BY DAVID KRONKE >TV CRITIC

"Camp Rock" sure doesn't waste any time getting down to the tween-flick clichés.

It opens with Mitchie (Demi Lovato, who practically beams with ebullience even when she's supposed to be mildly unhappy) waking up on the "last day of school!" It quickly cuts to a montage in which she tries on a number of outfits and sunglasses and dances and plays air guitar - albeit with an actual guitar.

"Camp Bubblegum" would be a more accurate title for this new Disney Channel production - which will also air on ABC and ABC Family over the weekend - as it features the network's tween heartthrobs the Jonas Brothers. They got a boost from appearing in the "Hannah Montana" 3-D concert film, and Disney needs a new tween tent pole, now that Miley Cyrus and her cell phone pix have wandered off the reservation.

Too bad this telemovie hews so closely to the "High School Musical" formula that even Disney Channel die-hards might feel disappointed. The story line is strictly from a cookie-cutter, the energy feels forced and, in general, it feels like what you might wind up with if you compressed every Disney Channel conceit in a garbage compactor.

Mitchie, our talented and soulful (or so we're told) heroine, is surprised by a chance to attend the prestigious Camp Rock. Teen idol Shane Gray (Joe Jonas of the Jonas Brothers; his fellow band mates, Nick and Kevin, are consigned to bit roles spouting weak punch lines) is a guest instructor. Alas, Mitchie missteps by trying to posit herself as cooler than she really is in order to win favor with the camp's perennially spoiled brat, Tess (Meaghan Jette Martin), who sings songs like "I'm Too Cool for You."

Mitchie's submission to petulant Tess seems all the more curious when she stands up to superstar Shane when he throws a minor temper tantrum. Anyway, there's mild melodrama as Tess wreaks further havoc as to who will win the big end-of-summer talent contest.

Shoehorned in the midst of all of this are lame jokes ("It's been three hours - I need hair product," Shane whines, ostensibly amusingly) and a vague message of self-empowerment. "It's about expression - the freedom to be who you really want to be," one camp counselor bellows, but really, all anyone here wants to be is everyone else.

David Kronke, (818) 713-3638 david.kronke@dailynews.com www.insidesocal.com/tv/

review>

CAMP ROCK

>What: Disney Channel icons the Jonas Brothers headline this aspirational tween musical comedy.

>Where/when: 8 pm Friday, Disney Channel; 8 p.m. Saturday, ABC Channel 7; 8 p.m. Sunday, ABC Family.

>In a nutshell: Cut from the "High School Musical" mold, only with even more clichés.