High School Musical
| High School Musical | |
|---|---|
High School Musical poster |
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| Directed by | Kenny Ortega |
| Produced by | Don Schain |
| Written by | Peter Barsocchini |
| Starring | Zac Efron Vanessa Hudgens Ashley Tisdale Lucas Grabeel Corbin Bleu Monique Coleman |
| Music by | Greg Cham Ray Cham Andy Dodd Faye Greenberg Jamie Houston David Lawrence Adam Watts Matt Gerrard Drew Lane Eddie Galan Andrew Seeley |
| Cinematography | Gordon Lonsdale |
| Editing by | Seth Flaum |
| Distributed by | Disney Channel, Family |
| Release date(s) | January 20, 2006 |
| Running time | 97 min |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $4,200,000[1] |
| Followed by | High School Musical 2 |
High School Musical (sometimes abbreviated HSM) is an Emmy Award-winning American television film, and the first in the High School Musical film franchise . Upon its release on January 20, 2006, it became the most successful movie that Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM) ever produced,[2][3] with a television sequel High School Musical 2 released in 2007 and the feature film High School Musical 3: Senior Year released theatrically in October 2008. It is the first Disney Channel Original Movie to have a theatrical sequel. A fourth installment, High School Musical 4, has been announced to be in the writing stages.[4]
High School Musical was Disney Channel's most watched movie at its time, with 7.7 million viewers in its premiere broadcast in the US. 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. It was also the first ever Disney Channel Original Movie to be broadcast on the BBC on December 29, 2006.
The film's soundtrack was the best-selling album in the United States for 2006.[5] With a plot described by the author and numerous critics as a modern adaptation of Romeo & Juliet, [6] 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.[7] 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".
High School Musical was filmed at East High School located in Salt Lake City, Utah, the auditorium of Murray High School, and Downtown Salt Lake City. Murray High School was also the set of: Take Down (1978), Read It and Weep (2006), Minutemen (2008)[8] and High School Musical: Get in the Picture (2008)[9].
Contents |
Plot
East High School's basketball star Troy Bolton (Zac Efron) and math-whiz Gabriella Montez (Vanessa Hudgens) meet at a New Year's Eve party at a ski lodge over Christmas Break. Here, they take part in a karaoke contest and sing (Start of Something New). They discover they have a great chemistry between them and end up exchanging numbers. A week later, Gabriella's mother is transferred and Gabriella begins classes at East High in Albuquerque, New Mexico where Troy sees her in homeroom. After making sure that it is she on his cell phone, Troy accidentally gets detention, along with Gabriella, his best friend and teammate Chad Danforth (Corbin Bleu), scholastic decathlon captain and head of the science club Taylor McKessie (Monique Coleman), and Drama Club co-presidents Ryan (Lucas Grabeel) and Sharpay Evans (Ashley Tisdale).
After homeroom, Troy and Gabriella see each other again and as they start talking near the sign-up sheet for the winter musical auditions, Sharpay sees them and assumes that Gabriella is interested in signing up. With Ryan's help, Sharpay determines that Gabriella is an "Einsteinette", and puts an article of her previous academic achievements into Taylor's locker.
During detention, Taylor approaches Gabriella and invites her to join the school's scholastic decathlon team. Due to their detention, both Troy and Chad miss their basketball practice, much to the annoyance of Coach Bolton. During a confrontation between the coach (Bart Johnson) and Ms. Darbus (Alyson Reed), it is made clear that neither of them has any real respect for the work that the other does. Troy eventually takes part in basketball practice, but he cannot seem to stop thinking about Gabriella and how he might actually enjoy singing (Get'cha Head in the Game).
Troy skips basketball practice during free period to go for the auditions, which Gabriella also attends. However, both are too shy to come forward, so they hide behind a janitorial rolling cart as Sharpay and Ryan perform their version of the audition song (What I've Been Looking For). When Gabriella finally decides to audition, Troy offers to sing with her, but Ms. Darbus says that it is too late.
