Teen Beach 2

Plot

On the eve of the first day of school, Brady and Mckenzie celebrate the day they met and reminisce about the summer, while they watch Brady's favorite movie, Wet Side Story, the 1960s film that they got stuck in during the events of Teen Beach Movie. Mack dismisses Brady's fear that their relationship will change when they begin school. Mack then notices she lost the necklace she received while in Wet Side Story's universe.

At school, Brady and Mack reunite with their respective friends, Devon and Alyssa, who are surprised by their new relationship due to their opposite personalities. Brady and Mack are surprised by how differently they act at school. Later, in class, Brady is working on surfboard designs, but hides them when Mack asks him what he is doing. Brady becomes defensive when Mack meets Spencer Watkins, a cute guy who shares an interest in Science with Mack. Mack continues to work on the "Save The Beach", despite Brady's attempts to see her. Struggling with a college application, Brady works on a surfboard, so much that he forgets the College Fair, upsetting Mack to the point that he breaks things off between them.

In the Wet Side Story universe, Lela breaks the film's plotline twice by trying to help Tanner save Big Momma's, then again by stop singing. Noticing Mack's neckace, Lela and Tanner journey into the ocean, and end up on the same beach Mack and Brady are. Despite still being mad at each other, Mack and Brady tell them they are in the future, exciting them. Mack and Brady do not tell them they are film characters, choosing instead to show them that the real world is not as great as it seems, in hopes that they will return to their own world. Meanwhile, the characters in Wet Side Story are confused without Lela and Tanner.

Brady and Mack bring Lela and Tanner to school, where their movie characteristics come out against Mack and Brady's cautions, culminating in a big musical number in the cafeteria. Lela becomes too enthralled with math homework to spend time with Tanner after school, and Tanner confesses to Brady that he worries he is not enough for Lela, while Brady reveals to Tanner that he and Mack are taking a break. He also shows Tanner his surfboards, and alludes that Mack might not understand his newfound hobby. Realizing they are becoming part of the future, Mack and Brady tell Lela and Tanner that they are just characters in a movie, showing them clips from Wet Side Story. Upset by this, Lela throws the necklace into the ocean, prompting Mack and Brady to search for it. This leads to another argument between them, which disturbs Lela and Tanner.

In the Wet Side Story universe, characters begin disappearing. Butchy, realizing that all of this started after Tanner and Lela left, notices the necklace washed up, and leads the gang into the ocean to get the two back. They enter the real world and inform the others about the disappearing characters. Brady and Mack realize that without the main movie stars, there is no movie. Lela and Tanner return to Wet Side Story.

Brady and Mack avoid each other during the "Save the Beach" dance. The characters of Wet Side Story return after deciding to reunite Brady and Mack. When Butchy disappears with the necklace, Brady and Mack run to get Mack's grandfather's surfboard, which they first used to get into the Wet Side Story universe. With no waves, Brady decides to use a motorized surfboard he created, along with the emblem from Mack's grandfather's surfboard. Mack compares Brady's hobby to her grandfather's surfboard passion, and they agree not to keep secrets anymore.

Before Tanner and Lela leave, Mack tells Lela to make the movie her story. Brady helps Lela and Tanner after a surfboard malfunction. When Brady emerges from the ocean, he and Mack appear not to know each other; they later meet at the "Save the Beach" dance, which Mack says is themed after her favorite movie called Lela, Queen of the Beach. Lela followed Mack's advice and changed the movie, which now has more feminist tones but unintentionally erases the history between Brady and Mack, who fall in love again. The crowd dances to the movie's opening number.

Production

On April 27, 2014, a sequel, Teen Beach 2 (known as Teen Beach Movie 2 prior to movie promos coming out), was announced as slated to premiere in 2015 on Disney Channel, with production set for July 2014 in Puerto Rico. It is the fourth Disney Channel Original Movie to be filmed in Puerto Rico, after Princess Protection Program, Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie and Teen Beach Movie. Ross Lynch, Maia Mitchell, Grace Phipps, Garrett Clayton and John DeLuca reprise their roles in the sequel. The remaining actors who portray the bikers and surfers, Jordan Fisher, Chrissie Fit, William Loftis, Kent Boyd, Jessica Lee Keller and Mollee Gray, were also confirmed to return for the sequel. The film revolve around the characters from Wet Side Story after the first film's post-credits scene, when they were transported into the real world. Teen Beach 2 is the first Disney Channel Original Movie sequel since Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam in 2010. The Disney official site for the movie stated it will be released "Summer 2015" as Teen Beach 2. It premiered on June 26, 2015. It is 1 hour and 45 minutes long.

Reception

The movie received mixed reviews from critics. Brian Lowry of Variety.com wrote that while the songs were generally great and the storyline was easy to understand, "Everything else is really just the storytelling equivalent of pulling taffy, trying to create enough impediments to keep the narrative clunking along until the next spontaneous outbreak of song. Thankfully, there's a great deal of talent on the screen, though the words generally sound far better when sung than spoken." R. Thomas Umstead of Multichannel News awarded the movie 3.5 stars out of 5, writing, "Much like Teen Beach Movie, the sequel is full of impressive dance numbers, often silly dialogue and toe-tapping pop music songs that will certainly appeal to the network's target 6-to-11-year-old audience. Still, Teen Beach 2 lacks a bit of the charm exhibited in the first movie, although that will not matter much to fans of the original."

The film drew 5.8 total million viewers on its premiere night, becoming the most watched DCOM since its prequel Teen Beach Movie aired in 2013. In L+3, Teen Beach 2 delivered 7.5 million viewers and along with the weekend encore telecasts, totals 13.3 million viewers.

Soundtrack

The Teen Beach 2 (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) was released on June 23, 2015.