Possibly proving that fads do indeed move in cycles, Disney’s made for TV movie “High School Musical” is apparently a massive hit with today’s kids. Of course, I remember when I was a kid and “Little Shop Of Horrors” was a big deal, and that hardly ushered in an era of musical movie greatness. But with “Chicago” doing big numbers a few years back, American culture might actually be ready for a shift. Maybe Jobs knew something when he temporarily had the movie available for download in the iTunes store a month or two back.

At least 34.3 million viewers have seen the made-for-TV film in its 10 showings and pushed the CD soundtrack to the top of the charts. The movie has scored among tweens (ages 9 to 14) with 10.5 million viewers and among kids ages 6 to 11 with 10 million viewers. Those numbers will grow when Disney Channel presents the dance-along version (which breaks down the steps) at 8 tonight, followed by the karaoke-style sing-along version at 10:10.

Since Chicago won the Oscar for 2002’s best picture, fans have longed for the next hit musical. The big-screen version of Phantom of the Opera wasn’t it. Neither was Rent nor The Producers. High School Musical was that smash, a movie that started reverberating through the culture when it debuted Jan. 20.

Alysha Shivji, 15, of Orlando, has seen High School Musical four times and says most of her friends at Trinity Prep have seen the movie more than once.

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