NOW STREAMING
“High School Musical,” starring Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens, is streaming on Disney+
barred from dabbling in any! other! interests! (like, say, musical theater) if you want to maintain any semblance of a social life.
These strict rules are laid out with theatrical flair in the cafeteria showstopper “Stick to the Status Quo,” which basically sees the students of East High lose their damn minds and repeatedly shame their classmates for having cool hidden talents, such as playing the cello or baking (justice for Zeke and his mean crème brûlée that none of his fake friends deserve!).
3. “GET’CHA HEAD IN THE GAME”
Two words: basketball choreography. Ortega and his creative team really outdid themselves with this certified bop of an “I Want” number for Troy that perfectly encapsulates that feeling when your head’s in the game but your heart’s in the song. We’ve all been there.
2. “START OF SOMETHING NEW”
OK, seriously, how cute are baby Z and baby V?! I sincerely hope the casting director who discovered Zac and Vanessa is still getting paid handsome royalties, because their chemistry on screen is truly unmatched. It’s immediately clear from the opening number of the “High School Musical” franchise that Disney struck solid gold with its leading
sweethearts, for which the TV movie was indeed the “Start of Something New.”
(Side note: If you haven’t seen “Drivers License” hitmaker Olivia Rodrigo cover this song flawlessly for Disney+’s “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series,” you should fix that situation. Here you go.)
1. “BREAKING FREE”
Easily clinching the top spot
on this list is “Breaking Free,” the dynamic pre-finale finale to end all pre-finale finales. The movie never addresses the fact that Kelsi and drama teacher Ms. Darbus (Alyson Reed) mercilessly sabotaged Ryan and Sharpay’s callback (see: “Bop to the Top”), but we are so glad they did.
Not only is Troy and Gabriella’s final audition song
the best in the series — it’s the best in the entire “High School Musical” canon. What do the lyrics mean? Absolutely nothing! And it doesn’t matter, because watching the most iconic star-crossed lovers since Romeo and Juliet soar and fly across the stage in their matching East High track suit and lab coat is pure Disney magic.