"It’s just days away and if anything warranted a sequel, it was Disney’s High School Musical with Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens. The movie is campish but the simple musical story of two kids breaking stereotypes and meeting over karaoke has resulted in the top-selling album of 2006, a cross-country concert tour, a series of books and a stage adaptation performed by 1,500 theatrical troupes all over the United States." - (NATIONAL LEDGER) "The most anticipated TV movie of the year splashes onto the small screen tonight with a brighter palette and a catchier, foot-tapping rhythm. In many ways, "High School Musical 2" is bigger and more fun than the sleeper hit that swept the kid nation last year. But it’s not all bright and rosy for the Wildcats: The sequel has less charm and includes some scenes that are overproduced with rambunctious music overshadowing the lyrics and emotions…The wafer-thin story serves mostly as a vehicle for old-fashioned, high-energy dancing and vibrant tunes." - (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE) "Unlike its fun-but-kinda-flat predecessor, "High School Musical 2" successfully embeds some late ’80s/early ’90s candied nostalgia within its mega-produced mega-mixed mega-beats, although typical "High School Musical" fans - ahem, squealy 14-year-old girls - will probably be more thankful for totally way more Troy." - (FORBES) "We love the movie, music, concert tour and almost all things connected with the original "High School Musical." But does the sequel live up to the big expectations? Yeah, pretty much." - (WASHINGTON POST) "“High School Musical 2” has, heaven help us, haphazard charm. Yes, it’s badly lip-synched, badly danced and doused in self-tanner, but the kids seem so earnest and good-natured (Lucas Grabeel as Ryan Evans comes into his own in this one) that you root for them like real high school amateurs. And most significantly the Broadway Nation is still too jam-packed with songwriters for the opportunity to contribute to a sure-to-be-hugely-popular old-school musical to have yielded bupkis. As it turns out, “High School Musical 2” has some knockout songs. Consider just two. “Fabulous” contains a line about spas worthy of Cole Porter: “Towels imported from Turkey/Turkey imported from Maine.” And “I Don’t Dance” does something exciting and brand new with that familiar title. The movie is mediocre, and should be skipped. But I can’t wait to buy the soundtrack and do the karaoke." - (NEW YORK TIMES) "It is impossible to overstate the importance of this event in so many young lives. The Disney Channel’s 2006 movie "High School Musical" remains a bona-fide phenomenon, a success so huge that the human brain cannot quite fathom it…With the tween and teen markets threatening to overthrow the boomers, it just may be that "High School Musical" is bigger than the Beatles. And the Beatles were bigger than Jesus. So you do the math." - (LA TIMES)
Compiled by Sarah Outhwaite & Bryon Rudd
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-tOHTDNDB0[/embed]
