Awards and Achievements:
- Two Emmy Awards
- A Television Critics Association Award
- A Billboard Music Award
- An American Music Award
- An estimated 2000 middle and high school licensed stage productions
- A sold-out 52-date arena concert tour in North America and Latin America
Source: The Walt Disney Company
On Jan. 20, 2006, more than 7.7 million people tuned in to watch “High School Musical,” which would become one of the Disney Channel’s most popular movie franchises.
At the time, this was the highest-rated telecast ever on the channel, according to a news release from the Walt Disney Company.
Now, 10 years later, the cast is reuniting for a special telecast to celebrate the movie’s anniversary on Jan. 20. The telecast will air on the Disney Channel at 8 p.m. EST.
Morgan Nash, a junior marketing major, was one of the millions of people who tuned in to watch the original movie.
“All my friends and I watched it together when it first came out, and we were all really big fans of the cast, especially Zac Efron," Nash said. "I mean, who doesn't love a good musical?”
Nash said the commercials and promotions leading up to the movie got her hyped up to see it.
The movie tells the story of two high school students from different cliques who discover their passion for singing, but they keep it a secret from their friend groups fearing what they might think. Both students decide to try out for the leads in the school musical, but once their friends find out about this, the friends attempt to stop the two students in order to maintain the school’s status quo.
Nash knew right after the movie’s opening song that she was going to love it, but it was also the storyline and message that resonated with her.
“As we all know, it is a love story, but it also so much more than that,” Nash said. “You can be whoever you want to be and they encouraged that through this spectacular movie with song and dance.”
It also shows people are not defined by what organizations or groups they are a part of, Nash said.
Shelby Zann, a sophomore speech pathology major, also watched the movie the night it premiered.
“I think what I loved most about the movie was that it brought my friends and I together,” Zann said. “We would sit around, watch and sing along to the different songs.”
It was a fun bonding experience with her friends, Zann said.
The movie reached more than 100 million viewers around the world in 2006 alone and its soundtrack was the No. 1 album that year, according to the news release.
Nash said there is no telling how many times she has seen the movie or listened to the soundtrack.
“I guess you could say I've watched it enough to quote the movie and know the majority of the dances for all the songs,” Nash said.
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