No End in Sight For High School Musical
High School Musical Movie is no flash in the dark, teeny bopper, here to day and gone tomorrow fad. The surprises of High School Musical has even the critics talking about how great it is. It is being praised for it’s music and choreography. Parents liken it to their generation’s Grease movie. It is in fact one of the all time best selling movies and soundtracks to be released under the Disney banner. The franchise has produced not one, but three movies. Other spin offs include plays, tours, and books.
The original High School Musical Movie was released in Jan. 2006. It immediately caught on in popularity and tweens everywhere showed their loyalty by buying up franchise products such as lunch boxes, jewelry, albums, video games, and clothing. The plot was quite simple: boy (Troy) is a big basketball hero but he secretly yearns to be in the school’s performing arts group. Boy then meets nerdy girl (Gabriella) who also dreams of being in the performing arts group. Problems arise when the boy bulks to pressure from friends and dad.
The film went on to win many awards including:
Billboard Music Award: Soundtrack Album of the Year
Emmy: Outstanding Choreography
Teen Choice Award: Best Breakout Artist and Best Chemistry
Television Critics Association Award: Outstanding Achievement in Children’s Television
High School Musical 2 lived up to the first in popularity. The premiere brought in over 17 million viewers (almost ten million more than the first). It is the end of the school year and the gang get jobs at Lava Springs resort. The daughter of the resort owner has a crush on Troy and schemes to find a way to break up Troy and Gabriella. Though not as critically acclaimed as the first, High School Musical 2 remained popular and produced the Disney Channel hit song, “Fabulous”, performed by Ashley Tisdale.
The franchise hit the big screen in the fall of 2008 with High School Musical Movie 3. The plot line evolves around the gang facing their fears about life after graduation. The two main characters Troy and Gabrielle deal with the prospect of being separated as each goes their own way.
Disney has taken full advantage of the franchise by creating several spin offs:
High School Music concert tour reached fans in the U.S., Canada and Latin America.
High School Music stage musical has been performed by theatre groups throughout the United States and Great Britain.
High School Musical Ice Tour featured Olympic medal winning athletes.
There seems to be no end in near for the High School Musical franchise. It is rumored that High School Musical 4 is in development with most of the original cast coming back. Meanwhile, High School Musical 3 is breaking box office records in the United States and Great Britain.