13th Mar 2026 by The Disney Purist

Pokémon: The First Movie (1998)

BACKGROUND

There will be very few people in the world who have not at least heard of Pokémon.

It became a global phenomenon from its beginnings in 1996, and has only expanded its franchise since then. This means that there will be even less children who grew up in the 1990s that have not had anything to do with Pokémon since its inception.

I definitely had heard of Pokémon in the 1990s. I loved watched the original series, Pokémon: Indigo League, on Saturday morning children’s TV, specifically SMTV: Live, I think, with presenters Cat Deeley and Ant and Dec. I played the Trading Card Game with my sister, even though I nearly always lost for reasons I will never understand. We even went to a Toys R Us store once just to get a new pack of cards because each one had a shiny Machamp in it. I still play Pokémon GO, the mobile game, although I have a love-hate relationship with it, frequently wanting to throw my phone when I don’t get the shiny Pokémon I want, or miss out on the walking distance I definitely did. But that’s my issue.

This means I was definitely the target audience for Pokémon: The First Movie when it came to cinemas. This was a little later than the official release date of 1998 in Japan, making its way to the US in late 1999, and eventually the UK around April 2000. I do remember going to the cinema to watch this film and I liked it. My sister, the bigger Pokémon fan, loved it. I just liked Pikachu and Togepi back then to be honest!

Pokémon: The First Movie continued the storyline of the Indigo League series, where Pokémon trainer, Ash, journeys with his friends, Brock and Misty, and his trusty Pokémon Pikachu, to battle trainers and collect new creatures. I was a fan of this series, but I actually remember very few episodes. I always liked the one where Misty had to do a mermaid show with her sisters, and the episodes about Gym Leader Sabrina and her hobby for turning people into dolls still creeps me out to this day, but that’s about it. Pokémon: The First Movie is hard to forget though, with the mystery of Mewtwo being central to the story and the almost philosophical discussions about creation, science, and life making it quite deep.

This film had everything – to please the fans, who were, mostly, young children. For that reason, Pokémon: The First Movie has not gone down in animation history as one of the finest films to have ever graced our screens. But with a healthy dose of nostalgia, Pokémon: The First Movie continues to be touted as a triumph by the most dedicated of fans. For me, despite still liking this film, I’m sitting somewhere in between the two schools of thought.

PLOT

For clarity, this plot summary is specifically for the English dub of Pokémon: The First Movie. Although the overall story between the original Japanese version of the film and the English dub are similar, there are a few differences, something that I’ll go into later on.

Pokémon: The First Movie begins with an invisible narrator discussing the concept of life, a great miracle and a great mystery, before stating that this is the story of the most powerful Pokémon of all. Inside a lab, we see a Pokémon, confused about where and what they are. It stares out at a group of scientists, who are monitoring its brainwaves. Suddenly, they notice the brainwaves surging, and the Pokémon breaks out of the water-filled tube it’s been kept in. Using its psychic powers and telepathy, it communicates with the scientists, who tell it that it is the clone of the mythical Pokémon Mew, with this new Pokémon being named Mewtwo. After hearing that the humans want to experiment further, Mewtwo decides they don’t care about it and Mewtwo destroys the lab, breaking free and escaping, proving to the scientists that they did in fact build the strongest ever Pokémon.

Seeing the destruction below, tough Gym Leader Giovanni lands by Mewtwo, saying he wants Mewtwo to be his partner, because together they can control the world, however, first, Mewtwo must trust Giovanni to help it control its powers. For this reason, Giovanni armours Mewtwo, saying this will focus the psychic powers. Yet, it soon becomes clear to Mewtwo that it is simply being used by Giovanni to battle trainers and, since Mewtwo never loses, to capture other trainers’ Pokémon. Mewtwo realises this is not an equal partnership and breaks his armour, flying away again, back to the location of the lab on New Island. Mewtwo vows to find its own purpose and purge the planet of all who oppose it.

Meanwhile, a new journey begins, as Pokémon trainer Ash, and his friends Brock and Misty continue their travels to help Ash become a great Pokémon trainer. On this day, Ash moans about being hungry, but immediately accepts another trainer’s invitation to battle. Ash easily defeats this trainer’s line-up of Pokémon, which include a Donphan and a Machamp, with his Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Pikachu, his most loyal Pokémon. He is being watched by their enemies Team Rocket, consisting of Jessie and James, and their Pokémon Meowth, who can talk, unlike most other Pokémon. Team Rocket want Ash’s Pikachu, believing it to be a very special kind of Pokémon. It seems that Ash is also being watched by someone else. A Fearow carrying a camera flies over head. We see that someone is watching Ash’s battle on a screen. His female assistant asks if this trainer should receive an invitation. Her “master” tells her to approve one for Ash. This “person” summons a storm.

Suddenly, a Dragonite lands next to Ash and his friends, handing them a holographic invite, inviting them to a special gathering on New Island that afternoon to meet with the greatest trainer of all time. Intrigued, Ash says they all must go. As the Dragonite leaves, it is intercepted by Team Rocket, who want to know what the invite said. The Dragonite accidentally drops one, letting Team Rocket know about the meeting at New Island.

Ash, Brock, and Misty arrive at the ferry port for New Island, where they discover the storm has stopped all ferries from going to the island. The port is full of trainers with their Pokémon. Police Officer Jenny addresses the crowd with Harbour Manager Miranda. They warn the trainers not to attempt to cross the water as the storm is deadly. Miranda states that a storm like this had been prophesised, and it has happened before. The previous deadly storm wiped out all but a few Pokémon, with their tears reviving all those lives that had been lost. Miranda warns this may not be the case this time. Despite the warning, and the fact that the nearby Pokémon Center has been shut since its nurse, Nurse Joy, went missing so their Pokémon will not be able to be revived, a few trainers head out, using either their Water-type of Flying-type Pokémon. Ash wants to do the same, but Misty says their Pokémon are not strong enough to manage the journey. As they stand by the sea, wondering what to do, a boat, being rowed by three Vikings arrives, and offers to take Ash, Brock, and Misty to New Island themselves. These “Vikings” are actually Team Rocket, but Ash and the others are not aware of that. Despite being suspicious, the three get in the boat and they head to the island. However, the huge, crashing waves soon cause the boat to overturn. Ash, Brock, and Misty use their Staryu and Squirtle to get through the storm, leaving Team Rocket, whose disguises have now been lost, to fend for themselves. Eventually, the storm calms down and Ash, Brock, and Misty see a castle in the distance. They head towards it.

Once safely on solid land, the three are greeted by the woman from the invite. Brock thinks she looks familiar, but the woman claims to have only ever been on New Island to serve her “master”. They are led to a hall, where they see three other trainers from the ferry port have also arrived. They introduce themselves and their Pokémon. The woman says these trainers are the only ones to have proven themselves worthy by getting here despite the storm, so no-one else is expected. They are told to release their Pokémon and await further instructions. Meanwhile, Team Rocket have also arrived at New Island, but do not have an invitation to allow them inside. They find a way in, seemingly through the sewer.

Back inside, a beam of light appears in the hall, and the “trainer” the others have been waiting to meet arrives. But they discover this “trainer” is not even human; it is a Pokémon. And it isn’t just any old Pokémon; it’s Mewtwo. Speaking telepathically, Mewtwo explains it is the soon-to-be ruler of the world, and the most powerful Pokémon of all time. Proving this, Mewtwo lifts up a trainer, Fergus, who disputed this fact, and throws him into the fountain in the hall. Fergus gets his Gyarados to attack Mewtwo, but Mewtwo simply fires its attack straight back. The female assistant is then taken out of her trance by Mewtwo, who has no further use for her. The woman is revealed to be Nurse Joy, the person who vanished from the nearby Pokémon Center. She was being used to help Mewtwo with his plan.

Team Rocket have found their way inside the castle, and are in some sort of laboratory, seeing Pokémon in cylinders around them. Jessie sits on a computer and starts up the “Replication System”. The system tries to take Meowth, and Jessie and James fight against it to keep Meowth with them. Robotic hands take a few strands of Meowth’s hair, and Team Rocket watch the process unfold, as a clone of Meowth is created. They also see a video about Mewtwo and how it was created.

In the hall, Mewtwo says its purpose now is to destroy the world, ridding it of all the humans and their Pokémon “slaves”. Pikachu says that the Pokémon are friends of the trainers. Mewtwo calls Pikachu “pathetic” and attacks it with its powers. Ash catches Pikachu. Another trainer, Corey, thinks he can capture Mewtwo and uses his Rhyhorn to attempt to weaken Mewtwo. Mewtwo blocks the attack. Mewtwo states it cannot be weakened or caught. Ash wants a proper battle with Mewtwo; Mewtwo agreed to one. Mewtwo awakens its own cloned Pokémon. Team Rocket watch as the clones walk out of the cylinders and leave the lab. Mewtwo reveals a huge stadium for the battle to take place. The trainers realise this was the only reason they were invited to New Island.

Ash, Corey, and the other trainer here, Neesha, attempt to battle against Mewtwo’s clones of Venusaur, Blastoise, and Charizard with their own versions of these Pokémon. Corey and Neesha’s Venusaur and Blastoise fight hard but are quickly beaten back. Ash’s Charizard is poorly trained though, and doesn’t listen to Ash, trying to fight against its clone in its own way, flying high into the sky and crashing back down to the ground… All looks lost, and the trainers lose the battle. Mewtwo claims all their Pokémon as the prize, planning to clone all of them. Pokéballs start chasing down all the Pokémon. Ash attempts to return his Pokémon to their Pokéballs to stop this, but it doesn’t work; Mewtwo’s Pokéballs just capture the trainers’ Pokéballs. Ash tells Pikachu to fight them off and run. Pikachu runs up a ramp, shocking the Pokéballs at random intervals to get them to stop following, but the pursuit continues. Ash runs after Pikachu, but see Pikachu get tired and fall off the ramp. Ash jumps off and catches Pikachu, who has been captured in a Pokéball, just before falling in the fountain. Ash follows the Pokéballs to Mewtwo’s lab. Ash fights against the machines to retrieve Pikachu and is successful. Team Rocket witness all the Pokémon being cloned.

Once the clones are ready, they head to the stadium, and the originals are released again. Mewtwo reveals all his clones, and Ash arrives with the originals. Ash tells Mewtwo not to let this fight happen between the clones and the originals, attempting to attack Mewtwo, but Ash is pushed away, high into the air. Luckily, Ash is caught by a bright pink bubble. It is revealed the pink bubble was created by the mythical Pokémon Mew, who was feared to be extinct. Mew has been watching the proceedings on New Island. Mewtwo wants to fight Mew, to show its power is superior to Mew’s. Mew doesn’t want to fight. Meowth translates for Mew, who says that the strength of a Pokémon is found in its heart. Mewtwo has no time for sentiment and orders the battle to begin, saying all special abilities have been blocked. Mewtwo goes after Mew, as the Pokémon battle their clone copies, who are meant to be stronger and more powerful. Ash watches the proceedings from a high ledge, whilst the other trainers watch on helplessly, as their Pokémon are forced to battle, seemingly to the death. Pikachu did in fact get a clone, and the clone starts to attack, with Pikachu refusing to fight back. Meowth speaks to its own clone, and realises the clones are more similar to the originals than they are different.

Ash starts to make his way down to the stadium wanting to stop this fight once and for all, however, he gets in the middle of Mew and Mewtwo’s fight and their attacks hit him. He is turned to stone. Pikachu is distraught to see Ash like this and desperately tries to shock him awake, but nothing works. Ash continues to lie lifeless in the middle of the stadium. Pikachu starts to cry, with the other Pokémon also crying for him. The power of their collective tears awakens Ash. Having seen this play out, Mewtwo learns that all Pokémon have power, but it is deciding how they use it and live their lives that determines who they are. Mewtwo chooses to fly away with his clones to find a new purpose. Mewtwo wipes the trainers’ memories of this night, and returns them to the ferry port.

Back at the ferry port, we see that they have gone back in time, as the trainers are being warned about the huge storm and the cancelled ferries. However, they see that the storm has now cleared and all is calm again. Nurse Joy also arrives to say she is available to treat any Pokémon that need assistance. It was like it never even happened. As Ash, Misty and Brock look out to sea, Ash thinks he sees something in the sky, but the other two don’t notice, so they think he imagined it. Ash says he thinks he saw a rare Pokémon, just like he did when he started on his journey to becoming a Pokémon trainer. This time he saw Mew.

The film ends with the narrator saying that Ash, Misty and Brock will continue their journey, where many more mysteries and adventures await them. But what happened to Team Rocket? Well, they remained on New Island, with no clue how they got there!

CHARACTERS & CAST

Since I have only seen the English dub of Pokémon: The First Movie, these are the voice actors that I will be focusing on here, although I will mention the name of the Japanese actor.

Ash Ketchum is the trainer that the original series, Pokémon: Indigo League, follows. He first began his journey to become a trainer at the age of 10, which seems a little bit young to be travelling on your own, but oh well! It was at this point that he first got his Pikachu, who is very loyal to him. Ash is dedicated to his Pokémon and his dreams of being a great Pokémon trainer, making him do reckless things, like trying to battle the most powerful Pokémon ever and getting into the middle of that Pokémon’s attack just to get him to stop attacking! Ash just wanted to have a nice day out at New Island, battling some trainers, probably hoping for a free lunch, not to have to deal with a Pokémon having an identity crisis. Ash can be a little bit annoying at times, when he doesn’t listen to Brock and Misty, for example, and always complains about being hungry, but his heart is in the right place, and he would do anything to keep his Pokémon and friends safe from harm.

Ash was voiced by Veronica Taylor. Taylor voiced the character of Ash, plus his mother Delia and some other characters, throughout the Pokémon series and various films until around 2006. Outside of that, she has voiced characters for other series including Sailor Pluto and Setsuna Meio for the Sailor Moon franchise, and April O’Neil for the animated series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003-09). The Japanese voice actor of Ash was Rica Matsumoto. Pikachu was voiced by Ikue Ōtani.

Misty is Ash’s best friend and they meet early on in his journey to become a Pokémon trainer. Misty is the only person who can shout at Ash and have him actually listen! She is quite impatient with him, finding his complaints and whining quite irritating. Like Ash, Misty is also dedicated to her Pokémon and in Pokémon: The First Movie, she is one of the first to voice her concerns about the Pokémon battling their clones, seeing it as barbaric and unnecessary. But she isn’t upset enough to risk her life by getting in the way of Mewtwo and Mew’s epic battle; she lets Ash do that instead.

Rachael Lillis voiced Misty here, also voicing the character until 2006, along with Pokémon like Jigglypuff and Vulpix. Lillis lent her voice to other anime projects, such as Hunter x Hunter (2011-14), voicing Mito Freecss and Cocco. Lillis passed away in August 2024. Mayumi Iizuka was the Japanese voice actor for Misty. Misty’s Pokémon sidekick is Togepi, who was voiced by Satomi Kōrogi.

Brock is the other person who tags along with Ash and Misty on their journey. He has always been girl crazy, to the point where it becomes a little bit problematic if you watch the series as an adult! But whenever girls aren’t around, Brock does have some good ideas and good advice for Ash, for when he thinks Ash needs to take a minute and think before he acts. In Pokémon: The First Movie, he is immediately infatuated with Mewtwo’s assistant on meeting her, later discovering this is the missing Nurse Joy.

Brock was voiced by Eric Stuart, reprising the role until around 2006. Stuart is also known for voicing Seta Kaiba in the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime franchise, amongst numerous other characters. Brock’s Japanese voice actor was Yūji Ueda.

Mewtwo is the antagonist of Pokémon: The First Movie, although it didn’t have to be that way. On discovering its status as a clone, Mewtwo is confused about what its purpose is, just being a “copy” of some other Pokémon, or an “experiment” to be tested on throughout its life. Mewtwo doesn’t want that, and knowing its strength, knows it doesn’t have to settle for that. However, Mewtwo thinks it can trust Giovanni when Giovanni claims they will be equal partners and take over the world together. This turns out not to be case, furthering Mewtwo’s belief that humans are bad, and that the Pokémon that “serve” them are weak. Mewtwo doesn’t want that for its future, so it decides to clone other Pokémon, so they can rise up against the humans and their Pokémon, proving that clones are worthy and more powerful than they are. Mewtwo is to set on this plan to enact revenge on humans that it doesn’t see that all Pokémon are worthy and that their strength doesn’t lie in their power. It takes a while for Mewtwo to learn that, but it does, and plans to figure out a new purpose, removing the memory of that night from the minds of all the trainers who were there.

Jay Goede voiced Mewtwo, although he is credited as Philip Bartlett in the film. Goede went on to perform roles on stage, including in the 1999 national tour of Cabaret, and played Grinch in the 2006 performance of How the Grinch Stole Christmas! in San Diego, California. Goede also voiced Dr. Fuji, the lead scientist cloning Mewtwo. Mewtwo’s Japanese voice actor was Masachika Ichimura. Koichi Yamadera voiced Mew.

Mewtwo enlists the help of Nurse Joy in developing his plans, making her the face of his plot, so that Mewtwo could arrive as the big reveal later on. Nurse Joy was kidnapped from her role at the nearby Pokémon Center and taken to New Island against her will, being put into a trance by Mewtwo’s psychic ability so she would help. It’s quite dark for a children’s film when you think about it. Nurse Joy is quickly taken out of her trance as she is no use to Mewtwo once the trainers arrive with their Pokémon and she is left to watch this scheme, that she inadvertently played a part in, play out in front of her. Nurse Joy’s memory of the night is also wiped and she returns to work at the Pokémon Center none the wiser.

Megan Hollingshead voiced Nurse Joy. Hollingshead voiced this character in the series and films until around 2004, going on to provide voices for other anime series, such as Mai Valentine in Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (2000-04) and Rangiku and Nemu in Bleach (2004-12) and its most recent series Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War (2022-present). The Japanese voice actor for Nurse Joy was Ayako Shiraishi.

Now, to Team Rocket. Team Rocket consists of humans Jessie and James, and their sidekick Meowth, a Pokémon who can actually talk and not just say its name. Jessie and James are eager to capture Pikachu for their boss, Giovanni, but they are quite incapable of doing so. They frequently seem to get close to Ash, only for their plans to be thwarted at the last moment. Meowth is quite aware of Jessie and James ineptness and makes comments about it, being quite sarcastic at times. In Pokémon: The First Movie, although their initial plan is still to bother Ash and his friends, they find themselves in the middle of something so much bigger than that, and become distracted by Mewtwo’s war against trainers and their Pokémon. They probably wished they’d left Ash alone on that day!

Jessie was voiced by Rachael Lillis, who voiced Misty, and James was voiced by Eric Stuart, who voiced Brock. In Japan, Jessie was voiced by Megumi Hayashibara and James was voiced by Shin-ichirō Miki. Meowth was voiced by Maddie Blaustein for the English dub, voicing the character until around 2006. Blaustein also voiced other characters for animated series, such as Solomon Muto for Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters. Blaustein passed away in 2008. Inuko Inuyama was the Japanese voice actor for Meowth.

There are three other trainers at New Island along with Ash, Misty and Brock. They all appear to be older, and are therefore more mature and more confident in their Pokémon training abilities. This shows when they are the first trainers to defy the authorities and go to New Island on their own, and when they seem to think they can defeat Mewtwo easily, but they soon realise that is not the case, regardless of what strategy they use. In the end, they can only watch on as their Pokémon are cloned and used against them, waiting to see what happens next. Ash, despite being younger and less capable a trainer, is the one to stop the fighting, something that the trainers Fergus, Corey, and Neesha must have been grateful for. Although since all their memories were wiped, I doubt they ever had any further contact with each other, or Ash, Misty or Brock after that night!

Fergus was voiced by Jimmy Zoppi, also known as James Carter Cathcart who went on to voice numerous other characters for the Pokémon franchise including James, Meowth, and Professor Oak in later series and films. He passed away in 2025. Fergus was voiced by Wataru Takagi in Japan. Corey was voiced by Ed Paul, also known as Ted Lewis, who voiced various characters for the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise. Tōru Furuya was the Japanese voice actor behind this character. Neesha was voiced by Amy Birnbaum, who went on to voice other characters in the Pokémon franchise from this point. Aiko Satō was the original voice.

Rodger Parsons, credited as Ken Gates, returned to narrate Pokémon: The First Movie, as he had done with many other Pokémon series, including the first season, and the movies. In Japan, narration was completed by Unshō Ishizuka.

PRODUCTION

In order to talk about the production of Pokémon: The First Movie, it is necessary to go back and discover how Pokémon as a concept came into existence.

The idea for Pokémon was created by Satoshi Tajiri, who was a keen insect catcher and collector as a child. Tajiri later used this as a foundation for his video game work, as he started to develop a game about collecting “pocket monsters”, the phrase was later combined to become Pokémon, back in the 1990s. After the Game Boy was released by Nintendo, and a cable was produced to connect one console to another, Tajiri allegedly started to picture bugs crawling across this cable from one Game Boy to the next.

Tajiri used his ideas to start to develop a game with Nintendo. Pokémon Red and Green were released for Game Boy in February 1996 in Japan, with the aim to catch and train these new creatures. Connecting to other consoles allowed for players to trade Pokémon between themselves and to battle each other. These basic foundations continue to be developed and expanded for all the Pokémon games that have followed. The Pokémon Red and Green games were released outside of Japan, to North America, the EU and Australia, for example, in late 1998, going into 1999, with the names Pokémon Red and Blue, instead of Red and Green. Pokémon Yellow came into existence a year or so later[1].

From this point, an anime series was created based on the games. The first series, titled Pokémon: Indigo League (1997-99), came to television screens in Japan on 1^st April 1997. It later came to the US in late 1998, reaching over to the UK and Europe in 1999. The story of Pokémon: Indigo League is all about 10-year-old Ash Ketchum as he travels around the Kanto region, competing for Gym Badges against Gym Leaders, and collecting new Pokémon, with his friends Misty and Brock, two former Gym Leaders. The popularity of this series across the globe led to the creation of the Pokémon franchise’s first theatrical movie, Pokémon: The First Movie, which still continued to follow Ash, Misty, Brock and their Pokémon, but with the added mystery of introducing a new Pokémon, Mewtwo.

Pokémon: The First Movie is obviously based on characters created by Satoshi Tajiri for the Nintendo games, as well as being based on direct events and characters from Pokémon: Indigo League. The screenplay for the movie itself though was written by Takeshi Shudo, who had previously written episodes of Pokémon: Indigo League, and went on to write further episodes for later series, as well as other movies, like Pokémon: The Movie 2000 (1999) and Pokémon 3: The Movie (2000). The director of Pokémon: The First Movie, Kunihiko Yuyama, also has history with the Pokémon screen projects, having directed all the Pokémon movies annually from this point, ending with Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You! In 2017, and directing some episodes of the original series. Yuyama and Shudo had previously collaborated on the anime series Magical Princess Minky Momo (1982-83).

These were the creators behind the movie, which, obviously, was first released in Japan, in an anime style. However, Pokémon: The First Movie then had to be dubbed into new languages for Pokémon fans across the world. You might assume this was a simple process of translation, but it was not, and has caused some annoyance amongst viewers, who have become aware of differences between the original Japanese, and the English dub.

4Kids Entertainment, an American licensing company, were the distributors of the original Pokémon: Indigo League series, bringing Pokémon to audiences outside of Japan. This meant they were responsible for translating the movie as well, but they made some changes in the process of doing this that were not appreciated even by Pokémon fans.

The problems start at the very beginning of the film. In the English version of the film, we are told that this film is going to ponder the meaning of life and tell the story of the creation of the most powerful Pokémon ever. This then moves to Mewtwo in the cloning lab, deciding to break free after learning it is an experiment to be tested on. This English dub lacks any context to Mewtwo’s creation, which was actually present in Japan. Pokémon: The First Movie was meant to follow on from a few episodes of Pokémon: Indigo League, which would’ve introduced Mewtwo in some cameo appearances. However, these were not aired at the right time and ended up reaching viewers after the film had already been released. This is due to the four-month hiatus that was put on the Pokémon series, after hundreds of Japanese children experienced seizures after watching the 38^th episode of the first series “Electric Soldier Porygon” in December 1997. The flashing sequences had triggered seizures, and later seemed to have a caused a mass hysteria event as many more children who did not have epilepsy began to experience symptoms in the days that followed. This episode was never aired again and was effectively banned[2].

To help with context for Pokémon: The First Movie, a radio drama called The Birth of Mewtwo was aired in Japan instead to help audiences understand how this cloned Pokémon was created. This drama was later animated and added to the movie as a roughly ten-minute prologue for the 1999 television broadcast of the film in Japan. However, despite this segment being available by the time the English dub, came to cinemas in 1999, this ten-minute segment was not included, only later becoming a bonus feature on DVD releases.

In this prologue, Dr. Fuji, the lead scientist in cloning Mewtwo says that he and his team have found the site of a shrine to Mew. Financed by Giovanni, the team find a Mew fossil, and, believing Mew to be extinct, plan to use it to unlock the secret to restoring life through cloning. In the lab, Mewtwo starts to think, wondering who it is and where it is. Sensing others, it starts to communicate telepathically, talking to a girl called Ambertwo. She says Mewtwo is a Pokémon, but a talking one. Ambertwo says it is just like her, and the cloned Bulbasaur, Squirtle and Charizard. In the lab, the clones seem to be in a sleeping state. Ambertwo is revealed to be Fuji’s daughter, having cloned her after her death, despite his wife begging him not to and subsequently leaving him due to his obsession with his research. Still in their sleeping state, Ambertwo shows Mewtwo her “remember place”, where it is told about the sun and the wind, of sunrise and sunset. However, the clones start to fade away; in the lab, they are shown to be dying. Ambertwo fades last. Mewtwo feels sad at her loss, and starts to cry. Ambertwo says that the tears of a Pokémon are full of life. Her parting remark is to tell Mewtwo that life is wonderful. Mewtwo’s brain waves start going out of control, so the scientists administer a memory loss serum so it doesn’t remember all this. Eventually, Mewtwo calms down. It remembers something and someone as it grows, hearing the words “life is wonderful”, but it doesn’t know why.

With this prologue in mind, suddenly Mewtwo is not an evil villain anymore, wanting to take over the world, but a confused Pokémon wondering what its purpose is, and where it fits in this world, with its impressive psychic powers. Mewtwo is simply convinced it is superior to other Pokémon because of its strength, and wants to prove that is the case with other clones. Another difference between the two versions is that Mew is portrayed as the saviour of Ash and the others in the English dub, as it is seen to be defending them against evil, but in Japan, Mew actually thinks the clones should be destroyed, just because it sees genetically modifying Pokémon as wrong.

The battle between the two sides in the Japanese version culminates in the message that all life is precious, regardless of if it is cloned or natural. The English dub, however, decided to make this an anti-violence message, showing the clones attacking the original Pokémon, apparently to the death, with Ash stopping the fighting by sacrificing himself to save them all. This isn’t necessarily a bad message, and Western films do tend to have an obvious villain and an obvious hero, avoiding any grey area, but in the context of Pokémon, Pokémon never fight to do the death, and battle frequently, with the Pokémon fainting, not dying, whenever they are beaten. Battling is a major part of becoming a Pokémon trainer, so with that in mind, an anti-violence message makes little sense, especially as Ash and the others continued to battle other trainers and Pokémon in all the series that followed[3]. To be honest, I’ve never read too much into it, and struggle to see a huge difference in the storyline between the two, but I haven’t watched the Japanese version before and I am trying to understand the differences through other people’s reactions and opinions, which may vary.

4Kids Entertainment claim they made these story changes to the script in order to plug some plot holes that appeared in the Japanese version. One of these was around the meaning of Pokémon tears. This later appeared in The Birth of Mewtwo short prologue, as Ambertwo says their tears are full of life, but the English dub says the tears of Pokémon after a storm helped to revive all those who had died. Without having any awareness of the prologue, this is fine as a fix for the “plot hole” although it does feel like it was shoehorned in, as it is a very brief statement that is not revisited.

However, despite 4Kids Entertainment’s heroic attempts to “rescue” the story, the English dub contains multiple errors and mistakes. For one thing, the End Credits are full of typos, with names being misspelled. Another is that some Pokémon are misidentified during the course of the film. For example, a Pidgeot is identified as a Pidgeotto, by its own trainer; and Sandslash is called Sandshrew by Meowth. These are fairly easy mistakes to make, as they are at least part of the same evolution chain, however, Team Rocket misidentify Scyther as Alakazam, with the two Pokémon looking very different. Some also noticed that certain attacks used in battles worked against Pokémon types they shouldn’t have worked on. This is down to the type of attack being used and the Pokémon type it is being used against, as Pokémon all have different strengths and weaknesses depending on their “type”. But it takes real dedication to remember all these combinations, and that is something I don’t have!

One addition to the English dub I did like, though, was about Team Rocket. When they are dressed as Vikings and offer a lift in their boat to New Island to Ash, Misty, and Brock, Brock questions whether Vikings still exist. Ash responds by saying they mostly live in Minnesota. This made me chuckle, because it’s such a random thing to say, but actually, the joke has another layer to it, and that is because the American football team in Minnesota is called the Minnesota Vikings. I didn’t know that, but either way, I thought it was a good joke.

There has also been talk about the fate of a trainer who heads out in the storm to get to New Island on a Fearow, but they are not seen again. This trainer has been discussed online, with theories ranging from the trainer turning back to the ferry port due to the intensity of the storm, or a darker one about how the trainer may not have survived their journey. The likely story is that the animators simply forgot about them[4]! This can’t be blamed on the English dub though, as this is an animation error, not a script mistake.

MUSIC

When making an English version of a film in another language, it is not only the script that is changed, but also the music, in order to capitalise on the best musical acts in the English-speaking world. This was the case with Pokémon: The First Movie, where multiple songs were credited, having been written and performed by some very popular acts from the 1990s, however, within the actual film, there are just two songs that are played.

One is the “Pokémon Theme”, written by John Siegler and John Loeffler. It is performed by Billy Crawford. This is the same theme that accompanied the first series of Pokémon, although performed by someone different; the original singer was Jason Paige. It is an iconic song for many 90s children. In the film, the theme is played as Ash battles the trainer in the field, just before he gets invited to meet with Mewtwo on New Island.

The other song is “Brother My Brother”, written by John Loeffler, Ralph Schuckett, and Emosia. It was performed by American rock band Blessid Union of Souls. There is quite a mixed reaction to the use of this song within Pokémon: The First Movie, with some absolutely loving it, and others thinking it is misplaced. This was added in to the English dub of the film, so was not present in the Japanese version of the film. I personally find this song doesn’t suit the scene well, as it isn’t particularly sad, but I guess the point is that the song is almost pleading to the Pokémon to understand they are one and the same.

Then, the End Credits goes through excerpts of four songs in quick succession. The first song is “We’re a Miracle”. The track was performed by Christina Aguilera, who was riding high on the success of her self-titled debut album, and her No. 1 singles “Genie in a Bottle” and “What a Girl Wants”, around this time, having also recorded a version of “Reflection” for Disney Animation’s Mulan (1998) prior to that. “We’re a Miracle” was written by Todd Chapman, David Zippel, and Christina Aguilera.

This is then followed by “Free Up Your Mind”. It was performed by Emma Bunton, credited here as Baby Spice, as Bunton is best known for being a member of British girl group The Spice Girls. After the band split in 2000, Bunton went on to pursue a solo career, releasing her debut album A Girl Like Me in 2001. “Free Up Your Mind” was written by Bunton, Rhett Lawrence, and fellow former Spice Girl Melanie Chisholm, a.k.a. Sporty Spice.

“If Only Tears Could Bring You Back” is the third end credits song. It was performed by Midnight Sons, with the song being written by Marjorie Maye Pulice and Russ Desalvo. The song was inspired by the scene of Ash being revived by the Pokémon tears.

The final song to appear in the credits is “Don’t Say You Love Me”, which was performed by M2M, a Norwegian pop duo. This was their debut single. M2M later split in 2002, before reuniting in 2024. The song was written by Marion Raven, Marit Larsen, the two members of M2M, Peter Zizzo, Jimmy Bralower.

Two other songs were credited on the DVD of Pokémon: The First Movie, but I believe these songs are only heard in the short film Pikachu’s Vacation, which preceded the movie in theatrical releases. It was not available to view on my DVD copy of Pokémon: The First Movie, so the End Credits must not have been re-edited for the DVD release.

These songs were “Vacation” and “Catch Me If You Can”. “Vacation” is playing as the opening credits roll on this short film. It was written by Colleen Fitzpatrick and Josh Deutsch, and performed by American singer-songwriter Vitamin C. I only remember Vitamin C from her guest appearances on Nickelodeon’s The Amanda Show (1999-2002) – I still know the chorus to her song “Me, Myself and I” from her performance on the show – and Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996-2003). “Catch Me If You Can” is used for the sequence of Squirtle and Marill racing in the vacation resort pool, to prove who is the better Pokémon. It was written by Angela Trullinger and Briand M. Steckler, and performed by Angela Via.

The US soundtrack contains the eight songs credited in Pikachu’s Vacation and Pokémon: The First Movie, as well as several others that make no appearance in the film. These include the songs “Soda Pop” by Britney Spears; “Somewhere, Someday” from NSYNC; “Get Happy” by Irish girl group B*Witched; and “Makin’ My Way (Any Way That I Can)” by Billie Piper, showing that this soundtrack was really determined to make use of all those popular 90s musical acts. This soundtrack for Pokémon: The First Movie was released in November 1999, with a separate soundtrack for the score being released in 2000.

The composer of the score for Pokémon: The First Movie’s English version was John Loeffler. Loeffler was the longstanding composer for the Pokémon series, up until 2013, going on to also compose the score for the English version of Pokémon: The Movie 2000.

RECEPTION

Pokémon: The First Movie, sometimes with the added subtitle of Mewtwo Strikes Back, was originally released in Japan on 18^th July 1998. It later came to the US on 10^th November 1999, before reaching other countries in the months that followed, stretching into 2000.

This film was released alongside the original short film Pikachu’s Vacation, something which I really liked a lot. I liked the actual movie, but I think I actually preferred Pikachu’s Vacation when I first saw it. In Pikachu’s Vacation, Ash, Misty and Brock drop off all their Pokémon at a resort, and they are told to look after Togepi. Togepi gets hungry and starts crying, with the group trying to sort the issue. Eventually, Bulbasaur rocks Togepi to sleep with its vines, but Togepi is woken up by a group consisting of a Snubbull, Cubone, Marill, and Raichu who are very loud. When they are told to be quiet, an instant rivalry begins, which sees the Pokémon want to go head-to-head against each other, but as Pikachu takes on Raichu in a race, they wake up Charizard who becomes angry and ends up getting his head stuck in a hole in some play equipment. The Pokémon learn how to work together to free Charizard, and hang out together for the rest of the day. This short film was written by Hideki Sonoda, and was directed by Kunihiko Yuyama.

In Japan, Pokémon: The First Movie was incredibly successful, both financially and critically. Financial figures are hard to come by for the Japan release specifically. In the US, however, the box office figures were easier to find. Pokémon: The First Movie broke box-office records by taking just over $52 million in its first five days of release in the US, and became the biggest Wednesday opening for any animated film in history at the time by selling out more than 3,000 US cinemas on 10^th November. The term “Pokeflu” was even coined, thanks to the New York Times, for the reason why so many children were not at school on that day. A marketing campaign with Burger King, of around $22 million, was said to have boosted the film’s chances of doing well, with a total of 57 toys being distributed in kids’ meals over the course of two months, although some restaurants did run out of toys, leading to complaints from parents and children alike[5]. Outside of the US and Japan, Pokémon: The First Movie also had record-breaking opening weekends, in 11 international markets in the early months of 2000. It was top of the box office in various countries, including Germany, the UK, and Spain[6].

Pokémon: The First Movie has made a total of around $170 million at the box office. By the end of 1999, the film was in the No. 23 spot at the Worldwide Box Office, which is a decent result for the movie. However, it was quite a bit lower than a few other animated and family films for the year. Just two weeks after Pokémon: The First Movie was released in the US, Pixar’s Toy Story 2 came to screens, on 24^th November 1999, so it had already been anticipated that Toy Story 2 would quickly overtake Pokémon: The First Movie. That was the case as Toy Story 2 finished in third place at the Worldwide Box Office, with around $487 million at the time. Disney Animation’s Tarzan was in fifth with just under $450 million, and Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace took the top spot with just over $920 million.

Despite the decent box-office takings, Pokémon: The First Movie was not received so well by critics in the US and Europe. There is a massive divide between viewers and film critics, with many die-hard Pokémon fans willing to sing the praises of Pokémon: The First Movie, and critics taking shots for various reasons – mostly because they were adults who were not the target demographic for the film.

Let’s start with the positives. Many have said that Pokémon: The First Movie was colourful, vibrant, and cute, with its selection of adorable Pokémon and interesting backgrounds. This film was also good for kids, specifically fans of the games or the original series, since the story was simple to follow, and the runtime of the film was just 75 minutes. Millennials have a particular love for this film and the nostalgic element to it, as they likely watched it as children and enjoy revisiting it as adults. The sequence of Ash lifeless on the ground and the Pokémon crying for him is also said to be very moving, bringing a tear to people’s eyes – mine included. It is surprisingly touching for a Pokémon film.

On the other hand, some critics were quick to dismiss the “low-grade” animation style, with this not aging particularly well in an era of technological advancements in present day. This animation style is different to what you’d expect to have seen from the likes of Disney and Pixar at the time, either traditional hand-drawn animation or computer-animation, but Pokémon: The First Movie never claims to be anything but anime. It’s a different style but that doesn’t make it bad. It was also said that Pokémon: The First Movie’s story was so thin and lacked any ambition that it must’ve been made solely for merchandising opportunities, to add to the ever-increasing ways of expanding the franchise for money-making purposes. There were also later comparisons between the English dub and the original Japanese version of the film, with some stating that the Japanese film is superior, because it gives context to Mewtwo’s creation and doesn’t try to get across an anti-violence message that doesn’t make sense in the world of Pokémon with their constant battling.

In terms of awards, Pokémon: The First Movie won the Theatrical Film Award at the Animation Kobe, an event established by Kobe City in Japan to promote anime and other forms of media. The awards ran from 1996 until 2015. Pokémon: The First Movie joined a list of other movies awarded this honour, like fellow Japanese animated movie Spirited Away (2001) from Studio Ghibli and Pixar’s WALL-E (2008). Pokémon: The First Movie was also nominated at the 2000 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards for Favorite Movie. It was nominated alongside Toy Story 2, Big Daddy – and Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, for some reason. Adam Sandler’s film Big Daddy was the winner here. At these same awards, Pokémon was also up for Favorite Cartoon, losing to Rugrats (1991-2004), but it did win Favorite Video Game. Pokémon: The First Movie was also nominated for Best Family Feature Film for 1999: Animated at the Young Artist Awards, but lost out to Toy Story 2.

Meanly, Pokémon: The First Movie received nominations at the Stinkers Bad Movie Awards for 1999, which started handing out awards for the worst films of the year in 1978, and ended in 2006. Pokémon: The First Movie was up for Worst Screenplay for a Film Grossing Over $100M Worldwide Using Hollywood Math – the winner was Wild Wild West– and Biggest Disappointment (Films That Didn’t Live Up to Their Hype), which was won by The Blair Witch Project. All the Pokémon were also nominated for Worst Screen Debut – the people behind these awards were clearly reaching here – but the winner was Star Wars’ Jar Jar Binks. Pokémon: The First Movie did end up winning something here: the Worst Achievement in Animation award, against movies I’ve never even heard of.

LEGACY

Pokémon may’ve existed since 1996, but 30 years on, it is still popular and its franchise is still expanding in various ways and forms.

Shortly after Pokémon: The First Movie was released, the remainder of the episodes of the original series, Pokémon: Indigo League, were aired, continuing Ash’s journey. The Pokémon series spawned many new storylines, locations, and new Pokémon. Ash’s journey concluded in Series 23 titled Pokémon: Journeys, which ended in December 2021. The series was revived as Pokémon: Horizons from April 2023, following two new trainers Liko and Roy. The most recent series started in April 2025 and is titled Horizons – Rising Hope.

There have also been over twenty animated films since the first film came to be. They were released annually for a time, but have not become as frequent since 2018. The most recent film was Secrets of the Jungle (2020). The live-action film Detective Pikachu (2019) was released in May 2019, with Justice Smith cast as Tim Goodman, and Ryan Reynolds voicing the role of Pikachu – which was just bizarre, but did actually make sense once I’d watched the film. Detective Pikachu was a lot better than I’d expected it to be. The likes of Bill Nighy and Rita Ora also make appearances in this film. It grossed just over $430 million worldwide, making it the second highest-grossing film based on a video game; Warcraft (2016) was top of the list at that time. Both have now been overtaken by The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023), A Minecraft Movie (2025), and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (2024).

Video game releases have also continued, with numerous other games coming to Nintendo consoles in recent years, such as the Game Boy Advance, the Nintendo DS and the Nintendo Switch. A new game titled Pokémon Winds and Waves is said to be in development for the Nintendo Switch 2, for release in 2027. A spin-off game Pokémon Pokopia recently came to Nintendo Switch 2, in March 2026, and has had some great reviews. The mobile game Pokémon GO launched in July 2016, and ten years on, the game is still free to play, with optional paid-for extras, and is expanding its Pokémon collection as the Pokémon video games do. The Pokémon Trading Card Game has seen a resurgence as of late as well, with cards on sale for thousands or millions of dollars. Influencer Logan Paul is said to have had something to do with the increased popularity of Pokémon cards. He sold a rare Pikachu Illustrator card for a record-breaking $16.5 million in 2026, which he purchased for $5.275 million in 2021[7].

Specifically relating to Pokémon: The First Movie were a couple of new films, one a remake and one a sequel television special. The remake was a CGI, almost shot-for-shot, remake of Pokémon: The First Movie titled Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back – Evolution (2019). It was released in Japan in 2019, before making its way to Netflix in February 2020 to reach a global audience. The new animation style was not widely appreciated. I didn’t particularly like the look of it either, but I did appreciate that it barely changed the story – though I hadn’t seen the original in years by that point so actually didn’t remember the story much at all! Another noticeable difference was in the change of voice actors for all the main roles, but there were also some minor changes, like the omission of the “Brother My Brother” song for the battle scene, and that Team Rocket picked up Ash, Misty and Brock, to take them to New Island, in a Lapras boat, not in their Viking disguises[8].

