The Disney Channel Original Movie High School Musical is a
combination of backstage action and Grease without the
unwholesome habits. Scoring record ratings at the time of its US
January 2006 broadcast, it's a smash hit with tween audiences
(ages 6 to 10), but appealing for all ages. At a New Year's Eve
party, Troy (Zac Efron of the WB's Summerland) has a chance
meeting with Gabriella (Vanessa Anne Hudgens) when they share a
karaoke song. Lo and behold, when school resumes, they discover
that Gabriella has just transferred to Troy's East High School, a
campus divided into tight cliques of jocks, cheerleaders,
brainiacs, and skater dudes. Eager to recapture the magic they'd
discovered during karaoke, Troy and Gabriella consider
auditioning for the school's upcoming musical, much to the dismay
of the school's frost queen/theatre goddess, Sharpay (Ashley
Tisdale of The Suite Life of Zack and Cody (
/gp/search?search-alias=dvd&field-keywords=suite%20life%20of%20zack%20and%20cody
)). Problem is, Troy is also the star of the basketball team and
Gabrielle is being recruited to compete in the Scholastic
Decathlon. Will they give up their cliques to start something
new, or will they do as the show's first big anthem urges and
"Stick to the Status Quo"? Well, this is a Disney movie, so maybe
the sacrifices won't be that hard, and even the hints of romance
are mild.
This two-disc Remix Edition of High School Musical retains all
the bonus features of the original DVD and adds 34 minutes of new
features. Following a couple of minutes of red-carpet interviews
from the DVD release party, "High School Reunion" (6 min.)
gathers the cast for some more interviews, glimpses of their
other Disney Channel credits, and appearances on the Teen Choice
Awards. The longest feature is the dance-along, in which the cast
teaches the choreography for "Get'cha Head in the Game" and
"We're All in This Together." At 16 minutes, it allows for
move-by-move instruction followed by half- and full-speed
run-throughs, though they're facing the camera, so home
participants will have to figure out the mirror image or simply
ignore the left-right directions and do it backward. And because
this is the Remix Edition, there are videos of the remixed
versions of "Breaking Free" and "We're All in This Together" as
well as a video of "Eres Tu," a Spanish version of "What I've
Been Looking For" (the Ryan and Sharpay version) by Mexican band
Belanova. Retained from the original DVD are the sing-along
subtitles, the making-of featurette, the "Bop to the Top"
rehearsal, and the music videos for "We're All in This Together"
and "I Can't Take My Eyes Off of You." Not included in this
version: the trivia-packed "pop-up edition" that debuted on the
Disney Channel on Thanksgiving weekend 2006. So even if the Remix
Edition is a little thin for two discs, fans will enjoy the new
stuff while they wait for High School Musical 2. --David Horiuchi
Synopsis
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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?
High School Musical is a family feature filled with hip music,
popular dance moves, and tons of school spirit.