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High School Musical

Play trailer Poster for High School Musical TV-G 2006 1h 36m Kids & Family Musical Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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67% Tomatometer 21 Reviews 74% Popcornmeter 250,000+ Ratings
Troy Bolton (Zac Efron), the star athlete at a small-town high school, falls for nerdy beauty Gabriella Montez (Vanessa Anne Hudgens) at a holiday karaoke party. When they return to campus, Troy and Gabriella audition for the upcoming school musical. Meanwhile, the jealous Sharpay Evans (Ashley Tisdale) conspires to squelch their chances. The two must struggle to make it to auditions while also meeting their existing obligations to the basketball team and the academic decathlon.
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High School Musical

High School Musical

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Critics Consensus

High School Musical is brazenly saccharine, but it makes up for it with its memorable show tunes, eye-popping choreography, and appealing cast.

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Critics Reviews

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Laura Fries Variety Although the plot's not particularly novel, writer Peter Barsocchini's script maintains the fantasy elements while incorporating topical and relevant themes into the story. Sep 10, 2019 Full Review Anita Gates New York Times It would be unfair not to salute the movie's message about broadening one's horizons and not being limited by stereotypes or peer pressure. But when an admirable message is packaged in such treacle, it just makes the message seem treacly, too. Sep 9, 2019 Full Review Noel Murray AV Club Mostly, High School Musical makes an appealing case for an idealized vision of high school, where individuality is celebrated and even the mean kids know everyone's name. Rated: B Sep 9, 2019 Full Review Kate Halliwell The Ringer School spirit is forever, though. May the legacy of the East High Wildcats never die. Apr 25, 2023 Full Review Kate Robertson Stuff.co.nz If a pre-teen in your life hasn't seen this coming-of-age classic, it's time to sit down and educate them. Aug 10, 2021 Full Review Nick Levine Digital Spy High School Musical is kitsch, sexless and hopelessly clichéd, but it manages to offer a giddy sense of fun to a generation that's overdosing on seriousness. Sep 10, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Payton D This movie is extremely overrated. The plot is extremely basic, and the songs are below mediocre. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 07/30/24 Full Review Dale R Loosely based on Shakespere’s Romeo & Juliet, this Disney Channel original movie features two high school students, one a basketball jock, the other a math and science geek, falling for each other as they both audition for the musical. The plot for this film isn’t deep and is just another script produced by the Disney machine to appeal to the young middle and high school crowd. What brings this movie up is the music by David Lawrence that creates a well crafted musical with several catchy songs. The choreography is also well performed and crafted to allow middle and high school students can easily perform it at home. There is some good acting here as well from Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Lucas Grabeel and Corbin Bleu. I did find Ashley Tisdale’s Sharpay a little much. My other complaint is the plot just wrapped up quickly, seeming to skip some scenes that should have played a bigger role in some of the characters’ development. I think this movie is worth your time. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 07/07/24 Full Review John L A pitch perfect musical. This is a unique musical movie that was never repeated again. The standard set by high school musical 1 was so high, nobody can create another musical as good as this one. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/24/24 Full Review Hargie M I have many memories connected to this movie. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/24/24 Full Review Alyssa N This is a Disney classic for people born in early 2000's. I'm biased, I'll admit it. BUT COMMON. The music is actually good. It's fun, and it's the best musical from that era. I'm a grown adult now and I still enjoy the movie. 18 years later and this movie still hasn't aged (besides the outfits) Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/03/24 Full Review Tim H Poor disappointing the acting was poor The plot was obvious, could tell you the story with out seeing the film these stories are old now Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 01/25/24 Full Review Read all reviews
High School Musical

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis Troy Bolton (Zac Efron), the star athlete at a small-town high school, falls for nerdy beauty Gabriella Montez (Vanessa Anne Hudgens) at a holiday karaoke party. When they return to campus, Troy and Gabriella audition for the upcoming school musical. Meanwhile, the jealous Sharpay Evans (Ashley Tisdale) conspires to squelch their chances. The two must struggle to make it to auditions while also meeting their existing obligations to the basketball team and the academic decathlon.
Director
Kenny Ortega
Producer
Don Schain
Screenwriter
Peter Barsocchini
Production Co
Walt Disney Pictures, Salty Pictures Inc., First Street Films
Rating
TV-G
Genre
Kids & Family, Musical, Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Dec 5, 2016
Runtime
1h 36m
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