I still get odd looks from people when they find out about
my love for the tween sensation High School Musical. In fact, just the other
day two people who I thought were cool with others being different saw the trio
of movies next to the TV and looked like they were trying to contain their
laughter. Go ahead, laugh. I don’t know why you’re doing it though.
Despite my love for science fiction, biographies, and TV
shows with long and arcing plot lines, I have a soft spot for children’s
movies. I don’t know if it reminds me of a simpler time in my life or if there
is any deep psychological reason, but I love most movies aimed at children. I
recently just did a marathon of the Champion/Mighty Ducks movies*, and loved
every minute of it. I have the Aladdin and Little Mermaid soundtracks on my
phone and am waiting until I have a little bit extra spending money before I
buy The Lion King on BluRay.
I also love musicals. The Rent soundtrack is on my phone
although I don’t need the music to play to get me to sing along as I know most
of the words to all of the songs (Yes, even La Vie Bohème).
So, knowing these two things it can’t come as a shock that I
love the all three of the High School Musical movies (although if pressed I’ll
say that the second doesn’t rank nearly as high as the first and third).
Not that I need to justify why I like the things that I do,
I thought I would explain the reasons here to give you a better understanding
of what I love about these movies. It might even encourage you to at least try
one out:
1- The
main female character is a good role model.
Gabriella is smart ya’ll. She joins the matheletes and
doesn’t care if it’s ‘not cool’. In the second movie when her boyfriend Troy is
being a bit of a dick to her and his friends while they’re working a summer job
Gabby doesn’t take it; she leaves. In song form she says that she wants to be
herself and doesn’t wanna spend her precious time with a guy who won’t treat
her right. If I recall correctly, Bella became comatose when Edward left her...
Sure, the other female characters in the movie aren’t as
cool as this, but they are fun to watch, and one even has goals of being the
President.
2- The
songs are catchy.
The songs get stuck in your head and make you wanna dance
around a bit. They’re fun and epic and angsty and funny and silly. It is a
musical, after all.
3- There’s
character growth.
We all know one of the main
problems with sequels is the returning of the bad guy. If the group can defeat
them in the first film then it won’t be too much of a problem in the subsequent
ones, or at least it shouldn’t. The ‘bad guys’ of these films are the
brother-sister act of Sharpay and Ryan Evans. They don’t like the idea of
anyone coming into the drama club and stealing their lime light. But as the
movies progress they realise that having other people share the spotlight can
be fun. Other characters also have to come to terms with their true feelings
about themselves as well as others. In the first film they go from singing
“Stick to the Status Quo” (a song about, well, sticking to the status quo) to
“We’re All in This Together” (‘everyone is special in their own way/we make
each other strong’) .
4- There’s
a bromance.
It’s not as epic a bromace as is seen in other movies, but
the friendship and love between the two main male characters is cool. It’s nice
to see a popular film that shows sporty guys can also care about one another.
5- There’s
definite slashy undertones.
It’s not wrong because the characters are all sweet and
innocent, but there’s definitely something going on between Chad and Ryan. At
one point they swap clothing!
6- It’s
fun!
Does anyone else have anything that they love that they are
often mocked for? Share your story here in the comments.
Thanks,
Kathy
Themes: high school muscial, HSM, Disney, musical, songs, dance, Ryan, Sharpay, Evans, Chad, Gabriella, Troy
*In Australia the first movie is called Champions, the
second The Mighty Ducks, and the third is called D3: The Mighty Ducks.
According to IMDB the first movie has an alternate/original title of The Mighty
Ducks and the second is named similarly to the third, D2: The Mighty Ducks.