There was also the television special Pokémon: Mewtwo Returns, which aired in Japan in December 2000, before coming to other territories via a direct-to-video release, including in the US, around 2001. The story follows Mewtwo as it tries to find a new life for its self and the cloned Pokémon, having found a hideaway in Mt. Quena. However, Giovanni wants to find Mewtwo and plans to recapture it. Giovanni manages to find Mewtwo’s new home, as do Ash, Misty, Brock, and Team Rocket through total coincidence. Mewtwo eventually allows itself to be captured by Giovanni, to save the clones from being experimented on. However, Giovanni still manages to capture all the clones, and Ash and his friends. They eventually free themselves and try to rescue Mewtwo from Giovanni’s torture, and they succeed in defeating Team Rocket. Mewtwo wants to wipe everyone’s memories of these events, but Ash asks that it doesn’t do that, leaving their memories intact. Mewtwo then reappears in an episode of the Pokémon: Journeys series.

Some merchandise was also released around Pokémon: The First Movie, such as a novella detailing the story of the film, with another one being created specifically for Pikachu’s Vacation, as well as posters and new trading cards, alongside the DVD and VHS releases. With the 30^th anniversary of Pokémon in full swing in 2026, numerous other pieces of merchandise have been spotted recently including very expensive Pokémon LEGO sets, a Pokémon pop-up shop at the Natural History Museum in London, until April 2026, a limited-edition greyscale Pikachu plush toy, and even a Pokémon collab with the JimmyPaul fashion brand[9]. The first Pokémon theme park also opened in Tokyo to mark this anniversary, called PokéPark Kanto, as part of the theme park Yomiuriland. It opened on 5^th February 2026[10]. Other Pokémon attractions and experiences may yet be coming to Universal Theme Parks, most likely in Japan, in the years to come. These would add to, or replace, their limited-time Pokémon offerings that currently exist, including their Halloween event. The Halloween event has run at Universal Studios Japan for a few years now, and made a return in 2025. This event includes a dance party, themed merchandise and food options, and appearances by costumed characters, such as Pikachu and Gengar.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Pokémon has shown no sign of its popularity decreasing or waning in the decades since its creation in 1996. If anything, the Pokémon brand continues to increase its reach.

Pokémon: The First Movie was the first attempt to create a theatrical experience for the franchise, building on the success of thetelevision series and its global appeal. Further Pokémon movies may not have been as popular, with many not reaching cinemas outside of Japan, but the stories of Pokémon and their trainers just kept going.

Although I like Pokémon: The First Movie, and did watch it as a child on its initial theatrical release, I cannot categorically say that I have an everlasting love for this film. Sure, it’s pretty good, but that’s only the case if you’re a fan of Pokémon, or are at least aware of what you’re watching, and who the Pokémon even are. If not, then Pokémon: The First Movie gives absolutely nothing to those viewers. You had to have been a fan to enjoy this.

And that’s fine, because no movie will ever be universally appealing to everyone. Pokémon: The First Movie served its purpose. It continued Ash’s journey to becoming a Pokémon trainer, and introduced a completely new Pokémon. Plus, it made a whole lot of kids happy – and no doubt bored their parents!

REFERENCES

[1] Credit: Gregory Wakeman, ‘Nintendo Released Its First ‘Pokémon’ Games 30 Years Ago. Here’s How the Beloved Catchable ‘Pocket Monsters’ Became the World’s Biggest Media Franchise’, SmithsonianMag.com, 27^th February 2026.

[2] Credit: Benjie Goodhart, ‘’There was an explosion, and I had to close my eyes’: how TV left 12,000 children needing a doctor’, TheGuardian.com, 16^th December 2022.

[3] Credit: Ryan Lambie, ‘How the US Version of Pokemon: The First Movie Changed Its Meaning’, DenOfGeek.com, 8^th February 2017.

[4] Credit: Adriano Valente, ’25 Wild Things Only Super Fans Knew About Pokémon: The First Movie’, TheGamer.com, 13^th November 2018.

[5] Credit: BBC News, ‘Entertainment: Pokemon zaps US cinemas’, News.BBC.co.uk, 15^th November 1999.

[6] Credit: Mike Goodridge, ‘Warner Int’l scores $14.6 weekend with Pokemon’, ScreenDaily.com, 19^th April 2000.

[7] Credit: Laura Sharman, ‘Logan Paul’s ‘holy grail’ of Pokémon cards sells for $16.5 million, with a diamond necklace thrown in’, Edition.CNN.com, 16^th February 2016.

[8] Credit: Joshua Yehl, ‘The Biggest Differences Between Mewtwo Strikes Back and Pokemon: The First Movie’, IGN.com, 17^th August 2021.

[9] Credit: Keza MacDonald, ‘Even for fans like me, the Pokémon 30^th anniversary ‘stuff’ is a bit much’, TheGuardian.com, 4^th March 2026.

[10] Credit: CBBC Newsround, ‘World’s first Pokémon theme park opens’, BBC.co.uk, 5^th February 2026.

6th Mar 2026 by The Disney Purist

Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board (2007)

BACKGROUND

Generally, if Disney Channel choose to make a sequel to one of their Disney Channel Original Movies, this sequel would make its way to screens within a year or two of the original. This happened with most of their franchises, like High School Musical, Descendants, and ZOMBIES, although their spin-offs or reboots did not quite fit this timeline.

Waiting eight years to make a sequel to the 10^th official DCOM which premiered in the 1990s is an odd decision. But this was the case with Johnny Tsunami (1999), a sports movie that looked at the worlds of snowboarding and surfing, set in Vermont and Hawaii.

What was Disney Channel thinking? That’s not to say that Johnny Tsunami wasn’t popular because it was, or at least it is still remembered even today, over two decades on. However, you have to consider the age of the Disney Channel viewers who would’ve watched Johnny Tsunami on its premiere date and would be considered to be the film’s fans. Many of them would’ve been early teens, or a little bit younger, to match the age of the main characters, so add eight years to, let’s say, the age of 11 and you’re assuming that these young adults are going to be switching Disney Channel back on to watch a sequel to their childhood favourite television movie. What are the odds of that?

All I know about Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board is that it came to Disney Channel in the same year that we were getting High School Musical 2 (2007). That was the film event of the year, not Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board, which was a sequel to a film I’d never watched and barely even heard of. I simply did not care, and actually did not appreciate the amount of advertising that Disney Channel was pushing on their viewers for this film.

Disney Channel had worked out by the mid-2000s, thanks to High School Musical (2006), that their best chance of success with their original movies was to go down the musical route, and pepper in a couple of non-musicals around them, but ensuring these were fronted by some of their most famous actors at the time, people like Selena Gomez or Corbin Bleu. Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board simply did not suit Disney Channel’s new movie formula by not fitting either of these criteria.

All this just set Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board up to fail with Disney Channel’s new audience, and probably did not introduce many to its predecessor or to its new choice of sport: dirtboarding. Hardly as exotic or cool as snowboarding or surfing, is it?

PLOT

Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board begins with a brief recap of the original film. Thirteen-year-old Johnny was forced to move away from his surfing life in Hawaii with his grandpa, legendary surfer Johnny Tsunami, to go to Vermont with his parents, where he later took up snowboarding. We then see Johnny standing at the top of a mountain, looking about four years older, snowboard attached to his feet, ready to slide down, however, he falls, toppling down into the sea below, where he starts surfing, before wiping out.

This turns out to have all been a dream, as Johnny wakes up in the back of the car, where his parents are driving them back to Hawaii for Johnny Tsunami’s upcoming wedding. Johnny’s parents tell Johnny that they’ll be heading into the city for a couple of days, leaving Johnny to go to his grandpa’s house alone. Johnny gets a ride there with his friend Sam. Johnny met Sam in Vermont when he first moved there, but Sam later moved to Iceland for his father’s work, as Sam’s father is in the US military. They recently transferred to Hawaii.

Johnny arrives at his grandfather’s house but he’s not home. Johnny goes to his old room, and finds it full of someone else’s stuff. Weird. Johnny heads to the beach to find his grandpa. There, he sees a young boy shouting at Johnny Tsunami and storming off, after a surfing lesson doesn’t go to plan. Johnny assumes his grandpa must be teaching kids how to surf now. Johnny goes over to his grandpa and they catch up, with Johnny Tsunami showing off his new shorter hair style.

At dinner that evening, Johnny is introduced to his grandfather’s wife-to-be Carla. She has a son called Chris, making him technically Johnny’s uncle. She explains that the house she is renting is too small for both her and Chris, so Chris is staying at Johnny Tsunami’s house, and that is why there is stuff in his old room. At that moment, Chris arrives, but he has no interest in sitting with them for dinner. Chris turns out to be the kid Johnny saw surfing with his grandpa earlier. Johnny is shocked to find his uncle is so young. Chris heads to his room and refuses to talk to him.

The next day, Johnny Tsunami shows Johnny a retail space that he is doing up with Carla so they can open a surf shop together. This was Carla’s father shop, and when he passed away, it was left to her, so she wants to reopen it. As Carla and Johnny Tsunami set about working on the store, Johnny is told to keep an eye on Chris so they can keep working. Johnny sees Chris hanging out with a group of older dirtboarders, or mountainboarders, basically like off-road skateboarding. This group is called the Dirt Devils and Chris desperately wants to be a part of their team. Johnny introduces himself to some of the group, like Val, the only girl member; Jared, the team captain; and Troy, the owner of the Dirt Devils board store. Johnny is invited in to tour the store and given a board by Troy, so he can head out with the others. Chris and Johnny go with the Dirt Devils to a restricted area.

Johnny tries to keep up with the group but finds dirtboarding a little bit different to snowboarding, ending up face planting in the dirt! Chris complains that he isn’t a member of the Dirt Devils yet and asks what he can do. Jared and his friends tell Chris he’d have to impress Troy by doing some impressive stunt to get on the team. Chris says he’s willing to do that, and goes to the edge of a steep slope. Johnny tries to warn Chris about doing this, but he’s all ready to go. Luckily, the police arrive before Chris can risk his life and the Dirt Devils scatter, leaving Johnny and Chris to be taken home by the police.

At Johnny Tsunami’s house, the police tell Johnny Tsunami and Carla that Chris and Johnny were caught trespassing, with this being Chris’s second warning. If he does this again, he could end up in front of a judge facing a harsher punishment. Johnny Tsunami and Carla talk to the boys about the incident. Johnny Tsunami reiterates that punishment isn’t really his thing but knowing the seriousness of this, he and Chris’s mother have agreed to take Chris’s dirtboard away. Chris is furious. Johnny apologises to his grandpa for the trouble they’ve caused. Johnny’s grandpa then tells Johnny that Carla needs to get the surf shop open soon or they risk losing a lot of money. He asks Johnny to keep Chris out of trouble until Saturday so they can simply concentrate on the store. Johnny says he’ll do it.

Johnny and Sam take Chris to the surf store the next morning so they can help get the shop stocked and in order. He goes to ask Johnny Tsunami what they need to be doing, but when he goes to find him, he sees his grandpa in a suit and heading to a meeting. He’s never seen his grandpa look like that before! Johnny returns to the store and shortly after that, his parents arrive. They tell Johnny and Sam to leave them to it and to go and have some fun. They plan to go surfing but as they head outside, they see Chris getting into a van with the Dirt Devils. Johnny knows they’ll have to follow them.

Eventually, they arrive at the dockyard, where a course has been set up. Johnny reminds Chris that he’s been banned from dirtboarding by his mother, with Chris saying this is just skateboarding. What a loophole. Johnny sees that Troy is teasing Chris with the potential of getting on to the Dirt Devils team, making Chris do anything to make that happen. Johnny doesn’t like that at all. So, Sam tells Johnny that they should get involved. They both do the course, with their snowboarding skills apparently helping them, and the Dirt Devils are impressed. This upsets Chris who leaves the dockyard, with Johnny and Sam having to find him and take him back home. At home, Chris runs to his room, upset. Chris is very annoyed at Johnny for getting the Dirt Devils to like him better. Johnny can’t get Chris to see sense, and tells his grandfather that he simply can’t deal with Chris anymore. His grandfather says he’ll look after Chris tomorrow to give Johnny a break.

The following day, Val, from the Dirt Devils, sees Johnny tying a surfboard to his car, and tells him all about her bad experience of surfing when she lived in California. Johnny offers to teach her how to surf. They spend the day together, surfing, with Val giving Johnny her number by the end of it. Johnny wonders if he can get Val to help him with Chris.

Johnny tells Sam that he is determined to get on with Chris, so they come up with a plan. They wake Chris up with really loud music and film it, using the video to blackmail Chris into spending the day with them, saying that if he doesn’t, then they’ll show the embarrassing video to the Dirt Devils. Chris begrudgingly agrees to go with them. They go to Val’s house, seeing that she lives in a huge house, thanks to her property/business owner father. Val shows them her dirt bike collection, that she got as a Sweet 16 gift. Johnny tells Chris that he has been allowed to go dirtboarding again, so the four head out on the bikes to go and board together. Johnny and Sam see that Chris is actually a really good boarder, and he teaches the other two how to do some impressive tricks. At the end of the day, they meet Val’s father, and Johnny sees this is the person his grandpa was meeting with the other day.

Back at the shop, Carla speaks to Johnny’s mother about how difficult Chris is being this week with the wedding coming up, but she is pleased to see that the surf shop is nearly ready. Johnny Tsunami also shows everyone that he has ordered a few things for dirtboarding, to try and get Chris on side. Troy from the Dirt Devils hears that Johnny Tsunami’s new store might be in direct competition with his by supplying some of the same gear. Troy tells Jared to spy on them, to see what they’re selling. Jared goes into the shop and takes an invoice, proving that Johnny Tsunami has been buying dirtboarding equipment. He is almost rumbled by Carla; however, she assumes Jared is just looking for Chris. She tells Jared he isn’t here, and he leaves, bringing the evidence he found to Troy.

Troy goes to the store himself, and brings this up with Johnny Tsunami. Johnny Tsunami tries to say the dirtboarding stuff will only be a small proportion of what they sell, but reminding Troy that a little healthy competition is fine. Troy says it definitely isn’t and warns Chris to stay aware from the Dirt Devils from now on. This only makes Chris even angrier with Johnny Tsunami, blaming him for ruining his chances of joining the team. Carla says Chris should move out of Johnny Tsunami’s house for a bit, to give everyone some space.

The next day, Carla tells Johnny and his family that Chris has gone missing. At the same time, they learn that Val has been kicked out of the Dirt Devils by Troy, for fraternising with the “competition”. She tells Johnny they were heading to a boarding event, which she has a ticket for, but was not allowed in the van with the others. She says Chris had a ticket too, so Sam and Johnny drive her to the event, believing Chris would be there. They look around but can’t see him. Johnny Tsunami calls Johnny. As Johnny is about to say they’ve had no luck finding Chris, Johnny hears and sees Chris arguing with Jared. They go over to him, and hear that Chris wants to challenge Jared to a race, so he can join the group, which Troy has now arranged potential sponsorship for. Jared says Chris can do a jump tomorrow, at 3pm, to prove his worth to the Dirt Devils. Johnny tries to talk Chris out of the jump, but he won’t listen. Chris is still angry and unwilling to accept his new family. Johnny basically tells Chris to stop being a brat, and just wish for his mother to be happy. It doesn’t work.

It is soon tomorrow and the family set up for the wedding rehearsal dinner. Chris promises Carla that he’ll be good today, and Johnny has said to Chris he won’t be doing the jump because he needs to focus on this dinner. Johnny is asked by his mother to go into town to buy some things, and Chris offers to come too. Johnny is a little suspicious but lets Chris come with him. When they arrive in town, Chris says he needs to go to the toilet, but sneaks away with his dirtboard, heading off to do the jump. Johnny waits in line at the store, wondering where Chris is. He goes to investigate and sees that Chris has run off. Johnny goes to get in his car to follow him, but finds he has a flat tyre, something Chris has caused. He calls Val to get him to take them to the jump, assuming Chris has gone there.

Sure enough, Chris is at the jump with Jared and some of the other Dirt Devils. Johnny and Val try to call to him to stop him doing the dangerous jump. Chris doesn’t listen, and ends up falling afterwards, hurting his arm. Val goes for help. Later, Johnny is told off by his father for not looking after Chris. The rehearsal dinner has had to be cancelled whilst Carla and Johnny Tsunami take Chris to the hospital. He returns with a fractured arm. The police then arrive, telling them that the surf shop, which was meant to open the next day, has been totally trashed. At the scene, they see that Jared has been caught with the boards and wheels from the store and has been arrested. Troy comes over and pretends not to know what went on. He also tells Chris that he heard about the jump and is letting him be a Dirt Devil at last. Johnny says that Chris won’t be joining, making Chris lash out at everyone again. Back at home, Chris overhears his mother talking to Johnny Tsunami. She says staying in Hawaii was a mistake and that Chris is not happy here, thinking it would be best if they just moved back to Philadelphia.

The next day, Johnny meets up with his grandpa, who is rightly upset that his fiancée is thinking of moving back home, effectively ending their relationship. Johnny says they can fix the situation, and calls Val, knowing Chris will listen to Val, as he has a bit of a crush on her. She tells Chris not to be a loser like Jared and the other Dirt Devils, and to accept that Johnny is the best big brother figure he’ll ever have, so to stop ruining things for everyone in the family. Chris makes amends with Johnny and says that he should’ve listened to him earlier, but doesn’t know how to fix things now. Johnny has a few ideas.

Johnny Tsunami gets a call from Johnny, telling him and Carla to go to the shop. They see that Johnny, Chris, Sam, and Val have fixed up the shop so it is ready to open. Chris then tells his mum they should stay in Hawaii. The shop has its grand opening and is a huge success. Across the street, they all see Troy arguing with Val’s father about a business contract. It turns out Troy wanted Val’s father to buy his store so he could return to California. This meant that he had no intention of letting Chris be a Dirt Devil, or even had any plans to help the team. It was all lies. Val had told her father not to trust Troy, and that is why the deal fell through. Troy vows revenge on Johnny Tsunami and the family, so Johnny challenges Troy to a race. If Troy wins, their new store will no longer sell boards, and if Johnny wins, then they can sell whatever they want. Val’s dad says he’ll set up the course.

A little while later, the course is set up, intending to be a permanent location where boarders can go, and Chris gives Johnny some tips on the course. The rules of the race are revealed: that they will each have to do three tricks and finish first to win. The race is given the go-ahead, and Johnny and Troy race, each taking the lead at different points. Troy even slides into Johnny to knock him down and makes him fall behind. But at the last trick, Troy falls, giving Johnny the chance to finish first – and he does, although he ends up crashing into the hay bales cushioning the finish line! Troy is arrested at the end of the race, as Jared admitted that Troy had told him to trash the store, knowing that the store would be empty as Chris had told them that the family would be at the rehearsal dinner that night.

As the family are about to leave the course, Carla and Johnny Tsunami decide to stick to their original plan and get married that day. The ceremony is beautiful and the family, even Chris, have started to get along. The film ends with Johnny and Johnny Tsunami surfing together. They return to the beach to find Chris watching them, continuing to say that surfing is “no big deal”! They walk down the beach together, teasing each other.

CHARACTERS & CAST

Johnny Kapahala, now 17 years old, continues to be his relaxed self, not sweating the small stuff. Johnny is glad to be back in Hawaii, even if it is in slightly odd circumstances. Sure, Johnny is happy to see his grandpa getting married, but it is a bit weird that Johnny has to basically babysit his grandpa’s fiancée’s twelve-year-old son Chris, who is bratty and moody, not liking Johnny at all to begin with. Johnny tries to keep his family together, whilst dealing with Chris’s outbursts and disregard for his own safety. Johnny tries everything to get Chris to warm to him and keep him safe, but to no avail. Luckily, when Chris starts to realise the error of his ways, Johnny is on hand to help him make amends with Johnny’s grandfather, by helping to fix up the damaged store, and paving the way for Chris to apologise to his mother for his behaviour. Johnny also sets up the final race, allowing for his win to keep Troy out of their business and away from them, hopefully forever. Brandon Baker was back after an eight-year absence to reprise his role as Johnny Kapahala.

Chris is the typical “problem child” in Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board, the cause of the family’s conflict and strife. In some ways, you have to feel a bit sorry for Chris, because he has been forced to move to Hawaii without being consulted or asked for his opinion. But then again, he is rude to the people trying to help him, like Johnny Tsunami, who attempts to teach him how to surf and lets him stay at his home, hoping they’d bond, and Johnny, who just wants to be his friend and doesn’t want to see him get hurt doing crazy stunts to impress a group of boarders. Chris also barely speaks to his mother in this film, seeming to be very angry with her for putting him in this situation, with her marriage to Johnny Tsunami only confirming that this is the way things are going to be from now on. Chris doesn’t seem to care about anyone’s happiness but his own, with his only goal to be a Dirt Devil, something that frequently gets him into trouble, and even gets him injured. Eventually, after a lecture from Val, Chris learns that he has been acting badly and makes it up to everyone.

Chris was played by former Disney Channel star Jake T. Austin. He made a return to the Disney Channel shortly after the premiere of Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board, with his starring role as Max Russo in Wizards of Waverly Place (2007-12), alongside Selena Gomez and David Henrie. The new series came to the channel in October 2007, with Austin also reprising his role in its movie Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie (2009) during the series’ run. During his time at Disney, Austin was also cast as Bruce in Hotel for Dogs (2009), later going on to voice Fernando in the animated movie Rio (2011) and its 2014 sequel. He also appeared as Jesus Foster in the first two seasons of The Fosters (2013-18) and competed in Season 23 of Dancing with the Stars (2005-present) in 2016.

To help with Chris, Johnny also has his long-time friend Sam, who he originally met in Vermont, saying goodbye to him at the end of the original film as Sam headed to Iceland with his father. Sam is now living in Hawaii. Sam is on hand to help Johnny with Chris, as the two first take Sam’s car to follow Chris to the dockyard where he has gone with the Dirt Devils, despite being told not to go dirtboarding after the trespassing incident. Sam and Johnny then show Chris up by actually being good skateboarders. Sam later spends the day with them and Val, to encourage Chris to accept Johnny as a member of his family. Just like in Johnny Tsunami, Sam is there to help Johnny with whatever he needs.

Sam Sterling might not be a new character to these two films, however, Lee Thompson Young did not return to play the role, instead being replaced with Jonathan “Lil J” McDaniel, in what may be considered a strange move, since the two actors don’t look much alike at all. It might’ve been better to simply have made Sam a new character, a childhood friend of Johnny’s from Hawaii or something. Anyway, McDaniel may have been familiar to Disney Channel viewers at the time as he had recently been cast in the recurring role of Devon Carter, Raven’s boyfriend, in That’s So Raven (2003-07), returning to the role for the spin-off series Raven’s Home (2017-23). McDaniel also later played German Vega in the sports drama series Hit the Floor (2013-18).

Val is Johnny’s love interest in Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board. We originally meet Val as a member of the Dirt Devils, where Johnny seems to show an instant liking to her. She is kind to everyone, even Johnny, despite the Dirt Devils being quite reserved about outsiders, and clearly cares about Chris’s welfare, whereas the boys in the group seem to just think it’s funny that he tags around with them and will do reckless things just to be in the group. Val later spends the day surfing with Johnny, where they become close. Johnny enlists Val’s help with Chris a few times in the film, such as planning the dirtboarding day for Chris with her; getting her to help him stop Chris doing the dangerous jump, although this doesn’t work out; and asking her to speak to Chris to get him to convince his mother to stay in Hawaii. Like Sam, Val is loyal to Johnny and is on hand to help him in any way she can.

Rose McIver was cast as Val. McIver has since gone on to have a very successful acting career, after her role here and her earlier role as Hannah in the DCOM Eddie’s Million Dollar Cook-Off (2003). McIver was cast in the recurring role of Tinker Bell in the ABC series Once Upon a Time (2011-18) and went on to star as Liv Moore in the series iZombie (2015-19). McIver also starred in the Netflix Christmas movie trilogy A Christmas Prince (2017-19) as Amber Moore. Currently, McIver is playing the lead role of Sam Arondekar in the US version of the British sitcom Ghosts (2021-present).

The main Dirt Devils kid that we see in Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board is Jared, the leader of the group. Jared suggests the stupid stunts that Chris should do to get in the group. Despite being quite obnoxious when surrounded by his friends, he is actually easily led by others, like Troy, who tells him to spy on Carla and Johnny Tsunami’s new store, and gets him to commit criminal damage for him. Clearly, Jared was scared after being arrested, as most kids would be, and comes clean to the police, saying that Troy had told him to do it, and he is released. I sure hope Jared learnt his lesson.

Andrew James Allen was cast as Jared. Shortly after Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board, he was cast as Samuel Heckler in the movie The Lovely Bones (2009), with his character being the boyfriend of Lindsey Salmon, who was played by Rose McIver. Andrew James Allen was cast in the recurring role of Pontius Pilate in The Chosen (2017-present).

Troy is the owner of the Dirt Devils store, and acts like the manager of the Dirt Devils boarding team, as he convinces the kids that he is trying to get sponsorship for them. Like Jared, he seems to find it amusing that a twelve-year-old kid is so desperate to be on the boarding team that he follows them around everywhere. not seeming to think he has any responsibility for Chris’s safety. It later becomes clear that Troy fears any competition with his own store, resorting to desperate measures to get Johnny Tsunami to shut down his store, like asking a teenager to go and do his dirty work for him! Despite all that, it turns out Troy was trying to sell his store anyway, so he could quietly move back to California without anyone knowing, so why he’d care about this new store if that was the case, I don’t know. The deal doesn’t go through anyway, and he vows revenge on Johnny Tsunami and his family. He then agrees to a race with Johnny, but although he tries to cheat, he does not win, allowing Johnny Tsunami and his family to sell whatever they want in the store. He gets arrested anyway, and we don’t find out the fate of him or his store. I doubt it was good!

Troy was played by Phil Brown. Recently, he played Sam Tucker in the New Zealand teen drama Mystic (2020-22), and Mark McCrae in New Zealand crime drama One Lane Bridge (2020-22). He also appeared as Charles Stringer in Avatar: The Way of Water (2022).

Carla is the final new character to appear in this film, as Chris’s mother, and Johnny Tsunami’s future wife. She has chosen to make a new life in Hawaii, having moved from Philadelphia, and wants to open up a surf shop here. Sadly, Chris, has struggled to adjust to this upheaval in his life, and has made things difficult for her. Carla wants to make things work in Hawaii, but when Chris starts to act up even more, she feels she has no choice but to move back to Philadelphia to keep Chris happy, even if it means she won’t be as happy. Thankfully, Chris convinces his mother they should stay in Hawaii and he gives his blessing for his mother to marry Johnny Tsunami as planned.

Carla was played by Robyn Lively. Prior to her role here, she played Jessica Andrews in The Karate Kid Part III (1989) and was cast as Louise Miller in Teen Witch (1989). She had also been cast in the recurring role of Michele Faber in Doogie Howser, M.D. (1989-93) around this time. More recently, Lively appeared in the recurring role of Marlene Harris from Season 3 of the Fox series 9-1-1: Lone Star (2020-25).

As well as these new characters, some characters from Johnny Tsunami also make a reappearance in this sequel. The most obvious of which is Johnny Tsunami himself, Johnny’s grandpa. He has gone through a bit of a change in the years between the two stories though, as he adjusts to becoming a stepfather to Chris, a husband, and a business owner, quite different from the Johnny Tsunami in the original movie who had no responsibilities at all, and just lived a chilled life on the beach. He is no longer a “surf bum” as his son, Johnny’s father, so eloquently put it in the first film; he is now fully committed to having a steady life with his family. Johnny Tsunami has attempted to bond with Chris, however, his love of surfing is not shared with Chris making this difficult, as well as Chris’s overall attitude to him being a barrier to that. In the end, Chris comes to accept that Johnny Tsunami makes his mother happy and is actually a cool guy, and they reach some sort of relationship. It might not be a father-son dynamic, but it’s enough for them to get along. Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa was back to reprise his role as Johnny Tsunami here.

Johnny’s parents, Melanie and Pete, also make a return for Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board. As most of the story focuses on the kids, they don’t have a huge amount of screen time on this occasion, being around to help set up the store with Johnny Tsunami and Carla, and to be on hand to listen to their difficulties with Chris, as well as help to organise the wedding and the rehearsal dinner. They mostly just leave Johnny to it, and let him go off surfing and boarding, enjoying his time back in Hawaii. Clearly, Pete has become less risk-averse, and less of a helicopter parent after the original film, although I’m sure Johnny might’ve appreciated it if he hadn’t been left to deal with Chris on his own the whole time! Mary Page Keller and Yuji Okumoto returned to play Melanie and Pete.

MUSIC

Johnny Tsunami used a variety of rock music in its soundtrack, something that was a departure from the typical music within a Disney Channel Original Movie. Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board is more similar to the usual musical style of DCOMs, by featuring pop music.

One band whose music appears in Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board will be very familiar to Disney fans and that is the Jonas Brothers. The Jonas Brothers formed in 2005, consisting of real-life brothers Nick, Joe, and Kevin Jonas, and began to be linked to Disney and Disney Channel around 2006, signing with Disney’s record label Hollywood Records in 2007. This led to them covering famous Disney songs, and performing the song “Kids of the Future” for the Disney Animation film Meet the Robinsons (2007), going on to star in such Disney Channel projects as the Camp Rock films, and their own series, Jonas (2009-10).

For Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board, the Jonas Brothers performed the song “Hold On”. This song was one of the tracks in their album Jonas Brothers, released in August 2007, with “Hold On” having been released as a single in May that same year. It debuted at No. 92 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. In the movie, this song plays as Johnny, Chris, Sam, and Val have a day out dirtboarding together. I remember hearing “Hold On” a lot on Disney Channel around this time, so I’m assuming it was being played to promote Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board, but I had no idea it was linked to this film.

This sequence of the group dirtboarding in the film was preceded with a scene of the four driving there on Val’s bikes. The song playing here was “Our Time Now”, performed by the pop band the Plain White T’s and was written by Tom Higgenson, Mia Koo, and Mike Daly. Another Plain White T’s song used in Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board is “You and Me”, and it was written by Tom Higgenson, the band’s frontman. This song is playing as Sam and Johnny take on the Dirt Devils’ board course at the dockyard, inadvertently annoying Chris in the process, as they get praise from the Dirt Devils for their skills.

The Plain White T’s are an American pop band, who formed in 1997. They had signed with Hollywood Records around 2006, which explains why they were featured in this film’s soundtrack. Their most well-known single is “Hey There Delilah”, which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in July 2007, later being nominated for the Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 2008. It performed well in numerous other countries’ weekly pop charts too including Ireland, Germany, Australia, and the UK. The Plain White T’s left Disney’s recording label around 2015 after experiencing creative disputes with them.

There are also two other songs that are obviously heard in Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board. The first is “Sun and Shadow” by the alternative rock band Wideawake. This is playing as Johnny gets a ride to Johnny Tsunami’s house with Sam at the start of the movie, and he enjoys the sights and sounds of Hawaii, having been away in Vermont for a while.

During the montage of Johnny and Val spending the day surfing together, “No Sleep ‘Til Summertime” is playing. It was performed by T-Squad and written by Vitamin C, Michael Kotch, and David Derby. T-Squad was a pop band signed to Disney, who performed the song “Vertical” for the Disney Channel film Jump In! (2007) as well. One of the band’s members was Booboo Stewart who later found fame playing Seth Clearwater in The Twilight Saga film franchise and as Jay in the Descendants series for Disney Channel.

Another song that appears in the film seems to be the traditional Hawaiian song “Hi’ilawe” which plays as Johnny Tsunami and Carla get married, later continuing into the scene of Johnny and his grandpa surfing together at the very end of the film. Outside of that, although some background music is playing in both Carla and Johnny Tsunami’s store and the Dirt Devils shop, it is not really audible and was not credited. There is also music playing during the mountainboarding event that Chris runs off to, but apart from hearing the words “Soul Power”, or something like that, I couldn’t track down what the song actually was, or whether it was created for the film just as accompaniment.

Nathan Wang was credited as the composer for Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board. Wang had previously composed the music for other DCOMs including Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior (2006), Geek Charming (2011), and Christmas…Again? (2021). Some of his non-Disney projects include working on the music for movies like the teen comedy She’s the Man (2006); the Hallmark festive film Annie Claus is Coming to Town (2011); and the comedy-drama One True Loves (2023).

PRODUCTION

If you look at a list of Disney Channel Original Movies, you can see how their movies evolved over time. The more simplistic ideals of their earlier movies had become bigger budget, more music-centric films by the mid-2000s. This was the direction the channel was going in even before High School Musical exploded in popularity.

Disney Channel then seemed to randomly pivot to make a sequel to one of their 90s sports films, Johnny Tsunami. So, why was Johnny Kapahala back, as the trailer put it, to “surf the turf”? Honestly, I have no idea. One reason I can think of is that they were either trying to capitalise on nostalgia, in which case they were probably both too early and too late, missing out on Johnny Tsunami’s original fans, and not waiting long enough to try and reach a completely new generation that hadn’t been spoilt by musical-after-musical. The only other thing I can think of is that Disney were trying to targeting boys with Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board, because, let’s face it, Disney Channel has made more films aimed at girls, based around prom and boys, with strong female characters leading these stories. In that way, I can understand the reasoning for Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board being made.

Returning to write the screenplay for this sequel were Douglas Sloan and Ann Austen, previously credited as Ann Knapp, providing continuity between the two films. Two further writers were credited with writing Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board: Max Enscoe and Annie DeYoung. Enscoe and DeYoung had previously co-written another DCOM sequel, this being Return to Halloweentown (2006), with Juliet and Keith Giglio, as well as the television movie The Triumph (2006), starring Matthew Perry. DeYoung went on to co-write other DCOMs, including Girl vs. Monster (2012); StarStruck (2010); 16 Wishes (2010); and Princess Protection Program (2009).

Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board was directed by Eric Bross. Bross had earlier directed the film Restaurant (1998), which starred Adrien Brody, and the miniseries Traffic (2004) before taking this role with Disney. He went on to direct further television movies including The Boy Who Cried Werewolf (2010), for Nickelodeon; A Country Christmas Story (2013) for Lifetime; and Rome in Love (2019) for Hallmark.

This new sequel had crew on board, so just where would they filmed this new movie set primarily in Oahu, Hawaii? Obviously, the answer is New Zealand. Disney Channel has chosen a variety of locations for their movies, with many being filmed in Canada, others being filmed in the US, and some making the move all the way to Australia or New Zealand. Other Disney Channel movies to have been filmed in New Zealand in the 2000s include Eddie’s Million Dollar Cook-Off, You Wish! (2003), and Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior. More recently, the ZOMBIES franchise ditched Canada in favour of New Zealand for ZOMBIES 4: Dawn of the Vampires (2025). Basically, it’s not uncommon.

What is odd is that Disney Channel had previously gone to Hawaii to film the portions of Johnny Tsunami that were set in Hawaii – so why could they not return there? It was probably due to budgetary or tax reasons, but I wouldn’t know; I’m not a film producer. Choosing New Zealand, specifically Auckland, instead of Hawaii may have irked viewers but for whatever reason this was the decision. It seems that the crew felt New Zealand looked similar to Hawaii in terms of its landscapes and vegetation, so I guess they were just thinking nobody would notice. Filming for Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board took place in early 2007[1]. With the set being based in New Zealand, this did create more jobs in the area, with many members of the crew being from New Zealand. Two members of the cast were also from the area, like Rose McIver, who played Val, and Phil Brown, who played Troy.

The biggest challenge for everyone working on Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board was obviously the dirtboarding sequences. The entire cast had to learn how to dirtboard, or mountainboard, something that cannot be easy if you have never skateboarded before. As well as the usual safety gear, like helmets, knee pads, and elbow pads, the cast were offered additional equipment like butt pads and ankle pads to ensure they cushioned every fall! Stunt doubles were used for the big stunts and jumps, with Brown’s stunt rider apparently having to change his stance to “goofy” to match Brown’s to ensure continuity[2].

Akoni Kama was credited as the dirtboard consultant on this film. As well as doing various stunts and tricks for it, Kama designed the race course for the final sequence with Leon Robbins. They made sure it included lots of difficult sections, like “berms” (raised banks), a wallride, and “rollers” (a series of small hills), to make the final race a really difficult and tense moment[3]. Kama also appears as himself in the movie.

RECEPTION

Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board premiered on Disney Channel in the US on 8^th June 2007, the perfect time to release a movie set in sunny Hawaii, right?

Well, apparently not. Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board reportedly only had viewing figures of around 1.8 million during its premiere night, a very low figure to have been recorded for a Disney Channel Original Movie premiere at that time. It is possible that DCOMs that premiered in the late 1990s and early 2000s had similar viewing figures but these were not widely known, so I couldn’t say if Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board was the lowest viewed since the first official DCOM in 1997 or not.

Not wanting to degrade Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board even further, but three other Disney Channel movies also premiered in 2007. Twitches Too got the attention of just under 7 million viewers, with Jump In! getting just over 8 million. High School Musical 2, released just two months after Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board had a record-breaking 17.2 million viewers tune in to its premiere, a record that has never been broken. From the mid-2000s moving into the mid-2010s, a Disney Channel movie would have an average of around 5 million viewers, with some exceeding this by a fair margin. It would not be until 2018, when a new adaptation of Freaky Friday premiered on the channel, that a lower viewing figure was confirmed, this being 1.6 million. 2018 really signalled a decline of viewership figures for Disney Channel movies, which has continued to this day, probably due to the rise in social media and streaming services. These have since replaced the need to watch cable television as a priority, and now Disney+ exists, many DCOMs are placed on the service globally a day or two after its official US Disney Channel premiere.

But enough about that. Viewing figures are only half the story when it comes to getting an overall view of how a film was perceived. Actually, I am surprised at how many people did enjoy Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board. Granted, even the positive reviews weren’t exactly brimming with praise, but many of them stated that they felt this Johnny Tsunami sequel was a decent addition to the Disney Channel film catalogue. Specifically, there were comments that mentioned the chemistry between Brandon Baker and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, something that was very much positively reflected on in reviews of Johnny Tsunami. The action shots of the dirtboarding sequences were also seen to be cool and appropriate for the film, with many appreciating the attempt to introduce a new sport to the franchise which is potentially less globally talked about. In recent years, Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board has also been found by fans of Wizards of Waverly Place and fans of Jake T. Austin who wanted to see him in this early Disney Channel role.

However, there were still some negative reviews for the film, including a similar negative criticism which was levelled at Johnny Tsunami. Johnny Tsunami was set in Vermont, but was actually filmed in Utah, with this being noticed by some viewers. Well, this was also the case for Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board, but this time Hawaii had been substituted with New Zealand, something that some viewers spotted easily and were annoyed by. I can’t say that I noticed, but then again, I have not been to either place. There were some issues with the characters too, with one being the recasting of Sam, which didn’t feel right to fans of the original film. It would’ve been very easy for Disney to simply create a new character here, especially since the backstory between Sam and Johnny wasn’t a part of the story. Chris was also felt not to be a redeeming character, simply coming across as a brat for most of the film, and getting about ten minutes at the end to try and prove that he’d turned himself around. I wouldn’t say I liked Chris as a character particularly, but I can’t agree that he wasn’t redeeming; he is just a kid after all, and kids act out irrationally just because of their age. Cut him some slack. There were even comments about the age gap between Johnny’s grandpa and his new partner. This might seem a little strange, or even comical, to children watching, mostly because Johnny now has an uncle who is younger than him, a joke that is repeated over and over again, but any adult commenting on age gaps needs to be less judgemental. I liked Johnny Tsunami and Carla’s relationship and felt it seemed quite natural. Finally, when it comes to making a sequel to any film, the die-hard fans of the original will always hate the sequel. That was the case with here.

Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board won two awards for its writing. One was the Humanitas Prize in the Children’s Live-Action category, which Johnny Tsunami had been nominated for back in 2000 but didn’t win. In this case, the prize went to Ann Austen, Douglas Sloan, Max Enscoe and Annie DeYoung, the screenwriters. They were up against fellow DCOM Minutemen (2008). The writers also won the Writers Guild of America award for Children’s Script – Long Form or Special, up against Cartoon Network’s The Haunting Hour: Don’t Think About It, which starred Disney Channel star Emily Osment.

LEGACY

Shortly after the release of Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board, Disney Channel released their mini-series The Disney Channel Games for its second year, airing on the channel over the course of Summer 2007. Here, Disney Channel stars from across the world, but with more representation from the US, were split into four teams and competed across different events for charity. The Disney Channel Games were filmed at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. It only had one other run in 2008 before being cancelled. I bet many recent Disney Channel stars are disappointed they couldn’t take part in this; it looked like a lot of fun.

For the 2007 edition of The Disney Channel Games, two cast members from Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board joined others from the likes of The Suite Life of Zack & Cody (2005-08), Hannah Montana (2006-11), and the High School Musical franchise. These were Brandon Baker, who was placed in the Green Team, under the leadership of Dylan Sprouse, and Jake T. Austin, who was placed in the Blue Team, with Corbin Bleu as team captain. The Green Team ended up winning the competition that year. Baker and Austin’s participation would’ve gone some way to promoting Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board, although it started a week or so after the initial premiere, so wouldn’t have been able to boost its official viewing figures from the premiere. I do vaguely remember watching some of the series, but as I hadn’t seen Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board by that point, I only wanted to see the actors that I already knew, like Corbin Bleu, the Cheetah Girls, Jason Dolley, and Miley Cyrus. The 2007 Disney Channel Games were hosted by Phill Lewis and Brian Stepanek, who played Mr. Moseby and Arwin, respectively, in The Suite Life of Zack & Cody.

Apart from that, nothing much has come from Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board, with only dedicated Disney Channel fans really remembering or mentioning it, although the original film, Johnny Tsunami, is talked about more often. It doesn’t tend to make lists of the best Disney Channel Original Movies ever, being ranked at No. 74 on Vulture’s ranking of the 105 Disney Channel Original Movies that had been released at the time. Their criticism included that it was not considered to be as good as the original; was seen to have been released too long after the original; and featured a less interesting sport[4].