After a confrontation with Sharpay, Kelsi Nielsen (Olesya Rulin), the composer of the musical, trips and drops her notes and piano music. Troy and Gabriella rush to help her, and she offers to let them hear how the song was originally supposed to sound. Troy and Gabriella then sing the slower version of the song (What I've Been Looking For (Reprise)). Ms. Darbus hears them from behind the auditorium entrance and gives both Troy and Gabriella a callback. The next day, Sharpay sees the callback sheet and is furious. Once Chad and all the basketball players find out that Troy skipped basketball practice to audition for the musical, they are all shocked.
At lunch, everyone learns that Troy is doing something way out of a basketball player's nature, and the students start confessing their secret passions and talents (Stick to the Status Quo), including basketball player Zeke Baylor's (Chris Warren, Jr.) love for baking. At that moment, Gabriella slips and accidentally spills her lunch all over Sharpay's shirt. Sharpay tells Ms. Darbus that Gabriella did it on purpose and tries to convince her that Troy and Gabriella are trying to destroy the musical, but Ms. Darbus will not hear a word of it. Troy asks Gabriella to meet him at his secret hideout, the balcony of a greenhouse. There, she reveals that singing with him at the party was like meeting a new friend at kindergarten; she felt that he was like a best friend, although she hardly knew him. Meanwhile, Zeke attempts to talk to Sharpay, who says that she would rather stick pins in her eyes than watch Zeke play basketball.
Chad and Taylor decide that they need to devise a plan so that everything returns to normal. The basketball team tricks Troy into saying that Gabriella is not too important while she watches them through a wi-fi link. Gabriella is hurt and confused about where she and Troy now stand (When There Was Me and You). Troy tries to talk to Gabriella, but she tells him that she is not interested in taking part in the musical anymore and that it was never important to her.
After feeling guilty about ruining Troy and Gabriella's relationship, and noticing that they are no longer interested in the basketball game or the decathlon, Chad and Taylor decide to tell them the truth. Chad, Zeke, and Jason explain everything to Troy in the greenhouse and offer to support him at the callbacks. Taylor and the scholastic decathlon team tell Gabriella what they did, but she is still angry and hurt because of what Troy said, convinced that he meant it. That night, Troy goes to her house, but she pretends to be busy with homework. He then calls on her cell phone from her backyard, telling her that the guy she met on vacation is much more like him than the guy that "said those stupid things". He climbs onto her balcony and starts singing the harmony of "Start of Something New" in an attempt to persuade her to attend the callbacks with him. Gabriella then forgives him, and together with Kelsi, they start practicing for the callback at school.
Soon, Sharpay and Ryan overhear Gabriella and Troy practicing, and feel intimidated by the competition. Sharpay succeeds in convincing Ms. Darbus to change the callbacks to the same time as the basketball championship and scholastic decathlon. Kelsi overhears their conversation with Ms. Darbus, and when she tells everyone about this, they are devastated. However, the chemistry team, the basketball team and Kelsi work together to come up with a plan. On the day itself, Taylor and Gabriella send a code by computer into the system to disrupt the basketball game by shutting down the scoreboard, and boiling a noxious chemical to stall the decathlon.
As Troy and Gabriella then rush to the theater, Sharpay and Ryan finish performing their song (Bop to the Top), confident that they will get the part. Troy and Gabriella show up after Ms. Darbus has called their names twice, and she tells them again that they are too late. Many other students start streaming into the auditorium to support them and Ms. Darbus has no choice but to allow them to perform their song. Gabriella freezes when she sees everyone staring at her, but Troy tells her to look only at him, and she finds the courage to sing (Breaking Free).
In the end, Ms. Darbus decides to award the lead roles to Troy and Gabriella, making Sharpay and Ryan understudies (and at the basketball game, Sharpay accepts her defeat and tells Gabriella to "break a leg"). After winning both the scholastic decathlon and the basketball game with Troy's last minute shot, (to which Troy and Gabriella tried to actually kiss, but were interrupted by Chad), Chad gives Troy the winning ball and later asks Taylor out to the victory party. The film ends with the entire school gathering in the gym to celebrate (We're All in This Together).
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. In 2007, the soundtrack got into the Guinness World Records for "Most hits from a soundtrack in the US Chart simultaneously". Nine tracks were simultaneously in the US Hot 100- a world first. [10]
| 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, Skaterdudes, Wildcats | East High's Cafeteria |
| When There Was Me and You | Gabriella | None | East High's Chemistry Class and Hallways |
| 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, Sharpay, Ryan | Wildcats | East High School's Gym |
DVDs
The DVD of the movie 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 movie of all time.[11] 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 movie.
