high school musical book review

Book Review — “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series: The Road Trip” by Melissa De La Cruz

Melissa De La Cruz is a radically amazing person. While that isn’t the most professional terminology to highlight her career successes, you can’t argue that it applies. A writer of buckets of books, her resume makes me worry that she doesn’t have time to sleep. Since coming into the Disney fray, she has written the highly successful Descendants  series, with Isle of the Lost spending fifteen weeks at #1 on the NYT Bestseller list.

Stemming from that success, among others, her YA novel 29 Dates  is becoming a Disney+ original movie and her Melissa De La Cruz Studio at Disney Publishing will now package and produce middle grade and YA books for a wider audience. She is now, without a doubt, an essential part of the Disney family.

All this in mind, it makes sense that she was asked to tackle the last young adult juggernaut for the company with High School Musical: The Musical – The Series . As a bridge piece connecting the first and second seasons of the show, The Road Trip  follows our favorite East High students as they venture on a last minute trip to a High School Musical  convention.

Now, if this brings in a new generation to reading through the optimization of a rabid fan base, be my guest. Unfortunately, this book is not…good. It’s seven different things thrown together, bound with a hardcover, and sold with no real need.

The guise of this story is through various points of view. Every chapter is written from the viewpoint of a different character. Carlos, Courtney, Gina, Nini, and Ricky get normally formatted chapters, while in the first 50 pages we also receive EJ’s “Instagram Interludes” and a listicle from Miss Jenn. A whiplash treatment plan comes with every copy of the book.

On top of this, the story just isn’t necessary. To compare to the other world-building series Melissa has written, Descendants  is ripe for these interstitial stories. We can learn backstories for the villain kids, frenemy origins, or just a side adventure. HSM isn’t necessarily the type of property that is well suited for this type of storytelling.

The story opens on the Carlos chapter and I was immediately a little off-put as the dialogue read as disingenuous. It was an instance of someone trying to write in the voice of a teen that isn’t a teen. Pepper in some wording that made me slightly uncomfortable (The energy of it could be best described as, “Oh honey, I know he’s the gay one, so let’s gay it up!”) and we’re off to a shaky start.

The book meanders through Nini and Ricky’s love story, Courtney’s need to break out into the spotlight, Miss Jenn’s fascination with Lucas Grabeel, and one of Sharpay’s dogs. It’s just too much for a middle-grade novel that didn’t need to exist in the first place.

Maybe I’m being too harsh on this book, as I am clearly not the key demo. Yet, as a fan of the show, I respect it’s ability to not talk down to it’s viewers. The content on the show was for a younger demographic, but it’s never neutered for its audience. This book, unfortunately, does the office. It’s sanitized for no one’s real benefit.

I had the wonderful chance to speak with Melissa  (and Dove Cameron) a few years back and it was a wonderful time. During our discussion, the conversation about the Descendants  series was that it was always intended to be multi-platform. It would be an overarching, multiple-platform franchise. It showed in the book, as the writing and the series as a whole melted together effortlessly. Unfortunately, it feels like this HSM novel was an afterthought and, because of this, the need for a written bridge story isn’t there.

Melissa being the face of Disney Publishing is so phenomenal, especially now that she has her studio. I love Melissa! She is a kind, wonderful writer who now gets the control and power she deserves. However, can we not ask her to write these types of books if there isn’t a purpose?

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High School Musical Swallows Itself Whole

Early in the first episode of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series , a terrifyingly perky woman (Kate Reinders) stands in the middle of a high-school gym and addresses the students assembled in the bleachers. “My name is Miss Jenn,” she says. “When I heard that the high school where High School Musical was shot had never staged a production of High School Musical: The Musical , I was shocked as an actress, inspired as a director, and triggered as a millennial.”

That sentence is the premise of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series , one of the new original shows launching on Disney+. And attempting to read that sentence, much less to say it out loud and have it convey any meaning at all, is a pretty good first crack at unpacking the many absurdities layered throughout the series’ first two episodes. It is a fictional show about high schoolers who attend the school where High School Musical was originally shot, and in the series, they stage a production of High School Musical. At the same time, the characters themselves fall loosely into the roles of the High School Musical characters, with various features and elements shifted around like they’ve been reassigned by a game of Boggle.