Disney Channel had made plenty of sports movies by the early 2000s, but the success of High School Musical in 2006 proved that musicals were the way to go. This made Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board one of Disney Channel’s last sports films for a while – it had followed on from Corbin Bleu’s Jump In!, which featured boxing and Double Dutch. The next sports film would not come until 2014 with the snowboarding comedy Cloud 9. There was another gap until Disney Channel premiered Back of the Net in 2019, this being about football, or soccer – but it is not technically a Disney Channel Original Movie.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Johnny Tsunami was released at the perfect time. Disney Channel viewers had been shown to be responding to sports films back in 1999, and it focused on snowboarding, which had become an Olympic sport only the year before. It also followed the struggles of adapting to a new school and new home after a big move, as well as rivalries between schools, both things children and teens can relate to.

Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board, however, arrived on screen at exactly the wrong time. It had been proved that Disney Channel audiences wanted musicals and big-name stars. They were turning away from sports movies, a fact only confirmed by the fact they haven’t made many more since Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board’s premiere back in 2007.

It simply wasn’t the right time. Fans of Johnny Tsunami had grown up and moved on from Disney Channel, and although some viewers at the time seem to have very much enjoyed Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board, it has been forgotten or ignored by many more.

Although I appreciate Disney Channel’s attempt to bring a sequel to a new generation, in my opinion, it just didn’t work and Johnny Tsunami should’ve been left alone. If Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board did anything for me, it told me that actually the original wasn’t that bad!

REFERENCES

[1] Credit: Joanna Hunkin, ‘Waitakeres stand in for Hawaii in Disney film’, NZHerald.co.nz, 16^th February 2007.

[2] Credit: Disney Channel, ‘Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board DCOM Extra #1’, dedicated2disney YouTube Channel, 19^th May 2007.

[3] Credit: Disney Channel, ‘Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board DCOM Extra #2’, dedicated2disney YouTube Channel, 19^th May 2007.

[4] Credit: Rebecca Alter, ‘All 105 Disney Channel Original Movies, Ranked’, Vulture.com, 4^th May 2020.

27th Feb 20266th Mar 2026 by The Disney Purist

Johnny Tsunami (1999)

BACKGROUND

Becoming only the 10th official Disney Channel Original Movie, Johnny Tsunami came to Disney Channel back in 1999, just under two years after the premiere of the first official DCOM Under Wraps (1997).

The early times of Disney Channel movies were strange, seeming to lack focus and identity, as numerous films were released each year with very different themes and stories. In 1999 alone, Disney Channel created eight new movies to showcase on their channel, with 2000 seeing the most movies released in a single year, with 12.

Despite this, Disney Channel had seemed to figure out that they were going to have success with sports movies, after the success of the first of this type, Brink!, the third ever DCOM. Premiering in 1998, Brink! was about the world of inline skating. Following on from this movie was Johnny Tsunami, seen to be the second sports-themed DCOM.

Inline skating might have been an interesting sport to focus on, since inline skating is not widely shown on an international stage, so for Johnny Tsunami, it made sense to pick a more popular, globally recognised sport. In this case, they actually chose three: surfing, skiing, and snowboarding, with the rivalry between the sports a key aspect of the film’s story.

All three are complex sports in their own right, with plenty of differing disciplines on offer to athletes and sportspeople. Skiing and snowboarding in particular feature frequently on screen as well, in a variety of movies including Chalet Girl (2011), Eddie the Eagle (2016), and Downhill (2020). Disney Channel even revisited snowboarding for their 2014 DCOM Cloud 9. They are sports that everyone knows about and look great on camera.

However, I’m not a fan of winter sports, or sports in general. I don’t like watching people crash out and injure themselves doing death-defying stunts and tricks, and I don’t understand why you’d ever want to do something so dangerous, seemingly just for fun. And that brings me to the question: why can’t there just be a film about curling? Can you tell the 2026 Winter Olympics had an effect on me?

Speaking of the Olympics, Johnny Tsunami came out only a year after the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, where no doubt many children starting to get interested in winter sports. But for the sun and sea lovers, Johnny Tsunami also had that covered, with a sprinkling of surfing thrown in, in amongst an overall message about social classes and the divide between them, warning viewers not to judge people or put them in a box.

PLOT

Johnny Tsunami starts with an older guy surfing in Hawaii. This is Johnny Tsunami, as explained by his grandson, Johnny Kapahala, who tells his friends his grandfather is a legendary surfer, and got the name “Tsunami” after he saved three people in the ocean years ago after a small plane crash. Johnny wants to be a great surfer, like his grandfather, aiming to inherit the Tsunami medallion, which is passed down to the best surfer in Hawaii.

Later, Johnny is participating in a surf contest, managing to ride a huge wave before time runs out. His mother and grandfather watch on from the beach, however, Johnny’s father did not attend the contest because he is busy working. When Johnny arrives home, he talks to his dad about what he is working on, as his father sets up computer connections for schools – remember, this film is set in the late-90s. His father wants to show Johnny what he’s been working on, and decides to search for the average salary of a surfer. It turns out it isn’t much at all. Johnny’s father says Johnny needs to think about a future with a decent job and a decent salary, not have dreams of being like his grandfather. Johnny walks away. Johnny’s mother then comes in, and asks if Johnny’s father told him the big news. He hasn’t.

The next morning, Johnny’s parents sit Johnny down and tell him that they are moving to Vermont, as Johnny’s father has a contract to work with a private academy, the same school that Johnny will be attending. They will be leaving in a week. Johnny pretends to be alright with this, heading off to surf, and not wanting to talk to his friends about it.

As the Kapahalas are about to leave, Johnny says goodbye to his grandpa, who tells Johnny he’ll have to come back to claim the Tsunami medallion, but until then, he should try to find the good in this new situation. Johnny and his family arrive in snowy Vermont, quite the change from the lovely sun and warmth of Hawaii. They make their way to their new home, which is very different. Johnny accepts the whole experience of living in Vermont compared to Hawaii will just be…different. Johnny’s father tries to get Johnny excited about his new school, showing him the school’s brochure. Woo-hoo.

The next day, Johnny and his father drive to school. Johnny says he’ll be fine to find his way on his own, and goes to his first class, American History. The students are less than welcoming though, especially a group of snobby boys who make fun of Johnny for his clothes and general laid-back attitude. One girl, Emily, does try to engage with their teacher’s attempts to talk about Johnny’s home though, which Johnny appreciates. At lunch, the culture shock continues, as he learns that this school only has pineapple from a can – gasp! – and that he has to sit and eat lunch alone, still not in proper uniform.

Later, one of the boys from Johnny’s class, Brett, takes Johnny’s surfing magazine, and he sees an article about Johnny in it. Jealous of his surfing talent, he and Emily invite Johnny to ski with them that afternoon. Johnny lies, pretending that he has skied before, however, by the time they get to the ski resort, it’s quite obvious to everyone that Johnny doesn’t know what he’s doing. They take the ski lift up to the summit, at which point, Brett pushes Johnny down the slope. Johnny manages to ski all the way down, ending up falling right into the ski shop. At home, Johnny’s father learns he went skiing, and tells Johnny he should be focusing on his studies, not sports, fearing that a love of skiing is set to replace his love of surfing, and will keep him from pursuing a “real” career.

Back at school, Johnny is made to wear proper uniform, although as soon as his father leaves, he puts on one of his own shirts underneath his blazer. This gets him sent to the Principal – sorry – Headmaster’s office. As he waits to be seen, Emily leaves the office, and admits that the headmaster is in fact her father. Emily warns Johnny that her father is very strict on dress code, worrying Johnny. But when he goes to talk to Headmaster Pritchard, there is no trouble, although he is told to wear the correct uniform from now on. On the bus home that day, a group of young snowboarders boards the bus. One of them, Sam, sits next to Johnny. Johnny asks if Sam could teach him how to snowboard, but seeing his uniform, Sam says he can’t, as Johnny is an academy kid, and academy kids only ski.

In the school library, Johnny talks to Emily about this, and learns that the academy kids are known as “Skies”, after Skyline Academy, whereas the public school kids are known as “Urchins”, showing a class divide between the two. The Skies ski on one side of the mountain, whilst the Urchins snowboard on the other, keeping the two groups separate. Johnny doesn’t think that’s fair and the next time he sees Sam, he reiterates that he wants to snowboard. Sam takes Johnny to the snowboard shop, where the owner turns out to be a big fan of Johnny’s grandfather, Johnny Tsunami. He gets Johnny sorted with a snowboard.

On the slopes, Johnny thinks he’ll be able to snowboard easily, as it’s basically just surfing but on snow, however, he wipes out numerous times, until he is finally able to keep himself upright. Johnny thinks he’s ready to jump, but Sam tells him he definitely isn’t. He’ll have to wait a little while before doing that. Walking through town, Brett and his friends see Johnny with a snowboard and start to torment him about it. Johnny’s dad drives through, and takes Johnny home. His father believes those were his new friends….

Back at the ski resort, Sam tells Johnny that he is the first Sky to have “crossed the line”. Sam gives Johnny some backstory into the resort. When the original owner of the resort died, the area was split into two sides: one for skiers and one for snowboarders. Annoyingly for the snowboarders, the skiing side has the best runs, and they aren’t allowed to go on them. Sam watches Johnny practise his boarding more, with his friends telling him to give it up with helping Johnny. Sam refuses, instead taking Johnny back to his house. Sam lives on a US Marines base, having had to move around many times over the years for his father’s job. It is just Sam and his father though, since his mother died, but they are very close. Sam has been told the two should be in Vermont for a little while still. Johnny is introduced to Sam’s father, who is the complete opposite of his own. Johnny later shows Sam the best of Hawaii whilst at his house, and Sam loves the idea of living there.

A little while later, Emily asks Johnny about snowboarding, wanting to try it out for herself. Johnny says he doesn’t think a die-hard Sky like Emily would ever be able to do it, but she says she’ll try it out after school that day. Emily seems to be doing very well for a first timer, but she gets a little ahead of herself, and ends up sliding down a very steep run, getting out of her depth very quickly, and has to stop herself from falling to her death by hanging on to a broken branch. Sam, being the more experienced boarder of the group, attempts to go down to help her, but he slips too. He shouts to Johnny to board down the slope and get help from the ski patrol. He goes right away, making some impressive jumps on his way down, witnessed by Sam’s other boarding friends. Johnny gets someone from ski patrol to follow him back, where a rope is passed down to Emily and Sam to climb back up.

The fallout of the drama is soon realised, as Emily gets a call from her worried father, who grounds her, and Brett warns Johnny to stay away from Emily from now on, telling him that Emily was only being nice to him because her dad had told her to be. Sam’s father picks Sam and Johnny up, pleased to see they are both ok, but telling them to be more careful next time. At home, Johnny’s father is angrier about the situation, believing that getting Johnny away from his grandfather would make him less reckless and more focused, but it hasn’t worked. As Johnny walks back to his room, Johnny hears his father call his grandpa a “surf bum”. His mother is more supportive, telling Johnny’s father not to be so hard on him. Johnny calls his grandpa, and says he misses home back in Hawaii. Johnny’s mother then interrupts the call and the two talk about his father. His father sees life very differently from his grandfather now, but it wasn’t always like that.

At school, Johnny talks to the headmaster about the incident on the slopes, trying to make things better for Emily, but it doesn’t work and Emily says she can’t talk to Johnny anymore. Back on the slopes though, Sam’s group say they were very impressed with Johnny’s jump, and invite him on a run. Sam even lets Johnny get the same hat as him, officially making him part of their group. During the run, they go over to the skiing side of the mountain, where they are called out by Brett for being on “their” territory. A fight ensues, which is quickly stopped as ski patrol are spotted nearby.

News of the fight makes it to the headmaster the next day, who brings Johnny and his parents in to discuss it. Johnny is put on probation, as Brett has said Johnny started the fight, which was not true. The headmaster warns Johnny he should choose better friends to hang out with. To make things even worse, Sam waits outside Johnny’s house to talk to him, telling him that Sam is leaving to go to Iceland because his dad got a new post. Not wanting to stay in Vermont anymore, Johnny leaves a note on his computer telling them he has run away. His parents are worried, as is Sam’s father who also received a note. They don’t believe the boys could’ve got far without any money.

However, the two actually made their way to Hawaii, by sneaking onto a military plane. In Hawaii, they meet up with Johnny’s grandfather, who lets the boys stay with him. Johnny’s grandfather speaks to his father, who demands Johnny Tsunami sends them home. He refuses to send them back, wanting to wait until they are ready to return. Johnny’s parents argue over this, with Johnny’s mother getting tired of her husband’s attitude.

In Hawaii, the kids are told they can stay as long as they want, so Johnny and his grandfather teach Sam how to surf. Later, they sit by a campfire and talk. Johnny Tsunami says he always liked the idea of going somewhere to ride new waves, with waves being a metaphor for obstacles in life. Johnny Tsunami tells Johnny he is not perfect, and doesn’t want Johnny to aspire to be like him. He should have his own journey, whether that has something to do with surfing or Hawaii or neither. The next day, Johnny says he wants to return to Vermont, believing it is time to go back.

In Vermont, Johnny’s father is shocked to find that Johnny Tsunami has come with the boys. That evening, Johnny’s father thanks his father for his help in getting Johnny home. The two talk about how Johnny’s father needs to be less harsh on Johnny, and how Johnny Tsunami wishes he could go back and be a better. Johnny’s father should be more supportive of Johnny, like Johnny Tsunami had been for him, when Johnny’s father decided to stop surfing all those years ago.

The next day, Johnny takes his grandfather to the slopes as Johnny Tsunami wants to snowboard. Randy, the owner of the snowboard shop, is excited to meet Johnny Tsunami. Johnny tries to teach his grandfather how to snowboard, but his grandfather goes off on a run immediately, showing he is actually a skilled snowboarder; Johnny never knew. At the end of the run, the two run into Brett, who tells Johnny to stay away from “his” side of the mountain. Johnny says in Hawaii, they sometimes have contests with groups of surfers, with the winner getting to keep the beach for the day. Johnny suggests doing the same here. If Brett can win against Johnny in a race, then Johnny and the boarders will stay away. If Johnny wins, the skiers must share the mountain with the snowboarders. And just to up the stakes, Johnny Tsunami adds his medallion to the race, with the winner claiming it.

Johnny tells Sam all about the contest, but he says he’ll be leaving the next day so won’t be able to see it. Johnny’s father then tells Johnny to forget about being grounded and to go out there and win that race, so they can keep the medallion in the family. On the day of the race, Johnny Tsunami and Johnny’s parents arrive to watch, as does Sam, whose father is letting them leave for Iceland the next day so he can watch. At the starting point, Brett pushes Johnny over, and heads off, leaving Johnny to play catch up. He catches up fast, and despite Brett’s attempts to sabotage the race, Johnny wins.

To celebrate, Johnny’s parents throw a party, where Emily and Johnny get to dance together. Johnny is also given the option of returning to Hawaii to stay with his grandfather if he wants, but he chooses to stay in Vermont. Johnny hears from Randy and Ronnie, the owners of the ski resort and owners of the snowboard shop and ski shop respectively. They said that when their parents divorced, they grew up very different people, going to the two different schools, and couldn’t agree on what to do with the mountain after their father died. So, they split the mountain in two. They’ve now realised that isn’t something they should’ve done thanks to Johnny, and confirm the mountain is now accessible to everyone all the time.

CHARACTERS & CAST

Johnny Kapahala is the main character of Johnny Tsunami, despite not being the title character, which refers to his grandfather. Johnny Kapahala is laid-back and relaxed, having grown up in Hawaii surfing, seeing his grandfather doing the same. Johnny is shocked to find his family are moving to Vermont, the complete opposite of Hawaii, but attempts to take all this in his stride. After realising that the snobby academy kids will not accept him, Johnny makes his own decision to join up with the snowboarders, with Sam becoming his best friend from that point. Johnny finds he is accepted in this group and loves snowboarding, this being more familiar to Johnny thanks to his surfing background. Although Brett and his friends try to keep Johnny down, he refuses to bow to pressure, not allowing them to stop him talking to Emily, Brett’s crush, or stop him snowboarding. Johnny overcomes many social barriers throughout the events of Johnny Tsunami, reuniting the feuding sides once and for all.

Brandon Baker was cast as Johnny Kapahala. He had previously worked for Disney, as he was cast as Mowgli in their live-action adaptation The Jungle Book: Mowgli’s Story. He went on to work with Disney Channel further after Johnny Tsunami, with a recurring voice role as Duke Anoi in their animated series The Proud Family (2001-05), as well as making an appearance in Even Stevens (2000-03) as Zack Estrada. Baker was also cast as Cray Blake in the teen sitcom One World (1998-2001) for NBC prior to his role in Johnny Tsunami. Baker is now said to have become a wedding officiant for an elopement company[1].

Sam is Johnny’s best friend in the film, although this would seem an unlikely friendship given the fact they come from two different schools that have a fierce rivalry between them. Sam first meets Johnny on the bus, and tells Johnny he won’t be teaching Johnny how to snowboard because he’s from the “wrong school” and should focus on skiing. But Johnny is persistent, and Sam seems to be impressed by that, with Johnny working hard to prove himself to be a good snowboarder. Sam is loyal to his new friend, not wanting to listen to his other friends, who tell him he shouldn’t be mixing with a Sky. Without Sam’s help and support, Johnny would not have been motivated or able to reunite the mountain. Sadly, Sam leaves to go to Iceland, but I’m sure they would’ve kept in touch after that.

Sam was played by Lee Thompson Young who was known at the time for his starring role as Jett Jackson in the Disney Channel series The Famous Jett Jackson (1998-2001), returning to reprise the role for the DCOM Jett Jackson: The Movie. He was nominated for many Young Artist awards for this role. He appeared as Chris Comer in the film Friday Night Lights (2004), with this story later becoming a television series. More recently, he was cast as Barry Frost in the early seasons of crime drama Rizzoli & Isles (2010-16), passing away in August 2013 at the age of 29, after struggling with his mental health.

Emily is Johnny’s love interest, as well as that of Brett’s, causing animosity between the two. Emily is not threatened by the arrival of Johnny to their school, unlike some others who see him as too different to fit in. Emily even invites Johnny to ski with them after his first day at the academy, although this does not go well. She later asks Johnny to teach her how to snowboard, showing she doesn’t want to just hang out with the posh kids, but when this also does not go well, and her father finds out, Emily tries to keep her distance from Johnny from then on. But by the end of the movie, Emily has clearly seen the error of her ways, and her and Johnny become closer now that Brett is out of the way.

Kirsten Storms was cast as Emily. Just a few months before the premiere of Johnny Tsunami, Storms appeared in the title role of Zenon Kar in the DCOM Zenon: Girl of the 21^st Century (1999), going on to reprise the role for two further sequels. Also for Disney Channel, Storms voiced the character Bonnie Rockwaller in Kim Possible (2002-07). Outside of that, Storms appeared as Belle Black in the long-running soap opera Days of Our Lives (1965-present) from 1999 to 2004, and now can be seen as Maxie Jones in the ABC soap General Hospital (1963-present), having been on the show since 2005.

Brett is the preppy, arrogant boy who makes Johnny’s life difficult whilst in Vermont. Brett sees himself as better than Johnny, and doesn’t like how different Johnny is. He also doesn’t like how close Johnny and Emily get during the course of the film, seeming to think he has some sort of claim on Emily and that Johnny isn’t good enough for her. Brett continuously torments Johnny throughout the story, getting him in to trouble on many occasions, despite Brett being the one to start the trouble. Brett thinks he can control everyone just by being mean, but he doesn’t get his way in the end because even cheating doesn’t win Brett that race, and he has to accept the new order of things.

Zachary Bostrom was cast as Brett. Bostrom had already had a couple of screen roles prior to his casting in Johnny Tsunami. For example, he had appeared as Kevin Brady in A Very Brady Christmas (1988), before being cast as Ernie Henderson in the sitcom Harry and the Hendersons (1991-93), based on the 1987 film of the same name.

Now to the parents. Pete and Melanie Kapahala are Johnny’s parents, who both view their son differently. Pete seems to believe that Johnny’s interests of surfing and then snowboarding are getting in the way of Johnny’s future career – even though he’s only thirteen – and that Johnny is set to grow up just like his grandfather, lacking purpose and a life plan. Johnny’s mother on the other hand wants Johnny to live his own life, and not let his father tell him how to be or how to act. She knows Johnny should do what makes him happy and that being so tough on him at that age isn’t good. In the end, Melanie tells Pete that she doesn’t like how he is behaving, both towards their son and to Pete’s father, which seems to make Pete realise that he needs to change and be more supportive of Johnny.

Pete Kapahala was played by Yuji Okumoto. Okumoto was cast as Lieutenant Zenji Abe in Pearl Harbor (2001), and as Chozen Toguchi in The Karate Kid II (1986). He reprised his role as Chozen Toguchi in the Netflix series Cobra Kai (2018-25). Melanie Kapahala was played by Mary Page Keller, who had previously been cast as Laura Kelly in the Fox sitcom Duet (1987-89), returning to the role for its spin-off series Open House (1989-90). In more recent years, she played the recurring role of Dianne Fitzgerald in Pretty Little Liars (2010-17) and was cast as Sara Carver in the ABC Family series Chasing Life (2014-15).

Johnny Tsunami is a typical “surfer dude”. He doesn’t want to spend his life thinking about work or obligations, unlike his son, Pete, who only seems to think about work. The two have become very different people, with different attitudes towards life, which has caused some friction between the two, especially as Pete believes his father is almost corrupting his son, making Johnny believe that a life as a surfer is the way to go. Eventually, Johnny Tsunami and Pete reconcile, understanding why they are the way they are, and accepting that Johnny’s happiness is what’s important here, not Pete’s thoughts about his father. Johnny Tsunami is a loving grandfather to Johnny and always supports him.

Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa was cast as Johnny Tsunami, having previously appeared as Shang Tsung in Mortal Kombat (1995). He went on to voice General Krull in Planet of the Apes (2001) and played The Baron in Memoirs of a Geisha (2004). More recently, he voiced Hashi in the animated film Kubo and the Two Strings (2016) and was cast as Nobusuke Tagomi in the first three seasons of The Man in the High Castle (2015-19). I randomly recognised him from one episode of Season 1 of Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996-2003), where he playing a martial artist called Tai Wei Tse, who fights Sabrina in a competition, although she has to use magic to win, making her a cheater. Tagawa died in 2025.

Finally, I will just mention Headmaster Pritchard, Emily’s father and headmaster of the academy. Headmaster Pritchard is quite strict and has high standards for his students, although initially he does cut Johnny some slack, due to the upheaval Johnny has experienced in moving from Hawaii to Vermont, as he doesn’t shout at Johnny for wearing his own shirt to school. However, towards the end of the film, Headmaster Pritchard’s patience with Johnny appears to wear thin, as he gets his daughter into trouble on the slopes, and then is said to have started a fight with Brett. He tells Johnny to choose his friends wisely, not believing the snowboarders are good for him, showing that Headmaster Pritchard leans into the classism between the two schools as well. We don’t even get to see how he reacts to the ski resort now being shared, or how he feels about Johnny and Emily.

Gregory Itzin was cast as Headmaster Pritchard. He went on to play Charles Logan in the series 24 (2001-10) from Season 4 onwards after appearing in Johnny Tsunami. Itzen also had a recurring role as Supervising Agent Virgil Minelli in The Mentalist (2008-15). He passed away in July 2022.

MUSIC

The music within Johnny Tsunami, in terms of songs, are featured as either background music or to accompany montages of the snowboarding and skiing runs. Because these sports tend to be considered to be quite daring, with wild jumps and crazy speed, the genre of music used in this film is rock music. This is in contrast to the music within most DCOMs, which many would describe as inoffensive pop music.

Although I am not really a fan of rock music in general, I do think the decision to use this type of music better reflects the “coolness” of snowboarding than the more conventional pop route would’ve done. Rock music is also seen to be more appealing to boys, who no doubt were the primary target audience of Johnny Tsunami.

Within the songs in Johnny Tsunami, three were performed by the band Fastball. Fastball are a rock band formed in 1992, who were signed to Disney’s recording label Hollywood Records around the time of Johnny Tsunami. The first of their songs in the film is “Fire Escape”, where a brief excerpt is played in the scene when Johnny wakes up the morning after the surf contest, and wants to go out to surf. He is then told by his parents that they will be moving to Vermont in a week. “Fire Escape” was written by Miles Zuniga, a member of Fastball. The next song of theirs, “Nowhere Road”, is used for the scene where Sam and Johnny arrive in Hawaii, having run away from their homes in Vermont, and are reunited with Johnny’s grandfather. I actually quite liked this song. “Nowhere Road” was written by Tony Scalzo, also a member of the band.

At the end of Johnny Tsunami, during the party that Johnny’s parents put on to celebrate his win against Brett in their race, and the reunion of the mountain, the Fastball song “The Way” can be heard. This song is potentially the most well-known of Fastball’s songs in this movie, as the single peaked at No. 1 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks Chart in 1998. It was also written by Tony Scalzo.

As well as these songs by Fastball, two songs by Jeffries Fan Club are credited in Johnny Tsunami. Jeffries Fan Club was a ska band formed in 1996. They later disbanded in 2001, although they did play a few reunion shows in 2002 and 2006. Here, their song “Crystal 52” accompanies the snowboarding sequence where Johnny and his grandfather snowboard together, after Johnny and Sam return to Vermont, with Johnny Tsunami coming with them. Their song “Rolled” appears to have been used as background music playing in the snowboard shop the first time Johnny visits it. Both songs were written by the band.

“Life Jacket”, written by Mike Arrieta, Zac Diebels, Matt Franks, and Mike Johnston, the members of the metal band Simon Says at the time, who perform the track, is used during the snowboarding sequence where Johnny gets to join Sam’s friends, the Urchins, for a run down the mountain, which puts them in the path of Brett and his skiing buddies. Like Fastball, Simon Says appear to have been under Disney’s recording label at the time of Johnny Tsunami. The band had formed in the early 1990s, breaking up in the early 2000s, before reuniting in 2023. This was the other song in the film that I quite liked.

The final song credited in Johnny Tsunami is “So Down”, written by Jesse Camp, Share Ross, Alex Kneipkamp, Bam Ross, Joe Alameda, and Ric Browde. It was performed by Jesse Camp, who rose to fame by winning the MTV contest Wanna Be a VJ in 1998. This track was part of Camp’s 1999 album Jesse & the 8^th Street Kidz, and was released under Disney’s recording label Hollywood Records. In the movie, “So Down” appears to be the music playing in the snowboard shop on Johnny’s second visit there, with Johnny Tsunami.

Phil Marshall is credited as being the composer of the Johnny Tsunami score, which consists of both tracks to accompany the fast-paced snowboarder life in Vermont, as well as those that represent the more relaxed vibes of life in Hawaii. He worked on the music for multiple 1990s and early 2000s Disney Channel Original Movies, including Zenon: Girl of the 21^st Century (1999) and its 2001 sequel; Stepsister from the Planet Weird (2000); Jumping Ship (2001); Doubled Teamed (2002); and Right on Track (2003).

PRODUCTION

Disney Channel had already made films set around Halloween, ones based around science-fiction, and some that were just flat-out bizarre concepts, like one about a kid who becomes a merman at the age of 13 – that’s The Thirteenth Year (1999) if you’re interested – in their first few years of developing movies under their Disney Channel Original Movie branding.

Instead of following in those sorts of ideas, Johnny Tsunami followed Brink! (1998) by being a sports movie. Just a simple idea about teenagers participating in sports, no big deal, nothing too weird or abstract. Yet, these earlier sports movies are the ones that are remembered, probably because teenagers can relate to them easily. This made Johnny Tsunami already a possible contender for DCOM success.

The story and screenplay for Johnny Tsunami was developed by Douglas Sloan and Ann Knapp. The duo co-wrote the DCOM Motocrossed (2001) a couple of years after Johnny Tsunami, before co-writing various Power Rangers television series, such as Ninja Storm (2003) and Dino Thunder (2004). Separately, Knapp has written various Barbie-related screen stories, like Barbie Princess Adventure (2020) and Barbie: Mermaid Power (2022). Sloan went on to be an executive producer of other DCOMs, including Minutemen (2008), Dadnapped (2009) and StarStruck (2010).

Johnny Tsunami was directed by Steve Boyum, who went on to direct a few other DCOMs in the early 2000s, including Stepsister from Planet Weird (2000) and Mom’s Got a Date with a Vampire (2000). He also directed episodes of television series such as Hawaii Five-0 (2010-20); Supernatural (2005-20); and Lethal Weapon (2016-19).

Although parts of Johnny Tsunami are both set and were filmed in Hawaii, apparently in North Shore on the island of Oahu, the rest of the film is set in Vermont – but it was not filmed there. Disney actually took production to Utah, where a list of other DCOMs have been filmed, including Go Figure (2005), Good Luck Charlie, It’s Christmas! (2011), and the High School Musical trilogy.

One specific filming location used was Brighton Ski Resort, which is a short distance from Salt Lake City in Utah. This was where many of the ski and snowboarding scenes were filmed. Brighton Ski Resort was also reportedly one of the ski resorts used for the DCOM Cloud 9 (2014), which was another movie about snowboarding – and one I liked much more than Johnny Tsunami[2]. Brighton Ski Resort was actually the first ski resort to open in the state of Utah, back in 1936, when there were only around 15 other ski areas in the whole of the US. It is located at the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon[3].

Because of the era that Johnny Tsunami was released, there is little behind-the-scenes footage of filming, whether that is because Disney Channel had not yet perfected their DCOM marketing campaign of including short videos about filming or cast interviews from their new films in between their programming, or because very few people would’ve been recording these little extras and therefore have not uploaded them to YouTube, I don’t know. Based on other sports-related Disney Channel movies though, I’m going to assume that most of the cast would’ve required lessons in skiing and snowboarding to be able to shoot their scenes, with the stunts being performed by stunt doubles. I don’t think that’s a stretch to make that assumption. Outside of that, I only know one other thing about the filming process and that is that the crew decided that having everyone use the chair lift to get up and down the mountain for the skiing and snowboarding portions of the film would take too long, so they came up with an innovative solution to this. It was quite simple really; they attached bungee cords to the back of snowmobiles and had the cast get back up the mountain that way, by basically driving them up whilst they rode on behind[4].

We may not consider a film about snowboarding to be very unique in present day; however, snowboarding actually hadn’t entered the mainstream until the late 1980s. Professional snowboarding events only really began in the 1980s, and the International Snowboarding Federation didn’t form until 1985. From this point, snowboarding started to become more prevalent in the media, which the iconic snowboarding scene in the James Bond film A View to Kill (1985) proved, thus potentially increasing interest in the sport. Snowboarding was not even introduced to the Winter Olympics until 1998, when it was held in Nagano, Japan. Curling also became an official medal sport at the Olympics in this year, just so you know. Since then, snowboarding has remained popular, with many more disciplines existing now, including Big Air, Snowboard Cross, and Slopestyle. The biggest competition for snowboarding outside of the Olympics is the Winter X Games, which began in 1997 and became an annual event from 2002[5].

Some big names in the sport currently include Team GB’s Mia Brookes, who narrowly missed out on a medal position at the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics in the Big Air competition; Charlotte Bankes and Huw Nightingale from Great Britain who won a gold medal in 2026 for the Mixed Team Snowboard Cross; Austrian Anna Gasser, who won two gold medals for Big Air, at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics; and American snowboarder Chloe Kim, who added a silver medal to her collection at the 2026 Milano Cortina Games in the Halfpipe, after winning a gold medal at both the 2022 and 2018 Winter Olympics. Another couple of big names in the sport are American Travis Rice, a two-time gold medallist at the Winter X Games, winning for Slopestyle in 2002 and Big Air in 2009, and American Shaun White, who currently holds the world record for the most Olympic gold medals by a snowboarder, holding three for Halfpipe in the Olympics at Torino 2006, Vancouver 2010, and PyeongChang 2018. White has won numerous medals at the Winter X Games over the course of his career too, including 13 golds. White is also a skateboarder, having fronted video games about both sports.

Johnny Tsunami was only released just after a year after snowboarding made its debut at the Winter Olympics, bringing global attention to the sport, and only two years after the inaugural Winter X Games, so I believe that the choice of having Johnny Tsunami focus on snowboarding was no coincidence, as Disney Channel had probably hoped to capitalise on its interest with this movie.

RECEPTION

Johnny Tsunami premiered on Disney Channel in the US on 24^th July 1999. Strange to have a summer release date for a movie primarily about winter sports, don’t you think?

There is little information on the viewing figures of many Disney Channel Original Movies on their premiere dates when going back to the late 1990s and early 2000s, so I am uncertain how popular the film was on its release date. Looking at other movies from around this time that did have their viewing figures listed somewhere, of which there were only around two or three, it would seem the average audience was around 3 million, though I cannot say if this was the case for Johnny Tsunami.

In terms of audience reactions, many felt Johnny Tsunami was a decent movie from Disney Channel, with the story seen to be fairly fast-paced, and that the acting amongst the kids was pretty good, compared with other television movies and given their young age, although it is worth noting that some of the leads already had some acting experience before this film. It was also felt that the dynamic between Brandon Baker and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, as Johnny and his grandpa, was good and the movie could only benefit from that. Generally, Johnny Tsunami is remembered as one of the better snowboarding movies, with a good message about tolerance and prejudice, and father-son relationships.

However, on the other hand, some felt the story was not particularly unique, with the class division being seen as cliched. Johnny Tsunami is also yet another sports movie about the underdog, who doesn’t seem like they’ll be good at the specific sport they’re trying but with practice and raw talent, they manage to succeed. Disney Channel in particular seem to like using this general story template for many of their DCOMs. The academy kids were seen to be incredibly stereotyped too. There were even comments about the locations used, because many, especially those who know Vermont, were very annoyed that Utah was being passed off as this area, without any real similarities in their scenery and skiing runs.

Johnny Tsunami has become one of the more popular and talked about DCOMs of that early era of official DCOM. It gets mentioned along with the likes of Brink!, Halloweentown (1998), and Motocrossed, mostly mentioning these as the very best of the best within Disney Channel’s movie catalogue. Personally though, I did not particularly enjoy Johnny Tsunami. It wasn’t something that really grabbed my interest from the start, and when the race was called at the end of the film between Johnny and Brett, I already knew Johnny was going to win. The message about the division between the “posh” kids and the other kids was the most interesting part for me, but I have seen that before. I think the trouble is the earlier DCOMs feel quite low budget and basic if you watched their more popular ones, like High School Musical (2006) and Camp Rock (2008), first like I did.

Johnny Tsunami was later nominated for the Humanitas Prize in the category of Children’s Live-Action Television. It lost to a different DCOM: The Color of Friendship (2000).

LEGACY

Given Johnny Tsunami’s approval amongst a subset of Disney Channel viewers from the 1990s, it is no surprise then that Johnny Tsunami has made a few lists where the best Disney Channel Original Movies have been ranked. What might come as a surprise is that there are over a hundred DCOMs, so even making a top 50 list would be an achievement.

For example, Cosmopolitan chose the “best” 65 DCOMs, of which Johnny Tsunami was one, ranking at No. 33 in this list[6]. Entertainment Weekly went a step further and picked their 40 top DCOMs, with Johnny Tsunami being positioned in the No. 15 spot. Reflecting on the film, they said that this film was fun and put together some of the best Disney Channel talent at the time from a variety of their franchises[7]. This has since become quite commonplace for Disney Channel, in order to increase the reach and success of their films.

Although these are impressive rankings for an older film like Johnny Tsunami, it perhaps should be taken into account the age of the people ranking these films. I’m not being ageist or anything, but if you were not watching Disney Channel in the 1990s, then the chances are your DCOM rankings would be very different. These two specific lists seem to have more focus on the late-90s and early 2000s DCOMs, and my own personal ranking would look quite different because I was not watching the channel at that time.

This film could also be credited with bringing the popular slogan “Go big or go home” to a younger audience. It is heard in Johnny Tsunami as the snowboarders congratulate Johnny on making some big jumps on the slope and they invite him to participate in a run. “Go big or go home” is revealed to be the snowboarders and the Urchins’ motto. Many people also know this slogan though, mostly in the context of sports, without seeing the film.

A few years later, a sequel to Johnny Tsunami premiered on Disney Channel. This new DCOM was Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board, released in 2007, eight years after its predecessor. I hadn’t seen Johnny Tsunami before, and the only reason I’d heard of it is because I remember Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board being aggressively advertised prior to its premiere date – the mid-2000s was primetime for me watching Disney Channel – and of course, it mentioned the original film.

More recently, Johnny Tsunami was referenced in a YouTube stunt. YouTuber Brad Jacobson decided to make a video to see if it was possible to surf on a snowboard. Teaming up with surfer Julien Williams, they set about seeing if it was possible. Williams spent many attempts paddling out into the waves on a foam surfboard, with a snowboard in hand. He then caught a wave on the surfboard before jumping onto the snowboard. Despite needing a few attempts, Williams did succeed in this, with online news outlets reporting that this was the “real” Johnny Tsunami, since it combined the film’s two main sports of surfing and snowboarding, showing how the term “Johnny Tsunami” has been adopted in pop culture[8].

FINAL THOUGHTS

Johnny Tsunami is not a Disney Channel movie that I will be rushing to go back and see again. It simply wasn’t for me. Not because it was about sports – although I’m not sporty, there are actually many sports movies I like – but just because it doesn’t match up to my expectations of what a DCOM should be.

I was watching Disney Channel when they were making a lot of musicals, and these will always be my favourite type of DCOM, and even when they weren’t musicals, they generally featured actors from the channel that I already knew, making me want to watch their new films. This wasn’t the case for Johnny Tsunami.

But I appreciate that many 90s kids would have enjoyed Johnny Tsunami and I hope this review goes some way into continuing the dialogue around this film.

REFERENCES

[1] Credit: Bentley Maddow, ‘What Happened to Johnny Tsunami’s Brandon Baker? A Rare Catch Up With the Disney Star’, EOnline.com, 30^th August 2025.

[2] Credit: Jennifer Guzman, ‘Got Disney+? Keep an eye out for these movies filmed in Utah’, KSL.com, 12^th November 2019.

[3] Credit: Local Lexi, ‘Ski Utah Resort Histories I Brighton Resort’, SkiUtah.com, 15^th December 2020.

[4] Credit: Stacey Grant, ’23 Surprising DCOM Secrets Even Die-Hard Fans Didn’t Know’, Seventeen.com, 25^th October 2017.

[5] Credit: Ben Kissam and Tom Ward, ‘The thrilling evolution of snowboarding: from its roots to today’, RedBull.com, 12^th December 2023.

[6] Credit: Mehera Bonner and Jasmine Ting, ‘The 65 Best Disney Channel Original Movies, Ranked’, Cosmopolitan.com, 25^th March 2025.

[7] Credit: EW Staff and James Mercadente, ‘The 40 best Disney Channel Original Movies, ranked’, EW.com, 1^st July 2024.

[8] Credit: Justin Leveille, ‘The Real Johnny Tsunami: Surfer Shreds a Wave on a Snowboard’, Snowboarder.com, 24^th August 2023.

20th Feb 2026 by The Disney Purist

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)

BACKGROUND

The first Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, had been hugely successful on its release in 2001, signalling the start of a major film franchise.

Although by no-means an Oscar-winning masterpiece, or a masterclass in dramatic acting, it had brought a fantasy world to the big screen, delighting young audiences, as well as bringing this magical world to an older generation, who perhaps had not read the book.

It was seen to be a faithful book-to-screen adaptation, which many appreciated, whilst also showcasing the best in special effects, and introducing a new crop of acting talent, alongside seeing some brilliance from titans of the British acting world.

But now was time to adapt the second novel in the Harry Potter book series, the second of what was anticipated to be a seven-novel series, therefore suggesting there would be seven movies, each adapting one book. The second in the series was Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, originally published in 1998, and the tone was about to get significantly darker, as the ending of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone had indicated.

I had not read any of the novels before watching the film, so, as a nine-year-old going to see Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets at the cinema, I had no idea what to expect. I can’t even remember seeing the first movie, but I must’ve done, otherwise I would’ve had no reason to go and see the second. I went to see Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets with my dad and my sister, whilst my mum went shopping nearby – she doesn’t like Harry Potter at all. I distinctly recall which cinema it was, I know I saw a Dobby cardboard cut-out outside the cinema screen, and I know it was light when we went into the cinema but it was dark when we came out, because the film was so long – and it was winter.

I also know that I loved the film, and for a strange reason. For someone who doesn’t like being scared, not as a child or as an adult, the very reason I liked Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was because I found it creepy at that young age. It is my favourite of the Harry Potter movies, and has been ever since I first saw it. Who knows, perhaps this is where my love of villains came from. I’d grown up watching a sea of children’s television and Disney movies, even removing myself from the room whenever Maleficent turned into a dragon in my childhood favourite Disney film, Sleeping Beauty (1959). I’ve never liked being scared, but randomly, Harry Potter seems to be about my level, even to this day.

PLOT

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets starts at the Dursley home. Harry has been “gifted” cousin Dudley’s second bedroom, although Harry is still being mistreated. On this evening, Harry is being warned to stay in his room and to make no noise. Uncle Vernon has very important guests coming for dinner – the Masons – and Harry cannot disrupt that.

However, on returning to his room, Harry finds an odd creature there, jumping on his bed. The creature introduces himself as Dobby the House-elf and warns Harry that terrible things are about to happen at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and that he must not return there this year. Harry has no clue who Dobby is, and does not listen to his warning. Harry can’t stay with the Dursleys any longer than he has to. Dobby can’t reveal much more information and punishes himself frequently during this conversation for his weakness. All this racket though has alerted Vernon, who barges into Harry’s room, telling him to be quiet or else. Harry reiterates to Dobby that he will be going back to Hogwarts. Dobby resorts to desperate measures to force Harry to stay in Surrey, by magically dumping a cake onto the head of Mrs. Mason, knowing this will enrage his aunt and uncle.

