With the third season of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series on the way, it’s given fans a chance to reminisce on the original concept, which started over a decade ago. High School Musical premiered on Disney Channel in 2006 and quickly became a phenomenon. The film was so successful that it continued, birthing two sequels, all from the mind of Kenny Ortega. Over the trilogy, fans were treated to a variety of songs and choreography. The movies were not the only things to do well as the soundtracks also sold substantially around the world.
Despite the success of the franchise, they are far from perfect films. But, that never prevented its fans from watching them and listening to the soundtracks. Yet, with all its prosperity and excitement from fans, some details in the trilogy just did not make sense.
The Julliard Storyline
Where to begin with this one? Well, maybe start with Sharpay and Ryan, who somehow felt the need to fight for a scholarship. It was never confirmed that Ryan or Sharpay would be denied a spot for acceptance if they did not receive a scholarship. Instead, the film makes it seem that a scholarship was the only way for the Evans twins to attend Julliard. Since Ryan and Sharpay come from a wealthy family, it is unlikely that they would not be able to afford to send at least one of their kids to Julliard, especially since Ryan did receive one of the two scholarships given.
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Yet, the more bizarre use of the storyline is that Troy Bolton was considered for a scholarship. Given that Troy had participated in one previous school musical and had not devoted any other time to the craft, it is confusing as to what Julliard saw in him as a possible contender. Not to mention, Ms. Darbus applying Troy’s name was somewhat problematic.
Troy Was Valedictorian
It was one of Zac Efron’s best movies. And no offense to Troy, it isn’t like he was considered to be an awful student, but he just never demonstrated that he would’ve been the best student for the role of Valedictorian. The speaker of the graduating class is often the person with the highest grade point average, not a popularity contest.
Had Gabriella not left for Stanford early, she probably would have given the speech, but, as it was, next in line probably should have been Taylor, at least of the characters that were significant to the plot. Taylor was academically gifted and wished to become President of the United States one day.
Having More Than One Interest Was Banned Until It Wasn’t
Just the thought of Troy being interested in a musical was enough to create chaos amongst the Wildcats. In response to Troy’s interest, several others decide they can be honest about their interests, too, which causes so much panic that a spontaneous musical number breaks out.
The concept of Zeke baking was awful to Chad and the rest of the basketball team for no other reason than that it was something that wasn’t basketball. However, not that long later, everyone calms down, and being interested in more than one thing has become acceptable despite their being no real plot development.
Troy Got All His Friends Jobs
Even though Sharpay had told Mr. Fulton to get Troy to work at Lava Springs no matter what, hiring all Troy’s friends was a little excessive. Did he fire other employees that already worked at the country club to hire Troy’s friends?
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While the initial lifeguard tells Sharpay that he was promoted, that does not explain what happened to other employees that may have been waiters or kitchen staff whose jobs were taken by Wildcats.
Sharpay Couldn’t Find Gabriella
In High School Musical (one of the best Disney original movies of all time,) Sharpay can hear Gabriella sing as she passes the bathroom. Gabriella, hearing someone coming, hides behind a wall. However, when Sharpay walks in, she should have seen Gabriella had, she just turned her head the right way. The entire moment lacks sense, as there is no way Gabriella should have avoided Sharpay’s vision.
Yet, somehow, Sharpay completely misses Gabriella and walks out of the bathroom. While the scene has no direct relevance to the rest of the franchise, it can be quite frustrating.
Auditions For The Winter Musical
A musical may include plenty of singing, but there is more to any play than that. Plays include learning dialogue, choreography, stage directions, and being able to act. Troy and Gabriella may have pulled off the singing, but there were other aspects of the play that should have been included in the audition process.
In Sharpay and Ryan’s initial audition, they demonstrate their ability to sing, dance, and follow choreography. There are also mentions of supporting characters that seem to have no relevance. During the audition sequence, Ms. Darbus appears to dislike everyone except Sharpay, Ryan, Troy, and Gabriella.
Sharpay’s Character Regression
At first, Sharpay’s shift from making amends with Gabriella at the end of High School Musical (one of the cutest teen romcoms) made sense, especially if the minds behind the franchise believed that they would only make one film. However, when they came back for High School Musical 2, Sharpay was once again the villain of the story. To a degree, it was understandable, especially since Sharpay’s moment with Gabriella was so short that it could have counted as a fluke.
At the end of High School Musical 2, Sharpay has an emotional moment with Troy, and, this time, it seemed like Sharpay may have realized the error of her ways. That is until High School Musical 3: Senior Year, where Sharpay has once again reverted to the villain.
What Was The Winter Musical About?
Of all the questions that never got answered, “What was Twinkle Towne about?” still exists years after High School Musical 3: Senior Year lowered the curtain. The musical that captivated Troy and Gabriella so much? That Sharpay and Ryan were so protective of keeping? The music Kelsey had put so much time into. What was it about?
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We assume that the songs used in the audition were to appear in the play, but they don’t seem all that cohesive. How could “What I’ve Been Looking For,” “Bop To The Top,” and “Breaking Free” exist in the same musical. “Bop To The Top” is an entirely different tone from “Breaking Free,” and it brings up several questions about the nature of Kelsey’s play.
Were Ryan And Sharpay Playing Romantic Leads?
Taylor’s reference to Sharpay playing both Romeo and Juliet, which would keep Ryan out of a job, lead to some very confusing questions. As Romeo and Juliet were iconic romantic characters, Taylor’s casual reference to those particular characters makes it seem that Sharpay would have been willing to do a love story with Ryan as her romantic lead, or that such a thing had happened before.
Though there are plenty of best songs in High School Musical, fans have brought up the joke, especially since Troy and Gabriella’s rendition of “What I’ve Been Looking For” is a much more romantic version of the song than what Ryan and Sharpay had performed.
How Aware Were They That They Were Singing?
Granted, this is a point that could be made about almost any musical. But, it still holds up here. While some songs occur during a performance, several are used as a way to move the story along. However, given the circumstances in which certain songs appear, it does not make sense with the rest of the film. “Get’cha Head In The Game” was a song that came out of Troy’s indecision about choosing between basketball and singing.
Troy directly references singing during the song, and his basketball teammates are performing the song with him. Then, none of them seem to remember that it happened, and are all surprised at seeing Troy’s name on the callback sheet. While that moment could be written off as Troy projecting, “Stick To The Status Quo” demolishes that concept. These occurrences happen several times over the trilogy. While logic says just to enjoy the films, these moments just don’t make sense.
