High School Musical 2
After the success of High School Musical, Disney Channel Original Movies released High School Musical 2, once again directed by Kenny Ortega. The premiere was seen by a total of over 18 million viewers in the United States, which is almost 10 million more than its predecessor, making it the highest-rated Disney Channel Movie at the time of its airing.
In the second installment of the Disney franchise, the same characters are brought back to continue their story. Troy Bolton (played by Zac Efron) is consumed by finding a job to pay for college, and keeping his relationship strong throughout the summer with Gabriella Montez (played by Vanessa Hudgens). The movie takes place at a country club where Troy and Gabriella get jobs, along with their friends Taylor (played by Monique Coleman) and Chad (played by Corbin Bleu), and rivals Ryan (played by Lucas Grabeel) and Sharpay (played by Ashley Tisdale) Evans.
Sharpay is still trying to win over Troy’s heart, and is enranged that Gabriella is working at the country club as well. She makes sure that Gabriella gets the most difficult tasks while at work in hopes she will quit. The country club is sponsoring a talent show, and Sharpay is hoping that Troy will sing with her, casting her brother Ryan aside. Instead Troy decides to sing with his friends not knowing Sharpay is vying for his attention. The rivalry continues and games are played to get each other’s attention and steal the show, as the characters burst out in song and dance.
The premiere of High School Musical 2 aired at 8PM Eastern Time on August 17, 2007, and included a telecast hosted by Kenny Ortega and the movie’s cast. High School Musical 2 is now on DVD as an extended version of the originally aired movie. Like the original High School Musical, the sequel has been adapted into two different theatrical productions: A one-act, 70-minute version and a two-act full-length production.
"…sweet, smart, bursting with talent and energy, and awash in innocence" – USA Today
Awards:
- 2007 Teen Choice Award: TV Movie
- 2008 ALMA Award: Outstanding Director of a Made-for-TV Movie (Kenny Ortega)
- 2008 Motion Picture Sound Editors, USA: Best Sound Editing in Music for Long Form Television (Michael Dittrick & Amber Funk )
Accolades:
- The first broadcast of the film on August 17, 2007 broke records, receiving 17.2 million viewers. This number made it, at the time, the most-watched basic-cable telecast in history (the previous record was held by an edition of ESPN’s Monday Night Football between the New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys on October 23, 2006, which attracted 16 million viewers)
- The most-watched made-for-cable movie ever (the previous record was held by TNT’s January 21, 2001 airing of Crossfire Trail, which brought in 12.5 million viewers)
- The largest audience of any program on broadcast or cable in the 2007 summer television season, along with Friday nights for the past five years.
Reviews & Articles:
Official High School Musical 2 Website
High School Musical on Internet Movie Database
High School Musical on Wikipedia