The next day, Vernon doesn’t hesitate in punishing Harry, and puts bars on his bedroom window, telling him he’ll not be going back to Hogwarts again. That evening, Harry is woken up by a weird noise. Looking out of his window, he sees a flying car. It turns out the car’s passengers are Harry’s best friend Ron, and his brothers, twins Fred and George. They hook on to the window and pull the bars off. This wakes up Harry’s aunt and uncle who rush to Harry’s room. They unlock all the bolts on the door just in time to see Harry being pulled into the car. Vernon grabs onto Harry’s foot and tries to pull him back, but it doesn’t work. Harry gets into the car and Vernon falls out of the window, falling into the bushes below.

After a night of driving, Harry, Ron, Fred and George arrive at the Weasley family home, The Burrow. Harry is pleased to see Mrs. Weasley again, and she is also delighted to see him, although she is none too pleased with her sons for vanishing in the night and taking the flying Ford Anglia. Mr. Weasley arrives home from a long night’s work at the Ministry of Magic that morning and is introduced to Harry. Harry also sees Ron’s younger sister Ginny again, and she seems to have a bit of a crush on Harry. Ginny is about to start her First Year at Hogwarts. As the family sit down for breakfast, Ron’s older brother Percy sees that their owl has delivered their Hogwarts letters, including Harry’s. There is a whole list of supplies they’ll need, so they’ll have to go to Diagon Alley. The Weasleys plan on travelling there via the Floo Network, a series of magical portals using fireplaces. Harry is told to watch Ron as he demonstrates how it works, taking a handful of powder, clearly stating his destination name, and disappearing in a blaze of fire. Now, it is Harry’s turn. He grabs the powder, and says he wants to go to “Diagonally”. The Weasleys watch helplessly as Harry vanishes.

Harry turns up in a dusty, dark shop. This is Borgin and Burkes, a shop only frequented by dark wizards. Not wanting to stick around for long, Harry walks outside, only to find himself surrounded by unsavoury characters, who offer to help him find his way. Uh, no, thanks! Luckily, Hagrid sees Harry and quickly leads him out of trouble. Harry was in a dodgy place called Knockturn Alley, close to Diagon Alley. Hagrid takes Harry to the bookshop Flourish and Blotts, where he is reunited with the Weasleys and other best friend Hermione. Here, they see a book signing going on for famous wizard Gilderoy Lockhart. Lockhart spots Harry in the crowd, and calls him over for a photo for the newspaper. He also gifts Harry his complete works completely free of charge. Whilst they wait for their parents to finish at the bookshop, Harry, the Weasleys, and Hermione are approached by Draco Malfoy. Draco is clearly jealous of Harry for being so famous in the Wizarding World, and aims a slight at Harry. His father Lucius Malfoy comes over, telling Draco to “play nicely”. Lucius introduces himself to Harry, becoming instantly fascinated by Harry’s famous scar. Lucius guesses that the kids surrounding Harry must be part of the Weasley family; Lucius works with their father. He also rudely comments on Hermione’s parents, confirming that they are Muggles, non-magical folk, meaning Hermione has no wizarding ancestry, this being a disgrace to a family of Pure-bloods like the Malfoys, who do. Mr. Weasley comes over and tells Lucius they have different ideas of what a disgrace to wizards looks like. The Malfoys then leave.

Later, Harry and the Weasleys arrive at King’s Cross station late for the Hogwarts Express. Most of the family get through the portal to Platform 9 ¾ on time, but Harry and Ron are stuck in King’s Cross with the portal not opening for them. Harry suggests they wait for Ron’s parents by the car, which gives Ron an idea: they’ll take the flying car to Hogwarts! But Ron isn’t exactly an experienced driver only being twelve-years-old, so naturally the journey starts badly, with Ron forgetting to put the invisibility booster on so everyone around King’s Cross can see the car flying, and the journey gets worse when they are almost hit by the Hogwarts Express, and Harry almost falls out of the car. Eventually, they arrive at Hogwarts, only to crash-land into the Whomping Willow, which tries to bash the car out of its branches – it is magical after all. In the chaos, Ron breaks his wand and the car falls to the ground. Ron and Harry are ejected from the car, and the car drives into the Dark Forest.

Ron and Harry hurriedly head inside, but they are caught by Filch the caretaker who takes them to Professor Snape. Snape is horrified to learn about the two’s escapades, which have made the front page of the wizarding newspaper, and states if they were in his house of Slytherin, the two would be expelled and heading home right this minute. Professor McGonagall, head of Ron and Harry’s house of Gryffindor, then comes into the room with Professor Dumbledore, the Headmaster. McGonagall states that the two will not be expelled today but will both get detention and have letters sent home to their parents/guardians.

The next morning, the Second Year students, including Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Draco, arrive to their Herbology Class, headed by Professor Sprout. She teaches the students about mandrakes, getting the students to pot seedlings. We learn that the cry of a fully grown mandrake is fatal to anyone who hears it, but that mandrakes are needed to create a cure to recover people who have been petrified. At lunchtime, Ron tries to fix his wand with tape, but this does nothing to help it. Harry also meets Colin Creevey, a big fan of his as well as an avid photographer. At this point, Ron receives a letter from his mother. Known as a howler, this letter comes to life and starts to shout at Ron for his bad behaviour, whilst also congratulating sister Ginny for being sorted into Gryffindor House with her brothers. The letter then shreds itself. After that, the group have their Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson with none other than Gilderoy Lockhart. Lockhart is discovered to be an incompetent teacher, although handsome and charming, as he releases a swarm of Cornish Pixies into the class, with absolutely no training given, and then proceeds to let Harry, Ron, and Hermione round them up themselves after a pixie steals his wand!

Later on, Gryffindor’s Quidditch team, which includes Harry, are set to train, but are told that the pitch has been reserved for Slytherin’s team so they can train their new Seeker, Draco. Harry, Ron and Hermione learn that Draco’s place on the team seems to have something to do with his father buying the whole team new Nimbus 2001 brooms. Hermione states that this is the only reason he is on the team, to which Draco responds by calling her a “filthy little Mudblood”. Ron tries to react like the hero he is by cursing Draco to “eat slugs”, but the curse rebounds onto him, due to the fact Ron’s wand is broken. Ron then proceeds to spit up slugs, so Harry and Hermione take him to Hagrid for help. Hagrid has no cure for the spell and says it must run its course, asking what prompted Ron to cast it in the first place. Hermione tells Hagrid what happened, and he is equally shocked by what Draco said. Harry has no clue what the term “Mudblood” means, so Hermione explains. “Mudblood” is a derogatory term used by some for witches or wizards who have non-magical parents, like Hermione. Hagrid says that Pure-bloods are no longer the majority in the Wizarding World, with many witches and wizards being “Half-blood”, so one magical parent, or less. He tells Hermione not to think about it anymore, as her magical ability speaks for itself.

That evening, Harry spends his detention answering fan mail for Lockhart in his office. Harry starts to hear voices as the evening wears on. Lockhart tells Harry he must just be getting tired and tells Harry to go back to his dorm. In the corridor though, the voice returns. He then comes face-to-face with Hermione and Ron, asking if they heard a voice. They didn’t. They come across a flooded corridor and Filch’s cat seemingly frozen in fear. They see spiders moving in a line outside, and then discover writing on the wall, written in blood: “The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the heir, beware.” Many other students and teachers arrive at this corridor and are equally shocked. Filch sees his cat, and, believing she’s dead, blames Harry for it, as he was at the centre of the scene. Dumbledore arrives and tells all the students to go to their dormitories, except for Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Dumbledore and the other teachers quickly dismiss them as being involved, especially as Harry has an alibi for the evening. They calm Filch down by saying his cat has been petrified and that they can cure her once the new mandrakes are grown.

In Transfiguration Class with Professor McGonagall, no-one can concentrate on the lesson so Hermione asks McGonagall to tell them what the Chamber of Secrets is. She recounts the story of Hogwarts’ founding, saying that four wizards founded the school over 1,000 years ago: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. Slytherin believed that only some witches and wizards should be able to study magic, i.e., those who have all-magical ancestry. The other three did not agree with him, so he left the school. But there were rumours that he had built a chamber in the school, known as the Chamber of Secrets, sealing it until his heir arrived at the school. The chamber is said to be home to a monster, who would prey on those Salazar Slytherin felt were unworthy to study magic. The school has been searched many times, but the chamber has never been found. After class, Ron, Harry and Hermione discuss who the heir of Slytherin might be, with the boys heavily suspecting it is Draco Malfoy. Hermione has a plan so they can be sure. She finds a recipe for Polyjuice Potion which will allow the three to turn into members of Slytherin House so they can question Draco about it, but it will take one month to brew.

Soon, it is time for Quidditch, with Harry and Draco going up against each other for the first time as Seekers. During the game, it becomes clear that a Bludger has been cursed as it starts to follow Harry. As Harry and Draco battle to find the Snitch to end the game and win it for their team, the Bludger follows Harry, even as the two go underneath the stands in search of the Snitch. At one point, Draco’s broom catches on a wooden slat, and he falls in a heap in the middle of the pitch. Harry continues on, finding the Snitch and winning the game, however, the Bludger continues to follow him, until Hermione magically destroys it. But the Bludger did hit Harry’s arm, breaking it. Lockhart comes over and tries to fix his arm, but instead, he casts a spell making Harry’s bones disappear. Gross. Harry is taken to the hospital wing, where Madame Pomfrey administers a potion to get Harry’s bones to grow again. Overnight, Harry is visited by Dobby again, who tells Harry that he cursed the Bludger wanting Harry to return home, saying things are going to get worse at Hogwarts. Harry ignores Dobby, and they are interrupted anyway, by the arrival of another petrified victim, Colin Creevey. The teachers are rightly concerned, especially as Colin’s camera has been destroyed so that he has no picture of the attacker and person responsible.

In light of these events, Harry, Ron, and Hermione try to speed up their Polyjuice Potion, which they brew in the middle of an abandoned girls’ toilets. The reason it is abandoned is because a miserable ghost called Moaning Myrtle resides there. As well as this, Lockhart and Snape decided to set up a Duelling Club to help teach the students how to deal with potential threats. Harry and Draco are put together as the first pair to duel, but they each choose to simply hurt each other as much as possible with their first spells. Draco then decides to conjure a snake in the middle of the room. Snape goes to remove it, however, Harry starts talking to it, as the snake looks set to attack student Justin. The room are astonished by what they are seeing, and Snape finally destroys the snake. Justin accuses Harry of getting the snake to attack him, and Hermione and Ron wonder why he never told them he is a “Parselmouth”, someone who can communicate with snakes. Harry says he didn’t know. Harry learns that Salazar Slytherin had the same talent, and Slytherin’s crest is a snake, so now everyone believes Harry to be the heir of Slytherin.

During study time, Harry walks out of the room, after being whispered about and stared at. He then hears that voice again, and comes across a petrified Justin and a frozen Nearly Headless Nick. Once again, he is found there by Filch who gets McGonagall. McGonagall sends him to Dumbledore’s office. There, Harry asks the Sorting Hat if he put him in the right house, given what he has learnt about his connections to Salazar Slytherin. The Sorting Hat says he could’ve been great in Slytherin, but Harry rejects that. He then comes across Dumbledore’s phoenix, which suddenly bursts into flames. Dumbledore comes in at that exact moment, making Harry plead his innocence. Dumbledore explains the phoenix is Fawkes, and he was old so his death was not unexpected. The two then watch as a new phoenix is reborn from the ashes. Hagrid arrives into the office, saying Harry has nothing to do with all these incidents. Dumbledore says he already knows that, asking Harry if he has anything to tell him though. Harry says nothing.

Later on, the Polyjuice Potion is finally ready. Hermione tells Ron and Harry to give two cupcakes to Draco’s friends Crabbe and Goyle. The cupcakes have a sleeping potion in them, so it will knock them out. Once this happens, Ron and Harry take their robes and some of their hairs. Hermione tells them to put the hairs in the potion – she has done the same with a female Slytherin student – and they drink up. The potion is disgusting, but it does transform Harry and Ron into Crabbe and Goyle. Hermione tells the two to go ahead without her. They arrive at Slytherin’s common room and are almost caught out by seeing Ron’s brother Percy there. Draco comes to their rescue, and arrogantly leads them away from Prefect Percy. Ron and Harry begin their questioning, and Draco reiterates that he doesn’t know who the heir of Slytherin, only that it isn’t him. His father wouldn’t tell him much either, only that the last time the chamber was opened a Muggle-born student died. Draco hopes it will be Hermione who dies this time. With that, Ron is about to lash out at Draco, but the pair discover that the spell is wearing off and they rush out of there, back to Hermione. They see that Hermione has accidentally turned herself into a cat, after the hairs she took were actually cat hairs. She is sent to the hospital wing to recover.

The next day, Harry and Ron see the corridor by Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom has flooded so they investigate. Myrtle thinks Harry threw a book at her, but he denies that. Harry sees the book lying on the ground and retrieves it. That evening, he opens up the diary but finds it is blank inside. He learns it belonged to someone called Tom Marvolo Riddle. Harry starts to write in the book, and begins a conversation with someone inside the diary, seemingly Tom Riddle. He asks for information about the Chamber of Secrets, and is transported back fifty years to Hogwarts. Here, Harry watches as a young female student is carried out of Hogwarts and confirmed dead. Tom Riddle approaches Dumbledore, and questions whether Hogwarts will be closed. He says it will be unless the attacker is found. Not wanting to leave Hogwarts, Tom tries to find the attacker, accusing Hagrid and his huge pet spider of killing the girl. The spider runs out of the castle and Hagrid is expelled. Harry is transported back to the common room, telling Hermione and Ron what he has learnt.

They plan to question Hagrid about it, when Neville rushes up to Harry saying someone has ransacked their dormitory. Harry sees that Tom Riddle’s diary has gone, so that must’ve been what the intruder was looking for. Harry then goes to play Quidditch but McGonagall says the game has been cancelled. She takes Harry and Ron to the hospital wing, where they discover that Hermione is the latest person to be petrified. From this point, new rules are brought in for the students, like a 6pm curfew and the need to be escorted to and from lessons. Harry and Ron have to speak to Hagrid though so take his invisibility cloak and go to him. Hagrid is very jumpy that evening, and before they can ask him anything, the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, arrives to take Hagrid to the prison Azkaban, believing him to be involved in these attacks. Lucius Malfoy also turns up, stating that he has got all the school governors to back his call to relieve Dumbledore of his duties. Dumbledore walks away willingly, but Hagrid believes there will be killings next if he goes. Hagrid then states that if someone needs help, they should follow the spiders.

Once alone, Harry and Ron take Hagrid’s dog Fang and head into the Dark Forest, following the spiders. They come to a clearing where a huge monstrous spider appears to them. He is called Aragog and explains that he did not kill that girl 50 years ago and that Hagrid was innocent. Spiders actually fear the monster in the chamber. Aragog also says that the girl who was killed died in a bathroom, giving them some clues. However, Aragog doesn’t plan on letting them escape as he has children to feed, and they have surrounded Harry and Ron. As it looks like they’ll be attacked, the Ford Anglia appears to them, and drives them out of the forest and away from the spiders. They are taken back to Hagrid’s hut.

Ron and Harry return to the hospital to visit Hermione, where Harry finds a piece of paper in her hand about the Basilisk, a huge snake-like creature. They believe this must be the monster in the chamber, and that it tallies with what Aragog said. Hermione also worked out that the Basilisk must be travelling in the pipes and that anyone who looks at it will instantly die. Harry and Ron go over all the victims and learn that Mrs. Norris the cat didn’t die because she looked into the water on the floor; Colin saw the Basilisk through his camera; Justin must’ve seen it through Nearly Headless Nick; and Hermione was looking around corners with a mirror in case she saw it. Ron and Harry then figure out that Moaning Myrtle must be the girl who died in the bathroom all those years ago. Suddenly, there is an announcement calling the teachers to the corridor where another message has been left. Ron and Harry hide so they can listen in. McGonagall says a student has been taken by the monster into the chamber, with the message simply reading: “Her skeleton will lie in the chamber forever”. Lockhart arrives late, and is tasked with retrieving the student as he claims to know where the chamber is. He goes to his office to get ready. McGonagall reveals that Ginny Weasley was the one taken.

Ron and Harry go to Lockhart’s office to tell him what they know, but they discover him packing. He admits that he is a fraud and hasn’t done anything he said he’d done in his books, instead stealing from other wizards and then wiping their memories. He plans to do the same to Ron and Harry but they point their wands at him first. He goes along with them to the girl’s bathroom so they can ask Moaning Myrtle how she died. She said she saw a pair of yellow eyes by one of the sinks, and just died. Harry sees snake carvings on the sink and believes it is the entrance to the chamber. He says something in Parseltongue, snake language, and it opens. They send Lockhart down the drop first, and then they follow, arriving into the chamber, which is filthy and covered in bones and snake skin. Lockhart pretends to faint at the sight of it, using the opportunity to steal Ron’s wand. He tries to wipe their memories, but the spell backfires because Ron’s wand is still broken, slamming him into the wall of the chamber. This causes a rockslide, separating Ron and Harry. Ron finds that Lockhart wiped his own memory. Harry tells Ron to clear a way out, and he’ll find Ginny.

Going deeper into the chamber, Harry finds a lifeless Ginny on the ground. Someone approaches him. The older boy reveals himself to be Tom Riddle. He says he was a memory preserved in his diary but as Ginny grows weaker, he grows stronger, and will no longer be a memory. He takes Harry’s wand, and reveals that he was behind the Basilisk attacks and the writings on the wall, putting Ginny into a trance with the help of the diary to get her to do all that for him. Ginny was the one to try and dispose of the diary in the bathroom, leading Harry to find it, and later stole it back. Harry wonders why Tom would want to do all this. Tom says his target has actually been Harry because Tom Riddle is Voldemort. The letters of his full name actually spell out “I Am Lord Voldemort”, showing Riddle’s true talent for anagrams. Voldemort claims to be the greatest sorcerer in the world, but Harry says that accolade goes to Dumbledore. With that, Fawkes the Phoenix arrives with the Sorting Hat. Tom laughs at the gift and calls for the Basilisk to attack Harry. It chases him through the chamber, with Fawkes pecking out the creature’s eyes so looking at it will no longer be a threat. Harry outmanoeuvres the Basilisk momentarily and returns to Ginny, trying to work out what to do. The Basilisk returns and as it does, Harry finds a sword has appeared in the Sorting Hat. He takes the sword and runs up onto a large sculpture. He stabs the Basilisk through the head, killing it, but not before the Basilisk bites him, sending its venom rushing through Harry.

Harry returns to Ginny and is told by Tom that he’ll die in minutes and there is no hope. Harry then takes the Basilisk fang and stabs the fang into the diary. With each stab, Tom Riddle starts to break apart, until he disappears. Ginny suddenly awakens. She sees Harry is hurt. Harry tells Ginny to go through the chamber and find Ron. At that, Fawkes returns. Fawkes then releases tears onto Harry’s arm, making Harry remember that phoenixes have healing powers. He recovers and Fawkes flies them all back to Hogwarts.

Ron and Harry find themselves in Dumbledore’s office, where they are reprimanded for their breaking of multiple school rules but are given special awards for services to the school. Ron is told to get an owl to fly Hagrid’s release papers to Azkaban, and Harry speaks to Dumbledore more about Voldemort. Dumbledore says that when Voldemort gave Harry his scar, he inadvertently passed over some of his powers, like speaking to snakes, but that Harry must be a Gryffindor as he was able to pull the Sword of Gryffindor from the Sorting Hat, and clearly showed loyalty to Dumbledore to have Fawkes come to him. Lucius Malfoy then arrives to find Dumbledore reinstated. Dumbledore says that many of the governors believed Malfoy would curse their families if they did not agree to let Dumbledore go. Malfoy rejects that. Malfoy asks if the perpetrator has been caught, so Dumbledore reveals all about Tom Riddle and the diary. Malfoy sarcastically congratulates Harry Potter on saving the day.

Harry asks Dumbledore for the destroyed diary and follows Malfoy out of the school. He forces Malfoy to take the diary, as Harry believes Malfoy put it into Ginny’s cauldron on that day at Flourish and Blotts before school. Malfoy refuses to admit to that, handing the diary over to Dobby, his House-elf. Harry gets Dobby to open it, and he sees a sock inside. Dobby says his master has presented him with clothes so he can be a free elf. Lucius sees Harry has tricked him into losing his servant and goes to attack him, but Dobby stops him. Harry thanks Dobby for his help, but tells him to stop trying to save his life from now on!

Later, the school is set up for dinner, and all the petrified students return, including Hermione, much to Ron and Harry’s delight. Dumbledore announces that all school exams have been cancelled given the upheaval everyone experienced this year. Hagrid then arrives, having been released from Azkaban. He thanks Ron, Harry, and Hermione for clearing his name. Harry tells Hagrid Hogwarts wouldn’t be the same without him. The students and teachers break into a round of applause, as Hagrid is embraced by everyone.

In a post-credits scene, we are taken back to Flourish and Blotts, where we see a new book on display. Titled “Who Am I?”, it is a new novel from Gilderoy Lockhart, who is seen on the cover of this book in a straitjacket, as he gets to grips with his memory loss.

CHARACTERS & CAST

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets sees a return for many characters and actors from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, whilst also introducing a selection of new ones, like The Weasleys, who were introduced in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, however, many of them were only briefly mentioned. In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, we get to see more of their family life, and meet Mr. Weasley for the first time.

Molly Weasley was in the first movie; however, here, Molly is clearly shown to be the strong matriarch of the family, putting her foot down with her unruly sons. Molly is also a loving mother, which is obvious from how she dotes on her children, making sure they have everything they need for school and ensuring their home of The Burrow is kept cosy, as well as caring for Harry whenever he is around, given his difficult family situation in the Muggle World. Molly’s character only becomes more integral to the series as the movies continue.

Dame Julie Walters was cast as Molly Weasley. Walters’ film debut came with her role as Rita White in Educating Rita (1983), acting alongside Michael Caine in this film. From then on, she has had a variety of roles on screen, including being cast as Mrs. Wilkinson in Billy Elliot (2000); as Annie in Calendar Girls (2003); as Rosie in Mamma Mia! (2008) and its 2018 sequel; and as Mrs. Bird in the Paddington film series. Walters has also had some history in voice acting for animation, such as voicing The Witch in Pixar’s Brave (2012) and Ms. Montague in Gnomeo and Juliet (2011), reprising her role for its sequel Sherlock Gnomes (2018). She is also known on British TV for working alongside comedian Victoria Wood, for example, starring in sitcom dinnerladies (1998-2000) as Petula, amongst others.

The father of the Weasley family is Arthur Weasley, who works in the Ministry of Magic, specifically in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office. The flying Ford Anglia car they own is therefore technically illegal, which is why he faces an inquiry at work after Ron and Harry drive the car to Hogwarts, being spotted by numerous non-magical people. Arthur is less of a strict parental figure, as Molly seems to have that pretty much covered, but he clearly adores his children, and is proud of his family, despite their lesser economic status. He stands up for his family in front of the pretentious Malfoys, who believe themselves to better than the Weasleys due to their Pure-blood status and perceived wealth. Like Molly, Arthur also goes on to be an important part of the fight between good and evil later on.

Mark Williams was cast as Arthur Weasley. He had previously been cast as Horace in the live-action adaptation 101 Dalmatians (1996), based on Disney’s animated 1961 film, and as Exterminator Jeff in The Borrowers (1997). He later appeared as Wabash in the Oscar-winning movie Shakespeare in Love (1998). In more recent years, Williams has voiced the character of Barry in Aardman Animation’s Early Man (2018) and currently stars as the title character in the long-running BBC series Father Brown (2013-present). He also played Sir John Middleton in the 2008 miniseries Sense and Sensibility, also for the BBC.

We also get to see more of the other Weasley children, outside of Ron, in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Ron’s older brother Percy, a school prefect, is seen a few times in the second movie, with Ravenclaw Penelope Clearwater, his secret girlfriend, and is spotted by Harry and Ron by Slytherin’s Common Room, after they have been transformed into Crabbe and Goyle. Chris Rankin was cast as Percy. After appearing in the majority of the Harry Potter films, Rankin went on to be an assistant production coordinator on series like Downton Abbey (2010-15) and Atlantis (2013-15), and is currently the Chair and Lead Producer at the Brecon Little Theatre in mid-Wales[1].

Twins Fred and George are the next brothers in age order. Fred and George are still part of the Gryffindor Quidditch team as they were in the first film, continuing to be seen in these sequences. They don’t have a huge amount to do with the story of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, but their mischievous nature is briefly glimpsed in this film, before being made more obvious in the later films. Fred and George were played by James and Oliver Phelps. After appearing in all of the Harry Potter films, the duo went on to be cast as Brian Carter and Barry Carter in the TV movie Danny and the Human Zoo (2015) written by comedian Lenny Henry, and made a cameo appearance together in Last Night in Soho (2021). Recently, the twins have hosted the travel series Fantastic Friends (2022) and the cooking competition series Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking (2024-present).

The other Weasley sibling to mention is Ginny Weasley, the youngest of the Weasley children and the only girl. In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Ginny starts her First Year at Hogwarts, being placed in Gryffindor House with her brothers. It would be expected that Ginny’s year at school would be pretty quiet, but no; Ginny gets to be highly involved in the problems that occur at Hogwarts. Ginny inadvertently was given a piece of dark magic by Lucius Malfoy in Diagon Alley. She has no idea what the diary is doing to her, and doesn’t realise the trouble she is in until it’s too late and she is being used as a sacrifice so that Voldemort can live again. Luckily for Ginny, Harry was on hand to rescue her from almost-death. Ginny continues to play a role in the story in the later films. Bonnie Wright was cast as Ginny. After her time on the Harry Potter series, Wright went on to be cast as Rose in the independent film The Sea (2013) and as Georgina in the film After the Dark (2013). She also wrote and directed the film Separate We Come, Separate We Go. Recently, Wright has focused on activism, being involved with Greenpeace and the Rainforest Alliance. She published the book Go Gently: Actionable Steps to Nurture Yourself and the Planet in 2022.

Gilderoy Lockhart becomes the second Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts, after Professor Quirrell “crumbled” in the first film. He is seen to be both exceptionally charming, with his blond hair and bright smile, and arrogant, believing his own self-importance due to his success as an author, and accomplishments as a wizard. However, it soon becomes obvious to everyone that Lockhart actually has very little magical skill, not being able to do the simplest of spells and shying away from his teacherly responsibilities whenever the pressure gets too much. Lockhart reveals himself to be a total fraud near the end of the story, admitting to using memory charms to steal other witches’ and wizards’ life stories and pass them off as his own. When he tries to do the same to Ron and Harry so he can twist the story of finding the chamber, probably for a new book, he fails to account for the fact Ron’s wand is severely damaged and ends up wiping his own memory. He still gets a book out of the situation so I guess it’s a small victory for Lockhart!

Sir Kenneth Branagh was cast as Lockhart. Branagh is well-known for being a great Shakespearean actor, both on stage and screen, having both directed and starred in numerous film adaptations of Shakespeare plays, such as Henry V (1989) and Hamlet (1996), both nominated at the Academy Awards: for Best Director and Best Actor for Henry V, winning for Best Direction at the BAFTAs; and for Best Adapted Screenplay for Hamlet. He also directed Belfast (2021), which won the Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Original Screenplay, and won the BAFTA for Outstanding British Film. Branagh has also appeared in various other roles. For example, he has recently portrayed Hercule Poirot in a series of movies based on Agatha Christie’s novels, also directing the movies, starting with Murder on the Orient Express (2017), and was cast as Niels Bohr in Oppenheimer (2023). On the more comedic side, Branagh was cast as Sir Alistair Dormandy in the comedy-drama The Boat That Rocked (2009) and voiced Miguel in DreamWorks Animation’s The Road to El Dorado (2000). Branagh is set to appear in The Devil Wears Prada 2 (2026).

However, before Branagh was cast as Lockhart, there were multiple other famous actors who were also considered. Jude Law, who went on to be cast as a young Dumbledore in the Fantastic Beasts series of films, was apparently seen for the part of Lockhart, before being deemed to be too young for the role. Alan Cumming and Rupert Everett were also both offered screen tests for the part, although after discovering a pay discrepancy between himself and Everett, Cumming refused to take any further part in the process[2]. Later, it was reported that Hugh Grant was first offered the part, before having to drop out due to scheduling difficulties, filming the rom-com Two Weeks Notice (2002) with Sandra Bullock. Branagh was confirmed in the role in October 2001[3]. Although I am a fan of all of these actors, I think that Branagh was perfectly cast as Gilderoy Lockhart. Branagh even won the London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor of the Year for this role.

Another major new character introduced in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was Draco’s father, Lucius Malfoy. He is tall, menacing, and more than just a little bit evil. Lucius is tough on his son and has brought him up to believe that families of Pure-bloods are exceptional, whereas anyone who is not is lesser than them. We get to see why Draco is the snobby, arrogant child he is by meeting Lucius. Lucius is shown to have a fascination with Voldemort, after he looks at Harry’s scar, plus he has Tom Riddle’s diary in his possession. This movie only gives a brief incite into Lucius, with his true villainy still to be revealed.

Jason Isaacs was cast as Lucius Malfoy, in another perfect casting in my opinion. Strangely enough, Isaacs had originally auditioned for the part of Lockhart. He was annoyed to find he hadn’t got the part, and to make it even worse, he was asked to read for Lucius Malfoy. Isaacs’ reasoning for not wanting to play Lucius was that he was already set to play Captain Hook in the 2003 film Peter Pan and didn’t want to play two villains back-to-back, but his family encouraged him to take the part, and now, he is so glad he did[4]. Lucius is one of my favourite Harry Potter characters, so I’m glad he did too, and by being Lucius and not Gilderoy Lockhart, we got to see Isaacs in multiple films, not just one. Prior to his work on Harry Potter, Jason Isaacs was known for such roles as Ronald Quincy inArmageddon (1998); as Colonel William Tavington in The Patriot (2000); and as Captain Mike Steele in Black Hawk Down (2001). After Harry Potter, Isaacs went on to be cast as George Zhukov in The Death of Stalin (2017); John Godfrey in Operation Mincemeat (2021); Archie inMrs. Harris Goes to Paris (2022); and Moth Winn in the now-controversial movie The Salt Path (2024). In television, Isaacs recently portrayed Cary Grant in the miniseries Archie (2023) and played Timothy Ratliff in Season 3 of The White Lotus (2021-present).

As for Draco Malfoy, and his sidekicks Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, we did meet them in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, shown to be the main enemies of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, they are part of the action for longer, as they are central to the three friends figuring out who the heir to Slytherin is. They suspect it is Draco as he spends much of the movie spouting out beliefs about how non-magical students aren’t worthy and are lesser than him, even going so far as to call them “Mudbloods” and hoping Hermione will be one who dies from the release of the Chamber of Secrets’ monster. With Harry and Ron transformed into Crabbe and Goyle, they try to get Draco to confirm he is the heir, but he turns out not to be, making the three Slytherins no longer useful to Harry, Ron and Hermione’s sleuthing. However, Draco later becomes a major part of the story in later films.

Tom Felton was cast as Draco Malfoy. Unlike many of the other child actors though, Harry Potter was not his first film role. Felton had previously been cast as Peagreen in The Borrowers (1997) and as Louis T. Leonowens in Anna and the King (1999), which starred Jodie Foster. After Harry Potter, Felton went on to play Dodge Landon in Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011); James Ashford in Belle (2013); and Rufus Lancaster in A United Kingdom (2016). Recently, Felton was cast as Richard Goodridge in Save the Cinema (2022) before going on to star as Sam in 2:22 A Ghost Story on the West End in 2022. His stage work has continued by reprising his role as Draco Malfoy in the Broadway production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, with his run going from November 2025 to May 2026. He also published his autobiography Beyond the Wand in 2022.

Goyle was played by Josh Herdman. He appeared in all of the Harry Potter films, and was cast as Ben in the CBBC series UGetMe (2003-05), going on to be cast in the recurring role of Eric Davidson in Season 2 of the ITV series Marcella (2016-21). In 2016, he started a career as an MMA fighter. Crabbe was played by Jamie Waylett, only appearing in the first six films, as he was not asked to return for the final two due to legal troubles.

Continuing with the dark wizards, although we saw Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, attached to Quirrell’s head, in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, he got to appear in almost-human form, as his sixteen-year-old self, Tom Riddle. Tom Riddle is confirmed to be the heir of Slytherin, having opening the chamber when he was at Hogwarts fifty years before, instructing the Basilisk to kill Myrtle, as he set about continuing Salazar Slytherin’s task of ridding the school of any students with non-magical parents. However, on his return, although the Basilisk petrifies multiple students, Tom confirms his real target was actually Harry Potter, wanting to finally kill him, after his failed attempt over a decade before, and return to life. But Harry being Harry doesn’t let that happen, and manages to stop him, by destroying the diary with a Basilisk fang, which makes the memory of Tom Riddle disappear forever, saving Ginny in the process.

Christian Coulson was cast as Tom Riddle. He was actually 23 at the time, despite portraying a sixteen-year-old. Prior to Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Coulson was cast as Ben Stemson in The Worst Witch spin-off series Weirdsister College (2001-02). He went on to be cast in the recurring role of Sebastian in the series Mozart in the Jungle (2014-18) and as Ian in Love Is Strange (2014). Many well-known actors also auditioned to play Tom Riddle, including Eddie Redmayne, who went on to be cast as Newt Scamander in the Fantastic Beasts series, and James McAvoy.

Along with these characters, we met a few new teachers. One of these was Professor Sprout, who teaches Herbology at Hogwarts. Here, she teaches Harry and his friends about mandrakes and their importance of curing those who have been petrified. It’s lucky they potted those mandrakes on the first day of the year because they were certainly needed! Miriam Margolyes was cast as Professor Sprout, who returns only for the final Harry Potter film. She had previously appeared as The Nurse in Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet (1996) and was cast as Aunt Sponge and Mrs. Glowworm in James and the Giant Peach (1998). She had also earlier portrayed Queen Victoria in the festive special Blackadder’s Christmas Carol (1988). Recently, Margolyes has appeared on our screens in a variety of travel shows, such as Miriam and Alan: Lost in Scotland (2021-22) with Alan Cumming; Miriam Margolyes: A New Australian Adventure (2024) and Miriam Margolyes Discovers New Zealand (2025). Margolyes has also voiced characters for animated movies, including The Matchmaker in Disney’s Mulan (1998) and Queen Oofeefa in Aardman’s Early Man.

We also spend quite a bit of time in the movie in Hogwarts’ hospital wing with Madame Pomfrey the school nurse. She has to nurse Harry back to health, after Lockhart makes all the bones in his broken arm disappear, and later has to care for the petrified students, starting with Colin Creevey who comes to the hospital in the middle of the night. Madame Pomfrey was played by Gemma Jones. Jones has had a variety of screen roles, including period dramas, such as her roles as Mrs. Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility (1995) and Lady Queensberry in Wilde (1997) with Stephen Fry portraying Oscar Wilde. Jones is also known for her role as Pamela Jones, Bridget’s mother, in the Bridget Jones film series. She was later cast in the recurring role of Connie James in Spooks (2002-11), and as Ivy, Elton’s grandmother, in Rocketman (2019). More recently, Jones played Rose Wright in the British drama series I, Jack Wright (2025-present). She reprised her role as Madame Pomfrey for the sixth and final Harry Potter films.

The Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, makes his first appearance in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets too. In the film, he shows up at Hagrid’s hut and takes him away to Azkaban, believing him to be behind the spate of attacks at Hogwarts, since Hagrid was made to take the blame for them fifty years before. Fudge doesn’t seem to listen to reason from others and follows his instincts blindly, without looking for concrete evidence. This makes him seem a tough figure, but his stubbornness proves to be a problem for him later on in the story. Fudge was played by Robert Hardy. Before Harry Potter, Hardy was cast as Sir John Middleton in Sense and Sensibility (1995) and as Lord Caversham in An Ideal Husband (1998). He went on to appear as Tite Barnacle in the BBC miniseries Little Dorrit (2008), with Claire Foy in the title role. Hardy reprised his role as Fudge in the following films, up to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007). Hardy died in 2017.

A few new students are brought in to the story for this second film too. One is Colin Creevey, an excitable First Year student, who is a big fan of Harry Potter’s and an avid photographer. He even manages to capture some action shots of the Gryffindor vs. Slytherin Quidditch match, almost getting hit by the rogue Bludger in the process! Colin sadly succumbs to the Basilisk, becoming the first human victim to be petrified. Thanks to his camera, Colin doesn’t look the Basilisk in the eye and survives the attack, being revived by the Mandrake potion by the end of the film, alongside the other victims. Hugh Mitchell was cast as Colin. He played Young Nicholas Nickleby in the 2002 film Nicholas Nickleby around this time, going on to be cast as Young Silas in The Da Vinci Code (2006) and later playing Richard Welles in the BBC series The White Queen (2013).

Justin Finch-Fletchley, a Hufflepuff student, is the second victim to be petrified. He previously met Harry at the Duelling Club, set up by Lockhart and Snape, however, he finds himself potentially about to be the victim of cobra attack during it, and blames Harry for it. Harry starts speaking to the snake in Parseltongue, but as nobody knows what he is saying, it appears that Harry is trying to get the snake to attack Justin, making him feared after that. Justin is then discovered by Harry to be petrified just a little while later, furthering cementing the case that Harry is behind the attacks, despite not being. Like Colin, Justin is “un-petrified” by the end of the film and able to go about his life. Justin was played by Edward Randell who now seems to be a freelance journalist, having only made an appearance in this second Harry Potter film.

Moaning Myrtle, although a ghost, is also a new student character. Myrtle resides in a girls’ lavatory, which is rarely ever used because she is so miserable, resenting her early death, although she also seems to like to wallow in her self-pity as well! Basically, she can make the students feel uncomfortable so they tend to avoid her. Hermione chooses this bathroom to brew their Polyjuice potion in for this very reason, so it can remain a secret. Myrtle turns out to be the key to figuring out where the entrance to the chamber is, as it is discovered she was the first fatality from the Basilisk, after the chamber was first opened fifty years before. With the information about her death, Myrtle reveals the location of the entrance, helping Ron and Harry to rescue Ginny. She also kindly offers Harry the opportunity to share her toiler as a ghost should he die down there. Nice!

Shirley Henderson, despite being in her 30s by the time this film was made, was cast as Moaning Myrtle, likely because of the versatility of her voice, bringing a real whine to Myrtle’s lines. Early in her career, Henderson was cast as Isobel Sutherland in the mystery series Hamish Macbeth (1995-97), which saw Robert Carlyle in the title role. She also appeared as Gail in Trainspotting (1996) and its 2017 sequel. Other film roles of hers include Jude in the Bridget Jones film series; Lucille Hardy in Stan & Ollie (2018); and Agatha Christie in See How They Run (2022). On television, Henderson was cast recently, as Annie in the series Summerwater (2025) and in the recurring role of Claire Marsh in Dept. Q (2025-present) for Netflix. In voice acting, Henderson voiced the character Ooooo in Pixar’s Elio (2025) and Babu Frik in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2021). Henderson reprised her role as Moaning Myrtle only in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005).

MUSIC

Legendary composer John Williams, who had created a beautiful, magical score to accompany Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, returned to compose the score for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Williams is known for composing music for such movie franchises as Indiana Jones, Star Wars, and Jurassic Park, winning numerous awards, including Grammys and Academy Awards, during his career.

This meant that the music of both Harry Potter movies feels quite similar, with some themes returning, such as the iconic “Hedwig’s Theme”, which features in the introductory scene of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, with the title card.

I particularly like the track “Fawkes the Phoenix”, which can be heard as Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Lockhart make their way out of the chamber with Fawkes’ help. It is triumphant, showing they succeeded in their fight against evil. I also like the final track in the film, played when Hermione returns to the Great Hall after recovering from being petrified, and as Hagrid makes his grand return to Hogwarts after being released from Azkaban. This track is “Reunion of Friends”. As an adult, I always cry at this final scene, and the music is a huge part of what makes that scene so beautiful.

There are darker elements to the story in this second film, so naturally, these needed to be reflected in the score too. One piece of music that shows this is “The Spiders”, playing as Harry and Ron run from the spiders in the Dark Forest. The opening sounds of this track sound just like spiders spiralling down on their webs, making all arachnophobes’ skin crawl. “Meeting Aragog” has similar elements. “Meeting Tom Riddle”, for when Harry first sees Riddle in the chamber, is equally spooky, whilst also being mysterious as we wonder who this boy is, and where he came from. After that, we have Harry’s fight against the Basilisk. The track “Dueling the Basilisk” accompanies this sequence, making for a thrilling final battle for the film, one filled with peril and life-threatening danger.

As with the first film, Williams was once again recognised for his work on the music for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, although not at the Academy Awards as he had been for the first film. He was nominated again at the Grammys though, for Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media. Once again, Williams lost to Howard Shore’s score for The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. But Williams did beat out Shore for the Critics’ Choice Award for Best Composer, which was not only for his work on Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, but also for the Steven Spielberg-directed films Minority Report and Catch Me If You Can, also released in 2002. Williams was also recognised at the BMI Film Music Awards for his work on movie soundtracks that year, which including the three already mentioned, plus Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones.

PRODUCTION

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone had opened in theatres on 16^th November 2001, but there was no time for the cast and crew to celebrate as production on the second film, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, began just a few days later.

The total shoot for the second Harry Potter movie was apparently slightly less time than the first, at around nine or ten months, but this is still a significant amount of time, and not unexpected given the length of the movie’s runtime, the numerous impressive, vast sets, and the number of characters, and therefore actors, and locations required for filming.

Christopher Columbus was back to direct the second film, after directing the first, having been a popular director particularly with the young cast, who had had a great time filming Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Steve Kloves also returned to write the screenplay, adapting it from J.K. Rowling’s original novel, having done the same for the first.

Kloves admitted that it was difficult adapting these novels, because, since the whole series had not yet been written and published, although Rowling had a clear idea of the complete narrative, he had to check with Rowling if his screenplay was going in the right direction, so as not to allow something to be contradicted in a later film, or so something important was not omitted. In the case of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Kloves said one part of the story in particular would come back later in series, so he had to pepper in just enough clues to allow this to make sense later without giving the game away in this film. I would assume that this story element was the importance of Tom Riddle’s diary. Rowling was particularly impressed with how the ominousness of Tom Riddle’s diary was portrayed in the film, as it is a creepy and scary concept to have someone write back to you in something as private as a diary, something many young girls turn to when wanting to express their innermost thoughts and feelings.

