The Story Of The High School Musical Video Series

The High School Musical video franchise has become one of the hottest, most talked about movies for young kids and tweens around the globe. Here is a brief history of the series.

High School Musical made its debut on the Disney Channel in January 2006. It was an original Disney movie, and became the most successful one they ever produced. It won an Emmy, and the soundtrack to the film was one of the top selling albums of 2006 in the United States.

The story of all the High School Musical videos centers around Troy and Gabriella, two high school students from different and rival cliques. It is a very modern take on Romeo and Juliet, and some people have compared it to Grease. Troy, played by teen heartthrob Zac Efron, is the captain of East High’s basketball team and is a ‘jock’. Gabriella, played by Vanessa Hudgens, is a shy, serious math whiz who transfers to East High.

The two had met over the Christmas holidays when they sang together at a party, but when Gabriella transfers to his school Troy has to confront both his attraction to someone so different from him, as well as his growing desire to do something very un-jock like and try out for the school musical along with Gabriella. Along the way, both characters battle pressure from their peer groups and eventually overcome it and inspire others to follow their dreams, instead of following the crowd.

Filmed in Salt Lake City, Utah, High School Musical was the most watched Disney Channel movie in the US and the second most watched in the UK. It has been watched and loved by over 225 million people all over the world. With this success, it is no wonder that Disney decided to make several sequels and create the High School Musical video franchise.

High School Musical 2, set over summer vacation, premiered in August of 2007 to over 18 million viewers in the US alone, which made it the highest-rated movie for the Disney Channel of all time. It broke records for the most-watched basic cable broadcast (beating an edition of Monday Night Football) and the most-watched made for TV movie.

High School Musical 3 premiered in 2008 at theatres, making it the first theatrical sequel to a TV movie for Disney.  This film follows Troy, Gabriella and the others as they start their senior year in  high school and prepare for college…and their futures apart from one another. It made $42 million on North America during the first three days, and another $40 million overseas, making it the highest grossing opening weekend for a musical movie.

Another installment is due to come out in 2010. High School Musical: East Meets West will focus on the rivalry between the East High Wildcats and the West High Knights basketball teams. This made for TV movie will have a fresh cast, as the regular characters have all graduated. It remains to be seen if this fourth movie will keep the High School Musical video franchise alive, or if die-hard fans will pass it by because the characters they love have moved on.

Even so, it may create a whole new generation of fans, who will want to follow the new group of students as they learn life lessons and sing all new songs. The High School Musical video series is sure to remain popular among fans young and old for years to come.