There’s a transfer student (Gina, played by Sofia Wylie), but this time she’s the villain rather than the lead. There’s a blond hotshot athlete type (EJ, played by Matt Cornett), but this time he’s the dopey current boyfriend rather than the male lead. A brunette singer-songwriter type (Ricky, played by Joshua Bassett) becomes the once-and-future winner of the female lead’s heart. Sweet underappreciated Nini (Olivia Rodrigo) becomes the crucial central female character, the one whose voice takes everyone by surprise. They are analogues for most of the characters from the original High School Musical , but everything becomes additionally ridiculous once they all get cast in their school’s production of High School Musical . EJ wants to be a Troy, but he’s a Chad. Gina, arguably the Sharpay, tries everything she can to become Gabriella. I, 20 minutes into the first episode, put my head down on my desk and took deep breaths.

The show seems aimed at fully self-aware meta humor, but it’s not quite sharp enough to pull off self-mockery, and at the same time, too loopingly referential to just be a straight remake. You see the jokes happening right there in front of your face, but you can’t feel them, so you’re left wondering if they actually were jokes. It’s like if the Wikipedia page for “intellectual property” became a sentient being and then appeared in an animated series about the Wikipedia page for “spinoff” — when you stare at it, you can see the possibility for fun, light goofiness. But mostly what you see is a Disney property chewing, swallowing, and then regurgitating itself whole.

It does seem possible that once High School Musical: The Musical: The Series has managed to summit the peak of its own premise, it could smooth out a little, becoming less like a Disney executive’s fever dream of synergistic self-promotion, and more like Glee . In its best moments, that’s really what the first two episodes of the show feel like. There’s a moving ballad, there are ambitious teens trying to scrabble for more prominence, and there’s overexcited drama teacher Miss Jenn. There’s an ostensible frame of a mockumentary format, which feels less like a guiding aesthetic principle than a soupçon of 2000s-style TV storytelling intended to give the show an additional dose of nostalgia. Everyone wears a lot of red, which makes sense based on the original costuming in High School Musical , but also pings strong notes of Glee ’s red T-shirts. And, importantly, the singing is good! The teens all have the virtue-signaling shiny/floppy/dramatic hair required for teens in a Disney production. Their teeth are straight, their skin is clear.

Put another way, all the pieces are in place for a perfectly nice show about drama geeks from Utah who just want to sing and then kiss each other, probably without tongue. Hopefully High School Musical: The Musical: The Series will figure out a way to just let the nice teens sing and then kiss each other, without also needing to constantly remind themselves, and the audience, that this is all a winking reference to something else.

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Critic’s Notebook

‘High School Musical: The Musical: The Series’: The Review

The “High School Musical” update and “Encore!” take the stage at Disney Plus, but with differing results.

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By Margaret Lyons

God bless “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” for not containing any murders. The revved up erotic gloom and doom of teen TV — partially attributable to “Riverdale,” more attributable to “Pretty Little Liars” — is completely, mercifully absent from the new series, replaced by a Disney cheerfulness and flashes of Irony Jr. for kids . The result is surprisingly refreshing, even with a title that suggests a sense of redundancy.

The series is about high schoolers staging a production of “High School Musical,” with the added meta layer that the characters attend the school where the movie “High School Musical” was filmed, and their drama teacher ( Kate Reinders ) claims to have been part of the cast. There are lots of referential jokes and I assume I missed lots more, given that I have only a passing familiarity with the original “High School Musical.” (Shout-out to the kids I used to babysit for and to the dance tutorial on the DVD.) The show, like the movie, like the musical, like high school, is about finding supportive friends and learning to express yourself.