An element that ripples throughout the Harry Potter series is the message about racism, or classism, with the Pure-bloods against everyone else, i.e., Half-bloods or Muggle-borns. This is first introduced in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, specifically differentiating Draco Malfoy and his family from the others because the Malfoys are Pure-bloods, whereas even Harry Potter is a Half-blood, because his mother was Muggle-born. The Weasleys are technically Pure-bloods, but they don’t believe themselves to be better than anyone else. This idea is a huge part of this second film and novel, with the Basilisk’s main purpose being to purge Hogwarts of Muggle-born students, but the idea comes back throughout the series. Kloves felt this theme was very important and had been perhaps more present in his first draft of the script, before having to condense it for the final film script, so the idea is quite different from the book in some aspects[5].

Although it has been noted just how faithful the first two Harry Potter movies are to the first two novels, there obviously had to be some concessions made to the story, to allow the films to be a reasonable length, and to keep the pace snappy and interesting.

One character that is referenced in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, both film and novel, is Penelope Clearwater, Percy Weasley’s love interest at Hogwarts. She is only mentioned in the film, as she walks down a hallway with Percy in one scene, however, she was actually another petrified student in the book, being found beside Hermione in the library. In the book, it is Penelope’s mirror that they are using to look around corners so they don’t meet the eye of the Basilisk.

Something else that could’ve been included in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets the film, but could’ve been omitted simply for pacing is that Hermoine’s potion book, Moste Potente Potions, where she finds the recipe to brew Polyjuice Potion is actually in the Restricted Section of Hogwarts Library in the novel, with Hermione having to metaphorically charm Lockhart into writing her a note, giving her permission to take the book out. In the film, this potion book just happens to be on a regular shelf of the library.

There were a few other minor changes to the story, including missing out Nearly Headless Nick’s 500^th Deathday Party, attended by Harry and his friends; a scene of the Weasley brothers “de-gnoming” their garden at The Burrow, literally throwing gnomes over a hedge to keep them out; and Mr. Weasley repairing Harry’s glasses after his visit to Knockturn Alley. For some reason, it was not supposed to be noticed that with Hermione repairing the glasses in the film, she is technically breaking the rule against underage witches and wizards using magic outside Hogwarts…A professor character is also missing entirely from the films, and that is Professor Binns, the History of Magic professor, who was the one to reveal the history of the Chamber of Secrets to Harry and his classmates. Instead, this speech was given to Professor McGonagall

Another omission includes the fact that the book first references “Squibs” in this story, specifically referring to Argus Filch, the caretaker. This leans further into the racism experienced in the Wizarding World, as the term refers to someone with at least one magical parent, but with no magical powers of their own. This may’ve initially been part of the initial script for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, because, in a deleted scene, we see Harry pass Filch a letter, which appears to be confirming Filch’s inability to perform magic. Instead, this fact is only briefly mentioned in the sixth Harry Potter film[6].

Speaking of deleted scenes, there were numerous ones that have since been available to view on DVD and Blu-Ray releases of the film. An interesting one was the scene in Borgin and Burkes, which Harry ends up in after his disastrous first attempt at using the Floo Network. Harry sees Draco Malfoy and his father entering the shop, and has to hide in a coffin to avoid being seen. Here, Lucius is selling items that he needs to get rid of from his home, since the Ministry of Magic are conducting more raids into finding dark magic. It was this scene which Tom Felton and Jason Isaacs later reflected on, as Isaacs had accidentally injured Felton’s hand here. Isaacs must’ve gotten very into character at this stage in filming, because when he used Lucius’ cobra cane to scold Draco, he accidentally hit Felton with the cane, and the pointy fangs hurt his hand. Isaacs apologised profusely after they stopped rolling, with Felton later joking that it was reminiscent of Jekyll and Hyde working with Isaacs, as he was cold and harsh one minute when acting, and nice the next when he wasn’t! The two loved working together though, and have a strong friendship even now.

Something else in the deleted scenes that might’ve helped with the plot of the story is seeing Justin Finch-Fletchley introducing himself to Harry just before the Duelling Club began. In this scene, Justin confirms he is a Muggle-born. I didn’t realise this until many years later, and simply thought the Basilisk was just attacking whoever was around, not specifically targeting Muggle-borns with Hermione just being a coincidence, since Tom Riddle says to Harry at the end of the film that that wasn’t his purpose anymore. I thought the Basilisk was trying to get to Harry and these students were just in the way, so had this scene been included, it would’ve added more clarity for viewers who were not familiar with the book. This idea was further used in a later scene, where Harry heard people talking about how Justin had revealed he was Muggle-born to Harry, making the students gossiping suspect Justin would be the next victim, since Harry must be the heir of Slytherin.

Another scene that could’ve added more clarity to the overall story was Harry, Ron, and Hermione all seeing that the diary belonged to a Tom Riddle. On hearing the name, this reminded Ron that he’d seen that name whilst polishing the school’s silver as part of his detention. Riddle had won an award for services to the school fifty years ago, with this being the same time the chamber was opened. They therefore assume Riddle will know all about the chamber, but see nothing written in the diary, so cannot read anything about it. This would’ve led on to Harry writing in the diary and conversing with Riddle through it[7].

In terms of filming locations, many of the same locations were used in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets after their usage in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, for example, Alnwick Castle. Specifically in this second film, the Inner Bailey area of the castle was used for the sequence of Harry and Ron crash-landing in the flying car on their arrival at Hogwarts[8]. The cast and crew also made a return to Durham Cathedral. In this sequel, the Cloister Garth was used for the scene of the Gryffindor Quidditch team learning about Draco becoming Slytherin’s new seeker, and Ron casting his “eat slugs” curse, with the Chapter House being used for Professor McGonagall’s classroom. It would seem that the Divinity School at Oxford University was the location for Hogwarts’ hospital wing and was also used for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone[9]. Other locations include the North Walk Cloisters of Gloucester Cathedral being the location for the scene of the writings on the wall in this film, with Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom being nearby, and the Glenfinnan Viaduct in the Scottish Highlands becoming iconic for the sequence of Harry and Ron meeting the Hogwarts Express, and almost crashing with it, whilst in the flying Ford Anglia. The viaduct makes a return in other Harry Potter movies too, during the group’s travels to Hogwarts[10]. The story also returns to King’s Cross station, where we see Harry and Ron attempt to follow the rest of the Weasleys on to Platform 9 ¾, finding the portal has closed. This is once again inside King’s Cross, or how it was many years ago, but when Harry and Ron go to get in the flying car, this exterior shot is actually of neighbouring train station St. Pancras.

With the filming of the second movie feeling very similar to the first one, for numerous reasons, it made everyone feel free and more comfortable with what they were doing, including Christopher Columbus. Additional cast members meant widening the Harry Potter family, with Kenneth Branagh, Mark Williams, and Jason Isaacs being welcomed into the cast, with the latter two becoming very integrated into later storylines. Branagh was actually set to play Richard III on stage partway through filming Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and was learning his lines for it in his downtime. Daniel Radcliffe was said to have enjoyed running lines with him for the play. Jason Isaacs had an enjoyable moment seeing just how brilliant Radcliffe was too, as Isaacs improvised the line “Let us hope Mr. Potter will always be around to save the day”, so that Malfoy could have the final say in Dumbledore’s office. Isaacs had not been expecting Radcliffe to shot back with his own bit of improv, cooly stating, “Don’t worry, I will be”. This showed a level of increased confidence in the young cast in the brief spell of time between the two movies, which did not go unnoticed by the adults on set. It was also notable that they were growing up by the fact many of the boys’ voices were breaking by this point[11]! But to really bring everyone back down to earth, that this production was centred around child actors, there was reportedly an outbreak of headlice on set during filming, which was said to have halted production briefly[12]!

Moving on, let’s discuss some important characters who were not part of the filming process, and yet feel very real to audiences. One of these is obviously Dobby the House-elf, a beloved character in the Harry Potter universe for many. Dobby was going to have to be a computer-generated character, and the animators wanted to make him appear as he was described in the books, as a sort of shrivelled and puny creature, made to wear a dirty rag all his life, as he serves one wizard family forever, a family who have tormented him and weakened his spirit. There were some concerns around making Dobby, as he had to feel lovable, without being cute and cuddly, and be a sympathetic figure that we feel sorry for. It was possible he’d end up being too annoying, like some other computer-generated characters of the time, or that he’d feel too digital to seem real. Although Dobby might appear quite strange, especially given how far computer animation has progressed since the early 2000s, he remains a figure that we want to root for[13].

The talents of his voice actor will also have helped with this. British actor Toby Jones was chosen to voice Dobby. Jones has made appearances in various well-known movies franchises, including being cast as Claudius Templesmith in The Hunger Games franchise; as Mr. Eversoll in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018); and as Basil Shaw in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023). Jones has also recently starred in numerous British miniseries, such as portraying Alan Bates in Mr. Bates vs. The Post Office (2024), and Alan Rusbridger in The Hack (2025). Initially, when Jones was offered the part of Dobby, he didn’t understand the importance of the character, but later came to realise how loved Dobby is.

It was quite difficult for the actors to act to Dobby, because he obviously wasn’t there, but the two actors who had the most scenes with Dobby, i.e., Daniel Radcliffe and Jason Isaacs, did their best with them, and I think it shows. Isaacs, for instance, chose to kick Dobby down the stairs in Dumbledore’s office. Columbus apparently believed Isaacs had just slipped as he was walking down them, but he made it clear, he was actually acting! This moment made it into the film. Radcliffe was also said to have impressed many on set as he acted to a stick with a ball on the end of it for all Harry’s scenes with Dobby, being said to have twice as much focus and commitment as many adult actors in these types of scenes.

Fawkes the Phoenix is another vital character to the story, coming to Harry’s rescue whilst in the Chamber of Secrets on two different occasions. But Harry first meets Fawkes in Dumbledore’s office, and this phoenix is an animatronic figure, not a CG creation. It apparently had cameras in its eyes so it could be moved to respond to the actors. Columbus and Radcliffe later revealed that they believed Richard Harris thought Fawkes was a very well-trained bird[14]! But whenever Fawkes had flight sequences, and for when he caught fire and was reborn, digital effects were used.

Aragog the spider – an Acromantulas, to be exact – was another creature that had to be created for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. It was thought that Aragog would simply have to be computer-generated, due to his size, however, it was later decided that Aragog could be constructed, even if he was such a complex and huge spider. If it didn’t work, there was always CG to fall back on, but in the end, Aragog was created, as a puppet. This must’ve been absolutely terrifying to see up close! The swarm of Aragog’s children, however, were CGI. Julian Glover was tasked with voicing Aragog. He had previously been cast as General Maximilian Veers in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Aristotle Kristatos in For Your Eyes Only (1981), showing Glover’s talent for playing villains. He later had a recurring role as Grand Maester Pycelle in Game of Thrones (2011-19).

The Basilisk, a huge snake-like creature, was created with a mixture of practical models and CGI. A 30ft long structure was built, detailing the Basilisk’s head and mouth, which was used and controlled for the battle scene with Harry. This mechanical puppet could even move towards Radcliffe as he literally fought against it. However, when the Basilisk slithers through the chamber, following Harry, this was CGI[15].

Outside of that, various new sets had to be built for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. One of these was Dumbledore’s Office, a grand office to suit the grandeur of Dumbledore and his status as Headmaster. It was thought the scale of the project may’ve had to be scaled back from original designs because of a lack of budget, however, instead of compromising on the office, further funds were secured to ensure the office was constructed as it had been envisaged. Numerous paintings of former Hogwarts’ Headmasters had to be commissioned, for those to be hung around the walls of the office, and various celestial objects, including a large telescope, were either created or purchased to fill the space, to match Dumbledore’s interests in astronomy. They also had to build the moving, spiral staircase, the Griffin Stairwell, that Harry steps into to get to Dumbledore’s office. The greenhouse for Professor Sprout’s Herbology class was another new set, although they had wanted to film in potentially one of the greenhouses at Kew Gardens, but on learning that air traffic would be a problem for them, they chose to build a set based on one of Kew’s actual greenhouses. The Weasley family home of The Burrow, a homely cottage-like building, was another new set, filled with whimsical, magical inventions, like a pan being cleaned, and moving knitting needles, which were all practical effects. The Burrow is also filled with little knick-knacks, to complement Mr. Weasley’s fascination with the Muggle world[16].

Sadly, a very tragic ending was about to unfold as Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets headed into the post-production stages. Richard Harris had been able to see out the filming of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in his role as Dumbledore, however, by August 2002, Harris was struggling with ill health. Columbus saw his health decline quite quickly after that, although Columbus did say Harris seemed in good spirits when he saw him in the hospital. After visiting him, Harris warned Columbus not to even think about replacing him as Dumbledore for the next film as he’d be back. Columbus said he’d never do that, and said he’d see him in a few weeks, however, sadly, as Columbus began editing Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets a few days later, he was shocked to discover that Harris had passed away, on 25^th October 2002 at the age of 72[17]. This meant that Dumbledore would have to be recast for the future films. Columbus did not even return for the third film, at least as director, as he decided he needed a break from directing the Harry Potter movies, passing them over to others to finish the rest of the series.

RECEPTION

An official premiere was held for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets on 3^rd November 2002 in London. This was soon followed by the film’s release to cinemas, on 15^th November 2002, in both the US and the UK, coming to international markets either around the same time, in the following few weeks, or within the first couple of months of 2003.

In the UK, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets had a high opening weekend, making around £9.8 million in its opening weekend in the country[18]. It made an estimated $87.7 million in its first three days of release in the US, making this the country’s third best opening of all time, behind May 2002’s Spider-Man, with $114.8 million, and Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’s $90.3 million. Across the world, the movie is said to have made $142 million in just those first three days. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was even in top position at the box office in eight other countries, including creating the highest openings ever in Taiwan and the Philippines[19].

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ended its run with a total worldwide gross of just under $880 million, in second place to the second film in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, which made a total of $923 million. Rounding out the rest of the Top Five were Spider-Man, with just under $805 million; Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, with $645 million, and Men in Black II, with a little over $440 million. This proves that studios even loved making sequels over two decades ago!

In comparison with the first film in the series, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets did not end up surpassing its predecessor. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone made around $975 million during its initial release, and did top the worldwide box office for 2001. But the figures weren’t too far apart, showing that Harry Potter had a bright future as a film franchise, even though this was only two movies into an expected seven movie series.

Looking at audience reviews, there were plenty of positive comments for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and it seemed to have a similar overall view by the public as the first one had received. Many commented that Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets felt the same as the first, in terms of both the story elements and the production value. This would’ve been due to the benefit of having continuity with the direction of the films as the first two were both directed by Christopher Columbus, as well as perhaps the two films being filmed so close together, with many of the same settings. This second film was also seen as staying quite faithful to the original book, something that the first film had been praised for as well. The story of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was said to have developed the overall story and the characters further, being considered scary, in a good way, with the finale battle between Harry, Tom Riddle, and the Basilisk a particular highlight. The special effects were received well too. For new characters, many of the actors performing these roles were highlighted, including Kenneth Branagh, who was a total scene-stealer as Lockhart, and Jason Isaacs, who was quietly menacing in his role as Lucius Malfoy. Fans of the Weasleys also appreciated a closer look at the family in this film too. The acting of the child actors was seen to have improved quite significantly between the first two films as well.

However, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was slightly longer in runtime than the first movie, and for some, it showed, with the story said to have dragged in places, and just generally being considered too long for a family-friendly film. There were also some who commented that Richard Harris seemed tired in this film, lacking the twinkle that Dumbledore had had in the first movie. I can’t say I noticed this to be honest; I just thought Dumbledore didn’t have as much of a role in the story here. These were likely retrospective reflections after Harris’ death. The other problem with Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was that you had to have seen the first to understand the sequel, because they waste no time in explaining what is going on; there’s too much to cover that this wouldn’t have been a good use of the runtime. There were also those who obviously didn’t like the first film for varying reasons, including that the book was stuck too closely to, or that Columbus had made the film too light and breezy, and since the first two films feel very similar, if you already didn’t like the first film, it was unlikely you’d like the second.

It also turns out that Dobby was quite a divisive character. I always liked Dobby; I thought he was funny in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and he was my favourite character from the film when I first watched it. However, some found him much too annoying, comparing him to Star Wars’ potentially most-hated character, Jar Jar Binks. Perhaps in both cases, the use of these characters for comic relief purposes took away from the story of their respective films? Or they were just generally irritating with their voices and appearances. I don’t know, but I should mention that I always liked Jar Jar Binks too – sorry!

In terms of awards, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone had turned out to be quite a surprise hit, even receiving three nominations at the Academy Awards for Art Direction, Costume Design, and Original Score, although it did not win in any of the categories. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ended up not being nominated at the Academy Awards for anything, this being only one of two Harry Potter films not to receive a single nomination here, but there were a few award wins and nominations for the sequel.

For example, the BAFTA Awards, seen to be kinder to the British film industry than some of the US academies, for obvious reasons, nominated Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in three categories: Best Production Design, Best Sound, and Best Special Visual Effects. There were no wins for Harry Potter at this ceremony though. Elsewhere, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets received six nominations at the Saturn Awards, including for Best Fantasy Film and Best Make-Up, losing out to The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers on both occasions; and Best Special Effects and Best Costumes, losing to Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones. Christopher Columbus and Daniel Radcliffe were both up for Best Direction and Best Performance by a Younger Actor, but also did not win.

A few other awards and nominations to mention include a win for Best Family Film at the Critics’ Choice Awards, alongside a nomination for Best Digital Acting Performance for Toby Jones as Dobby, which turned out to be a win for Andy Serkis’ portrayal of Lord of the Rings character Gollum. The same thing happened at the 2003 MTV Movie Awards. Sadly, Dobby was nominated in a much meaner ceremony, at the Stinkers Bad Movie Awards, for Most Annoying Non-Human Character. Luckily, he – and Jar Jar Binks – lost out to Scrappy-Doo in Scooby-Doo (2002)! Finally, I’ll just mention that Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was nominated for Favorite Movie at the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards – and lost to Austin Powers in Goldmember, which I thought was definitely not aimed at children!

LEGACY

It is common knowledge that as the Harry Potter movies were being made, J.K. Rowling was still publishing the rest of the series. By the time the first movie came out in 2001, only the first four books of an anticipated seven-book series had been published.

A little while after Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets came to our screens, the fifth book in the series, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, was published, in mid-2003. The publication date was announced in early 2003, with it being confirmed as 21^st June 2003, a Saturday so that children would not feel the need to miss school to be one of the first in line to purchase it! More than a third of million copies of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire had been sold on its first day of release in the summer of 2000, becoming the fastest-selling book in history at the time[20]. The release of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix then broke that record with its 2003 publication.

As well as the new novel being published, a computer game based on Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, with similar gameplay to the game based on the first film, was developed. Like the first Harry Potter game, I enjoyed playing this second one too. Plenty of merchandise and memorabilia for this first sequel have also been available to purchase over the years, including replicas of Tom Riddle’s diary with the Basilisk fang through it.

There was even a sketch created for the British charity Comic Relief which aired as part of its annual television broadcast in 2003 which parodied Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. It was created by Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders, who played Harry and Ron respectively. The sketch was humorously titled Harry Potter and the Secret Chamberpot of Azerbaijan. As well as recreating moments from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, including having Harry meet “Dobby”, who was being played by the beloved Basil Brush, a puppet for any non-British readers who may be unfamiliar with the character, and the flying car sequence with the Hogwarts Express, it was also made like a mockumentary, with the “actors”, including Jeremy Irons playing Alan Rickman/Snape, Ronnie Corbett, known for his small stature, playing Robbie Coltrane/Hagrid and Alison Steadman playing Maggie Smith/McGonagall, talking about how they’d rather be working on The Lord of the Rings, or not understanding how to act to allow for special effects. The sketch was simply poking fun at the films, which had already become huge successes both in Britain and around the world. J.K. Rowling took the parody in her stride by recording a mock introduction to the sketch, telling viewers not to watch because she had “nothing nice to say” about it.

The real legacy of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets though is that its success, and that of the first movie, allowed for the series to be continued in movie form, because had this second one not proved to be as relevant as the first, this may’ve been the end of the film series. It wouldn’t be the first time a movie series based on novels was halted partway through due to a lack of financial success – thank you, Divergent… It also introduced the viewers, those who had not read the books, to the evil that was set to come later in the series. It gave us plenty of clues for upcoming plot points, although we were not aware of this until a few films later when everything was tied together.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Stylistically, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets feel very similar. This is thanks to the strong vision of Christopher Columbus, who wanted to stick as close to J.K. Rowling’s books as he could, without making the films hours and hours long. Columbus successfully brought in elements of dark magic and evil wizards without making the films too dark and scary for the children that would be watching.

However, with an expected seven-movie series, and a quick turnaround between the first and second films, to allow them to be released within a year of each other, Columbus was rightly exhausted and decided not to commit to directing any further Harry Potter movie.

This allowed for the remaining films to be taken in a new direction, with an even darker tone. Voldemort had returned once again for the sequel, and it was only a matter of time before the past he’d never even known about was going to catch up to Harry Potter.

REFERENCES

[1] Credit: Martin Barber, ‘Harry Potter: ‘Percy Weasley changed my life’ says Chris Rankin’, BBC.co.uk, 22^nd November 2021.

[2] Credit: Zac Ntim, ‘Alan Cumming says he told ‘Harry Potter’ producers to ‘f— off’ after they asked him to audition for Professor Gilderoy Lockhart’, BusinessInsider.com, 9^th August 2021.

[3] Credit: ABC News ‘Kenneth Branagh Joins Second ‘Harry Potter’ Film’, ABCNews.com, 25^th October 2001.

[4] Credit: Veronica Vivona, ‘Jason Isaacs Wanted to Play Gilderoy Lockhart’, ScreenRant.com, 19^th October 2017.

[5] Credit: Warner Bros., ‘Conversation with J.K. Rowling and Steve Kloves (2003)’, from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) 11-Disc Blu-Ray Set (2011).

[6] Credit: Matthew Rudoy, ‘Harry Potter: 10 Differences Between The Chamber Of Secrets Book & The Movie’, ScreenRant.com, 21^st August 2020.

[7] Credit: Warner Bros., ‘Deleted/Extended Scenes’, from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) 11-Disc Blu-Ray Set (2011).

[8] Credit: Alnwick Castle, ‘Harry Potter at Alnwick Castle’, AlnwickCastle.com, date unknown.

[9] Credit: Visit Britain, ‘Visit Harry Potter filming locations’, VisitBritain.com, date unknown.

[10] Credit: BBC, ‘Harry Potter 20^th anniversary: The UK film locations’, BBC.co.uk, 20^th November 2021.

[11] Credit: Adam Markovitz, ‘Harry Potter: Casting the Spell’, EW.com, 1^st July 2011.

[12] Credit: Tamar Altebarmakian, ‘Secrets You Didn’t Know Behind The Making Of Harry Potter’, ScreenRant.com, 30^th January 2018.

[13] Credit: Alec Cawthorne, ‘Chris Columbus – Part Two Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets’, BBC.co.uk, 28^th October 2014.

[14] Credit: HBO Max, ‘Harry Potter 20^th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts (2022).

[15] Credit; Warner Bros., ‘Creature Effects: Basilisk’, WBStudioTour.co.uk, date unknown.

[16] Credit: Warner Bros., ‘Behind Hogwarts: Building a Scene’, from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) 11-Disc Blu-Ray Set (2011).

[17] Credit: Lexy Perez, ‘‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’ Turns 20: Director Chris Columbus Reflects on Pressures to Adapt Book and Hopes to Direct ‘Cursed Child’’, HollywoodReporter.com, 11^th November 2021.

[18] Credit: BBC, ‘Potter conjures up box office record’, News.BBC.co.uk, 18^th November 2002.

[19] Credit: The Guardian, ‘Potter breaks UK box office records’, TheGuardian.com, 18^th November 2002.

[20] Credit: BBC News, ‘June debut for Potter latest’, News.BBC.co.uk, 10^th February 2003.

6th Feb 20266th Feb 2026 by The Disney Purist

Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure (2011)

BACKGROUND

By 2011, it was probably fair to say that the majority of teenagers who had watched the High School Musical trilogy as each movie premiered were drifting away from Disney Channel.

My older sister was not really watching the channel by this point, and I was starting to give up with it, for a few reasons. One was that I was about to head off to university, knowing that I wouldn’t be able to access it for much of the year, so I had to wean myself off it. Another was that there wasn’t much programming I was interested in anymore. Sonny with a Chance (2009-11) was about to end with its second and final season; it was quite clear that a Camp Rock 3 wasn’t going to be happening any time soon; and I’d given up waiting for an expected fourth High School Musical movie, that would feature the new characters from High School Musical 3: Senior Year. Not that I’d really wanted that to happen.

So, it seemed strange to me when all of a sudden, Disney Channel announced that they were making a High School Musical spin-off, all about Sharpay. As Sharpay is my favourite High School Musical character, you’d probably assume that I would’ve been excited to see Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure. However, I was not. I did not watch it on its Disney Channel premiere and I have never owned it on DVD. I think I decided that it was unlikely that the rest of the High School Musical cast would appear in this Sharpay film, and without them, I felt that Sharpay’s character would struggle to show her true dynamism, because she would normally bounce off the other Wildcats and their differing personalities.

I turned out to be right. The cast did not make a return for any sort of reunion here, and Sharpay was very different – not in a good way. I’d initially attempted to watch Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure a few years after it came out, on the precursor to Disney+, the streaming service DisneyLife, and then again when Disney+ officially came to the UK. On both occasions, I made it only about 15 or 20 minutes into the film.

Now that I have finally watched the movie in full, I can safely say that I did not miss out on anything. The original songs were not comparable to High School Musical’s songs, as they were mostly used for rehearsals and audition pieces for the Broadway musical within the film, and Sharpay had definitely changed, reminding me more of London Tipton from The Suite Life of Zack & Cody (2005-08). Sharpay was not the Sharpay I had known and loved from the High School Musical trilogy, and I was not happy to see that.

PLOT

Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure starts with a musical performance, by Sharpay Evans and her dog, Boi. It is complete with lighting, staging, backup dancers, and an adoring audience.

After the show, we see that Sharpay was performing as part of the Albuquerque Benefit for the Arts annual fundraiser. She walks past the crowd of people, who congratulate her on her performance, and meets up with her parents. Sharpay is soon introduced to Jerry Taylor, a casting agent for a Broadway musical, with young starlet Amber Lee Adams in the lead role. He says he has the perfect part and would love to set up an audition. Excited, Sharpay talks to her father about the opportunity, only to discover that he doesn’t feel she’s ready to go to New York City and be in a musical. He says after she graduated from East High, she has done nothing for a year; despite claiming she wanted time to find herself. Sharpay is annoyed but plans to show her father she can handle it.

With the help of her group of friends, the Sharpettes, Sharpay gets a luxury apartment, flights, and the audition all booked for her trip to NYC. She then presents all this to her parents. After the presentation, Sharpay’s dad still isn’t sure, but her mother says her friend’s son is at New York University, so he can look out for Sharpay whilst she’s in the city. Suitably guilted into this, Sharpay’s father agrees to let her go to New York, and he’ll pay for her apartment – but this is for one month and one month only. If nothing comes from her month in NYC, then she’ll have to come home and work at their country club.

Sharpay heads to New York, determined to get her start on Broadway, because the thought of working at the country club is too much to bear! Sharpay arrives at her penthouse apartment, being greeted by the building manager, and very much likes what she sees. However, Boi comes out of a bag, shocking the building manager who says dogs aren’t allowed in the building. Sharpay, for some reason thinking she can sway the decision, says either they both stay, or they both go – so they are both kicked out!

Not knowing what to do, and not wanting to ask her father for help, otherwise she’ll be ordered to come back home, Sharpay sits on her mound of pink luggage on the side of the street… A little while later, a guy walks by her and starts filming her. Sharpay thinks he must be the paparazzi, but she soon discovers this guy is just a film student at the university. He introduces himself as Peyton, realising that this girl must be his mother’s friend’s daughter that he was on the way to meet. Sharpay confesses her apartment plans have fallen through, but luckily, Peyton knows of an empty studio in his building. It’s Sharpay’s only real option so she goes to the apartment, getting Peyton to lug all her cases over there.

On arriving at the building, Sharpay is horrified. The building is not up to her standards. She also discovers there is no elevator here, so again, Peyton has to haul all her luggage up the stairs. Finally, they get to the right floor. Sharpay opens the door to this studio apartment with a bag on her hand – because, poor people germs – and is shocked to find a tiny room that isn’t particularly clean or well-furnished. It even has a pull-down bed, which Sharpay describes as a closet with a tongue! Peyton says it might not be much, but the best thing about it is that the window to his apartment is right across from hers. That doesn’t do much to persuade Sharpay – but it’s either this, or accept defeat and go back to Albuquerque. She begs Peyton not to tell his mother about this. He agrees to keep it secret.

To try and cheer Sharpay up, Peyton takes her around the city, starting with a visit to a theatre, where he has Sharpay stand up on stage to know what it will feel like when she’s starring on Broadway. Peyton opens up and says he also had to adapt when he came to New York. Holding onto his dream kept him focused whilst in the city. They then explore the rest of New York, where Sharpay comes face-to-face with cockroaches and hot dogs, apparently for the first time ever! She also walks past a store that specialises in all things pink. This gives her an idea to decorate her studio and make it more “Sharpay”. By the end of the day, Sharpay is a little bit more settled and comfortable. She says goodnight to Boi, but struggles with that Murphy bed, as it tilts upright whilst she is trying to sleep.

The next morning, Sharpay is ready for her audition. Peyton asks to go with her so he can film her journey to stardom. At the theatre, she is told to prepare a song from the musical for an audition tomorrow, but when she is asked to make sure that Boi is perfectly groomed and has taken care of any “business” prior to the audition, Sharpay gets confused. She is told that the audition is for her dog, not for her! Since the musical is called A Girl’s Best Friend, and the girl has already been cast, it was believed that Sharpay would’ve known this. She didn’t. Sharpay storms out of the theatre, furious, but Peyton tells her go to ahead with Boi’s audition, because it could be Boi’s big chance. Sharpay agrees this would be best, only because if Boi gets famous, then she can be a star too!

The following day, Sharpay performs the audition song with Boi and the casting panel love it. Sharpay thinks it’s a done deal; however, they have one more audition set up. This audition is with a young boy called Roger Ellison III and his spaniel Countess, who apparently already has a list of Broadway acting credits. Sharpay has to admit his audition is pretty good, but doesn’t see how it could outdo hers. The lead actress of the musical, Amber Lee Adams, then arrives and says she loved both auditions, so they’ll have no choice but to try both dogs out during rehearsals. Sharpay accepts this, although Roger warns Sharpay to give up now or be heartbroken later when her dog doesn’t get the part. Sharpay isn’t scared and leaves the theatre. As the pair’s dogs are separated, they look longingly at each other. The dogs have fallen in love at first sight. Puppy love, how sweet.

After some late-night rehearsing at her apartment, Sharpay and Boi return to the theatre the next morning ready to show what they’re made of. The first scene being rehearsed is the girl getting ready to go off to New York, deciding to take her beloved dog with her. Amber Lee works with both dogs; Boi hands her a boarding pass, whilst Countess comes out of a dog carrier. They are both doing a decent job, although it soon becomes clear that Amber Lee is a terrible actress! Feeling there isn’t enough separating the dogs from each other, Roger decides it is the perfect time for sabotage. He rubs raw chicken on Amber Lee’s shoes – gross – which makes Boi lick her shoes constantly during a scene. He is promptly replaced by Countess for the next scene. Sharpay knows Roger must have done something, so she blows a dog whistle during the next rehearsal to get Countess to dance around when she isn’t meant to. Roger then releases a cat into the theatre and Boi chases it. With the rehearsals a disaster, the dogs are taken away for naps, and Roger tells Sharpay to give up again. She won’t. We also see that Amber Lee isn’t as sweet as she seems, as she tells the dogs not to upstage her. Weird.

Later that day, Sharpay gets a video call from her father. Panicking about where to take it, she is told to sit in Peyton’s window as he has a good view of the city skyline from there, so her father won’t know anything is wrong. With only two weeks left, Sharpay hides what it is really going from her father, who once again, tells her that if it doesn’t work out there, she’ll have to come home. Sharpay decides she needs some sort of advantage…

Strangely enough, as Sharpay goes to speak with Amber Lee, she sees Amber Lee’s assistant leaving the theatre. Amber Lee fired her assistant over something trivial, but she tells Sharpay that her assistant has just quit, leaving her in the lurch. Sharpay immediately volunteers to be Amber Lee’s temporary assistant, believing this will be enough to get her dog cast over Roger’s, because if the star likes her, then she’ll pick her dog, right? Sharpay is asked to get the sound engineer to look over Amber Lee’s mic as it is hurting her scalp. Sharpay goes over to him, and he tells Sharpay she’s hot. It turns out he’s referring to her mic, which is live, and that the whole theatre just heard Sharpay talking about Amber Lee’s scalp and how it must be her shampoo causing problems, not the mic. Embarrassing.

Sharpay soon learns that being Amber Lee’s assistant isn’t going to be easy, as she gets a call in the middle of the night to come to Amber Lee’s apartment. There, she finds that this was a test to see how loyal Sharpay was to her – and because she wanted help getting a bag down from a high shelf. The random tasks keep on coming from Amber Lee, and Sharpay struggles to keep up, but knows she must if Boi is going to get that part. Things get progressively worse for Sharpay when Amber Lee claims her maid just quit and asks Sharpay to do chores around her apartment, like cleaning toilets. Amber Lee promises that if Sharpay does this for her, then Boi will probably get the part, so she heads off to get it done.

Back at rehearsals, Roger is made aware of some changes for the next rehearsal and is asked to communicate them to Sharpay. He says he will, but actually just throws the rewritten script away. When it is time for Boi to rehearse, he obviously does something wrong, and Amber Lee shouts at him, shocking the cast. Sharpay realises Roger was behind it, and accuses him of sabotaging again. They then find that both their dogs have gone missing from the theatre. They immediately head out into the city to find them, and Sharpay calls Peyton to help. It turns out the dogs are just exploring the city together, taking carriage rides and walking in the park together. As Sharpay and Roger are running around looking for Boi and Countess, she ignores a call from her father, and then sees Peyton with the dogs, as they both came back to the apartment. Peyton reveals to Sharpay that the dogs are obviously in love. He also tells Sharpay that she has completely changed since she became Amber Lee’s assistant and doesn’t see how she is being manipulated. Sharpay tells Peyton she has to do this to make Boi a star, and tells him he’s not being supportive.

The next day, Amber Lee orders Sharpay to invite all her fan club to a preview of the show, and to sign more photographs of her for them. After Sharpay overhears Amber Lee arguing with the director and the writer of the musical, demanding the dogs be written out of the show, so it can be fully focused on her, Sharpay starts to realise Peyton was right. To top it all off, Sharpay hears Amber Lee laughing at her too, calling her “an obsessed fan”. Feeling hopeless and depressed, she goes back to her apartment, where she passes Peyton. She says that he was right about everything, and tearfully says she should just go home. Peyton tells her that she will be famous. Sharpay says she needs to fight for it first.

At the theatre on the day of the preview, Sharpay tells Roger that Amber Lee doesn’t want the dogs in the show, and asks him to join her in getting revenge, so they can show everyone watching what Amber Lee is really like. He agrees. As Sharpay pretends to still be Amber Lee’s assistant, she announces to Sharpay that Countess will be performing in this show, because Sharpay wasn’t there for her earlier in the day. Sharpay says there are no hard feelings, and hugs her, turning Amber Lee’s mic on before walking away.

As the show is about to get started, Roger sends both the dogs to Amber Lee. Not wanting the dogs anywhere near her, she starts yelling at them, and yelling to the crew to get the dogs away from her. Sharpay then gets the stage curtain pulled up, so it can be confirmed to all the audience that it was in fact Amber Lee ranting at the dogs. She is booed by her own fan club. Sharpay then calls Amber Lee out on behaviour. Not liking this at all, Amber Lee promptly quits the show. The director fires Sharpay for her outburst and rushes to Amber Lee, to convince her to change her mind. Roger wants to quit the show too, but Sharpay tells him he should continue on.

Back at the apartment, Sharpay packs up all her belongings to head back to Albuquerque, knowing she failed in her dream. Peyton says she still has eight hours left of her father’s one-month deadline, but Sharpay doesn’t think anything can change. She is called to the theatre to pick up her last few belongings. There, she discovers that the production is being cancelled as Amber Lee would not reconsider. Peyton then uses this as an opportunity to show the cast and crew how good Sharpay is. He plays footage he recorded of Sharpay rehearsing a song from the musical with Boi. The director and the writer are stunned by her talent, and believe Sharpay taking the lead role can keep the show alive. Sharpay is surprised to find that they really want her for the part, and she agrees to it, but only if both Boi and Countess share the role of the dog. Sharpay starts to panic that she isn’t going to be good enough, but Peyton calms her down and the two kiss.

On her opening night, Peyton and Sharpay’s parents sit in the audience as Sharpay wows the crowd with her performance. Sharpay becomes famous overnight, showing that her dream of becoming a Broadway star really did come true.

This is where Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure ends in the Disney+ version of the film, and seemingly on the DVD release too, however, there is an extended scene in the End Credits, which played during its Disney Channel showings. In this scene, Ryan and Sharpay sing “What I’ve Been Looking For”, from High School Musical, through the door of her apartment. Ryan then comes in and the two do their old warm-up routine, also from the first film. Ryan congratulates Sharpay on her success, and Sharpay congratulates him on his, as Ryan is in a touring production of a musical. Sharpay is very happy with her life, even her apartment, which Ryan thinks is cute. As the two sit on Sharpay’s bed to chat, Boi runs off so Sharpay chases after him. Ryan is left on the bed alone, which flips up. The scene ends with Ryan asking for some help in getting out of there.

CHARACTERS & CAST

In Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure, Sharpay seems to have settled for staying in Albuquerque and being a local star, putting on performances at her parents’ country club. It’s not until she gets noticed by a casting agent that Sharpay seems to think about becoming a Broadway star, even though she had done all through school. Despite her father not thinking she is prepared to go to New York City to live out her dream, Sharpay is determined and convinces her father to let her try. But Sharpay finds that even the best-laid plans go awry, as she finds herself without a luxury apartment – and without an audition, when she realises it was actually her pet dog, Boi, that the casting agent was interested in! However, Sharpay doesn’t let this slow her down and decides to make sure Boi gets the part, even if it means competing with another strong candidate and dealing with an outrageous diva in the starring role. Sharpay learns throughout her time in New York the importance of humbleness and hard work as she fights to get her chance, and it all works out for her. Not only does she get to star in a Broadway musical, but she even finds love on the way.

Ashley Tisdale returned to her role as Sharpay Evans from the High School Musical franchise after almost three years away. Since her time acting on Disney Channel, Tisdale has been an executive producer on some Disney projects, such as the DCOM Cloud 9 (2014) and the ABC series Young & Hungry (2014-18). She also continued to voice Candace in Phineas and Ferb (2007-15) after this film, returning to voice Candace in Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the Universe (2020), and later, the 2025 reboot of the series. In more recent years, Tisdale was cast as Kayla in the Netflix series Merry Happy Whatever (2019), and was a panellist on The Masked Dancer (2020-21). She also voiced Stariana in Nickelodeon’s animated TV movie Baby Shark’s Big Movie! (2023).

Starring alongside her as her pet Terrier Boi were actually two dogs called Howie and Herbie. This was a change from Boi being played by High School Musical director Kenny Ortega’s dog Manly, who had been Boi in the second and third films.

Peyton Leverett is the son of one of Sharpay’s mother’s friends. He is a film student studying at New York University, and he has been tasked with keeping an eye on Sharpay and looking out for her during her time in the city. He actually meets her on the street just after Sharpay has been kicked out of her apartment, and films her – without permission – because he believes her story in the city could be his next film project. Peyton quickly finds Sharpay an apartment to stay in, right next to his, and even though it does not match up to her standards, she agrees to take it, not wanting to tell her father she has “failed”. Peyton follows Sharpay throughout her time with Boi’s audition and rehearsals, camera in hand, and although they have a falling out over Sharpay’s attitude, Peyton comes to the rescue as he shows the musical director and writer a video of Sharpay rehearsing a song from the musical with Boi, making them decide she is perfect to take over the lead. Peyton is the down-to-earth, patient guy that Sharpay needed in her life.

Austin Butler was cast as Peyton Leverett, having previously appeared in both Disney Channel and Nickelodeon series, including in the recurring role of James Garrett in Season 4 of Zoey 101 (2005-08) for Nickelodeon. After Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure, Butler appeared as Wilke in Freeform’s Switched at Birth (2011-17), and starred as Sebastian Kydd in The CW series The Carrie Diaries (2013-14). From this point, Butler has had various roles in major Blockbuster movies, such as playing Tex Watson in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019), which starred Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, and Margot Robbie, before achieving worldwide success by portraying Elvis Presley in the 2022 Baz Luhrmann film Elvis, a role that Butler was so determined to get right that it has seemingly changed his voice for ever! More recently, Butler was also cast as Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen in Dune: Part Two (2024) and is soon set to star in crime film Enemies alongside Jeremy Allen White.

Roger Ellison III turns out to be Sharpay’s surprise rival in the musical, as he is also auditioning with his dog for a role in the show. His dog, Countess, is much more decorated than Boi, and Roger knows it, feeling quite confident that Countess will get the part. When she doesn’t, Roger tries everything to get Sharpay and Boi either to quit or get fired, even resorting to sabotage, which does nothing to dissuade Sharpay and only starts a tit for tat between the two, ruining rehearsals for everyone. When both their dogs go missing, Roger and Sharpay put their differences aside for that one moment, realising they both love their dogs, with the fear of what has happened bonding the two. They don’t spend anymore time sabotaging each other, and actually end up coming together to get Amber Lee fired, after Sharpay tells Roger that Amber Lee doesn’t want either of their dogs in the show. Their plan works and Amber Lee quits, but when Sharpay gets fired, Roger doesn’t feel it is fair to continue in the show without her. Sharpay tells Roger to stay in the show, so he does – until the show is set to be cancelled. Sharpay later gets the lead role, keeping the show in production, and her character growth is shown when she uses this opportunity to give both Boi and Countess a shot at stardom, by ensuring both dogs share the roles, which I’m sure Roger is very grateful for, given the difficult rivalry they faced at the start.