The Remix Edition, a 2-disc Special Edition, was released on December 5, 2006.[12].The Remix DVD was released in France on June 20, 2007.[13] and in Germany on September 13, 2007.[14] The Remix DVD was released in the UK on September 10, 2007.[15]
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 and high definition versions have subsequently been showing in the UK on BBC One, BBC Two, and BBC HD.[16] The HD version is also available on Xbox Live Marketplace for the US market. [17]
Other media
Sequels
High School Musical 2
High School Musical 2 (also known as High School Musical 2: Sing It All Or Nothing!) 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 the highest-rated Disney Channel Movie to date.[18] [19]
High School Musical 3
High School Musical 3: Senior Year is the third installment in Disney's High School Musical franchise. It was released theatrically in the United States on October 24, 2008. Kenny Ortega returns as director and choreographer, as do all six primary actors.[20][21] The film currently holds the record of the highest-grossing movie musical in its opening weekend, with over $80,000,000 worldwide.
Spin-off
High School Musical: El desafio (Argentina)
High School Musical: El desafio (Argentina) is a spin-off of the American movie High School Musical for the Argentine market, based on the book Battle of the Bands. The movie arrived in Argentine theaters on July 17, 2008.
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 busy shooting Hairspray. Efron was replaced by Drew Seeley (whose voice was blended with Efron's during the movie). The concert featured the original songs from the movie, as well as displaying songs from Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, and Corbin Bleu.
Stage musical
On August 1, 2006, Playbill announced that the Stagedoor Manor summer theater camp, featured in the movie Camp, would be the first venue to produce High School Musical on-stage.
North Shore Music Theater in Beverly, MA had a stage production of High School Musical running until the end of July 2007, featuring Broadway actor Andrew Keenan-Bolger and Kate Rockwell, a semi-finalist on Grease: You're the One that I Want!, as Sharpay. Pacific Repertory Theatre's School of Dramatic Arts staged the California premiere in 2007 (which it revived in 2008), and will present the West Coast premiere of High School Musical 2 in January 2009.[22]
Theater of the Stars in Atlanta, Georgia was the first professional company to put on High School Musical.
Ice tour
"Feld Entertainment" produced global tour titled, High School Musical: The Ice Tour which had its world premiere in New York city on September 29, 2007.[23] The cast included 2004 World Junior Bronze Medalist Jordan Brauninger and 2004-2005 Australian national champion Bradley Santer. The show contained elements and songs from both the original movie and its sequel, High School Musical 2.
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.[24] 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.[24] "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
The game is about the High School Musical friends traveling across America in a competition, hoping to win the "The American Amateur Musical" title. With the help of Troy and the others, they will show that they have what it takes to win the competition. The release date was originally set for August 14, 2007 for the Nintendo DS, Wii, and Playstation 2. The release date was later delayed to November 7, 2007. Another game was released in 2007 called "Makin' the Cut!" only for DS. Other games; High School Musical 3: Senior Year DS and Dance is coming October 21, 2008.
Reality series
ABC broadcast a new reality series titled High School Musical: Get in the Picture, which started on July 20, 2008.[25] Nick Lachey is the series host.[26]
On July 20, 2008, ABC premiered the reality series to poor ratings, with the show coming in fourth place in its time. [27]
Parodies
- A 2008 episode of South Park titled "Elementary School Musical" dealt with the High School Musical fad's popularity at South Park Elementary, and included musical numbers parodying those seen in High School Musical. The plot of the episode is a reversal of the plot of the movie, with a Zac Efron-lookalike forced by his father to sing and dance wishing to join the basketball team.
- A 2006 MADtv skit also titled "High School Musical" showed the MADtv cast playing the HSM characters with more realistic teen issues including bulimia, child abuse, homosexuality, etc.
- Saturday Night Live has parodied HSM twice.