It’s a common fit, teens and performance, whether it’s entire shows devoted to the concept, like “Glee,” or just one-off episodes where someone has to deliver a monologue, like “My So-Called Life.” The “High School Musical” update is geared to a tween or maybe younger audience, so it’s not going for gut-punches or twists so much as straightforward conflict and earnest determination. Nini ( Olivia Rodrigo ) is nervous that she isn’t up to the task of playing the female lead. Gina (Sofia Wylie) is miffed that she was overlooked ( this honestly seems fair , she was better). Nini has a boyfriend ( Matt Cornett ), but it’s her ex-boyfriend ( Joshua Bassett ) who’s cast as the male lead in the play. Strife!

The series is not a reinvention of its genre, but it shines in its little specifics, like the agony of listening to someone slog through reading stage directions out loud, or impromptu harmonies that are really just singing an octave up. The cast is bubbly and terrific, and the zingers (“my mother bounced back from an autopsy!”) keep everything from becoming schlockola.

Less successful, though, is its odd real-life counterpart, “Encore!,” which maybe should be called “High School Musical: Adults.” The premise, at least, is a gold mine: People who performed together in a musical in high school reunite years later to do it all again. But the moments of emotional depth and humanity are rare — though sometimes quite touching — and the moments of cringing and overproduction are plentiful.

“Encore!” actually premiered in 2017, with a little-seen one-off episode on ABC; Disney Plus made two new episodes available to press, one that restages a 1996 production of “Annie” and the second that restages a 2007 production of “Beauty and the Beast.” Is “Annie” an odd choice for high schoolers and an even odder choice for adults? Is 2007 maybe not long enough ago to create the we-were-young-once resonance the show is trying so hard for? These are among the unanswered questions.

It’s a forced setting in forced circumstances, and the show never shakes that sense of contrivance in the same the way that, for example, “Queer Eye” does. Five days to put on a musical would be near impossible even in professional circumstances, and so for amateurs — almost all of whom have not been in any kind of performance scenario since high school — it feels weirdly lose-lose. Attempts to nudge people toward breakthroughs feel awkward at best, and genuinely painful at worst. I needed several breaks to get through the episodes.

The most touching part of “Encore!” — and, weirdly, the opposite of what happens in “High School Musical” — is the reverence with which everyone speaks of their high school drama teachers, who are also back for the production and wind up in roles in the musicals. “He bought my cap and gown,” one woman says in the second episode. It should be a bigger moment; it’s a big deal, something that could seem small but looms incredibly large. But the show blows past it.

I wish “Encore!” was better at setting people up for success, and I wish it actually captured what everyone in the series talks about and remembers experiencing: how special it feels to put on a show. How exciting, how vulnerable, how specific. How messy and beautiful. Somehow “Encore!” winds up feeling phonier than “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.”

Margaret Lyons is a television critic. She previously spent five years as a writer and TV columnist for Vulture.com. She helped launch Time Out Chicago and later wrote for Entertainment Weekly, among other publications. More about Margaret Lyons

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HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL

The musical: the series: the road trip.

by Melissa de la Cruz ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 4, 2021

A lighthearted and charming read.

The East High theater crew heads to a High School Musical fan convention.

The story picks up after the first season of the mockumentary-style Disney+ show, set in the real Salt Lake City school where the original Disney musical was filmed. Fresh off the drama department’s production of High School Musical , show choreographer Carlos finds out there’s an HSM convention in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, featuring workshops and meet and greets with the cast and crew. Drama teacher Miss Jenn proposes a last-minute field trip so she can lure a guest star for their spring musical and transform East High into a Fame level program. A breezy and fun read, the book contains chapters that offer pithy first-person accounts from each character, including quirky Miss Jenn; Carlos and his boyfriend, Seb; recently reunited couple Nini and Ricky and their BFFs, Kourtney and Big Red; popular senior E.J. and his songwriter cousin, Ashlyn; and talented triple threat Gina. The plot includes references to the series and themes straight from the musical: nurturing your talent, showing others how much they matter, and acknowledging the importance of teamwork. Although race isn’t mentioned overtly, the characters are cued as racially diverse, following the casting of the TV show. Fans will appreciate the inside jokes, but explanations in the text make it accessible even to those unfamiliar with the program.

