The High School Musical the Movie is a musical created for the Disney Channel. The movie was initially released on January 20, 2006 and became a huge success. The movie was directed by Kenny Ortega who has also been contracted by the Disney channel to direct the second installment of the film.
The story is about the story of two High School juniors from different cliques. Troy Bolton, played by Zac Efron is a basketball jock and Garbiela Montez, a transferee is a brainiac.
In the movie, Troy and Gabriela end up auditioning for the school’s winter musical- Twinkle Town. They did so well singing “What I’ve Been Looking For” that they get called back to the second audition for the lead roles. They go against the brother-sister tandem of Ryan and Sharpay Evans, played by Lucas Grabeel and Ashley Tisdale. Ryan and Sharpay work hard to prevent Troy and Gabriela from landing the lead roles of the musical but do not become successful. Despite the pressure from the Evan sibling and their peers, Troy and Gabriela decide to follow their heart and continue to audition for the musical. In the end, Troy and Gabriela successfully lands the lead roles for the musical and in the process they convince their peers to go beyond their images and their cliques and to work beyond their comfort zones to pursue their different passions. At the very end of the movie the whole East High breaks into a song and dance number- We’re All in this Together, ending the film on a happy note.
The movie became such a big success that Disney produced a sequel to the movie. The movie set during the summer time was released on August 17, 2007. The original High School Musical Movie registered 7.7 million viewers when it was shown in the US in January 2006. In the United Kingdom, 789,000 viewers watched the movie during its premiere while a total of 1.2 million viewers watched the show during its first week. It was shown on the BBC Channel in December 2006 and when it was shown again in August 2007, 6 million viewers tuned in. The movie became a worldwide hit with viewers from Asia and other continents.
The movie was shot almost entirely in Utah at the Salt Lake City ad Murray. With a budget of just $ 4.2 million, the film became an intelligent financial investment for Disney. The movie became such a huge success that Disney produced a concert, a DVD set, and different variations of the movie namely the High School Musical Sing-along and the High School Musical Dance-along. The movie also launched the careers of Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens as well as those of supporting casts Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel and others.