High School Musical 2 is the second film in the High School Musical series. The World Premiere took place on August 14, 2007, at Disneyland, in Anaheim, California. The primary cast, including Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel, and Corbin Bleu attended the event. The film debuted on television on August 17, 2007, on Disney Channel in the U.S., and on Family in Canada.
In the second installment of the Disney franchise, high school student Troy Bolton stresses over getting a job, with the price of college expenses looming on his mind, as well as trying to make sure he and Gabriella Montez are able to stay together all summer. This situation attracts the attention of Sharpay Evans, who attempts to steal Troy for herself by hiring him at her family's country club.
The premiere was seen by a total of over 17.2 million viewers in the United States which is almost 10 million more than its predecessor, making it the highest-rated Disney Channel Movie of all time as well as the highest-rated basic cable telecast at the time.
Plot
The school year ends with everyone at East High School looking forward to summer vacation ("What Time Is It"). Troy Bolton is still dating Gabriella Montez, who decides to stay in Albuquerque with her mother. Troy eventually decides to look for a summer job to gain money for college.
Sharpay and Ryan Evans plan to spend part of the summer at their family's country club, Lava Springs ("Fabulous"), but Sharpay's summer plans also include pursuing Troy, whom she has arranged to be hired at the club. However, Troy convinces the club's manager, Mr. Fulton, into hiring Gabriella and their close group of friends as well; including Taylor and Chad. Sharpay is enraged upon learning that Gabriella is working as one of the lifeguards, but is unable to get her fired. So she orders Fulton to give them difficult tasks so they would be best to quit. Fulton attempts to intimidate the group, but Troy rebuilds their confidence and convinces them that they can persevere ("Work This Out").
Troy continues to worry about funding for college. Sharpay senses his need and arranges for Troy to be promoted, hoping that this will convince him to sing with her at the talent show. Meanwhile, Kelsi writes a ballad for Troy and Gabriella. Troy agrees to sing with his friends in the show ("You Are The Music In Me"), not knowing that Sharpay is vying for his attention. (In the extended version, Sharpay and Ryan trap Troy as he prepares for a date with Gabriella, and perform their potential show-stopper ("Humuhumunukunukuapua'a").)
Ryan realizes he does not mean much to Sharpay anymore, as she is ready to blow her brother aside for the opportunity to perform with Troy. This leads to tension between the twin siblings and Ryan angrily informs Sharpay that he will no longer obey her orders. Taylor and Gabriella invite Ryan to the baseball game, where he persuades the Wildcats to take part in the talent show ("I Don't Dance").
Troy and Gabriella's relationship is strained when Troy sees Ryan with Gabriella, sparking jealousy. Owing to a "promise" from Troy, he and Sharpay practice their song for the Midsummer Night's Talent Show ("You Are The Music In Me (Sharpay Version)").
When Sharpay discovers that Ryan and the Wildcats are putting together their own performance in the show, she orders Mr. Fulton to ban all junior staff members from performing. Gabriella angrily confronts Sharpay about her interference and quits her job at Lava Springs. Troy overhears the exchange and tries to persuade Gabriella to change her mind. Gabriella expresses her loss of trust with Troy ("Gotta Go My Own Way") and leaves Lava Springs, and gives him the necklace back. It also seems that they broke up.
Troy returns to work the next day to find that his friends refuse to talk to him. Kelsi silently shows Troy the notice from Mr. Fulton, causing Troy to question his own motivations ("Bet On It"). He begins to reconcile with Chad and his other friends. Then Troy confronts Sharpay, informing her that he will not sing with her. The Wildcats and Chad forgive Troy for his absence and convince him to sing in the talent show, which he does only under the condition that they are all allowed to perform as well.
At Sharpay's supposed instruction, Ryan gives Troy a new song to learn moments before the show. As Troy goes onstage, he asks Sharpay why she switched the song, and Sharpay is shocked to find that her brother tricked her. Troy sings the song ("Everyday") alone until Gabriella surprisingly joins him onstage. In the end, Sharpay proudly presents her brother, Ryan, with the award for the talent show. After the talent show, all the Wildcats go to the golf course to enjoy the fireworks.
Everyone celebrates the end of the summer with a pool party ("All for One") which features a cameo appearance by Miley Cyrus.
Cast
- Troy Bolton (Zac Efron) is the most popular male student at East High School and the captain of the varsity basketball team. For this movie, Efron did all of his own singing, whereas, in the first High School Musical, his singing was blended with singer Drew Seeley's voice.
- Gabriella Montez (Vanessa Hudgens) is Troy's girlfriend who is relieved that she will still be attending East High. She is the lifeguard at the Lava Springs Country Club.
- Sharpay Evans (Ashley Tisdale) is determined to win the talent show and sabotage Troy and Gabriella's relationship.
- Ryan Evans (Lucas Grabeel) is Sharpay's twin brother who lives in the shadow of his primadonna sister.
- Chad Danforth (Corbin Bleu) is Troy's best friend and is very good friends with Jason and Zeke.
- Taylor McKessie (Monique Coleman) is Gabriella's best friend. She is also friends with Kelsi Nielsen and Martha Cox and is dating Chad. She is captain of the school Scholastic Decathlon team. She has a summer job at Lava Springs as an Activities Coordinator.