Pub Date: May 4, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-368-06184-1

Page Count: 272

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Review Posted Online: March 12, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2021

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS

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THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL

From the school for good and evil series , vol. 1.

by Soman Chainani ; illustrated by Iacopo Bruno ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 14, 2013

Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic.

Chainani works an elaborate sea change akin to Gregory Maguire’s Wicked (1995), though he leaves the waters muddied.

Every four years, two children, one regarded as particularly nice and the other particularly nasty, are snatched from the village of Gavaldon by the shadowy School Master to attend the divided titular school. Those who survive to graduate become major or minor characters in fairy tales. When it happens to sweet, Disney princess–like Sophie and  her friend Agatha, plain of features, sour of disposition and low of self-esteem, they are both horrified to discover that they’ve been dropped not where they expect but at Evil and at Good respectively. Gradually—too gradually, as the author strings out hundreds of pages of Hogwarts-style pranks, classroom mishaps and competitions both academic and romantic—it becomes clear that the placement wasn’t a mistake at all. Growing into their true natures amid revelations and marked physical changes, the two spark escalating rivalry between the wings of the school. This leads up to a vicious climactic fight that sees Good and Evil repeatedly switching sides. At this point, readers are likely to feel suddenly left behind, as, thanks to summary deus ex machina resolutions, everything turns out swell(ish).

Pub Date: May 14, 2013

ISBN: 978-0-06-210489-2

Page Count: 496

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2013

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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by Soman Chainani ; illustrated by Iacopo Bruno

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by Soman Chainani ; illustrated by RaidesArt

by Soman Chainani ; illustrated by Julia Iredale

BOOK TO SCREEN

NOWHERE BOY

by Katherine Marsh ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 7, 2018

A captivating book situated in present-day discourse around the refugee crisis, featuring two boys who stand by their high...

Two parallel stories, one of a Syrian boy from Aleppo fleeing war, and another of a white American boy, son of a NATO contractor, dealing with the challenges of growing up, intersect at a house in Brussels.

Ahmed lost his father while crossing the Mediterranean. Alone and broke in Europe, he takes things into his own hands to get to safety but ends up having to hide in the basement of a residential house. After months of hiding, he is discovered by Max, a boy of similar age and parallel high integrity and courage, who is experiencing his own set of troubles learning a new language, moving to a new country, and being teased at school. In an unexpected turn of events, the two boys and their new friends Farah, a Muslim Belgian girl, and Oscar, a white Belgian boy, successfully scheme for Ahmed to go to school while he remains in hiding the rest of the time. What is at stake for Ahmed is immense, and so is the risk to everyone involved. Marsh invites art and history to motivate her protagonists, drawing parallels to gentiles who protected Jews fleeing Nazi terror and citing present-day political news. This well-crafted and suspenseful novel touches on the topics of refugees and immigrant integration, terrorism, Islam, Islamophobia, and the Syrian war with sensitivity and grace.

Pub Date: Aug. 7, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-250-30757-6

Page Count: 368

Publisher: Roaring Brook Press

Review Posted Online: June 10, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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by Katherine Marsh

by Katherine Marsh ; illustrated by Kelly Murphy

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High School Musical

Where to watch.

Watch High School Musical with a subscription on Disney+, rent on Prime Video, or buy on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.

What to Know

High School Musical is brazenly saccharine, but it makes up for it with its memorable show tunes, eye-popping choreography, and appealing cast.

Audience Reviews

Cast & crew.

Kenny Ortega

Troy Bolton

Vanessa Hudgens

Gabriella Montez

Ashley Tisdale

Sharpay Evans

Lucas Grabeel

Alyson Reed

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• DVD & Streaming

High School Musical

• Comedy , Drama , Musical , Romance

Content Caution

In Theaters

• Zac Efron as Troy; Vanessa Anne Hudgens as Gabriella; Corbin Bleu as Chad; Monique Coleman as Taylor; Ashley Tisdale as Sharpay; Lucas Grabeel as Ryan

Home Release Date

• Kenny Ortega

Distributor

• Walt Disney

Movie Review

SCENE 1: STUDIO CHIEF’S OFFICE INT.