Awards
| Year | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | |||
| Billboard Music Award | Soundtrack Album of the Year | Won | |
| Emmy Award | Outstanding Choreography | ||
| Teen Choice Award | Television - Choice Breakout Star (Zac Efron) |
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| Television - Choice Chemistry (Vanessa Hudgens & Zac Efron) |
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| Television Critics Association Award | Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programming | ||
| American Music Award | Best Pop Album | Nominated | |
| Billboard Music Award | Album of the Year | ||
| Emmy Award | Outstanding Casting for a Miniseries, Movie, or a Special | ||
| Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie, or a Dramatic Special | |||
| Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics ("Get'cha Head in the Game") |
|||
| Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics ("Breaking Free") |
References
- ↑ Disney hits high note with the tweenagers - Industry sectors - Times Online
- ↑ Nielsens ratings for January 28 - February 3 - USATODAY.com
- ↑ High School Musical 101 (Slideshow) - FamilyEducation.com
- ↑ Hetrick, Adam (April 9, 2008). "Bet On It: Disney Plans Fourth "High School Musical"", Playbill. Retrieved on April 10, 2008.
- ↑ Music Market Data for 2006 | LinuxElectrons
- ↑ Disney scores kid points with 'High School Musical'; Nerdy "Romeo and Juliet" a hit for Disney - Reuters 5/22/06 - MiceChat; Talkin' Broadway Regional News & Reviews - "High School Musical on Tour" - 8/4/07; DVD Review: High School Musical (Two-Disc Remix Edition) - DVD; What Is 'High School Musical,' Anyway? - News Story | Music, Celebrity, Artist News | MTV News
- ↑ 'High School Musical 2' debuts Friday as Disney's pop-culture phenomenon fuels a cottage industry;Bloomberg.com: Exclusive;High School Musical plants its upbeat message onstage - CBC Arts | Theatre
- ↑ Deseret Morning News | Disney moment for Murray, Highland
- ↑ ksl.com - ‘High School Musical' reality show wraps up filming
- ↑ Glenday, Craig; Ben Way (August 2007). Guinness World Records 2008. Guinness. ISBN 1-904994-19-9. pg. 165| Retrieved on 2008-08-11.
- ↑ Arnold, Thomas. "'High School Musical' Debuts at No. 1".
- ↑ "High School Musical Remix Edition - Disney press release".
- ↑ "High school musical Remix - Edition Collector 2 DVD".
- ↑ "High School Musical - remix (2 DVDs)".
- ↑ "High School Musical - Remix Edition 2006".
- ↑ "DVD Talk Review: High School Musical" (May 28, 2006).
- ↑ "Disney Channel Original Movies". Retrieved on 2008-07-24.
- ↑ ""Patriots-Ravens game sets cable TV viewership record," Providence Journal". Retrieved on 2007-12-06.
- ↑ "Variety.com -'High School Musical 2' huge hit". Retrieved on 2007-08-18.
- ↑ Graser, Marc. "'Musical' kids return for 'Senior Year'", Variety, January 14, 2008;
- ↑ Kit, Borys. "Gang's all in for 'HSM3' movie", The Hollywood Reporter, January 15, 2008
- ↑ pacrep.org/archive
- ↑ "Disney's High School Musical: The Ice Tour Heats Up with Announcement of Principal Cast" (2007-06-27). Retrieved on 2007-07-04.
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 Disney launches two 'High School Musical' books
- ↑ Surette, Tim (2008-04-01). "ABC's summer: chock full o' reality". Retrieved on 2008-06-23.
- ↑ Michael Schneider (2008-03-02). "ABC heads to High School". Variety. Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
- ↑ "ABC's 'High School Musical' reality show missteps". The Live Feed.
External links
- Wikia has a wiki on this subject at High School Musical
- High School Musical DVDs Disney's Official High School Musical DVD site
- High School Musical at the Internet Movie Database
- High School Musical at Allmovie
- Disney Channel UK official website
- Disney Channel Asia official website
- Disney Channel's Official High School Musical India website
- High School Musical: The Concert - Official Tour Site
- BBC Website
- High School Musical at TV.com
| Preceded by - |
High School Musical Chronology | Succeeded by High School Musical 2 |
| Preceded by Twitches |
Disney Channel Original Movies | Succeeded by Cow Belles |
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