Spectacular! (NR, 2009)

With SPECTACULAR!, Nickelodeon attempts to loosen the iron grip Disney established on tween-targeted modern-day musicals with High School Musical and its sequels. Spectacular! definitely has some similarities to HSM -- including a talented cast, upbeat song-and-dance numbers, and age-appropriate content for tweens -- but there are also some marked differences. Nikko is a bit of a bad boy, mouthing off to his older brother (who acts as his guardian) and flaunting a major superiority complex with the choir members. Courtney's also guilty of some errors in judgment, including allowing her passion for upstaging Ta-Da -- and lead singer Royce (Simon Curtis), who defected from Spectacular! -- to lead to promising Nikko money that belonged to the group.

But rather than weighing the story down, these character flaws actually benefit the overall package. They allow the characters to evolve -- and, in the end, that's what tweens will take away from this story. Spectacular! can't boast the same pure star power of its popular Disney rival, but it does offer equally kid-friendly entertainment with strong positive overtones. Though parents will find the story predictable and more than a little cheesy, tweens are sure to embrace it and the messages it sends.