School's out for summer and the East High Wildcats are ready to make it the time of their lives after landing jobs in a wealthy country club owned by Sharpay and Ryan's family.School's out for summer and the East High Wildcats are ready to make it the time of their lives after landing jobs in a wealthy country club owned by Sharpay and Ryan's family.School's out for summer and the East High Wildcats are ready to make it the time of their lives after landing jobs in a wealthy country club owned by Sharpay and Ryan's family.
- Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys
- 5 wins & 10 nominations total
- Zeke Baylor
- (as Chris Warren Jr.)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIt took four days to film all the school scenes at East High. During one of those days, classes were in session. Actual students at East High were given instruction of where not to go so that no one would interfere with the filming of the movie.
- GoofsAfter Troy has dinner with Sharpay's family he goes into the kitchen and screams. He then looks at a non-existent watch on his wrist to see that he's late for his date with Gabriella. This is a reference to the "watch" goof in High School Musical (2006).
- Quotes
[after hearing about the staff not being allowed to perform in the talent show, Gabriella confronts Sharpay]
Gabriella Montez: Sharpay! Forget about the rest of us, how about the fact that your brother has worked extremely hard on this show?
Sharpay Evans: Oh boo-hoo, he'll be in the show, he'll do his celebrity impersonations. Don't lecture me about Ryan, given the way you've been interfering with Troy's future.
Gabriella Montez: What?
Sharpay Evans: You've gotten him written up by Fulton for sneaking on the golf course and swimming after hours. I had to step in just to save Troy's job.
Gabriella Montez: I'm not interested in what you think you're doing for Troy, that's between you and him. But you're messing with my friends and my summer and that's not okay with me.
Sharpay Evans: You don't like the fact that I won.
Gabriella Montez: What's the prize? Troy?
[Troy walks up behind Gabriella and hears the rest]
Gabriella Montez: The Star Dazzle award? You have to go through all this just to get either one? No thanks, Sharpay. You're very good at a game that I don't want to play. So, I'm done here. But you better step away from the mirror long enough to check the damage that will always be right behind you.
Sharpay Evans: [upset and mad] *Girls*!
[Sharpay walks off and as Gabriella goes to walk away, Troy runs up]
Troy Bolton: Hey! What do you mean you're done here? I mean, you can't quit.
Gabriella Montez: Us working together sounded good, but plans change and people change. The club talent show was a big deal for Sharpay and evidently for your future, so it's cool, just make it happen, wear your new Italian shoes.
Troy Bolton: Hey, I'm still me.
Gabriella Montez: Blowing off your friends, missing dates, if that's you, then it's good to know.
Troy Bolton: No, no, no. I was only doing that because I'm working on the scholarship thing and you know that.
Gabriella Montez: But if along the way you act like someone you're not, pretty soon that's who you become.
Troy Bolton: I meant what I said about movies, and summer, and just being together.
Gabriella Montez: I'm sure you did, at the time. But I also meant what I said: that I want to remember this summer, but not like this, Troy.
- Crazy creditsOuttakes are shown.
- Alternate versionsIn the DVD/Blu-Ray and Disney+ extended version, it features Mr. Fulton making Troy late for his date with Gabriella by taking him to a set where Sharpay and Ryan sing their song "Humuhumunukunukuapua'a" but in the Disney Channel version. It doesn't feature it. After the part where Gabriella and Taylor talk, it just shows Troy going to the locker room to take his clothes off to go swimming with Gabriella.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Disney Through the Decades (2001)
- SoundtracksWork This Out
Written and Produced by Randy Petersen and Kevin Quinn
Performed by Vanessa Hudgens, Corbin Bleu, Monique Coleman, Olesya Rulin, Ryne Sanborn, KayCee Stroh, Chris Warren and High School Musical 2 Cast
Seven Summits Music (BMI)
So I watched the movie again, the very next day.
That's when I realized, that many of the songs were not as memorable as they had been in the first movie. I wasn't singing "You Are the Music in Me" the way I had been singing "What I've Been Looking For". Most are excellent in the movie, but many don't seem quite as catchy or stick with you quite as well when you're away from the TV. In that way, the producers struck out. "What Time Is It?" wasn't enjoyed by me any more the second time around than it was the first.
I've heard the opinion more than once that HSM 2 was a better movie than the original. The excuse is that the characters "matured" in this film and it is about growing up. I am inclined to disagreement with that angle. What I liked about the first movie is that everything was fresh. Troy and Gabriella were just starting to get to know each other and to recognize their love for singing, and the awkward moments and building chemistry were absolutely adorable to watch. Their "friends" misunderstood so much, that they tried to change them.
A film about them maturing and growing up would have been great- if that film had genuinely existed. HSM has never been loved for a strong plot, so it's no surprise that although there's now a new focus on college and the future, it's more than a little misrepresented. In the end, a lot of weight was put on living in the moment. True, we should remember to keep our friends close even though the future might cause us to go our separate ways, but I felt that the movie didn't communicate this message in a realistic context.
When it came to the characters growing, it was clear that some people didn't learn anything- namely Troy's "best friend" Chad. Though even Sharpay showed some unexpected goodness in the movie, Chad was more-or-less the same self-righteous jerk that he was in the first movie. Back then, he spearheaded the effort to change Troy by distracting him from singing. Now, in the name of keeping Troy from changing into someone else, he gives him the cold shoulder and offers no understanding at all. Chad might have been wise to realize that although he was saving for a car, Troy was aiming to get a college scholarship. His motives might have been noble and Troy a bit misguided, but his attitude was nothing less than aggravating. What's new, though? Ryan was one of the characters that went throughout the most growth in the movie. The "dumb slave" persona that he had in the first movie was really amusing, but it was also good to see him coming into his own in High School Musical 2 as a more developed and rounded character.
Even though there were definitely cheesy moments in the film- namely, all the talk about "changes" and "saving the summer" sounding kind of like a little kid's book- there were definitely redemptive moments too. The similarities between it and the first movie aren't really too hard to miss, but I found myself liking them rather than feeling like I was seeing the same film all over again. Gabriella has another (kind of) solo, Troy has to make a hard decision- only this time he makes it with no guarantee of being able to compromise. Sharpay is her usual self again remixing one of the songs to fit her own liking. Only this time, she is even more funny than before. Her songs were among my favorites.
Though in the end, when Zac Effron and Vanessa Anne Hudgens came together to sing, the magic really happened. No matter how cheesy the line I just heard was, I loved those moments.
There's also something new this time around. Troy has a solo- coincidentally one of the best songs of the movie- and Lucas Grabeel and Corbin Bleu come together to sing "I Don't Dance", a song where swing dancing, hip-hop, and baseball come together to make something great and original. Freshest moment(s) of the film, definitely.
So in the end, we have an interesting paradox. In some ways, High School Musical 2 doesn't have the magic of the first. Yet at the same time, I can watch it again, and again, and again.
*sigh* 7/10 stars.
- MeloDee
- Aug 21, 2007
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- High School Musical 2: Extended Edition
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $7,000,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 44 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 16:9 HD
- 4:3