Even at 21-years-old, I can’t escape my love for all three of the franchise’s films
Oh to be back in 2006. Back when I was only an eight-year-old and not living through a global pandemic. Back when the only musical knowledge I had consisted of the Jonas Brothers and the mom-approved hit “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield. Back in 2006, when I first got to watch “High School Musical” for the first time.
Like every girl in America ages 7-12, I was obsessed with “High School Musical” (HSM). Because in my eight-year-old mind, in the movies, the acting was flawless. The songs? Inspiring and groundbreaking. Zac Efron? Probably my first celebrity crush.
And while Efron has remained a celebrity crush for me throughout the years, the rest of the HSM franchise, like many favorites from childhood, has slipped my mind. But every now and then a tweet or song will trigger the film and its correlating memories to resurrect itself from my subconscious.
What recently got me thinking back to the HSM films was I came across it playing on Disney Channel. Now living again with my parents because of the pandemic, my brother and I were flipping through the TV trying to find something to throw on as background noise. When we landed on the first HSM I convinced my brother to let it play which turned into a highlight of my week.
As much as I still love the first HSM, it’s so bad. The acting I once thought was worthy of an Oscar nod made me cringe and several of the script’s lines had my brother and I laughing so hard we had to rewind and watch the scene several more times. The music was still fun but I now feel for my poor mother who had to listen to it every day on the way to and from school.
After watching the first film, I binged the franchise’s other two films. The second film is barely better than the first but the third (which was released in theaters. Like, real, actual movie theaters) is the exception and a pretty solid tween film. But, despite 21-year-old me shaking my head at my younger self for being so invested in the films, the more I thought about it the more I remembered why these films will always be a landmark of my childhood.
The HSM franchise was the catalyst for some of my favorite childhood memories.
I remember watching the premiere of the second film at my birthday party and cheering with friends when Efron and Vanessa Hudgens characters finally kissed. My mom still laughs at the memory of my oldest brother having to pick up my HSM themed party balloons as a teenager and dying of embarrassment as moms kept stopping him to ask where he got them from. And even past childhood, HSM has been a background player in other memories. On a couple late-night road trips with college friends, we’ll blast the film’s soundtracks to create our own karaoke session and help us stay awake through the night.
While I might no longer watch the High School Musical franchise for its well-developed characters or production level, I still love it. I continue to watch the films because I know when I do it’ll recall some of my best childhood memories and holds the potential to create new ones. Oh, and for Zac Efron.
The Beat @APU 