High School Musical 2

High School Musical 2
Promotional poster
Written by	Peter Barsocchini
Directed by	Kenny Ortega
Starring	Zac Efron Vanessa Hudgens Ashley Tisdale Lucas Grabeel Corbin Bleu Monique Coleman
Composer	David Lawrence
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Producers	Bill Borden Kenny Ortega
Cinematography	Daniel Aranyó
Editor	Seth Flaum
Running time	104 minutes
Production companies	Salty Pictures First Street Films
Distributor	Disney-ABC Domestic Television
Budget	$7 million
Release
Original network	Disney Channel
Original release	August 17, 2007 (2007-08-17)
Chronology
Preceded by	High School Musical
Followed by	High School Musical 3: Senior Year

High School Musical 2 is a 2007 American musical television film, distributed by Disney-ABC Domestic Television for the Disney Channel. It is the sequel to High School Musical (2006), and the second installment in the High School Musical franchise. The film was directed by Kenny Ortega, written by Peter Barsocchini, and stars Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel, Corbin Bleu, and Monique Coleman. In High School Musical 2, Troy, Gabriella, and the Wildcats find work at a country club, but tensions rise when Sharpay recruits Troy for a talent show performance.

High School Musical 2 retained Utah as a central filming location with a return to East High School, while Entrada at Snow Canyon Country Club was adopted as the Evans' country club. Additional scenes were filmed in Los Angeles.

Upon the film's release on August 17, 2007, it broke a plethora of viewership records as it became the most commercially successful Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM) ever produced.^[1] In the U.S., High School Musical 2 generated 17 million viewers in its premiere broadcast, smashing the record of its predecessor by over ten million, while the figure remains the highest the network has ever produced.^[2] It also ranked as the highest-rated basic cable telecast at the time.^[3][4][5]

The film's soundtrack also enjoyed widespread success; it was certified double platinum in its first week as it debuted at number one in the United States. Additionally, its lead single, "What Time Is It?", reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100. The film and soundtrack received generally positive reviews from critics and audiences, with many considering it better than the first film.

A sequel, High School Musical 3: Senior Year, was released theatrically in 2008.

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 the summer at their family's country club, Lava Springs ("Fabulous"), but Sharpay's summer plans also include pursuing Troy, whom she has arranged for 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 want 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 to the University of Albuquerque's senior basketball team, hoping that this will convince him to sing with her at the talent show. Meanwhile, Kelsi writes a song for Troy and Gabriella and they agree to sing with their 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 by performing their own song ("Humuhumunukunukuapua'a"), much to Troy's annoyance.

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 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 rehearse another song for the talent show ("You Are The Music In Me (Sharpay Version)"). Troy also gets into a heated argument with Chad for abandoning his friends, due to his perceived selfishness after being promoted by Sharpay.

When Sharpay discovers that Ryan and the Wildcats are putting together their own performance in the show, she orders Mr. Fulton to ban all staff members from performing. Gabriella 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"), leaves Lava Springs, and returns to him her necklace, which he had given to her after school ended.

Troy returns to work the next day to find that his friends refuse to talk to them, following his earlier argument with Chad. Kelsi silently shows Troy the notice from Mr. Fulton, causing Troy to question his own motivations ("Bet On It") and confronts Sharpay, informing her that he will not sing with her. He then reconciles with Chad and apologizes to the Wildcats for his absence. They 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 and the Wildcats 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 Gabriella's boyfriend, 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.^[6]
• 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 until Sharpay's actions cause her to quit and break up with Troy.
• Sharpay Evans (Ashley Tisdale) is Ryan's primadonna twin sister determined to win the talent show while also vying for Troy's attention and doing anything to help him.
• 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.
• Darby Evans (Jessica Tuck) is Sharpay and Ryan's mother and president of the Lava Springs Board.
• Vance Evans (Robert Curtis Brown) is Sharpay and Ryan's father.
• Ms. Darbus (Alyson Reed) is the stern drama teacher at East High.
• 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.
• Kelsi Nielsen (Olesya Rulin) is friends with Gabriella and Taylor and a pianist and composer.
• Martha Cox (Kaycee Stroh) is friends with Gabriella, Kelsi, and Taylor.
• Jackie (Tanya Chisholm) is one of Sharpay’s friends (a.k.a. The Sharpettes).
• Lucille Bolton (Leslie Wing Pomeroy) is Troy's mother.
• Lea (Kelli Baker) is another Sharpette.
• Emma (McCall Clark) is another Sharpette.
• Unknown Wildcats player (Shane Harper) is the principal dancer.
• Girl At Pool (Miley Cyrus) is an unknown dancer at the end (cameo).

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.^[7] 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.^[8]

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,^[9] and similarly "You Are The Music In Me" premiered on July 13, 2007.^[10]

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

Viewership

A performance of musical numbers from High School Musical 2 at Disney's Hollywood Studios.

The first broadcast of the film on August 17, 2007, broke records, receiving 17.2 million viewers.^[4] 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.^[11]

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.^[12] In the United Kingdom, the movie became Disney Channel UK's most viewed program ever, totaling 1.2 million viewers in its first showing.^[13]

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 82% based on 22 reviews, with an average rating of 5.8/10. The website‘ s critics consensus reads, "Surprisingly better than its predecessor, High School Musical 2returns to enchant tweens with its snappy songs, wicked dance moves, and peppy spirit."^[14] Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 72 out of 100, based on 23 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[15]

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".^[16] 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.^[17] High School Musical 2 won the "So Hot Right Now" award at the Nickelodeon Australian Kids' Choice Awards 2007, in which High School Musical castmate Zac Efron hosted with The Veronicas.

High School Musical 2: On Stage!

Pacific Repertory Theatre's School of Dramatic Arts High School Musical Act 1 Finale.

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.^[18]
• From April 6–18, 2009, the UK Premiere was performed by StageDaze Theatre Company in Cardiff.^[19]

Awards

References

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: High School Musical 2

Wikimedia Commons has media related to High School Musical 2.

• Official website
• High School Musical 2 at IMDb
• High School Musical 2 at AllMovie
• Disneychannel-asia.com, Official Asia site.
• Adisney.go.com, Official Aggregate site