Producer is pitching his idea.

Producer: OK. Picture this. It’s a musical within a musical, right? Are you seeing that? They sing … about wanting to sing.

Studio Chief: Go on.

Producer: All right. You’ve got these two cute kids, right? They’re in college, no … high school—yeah, yeah! And, uh … he’s the star of the basketball team and she’s this new brainy kid who just got transferred in. They both like to sing … and they like each other. And, then they try out for a musical. That’s the musical within the musical. Get it? Oh, and they’ll dance and stuff and have friends … usual high school junk. But, no kissing.

Studio Chief: No kissing?

Producer: Maybe they’ll hold hands, but no sex, drugs, swearing, none of that. It’s a whole new concept. Picture it … clean . It’s, it’s so fresh.

Studio Chief: (Pause) Brilliant! It’ll make millions!

Producer: Don’t forget the soundtrack CD.

Studio Chief: Billions!!

It’s a silly scene, virtually unimaginable this side of some corny 1940s, um, musical. But amazingly, something like it must have actually happened when producer Don Schain approached the Disney brass with the idea for High School Musical. Decades ago, it was a Mouse House musical, Mary Poppins , that invigorated my (and scores of others’) emerging love for the genre. So why not try it again with the latest tween set, the execs in charge must have decided. Now, don’t get me wrong, High School Musical is no Mary Poppins. In fact, its music can sometimes feel like rejected bits and pieces from an old Paula Abdul album. Along with that, the lip-syncing in the film is atrocious. And some of the lyrics are so simple they make “We Are the World” read like a Johann Strauss operetta.

However (and it’s a big however), at its heart, and in the sum of its parts, High School is indeed a classic style Disney musical. For one thing—as you already heard the producer brag���it’s clean. No drugged up kids cussin’ and carousin’ here (a lyrical reference to “booty” is about as sleazy as things get). Nope, in this one, they sing, dance and laugh. So much so that you quickly find yourself smiling along with them. Their bounce and pep draw you across an imaginary border into that world where, in the end, even the “bad guys” happily sing and dance alongside the heroes.

High School Musical tells the tale of Troy and Gabriella, who meet at a New Years Eve snowboarding retreat when they’re coaxed to sing a karaoke song together. They find each other again when the spring semester starts back up and Gabriella transfers to Troy’s school, East High.

Cue tryouts for the big spring musical!

When Troy and Gabriella audition they open an unexpected can of worms, though. Reigning drama queen Sharpay and her brother, Ryan, don’t want to share the spotlight. So the pair join forces with the basketball team (Troy is the captain and star) and the academics team (Gabriella is their primo intellectual) to split up Troy and Gabriella and ruin their musical chances.

The ploy works. But a nanosecond later, Troy and Gabriella’s friends fess up, realizing the error of their ways. Cut to the big finale.

Positive Elements

The idea is fairly straightforward. Most teens in high school want to find their group and blend in. It’s safer that way. However, in this story, Troy (the “jock”) and Gabriella (the “brain”) break out of the mold. In an effort to enjoy their secret passions for music, and spend a little time together, they decide to do something different and … send their friends into a tizzy . Why are the b-ball star and the math genius wasting their time and messing up the natural order of things?

This central theme is revealed in the song “Stick to the Status Quo.” Because Troy and Gabriella decide to slash the stereotypes, they encourage other students to reveal the things they secretly like to do, too. The action takes place in the heart of the school, the cafeteria, and choreographs a wonderful tug and pull as students try to keep the “rebels”—the athlete who likes to bake, the smart girl who likes to dance, etc.—in line.

Other tunes promote friendship, hard work, encouraging words and playing well with others. This film wants teens and tweens to know, “You can rely on your friends to help you out when you need it.” The kids at Eash High struggle a bit, but always come around in the end.