Bradley Steven Perry was cast as Roger. He had recently become a Disney Channel household name thanks to his role as Gabe in their series Good Luck Charlie (2010-14), reprising the role for another 2011 DCOM, the movie Good Luck Charlie It’s Christmas (2011). After getting his starring role on Good Luck Charlie, he went on to have lead roles in two further Disney Channel series. These were Mighty Med (2013-15) and Lab Rats: Elite Force (2016) where he played Kaz. Perry also voiced the character of Zevon, son of Yzma, in Season 2 of Descendants: Wicked World (2015-17). Outside of Disney, he was cast in the recurring role of Alec Raday in Schooled (2019-20) and now has a successful YouTube Channel featuring cooking videos, and a podcast called The Sit and Chat Podcast which Perry hosts alongside fellow former Disney Channel star, Jake Short. Roger’s dog, Countess, was played by a spaniel called Ginger[1].

Amber Lee Adams is the up-and-coming starlet who is cast in the lead role in the musical A Girl’s Best Friend. She initially seems friendly, as she praises both Roger and Sharpay for their dogs’ auditions, and the only thing against her is that she isn’t a good actress. However, we soon discover that Amber Lee is actually a complete diva, with temper tantrums and excessive demands of her staff, and that she seems to hate dogs, at least the two who could upstage her musical performance. Amber Lee also manipulates Sharpay into doing things for her, making Sharpay think that if she just does this one task for her, then she’ll get Boi the starring role, but these only add up over time, so Amber Lee gets all the power. Sharpay tires of Amber Lee’s behaviour and sets about getting her revenge in the best way, by showing Amber Lee’s true colours to get even her fans to turn against her. It works, and Amber Lee quits the show, not liking being humiliated by someone as lowly as Sharpay. Who knows where her career went after that!

Amber Lee was played by Cameron Goodman, who went on to be cast in the recurring role of Bree in Season 4 of the teen drama series 90210 (2008-13), the remake of the 90s series Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990-2000).

Then we have the director of the musical, Gill Samms, and the writer, Neal Roberts. Both of them don’t seem to have much authority in the show, despite their job titles, as they can’t make a simple decision over whether to cast Boi or Countess, and seem to bow to pressure from Amber Lee on numerous occasions. They clearly want to put on a brilliant show, but perhaps they have a lack of experience, at least in dealing with difficult actors, because they should know that no star is bigger than the show. Instead of grovelling to Amber Lee after she leaves, they should’ve been glad to have her quit, and probably should’ve fired her way before that – like when she tries to undermine them both by getting the dogs rewritten out of a musical all about a girl and her dog!

Alec Mapa was cast as Gill. Mapa had previously been cast in the recurring role of Suzuki St. Pierre in the comedy-drama Ugly Betty (2006-10) for ABC. He also played Renzo in the series Switched at Birth. In more recent years, he played Mr. Tennyson in the Disney Channel series The Villains of Valley View (2022-23). Jack Plotnick was cast as Neal Roberts. Plotnick appeared in the recurring role of Barrett from Season 3 of Ellen DeGeneres’ sitcom Ellen (1994-98). Plotnick later guest starred in various Disney Channel series, including Wizards of Waverly Place (2007-12); and Shake It Up (2010-13). More recently, Plotnick was cast as Paul in the Netflix series Grace and Frankie (2015-22).

There is also Jerry Taylor, the casting agent who Sharpay first meets at the fundraiser that Sharpay performs at. Jerry doesn’t give any hint that it is actually Sharpay’s dog that he wants to audition, as Boi was only in a very small part of Sharpay’s number that day, so it is no wonder that she didn’t understand that it was her dog who was the talented one Jerry was talking about and not her! Jerry seems embarrassed when Sharpay comes to the realisation that she isn’t getting an audition, believing that Sharpay would’ve understood that, given that he had told her the musical title, who was leading it, and the fact that “man’s best friend” is a well-known reference to dogs. Clearly, Jerry didn’t know how self-absorbed Sharpay can be, and really should’ve been very precise with what he meant.

Jerry Taylor was played by Pat Mastroianni, who is perhaps best known for his role as Joey Jeremiah in the Canadian television franchise Degrassi, starring in three different series: Degrassi Junior High (1987-89), where he won a Gemini Award for Best Performance by a Lead Actor in a Continuing Dramatic Role; Degrassi High (1989-91); and Degrassi: The Next Generation (2001-15), for its first few seasons.

Finally, we get a few returning characters from the High School Musical franchise, such as the Sharpettes, who we first meet in High School Musical 2 (2007), however, those friends from that film either annoyed Sharpay and she dumped them, or they moved away, because she has a new set of three friends this time: Tiffany, Dena, and Lupe. The three Sharpettes only appear for one sequence, and that is when they are tasked with organising everything for Sharpay’s trip to New York City, whilst she goes to the spa and shops for new clothes. Tiffany is told to set up an apartment, but fails to check if the building allows dogs. Big mistake. Dena books flights, which seemingly are fine, because Sharpay does arrive in the city, whilst Lupe sets up Sharpay’s audition, however, it is not made clear at this point that the audition is actually for Boi and not Sharpay. So, really, only Dena does her job properly, so Sharpay might want to consider rehiring for the other two girls in her group!

Lauren Collins was cast as Tiffany. Collins is best known for her role as Paige Michalchuk in the Canadian teen series Degrassi: The Next Generation, returning to play the role in other editions of the Degrassi television franchise. She had also been cast as Alexa in the ABC Family film Picture This (2008), which starred Ashley Tisdale, prior to her role in Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure. She recently appeared as Alma in the Netflix film Frankenstein (2025). Shadia Ali was cast as Dena. She went on to be cast as Xannan Suleman in the Canadian political and crime drama Shoot the Messenger (2016). Alessandra Cannito was cast as Lupe. She had previously been cast as Elizabeth in the Disney Channel Original Movie Jump In! (2007).

Robert Curtis Brown and Jessica Tuck also make a return to the High School Musical franchise with their roles as Mr. and Mrs. Evans in Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure. In High School Musical 2, Mr. Evans is shown to spoil his daughter Sharpay, giving her everything she could wish for, whereas Mrs. Evans is slightly harsher with Sharpay, not letting her change her decision about hiring the Wildcats. Yet in Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure, Mr. Evans seems to have realised that his daughter is not equipped for the real world and needs to get a grip on reality and get a job, so she doesn’t just spend all day shopping and singing to herself. Mr. Evans rightly says that Sharpay should only get a month in New York City to prove herself, otherwise she’ll have to come back and work at the country club, but it is quite a harsh move from him after seeing his character in High School Musical 2. Mrs. Evans’ big contribution to this story is setting Sharpay up with Peyton. Peyton is told to keep an eye on Sharpay whilst in the city, and this seems to a big factor in Mr. Evans choosing to let her go. The two later come to New York to watch their daughter in A Girl’s Best Friend, showing they are proud and supportive of their daughter’s dream.

Lucas Grabeel also makes a brief reappearance as Sharpay’s twin brother Ryan in Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure. His reappearance is only in the extended edition of the film, and is shown during the end credits. It is only about two minutes long as well, so any big fans of Ryan will have likely be very disappointed with this cameo. I also found it to be a bit awkward, like the two didn’t know how to speak to each other anymore. Whether that was to do with the actors, I’m not sure, but it could’ve just been that Ryan and Sharpay were at different stages of their lives, and perhaps hadn’t seen each other much, so it was all quite polite. But it was good to hear that Ryan was involved in a touring musical production.

MUSIC

Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure is technically a musical, as it features four original songs, however, these are used for performances and audition pieces, although they do still relate to Sharpay’s emotions and inner thoughts at that point in the story.

The first song we see being performed by Sharpay is “I’m Gonna Shine”, as part of the local fundraiser. This is the very first sequence in the movie, so we get to see Sharpay doing what she does best right from the start. It showcases Sharpay’s impressive level of self-confidence, and how she is determined to be a star. To be honest, I didn’t particularly like any of the songs in Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure, but “I’m Gonna Shine” was the best one for me. This song was written by Randy Petersen, Kevin Quinn, and Tim Heintz, and was performed by Ashley Tisdale as Sharpay Evans. Petersen and Quinn had both written songs for the High School Musical films prior to this.

Following on from that, Sharpay then performs the song “My Boi and Me” as part of her audition with Boi for his part in the musical A Girl’s Best Friend. It is a cheesy, musical theatre number, and that was probably the point because this in-movie musical definitely seems very cheesy! I don’t like this song at all, and I find it odd that, in an audition for a dog’s part, the song chosen very much showcases the owner’s singing ability. It’s another showy piece from Sharpay, and there isn’t any need for it, apart from the fact Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure is a musical and is all about Sharpay. “My Boi and Me” was written by Matthew Tishler and Amy Powers, and was performed by Tisdale.

Because this song was an audition piece, another version of this song follows soon after, as it is performed, as “My Girl and Me”, with the word “Boi” just being substituted for “girl”, by Roger and his dog, Countess. It isn’t improved on at all in this reprise, and actually, it sounds auto-tuned, which is very off-putting. “My Girl and Me” was not performed by Bradley Steven Perry, despite him being cast as Roger. It was sung by Shawn Molko.

The remaining two original songs don’t appear until close to the end of the film. One of these is “New York’s Best Kept Secret”, which was a rehearsal piece that Sharpay performed with Boi to train him up for the show. On this occasion, Peyton recorded this private rehearsal, which was handy, because after the musical gets put on hold when Amber Lee quits, and they need a new lead, Peyton just shows this rehearsal to the director, the writer, and the cast and crew. They are so impressed they immediately hire Sharpay in the lead role. This is a slower, heartfelt song that Sharpay wouldn’t normally perform; she likes big, loud, busy, jazzy numbers usually. The song is all about how the singer just needs to be discovered so she can show everyone how good she is, mimicking Sharpay’s story at this point in the film. “New York’s Best Kept Secret” was performed by Tisdale, and was written by David Lawrence and Faye Greenberg. Lawrence and Greenberg had both written songs for the High School Musical franchise previously.

The final song is used for the final sequence of Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure, as it is the opening number of A Girl’s Best Friend, with Sharpay performing the lead for the first time in front of a live studio audience. This number is “The Rest of My Life”, and it is a wholly positive song, about how the character is so excited to have finally achieved her dream on Broadway and hopes that the success will continue forever. The song was performed by Tisdale, and written by Matthew Tishler and Amy Powers. This song wasn’t terrible.

Matthew Tishler and Amy Powers had not written any music for the High School Musical trilogy; however, they went on to write songs for Disney Channel after this. Tishler contributed songs to ZOMBIES (2018) and ZOMBIES 4: Dawn of the Vampires (2025), as well as for other movies like Descendants 3 (2019) and series like High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (2019-23). Tishler and Powers both wrote the songs “Best Summer Ever” for Teen Beach 2 (2015) and “I Got My Scream On” for Girl vs. Monster (2012).

There are three other songs that appear on the soundtrack, although these are not original songs unique to this film. Two are playing during montages. In the first montage, of Sharpay and Peyton walking around New York City as he shows her around, a cover of the song “Walking on Sunshine” is used. This song was originally written by Kimberly Rew for the British rock band Katrina and the Waves’ 1983 album. In Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure, it was performed by pop duo Aly & AJ, who were signed to Disney’s recording label at the time, but also had acting careers on the channel, such as in the DCOM Cow Belles (2006).

The other montage is when Countess and Boi run off from the theatre so they can go on a date in the city together, which is…random. This song is a cover of Justin Bieber’s “Baby”, originally written by Justin Bieber himself; Ludacris, who was a featured artist on the original track; Christina Milian; The-Dream; and Christopher Stewart, and was released as the lead single on his 2010 album My World 2.0. Lucas Grabeel performs it here.

The end credits song is actually “Fabulous (Remix)”, which is, as you’d expect, a remix of Sharpay’s big number in High School Musical 2, therefore, it is performed by both Ashley Tisdale and Lucas Grabeel again. “Fabulous” was originally written by David Lawrence and Greenberg. “Fabulous” also appears in a jazzy instrumental form at other times during the film, just to really highlight that this is Sharpay’s story.

All eight of these songs feature on the official soundtrack for the movie, which was released on 19^th April 2011. Some editions of the soundtrack also contained bonus tracks which are all songs performed by Sharpay in the previous High School Musical films.

Another High School Musical song to make an appearance in Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure is “What I’ve Been Looking For”, which Ryan and Sharpay sing to each other when he arrives at her apartment to congratulate her on her Broadway success. This is in the extended scene that plays during the end credits. It was performed by Tisdale and Grabeel, and the song was written by Andy Dodd and Adam Watts

There is also an instrumental song that appears during the montage of Sharpay doing Amber Lee’s household chores. This is “The Can-Can”, originally composed by Offenbach. The version used in Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure was not credited.

The composer of the score for Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure was George S. Clinton. He had previously worked on the music for a few other Disney films, including The Santa Clause 2 (2002) and The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006), and was the composer for the DCOM ZOMBIES (2018). Clinton then co-composed the score with Amit May Cohen for the 2020 and 2022 ZOMBIES sequels.

PRODUCTION

After the success of High School Musical, the two sequels came thick and fast. We got a High School Musical every year from 2006 to 2008. It wasn’t a long time that the movie franchise was actually around for, but it had captured the attentions of people all around the world over those three short years. However, without anything new coming soon after High School Musical 3: Senior Year, the popularity of the franchise wasn’t going to sustain itself.

So, it may’ve come as a surprise to some, including me, when rumours started going around in early 2010 that a new High School Musical movie was coming, that was going to be all about Sharpay’s life after East High. Production on the film was confirmed around June that year, as the main cast were announced, along with the name of the director, and the names of the songwriters who would be writing new original songs for the film. The announcement also stated that the film’s Disney Channel premiere was expected in 2011[2].

There was some discussion about whether Vanessa Hudgens would be making a cameo as Gabriella Montez in Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure as this new the film was being talked about, especially after Hudgens stated that she would be interested in making a cameo in the film if she was asked[3]. It is unclear if Hudgens didn’t appear in the film because she wasn’t asked or was simply too busy, which was what Tisdale stated later on. For whatever reason, Lucas Grabeel was the former Wildcat to make a cameo appearance as Sharpay’s brother Ryan, which I think makes much more sense than Gabriella showing up. Hudgens did make an appearance at the official “pink carpet” premiere of the movie though, on 6^th April 2011, as did another High School Musical cast member: Zac Efron.

Michael Lembeck was confirmed as the director of Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure, having already had some experience working for Disney, directing The Santa Clause 2 and The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, for example. He had also recently directed the family-friendly comedy film Tooth Fairy (2010), which starred Dwayne Johnson, around this time. Lembeck also directed some episodes of the sitcom Friends (1994-2004) prior to this, even winning an Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for the episode “The One After the Superbowl”. More recently, Lembeck directed the majority of the episodes of the Freeform sitcom Baby Daddy (2012-17).

Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure was written by Robert Horn. Around this time, Horn was known for his work on the musical 13, which debuted on Broadway in 2008, and for co-writing the Disney Channel movie The Suite Life Movie (2011). Horn went on to co-write the Disney Channel musical Teen Beach Movie (2013) and contributed to the story of its sequel. Horn has since co-written further stage musical adaptations, such as Tootsie, where he won the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical with David Yazbek in 2019, and Hercules, adapted from Disney Animation’s 1997 film, with Kwame Kwei-Armah, which opened on London’s West End in the summer of 2025. Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure is obviously also based on the characters from High School Musical, created by Peter Barsocchini.

Despite Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure being set in both Albuquerque and then New York City, neither area was used for the filming of this movie. Instead, production was actually based in Toronto, Canada. Many Disney Channel movies have been filmed in Canada, including the original Descendants trilogy. It wasn’t even the first Disney movie to have been filmed in Canada, but that is partially set in New York City. One other is Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (2004), which starred Lindsay Lohan and Megan Fox[4]. It has been said that Sharpay’s house was the same mansion to appear in Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, as the home of mean girl, Carla Santini. However, I cannot find any conclusive evidence of this, as there are few shots of the mansion in Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure and they don’t show much. If it is the same mansion, then it is situated in the city of Mississauga in the Greater Toronto Area.

Another filming location is the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres, this being the main theatre space where Sharpay and Boi spend much of their time auditioning and rehearsing for the musical. We get to see both the interior of the theatre, and the exterior, decorated with posters and adverting for A Girl’s Best Friend. Outside of that, the rest of Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure is mostly filmed on the streets, or inside apartment sets, made to be bright pink and “fabulous” to match Sharpay and her pink, sparkly costumes.

The production designer on Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure was Mark Hofeling, the production designer on the previous High School Musical films. The costume designer here was Natalie Bronfman, although Tom McKinley is specifically credited as the costumer designer for Sharpay. McKinley had been the costumer designer for High School Musical and High School Musical 2, where he would’ve worked with Ashley Tisdale previously, but also worked on various other DCOMs including Den Brother (2010) and Cloud 9 (2014).

RECEPTION

Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure was released on DVD and Blu-Ray on 19^th April 2011. This was the first opportunity for viewers to watch this High School Musical spin-off.

To really entice people into purchasing this film, which many would’ve been expecting a later Disney Channel premiere for, the film was released with extras like bloopers and behind-the-scenes footage. There was even a 3-Disc Combo Pack Superset available to buy, which included Blu-Ray, DVD, and Digital copies, plus a pink clutch purse, though how many people actually used this purse for anything useful, I have no idea.

Those who hadn’t fallen for Disney’s tactic of trying to coax you into buying an exclusive DVD by not premiering the movie on Disney Channel first had to wait over a month for the film to finally come to their screens. It premiered on Disney Channel in the US on 22^nd May 2011, officially being branded as a Disney Channel Original Movie, despite its earlier DVD release. It later came to international Disney Channels in the following months.

The viewing figures for Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure’s Disney Channel premiere has been widely reported to be 4.9 million, far below the premiere figures for either High School Musical, with 7.7 million, or High School Musical 2, with 17.2 million, making it seem like there was little appetite for this new High School Musical movie. When High School Musical 3: Senior Year premiered on the channel in 2010, almost a year and a half after its theatrical release, it only saw about 4 million viewers tune in, so this adds to that theory.

Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure was the joint lowest-watched DCOM premiere of the year, matching November 2011’s Geek Charming. Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2^nd Dimension, the big summertime premiere in August, did the best of any DCOM in 2011, being watched by 7.6 million viewers. Ashley Tisdale voiced Candace in that DCOM. Bradley Steven Perry’s other DCOM release of 2011 was Good Luck Charlie, It’s Christmas! It was viewed by 6.9 million viewers. Disney Channel Original Movies’ viewership was very up and down over this period though, likely as High School Musical’s success, which had brought additional viewers to the Disney Channel across the globe, wore off.

The film received a nomination for director Michael Lembeck at the Directors’ Guild Awards for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children’s Programs. Lembeck was recognised alongside the directors of two other DCOMs: Geek Charming’s Jeffrey Hornaday, and Lemonade Mouth’s Patricia Riggen. The award actually went to Amy Schatz for the HBO Family show A Child’s Garden of Poetry.

In terms of reviews, Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure received mixed reviews, as many DCOMs do, with viewers split over whether this film was good or bad. The music also received a mixed response, as some loved it, and others didn’t think it matched up to the High School Musical films, with the songs being largely forgettable.

For those who liked Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure, they liked how Sharpay had been humanised in this story. She does have a heart-to-heart with Peyton about how she shouldn’t lose sight of herself when achieving her dreams, whereas in the High School Musical trilogy, Sharpay mostly just stepped on other people to get what she wanted, with mixed results, so I can understand this comment. Others said the film was entertaining and a lot of fun, whilst it was admitted that it was generally aimed at specifically Sharpay fans, High School Musical fans, or tweens and teens. They’d enjoy the movie even if others didn’t, but it wasn’t seen to be as watchable by anyone outside of that.

There were other critiques on the film as well, such as comments stating that the time had come for Disney to finally move on from High School Musical, especially given that Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure was not a worthy addition to the High School Musical franchise or its legacy. Many teens who had loved High School Musical had already moved on, to more mature franchises like The Twilight Saga (2008-12) and Glee (2009-15) by this point and therefore didn’t need to see Sharpay anymore. Others said the story was predictable. Even I could guess what was going to happen and normally if I enjoy a film enough, I won’t guess ahead, so I can agree with this comment. Some missed the other High School Musical cast members, with many wanting Ryan to have had a proper role in this film, because him and Sharpay had always been together in the previous films. The dog storyline, where Countess and Boi fall in love, was also criticised as being unnecessary. Viewers had other ideas of how the story could’ve been improved, for example, seeing Sharpay try out for numerous auditions and not getting the roles, or even having Sharpay go up against Tiara Gold back at East High, the film we may’ve been expecting when it was announced that Sharpay was getting her own film. I think either plot could’ve worked out.

My biggest problem with Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure wasn’t actually the story, although I wasn’t a fan of having the two dogs fall in love because it didn’t add anything. My biggest issue with this film was Sharpay herself. She’d changed and wasn’t much like her character from High School Musical at all. Other reviewers also mentioned this.

To emphasise this point, there are a few specific scenes where I felt Sharpay wasn’t written well. Firstly, I find it quite strange that a girl who was so desperate to be on Broadway would’ve spent a year at home not doing anything. At the end of High School Musical 3: Senior Year, Sharpay had plans to go to the University of Albuquerque for acting classes, and was meant to be helping Ms. Darbus with the drama department at East High. I don’t think she necessarily would’ve stuck at these for very long, but instead, Sharpay would’ve been trying to get auditions and trying out for roles, not living at home, happy enough to just sing to her parents’ friends at local fundraisers.

Another is the point where Sharpay is sat on her luggage on the streets of New York, not doing anything. I believe that Sharpay would’ve been on the phone having a go at her friend who had booked the apartment for her and not checked that dogs were allowed, not just sat there looking sad, wondering what to do next. This would’ve made her still interesting to Peyton, so that interaction could’ve still happened. Sharpay would also never debase herself to being a PA regardless of the reason for it. She would’ve seen herself as equal to Amber Lee, and this could’ve led to an actual rivalry, not having Sharpay be the victim when Amber Lee ends up laughing about her. Sharpay never let herself be the victim.

Generally, I felt that Sharpay in Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure more closely resembled the ditzy heiress London Tipton in The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, which Tisdale also starred in, as Maddie. This film even had a similar scene with a Murphy bed that exists in the episode “Poor Little Rich Girl”, where London has to live with Maddie for a bit, and Maddie has two Murphy beds in her room for space. I don’t think Sharpay would’ve been impressed with this bed she got in her studio apartment, but she wouldn’t have looked at it like it was an alien and she had no idea what it was. Basically, I felt Sharpay lacked a lot of that tough spirit she’d always had in High School Musical.

LEGACY

Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure was a spin-off to Disney Channel’s insanely popular High School Musical franchise, becoming the fourth instalment after the trilogy of films.

This meant that High School Musical became only the second Disney Channel Original Movie franchise to reach four movies, after Halloweentown. It was the first Disney Channel musical franchise to hit four films, with the likes of Descendants and ZOMBIES following in their footsteps in recent years, taking note of the popularity of musical DCOMs, and finding new ways to take their stories beyond an initial trilogy. Descendants even has a fifth film coming, and there is apparently a fifth ZOMBIES movie in the works too.

Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure also became the only DCOM to be released direct-to-DVD before premiering on Disney Channel; this was never replicated. To be honest, I find it quite strange that Disney Channel would choose to release a DCOM on DVD prior to its release on their channel, and the fact that the Extended Edition, with that end credits scene, only exists on the Disney Channel showings of the film is even stranger.

In terms of whether Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure added much to the High School Musical franchise, the answer to that is easy: not really. It might have been popular with fans, particularly younger fans, but since this movie wasn’t followed up with any other spin-offs relating to what happened to the rest of the Wildcats after they graduated, it can’t have been seen as a big money-maker for Disney, otherwise you know they would’ve done more.

Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure may’ve kept the character going just a little bit longer, but it wasn’t really an addition to the franchise and didn’t span much, if anything, of a legacy on its own, other than a few items of merchandise, like clothing and accessories.

FINAL THOUGHTS

We’d all expected there to be a fourth movie in the High School Musical franchise.

I’d always thought we’d see something from the freshmen who made their first appearances in High School Musical 3: Senior Year, and that maybe Sharpay would be included, as she was one of the popular characters from the franchise, and her story had been left open for a return to East High. So, a film with Sharpay was a likely option.

However, I did not expect to see Sharpay trying to get on Broadway being the focus of this fourth instalment of the franchise. Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure is not a great film, and I certainly don’t think it is worthy of having any link to High School Musical. If they’d changed the character name and put someone else in the main role, it still would’ve worked as a DCOM and might’ve worked out better with a new character.

Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure was nothing particularly special, and seemed to only be made to appeal to fans who wanted more Sharpay. It didn’t inspire any further films, and this was where we left Sharpay’s story. It seemed that High School Musical’s fame was not going to be revived in movie form, and this film would likely end up being forgotten by the majority of High School Musical fans, even if it did allow us to finally see Sharpay achieve her big dream of starring on Broadway.

REFERENCES

[1] Credit: Disney Channel, “Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure: Austin Cam’, DVDExtrasAndMore YouTube Channel, 4^th August 2011.

[2] Credit: Nellie Andreeva, ‘Disney Channel Taps Director, Cast For HSM Offshoot ‘Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure’’, Deadline.com, 8^th June 2010.

[3] Credit: The Irish Examiner, ‘Hudgens looking forward to ‘High School Musical’ spin-off’, IrishExaminer.com, 19^th April 2010.

[4] Credit: Becca Rhodes, ‘Visit Carla Santini’s House from ‘Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen’’, TheFilmTripper.com, date unknown.

30th Jan 20266th Feb 2026 by The Disney Purist

High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008)

BACKGROUND

It was official. High School Musical 3: Senior Year was coming to a cinema near you.

It was time to end this trilogy, which had actually only been in our lives for less than three years, but it was still a momentous occasion for all the fans that had been following the journeys of Troy, Gabriella, Chad, Taylor, Sharpay, and Ryan. It all came down to this one moment: senior year, and what was coming next for the Wildcats.

The fact that High School Musical as a film franchise became as big as it did is crazy. The first two were only TV movies after all, but they went stratospheric, so those dedicated fans probably felt that High School Musical 3: Senior Year not only deserved to be released theatrically, but that it absolutely had to be – I was just one of those fans.

This wasn’t even the first time a movie that would be considered a Disney Channel Original Movie, rightly or wrongly, was released into cinemas first. The first of this hybrid was The Lizzie McGuire Movie back in 2003, and it was modestly successful. High School Musical had a much bigger fanbase so it could only do better than that. Hannah Montana: The Movie followed in those giant footsteps in April 2009 and was also a financial success, although not at the same level as High School Musical 3: Senior Year.

I remember seeing High School Musical 3 at the cinema. It felt great to be in a room full of other High School Musical fans, mostly tweens and teens, even hearing the collective screams as the titles rolled, followed by more screams as we saw an intense close-up of Zac Efron’s sweaty face. At least, I thought there was screaming; maybe I imagined it!

I went to see High School Musical 3 with my mum and my sister. It was October 2008, so October half-term for UK schools. I was 15, getting ready for my GCSE exams, whilst my sister was a school year older than me, and was starting to think about university, kind of mimicking the storyline that played out before us. This plot point caused my mum to cry throughout the movie, as she thought about my sister leaving the family home and heading off to uni. To be fair, my mum cries at pretty much any film she watches, but there was something more personal to it this time. I’m sure many teenagers watched Troy’s confusion and related to it, as well as parents thinking about their children’s college futures.

I wasn’t thinking about university at this stage, I still had time to revel in the delights of Disney Channel movies without taking them too seriously, and yet High School Musical 3 was an emotional turning point for me – because it was the first movie to really make me cry.

PLOT

High School Musical 3: Senior Year begins as the East High Wildcats take on the West High Knights in what is the last game of Troy, his best friend Chad, and the other seniors’ high school basketball careers. They’re losing, 47-26.

The dejected team return to the locker room at half-time. Coach Bolton leads a motivational speech, telling the team to ignore the scoreline and to focus on the fact the seniors only have 16 more minutes left to play in Wildcat uniform. Troy and Chad then lead the team back out onto the court, pumped up and ready to give the last few minutes their all. The Wildcats fight to get back in the game, although Troy is pushed to the ground at one point. He sees Gabriella in the crowd, who wills him to continue. With seconds to go, the Wildcats need one more shot to win. Troy gets the ball, but passes it to a freshman player, Jimmie Zara, also known as “Rocket Man”. He takes the shot, and they win the game.

Their championship win is celebrated with a victory party at Troy’s house, attended by East High students, parents, and even college recruiters from the University of Albuquerque, here for Chad and Troy. The two are late to the party, as they have to push Troy’s truck home! Once there, they are immediately surrounded by well-wishers, but Troy just wants to speak to Gabriella. He takes her to his treehouse so they can talk. They discuss their college plans, with Troy not so sure about following in his father’s footsteps and playing basketball at his alma mater. Gabriella has already been accepted to Stanford University, but she isn’t too excited about it. The two wish for everything to slow down.

The next day at school, as the school celebrate the championship, Sharpay is too self-absorbed to notice! At her locker, Sharpay finds a freshman girl there. This girl is Tiara Gold, an exchange student from England, who wants to be Sharpay’s personal assistant. Sharpay agrees to let Tiara have the job. Meanwhile, Rocket Man has asked Troy for his gym locker, since he expects to be the basketball captain soon. Troy says he’ll think about it.

Heading into homeroom with Ms. Darbus, we hear that senior year is looking busy, with finals, prom, yearbook committee, and the spring musical. Sharpay excitedly talks about her plans for the musical to be a one-woman show, featuring her, which concerns Ms. Darbus, wondering why more people didn’t sign up. This causes Kelsi to panic and write down the name of just about every student in homeroom. They are annoyed at Kelsi, even Troy, Chad, and Taylor, who don’t believe they have time to fit in rehearsals for a musical. Kelsi and Gabriella club together to try and convince the others to do this last school musical. It’s not until Troy says he’ll do it that the others reconsider. Ms. Darbus then arrives, with Sharpay and Ryan, and says the musical will be about them; a recreation of their senior year, with Kelsi composing the music, and Ryan doing all the choreography. She also announces that representatives from Juilliard will be attending the musical, as they consider four students for scholarships: Kelsi, Sharpay, Ryan…and Troy. Troy is shocked to hear this, as he didn’t apply, but he can’t deny being at least a little bit interested.

At lunch, Sharpay talks to Ryan about how and why Troy is being considered for a Juilliard scholarship, wondering if Troy is threatening her chances of getting this one coveted scholarship. Sharpay tries to get Ryan to focus, by thinking about their futures on Broadway. She tells Ryan to get close to Kelsi, so they can get the best songs, since Kelsi normally writes those for Troy and Gabriella, but they’ll need the edge over Troy this time.

The next day, Taylor and Gabriella discuss the musical, as Taylor reminds Gabriella that if she gets on to the Stanford honors program, then she won’t even be here to do the musical. Gabriella would rather not think about that right now, and goes to the school’s rooftop garden to meet Troy. Troy asks Gabriella for her opinion on what colour jacket he should wear to prom, and presents her with two tickets, which, as Gabriella says, is almost like asking her to prom! He then asks Gabriella if they’ll have to waltz at prom, because the theme is “The Last Waltz”. She says she can teach him, and the couple proceed to waltz in the rain together – until they realise they’re late for class.

Chad and Troy then head to the gym locker room, where they take Rocket Man and friend Donny’s clothes, telling them it is locker switch day. However, this isn’t going to be a simple switch as Chad and Troy remind the freshmen that they had to “earn” their lockers. So, naturally, Chad and Troy lead the two on a chase through the school, with Rocket Man and Donny only in their towels. They end up at the school theatre, interrupting a warm-up exercise. Rocket Man and Donny are suitably embarrassed, and to make it worse, Taylor and Gabriella take a photo of them for the yearbook. Ms. Darbus tell the boys to get dressed, so Troy and Chad hand back their clothes, and gives them detention. After school, Troy takes Gabriella home, although his truck is still struggling. There, the two talk about college again, but their conversation is interrupted by Gabriella’s mother. Troy goes home.

Back at school, Chad and Troy meet up with Taylor and Gabriella in the yearbook office. They arrive with brownies, in order to “bribe” them for good yearbook coverage. Chad starts talking about prom, assuming that Taylor is going to go with him. This annoys her, as she wants Chad to properly ask her to prom. At lunch, Troy helps Chad, by silencing the cafeteria, so Chad can ask Taylor to prom, in front of everyone. This seems to be embarrassing enough, so Taylor accepts, saying she’d be honoured to be his date to prom. We then see the Wildcats preparing for prom; however, it turns out this was all just a rehearsal for the musical as they stage the perfect prom. At the end of the dance, Rocket Man and Tiara are tasked with being understudies for the musical by Ms. Darbus. We also see Sharpay pressuring Ryan to speak to Kelsi about music again.

The next day, Gabriella shows Taylor a letter saying she got onto the Stanford honors program, but she admits she hasn’t decided what to do about it yet, not even telling her mother. This conversation is overheard by Tiara, who is dropping off Sharpay’s yearbook photos. She alerts Sharpay to this update. They research the program further, printing the information off so they can tell the whole school about it. Meanwhile, Ryan hears Kelsi playing a new song. He asks to hear it, and sings along with her, also asking her to be his date to prom. This song is then rehearsed by Troy and Gabriella as their big duet for the musical, making Sharpay jealous, as it is a big hit.

After school, Troy and Chad head to the salvage yard to try and finally fix Troy’s truck. Whilst there, the two talk about college, as Troy is continuously being reminded of the fact he’s expected to play basketball for the University of Albuquerque next year, but he still doesn’t know if he wants that. This makes Chad concerned that Troy would potentially go to Juilliard if he got the scholarship, and tries to talk him out of it because that U of A has always been the plan. Troy reminds Chad of their childhood, where there weren’t any plans or expectations, and they could pretend to be whoever they wanted to be.

At Gabriella’s house, Gabriella and Taylor talk about Gabriella potentially deferring her place at Stanford for a year, and not going on the program that starts the following week. Taylor tells Gabriella that is all a mistake and she can’t put her life on hold just to be with Troy, no matter how great he is. Gabriella’s mum comes into the room, and Taylor leaves so they can talk. Her mother reminds her that high school might feel really important now, but it won’t in the future, and she should focus on what is coming next. Gabriella is heartbroken about the idea of having to say goodbye to everyone so soon. Troy is having a similar problem, as his parents discuss with Chad and his parents over dinner their excitement about Chad and Troy’s college future in Albuquerque. Troy and Gabriella fear that everything is happening too quickly, and they just want to focus on right now. This sequence appears in the extended edition of High School Musical 3: Senior Year.

The following day, Sharpay tells Troy the good news, about Gabriella being accepted onto the Stanford honors program. Troy doesn’t know anything about it, so Sharpay says he clearly doesn’t know because Gabriella isn’t considering going on it. She knows Troy will feel obligated to talk her into going. That is exactly what he does that evening, going to her house with a picnic of pizza and chocolate-covered strawberries. He reminds Gabriella that she can always come back for prom and graduation. Gabriella accepts that as a compromise, and goes off to Stanford with her mother, although she is rightly devastated.

The musical must go on without Gabriella though, as she won’t be returning for that, so Ms. Darbus instructs Sharpay to now play Gabriella, as they were all playing themselves, and Tiara will now be Sharpay. Nothing feels right though and rehearsals are a bit of a disaster… That evening at home, Troy is confronted by his father about why he has a brochure for Juilliard, not believing that Troy is going against their plan of Albuquerque. Troy reminds his father that Albuquerque was always his plan, not Troy’s, and angrily, Troy goes to the school, puts on his basketball jersey, and tries to stop himself feeling so conflicted. He ends up on the school stage and screams into the darkness. Except he isn’t alone, as Ms. Darbus is still at the school, working out how to get the musical back on track. She tells Troy she applied to Juilliard on his behalf, wanting him to consider other options now whilst he still had time to. He appreciates what she has done, but he is still confused.

Later, Troy and Chad pick up their tuxedos for prom in a few days. Troy then gets a call from Gabriella, saying she won’t be coming back for prom, as she’s only just gotten used to being away from him and doesn’t want to keep saying “goodbye”. Troy tells Chad all this, with Chad simply saying Troy will have a nice time at prom with his friends, and they’ll still have each other next year at the University of Albuquerque. Troy says he doesn’t plan on missing his prom – but forgets to mention that his prom is actually going to be in Stanford with Gabriella. He drives all the way there to surprise her, and the two dance around a tree on the campus. This leads to a fantasy sequence, where we see all the Wildcats dancing at prom together, including Troy and Gabriella, despite them being miles away. Troy tells Gabriella that East High changed when she arrived, and that it has changed again now she’s gone. Nobody wants to say goodbye to her, so they head back for the musical.

On the night of the musical, Rocket Man gets a text from Troy, saying he won’t be there for the first act, but hopes to be there for the rest of it, so as the understudy, Rocket Man will have to go on as him. He is in shock. Sharpay is warming up, and keeps asking for Troy, but despite Donny trying to tell her that Rocket Man will be going on for Troy, she doesn’t listen and gets ready for her big duet. The rest of the students go on, with Ryan and Kelsi introducing the show; Chad recreating the basketball game; and Ryan mimicking his potential future Broadway performance. We then get to Troy and Gabriella’s duet. Sharpay arrives on stage as Gabriella and starts to sing, but Troy does not show up, and Rocket Man misses his cue. As Sharpay stands there panicking, in front of her parents and the Juilliard representatives, Rocket Man finally shows up on stage, dressed completely inappropriately and acting way too excited! The audience laugh but Sharpay is horrified and runs off stage. She then sees Troy and Gabriella arrive and sarcastically tells them to go and save the day.

Back in her dressing room, Sharpay sees Tiara has stolen her dress for the show and plans to go on as Sharpay. Sharpay learns that Tiara was using Sharpay to get to grips with how the school works, so she can take over the drama club next year. Sharpay is surprised, but learns that Tiara transferred here from London Academy of Dramatic Arts. Troy and Gabriella do their duet as this is going on and all the Wildcats join them on stage in a tearful reunion. It is then time for Sharpay – I mean, Tiara’s – number. Tiara begins the performance, only for Sharpay to rock up and take the spotlight away, having gotten over her pity party!

The musical ends with all the seniors lining up on stage, as it is announced where they are all going to college. Here, Ms. Darbus announces that both Ryan and Kelsi got scholarships to Juilliard, with Juilliard accepting both of them due to the quality of their work. Taylor is going to Yale to study political science, and Sharpay is attending University of Albuquerque for performing arts, also being available to help Ms. Darbus with the drama club at East High, upsetting Tiara. Then, it is time for Troy to make his decision. Troy announces that he will be doing both theatre and basketball, but not at Albuquerque. He’s decided to go to the University of California, Berkeley, so he can be close to Gabriella as she studies pre-law at Stanford, which will only be 32.7 miles away. It’s actually more like 40 miles but who’s counting! Chad is announced as having a basketball scholarship to the University of Albuquerque, but he’s not on stage. Troy finds him on the basketball court. Chad is just a little disappointed Troy won’t be at the same college, but he is pleased to find out that their two colleges will play against each other in November. Coach Bolton comes in to tell the two to get back on stage, the first time he’s ever said that!

Then, it is time for graduation, where Troy gives a speech, about how the students here are taught to break the status quo, whether that is a basketball player who likes to sing, or one who likes to bake. He also mentions how the right person, i.e., Gabriella, can change everyone for the better. Troy ends his speech by saying they will always be friends, and they will always be Wildcats. The graduating class comes together, making the famous Wildcats logo, before throwing their caps in the air. They all celebrate.

The movie ends with Troy, Gabriella, Chad, Taylor, Sharpay, and Ryan separating themselves from the group on the field, and a red curtain falls in front of them. They are then transported to a stage, where we see the High School Musical logo come down, and we get a close-up of each of the six, as they say goodbye to all of us, giving their final curtain call.

CHARACTERS & CAST

Continuing on from his struggles in High School Musical 2, Troy debates his college future in High School Musical 3: Senior Year. As the end of senior year comes closer and closer, Troy starts to panic at the big decision he has to make: whether to go the University of Albuquerque for his basketball scholarship, or consider something closer to Gabriella’s choice of Stanford, and whether it should involve theatre. Theatre doesn’t seem like an avenue Troy was ever considering, but that was before Ms. Darbus submitted an application on his behalf for Juilliard. Eventually, Troy decides he can’t just go to Albuquerque because his father went there and Chad is going; he has to decide what’s best for him. Troy chooses to be close to the girl he loves, and pursue what interests him.

Zac Efron returned to round out his role as Troy Bolton in the High School Musical trilogy. Shortly after High School Musical 3: Senior Year, Efron played Young Mike O’Donnell in the teen rom-com 17 Again (2009), which also starred Leslie Mann, Matthew Perry, and former Disney stars Michelle Trachtenberg and Sterling Knight. He went on to try out a more dramatic role with the title role in Charlie St. Cloud (2010). He also voiced Ted Wiggins in the animated film The Lorax (2012). Efron has since gone on to star in a variety of movie genres, with just a few of these being Teddy Sanders in Neighbors (2014) and its 2016 sequel; Matt Brody in the remake of Baywatch (2017); and portraying serial killer Ted Bundy in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019). Efron also did not turn his back on movie musicals after High School Musical either, as he played Phillip Carlyle in the smash-hit The Greatest Showman (2017), alongside Zendaya and Hugh Jackman. He also had his own travel documentary series called Down to Earth with Zac Efron (2020-22), which streamed on Netflix. Efron recently starred as Chris Cole in the Netflix film A Family Affair (2024). We all knew Efron’s acting future was going to be bright.

