It’s about time we were treated to a film that makes us happy, puts a smile on our faces, causes us to dance in the aisles, and brightens our gloomy national outlook. Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again is just that film, and we are shouting that it’s the “feel good” film of the summer.

This time out we are served a “prequel” to the original film and we see exactly what happened to main character Donna (the original Meryl Streep) and what transpired to the present day. It’s at first a little confusing as to who is whom, but you finally get into the swing of it.

Young and beautiful British actress Lily James (TV’s “Downton Abbey,” Cinderella, Baby Driver) takes over as the young Donna and the film intersperses her life adventures with the present-day story. The film is set in Greece, but it was actually shot in photogenic Croatia on the little island of Vis (try to find it on a map!). It’s amusing to see the three men who are supposedly her daughter’s fathers as young twenty-somethings themselves. We are introduced to the young and handsome Harry (the Colin Firth character) played by British up-and-coming young star Hugh Skinner. Don’t ask, but he and Donna do a rip--roaring version of “Waterloo” in a restaurant musical extravaganza and end up spending their first night together. He’s Daddy possibility No. 1.

Sam (the original Pierce Brosnan part) appears to overwhelm Donna as he is also a strapping twenty-something, dark-haired, with a fabulous face and charm personified in the body of actor Jeremy Irvine. It seems he forgot to tell her of his romantic entanglements back home. Daddy possibility No. 2.

Then, to really sweep her off her feet is blond, Nordic half-naked sailor Bill (originally Stellan Skarsgard), now in the strapping young blonde-haired body of actor Josh Dylan as Young Bill. Romance on the high seas, (reminiscent of an old Doris Day musical!) and squeezing into a small bunk presents Daddy possibility No. 3. It’s all a giggle and done with so many wonderful ABBA tunes that it’s impossible not to tap your feet throughout this disco delight.

On hand to lend great laughs and double-entendres are Donna’s friends from the old days, Tanya (played snarkingly by the wonderful Christine Baranski) and Rosie, the no-nonsense Oscar® winner Julie Walters. They are played, respectively, as young girls by Jessica Keenan Wynn and Alexa Davies, both hoots and as funny as their older counterparts.

The supporting cast members are all wonderful ethnic types from Greece and Mexico, including Andy Garcia as Fernando and Anna Antoniades as Appolonia, a bride who jumps into the ocean after her true love Alexio (Gerard Monaco). In for a funny turn is Panos Mouzourakis as Lazaros, the funky band leader. Special mention must be made of a bit player who steals the scene. He is Omid Djalili as the ferry ticket taker, who makes his small part into an unforgettable hilarious cameo.

But the true stars of the movie are the wonderful songs, some sad, some exuberant, all memorable. For once, you will leave the theater singing one of the songs. My favorite is “Fernando,” sung by a recycled Cher, whose skin looks like it has received a thick coating of Porcelanosa. Wearing a platinum blonde fright wig, Cher doesn’t look like anybody’s grandma.

(Released by Universal Pictures/ Legendary Entertainment and rated “PG-13” for some suggestive material.)