The basketball team, led by Troy, sings a song called “Getcha’ Head in the Game.” The song shows us Troy wrestling with thoughts about the big game and wanting to be in the musical with Gabriella, but it also speaks of focusing on practice and hard work to reach your goals.

On a less tangible note, the musical presents East High as a good place to be. Schools can often be tagged as dungeons filled with violence and smuggled-in weapons, but this alma mater is sun-filled and looks like … a school.

Furthermore, High School Musical does a good job of depicting kids who have a healthy relationship with their parents. When we first meet Troy, he’s playing ball with his dad (the coach). The scene could be interpreted as a coach driving his son to perfection because of the upcoming championship game (and Troy’s mom almost implies as much), but it ultimately plays as a father and son enjoying something they both love. Troy’s mom then encourages him to find other ways to spend his vacation, rather than just playing basketball, and he accepts her advice and goes to the karaoke party. Later on there’s a scene where Troy realizes that he has hurt Gabriella’s feelings and goes to her house to apologize. When Gabriella’s mom comes to the door he is polite and even apologizes to her for being unkind to her daughter.

Sexual Content

None. Although there is an obvious attraction sparked between the movie’s leads, there are never any unseemly actions or innuendo. The costuming and dancing are strictly high school musical, not Las Vegas sensual, unlike so many “more mature” onscreen musicals these days.

Violent Content

Crude or profane language, drug and alcohol content, other negative elements.

High School Musical is one of the cleanest, most fun, upright movies I’ve seen in a while , but a few minor elements could bear mentioning—if for no other reason than to prompt a conversation about them. In order to pull Troy and Gabriella apart, the basketball team talks to Troy about the great East High athletes of the past (including Troy’s dad) and make him feel guilty about not practicing hard enough and letting the team down. After connecting a live video feed to Gabriella’s classroom, they trick Troy into saying he doesn’t care about Gabriella or the musical.

Sharpay and Ryan are the main sources of conflict at East High. They expect high praise for everything they do and verbally belittle others. And they sing a shallow, self absorbed appeal to do “anything it takes to climb to the top.” Later, Sharpay lies to the drama teacher.

But the other kids can get into mischief, too. In order to trick the teachers and get Troy and Gabriella to the audition, the students boil chemicals over in class and cause a power outage in the gym.

High School Musical may have a few creative shortcomings, but it always feels bright and inviting. A feeling which is only enhanced by the cast’s dancing exuberance. Director Kenny Ortega, the Emmy Award-winning choreographer for the opening ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics, has choreographed just the right amount of joyful bounce into each song—never descending into a jazz-style lewdness or a hip-hop slump and strut.

My fourteen-year-old daughter watched the movie with me, and although she began it with a word of skepticism, she finished it with, “That was great.” I smiled at that, happy my musical appreciation gene had been passed along. Then, I got to thinking about her reaction.

Early on, Troy’s friend is incredulous that Troy would even consider being a part of the upcoming theater production. He says, “The music in those shows isn’t hip-hop, or rock, or anything essential to culture!” Although the writer intended this blurb as a comic jab at his own creation, it suddenly hit me that it was a rather ironic statement.

Most major players in Hollywood and the music industry insist that the only thing that will sell with the mass youth market today is the sweaty, tattooed, bling-bling bilge that they keep pumping out. High School Musical has them surprised and scratching their heads—its first six broadcasts on the Disney Channel drew in over 26 million viewers, its soundtrack parked itself at the top of Billboard ‘s album chart with over a million sold, and its online single has sold hundreds of thousands of copies.

But Disney’s success makes sense , if you realize that there are a lot of young people out there who have gone unrecognized and underserved. They are average kids, of all colors and backgrounds, who identify more closely with Troy and Gabriella and their desire to sing then they do with how hard it is for that proverbial pimp out on the street.

For once I’m actually hoping for a few copycats and a sequel or two.

After spending more than two decades touring, directing, writing and producing for Christian theater and radio (most recently for Adventures in Odyssey, which he still contributes to), Bob joined the Plugged In staff to help us focus more heavily on video games. He is also one of our primary movie reviewers.

