Family Fun Saturday - High School Musical 3: Senior Year

Disney, 2008
Starring Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, and Lucas Grabeel
Directed by Kenny Ortega
Music and Lyrics by various writers

I'm returning to this franchise in honor of the end of the school year here in Southern New Jersey. By the late 2000's, the High School Musical films were such a major phenomenon, especially among young children, the small screen was too small to contain them. It became Disney's first live-action big-screen musical since Newsies in 1991...and unlike that film, it wound up being one of the bigger hits of the fall of 2008. How well do the antics of the Wildcats come across on the big screen? Let's return to East High in Utah and find out...

The Story: The end of the basketball season brings the beginning of the rehearsals for the spring musical...and of the seniors at East High considering their futures. Kelsi (Oleysa Rulin) has signed her entire homeroom up for the show. None of them are thrilled at first, as they're all busy with school activities and homework, but they eventually agree to it. Not only that, but there will be people from Juliard coming to consider Sharpay (Tisdale), Troy (Efron), Ryan (Grabeel), and Kelsi for drama scholarships. Troy has no idea where he wants to go. Sharpay wants that scholarship badly and gets her twin Ryan to try to butter up Kelsi in order for her to give her best songs to them.

Meanwhile, most of the kids are focusing on prom. Troy's best friend Chad (Corbin Bleu) is trying to figure out how to ask out brilliant scholar Taylor (Monique Coleman), while Sharpay hires British exchange student Tiara (Jemma McKenzie-Brown) to be her assistant, and later, her understudy. Troy's devoted girlfriend Gabriella (Hudgens) gets a scholarship to a freshman program at Stanford. Sharpay convinces him that he's holding Gabriella back from her dream, and he encourages her to leave. He's shocked when she won't come back for prom and the spring musical...but he still manages to find a way to have his last dance with her.

The Song and Dance: The increased budget for the big screen really shows in the numbers. There's some attempts at special effects, including in Efron's solo "Scream," and some glowing cinematography. The story is slightly more interesting than the last one, with the kids trying to figure out what they want to do with their futures. The scene where Troy tells Gabriella she should go to Stamford is especially effecting.

Favorite Number: Once again, the chorus numbers are the stand-outs. High-energy routines like the opening basketball routine "Now or Never" come complete with some excellent choreography by director Kenny Ortega. Along with Troy's "Scream" on his confusion over Gabriella leaving and where he wants to go to college, Efron gets in on two good duets, his memories of childhood with Bleu "The Boys are Back" in the junkyard, and the first version of "Can I Have This Dance?" with Hudgens on the Garden Club roof in the rain.

What I Don't Like: Anyone who is a lot less self-involved than Sharpay can probably telegraph Tiara's real intentions from a mile off. Yes, while the story is a little better than last time, it's still a mass of cliches, and the ballads are still bland and too sugary. If you like your musicals darker or more thoughtful, or you weren't a fan of the first film or aren't into Ortega's style, this won't be your show.

The Big Finale: I'm probably the wrong audience for these movies. They're enough fun that I'm glad I saw them again...but they're also not something I'm going to actively seek out or watch a lot. If you have younger kids who were fans of the first ones, you'll want to show them the Wildcats' final performance.

Home Media: Like the rest of the series, this is very easy to find, both as a stand-alone film and bundled with the other two movies.

DVD
DVD - High School Musical: 3 Movies Collection
Blu-Ray
Amazon Prime