Disney’s The Slumber Party), who directed the movie, says she made a conscientious effort to strike a balance between keeping the tone of the original films while also updating the sensibility for today’s audience.
“Even when I first went out to be the director of this movie, I knew immediately that that was going to be my Mount Everest,” she says. “I needed to make a movie that simultaneously satisfied the new Camp Rockers and the nostalgia campers like myself who grew up with the franchise and know it and love it so much and hold it as a beloved piece of DCOM [Disney Channel Original Movies] canon, just really threading that needle of making a movie that is enjoyable and fun.”
She began thinking of the movie as “Camp Rock Plus.” “I wanted to take everything we know and love about the original Camp Rock movies and ‘plus’ them up in every way that I could,” which meant everything from the costumes to the characters. “These are kids in the arts,” she continues. “I wanted them to have a personality in how they dressed and their personalities.”
Part of that effort was also reflected in the musical numbers, which feature everything from big group dances to quieter acoustic tunes. “Even the musical numbers, I wanted to ‘plus’ those up a bit and not have off of them just be the kids dancing around the campground,” Rodriguez adds. “I was like, how can I make those feel different and have each one be unique?” To that end, the songs incorporate several musical genres, she notes, which is a reflection of the pop charts themselves that also feature a variety of genres. (The soundtrack will be released Friday, while Barton and Segura also will be performing some of these songs on the upcoming Worlds Collide Concert Tour, featuring stars from the Descendants, Zombies and Camp Rock franchises.)
Given how the Jonas Brothers and Lovato’s careers blew up after the release of the first movie, Rodriguez expects the same thing to happen with Segura and Barton, who are already wildly popular with the tween crowd. Segura “is on the Demi [Lovato] track,” she says. “That girl has the voice of an angel and a heart of gold and talent beyond measure.” Barton, meanwhile, is going to be “the next Zac Efron,” she predicts, adding that he learned to play guitar for Camp Rock 3. “The cast is insanely talented.”
Speaking of Lovato, she makes a surprise appearance in the film, which has been kept top secret until now. We won’t spoil more about her appearance here, but Rodriguez said there were thoughtful discussions with Lovato, who also served as an executive producer, about how to bring Mitchie back while not taking away from the newer generation of stars. “We wanted to find the right balance of how much she should be in the film and what Mitchie’s involvement looked like,” Rodriguez says. “Her character literally says in the movie, to her mom, ‘This isn’t about me, it’s about them. It’s their time to shine. This is the new generation of campers.’ With Mitchie and Connect 3, we wanted them to be ingrained and necessary for the story but also leave enough room and space for the world to fall in love with the new generation of campers.”
Another surprise star cameo comes in the form of Zombies franchise alum (and Barton’s co-star in the fourth movie) Milo Manheim, who turns up as a songwriting pro helping to instruct the campers. “Milo passed the Zombies torch to Malachi, and they’re buds,” Rodriguez says. “We were over the moon when it ended up working out for Milo to come play with us. It’s a really fun, meaningful cameo.” She said it was also heartwarming to see Manheim, along with the Jonas Brothers and Lovato, helping to mentor the younger talent on-set, such as guiding them on how to navigate social media.
The Jonas Brothers also were executive producers on the movie, and Rodriguez says they were “very hands-on” throughout the process, including the production and creative on a song that Connect 3 performs in the movie.
Fans of the original will likely spot some throwbacks to the first two films. Cola, who plays Connect 3’s tour manager, lands a funny line during a hip-hop class that calls back to the original (hint: it has something to do with hats), while Mitchie’s songwriting book introduced in the first film plays a role in the story. In addition, the antagonist of the story, Maddie (played by Ava Jean), was modeled in the vein of Tess (Meaghan Martin) from the original movies, giving “the most lovable mean girl vibes that take us back to the past,” Rodriguez adds.
Rodriguez was also happy to bring Canals-Barrera back for a third go-round. The camp’s former head cook and Mitchie’s mom is now the camp director: “She’s the ultimate camp mom.” After the first table read, “everyone in the room loved it and we put more Connie in the movie because she brings such good energy.”
Today’s audience is quite different from that of 16 years ago. Rodriguez says there was a conscious choice to incorporate what kids today are dealing with, including a scene showing the campers having their phones taken away so they can be more present.
“I am a very big proponent of face-to-face communication, hanging out with your friends together, not on devices,” she says. “My hope is that kids watch this, and they like want to go jam with their friends in person and listen to music and sing and dance and just create, create memories. As amazing as technology can be, sometimes just that human-to-human, friend-to-friend, kid-to-kid interaction that can be life-changing.”
Rodriguez is excited for fans to watch the movie. “It was such an honor to be able to bring back a beloved franchise like this, and I did not take that responsibility lightly,” she says. “I gave this movie a lot of care and heart and, you know, effort and love. Everyone involved really worked hard and I think succeeded in making a movie that will satisfy all generations. It just feels like pure joy.”
Camp Rock 3 premieres at 8 p.m. ET/PT Thursday on Disney Channel and the next day on Disney+. Watch the trailer below.
Rodriguez directs from a script by Eydie Faye. The movie is produced by Disney Kids & Family and features choreography by Jamal Sims. Tim Federle executive produces, along with the Jonas brothers, Lovato, Betsy Sullenger, Spencer Berman and Gary Marsh, with a “special thanks” to Alan Sacks for his contribution to the Camp Rock franchise.
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