In contrast to Troy, Gabriella has her whole future mapped out for her, starting with a place at Stanford University to study pre-law. Although Gabriella debates whether she should go to Stanford or go to University of Albuquerque to be near Troy, it’s never really a serious proposition, as she knows, her mother knows, and her best friend Taylor knows that she should never give up her future for a boy, especially as Gabriella is too intelligent to let an opportunity like Stanford pass her by. It would’ve made no sense to have Gabriella change colleges to be near Troy, so I am glad that it is Troy that changed his college plans to be closer to Gabriella – although, to be honest, I think they would’ve managed a long-distance relationship had Troy decided to stay in Albuquerque. Gabriella’s importance to the whole gang of Wildcats is also shown further in High School Musical 3, as her leaving school early to start at Stanford causes everyone to feel deflated and low. With her return for the musical and graduation, everything goes back to normal, and it is clear that Gabriella is the glue that keeps the group together, bonding them all for life.

Vanessa Hudgens reprised her role as Gabriella here. After High School Musical ended, Hudgens also appeared in a variety of screen roles. For example, one of her first was as Sa5m – the “5” is silent – in the teen comedy Bandslam (2009). She also appeared alongside Dwayne Johnson, as Kailani Laguatan in Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012). She later appeared in the crime film Spring Breakers (2012) with James Franco, Ashley Benson, and fellow former Disney Channel star Selena Gomez. She was also cast as Kelly in Bad Boys for Life (2020) and Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024). More recently, Hudgens was cast in numerous Netflix films, like The Princess Switch trilogy where she played three different roles: Stacy De Novo, Lady Margaret, and Fiona. Another was playing Karessa Johnson in the musical film Tick, Tick…Boom! (2021), which was directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda and starred Andrew Garfield. This came off the back of her roles in stage musicals, such as starring as Mimi Marquez in the 2010 Hollywood Bowl performance of Rent, and as Vanessa in the Kennedy Center production of In the Heights in 2018. In 2024, Hudgens won Season 11 of The Masked Singer (2019-present) in the US, as Goldfish.

Sharpay Evans seems to believe that senior year is going to be a breeze for her, not anticipating any upstaging in “her” spring musical for a start, as she believes everyone will be too busy with other school activities to take part. Yeah, that didn’t happen. She then thinks that the Juilliard scholarship is basically already hers. Things later fall into place for Sharpay when Gabriella leaves East High early to begin a programme at Stanford, but even that falls apart when Troy doesn’t come back in time to sing with her in the debut. She hates Rocket Man, and she even sneezes whenever he gets close to her. This chaotic performance ruins her chances of a scholarship at Juilliard, and then to make matters even worse, she finds the girl who wanted to be her P.A. is actually planning to replace her once she graduates! Sharpay won’t let that happen and shows she’s the true diva at East High, as she upstages Tiara in the final performance of the spring musical. Go, Sharpay! Ashley Tisdale reprised her role as Sharpay, and more was lined up for her within this franchise.

Ryan Evans’ main task through High School Musical 3: Senior Year is to choreograph the musical. He doesn’t want to get involved in Sharpay’s games, but yet again, he is ordered to get the best music from Kelsi so she can shine in the musical, and not Troy or Gabriella. Ryan sort of plays along, more so he can spend time with Kelsi though, as they become good friends, despite being in “competition” for the Juilliard scholarship. Ryan even asks Kelsi to prom which is sweet. Ryan doesn’t like Gabriella leaving East High early, like everyone else, and actually seems to enjoy his sister’s humiliation as she attempts to play Gabriella in the musical, only for Rocket Man to come up and upstage her with his odd outfit and behaviour! Ryan does succeed in getting a scholarship to Juilliard, along with Kelsi, so they can continue putting on musicals together for years to come.

Lucas Grabeel returned to play Ryan in this third instalment of High School Musical. After his time on Disney Channel, he went on to be cast as Toby Kennish in Freeform’s series Switched at Birth (2011-17) and voiced Deputy Peck in the animated Disney Junior series Sheriff Callie’s Wild West (2014-17). Grabeel also voiced the title role in Netflix’s animated series Pinky Malinky (2019).

Taylor McKessie is very busy in her senior year, with yearbook committee and being Class President. She is all set to go to Yale University to study political science, so she is well on her way to becoming the first female President of the United States. Taylor spends much of High School Musical 3 trying to convince Gabriella that she should go to Stanford, even if that means saying goodbye to everyone at school and to Troy, understanding how much of a big deal it is and how hard Gabriella has worked for it. Taylor is also going to college without her boyfriend, Chad, so she knows what she’s talking about. Luckily, Taylor’s calm reasoning encourages Gabriella to go to Stanford. Taylor’s other mini plot point in High School Musical 3 is her wanting Chad to ask her to prom properly. It’s not a big “promposal” or anything, but she doesn’t want him to assume she’ll just go with him, unlike Troy who did just that with Gabriella, though she didn’t care. It’s quite a fun, but kind of mean, moment from Taylor, as she really makes Chad sweat over that!

Monique Coleman came back to play Taylor, going on to appear in the television series Here We Go Again (2016), and to be cast as school guidance counsellor Katina Howard in Season 3 of the web series Guidance (2015-17). She also starred alongside fellow High School Musical cast member Corbin Bleu in the festive TV movie A Christmas Dance Reunion (2021); Coleman played Lucy, whilst Bleu played Barrett.

Chad Danforth believes throughout the course of High School Musical 3 that he and Troy are heading to the University of Albuquerque together, on basketball scholarships. He doesn’t feel like all that much can change for him as long as he has his best friend by his side. He has no worries or doubts. However, when Troy starts talking about potentially going to Juilliard or doing theatre, Chad becomes a bit like his character in High School Musical, telling Troy just to focus on basketball and the plan they’ve already got, which isn’t right. Chad doesn’t want to talk Troy through some of the concerns in his head, so they get forgotten about. However, after the musical, Chad learns that Troy is not going to Albuquerque with him, but Chad knows him and Troy can keep in touch, and they should both be happy and comfortable with their college choices.

Corbin Bleu returned to his role as Chad in High School Musical 3: Senior Year. Bleu has had much success with theatre work since starring in the High School Musical franchise. For example, he played Seaweed J. Stubbs in the 2011 Hollywood Bowl production of the musical Hairspray, going on to star as Jesus in the 2011/12 Broadway production of Godspell. Bleu also played Ted Hanover in the musical Holiday Inn on Broadway in 2016. He even played Seymour Krelborn in an Off-Broadway version of The Little Shop of Horrors around 2023/24. Most recently, he starred as Nick Carraway in the stage musical adaptation of The Great Gatsby for London’s West End in 2025. Bleu was also the runner-up in Season 17 of Dancing with the Stars (2005-present) in 2013, and won the dance competition series The Real Dirty Dancing (2022) with celebrity chef Cat Cora.

Kelsi Nielsen’s main role during High School Musical 3: Senior Year is to compose the music for the spring musical, ensuring everyone is involved, and making sure her music is good enough to impress the guests from Juilliard. Kelsi once again writes a brilliant duet for Troy and Gabriella, only for it to seemingly be given to Sharpay after Gabriella leaves for Stanford. Kelsi cannot change this decision, so has to grin and bear it as Sharpay changes the sense of her romantic song, as she had done in every other High School Musical film! Kelsi did avoid outright sabotage though, thanks to Ryan, as he chose to build a real friendship with Kelsi during the course of this film, instead of just using Kelsi to help his sister, making it all the more sweeter when Kelsi and Ryan are the two to get Juilliard scholarships, because they deserve it the most, for keeping themselves out of school drama.

Olesya Rulin reprised her role as Kelsi in High School Musical 3: Senior Year. After this, Rulin went on to be cast in the recurring role of Abby in the ABC Family series Greek (2009-11) and starred as Calista Secor in the PlayStation Network series Powers (2015-16).

Outside of these main characters, many other characters returned in High School Musical 3. These include Martha, played by Kaylee Stroh, who is excited to get dancing in the musical; Zeke, played by Chris Warren Jr., still honing his baking skills and playing basketball; and Jason, played by Ryne Sanborn, who is just happy he graduated! For the adults, many of them also returned from their roles in the previous two movies. For example, Bart Johnson and Leslie Wing Pomeroy were back as Mr. and Mrs. Bolton, who are looking forward to their son playing at the University of Albuquerque, however, when Troy changes his mind about college, they are supportive of him regardless, even Mr. Bolton, who had been uncertain about Troy’s love of theatre until the end of this film. Ms. Darbus, played by Alyson Reed, also returned as the drama teacher and director of the spring musical, as did Gabriella’s mother, Ms. Montez, after appearing in the first film; she was played by Socorro Herrera. Ryan and Sharpay’s parents make a brief appearance, as audience members of the musical, after their roles in High School Musical 2. Robert Curtis Brown and Jessica Tuck were once again back as Mr. and Mrs. Evans.

There are new characters to mention as well. Two of these are Chad’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Danforth, who attend the championship victory party and the spring musical, and have dinner with Troy and his parents, as they celebrate their sons’ basketball scholarships at the local university. Mr. Danforth was played by David Reivers, Corbin Bleu’s father. Reivers was cast alongside his son in the Disney Channel Original Movie Jump In! (2007), playing Bleu’s character’s father, Kenneth Daniels. Yolanda Wood was cast as Mrs. Danforth. Wood has had smaller roles in other DCOMs, including as Christine in Read It and Weep (2006) and as Ursula’s Mom in Den Brother (2010).

For the students, there are three freshmen that High School Musical 3: Senior Year introduces, as they cross paths with the seniors. One of these is Jimmie Zara, also known as “Rocket Man”. He is part of the basketball team, so met Troy there, where he instantly began to look up to him. Rocket Man is a little bit annoying, interrupting Troy’s conversations and bothering him occasionally, and being quite immature, but really, he just wants to follow in Troy’s footsteps by being an East High legend eventually. And he literally gets to do that, by playing Troy in the spring musical – to Sharpay’s utter shock and horror! Rocket Man was played by Matt Prokop. He guest-starred in some episodes of Disney Channel series, such as Hannah Montana (2006-11) and Good Luck Charlie (2010-14), and later starred as Josh in the DCOM Geek Charming (2011) opposite Sarah Hyland. He has not acted since 2013.

Rocket Man’s best friend is Donny Dion. Donny is also on the basketball team and looks up to Chad, wanting himself and Rocket Man to have that same friendship and dynamic as Troy and Chad do. Donny finds himself in awkward situations thanks to Rocket Man, for example, Rocket Man tries to negotiate him and Donny getting Troy and Chad’s gym lockers, but Troy and Chad seem to think they have to embarrass them first to get them to “earn” them, and because of this Donny is photographed just in a towel, alongside Rocket Man. He also gets roped into working on the spring musical as a stage hand because this escapade led to them getting detention from Ms. Darbus! Donny Dion was played by Justin Martin. Martin was cast as Young Simba in the Broadway production of The Lion King in 2006, prior to his role in High School Musical 3: Senior Year. Recently, he was cast as Young Guy Simmons in the 2023 crime miniseries Legacy, with Ving Rhames as Guy Simmons.

Tiara Gold initially seems to be a sweet girl from Britain. She wants to help Sharpay organise her life for senior year, and she is very good at it, getting her coffee and her lunch, as well as being on hand to snoop on the fellow Wildcats to ensure the musical spotlights Sharpay instead of the others. Everything seems to be fine, until Sharpay discovers that Tiara has taken over her private dressing room during the spring musical and plans to take over the drama department after Sharpay has graduated. It’s meant to seem like this ultimate betrayal, but you’d think Sharpay wouldn’t really care, as she has her sights set on bigger and better things than her high school drama club… But apparently not. Sharpay ends up outshining Tiara on stage and is announced as Ms. Darbus’ assistant for the coming year as Sharpay will be attending college locally, so Tiara does not get her way. Jemma McKenzie-Brown was chosen to play Tiara Gold, after other actresses, including Selena Gomez, were considered for the role. Prior to her role in High School Musical 3, McKenzie-Brown had appeared in the BBC drama series The Amazing Mrs. Pritchard (2006) as Georgina Pritchard. Her on-screen sister in the series was played by Carey Mulligan. It would seem that McKenzie-Brown is currently the lead singer of the band About Bunny.

MUSIC

High School Musical 3: Senior Year consists of 12 new songs that appear in the film, making this the most original songs on the soundtrack of any High School Musical movie.

The first song in High School Musical 3 is “Now or Never”, which takes place as Troy, Chad, and the rest of the basketball team get back onto the court to finish their championship game against the West High Knights. It is performed by Zac Efron as Troy, Corbin Bleu as Chad, Chris Warren Jr. as Zeke, and Ryne Sanborn as Jason mostly, although I think Bart Johnson as Coach Bolton can also be heard on this track, as well as Vanessa Hudgens as Gabriella during one moment in the song. It was written by Matthew Gerrard and Robbie Nevil. “Now or Never” is a brilliantly high-energy song to focus all on attentions on the Wildcats and get ready for what is to come.

“Right Here, Right Now” is the first of three Troy and Gabriella duets. It is first heard as the two discuss college in Troy’s treehouse whilst at the victory party. They just want to enjoy their time together now, instead of thinking about college and how they’re likely going to be significantly separated from each other for the first time in two years. It is performed by Efron and Hudgens, and was written by Jamie Houston. The song makes a return during the extended edition of the film. In the extended scene, Troy and Gabriella are struggling to get their parents to understand their conflict about college, with Troy ending up in his treehouse and Gabriella on her balcony. They then sing “Right Here, Right Now”.

Next up is Sharpay’s “look at me” song – and it’s a good one. This song is “I Want It All”, performed by Ashley Tisdale as Sharpay and Lucas Grabeel as Ryan. It was written by Matthew Gerrard and Robbie Nevil. Here, Sharpay is trying to get Ryan excited about their future on Broadway and being famous. They just need to give amazing performances during the musical in front of the Juilliard reps, and their careers are set. This is all Sharpay’s fantasy about what her life is going to be, with Ryan joining her for the ride. It’s full of big sets, backing dancers, multiple costume changes, and moments where their fellow Wildcats are working for them, It’s a real spectacle – only to then be transported back to the cafeteria!

“Can I Have This Dance” follows on from that, and it is a quiet ballad for Troy and Gabriella this time, performed by Efron and Hudgens, with the song being written by Adam Anders and Nikki Hassman. This sequence takes place on the school’s rooftop garden as Gabriella teaches Troy how to waltz. It’s a very sweet song, as we see just how in love the couple are. A rainstorm suddenly appears midway through the song as well, but that doesn’t slow them down, as they dance around in the rain together.

A little while later, just after Chad finally asks Taylor to prom, the song “A Night to Remember” is performed. It is a group number, since the Wildcats are rehearsing this song as part of their spring musical, where they are staging their senior prom. The song involves all the main cast, including Monique Coleman as Taylor, Olesya Rulin as Kelsi, and Kaycee Stroh as Martha. “A Night to Remember” was written by Matthew Gerrard and Robbie Nevil. This song sees the cast getting ready for prom, being picked up by their dates, and then arriving at prom, where Kelsi gets to have a glow-up as she arrives to prom with Ryan looking beautiful, and very unlike herself.

“Just Wanna Be with You” is the other duet for Troy and Gabriella, although it is first sung by Kelsi and Ryan, as Ryan overhears Kelsi practising this song. Troy and Gabriella then rehearse the song on the stage, where the set is being built and painted around them. “Just Wanna Be with You” is therefore performed by Rulin and Grabeel, then Efron and Hudgens. This is my favourite of Troy and Gabriella’s duets throughout the franchise. It was written by Andy Dodd and Adam Watts.

Following that, Chad and Troy get to have a moment to perform together. This song “The Boys Are Back” takes place at the salvage yard, as they reminisce about their times there where they’d play about as children. We even see Young Chad and Troy run about this yard. There is some impressive choreography within this performance, and it is a very bold song. This is my favourite song in the film, and I like that Chad and Troy finally had a song together, just about their friendship. “The Boys Are Back” was performed by Efron and Bleu, and written by Matthew Gerrard and Robbie Nevil. It is also the second end credits song.

Then, we get to the really emotional moments in High School Musical 3: Senior Year. As Gabriella is leaving Albuquerque and heading to Stanford, she sings “Walk Away”. This is a difficult time for her, as she is saying goodbye to all her friends and to Troy. She is used to moving around frequently, but she didn’t expect to have to leave them all before prom or graduation. Gabriella is just trying to stay strong and move forward before she gets too upset. “Walk Away” was written by Jamie Houston and performed by Hudgens.

Now that Gabriella has left and everything feels different, Troy starts to struggle without her. After a fight with his father, who doesn’t want to believe that Troy is considering Juilliard or even a college future that involves theatre and not basketball, Troy heads to school late at night, which isn’t really allowed, but it sets up a song for him. This song is “Scream”. As Troy goes through the school, the anger builds up in him, about Gabriella leaving and not knowing what to do about college. The song involves some big choreography, like leaping down staircases, and being in a revolving corridor, before ending on the theatre stage where Troy literally screams his heart out. “Scream” was performed by Efron and written by Jamie Houston.

After that, we get the “Senior Year Spring Musical”, which is its own track on the soundtrack, giving the highlights of the musical, even though it only actually involves one new song. That song is “Last Chance” performed by Rulin and Grabeel as Kelsi and Ryan open the show. It was written by Randy Petersen and Kevin Quinn. Other songs performed in the musical are “Now or Never”, by Chad and the basketball team; “I Want It All”, by Ryan; “Just Wanna Be with You”, first by Sharpay and Rocket Man, so Matt Prokop, then Troy and Gabriella; ending with “A Night to Remember”, performed by Jemma McKenzie-Brown as Tiara, and Sharpay. Even though we’ve already heard these songs throughout the film, I still like this track where we hear it all together for this musical.

The next number “We’re All in This Together (Graduation Mix)” is actually used twice in High School Musical 3. First, it is used at the end of the musical as the seniors line up to announce their college futures, and then again at the actual graduation just a few minutes later as Troy gives his touching speech. I don’t particularly like this version of the song, as they’ve managed to make an upbeat song sound quite melancholic, but I can see what they wanted to do with it. It was written by Matthew Gerrard and Robbie Nevil, originally for the first film’s finale sequence. It was apparently performed by the main six cast members.

These same six are credited as performing the final song of the film, “High School Musical”. It was also written by Matthew Gerrard and Robbie Nevil. “High School Musical” is an incredibly positive song, as the Wildcats think about how brilliant their high school experience was, knowing they’ll never forget it. Despite it being a cheery song, it still makes me cry, because it is, after all, a goodbye from the cast to the fans in music form.

There is also a song that doesn’t appear on every version of the High School Musical 3: Senior Year soundtrack, but it is the End Credits song. This is “Just Getting Started”, written by Jamie Houston and performed by Stan Carrizosa. A mini-music video starring Carrizosa is also playing alongside the credits. Stan Carrizosa was a contest in the ABC reality contest High School Musical: Get in the Picture, which aired from July to September 2008. The prize was a record contract with Disney and to perform the original song and be in a music video for High School Musical 3’s end credits.

There were also a couple of reappearances of songs from High School Musical 2 here. As Sharpay walks into East High for her big entrance, and first appearance in the movie, an instrumental version of her song “Fabulous” is used. You’ll also hear Gabriella’s ringtone is “You Are the Music in Me” if you listen very carefully.

Along with the film’s main songs, there were some additional tracks credited. Three of these are songs that are playing at the victory party at Troy’s house after the basketball championship win. The first song used, as Troy and Chad arrive, is “Like Whoa”, performed by Aly & AJ, who had some history with the Disney Channel as they had both starred in the DCOM Cow Belles (2006). The pop duo was signed to Disney’s own recording label Hollywood Records at the time of High School Musical 3’s release. “Like Whoa” was written by Antonina Armato, Tim James, Amanda Joy Michalka, and Alyson Michalka. It had earlier been used in the DCOM Minutemen (2008).

The second song briefly heard at this party, just before we see Troy and Gabriella in Troy’s treehouse, is “Freaky”, performed by Jesse McCartney. McCartney also seemed to be with the Hollywood Records label at this time, and had made guest appearances in some Disney Channel series before that. In 2008, he also began to voice the character of Terence in Disney’s Tinker Bell animated movie series. “Freaky” was written by Theodore Thomas, Theron Makiel Thomas, Timothy Jamahil Thomas.

The party continues after Troy and Gabriella sing “Right Here, Right Now”, with the song “My Shoes”, performed by Jordan Pruitt, playing briefly in the background. Pruitt also has a history with the Disney company and its recording label. Her song “Outside Looking In” featured in the DCOM Read It and Weep (2006), and she also toured with The Cheetah Girls and the High School Musical cast for their concert tour as their opening act, before performing the song “Jump to the Rhythm” for the DCOM Jump In!.

Outside of that, two instrumental tracks seemed to have been used to complement the movie’s music. One of these is “Dillon Cadence”, written by Rob Walker. It appears to be the drum beat playing as the Wildcats make the school logo after graduation. I’m not sure where the other song, “Snareway to Heaven”, written and performed by Bart Hendrickson and Stix Randolph, is, but it could be the drum music during the basketball game.

David Lawrence returned to compose the score for High School Musical 3: Senior Year, after his work on both High School Musical and High School Musical 2. By 2015, Lawrence would begin working on the music for another Disney Channel musical movie franchise, Descendants, also directed by Kenny Ortega. Lawrence wrote the music for all three of the Descendants original trilogy, just like he did for High School Musical.

High School Musical 3: Senior Year’s soundtrack was released on 21^st October 2008 in the US. Sadly, it did not perform as well as the previous two movie soundtracks had, even though I think the music here is superior to the other two. It debuted at No. 2 on the US Billboard 200 chart, whereas the other two had topped this chart. However, it did still top the US Billboard Soundtrack Albums charts, along with the comparable charts in countries like the UK, Spain, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, and Austria. It sold around 3.5 million copies worldwide, and a few songs also charted in the Billboard Hot 100 chart, including “Now or Never”, “I Want It All”, “Right Here, Right Now”, and “A Night to Remember”.

PRODUCTION

With the unprecedent success of High School Musical 2’s premiere on Disney Channel, it was pretty much a guarantee that a third film was going to be made. In fact, quite soon after High School Musical 2 premiered, in August 2007, it is believed that this third movie was being discussed by Disney Channel executives.

It wasn’t particularly common for Disney Channel movie franchises to reach three movies at this point. There had only been a handful prior to High School Musical 3: Senior Year, and they were Zenon, Halloweentown, and The Cheetah Girls, all popular franchises; Halloweentown actually made it to four films, with its fourth and final film, Return to Halloweentown, premiering in 2006. But, a third High School Musical film was very likely.

It wouldn’t be long before confirmation of the next High School Musical came. By the end of 2007, it had been announced that the script had been written and the music was in development. It was just a question of exactly when they could get all the cast together to start filming, with Disney planning pre-production to start around January 2008.

Other specific details we knew before filming began were that Peter Barsocchini would be returning as the screenwriter for High School Musical 3: Senior Year and that Kenny Ortega would once again be the director. They were also heading to Utah, back to where the previous two movies had been filmed[1]. It was also later confirmed that the third film would be showing in movie theatres in October 2008, not on Disney Channel.

There were a couple of other rumours swirling around about High School Musical 3. One of these was that Disney had been discussing the potential of making this third movie Halloween-themed, something along the lines of “Haunted High School Musical”. This idea did not last long, before it was settled that the film would follow the Wildcats during their senior year and into graduation. It has been said that the reason a Halloween-themed High School Musical was floated is because Disney Channel was aware of the fact their Halloween Disney Channel movies have been some of their best performers, and are popular each and every year as the Halloween season begins. I don’t think this plan was popular with either the cast or the crew though! It would also seem that a 3D version of High School Musical 3: Senior Year was considered for its theatrical release. 3D movies were becoming more frequent around this time in the 2000s, but this never materialised[2].

Filming for High School Musical 3: Senior Year took place from May to June 2008, in what was the longest shooting schedule of the movie franchise at around 40 days. This followed five weeks of dance rehearsals, more than the cast had done for High School Musical or High School Musical 2, showing that returning choreographers Bonnie Story and Charles Klapow had increased the difficulty and performance level for this next film, set to be the final one for most of the cast. The budget was also much higher than the previous two films, at a reported $30 million. The cast and crew returned to some familiar locations for this film, since, unlike High School Musical 2, the story takes place predominately at the high school. This meant they came back to East High School and its now-famous locations like the school cafeteria, as well as Murray High School for its auditorium.

Another important filming location was Stanford University itself, in California. It’s apparently quite uncommon for Stanford to allow access to its campus for filming crews, but the university felt the storyline within High School Musical 3: Senior Year reflected its own views and opinions about college life, and inclusivity. The areas Vanessa Hudgens was spotted walking through for Gabriella’s scenes at Stanford included the New Guinea Sculpture Garden, Lasuen Mall and the Quad, and History Corner[3].

The production design for High School Musical 3: Senior Year was of a much higher standard than for the first two films. Mark Hofeling, later the production designer of the ZOMBIES franchise, another set of Disney Channel movie musicals, was the production designer on this trilogy. There were a huge amount of highly detailed sets for use in the filming process, like Troy’s treehouse, the big sets for the in-movie musical, the junkyard, the Broadway-musical-stylised “I Want It All” mini-sets, and even the spinning box that Zac Efron navigated for a portion of “Scream”. Nothing looked too over-the-top, but it was sleek, colourful, and professional, not feeling like sets for a low-budget TV movie.

There were also two different proms that had to be staged for this film. “A Night to Remember” is shown to be a rehearsal of the “perfect prom” for the spring musical, as we see the Wildcats on stage in their school theatre. It was meant to show the excitement of the girls about prom, and the boys’ nervousness about it! The other prom, “The Last Waltz”-themed prom takes place as more of a fantasy. The school hall was decorated with a large tree in the centre and lots of lanterns, again following what a traditional high school prom might look like to make the film feel realistic. The fantasy element comes from the fact that this prom is also accompanied by a song, a reprise of Troy and Gabriella’s duet “Can I Have This Dance”, and sees all the Wildcats dancing a waltz together, with real ballroom technique, despite Troy and Gabriella actually being in Stanford at the time. This prom was simple, beautiful, and calm, not like the energetic prom for the musical. This sequence was the last scene to be filmed inside the East High School gym.

The other vital thing about these proms was the costuming, with the characters wearing the same outfits in both. Gabriella’s dress was made to look ethereal, using feathery, flowing fabric, to match her angelic character. Taylor’s dress was a 50s inspired dress, complete with checked fabric and even the addition of a bow tie. This perfectly reflects Taylor’s character as the dress is serious and classy. Kelsi’s dress ended up being ballerina-themed, with a twirly skirt. Sharpay’s dress is hot pink, because she loves pink, and is shorter at the front than the back, complete with extra crystals across the waist and back of the dress. It’s a standout dress, because Sharpay does like to be the centre of attention, even at prom[4]. Their respective dates, of Troy, Chad, Ryan, and Zeke, have their own spectacular outfits, although arguably Troy’s is the most traditional, as it is just a grey suit. Chad has a white suit with purple detailing, to match Taylor. The most interesting thing to note though is that on the back of his suit jacket it says “8 Danforth” to represent his basketball jersey. Ryan gets a three-piece suit in beige or cream to coordinate with Kelsi’s dress, whilst Zeke wears a tailcoat, with a hot pink satin sash. Mattel seem to have made dolls of these characters in their prom outfits, showing how popular these costumes were with fans. Like the sets, the costume design was taken up a notch for this finale as well.

High school graduations are basically the same throughout the US, at least from what I can tell from my extensive viewing of teen and high school films! Some take place in school halls and auditoriums, and others are outside, but the students all wear gowns and caps in their school colours. For High School Musical 3, they chose to stage graduation outside on the East High school field, and the students wear either red or white gowns. This graduation scene was also accompanied by the song “High School Musical”. The final shot on this field was of the main six walking forward, turning towards the rest of the graduating class, and then a red curtain falling between them. This was an emotional day of filming for the cast, as their High School Musical journey was almost at an end and they were basically graduating themselves, onto different projects and potentially away from Disney. Apparently the very last scene shot with the main cast members was the final scene of the film, where they are all stand on stage as the camera pans to each of them. You can see tears in some of their eyes, showing how big a moment this was for High School Musical to be ending[5].

High School Musical 3: Senior Year was destined to follow the characters as they end their time at high school, because nothing can last forever, no matter how much you might want it to, but with something ending, that also means a new beginning and a chance for a fresh start. The young cast had matured over the course of those three years, and now it was time for them to have their own new beginning.

RECEPTION

High School Musical 3: Senior Year came to theatres in October 2008. The official US release date was 24^th October 2008, although some countries, such as the UK and Europe, may’ve released the film a day or two earlier, likely for previews. It had reached most countries by the end of 2008, although some parts of Asia didn’t get to view it until 2009.

Because High School Musical 3 was to be the end of this trilogy, following the main six of Troy, Gabriella, Chad, Taylor, Sharpay, and Ryan whilst at East High, naturally, there was a lot of promotion in the build-up to its release. There were multiple red-carpet premieres too, with the UK one being held in Leicester Square on 7^th October, and the Los Angeles one being held at the Galen Center on 16^th October.

Although those at Disney knew there was an appetite for High School Musical as a franchise, choosing to release the third film theatrically was considered a slight risk, as they had no way of gauging their expectations, since the previous two movies had only premiered on television, where viewing figures were exceptionally high, especially for the second film.

But Disney executives didn’t have anything to worry about because on its opening weekend in the US, from 24^th to 26^th October 2008, the movie took an estimated $42 million at the box-office, making it the best ever showing for a movie musical at the time, outdoing Mamma Mia, which came out earlier that year, with $27.8 million and 2007’s Hairspray, which also starred Zac Efron, with $27.5 million. Even better, High School Musical 3: Senior Year was top of the box office that weekend, beating out Saw V’s figure of $30 million in sales. High School Musical 3 took in around $40 million from overseas that same weekend[6].

It was a good opening weekend for High School Musical 3: Senior Year, though don’t go thinking that it topped the box office in 2008, because it didn’t. The film made a total of just under $253 million, which is a respectable number. It ended the year at No. 23 on the worldwide box office listings. It was in a similar position to the popular rom-com Marley & Me, further proving High School Musical 3 held its own at the box office that year. The Dark Knight topped the list in 2008 with a little over $1 billion though.

High School Musical 3: Senior Year’s potentially surprising arrival to movie theatres helped boost Disney’s takings that year, since both Pixar’s WALL-E and Disney Animation’s Bolt had been outdone by two different DreamWorks films: Kung Fu Panda and Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa. Disney had also struggled with their live-action film The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, which didn’t do as well as expected.

As with any High School Musical film, there were a mixture of comments about it, both positive and negative, from both fans and casual viewers. Overall, it received similar audience reaction to the previous two movies, potentially slightly worse than the second. Amongst fans, it is split just where High School Musical 3: Senior Year fits in the ranking of the trilogy. Personally, it’s the best for me, followed by High School Musical 2. Some agreed with me, others said it was worst, and some said it was in the middle of three.

Some specific comments on the film ranged from praise for the staging, thanks to its increased budget, and the improved choreography, particularly in “The Boys Are Back” sequence. I felt that High School Musical 3 did feel very cinematic and suited being on “the big screen”. The set design and costuming were a real step-up from the previous two films. Many critics said it was a good choice to put Zac Efron front-and-centre of this third film, as he had been for the second. This was always going to be Disney’s way of ensuring they pleased the High School Musical fans, who were – let’s face it – predominately teenage girls! It was considered by those who liked the film that High School Musical 3: Senior Year brought the trilogy to a solid conclusion.

However, others weren’t so happy with the film. Professional critics called High School Musical 3 things like “dire” and “stale”, without acknowledging that they were quite clearly not the target demographic. Some felt the music was forgettable, and inferior to the previous two films. I disagree with this point; I think the music in High School Musical 3 has quite obviously matured from the catchy pop of the previous two. It was felt that High School Musical 3 was too “squeaky clean”, to which all I can say is: it’s Disney; what did you expect? The worst critique is the comment that High School Musical 3: Senior Year lacks a central dilemma. I don’t understand why anyone would think that. Sure, the central dilemma is about where Troy wants to go to college, and that might not be particularly ground-breaking, but it was wholly relevant and relatable to the teenagers watching. Every year, teenagers have to decide where they want to go to college, and teenage relationships factor into that in many cases, as they fear what being long-distance might do to them, and just whether they want to go to university at all. It might be a bit of a superficial dilemma, but it is a problem that we follow throughout the film and watch Troy figure out.

In terms of awards, the success really came from the fans, with wins at teen-centric award ceremonies. For example, at the US Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards, High School Musical 3: Senior Year won awards for Favorite Movie and Favorite Movie Actress for Vanessa Hudgens. At the 2009 Teen Choice Awards, High School Musical 3 won two awards: Choice Movie: Music/Dance and Choice Movie Actor: Music/Dance for Zac Efron, with Corbin Bleu also being nominated in this category. Ashley Tisdale and Vanessa Hudgens were both nominated for Choice Movie Actress: Music/Dance, but lost to Miley Cyrus in Hannah Montana: The Movie (2009). It was clear there was a rivalry brewing between High School Musical and Twilight (2008) at this time, as High School Musical 3 lost the Choice Movie: Liplock award to Twilight – gasp! Actors from Twilight also swept other categories at this award show. Plus, at the Australian Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards, although Zac Efron was nominated for Fave Movie Star, he lost out to Robert Pattinson. The Twilight movies were all set to replace High School Musical now they were over…

Also at the MTV Movie Awards, Twilight won the award for Best Movie, with High School Musical 3: Senior Year being nominated. But Zac Efron and Ashley Tisdale did win awards for Best Male Performance and Breakthrough Performance – Female. Efron and Hudgens once again lost Best Kiss to Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart though. Other awards for High School Musical 3: Senior Year included the Jackie Coogan Award being given to Kenny Ortega at the Young Artist Awards for his work on High School Musical.

As with any Disney Channel-related movie, of course High School Musical 3: Senior Year would make its way to our TV screens for a Disney Channel premiere – after its DVD release with its extended edition, deleted scenes, and behind-the-scenes moments. It apparently premiered on the US Disney Channel on 4^th April 2010. Internationally, High School Musical 3 premiered in 2010 as well in many cases. It is unclear what its viewing figures were from the premiere, reportedly about 4 million, so not topping any viewing records, but that isn’t surprising as the film had been available to view for over a year.

LEGACY

Immediately after watching High School Musical 3: Senior Year, even though I knew this was likely it for the main cast, although maybe not Sharpay as they had written it in that she could return to East High’s drama department to work with Ms. Darbus, I thought Disney Channel would make more movies with the High School Musical title. I even remember discussing it with my mum on the car ride home from the movie theatre.

It felt like, with the introductions of Tiara Gold, Jimmie “Rocket Man” Zara, and Donny Dion, Disney Channel was setting us up for more stories to come from East High featuring these three characters, plus many opportunities for new ones to come in. They could’ve gone round in an endless loop of trilogies, following the pattern they’d just created. I can’t honestly say I was excited by the idea, since I didn’t particularly like any of the new characters in High School Musical; they were just there, in and around the story, but luckily not on screen enough to take away from the main cast that we actually bought tickets to see.

Strangely enough, this next High School Musical movie did not happen. There was reportedly an unaired pilot called Madison High, made for Disney Channel in 2011, which was meant to be a spin-off to High School Musical, and could’ve seen Alyson Reed return as Ms. Darbus, in a new school, I presume. The cast included some familiar Disney Channel names, such as Luke Benward and Katherine McNamara, who both starred in the DCOM Girl vs. Monster (2012), and G. Hannelius, who had roles in the Disney Channel series Sonny with a Chance (2009-11) and Dog with a Blog (2012-15), along with a leading role in the DCOM Den Brother (2010). Madison High was meant to air in 2012, but never did. The reason it was cancelled remains unknown to this day.

But we did get an actual High School Musical spin-off, just not what we were perhaps expecting. This was Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure (2011), which saw us follow Sharpay Evans’ journey after her graduation from East High. This was not a reunion for all the High School Musical cast, as only Ryan and Mr. and Mrs. Evans make a return for this film.

After that, a few years went by with little discussions about expansions to the High School Musical franchise. That is until 2016, when Disney Channel announced a nationwide casting search for a new sequel, which would’ve focused on the rivalry between the East High Wildcats and the West High Knights. It was debated whether this sudden announcement of a High School Musical sequel was in relation to the increase of live TV specials recreating musicals that were on our screens around this time, including NBC’s The Sound of Music Live! (2013); NBC’s Hairspray Live! (2016); and Fox’s Grease Live! (2016). This sequel was set to have Peter Barsocchini write the script with Dan Berendsen, a frequent DCOM writer. The director was meant to be Jeffrey Hornaday, the director of Disney Channel’s Teen Beach movies[7]. This sequel also did not happen for unknown reasons.

Over ten years after High School Musical 3: Senior Year had premiered, finally, a new screen project was confirmed around the franchise. This was the mockumentary style Disney+ series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, which debuted on the streaming service in November 2019. It followed students at a fictionalised version of the real East High School in Salt Lake City, where the original movies were filmed. The drama teacher wants to put on High School Musical: The Musical as her first show. Four seasons in total aired, with each season focusing on the students putting on a different musical. The cast included singer Olivia Rodrigo, known for her Disney Channel role of Paige Olvera in the series Bizaardvark (2016-19); Sofia Wylie who was Buffy Driscoll in Disney’s Andi Mack (2017-19); and Dara Reneé, who was cast in Disney Channel’s remake of Freaky Friday (2018), going on to be cast as Uliana in the rebooted Descendants franchise. Former High School Musical cast members also made appearances on the show as themselves, including Kaycee Stroh, Corbin Bleu, Monique Coleman, Bart Johnson, and Alyson Reed. The final season premiered in August 2023.

Back to 2008 now though. Shortly after High School Musical 3’s release, Corbin Bleu was a featured performer in the Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade in 2008. He was introduced as being a cast member in High School Musical 3. Bleu sang the song “Celebrate You”, which was also used for a Disney Parks celebration around this time.

Continuing High School Musical’s presence at the Disney Parks, a new pep rally was added, this time promoting High School Musical 3: Senior Year. Replacing High School Musical 2: School’s Out! was High School Musical 3: Senior Year – Right Here! Right Now!. The new pep rally came to the US parks of Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World in Florida and Disney California Adventure Park in Anaheim in October 2008, in time to promote the third movie’s release. The songs performed in this pep rally were “Now or Never”, “A Night to Remember”, “The Boys Are Back”, “Just Wanna Be with You”, “I Want It All”, and “High School Musical”. Disneyland Paris had also had the previous pep rallies; however, their third iteration was quite different. It was called High School Musical: The Party, running from April to September 2009, and included music from all three films. From High School Musical 3, the singers performed “Just Wanna Be With You” and “I Want It All”.

This third pep rally ended in the US in 2010, being replaced with Disney Channel Rocks; but no song from High School Musical 3 was used as it celebrated music from numerous Disney Channel movies and series. “We’re All in This Together” was the only High School Musical song to make it into the set. It ended in Disney’s Hollywood Studios in 2013. It is less clear when it stopped in California initially. It did make a return for the after-hours event Disneyland After Dark: Disney Channel Nite on 5^th and 7^th March 2024.

Also at this event was the High School Musical / ZOMBIES Pep Rally. The opening and closing song of the set was a mash-up of High School Musical’s “We’re All in This Together” and ZOMBIES 2’s “Like the Zombies Do”. Other songs from the High School Musical franchise included “Get’cha Head in the Game”, “Breaking Free”, and “High School Musical”. ZOMBIES fans could sing along to “BAMM”, “Someday”, and “Fired Up” as Seabrook High and East High students went “head-to-head”. As Disney Channel Nite is making a return in 2026, both the High School Musical / ZOMBIES Pep Rally and the Disney Channel Rocks show will be returning as well, on 12^th, 14^th, and 16^th April 2026.

FINAL THOUGHTS

High School Musical 3: Senior Year was a real treat to watch in cinemas.

It was like Disney had decided to throw everything at it, to make this final film of the original trilogy a real last hurrah, a celebration of the craziness they’d created, with a moving story, impressive music, and a real spectacular mood. This film must’ve really affected me, because even now, I can’t watch High School Musical 3 without dissolving into floods of tears for at least the last 45 minutes.

I suppose this had a lot to do with the fact High School Musical 3: Senior Year was when the fans said goodbye to this amazing cast who’d been there for us in childhood. We all knew they’d go on to bigger and better things, but this was an ending, a finale.

However, although the first three films ended, it was never going to be the end for High School Musical. Even if Disney stop making new experiences or screen projects revolving around it, nobody will ever stop talking about High School Musical, because this franchise changed how we viewed Disney Channel and Disney in general.

They could create global phenomena. High School Musical wasn’t the first and didn’t end up being Disney’s last.

REFERENCES

[1] Credit: Ernio Hernandez, ‘Senior Year-Themed “High School Musical 3” to Begin Filming in Utah in Spring’, Playbill.com, 28^th November 2007.

[2] Credit: Ellen Durney, ‘I Read A Book About Disney Channel, And These Behind-The-Scenes Details About The Making Of The “High School Musical” Left Me So Shocked’, Buzzfeed.com, 27^th December 2024.

[3] Credit: Stanford Magazine, ‘Wildcat Spotted on Campus’, StanfordMag.org, November/December 2008.

[4] Credit: Disney, “The Prom”, from High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008) UK Extended Edition DVD (2009).

[5] Credit: Disney, “Graduation”, from High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008) UK Extended Edition DVD (2009).

[6] Credit: Michael A. Hiltzik, ‘For ‘High School Musical 3’, a trip to the head of the class’, LATimes.com, 27^th October 2008.

[7] Credit: BBC, ‘Disney is reviving High School Musical with a whole new cast’, BBC.co.uk, 2^nd March 2016.

23rd Jan 202630th Jan 2026 by The Disney Purist

High School Musical 2 (2007)

BACKGROUND

High School Musical took the world by storm in 2006.

