High School Musical was
Disney Channel's most watched film that year with 7.7 million viewers in its premiere broadcast in the US, until August's premiere of
The Cheetah Girls 2, which achieved 8.1 million viewers.
[6] In the UK, it received 789,000 viewers for its premiere (and 1.2 million viewers overall during the first week), making it the second most watched program for the Disney Channel (UK) of 2006. On December 29, 2006, it became the first
Disney Channel Original Movie to be broadcast on the
BBC. Globally, High School Musical has been seen by over 225 million viewers.
[7] With a plot described by the author and numerous critics as a modern adaptation of
Romeo & Juliet,
[8] High School Musical is a story about two
high school juniors from rival
cliques – Troy Bolton (
Zac Efron), captain of the
basketball team, and Gabriella Montez (
Vanessa Hudgens), a beautiful and shy transfer student who excels in
math and
science.
[9] Together, they try out for the lead parts in their high school
musical, and as a result, divide the school. Despite other students' attempts to thwart their dreams, Troy and Gabriella resist peer pressure and rivalry, inspiring others along the way not to "stick to the status quo". Sharpay Evans (
Ashley Tisdale), a drama queen and high school diva will do anything to sabotage the friendship between Troy and Gabriella and also get a lead in the school musical.
Plot
Troy and Gabriella meet at a
New Year's Eve party while both are at a ski lodge during winter break. Troy is the captain of East High School's basketball team, and Gabriella is portrayed as shy and academic. At the party, the two are called upon to sing
karaoke together (
Start of Something New). They seem to be attracted to each other, and exchange numbers before parting.
After break, Troy sees Gabriella in his homeroom, and she explains that she just moved to
Albuquerque, New Mexico and transferred to East High over break. Troy shows Gabriella around the school, and they pause in front of the sign-up sheet for the winter musical auditions. This alarms Drama Club president Sharpay Evans, who assumes that Gabriella is interested in auditioning. Wanting to eliminate competition, Sharpay investigates the new girl and arranges for the scholastic decathlon captain, Taylor, to find out about Gabriella's past academic achievements.
During basketball practice, Troy has trouble focusing because his thoughts are on Gabriella and the idea that he might enjoy singing more (
Get'cha Head In the Game). Gabriella and Troy both go to the musical auditions where Sharpay and her brother Ryan perform (
What I've Been Looking For) but both are too shy to audition. When Gabriella finally summons the courage to step forward, Troy offers to sing with her, but Ms. Darbus tells them that they are too late. After Ms. Darbus apparently leaves, Kelsi, the
composer of the musical, trips and drops her things. Troy and Gabriella rush to help her, and they sing together as Kelsi plays piano (
What I've Been Looking For (Reprise)). Ms. Darbus overhears them and gives them a
callback audition.
When the callback list is posted, Sharpay is furious to learn that she has competition for the lead in the musical, and the rest of the Wildcats are shocked that Troy and Gabriella have auditioned for a musical. Other students confess their own secret passions and talents (
Stick To The Status Quo), alarming both Taylor and Troy's friend Chad. Since Gabriella has agreed to join the scholastic decathlon team, both Taylor and Chad want their teammates to focus on their upcoming competitions rather than the musical. To help Troy and Gabriella return to normal, Chad and the basketball team trick Troy into saying that Gabriella is not important while she watches through a
wi-fi link that the scholastic decathlon team has set up. Gabriella is hurt (
When There Was Me And You), she refuses to talk to Troy and decides not to audition for the musical. Chad and Taylor feel guilty for ruining Troy and Gabriella's relationship, and decide to tell them the truth. After Chad and the basketball team tell Troy what they did and offer to support him in callbacks, Troy goes to Gabriella's house and they make up.
Intimidated after overhearing Gabriella and Troy practicing, Sharpay convinces Ms. Darbus to change the callback time to coincide with both the basketball championship and the scholastic decathlon, so that Gabriella and Troy cannot participate. Kelsi overhears the conversation and the basketball team and the decathlon team work together to come up with a plan. On the day of the competitions, Taylor and Gabriella use the schools computers to cause a series of mishaps that delay the big game and the decathlon. With both competitions delayed, Troy and Gabriella rush to the auditorium, and Sharpay and Ryan finish performing their song (
Bop To The Top), confident that their plan worked. Troy and Gabriella then audition (
Breaking Free) and Ms. Darbus gives Troy and Gabriella the lead roles, making Sharpay and Ryan
understudies. Troy and Gabriella both win their respective competitions, and the film ends when the entire school gathers in the gym to celebrate (
We're All In This Together).
Cast
Reception
High School Musical received generally positive reviews from critics. Review aggregation website
Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 63% based on 8 reviews, with an average score of 5.1 out 10.
[12] Musical numbers
The soundtrack was released on January 10, 2006 and debuted at number 133 on the
Billboard 200, selling 7,469 copies in its first week. In the album's third week, for the chart dated February 11, 2006, it climbed to number ten, and has since risen to number one on the Billboard 200 twice (on March 1 and March 22) and had shipped 3.8 million copies on December 5, 2006. Out of those copies, more than 3 million copies have been sold by August 2006; it was
certified quadruple platinum by the
RIAA.
