Review of High School Musical (2006) by Darren C — 21 May 2012

Zac Efron and Vanessa Anne Hudgens star in this Disney Channel Original Movie as popular basketball team captain Troy and smart, stunning academic Gabriella. Both shock the members of the social cliques to which they belong when they each decide to audition for the high school's musical. By proving themselves to be brilliant performers, can these two teens lead their peers towards more open-minded thinking and acceptance of one another?

Over the years, High School Musical has become quite a popular franchise. It had two sequels (one of which made it to the big screen), CDs, DVDs, toys, clothing, video games, concerts, ice tours and stage plays. There have been mixed opinions on this movie, some saying it's good and some saying it's the worst thing in the world but which one is right? The story is pretty much basic, it's really a modernised kid-friendly version of Grease with a message constantly telling you to be yourself and to not fall under peer pressure. The characters weren't created well but in saying that, there was character development amidst the cheesy musical numbers and dance routines. The direction was done well and the choreography was well executed. The songs were pretty much mediocre and they don't really stand out much. Even though they were decent singers and one or two of the songs were admittedly catchy, you couldn't help but cringe sometimes because of the cheesiness of the songs and dialogue. The acting was average, it wasn't good but I can't say that it was bad either but it's what you would expect from a Disney TV movie.

You know what you're letting yourself in for with High School Musical. There's no denying it's squeaky-clean and cheesy but it is light-hearted fun when it does it. It's definitely appealed to its audience and it's bearable to watch. It is what it is and you know what you're going to get, this is definitely not a movie to take seriously. This is the daddy of cheesy musicals. If you don't like Disney cheesiness then you should definitely avoid.