Product Description

The all-new, smash hit Disney Channel Original Movie everyone is talking about is now available for the first time ever on DVD -- with never-before-seen bonus features that will rock your house! Troy (Zac Efron), the popular captain of the basketball team, and Gabriella (Vanessa Anne Hudgens), the brainy and beautiful member of the academic club, break all the rules of East High society when they secretly audition for the leads in the school's musical. As they reach for the stars and follow their dreams, everyone learns about acceptance, teamwork, and being yourself. And it's all set to fun tunes and very cool dance moves! Featuring the hottest talent, HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL celebrates the power of music in this hip, entertaining, gotta-get-up-and-dance movie. Own all the excitement and the exclusive extras available only on this Encore Edition DVD.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1599 in DVD
• Brand: Disney
• Released on: 2006-05-23
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English, Spanish
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds
• Running time: 98 minutes

Features

• The all-new, smash hit Disney Channel Original Movie everyone is talking about is now available for the first time ever on DVD -- with never-before-seen bonus features that will rock your house! Troy (Zac Efron), the popular captain of the basketball team, and Gabriella (Vanessa Anne Hudgens), the brainy and beautiful member of the academic club, break all the rules of East High society when they

Amazon.com
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 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/theater goddess, Sharpay (Ashley Tisdale of The Suite Life of Zack and Cody). 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.

The bestselling soundtrack is catchy in that Disney-pop kind of way, mixing in a dash of hip-hop ("Getcha Head in the Game," punctuated by squeaky basketball shoes and other sound effects), salsa ("Bop to the Top"), and the endearingly hammy ("What I've Been Looking For" performed by Sharpay and her brother, Ryan, played by Lucas Grabeel). It's not hard to imagine High School Musical becoming a semi-staple for high school groups to perform themselves. DVD bonus features include sing-along subtitles; a 9-minute featurette discussing casting, recording sessions, and rehearsals; a multi-angle look at a rehearsal of "Bop to the Top"; and music videos for "We're All in This Together" and a song that didn't make it into the final film, "I Can't Take My Eyes Off of You," performed by Efron, Hudgens, Tisdale, and Gabreel. --David Horiuchi

Customer Reviews

I'm an adult male and I LOVE this!
Let me begin with this caveat; I have no teenage daughter at home. I find this the most fun and refreshing thing I've seen in a long time, and probably for the very reasons "serious" critics find it silly or pedestrian: the movie embraces its cliches and campiness wholeheartedly and makes me laugh aloud each time I watch it (and I've watched it more times than I care to admit) and the songs are hummable and singable and delightful. I've listened to the soundtrack at least once a day since I got it from amazon, usually on my way to work because the songs put me in a good mood. I mean, who doesn't want to do one of those cool dance moves in the car when "Stick to the Status Quo" or "We're All in This Together" comes on? I do refrain. I love theatre, I love show music, and I love "High School Musical"!

Musical Fun for the Young and Young at Heart
It's New Year's Eve when Troy (Zac Efron) and Gabriella (Vanessa Anne Hudgens) meet. They're picked at random from the crowd attending a teen party at a ski lodge to sign a karaoke song. To their surprise, they actually sound great together and the sparks begin to fly.

Returning from vacation, Gabriella is starting at a new school. She's hoping to shed her geeky girl image. On her first day, she runs into Troy, who is the captain of the basketball team at her new school. He's busy getting ready for the upcoming playoffs against their rival school.

In the back of their minds is the magic that happened when they sang together. The sign ups for the school's winter musicale have been posted, and both of them are tempted to sign up. Of course, that means Troy would have to face his friends, who think he should be focusing all of his time on basketball. And Gabriella would have to deal with Sharpay (Ashley Tisdale) who, along with her brother Ryan (Lucas Grabeel), is always the star of the school programs. Is it worth the potential social upheaval to audition?

This Disney Channel Original Movie has been getting lots of buzz, and for a very good reason. It had been on for about five minutes before I got a smile on my face, and the smile didn't leave until the movie was over. The story is fairly predictable, but the movie is lots of fun and the songs are great.

Instead of doing traditional Broadway type songs, the music here is pop. Of course, this works well with the intended audience of pre-teens and early teens. They even work in a hip-hop song and a salsa song to spice things up a little. About half the songs in this movie are auditions for the winter musicale, and they are very appropriate to the storyline. This actually starts with the karaoke song that Troy and Gabriella sing at the beginning "Start of Something New." For the climax, Sharpay and Ryan sing "Bop to the Top" which talks about getting to the top no matter what while our heroes sing "Breaking Free," a song about their desire to break out of the molds they are in.

The actors do a great job with their roles. Zac Efron and Vanessa Anne Hudgens are especially great as the leads. There is a real chemistry between them that makes all their scenes so believable. I was a little annoyed by the over the top acting of Ashley Tisdale as Sharpay and Alyson Reed as the drama teacher. I know it was done on purpose, but I could have done with out it. Over all, it was a minor complaint.

The DVD features two versions of the movie. One is the regular film, but the other is the sing along edition that features the words to the songs at the bottom of the screen. The other features are ok. There are two music videos, a very brief behind the scenes featurette, and a "Learn the Moves" featurette that sort of teaches you a part of the dancing from "Bop to the Top."

While most of the bonus features aren't worth getting excited about, the movie itself is great fun. I'm just sorry I rented it since now I'll have to spend more money to buy it.

A great movie for kids Korokee Parties!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm a 40 year old adult and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this movie. And I'm not afraid to admit it that I"ve seen this over 6 times with and without my kids. I've taped the show and have had Korokee parties with my kids along with my friends kids. I'm still going to buy the DVD when it comes out, I'm so crazy about this movie. It brings back memories when we all went crazy over a similar movie, GREASE, when we were young.

when I first saw the commercials, I knew that this movie was going to be an "extreme" hit and could not believe our luck that we didn't have to go to the theaters to see it. I was counting the days until premiere day. The dancing, the singing, the music, the storylines, the total package was such a joy to watch. I've also bought the sound track and as another customer has written, it brings a smile and a wonderful feeling when I hear the music.