High School Musical graduates

2 months ago 11th Oct 08:15

First there was 'Grease' (1978), then 'The Blues Brothers (1980) and this year 'Mama Mia!, but rarely has a musical movie turned into such a phenomenon in the way 'High School Musical' has.

The story of East High school students Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez has enchanted and captured the imaginations of fans, old and young alike, worldwide, and has taken 'High School Musical' from its original "made for the Disney Channel format" to allowing it a cinema release for 'High School Musical 3: Senior Year'.

Disney's 'High School Musical' franchise has also transformed the lives of stars Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens, as well as their co-stars Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel, Corbin Bleu and Monique Coleman - taking them from normal, everyday teenagers and turning them into heartthrobs adored the world over.

And after the unexpected success of 'High School Musical' in 2006 and the sequel 'High School Musical 2' in 2007, the team have reunited with director, choreographer and executive producer Kenny Ortega for the final movie in the trilogy.

"All I've ever tried to do here with 'High School Musical' was to enjoy telling a story from a musical point of view in a light-hearted and joyful way without having an overly complicated story and overly complicated characters," Kenny explained. "I just try to bring it to life with as much fun and joy and colour and excitement as possible."

Screenwriter Peter Barsocchini adds the pair were determined not to rehash the stories of the first two films, and wanted to bring something entirely new to the franchise.

"The first thing out of Kenny Ortega's mouth was, 'I don't want to remake the first two movies. I want to be true to the 'High School Musical' feeling, but I want to let these kids grow up", said Peter. "They're high school seniors, so let's give them the pressures that high school seniors have about prom, finals, graduation and going away. There's a balance - we're making musical comedy but we want to try and base it in some emotional reality."

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