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High school musical 2, common sense media reviewers.

High School magic strikes again.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

One character dominates and manipulates those arou

Characters learn and demonstrate empathy, humility

Mild flirting among teens, with lots of near kisse

Part of Disney's HSM marketing/product juggern

Parents need to know that although this energy-packed sequel to the wildly popular High School Musical presents a fairly sanitized view of teen life -- wrongs are righted in the end, all parties walk away friends, etc. -- High School Musical 2 also has plenty of positive messages about being true to…

Positive Messages

One character dominates and manipulates those around her, but she realizes the error of her ways and makes amends in the end. A teen learns that being true to himself and considering his friends' feelings are more important than personal ambition.

Positive Role Models

Characters learn and demonstrate empathy, humility, and integrity.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Mild flirting among teens, with lots of near kisses (and a couple of real ones at the movie's end). A male character refers to a girl as a "little hottie."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Part of Disney's HSM marketing/product juggernaut.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that although this energy-packed sequel to the wildly popular High School Musical presents a fairly sanitized view of teen life -- wrongs are righted in the end, all parties walk away friends, etc. -- High School Musical 2 also has plenty of positive messages about being true to yourself, following your own path in life, and valuing true friendship. Staying true to its squeaky-clean predecessor, the sequel spends more time on music than on making out (in fact, the only kisses come at the end and are very sweet), and there's really nothing here that's likely to concern parents of tweens. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Community Reviews

• Parents say (16)
• Kids say (60)

Based on 16 parent reviews

Very Immodestly Dressed Teenagers

A really good movie, what's the story.

When Troy is offered a summer job at a posh country club in HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 2, he gets his girlfriend Gabriella ( Vanessa Hudgens ), longtime buddy Chad ( Corbin Bleu ), and a bunch of other Wildcats hired there as well. Little does Troy know that the scheming socialite behind the job offer was snooty Sharpay ( Ashley Tisdale ), whose daddy owns the club and who has her summer sights set on snatching Troy out of Gabriella's arms. She tempts Troy with a flashy job, famous friends, and the promise of a college basketball scholarship if he devotes his time to her. Eventually he has to choose between this fast track to success and the person he knows himself to be.

Is It Any Good?

For fans of the first High School Musical , the sequel picks up right where the original left off, not missing a beat with 10 catchy new songs and improved choreography. A little extra maturity in the cast only increases the characters' likeability, and the slightly more emotional storyline (Efron even seems on the brink of tears during one sad scene) will win points with older viewers who may tire of teen issues being too easily resolved on TV.

There's no doubt that tweens will flock to High School Musical 2 like they did to the first, and, once again, parents can rest assured that there's nothing to worry about here -- unless you take exception to the movie's sparkling, sanitized view of teen life. There's no bad language, no violence, no drinking, and only one kiss (which, as in the original, is reserved for the end of the movie). Tweens who watch will be treated to positive messages about relatable issues like overcoming cliques, valuing friendship, being true to yourself, and standing up for what you believe in.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about how the media typically presents teen life in movies like High School Musical 2 . Do you think people get an inaccurate view of teen life from the media? Why or why not?

Tweens: Do you find the characters and scenarios in this movie believable? Why or why not? Were any of the issues the characters faced similar to ones you've experienced? If so, how did you handle them?

Families can also discuss how this movie compares to the original. How have the characters changed since the first High School Musical ? Which do you like better? Why?

How do the characters in High School Musical 2 demonstrate empathy , humility , and integrity ? Why are these important character strengths ?

Movie Details

• In theaters : August 17, 2007
• On DVD or streaming : December 11, 2007
• Cast : Ashley Tisdale , Vanessa Hudgens , Zac Efron
• Director : Kenny Ortega
• Inclusion Information : Gay directors, Female actors, Asian actors
• Studio : Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
• Genre : Musical
• Character Strengths : Empathy , Humility , Integrity
• Run time : 111 minutes
• MPAA rating : NR
• Last updated : February 18, 2023

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Suggest an Update

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