What’s missing is the sausage-making

Really, this review should be on the science page, if we still had a science page. Because “High School Musical: The Music in You,” a “documusical” airing on the Disney Channel Sunday, answers, at long last, one of the great mysteries of the universe: Is there a limit to the possibilities of the “High School Musical” franchise? And the answer is (cue ripping envelope): Yes! Yes, there is! And this is it.

You will find no greater fan of the “High School Musical” weltanschauung than me. I even think “High School Musical on Ice” is hilarious. Surely the struggles of Troy, Gabriella and the gang are a welcome break from overworked adaptations of “Grease” or “Fiddler on the Roof.” So when I saw that two-time Oscar winner Barbara Kopple (“Harlan County U.S.A.,” “American Dream”) was making a documusical about two Fort Worth high schools putting on “HSM” together, I may have hesitated -- documusical? Is that an actual word? A word a serious filmmaker such as Kopple would use?

But I was in. I participated in high school theater several hundred years ago, and, believe me, in terms of pathos, bathos and chaos, not even gang wars can touch it. So bring it on.

Alas, they never do. For reasons known only to itself, Disney decided to limit “The Music in You” to a half-hour, which is just insane when you consider the ponderous length of “Twitches Too.” As a result, “The Music in You” moves along at a remarkably rapid pace as if it were determined to not get bogged down in anything so mundane as emotion or revelation.

Auditions are held as a few students explain the importance of “HSM” and theater to their lives; the cast is posted, with some frustrated tears and exuberant surprise; and the next thing we know, these kids are rehearsing full dance numbers and looking pretty good.

It isn’t that Kopple doesn’t acknowledge the herding-cats-like process of a high school musical, or the strange and fascinating personalities involved (there is not a drama teacher living who is not, in some way, strange and fascinating) or the crushes, feuds and jealousies, petty and otherwise, that fuel any theatrical production. She does, but just that -- acknowledges them. Given the limits of time, what we get is the briefest overview of the many interesting people and subplots that inevitably roil behind the theater curtain.

I have nothing but the greatest admiration for the students and faculty involved; I just wish I came away knowing more about them. I kept longing to see the documentary I knew was in there somewhere, the one that illuminated the real struggles of high school, the eternal internal storms that rage, the miraculous last-minute blooming of order from doubt and confusion. With Kopple directing and producing, it must have been there at some point, so it was frustrating to see how little made it onto the screen. Instead of using “High School Musical” to open a window on reality, the choice was made to use reality as yet another way to market “High School Musical” -- which was a waste of talent and time.

One could argue, perhaps, a half-hour documusical is a good way to introduce the Disney audience to documentaries, but that is both patronizing and poor marketing. “High School Musical: The Music in Me” would have held its audience’s attention for at least an hour, if not more. More important, it could have been more than just the final frontier of franchise expansion. No doubt it will do well in viewership -- the fan base is built in and remains ravenous. But “The Music in Me” should have broadened the appeal, reached out to those who were not already fans. It should have been an exploration of why, exactly, this particular bit of theater has moved so many, a paean to the power drama has to soothe even the savage adolescent. As it is, it’s little more than a commercial for the movies. And Lord, do we really need any more of those?

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mary.mcnamara@latimes .com

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‘High School Musical: The Music in You’

Where: Disney Channel

When: 8 p.m. Sunday

Rating: TV-G (suitable for all ages)