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On Saturday, September 10, at Disney’s D23 Expo, it was revealed that the original cast of the High School Musical Trilogy will appear in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series Season 4, where students will film a fake High School Musical 4. With one of Disney Channel’s greatest actors returning, let’s take a look back at the trilogy that started it all, but more specifically, the best movie in the franchise.
High School Musical 2 aired on Disney Channel in 2007, a year after the original. Once released, it’s just another Disney Channel sequel that kids will watch once and then forget about. However, unlike many of Disney Channel’s original films, High School Musical 2 has stood the test of time. The franchise is so popular that they made a Sharpay spin-off movie and a Disney+ sequel to continue providing content for fans.
So how did the high school musical series get so much traction than other Disney Channel original films? Well, it’s simple because Disney’s masterpiece is misunderstood.
High School Musical 2 follows the students of the East High School Wildcats in their search for summer jobs. The trilogy’s main antagonist, Sharpay Evans, got the series’ main character, Troy Bolton, to find a job at her family’s country club, Lava Springs. Sharpay’s plan is to use her family’s money and connections to build Troy not only a great summer, but a great future as well. As cute as it sounds, Sharpe did it just to steal Troy from his girlfriend Gabriella. The film follows the team through their summer jobs and how Sharpay’s actions will test the characters’ friendships.
While the plot seems simple and very Disney Channel-like, High School Musical 2 does a great job of incorporating the quirky nature of many of these films, while also setting a good tone when needed. Emotional moments won’t be spoiled by a supporting cast of a very well-timed joke. High School Musical 2 also has a strong theme. One of the themes is a person’s inner struggle.
The entire film has Troy struggling to choose between his present and his future. Throughout the film, we see Troy slowly lose himself and become something he is not, claiming to be. Troy has an issue throughout the series, he desperately wants to fit in and be loved. In the first movie, we see Troy struggling to sing because that’s not what his friends and father want. But in the sequel, Troy created conflict for himself.
Troy emphasized his future and did everything in his power to ensure his success because he believed it was what the people he cared about wanted from him. In reality, Troy is estranged from his friends and Gabriella and is destroying the relationship he cares about. Troy lets the idea of a good future get in the way of his already good present. It wasn’t until Gabriella opened up to Troy about his change that Troy realized he had become someone he didn’t know.
In many Disney Channel movies, the protagonist redeems himself for his lover or friend with some kind of apology, and High School Musical 2 takes the extra step. Troy doesn’t need to apologize to his friends and Gabriella first, but he needs to apologize to himself. Troy must first listen to himself and what he wants. High School Musical 2 did it in perfect fashion with Troy’s solo in the movie “Bet On It”.
Even if it’s only the first line of the song, “Everybody’s talking to me. Everybody’s trying to get into my head. I want to hear my own heart talking. I need to rely on myself,” you can see Troy begin Realize that he needs to live for what he believes, not what he believes others want. Bet it’s an incredible representation of Troy growing up in the movie, if not one of the best songs in a Disney Channel movie.
While Troy does a great job of characterization throughout the film, he can’t handle the film himself. The movie also does a great job of getting the supporting cast to shine. Chad and Ryan are good examples. The two help each other and fully accept who they are.
Ryan is far from the rest of the East High Wildcats so far, and Chad has been very adamant about sticking to sports rather than dancing. The two had an incredible duet called “I Don’t Dance”, which was mostly about getting Chad to express himself through dance. However, the song also brings Ryan closer to the rest of the Wildcats. While on the surface this song seems like a fun way to get Chad to dance with other people, its main purpose is to get Chad to open up emotionally, and we really haven’t seen him do that. It’s a great example of Chad’s movie climax, where he and Troy are able to rekindle their friendship through an emotional exchange.
High School Musical 2 has a great story, great characters, and an amazing theme, but it wouldn’t be High School Musical without incredible music. Bet On It, I Don’t Dance and Gotta Go My Own Way are just a few examples of carefully selected songs from the film’s discovery. what time is it? is a great intro song to get the audience excited for the summer of our characters. Fabulous is a great Sharpay song that allows us to understand the character and her intentions while also having a good time with that person’s joy. Every day is a musical masterpiece that ends the conflict of all our characters and shows that even in tough times, people are there for you.
Essentially, High School Musical 2 is a fun kids’ movie, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get something valuable out of it and have a good time watching it. It’s always silly, tacky, and sometimes childish, but that’s what makes it great. It’s a great movie to play and sing, dance and laugh about.
If you haven’t seen High School Musical 2, you should. If you’ve seen it, revisit one of the greatest Disney movies of all time. Either way, you’ll have a lot of fun and you can take a gamble.
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