High School Musical

This article is about the 2006 Disney Channel television film. For the following franchise, see High School Musical (franchise). For the television series, see High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. For other uses, see High School Musical (disambiguation).

High School Musical
Promotional poster
GenreMusical
Written byPeter Barsocchini
Directed byKenny Ortega
Starring
ComposerDavid Lawrence
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
ProducerDon Schain
CinematographyGordon Lonsdale
EditorSeth Flaum
Running time98 minutes
Production companies
  • Salty Pictures
  • First Street Films
Budget$4.2 million[1]
Original release
NetworkDisney Channel
ReleaseJanuary 20, 2006 (2006-01-20)
Related
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

High School Musical is a 2006 American musical television film produced by and aired on Disney Channel as part of the network's slate of original television films. The first installment of the High School Musical series, the film was directed by choreographer and filmmaker Kenny Ortega from a screenplay by Peter Barsocchini. It stars Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel, Alyson Reed, Corbin Bleu, and Monique Coleman. High School Musical follows student Troy Bolton (Efron), the captain of his school basketball team, and Gabriella Montez (Hudgens), an academically gifted transfer student, who together audition for the lead roles in their school musical, causing division among the school's cliques.

Development for the film began after Barsocchini approached the network in 2004 with a script idea for a musical film. Disney executives also wanted to replicate the success of the musical television film The Cheetah Girls (2003), as well as the standalone musical episodes of their television series Even Stevens (2000–2003) and That's So Raven (2003–2007). Principal photography for High School Musical primarily took place in Utah, with filming locations including East High School, Murray High School, and Salt Lake City. Additional filming took place in Los Angeles. The film has been described by Barsocchini and numerous critics as a modern adaptation of Romeo & Juliet.[2]

High School Musical premiered on Disney Channel on January 20, 2006. It became the most commercially successful Disney Channel television film.[3][4][5] In the U.S., High School Musical generated 7.7 million viewers in its premiere broadcast, breaking the then-record for the highest premiere for the network.[6] Internationally, the film also saw considerable success; as of 2019, over 225 million unique viewers were calculated as watched High School Musical.[7][8] The film received generally mixed reviews from critics,[9] with praise for its cast and music but criticism for its sentimentality; it was more positively received by audiences. The film's soundtrack was commercially and critically successful, reaching atop the U.S. Billboard 200, with its lead single, "Breaking Free", reaching number four on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.[10] Two sequels, High School Musical 2 and High School Musical 3: Senior Year, were released in August 2007 and October 2008 respectively.[11]

  1. ^ "Disney hits high note with the tweenagers - Industry sectors - Times Online". Archived from the original on May 22, 2020. Retrieved February 2, 2007.
  2. ^ Disney scores kid points with 'High School Musical'; Nerdy "Romeo and Juliet" a hit for Disney – Reuters 5/22/06 – MiceChat Archived July 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine; Talkin' Broadway Regional News & Reviews – "High School Musical on Tour" – 8/4/07 Archived February 24, 2008, at the Wayback Machine; DVD Review: High School Musical (Two-Disc Remix Edition) – DVD Archived March 13, 2008, at the Wayback Machine; What Is 'High School Musical,' Anyway? – News Story | Music, Celebrity, Artist News|MTV News Archived March 7, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Maling, Michel Yvonne. "Disney's High School Musical is a Smash Hit". Archived from the original on July 5, 2015. Retrieved August 11, 2012. In January 2006, Disney Channel released High School Musical 1 and it ended up proving to be their most popular and successful movie ever made.
  4. ^ "Nielsens ratings for January 28 – February 3 – USATODAY.com". USA Today. Archived from the original on September 27, 2012. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
  5. ^ "High School Musical 101 (Slideshow) – FamilyEducation.com". Archived from the original on October 29, 2007. Retrieved March 25, 2008.
  6. ^ Keveney, Bill (August 13, 2007). "Can 'High School Musical' do it again?". USA Today. Archived from the original on October 16, 2011. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  7. ^ Maling, Michel Yvonne. "Disney's High School Musical is a Smash Hit". Archived from the original on July 5, 2015. Retrieved August 11, 2012. More than 225 million viewers have watched this smash hit globally.
  8. ^ "DisneyChannelFacts" (PDF). Disney Channel. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 31, 2009. Retrieved June 13, 2009.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference rotten was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Market Data for 2006 | LinuxElectrons Archived July 13, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ Hetrick, Adam (April 9, 2008). "Bet On It: Disney Plans Fourth "High School Musical"". Playbill. Archived from the original on April 13, 2008. Retrieved April 10, 2008.