- Thomas Fulton (Mark L. Taylor) is the manager of Lava Springs.
- Coach Jack Bolton (Bart Johnson) is Troy's father and East High's basketball coach.
- Vance Evans (Robert Curtis Brown) is Sharpay and Ryan's father.
- Darby Evans (Jessica Tuck) is Sharpay and Ryan's mother and president of the Lava Springs Board.
- Ms. Darbus (Alyson Reed) is the stern drama teacher at East High.
- Kelsi Nielsen (Olesya Rulin) is a pianist and composer.
- Zeke Baylor (Chris Warren Jr.) is friends with Troy and Chad and plays for the basketball team.
- Jason Cross (Ryne Sanborn) is friends with Troy, Chad, and Zeke and plays on the basketball team.
- Martha Cox (Kaycee Stroh) is friends with Gabriella, Kelsi, and Taylor.
- Boi Evans (Manly "Little Pickles" Ortega) is Sharpay's Pet dog.
- Jackie (Tanya Chisholm) is one of Sharpay’s friends (a.k.a. The Sharpettes).
- Lea (Kelli Baker), another Sharpette.
- Emma (McCall Clark), another Sharpette.
- Unknown Wildcats player (Shane Harper), the principal dancer.
- Girl At Pool (Miley Cyrus), An unknown dancer at the end (cameo)
- Lucille Bolton (Leslie Wing Pomeroy) Troy's mother.
Release
The premiere of High School Musical 2 aired at 8 PM Eastern Time on August 17, 2007, and included a telecast hosted by Kenny Ortega and the movie's cast. On Saturday, August 18, Disney Channel aired "High School Musical 2: Wildcat Chat", in which the stars of the movie answered questions posed by fans. On August 19, Disney aired a sing-along version of the movie. On May 23, DirecTV announced that they would be hosting an exclusive high-definition airing of the movie a few days after the August 17 premiere on its network-only channel, The 101.
Disney Channel aired a weekly program called Road to High School Musical 2, beginning on June 8, 2007, and leading up to the premiere of High School Musical 2 in August. The show offered viewers a behind-the-scenes look into the production of the movie. The world premiere of the opening number "What Time Is It" was on Radio Disney May 25, 2007, and similarly "You Are The Music In Me" premiered on July 13, 2007.
On December 11, 2007, the movie was released on DVD and Blu-ray titled High School Musical 2: Extended Edition. On September 15, 2008, a 2-disc special edition of the movie was released titled High School Musical 2: Deluxe Dance Edition.
Songs
Reception
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), and 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. Ratings for the second showing of the movie fell to 8.4 million, and the third showing fell to 7.4 million, totaling the premiere weekend to 33.04 million viewers.
In Latin America, the premiere of High School Musical 2 was seen by 3.3 million viewers in the north region. The film was the most-watched in its schedule, among all cable channels, and produced the highest rating of the channel, surpassing all original films of Disney Channel. Among other records, the premiere in Argentina surpassed the debut of High School Musical the last year, in a 107 percent, while in Brazil the sequel reached 208 percent, and Mexico did so with 61 percent. In the United Kingdom, the movie became Disney Channel UK's most viewed program ever, totaling 1.2 million viewers in its first showing.
The film received mixed to positive reviews from critics, gaining a score of 57% on Rotten Tomatoes while gaining a score of 72/100 at Metacritic. USA Today's Robert Bianco awarded the film three stars out of four, saying High School Musical 2 was "sweet, smart, bursting with talent and energy, and awash in innocence". While critics enjoyed the film, they noted that the timing of the movie's premiere seemed odd, premiering just when school was about to start up again, while the movie's plot involved the gang going on summer Vacation. High School Musical 2 won the "So Hot Right Now" award at the Nickelodeon Australian Kids' Choice Awards 2007 in which High School Musical cast mate, Zac Efron hosted with The Veronicas.
High School Musical 2: On Stage!
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. This stage production includes the song "Hummuhummunukunukuapua'a" that was left out of the original movie but included in the DVD. Through Music Theater International, Disney Theatrical began licensing the theatrical rights in October 2008. MTI had originally recruited 7 schools to serve as tests for the new full-length adaptation, but due to complications with multiple drafts of both the script and the score, all but two schools were forced to drop out of the pilot program.
- On May 18, 2008, Woodlands High School became the first school to produce High School Musical 2.
- From July 17-August 3, 2008, Harrell Theatre, in Collierville, Tennessee, was the first community theatre to perform the production, which featured both a senior cast and a junior cast.
- From January 15 - February 15, 2009, the West Coast premiere production was presented by Pacific Repertory Theatre's School of Dramatic Arts. The production was directed by PacRep founderStephen Moorer, who previously directed the California premiere of the first High School Musical.
- From 6â€"18 April 2009, the UK Premiere will be performed by StageDaze Theatre Company in Cardiff.
Awards
References
External links
- Official website
- High School Musical 2 on Internet Movie Database
- High School Musical 2 at AllMovie
- Disneychannel-asia.com, Official Asia site.
- Adisney.go.com, Official Aggregate site