Let's set the scene, shall we? It's January 2006. You're home from a long, hard week at school, and you're ready to relax and watch some TV. You see that the new movie High School Musical is coming on Disney Channel, so you decide to give it a try. Little do you know, you're about to watch the GREATEST 👏 DCOM 👏 OF 👏 ALL 👏 TIME.👏
"But what about the other DCOMs," you say?
Sure, Cadet Kelly was delightful and one of Hilary Duff's best performances, but there is not a single musical number to be found.
"Supernova Girl" from Zenon made our hearts go boom boom, but HSM had a soundtrack full of bops.
The Cheetah Girls had heart and "Cinderella" was truly ahead of its time, but HSM still reigns supreme.
Still don't believe me? Let's examine the evidence.
Number one, HSM's original music is ICONIC. Do you love a good ballad? Well, Gabriella truly went off with "When There Was Me and You."
Are you more of a bop person? Don't worry. There's the appropriately titled "Bop to the Top," which is a beautiful fusion of English, Spanish, and complete nonsense.
However, no other song compares to the cultural phenomenon that is "We're All in This Together."
HSM was actually such a huge hit that Disney Channel released an UNPRECEDENTED dance-along version of the movie.
It has been literally 13 years since its release, and if someone asked me to perform one of the dances from High School Musical, I could still do it! That's longevity!
Obviously, the music is important, but we stayed for the CHARACTERS who captivated us like no one had ever done before and no one has done since!
Shipping simply did not exist before Troyella.
No other villain* has ever captivated an audience in the way Sharpay Evans did.
*A passionate, hard-working fashion icon who threatened others with her talent
And ALL of the characters were SO MULTILAYERED.
Troy's head was in the game, but his heart was in the song.
Gabriella was a "freaky genius girl," but she also loved to sing.
Martha Cox was smart too, and she liked to pop and lock AND jam AND break.
Zeke knew his way around the basketball court and the kitchen.
Even the characters who refused to believe people could do more than one thing...
...eventually came around.
Speaking of growth, let's talk about how everyone in HSM was PERFECTLY cast in this absolutely PERFECT DCOM.
Zac Efron was the perfect blend of cool and sensitive as Troy Bolton, and he was the heartthrob we didn't know we needed.
Vanessa (Anne) Hudgens was the smart and beautiful lead we deserved.
Ashley Tisdale HAD 👏 THE 👏 RANGE 👏 .
As a matter of fact, HSM shook us so hard, it launched TWO SEQUELS and the last one was a WHOLE-ASS theatrical release.
Camp Rock wouldn't have even existed without HSM!
Or Teen Beach Movie.
Or The Descendants.
Basically, HSM paved the way and united us all, and it's time we give it the respect it deserves by naming it as the Greatest Disney Channel Original Movie of Our Generation.
Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.
