High School Musical (2006)
My favorite random Disney fact: In 2016, Corbin Bleu, who portrays Troy Bolton’s bestie Chad Danforth in High School Musical, had the 3rd most translated Wikipedia page in the world. He only trailed Barack Obama and Jesus Christ.
Is this why High School Musical is worth a rewatch? No, but it does speak to just how much of a global phenomenon the movie is, spawning sequels, a concert tour, a TV show series on Disney Plus, and super duper star talent (see: Zac Efron and Olivia Rodrigo).
Most great DCOMs have either a compelling story, magnetic characters, or catchy music. Sometimes, they exhibit two of these qualities. High School Musical captures all three. Troy and Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens) meet on vacation and tear the cabin down with a karaoke rendition of “Start of Something New.” They then go their separate ways and unexpectedly reunite when Gabriella transfers to Troy’s school.
In many aspects, the film is an homage to Grease, as it depicts the protagonists connecting away from home (and judgement) and leaving their perceived social boxes to pursue something different. Gabriella’s solo performance of “When There Was Me And You” as she winds the East High halls is Sandy’s (Olivia Newton-John) “Hopelessly Devoted To You” from the 1978 classic film. And the final epic ballad “We’re All In This Together” is analogous to “We Go Together” in both name and spirit.
“Stick To The Status Quo” captures the mind of a high schooler to a tee: the nightmare scenario of revealing a secret to friends and being rejected for it. What’s great about High School Musical (one of the things, at least) is that there isn’t a clear-cut best song. Upon rewatch, “What I’ve Been Looking For (Reprise)” resonated with me most. The lyrics are simple, but they adequately capture what it means to find your person. You’ve searched for a while, and finally they show up when and where you least expect it (like at a rustic ski lodge in Utah on New Year’s Eve), and the rest is history. Nothing beats that.
19 years following its release, High School Musical still hits like Coach Bolton’s (Bart Johnson) viral line read. Also, shout out to Ashley Tisdale as Sharpay, because you can’t write about HSM without mentioning her.