[13]
| Song | Chiefly Sung By | Other Singers | Scene |
|---|
| "Start Of Something New" | Troy and Gabriella | None | Mountain Ski Resort |
| "Get'cha Head in the Game" | Troy | Basketball Players | East High's Gym |
| "What I've Been Looking For" | Ryan and Sharpay | None | East High's Auditorium |
| "What I've Been Looking For (Reprise)" | Troy and Gabriella | None | East High's Auditorium |
| "Stick To The Status Quo" | Zeke, Martha, Skater Dude, Sharpay, Ryan | Jocks, Brainiacs, Skater Dudes, Wildcats | East High's Cafeteria |
| "When There Was Me And You" | Gabriella | None | East High's Science Lab, Hallways and Cafeteria |
| "Bop To The Top" | Ryan and Sharpay | None | East High's Auditorium |
| "Breaking Free" | Troy and Gabriella | None | East High's Auditorium |
| "We're All In This Together" | Troy, Gabriella, Ryan, Sharpay | Wildcats | East High's Gym |
DVDs
The
DVD of the film was released on May 23, 2006 under the title,
High School Musical: Encore Edition. It created a sales record when 1.2 million copies were sold in its first six days, making it the fastest-selling television film of all time.
[14] It is, however, the second DCOM (Disney Channel Original Movie) on DVD to be certified Platinum in DVD sales, the first being
The Cheetah Girls. The
High School Musical DVD was also released in Australia on July 12, 2006 through
Walt Disney and was released on European Region 2 on December 4, 2006 where it went on to reach number one in the
UK DVD charts. It was also shown on Disney Channel South Africa, the latest Disney channel at that time in the southern hemisphere. It was the top selling DVD in Australia in August 2006. In addition, the Region 3 DVD was released on October 10 in
Hong Kong. It also released in
Taiwan on December 15, 2006. This is the first Region 3 DCOM DVD ever released. It was released in Mexico on November 10 and in
Brazil on December 6 to coincide with Christmas and the
Globo broadcast of the film.
The Remix Edition, a 2-disc Special Edition, was released on December 5, 2006.
[15] The Remix DVD was released in France on June 20, 2007.
[16] and in Germany on September 13, 2007.
[17] The Remix DVD was released in the UK on September 10, 2007.
[18]Despite being filmed in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio, both the original and Remix Edition DVD releases featured a 1.33:1 "full screen" version (though not
pan and scan as the camera stays directly in the center of the image), the format of the film as shown on the Disney Channel. The widescreen, high definition version is available exclusively on Disney Blu-ray in North America and has subsequently been showing in the UK on BBC One, BBC Two, and BBC HD.
[19] The HD version is also available on
Xbox Live Marketplace for the US market.
[20]Other media
Sequels
High School Musical 2
High School Musical 2 is the
sequel to the Disney Channel Original Movie, High School Musical. It debuted on August 17, 2007 on
Disney Channel in the
U.S., and on
Family in
Canada. The premiere brought in a total of 17.3 million viewers in the United States—almost 10 million more than its predecessor—making it (at the time of its airing) the highest-rated Disney Channel Movie to date and the most viewed television film to date.
[21][22] High School Musical 3: Senior Year
High School Musical 3: Senior Year is the third installment in Disney's High School Musical franchise. It was released to theaters across the United States on October 24, 2008.
Kenny Ortega returned as director and choreographer, as did all six primary actors.
[23][24] The film currently holds the record for the highest-grossing film musical in its opening weekend, with over $80,000,000 worldwide.
High School Musical: El desafio (Argentina)
High School Musical: El desafio (Argentina) is a
spin-off of the American film High School Musical for the Argentine market, based on the book Battle of the Bands. The film arrived in Argentine theaters on July 17, 2008.
High School Musical: O Desafio (Brazil)
High School Musical: O Desafio is a
spin-off of the American film
High School Musical. The Brazilian spinoff is based on the book
Battle of the Bands. The film was released in Brazilian theaters on February 5, 2010.
High School Musical: 歌舞青春 (China)
High School Musical: 歌舞青春 (China) is a
spin-off of the American film High School Musical for the Chinese market, the production is underway, and it is predicted to be released on July 2010
[25] On stage performances
Concert tour
The "High School Musical: The Concert" tour started on November 29, 2006 kicking off in
San Diego, California. The tour continued until January 28, 2007 performing in major cities around the
United States,
Canada and
Latin America. The concert featured all of the original cast members except for
Zac Efron, who was shooting
Hairspray. Efron was replaced by
Drew Seeley (whose voice was blended with Efron's during the film). The concert featured the original songs from the film, as well as songs from Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, and Corbin Bleu.
Stage musical
Theater of the Stars in Atlanta, Georgia was the first professional company to put on High School Musical.
Ice tour
Book series
In June 2006,
Disney Press published
High School Musical: the Junior Novel, the novelization of the successful film. This novel hit number one on the
New York Times best-selling list and remained on the list for sixteen weeks.
[28] As of August 2007, the novel has sold more than 4.5 million copies, with 1 million copies of the novel's follow-up,
High School Musical 2: The Junior Novel, being shipped to American retailers.
[28] "High School Musical 3: Senior Year: The Junior Novel" came out on September 23, 2008. Shortly after the success of the original novel, Disney announced that a book series, entitled
Stories From East High, would be published in February 2007 with a new book being published every 60 days until July 2008. It also came to England, at the O2.
Video games
Reality series
During July and August 2008,
ABC broadcast a
reality competition based on the series,
High School Musical: Get in the Picture [29] hosted by
Nick Lachey. The winner of the show appeared in a music video during the credits of
High School Musical 3.
[30] The series premiered to poor ratings, with the show coming in fourth place in its timeslot.
[31] In the
UK, a reality show titled
Hairspray: The School Musical premiered in 2008 on
Sky1. It saw a team of vocal coaches, acting coaches and choreographers hold auditions at a regular
comprehensive school where a mix of students could audition for a
West End production of the hit
Broadway musical,
Hairspray. Although the musical being performed was not
High School Musical, the film was the inspiration behind the show. The show was presented by
Denise Van Outen and was credited, along with
High School Musical, for inspiring a generation of children in the
United Kingdom to get into theatrical work.
Awards
