Dominating the childhood of many adults in the late 90s and early 2000s, Disney produced some of the most popular teen-drama tv shows and movies. One of them was High School Musical in 2006 starring Zac Efron as Troy Bolton and Vanessa Hudgens as Gabriella Montez.
Related: 3 Similarities Between Pitch Perfect And High School Musical (& 3 Differences)
Around the same year, Disney Channel also produced other highly loved shows which included The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, Hannah Montana, Wizards of Waverly Place, and many more. Most of the actors went on to become huge stars, with Dylan Sprouse and Miley Cyrus being good examples.
What was High School Musical about?
Leading to multiple installments and spin-offs, Disney has squeezed every ounce of money from the original movie’s popularity. The movie followed a rather simple story of a bunch of high school students getting together to participate in the school musical and develop friendships.
On the premiere, the television film attracted 7.7 million viewers. Despite the prevailing critic reviews which have been rather negative, fans still fondly remember the film. Considering the film was shot within 24 days, it’s no wonder many critics dislike the film, as it gives the film a rushed vibe.
The film was so popular among the teens that upon its release as High School Musical: Encore Edition, it was able to sell a whopping 1.2 million copies in its first six days, making it the fastest-selling television film at the time.
High School musical in real life
The film introduced Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens to the audience, and to each other, which lead to their natural chemistry on and off the screen as they were confirmed to be dating in 2006. The co-stars had noted how they felt connected to each other instantly, as the Baywatch actor noted:
“I was like, ‘They’re not trying us with other people,’ For some reason, we kept sticking around [for callbacks]. I don’t know what it was with Vanessa, but we kind of clicked from the very beginning.”
Staying strong through the sequels of High School Musical, the couple brushed off rumors of a breakup, which led to rumors of an engagement gaining traction. Though eventually, the couple split up in 2010.
Was their relationship really toxic?
“I went through a phase when I was really mean because I was so fed up. Girls were running after him, and I was giving them death stares. Then I realized that’s not what that’s about. ‘Spread the love, be a good person, they support you, be nice.’”
Zac Efron noted he wasn’t perfect too as he told Details that he was thinking “‘Why am I not out there playing the field?'” while he was still in a relationship with his co-star. The couple was also embroiled in many fights with one making the director concerned about the cancellation of the movie.
Source: CheatSheet