So, what happens after a movie is shown to be a huge success? Do you just leave it alone, not wanting to push your luck? No, of course not! You make a sequel obviously!

If you were watching Disney Channel during the mid-2000s, it was almost impossible to get away from High School Musical as clips and music videos from the movie filled up any available space between its scheduling. During the summer of 2007, these spaces were filled with promotion for High School Musical 2. Disney Channel knew that High School Musical 2 was going to be highly anticipated after the first film, so they had to whip viewers up into a frenzy, to ensure the second film outshone the first.

Sequels aren’t always very popular, as fans can think that the original film is so pure that a sequel will only ruin the film’s legacy and change how you feel about that first movie that you love. Others like sequels because they give an opportunity to improve upon the world where the first film is set, and in many cases, more minor characters get a chance to shine in a sequel. But sometimes a sequel is simply a rehash of an original and nobody wants that, because that is lazy filmmaking, although sometimes it can still be entertaining.

In my case, I actually prefer a lot of sequels over their originals; not all the time, but quite a lot of the time. I think I like the increased production budget that comes with most sequels so the overall look of a sequel is just better. That was definitely the case with High School Musical 2 and is a big reason why I like this sequel so much more than the first film. I also like how other characters outside of Troy and Gabriella get some screen time in High School Musical 2, particularly Ryan who finally sees his sister for the villain she can be.

I hadn’t avoided the interest in High School Musical 2, and threw myself right into it, getting excited for the sequel, which only came to UK screens a month after the US premiere, much better than the nine-month gap between the US premiere and UK premiere of High School Musical. It still missed summer, as we were back to school by that point, but it didn’t matter. High School Musical 2 made us all feel summery regardless of when we watched it. I also got the soundtrack for the film on CD prior to seeing the film. I got it in a Tesco supermarket, and my sister asked why I’d want to spoil the film for myself by listening to the CD obsessively over the summer.

Easy. I had to be prepared. It was that much of an event in my life.

PLOT

High School Musical 2 begins back at East High, on the last day of school before summer. Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez, along with Sharpay, Ryan, Chad and Taylor, and their other classmates are counting down the minutes, the seconds even, until summer break, while their homeroom and drama teacher Ms. Darbus drones on about…something. The bell finally rings and it is officially summer!

As the gang walk through the corridors, they discuss their summer plans. Sharpay offers Kelsi a job as the pianist at her family’s country club, and starts wondering how she can use the summer to get Troy to be interested in her. Gabriella has regularly moved every summer, so Sharpay has hope that Gabriella is about to leave again, but Gabriella tells Sharpay she is staying in Albuquerque until she graduates. Bad luck, Sharpay! Gabriella thought Sharpay was starting to warm up to her after helping her with the school musical; obviously not! The others are hoping to find jobs over the break, because with college coming up, they’re looking to earn some extra cash and have something to put on their college applications, however, Gabriella and Taylor have both been struggling to find anything. Troy tells Gabriella not to worry as he has plenty of plans for their summer together. He then gives her a necklace with a “T” on it, as in Troy. They are about to kiss but are interrupted by a student wanting Troy to sign his yearbook… After that, they head home.

The next day, Troy has been playing basketball with his friends when he gets a phone call. It is from Mr. Fulton, the manager of the Lava Springs Country Club, offering Troy a job. He accepts, also saying that he has plenty of friends who would be great employees for the summer, especially Gabriella.

At Lava Springs, Sharpay and Ryan have arrived in Sharpay’s bright pink car and are greeted by Mr. Fulton. Lava Springs is owned by Sharpay and Ryan’s family, and it turns out Sharpay asked Mr. Fulton to hire Troy. She is happy to hear that Troy has been hired, and starts thinking about “her” summer talent show that the country club put on for members and employees alike. The prize for winning is called the Star Dazzle Award, something Sharpay – and Ryan – have won every year for years. This year won’t be any different.

Sharpay heads down to the pool and meets up with her girls, Jackie, Lea and Emma, also known as the Sharpettes. Sharpay starts to moan about how her drama club was infiltrated by other kids at school, but Ryan reminds her it’s summer now, so she can forget all that. Sharpay soon gets into the summer spirit when she sees Troy arrive at the club, however, she spots him waving at someone. Following that wave, Sharpay is horrified to see Gabriella here, working as the lifeguard, as well as all the others from East High. In her shock, Sharpay falls into the pool, and is “saved” by Gabriella. Sharpay then heads directly to Mr. Fulton, and asks why he hired them. Mr. Fulton was told to hire Troy whatever it takes; I guess it took the hiring of all the Wildcats! Mr. Fulton said the board did clear the hiring of them, so Sharpay goes directly to her mother, who is on the board, interrupting her yoga class. Sharpay’s mother refuses to fire them and doesn’t see the problem, thinking this is a good thing to have their classmates here. Not getting anywhere, Sharpay tells Mr. Fulton to get the others to quit. But not Troy, obviously.

In the kitchen, Mr. Fulton gives everyone their jobs. Zeke is assisting the chef, and Martha and Jason are also kitchen help; Taylor is head of member activities; and Chad and Troy have been hired as waiters, and occasional golf caddies. Kelsi is the pianist. Mr. Fulton warns them all that he runs on the “three strikes and you’re out” rule. Just at that exact moment, Gabriella comes into the kitchen for lunch three minutes earlier than she should do. Mr. Fulton says he’ll overlook this one timing issue, but no others. Suddenly, jobs don’t sound much fun, do they? Troy tries to encourage the others, saying summer will be great.

Later that day, Troy and Gabriella have a romantic picnic on the golf course, which Sharpay and Ryan watch over. Sharpay asks maintenance to turn on the sprinklers to ruin their date, but instead of ruining it, Troy and Gabriella simply run through the sprinklers together. They are then caught by Mr. Fulton, who tells them that is strike one.

The next day, Gabriella and Troy arrive at Lava Springs and hear Kelsi playing something new on the piano. They go over to her, and she tells them she’s been working on something for the employee talent show, hoping Troy and Gabriella will sing the leads. Troy doesn’t want to focus on singing anymore now that the school musical is over, but Gabriella convinces him to try out the song. The others hear their performance and join in, deciding this has to be their talent show number. All this has been heard by Ryan, who reports back to Sharpay. Sharpay has a plan to stop the employees from ruining her talent show and taking her Star Dazzle Award; it all starts with Troy.

That afternoon, Sharpay has Troy and Chad caddy for her family as they head out on the golf course together. Troy and Chad therefore meet Mr. and Mrs. Evans. Midway through, Troy asks Gabriella on a date, a poolside picnic, for later that evening. She accepts, shortly before Sharpay whisks Troy back to the golf course on her golf cart. Sharpay gets Troy to take a shot, and Mr. Evans is impressed. Sharpay asks her father to consider Troy for a scholarship to the University of Albuquerque, since Troy has talent in both basketball and golf. Troy isn’t so sure, but appreciates the support, being concerned about college.

After golf, Troy and Chad are rightly exhausted. Troy is then told he will be dining as a guest of the Evans’, giving Troy suitable attire to wear. Jason and Chad will be the waiters for the evening. This makes Troy uncomfortable, but he feels he has no choice. Also joining them for dinner are board members at the university, who want to talk to Troy about his college plans. They feel he would be a suitable candidate for a scholarship. To top it all off, Sharpay also reveals Troy’s singing abilities. Putting him on the spot, Sharpay says Troy should sing with her sometime. Troy has no choice but to say he will, before making his excuses and leaving the table. He apologises to Gabriella for being late for their date. He just needs to change out of the suit and he’ll be ready. Gabriella tries not to let it bother her.

At this point, Troy is led away by Mr. Fulton to a dark room and placed in a chair. He is then subjected to an over-the-top performance by Sharpay, her brother, and the Sharpettes. This is going to be her talent show number, but she wants Troy to sing in place of Ryan. Troy doesn’t want to sing with her, not liking how excessive all Sharpay’s performances are. This makes Sharpay think that if she tones it down, Troy will want to sing with her. He doesn’t, and makes a hasty exit! This is actually an extended scene that did not appear in the original film premiere. In place of this, it moves right to Troy getting back to Gabriella at the pool. Back at the pool, Troy immediately jumps right in. Gabriella tells Troy he’s not supposed to be in the pool as it is for members only. He then pretends to drown, forcing Gabriella to jump in and “save” him. They swim around for a bit – before getting caught by Mr. Fulton. He orders them out of the pool. That’s strike two.

Back at home, Troy talks to his dad about how strange dinner felt with his friends being his waiters. Coach Bolton tells Troy not to worry about it, because college is important and sometimes you need to focus on yourself. Troy isn’t so sure about that.

The next day, Troy is called to Mr. Fulton, who promotes Troy to a golf assistant. He is given membership privileges, his own locker, golf caddy, and fancy clothes to match this new job title. Troy is also placed in charge of the kids’ golf lessons. At his first class, Troy doesn’t do a whole lot of teaching, until Sharpay arrives. He sees Sharpay is really bad and teaches her a good golf swing. Sharpay asks Troy to sing with her in the talent show, knowing it would be a good opportunity to impress people from the college to help his scholarship chances. Troy reluctantly agrees to sing with her. Meanwhile, Taylor and Gabriella have seen all this play out and are suspicious of Sharpay’s intentions. It also becomes clear that Sharpay actually plays golf really well, so was only pretending to be bad to get Troy’s attention. Troy then sees Mr. Evans with some basketball players from the university. They invite Troy to practice at the university and have lunch with them. During lunch, Chad continues to be the waiter. Seeing Troy with basketball players, Chad hopes to be introduced, however, Troy only calls Chad back to hand his order back: he ordered Swiss on his burger, don’t you know! Chad is furious and complains to Taylor and Gabriella about how weird Troy is being, not recognising him at all anymore.

Sharpay goes to Kelsi and tells her to transpose her talent show duet into Sharpay’s key as she will be singing it with Troy. Ryan overhears and asks Sharpay what he’s going to do in the talent show. She tells him to figure it out himself. Gabriella then goes to Troy who asks her to a movie that evening, after he’s done with practice at the university. Gabriella warns him to not forget who he is, which confuses Troy. He then sees Chad and the others who ask if the college players want to play basketball against them at the club. Troy says they wouldn’t want to do that and leaves with them. Troy also forgets the employee baseball game he promised to attend, alienating the Wildcats further.

Heading to the baseball game, Gabriella and Taylor see Ryan on his own. They invite him to the game, where Chad is surprised to see him there. Ryan is thinking about helping the employees with their talent show performance, but Chad tells him not to bother and just to focus on the baseball. When Ryan is proven to be a great baseball player, Chad comes round to the idea of performing, cementing Ryan as part of their group now. Meanwhile, Troy tries to call Gabriella during basketball practice but she doesn’t answer, as she is enjoying herself with the employees after the baseball game.

The next morning, Troy finds himself feeling like an outsider, as nobody is talking to him normally. Troy is then called over to rehearse with Sharpay for the talent show. He is stunned by her extravagant performance yet again and just can’t get into it. It’s too intense, but Troy feels he has no choice, especially now that he sees the employees rehearsing their own number without him. Sharpay sees this too, and accuses Ryan of trying to ruin the talent show for her. He ignores her, liking being with the employees more. Not liking how little control she has over her brother, Sharpay goes straight to Mr. Fulton and orders him to ban the employees from the talent show, as they’ll need to work that night. Mr. Fulton doesn’t want to do that, but delivers the news to Taylor, clearly uncomfortable with the position he’s been put in. She sympathises before breaking the news to everyone else. Gabriella immediately realises this is Sharpay’s doing and confronts her. She asks Sharpay why she is going to so much effort to ruin everyone’s summer. Sharpay thinks Gabriella is just sore because she has “won”. Gabriella doesn’t know what Sharpay is talking about, but knows this was either about Troy or the Star Dazzle Award, probably both. Gabriella then quits on the spot. Troy tries to change her mind, but she tells Troy he’s acting too differently now that he has a college scholarship on the line. This isn’t working for her.

At home, Troy talks to his father about how he’s been acting like a jerk, and that nobody is talking to him. His father doesn’t understand, only telling Troy to figure out what will make him be a better person. Troy has a lot to think about.

Back at work, Troy gets the cold shoulder from everyone, except Kelsi who shows him the memo stating that staff are banned from the talent show. Knowing this was at least partially his fault, Troy starts to fix everything. He tells Sharpay he’s an employee so he can’t sing with her anymore. Sharpay is annoyed, telling Troy he is basically a member so that doesn’t apply to him. Troy responds that he asked for his old waiting job back, so that isn’t the case now. He’d rather be a good person than spend all his time stepping on other people to fight for a university scholarship.

On the night of the talent show, Sharpay tells Ryan to get ready as their original number is back on. Ryan refuses to perform with her, putting Sharpay’s chances of winning the show at jeopardy. She can’t understand why nobody is doing what she says! Troy apologises to the Wildcats for his behaviour and for them not being allowed in the show. Chad and the others accept his apology. Ryan then says he doesn’t want his sister to be embarrassed on stage so asks Troy to sing with her. He goes to Sharpay and says he will sing, but only if the others are allowed to perform. She understands and agrees. Kelsi and Ryan say that Sharpay switched songs, so Troy is taken away to a last-minute rehearsal.

On stage, Troy is about to go on and asks Sharpay why she changed songs. She says she didn’t, and learns this was all part of Ryan’s plan. Sharpay won’t be performing with Troy tonight. Troy sings alone with Kelsi accompanying on the piano. He then hears Gabriella’s voice. Looking to the line of employees, he sees Gabriella and she walks to the stage. They sing together, and the employees join in too. Troy even invites Sharpay to join them. At the end of the song, Mr. Fulton is about to hand the Star Dazzle Award over to Sharpay, as this was technically her slot in the show, but Sharpay interrupts and hands it over to Ryan instead. Well, at least someone in the family won it, I suppose!

After the show, the Wildcats, with Ryan and Sharpay, walk through the golf course together with lanterns. Troy and Gabriella finally have their first kiss, and as they do, fireworks are set off. The sprinklers are also set off, shocking everyone, but they don’t care! At the end of summer, the employees are given a pool party for all their hard work. Ryan and Sharpay also join, and the movie ends with Troy and Gabriella jumping in the pool together.

CHARACTERS & CAST

After seeing their romance develop in High School Musical, if you thought things would be smooth sailing for Troy and Gabriella in High School Musical 2, you’d be wrong. Although they begin the movie with high hopes for their first summer together, everything goes badly for them when they arrive at the Lava Springs Country Club. Whilst Troy spends all his time with Sharpay, Sharpay’s parents, or with college people, Gabriella is left to wonder just who Troy really is, as he rejects his friends, breaks dates, and starts to believe his own self-importance. Eventually, everything gets too much for Gabriella and she leaves Lava Springs, signalling that her and Troy are better off apart, at least for the time being. This causes Troy to snap out of whatever college-obsessed trance he was in and comes to his senses, apologises to all his friends for being a jerk to them and reconciling with Gabriella in the usual way: with a romantic duet, written just for them. Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens reprised their roles as Troy and Gabriella in High School Musical 2.

Troy and Gabriella aren’t the only High School Musical pairing to have their dynamic change either, as twins Sharpay and Ryan also grow distant from each other over the course of this film. Sharpay has decided that this summer she will put all her focus on Troy and winning the Star Dazzle Award for another year running; that’s it. Ryan, meanwhile, doesn’t seem to like all these mind games that Sharpay likes to play and just wants to have a relaxing summer. He doesn’t hate the Wildcats being at Lava Springs like Sharpay does, but he wants to keep his sister happy. When he discovers that Sharpay has excluded him from her talent show performance in favour of Troy, it hurts and upsets Ryan. Luckily for him, Gabriella includes Ryan in their group, despite not being an employee, but still being a Wildcat. Here, he finds people that respect him and his worth, unlike his sister, helping them to create a show-stopping number for the talent show instead. When things fall apart for Sharpay, and Troy decides not to sing with her, Ryan stands strong and refuses to sing with Sharpay as her second-best alternative. Sharpay sees the errors of her ways and hands the Star Dazzle Award to her brother at the end of the show – and rightly so. Ashley Tisdale and Lucas Grabeel returned to play their roles of Sharpay and Ryan.

Sharpay is also joined in High School Musical 2 by a group of three girls, who are dubbed the Sharpettes. I guess I’m supposed to say these girls are Sharpay’s friends, except she doesn’t have friends; she has a posse. These girls, Jackie, Lea, and Emma, are there to sing back-up for Sharpay during her performances, as well as suck up to her, and make her feel like the most important person in the world. They don’t have much screen time to develop their own identities – and that’s probably the point.

Jackie was played by Tanya Chisholm, who might look familiar, thanks to her role as Kelly Wainwright in the Nickelodeon series Big Time Rush (2009-13) and its television movie Big Time Movie (2012). She was also recently cast as Jenna in Season 4 of Tyler Perry’s series Sistas (2019-present) and appeared as Holly in the Hallmark movie Dial S for Santa (2023). Lea was played by Kelli Baker, who is credited as being a dancer in the other two High School Musical films as. She was also a contestant on Season 4 of So You Think You Can Dance (2005-24). Baker is the daughter of High School Musical choreographer Bonnie Story. Emma was played by McCall Clark, who, shortly after High School Musical 2, appeared as Justine in The Adventures of Food Boy (2008), which starred Lucas Grabeel.

Taylor and Chad also return in High School Musical 2, this time as a couple. We don’t see Taylor and Chad spend all that much time together at Lava Springs, aside from lunchtimes, as they are kept very busy by their respective jobs at the club. They are also too busy worrying about their best friends, with Taylor warning Gabriella about Troy’s changing behaviour and Sharpay’s intense focus on him, and Chad trying to get Troy to see that he is isolating himself from his friends in place of getting a college scholarship. Because of Taylor’s warning to Gabriella, she stands up to Sharpay, and to some extent to Troy, not allowing herself to be walked over, and Chad’s words clearly affect Troy enough to get him to reconsider what is most important to him: his friends, or Sharpay and her promise of a college scholarship. Monique Coleman and Corbin Bleu were back as Taylor and Chad.

Alongside the main six High School Musical cast members, others have also returned from the first movie. Kelsi is one of those. In High School Musical 2, Sharpay has hired her to be their pianist in the club restaurant, although she finds the music she is told to play quite boring! So, in her spare time, she is of course, composing new music. Two of these songs are for the talent show, with the first originally being for Gabriella and Troy, until Sharpay gets wind of it and alters it to be for her and Troy. Kelsi then writes the second as a new secret duet for Gabriella and Troy. Olesya Rulin reprised her role as Kelsi here.

There are also three other characters that return: Zeke, Chad and Troy’s basketball teammate who likes to cook; Martha, the smart girl-turned-dancer; and Jason, another basketball player who is a little bit dim, but kind to everyone, even their teacher Ms. Darbus. In High School Musical 2, all three of them work in the kitchen, with varying levels of enthusiasm. Zeke is very excited to be working alongside an amazing chef, whereas Martha would rather be dancing, and Jason would rather not be washing dishes. Who can blame him! All three of them are part of the employees’ activities over the summer, like the pool party, and the talent show, and get slightly more screen time compared to the first film.

Chris Warren was cast as Zeke. Shortly after the end of the High School Musical films, Warren appeared as Xander in Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (2009), before going on to be cast in various television series, including in the recurring role of Ty Hensdale in Seasons 3 and 4 of The Fosters (2013-16) on Freeform. Recently, he was cast as Hayden Moss in Tyler Perry’s comedy drama series Sistas (2019-present). Martha was played by Kaycee Stroh, who has had guest roles in various Disney shows like The Suite Life of Zack & Cody (2005-08), Andi Mack (2017-19), and The Disney Family Singalong (2020) since the end of High School Musical. Stroh was also in Season 7 of Celebrity Fit Club (2005-10). Ryne Sanborn was cast as Jason. Prior to High School Musical, he appeared in the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, which Kenny Ortega also happened to direct. After High School Musical, Sanborn was cast as Mike in The Adventures of Food Boy, before retiring from acting and pursuing other career paths, such as being an ice hockey player for the Utah Outliers.

Then, we have the adults. Mr. Fulton is the manager of the Lava Springs Country Club. Since Sharpay’s family own the resort, Mr. Fulton has become accustomed to taking orders from Sharpay herself. In the case of High School Musical 2, Mr. Fulton is tasked by Sharpay with hiring Troy Bolton. Sadly, his hiring of Troy was not “good enough” for Sharpay, because he had to hire all Troy’s friends to get him to consider a job at Lava Springs. This leads Sharpay to wanting Mr. Fulton to be so harsh on the others that they want to quit, so it can just be Troy at the club that summer. Mr. Fulton doesn’t seem to mind being strict, since most managers are, especially with younger employees, but he is pushed to breaking point by Sharpay when she insists he bans all the junior staffers from participating in the talent show simply because she’s scared she’ll lose the competition. Mr. Fulton clearly doesn’t want to do this, to the point that Taylor has to calm him down with a cup of tea! In the end, Mr. Fulton seems to have enjoyed working with the teenagers over the summer – and I’m sure he’s glad to be getting a break from the demands of Sharpay!

Mark L. Taylor was cast as Mr. Fulton. He may familiar to DCOM fans as he had previously played Hank Ogden, Eddie’s father, in Eddie’s Million Dollar Cook-Off (2003), and was also the dad in The Other Me (2000). Outside of this, Taylor was cast as Don Forrester in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989) and as Dr. Niles in Innerspace (1987).

Then, we have Mr. and Mrs. Evans. Vance Evans clearly adores his daughter, spoiling her and letting her get away with anything, even ordering staff around! He is also convinced by Sharpay to consider Troy for a college scholarship, without any sort of application or interview process. Troy only needs to keep Sharpay happy and he’d be offered it, which sounds very dodgy to me. I think it’s just easier for Vance to let Sharpay have what she wants so she doesn’t complain, because an angry Sharpay is not something anyone wants to deal with! Darby Evans, on the other hand, seems to be stricter with Sharpay, by not bowing to her demand of firing all her classmates from the club just because Sharpay doesn’t want them there. Darby seems to be closer to her son, Ryan, doing yoga classes with him, and appreciating his mellow attitude, which is the complete opposite of Sharpay.

Vance Evans was played by Robert Curtis Brown. He had previously been cast as Todd in Trading Places (1983), which starred Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd. He has also appeared as reporter Phil Sidleman in Bruce Almighty (2003); as Kyle van de Klok in Halloween II (2009); and as Peter in It’s Complicated (2009). In series, Robert Curtis Brown played Commander Andrew Pryce in early seasons of The Handmaid’s Tale (2017-25), going on to have a recurring role as Paul Montgomery in Seasons 4 and 5 of the drama series Station 19 (2018-24). For Disney Channel, he was also cast as Mark Kar, Zenon’s father, in the Disney Channel Original Movie Zenon: The Zequel (2001).

Darby Evans was played by Jessica Tuck. Prior to High School Musical 2, Tuck was cast as Brooke Anders in the Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen film Billboard Dad (1998), before going on to star as Gillian Gray in the legal drama Judging Amy (1999-2005). Since High School Musical 2, Tuck has been cast in the recurring roles of Nan Flanagan in the HBO series True Blood (2008-14) for HBO, and Christine Francis in Seasons 3 and 4 of the Apple TV series For All Mankind (2019-present).

Finally, a few other cast members return to the High School Musical franchise for the sequel. One of these is Bart Johnson as Troy’s father. In High School Musical 2, Coach Bolton is there to listen to Troy’s worries as he fears that going after a college scholarship is making him a different person, and isolating him from his friends. Coach Bolton seems to think focusing on the scholarship is a perfectly fine thing to do, but Troy decides he’d rather salvage what’s left of summer with his friends, rather than spend it thinking about college. Mrs. Bolton also returns for a small scene towards the start of High School Musical 2, where she asks Troy, his father, and his friends to help her bring in the groceries from her car. Mrs. Bolton was played by Leslie Wing-Pomeroy, who played Mrs. Bolton in the first High School Musical, and was also cast as Dr. Goodwyn in a different 2006 DCOM: Return to Halloweentown. Alyson Reed also returned as Ms. Darbus very briefly in the opening sequence of the film, as she tries to keep her students’ attention during the last few minutes of school before summer break starts.

MUSIC

The High School Musical 2 soundtrack was released in the US on 14^th August 2007, with the CD coming to other countries around this date or even the day before, meaning many High School Musical fans were able to hear the music days, weeks, or even months before the sequel had come to their respective Disney Channels.

The soundtrack consists of eleven songs, ten of which feature in the original edit of the film, and one other, listed as a “bonus track”, was used in a deleted sequence, which was later included in the Extended Edition of the film.

In movie order, the first song we hear is “What Time Is It”, which is the song the gang sing as soon as the bell rings to signal the end of the school term and the start of summer break, only a few minutes after the film begins. It shows how excited they all are for summer, detailing their plans for it. It’s a perfect tune for anyone’s summer, with its bright and breezy feel. This is performed by the main cast of Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel, Corbin Bleu, Monique Coleman, and Zac Efron, who does sing all the vocals for Troy Bolton in this film after Drew Seeley was used as the vocalist in High School Musical. It was written by Matthew Gerrard and Robbie Nevil, who also wrote songs for the first movie.

After the setting of the sequel moves from East High School over to Lava Springs Country Club, a song that showcases Sharpay quickly hits the screen. This song is “Fabulous”, explaining how Sharpay wants everything to be perfect this summer and for everyone to understand just how important – and demanding – she is. I love “Fabulous”; it is my favourite song in the sequel, simply because hearing Sharpay talk about things like having towels imported from Turkey, and turkey imported from Maine, as essential parts of her summer vacation are just so funny! She also claims to have iced tea imported from England, despite the UK not being known for drinking iced tea, just hot tea. “Fabulous” is also used in its instrumental form during the End Credits, as some bloopers roll, and gets a regal composition as Sharpay’s father lands his helicopter on the golf course for a family round of golf. The song was performed by Tisdale and Grabeel as Sharpay and Ryan predominately, and written by returning composers David Lawrence and Faye Greenberg.

Next is another group song, performed by the East High gang as they start to stress that their summer jobs aren’t going to be quite as wonderful as they thought, after hearing how strict their manager Mr. Fulton is. Troy and Gabriella perform “Work This Out” as a way of convincing them all to stick together to make the summer great, with the rest of the group joining in by the end of it. This is my least favourite song in the film, although it does have a good beat. “Work This Out” is performed by Efron, Hudgens, Coleman, and Bleu, as Troy, Gabriella, Taylor, and Chad, as well as Chris Warren Jr., Olesya Rulin, Ryne Sanborn, and Kaycee Stroh as Zeke, Kelsi, Jason, and Martha. It was written by Randy Petersen and Kevin Quinn, who also wrote music for the first High School Musical film.

Following that is the expected Troy and Gabriella romantic duet. This song is “You Are the Music in Me”. In the film, it has been written by Kelsi specifically for the couple, so they can lead the employees’ performance at the Lava Springs Talent Show. Efron and Hudgens sing this song brilliantly, as does Rulin as Kelsi sings the opening few lines to encourage them both to sing it. “You Are the Music in Me” easily surpasses the Troy and Gabriella duets in High School Musical for me. This number also returns towards the end of High School Musical 2, as Troy and Gabriella have their first kiss – before being shocked by the sprinklers turning on to water the golf course that evening! “You Are the Music in Me” was written by Jamie Houston, who previously wrote “Breaking Free” for the first film.

In the Extended Edition of High School Musical 2, the next song is “Humuhumunukunukuapua’a”. In this deleted scene, Troy is brought to an outdoor stage by Mr. Fulton to watch Sharpay, Ryan, and the Sharpettes perform this song, which is meant to be their talent show entry, although Sharpay is using her performance to try and convince Troy to replace Ryan as the prince in the song. The song title, “Humuhumunukunukuapua’a”, comes from the name given to Hawaii’s state fish, also known as the reef triggerfish. The song, though, states that this fish is actually a prince that a princess wants to ask the Gods to make human again. “Humuhumunukunukuapua’a” is performed by Tisdale and Grabeel. It is quite a random song. I wouldn’t say it’s bad, but it is such a strange song and performance, with lots of elaborate costumes, smoke, a fake volcano – and “fish noises” … It was written by David Lawrence and Faye Greenberg.

If you’re still following the story by this point, and “Humuhumunukunukuapua’a” hasn’t made you cringe so much you want to stop the film, the next song performed is much better. It is “I Don’t Dance”, performed by Corbin Bleu and Lucas Grabeel as Chad and Ryan. This takes place during the employee baseball game, as Chad tries to get Ryan to give up on creating a routine for the employees’ talent show, since Ryan has been kicked out of his sister’s performance, and Troy is too busy thinking about his future college. “I Don’t Dance” is quite jazzy and kind of hip-hop at times, suiting the frequent dance breaks. My only criticism is silly really, but for someone who apparently doesn’t want to dance, Chad certainly does a lot of choreography in this sequence, going head-to-head with Ryan at times. Perhaps the title should’ve been “I Don’t Dance – But If The Beat is Right Then Maybe I Will”. The song was written by Matthew Gerrard and Robbie Nevil.

After that, we get “You Are the Music in Me (Sharpay version)”, which is exactly as you’d expect it to be – Sharpay’s over-the-top, fast performance of a romantic song that was meant for Troy and Gabriella. She has changed the song to apparently keep the audience awake, but Troy is clearly uncomfortable with Sharpay’s version of the song, having to keep up with her dancing and special effects. Although I generally like Sharpay’s songs, in this case, the original version with Troy and Gabriella is much better. It was written by Jamie Houston and performed by Tisdale and Efron.

Then, we get to the emotional crux of High School Musical 2, as we wonder with Gabriella’s heartfelt number whether her and Troy are over for good. It is the perfect song for this scene, as Gabriella dramatically quits Lava Springs and walks away from her job and Troy, and I love it. “Gotta Go My Own Way” was sung mostly by Hudgens, although Efron as Troy does sing a portion of the song as he tries to convince Gabriella to stay at the country club. It was written by Andy Dodd and Adam Watts.

Troy follows this up with his own emotional breakthrough, but instead of being sad and disappointed like Gabriella, Troy is pumped up and ready to do what’s right with “Bet on It”, running all over the golf course, jumping onto rocks, and splashing water as he sings. “Bet on It” looks great on screen and signals a turning point for Troy. It was performed by Efron and written by Antonina Armato and Tim James. The duo have also written songs for other Disney projects including for the series Hannah Montana (2006-11) and Shake It Up (2010-13) as well as original movies, like some of the Descendants and ZOMBIES movies.

At the Lava Springs Talent Show towards the end of the film, we get a final duet from Troy and Gabriella, as they sing “Everyday” together after Gabriella returns to the club and the two reconcile. It’s a very sweet song that regularly makes me cry, and it’s great to see Troy and Gabriella back together after their little tiff. I also like seeing how all the gang – including Sharpay – come together at the end. “Everyday” was mostly performed by Hudgens and Efron and was written by Jamie Houston.

The final song in High School Musical 2 is another group number, reminiscent of “We’re All in This Together”, as the Wildcats once again realise they are a strong team when they work together. This is “All for One”, which is performed during the end of summer pool party, put on for the employees at Lava Springs. It’s a brilliant way of wrapping up the film, with something so upbeat and party-like. “All for One” was performed by the entire cast. It was written by Matthew Gerrard and Robbie Nevil.

There are also a couple of additional songs that can be heard in High School Musical 2. One of this is a throwback to the first film, as an instrumental version of “Get’cha Head in the Game” is used as Troy’s ringtone early on in the film when he gets the call from Mr. Fulton about getting a summer job at Lava Springs. Another is the song that briefly plays as Sharpay drives into Lava Springs with Ryan in her bright pink car. This song is “You Got It” and was sung by none other than Lucas Grabeel.

The score for High School Musical 2 was composed by David Lawrence, returning after working on High School Musical. Lawrence went on to compose the music for various other Disney Channel Original Movies, including StarStruck (2010), Freaky Friday (2018), and Good Luck Charlie, It’s Christmas! (2011).

The High School Musical 2 soundtrack became one of the best-selling albums of 2007, although it would seem that Josh Groban’s album Noël beat the Disney movie out for top spot that year in the US, despite selling almost 3 million copies there. This means that High School Musical 2’s soundtrack did not beat out its predecessor in terms of sales. There were around one million less copies sold than the High School Musical soundtrack of 2006.

However, the soundtrack was still successful in other ways, for example, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart and staying there for four consecutive weeks, and hitting the top spot in the US Billboard Soundtrack Albums chart. The album also topped the charts in other countries, such as the UK Compilation Albums chart; the Italian Compilation Albums chart; and the Billboard Canadian Albums chart. Many songs also made it into the Billboard Hot 100 chart, including “You Are the Music in Me” and “What Time Is It”. This was a slight underperformance from the success of the first movie’s soundtrack though. However, High School Musical 2 did win the Favorite Soundtrack award at the American Music Awards, after going up against two other very worthy musical film soundtracks: that of Hairspray (2007) and Dreamgirls (2006).

PRODUCTION

The cast of High School Musical had been busy after the premiere of High School Musical in January 2006. They’d had numerous public appearances, interviews, photoshoots, new work opportunities with Disney, like albums and TV projects. Monique Coleman had even been a contestant on Dancing with the Stars (2005-present) back in 2006 in their third season, coming in fourth place. It was an intense rollercoaster of emotions, I’m sure.

But they weren’t about to get any less busy, because they had a sequel to film. Shortly after the US tour of High School Musical: The Concert had finished, running from December 2006 to the end of January 2007, the cast were all back together for the sequel filming to take place in Spring 2007. Only one of the six main cast members did not participate in the concert tour and that was Zac Efron, but don’t worry; he wasn’t being lazy, as he’d been filming the musical Hairspray from September to December 2006.

Despite the tiring schedule, the cast all returned with plenty of energy and enthusiasm, wanting to outdo themselves by making High School Musical 2 even better than the original film. Peter Barsocchini returned to pen the sequel after writing the original film, and Kenny Ortega was also back, in the director’s chair, as were his choreographers, Bonnie Story and Charles Klapow, who had upped the ante with the dancing this time, meaning the cast, although still in shape from the tour, had quite a difficult time during their few weeks of dance rehearsals before filming began!

There were some fun moments to come from rehearsals though. One of these was that, in a similar way that basketball had been incorporated into the choreography of “Get’cha Head in the Game” from the first film, this time baseball was being used in the dance steps for the song “I Don’t Dance”. Another thing to come from rehearsals was that the cast sat in a long line, making a “massage train”, during one of their breaks. Ortega then came into the room and thought he could do something with that for the song “What Time Is It”. He got all the cast whilst still sitting to move to the left and the right, creating a wave. Ortega had them all stand up and do it again, and that is how that specific moment came to be in “What Time Is It”, during the point the whole group are dancing in the school corridor.

For High School Musical 2, the cast and crew returned to East High School in Salt Lake City in Utah for part of filming. The cast enjoyed seeing the cafeteria still decorated from when they’d filmed High School Musical there almost two years before, and liked finding their desks and lockers again. The school is only used for the first ten minutes of so of the film, as the gang sit in Ms. Darbus’ classroom, waiting for summer to start and then head out across the school, into the corridors and the cafeteria, performing “What Time Is It”. They also welcomed visitors to this set, including children from the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and the Governor of Utah at the time, Jon Huntsman Jr., who brought his young daughter to meet the cast as she was a big fan of the first film.

The other main filming location used for High School Musical 2, to be the setting of Lava Springs Country Club, was actually a real country club. Entrada at Snow Canyon Country Club first opened in St. George, Utah in 1996, consisting of an 18-hole golf course, set across 710 acres of desert landscape. It later opened a Sport and Fitness Center in December 2000, before opening its main clubhouse in May 2005. It became Lava Springs Country Club for High School Musical 2 in Spring 2007, with filming apparently completed by May. The cast and crew stayed at The Inn at Entrada, the on-site hotel, during filming and many residents of the country club were extras in the film[1]. The majority of High School Musical 2 takes place at Lava Springs Country Club, meaning that many areas of the country club were used, including the golf course and the pool.

Speaking of the pool, for the final pool party scene and the song “All for One”, Ortega wanted to film every cast member jumping into the pool at the country club for the last shot of High School Musical 2. However, Monique Coleman did not know how to swim prior to filming and had to take lessons in preparation. When it came time for her to jump into the pool, she sweetly asked if Corbin Bleu could jump in with her to make it easier for her. Sadly, after all that effort, her and Bleu’s jump into the pool didn’t even make it into the final edit of the sequel; we only see Troy and Gabriella jump in[2]!

Many behind-the-scenes moments and cast interviews were recorded as part of a mini-series titled The Road to High School Musical 2, which aired on Disney Channel throughout the summer of 2007 to promote the movie to its regular viewers. These were only short episodes, roughly three to five minutes long, that followed the cast through dance rehearsals into filming, and they aired in between the channel’s regular programming.

Another way Disney Channel cleverly promoted the sequel was to encourage viewers to be a part of making the film. This was done via online polls, asking viewers to select just what they wanted to see in High School Musical 2. Some questions that were put to them were what sandwich they wanted Troy and Gabriella to eat at their picnic; which Hannah Montana star should make a cameo in “All for One”; and what should Chad’s shirt in “What Time Is It” say. The winners of these polls were peanut butter and jelly; Miley Cyrus, which is why she can be seen in that final sequence; and “I majored in vacation”. It would seem the polls were open on the US Disney Channel website throughout January 2007.

RECEPTION

Just over a year and a half after the premiere of High School Musical, High School Musical 2 premiered in the summer of 2007, perfect timing considering the sequel’s summer setting.

Unlike the original film, High School Musical 2 did receive an official world premiere, and it was held at the AMC Theatres in Downtown Disney at the Disneyland resort in Anaheim, California on 14^th August 2007, attended by the cast. This was the first time a movie made for Disney Channel had premiered at the resort[3].

For everyone else, they had to wait for the television premiere in their respective countries. Obviously, the US Disney Channel premiered High School Musical 2 first, on 17^th August 2007. It would seem that the movie was then distributed out to other countries within the next month or two. For example, in the UK, High School Musical 2 premiered on Disney Channel on 21^st September 2007. I guess it would’ve been seen as unfair to leave viewers waiting too long between the premiere and the international broadcast date, especially as High School Musical 2 was the most-anticipated DCOM premiere of all time.

High School Musical 2 premiered alongside a telecast hosted by the main cast members and Kenny Ortega. The US premiere of the sequel was also followed by a preview of the new animated series Phineas and Ferb (2007-15), which Ashley Tisdale voiced a character for, and a new episode of Hannah Montana (2006-11), starring the Jonas Brothers. The premiere date was followed by a re-run on 18^th August, with an interactive viewer chat with the stars, and a singalong edition premiered the following night[4].

All the attention and hype was worth it though and it paid off in a big way for Disney Channel in terms of viewing figures because High School Musical 2 became the most-watched premiere of a Disney Channel Original Movie of all time. 17.2 million viewers watched High School Musical 2 on its premiere, almost ten million more than the 7.7 million viewers who watched High School Musical on its first showing. High School Musical 2’s viewing figures have never been equalled on Disney Channel. The closest DCOM premiere of any was Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie in 2009, which gained the attention of 11.4 million viewers. There is then another drop compared to third place Camp Rock (2008) with 8.9 million. There were three other DCOMs released in 2007 as well, with the first being Jump In!, starring Corbin Bleu, which got 8.2 million interested viewers. Twitches Too in October ended with a total of 6.9 million viewers. Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board, the channel’s June premiere, didn’t even reach 2 million viewers apparently.

High School Musical 2’s premiere beat even more records. It became the most-watched basic cable telecast of all time, beating the 16 million who watched ESPN’s Monday Night Football game on 23^rd September 2006. It would appear that High School Musical 2 has not been beaten in this specific record in the years since. It was also the most-watched TV telecast ever in the Kids 6-11 demographic, with 6.1 million, and the most-watched entertainment telecast ever in Tweens 9-14, with 5.9 million[5].

For High School Musical fans, High School Musical 2 was a hit. The sequel had more energy, it had catchier music, and a better production value, by taking the movie away from the school setting and placing it somewhere fairly exotic– at least in the minds of tweens and teens – in a fancy country club. It was also appreciated by viewers that it highlighted some real teen issues, like college plans and the anxiety that comes with that. Others felt that some of the “secondary” cast members, particularly those who aren’t Sharpay, Troy, or Gabriella, got to have more opportunity to shine in High School Musical 2, especially Ryan, who actually got to develop his own personality here, instead of just being his sister’s lapdog. Ironically, she actually had her own real lapdog this time, her Yorkshire Terrier, Boi, who was director Kenny Ortega’s dog, Manly. It is debated though whether High School Musical 2 was considered better than the first movie, with fans being divided over this, even though most agree they like both of them. I most definitely prefer High School Musical 2 to High School Musical, basically forgetting the first one even exists now, because the other two films are so much better in my opinion.

However, High School Musical 2 wasn’t only limited to being watched by its most dedicated fans, so negative comments remained. Some commented on the fact this movie shouldn’t have even had “high school” in the title, since the sequel is not set in the school for the most part; we only see East High School at the very start of the film for around ten minutes. Others said Disney Channel was clearly milking the High School Musical franchise, and were unable to come up with an original story or decent choreography or staging. That seems a little unfair, although one review did make me reconsider the uniqueness of the story. Someone rightly pointed out that the story of High School Musical 2 does seem to have some similarities to the episodes of hit teen sitcom Saved by the Bell (1989-93). I believe this must have been referring to the set of six episodes from Season 3 that take place at a country club, where all the gang – except Lisa – get jobs. I must say, despite being a huge fan of Saved by the Bell, I hadn’t realised this – and it is a good point. But it doesn’t stop me liking High School Musical 2 because of some potential “borrowing” of storylines.

High School Musical had a fair amount of awards success for a television movie, and High School Musical 2 was no different, although it did not measure up as well. For example, the first movie had won two Primetime Creative Emmy Awards, for Outstanding Choreography and Outstanding Children’s Program. Although still nominated in these categories, High School Musical 2 actually lost out to So You Think You Can Dance in the Choreography category, and to a Nick News Special and the HBO show Classical Baby (I’m Grown Up Now) for Outstanding Children’s Program. Kenny Ortega also won the award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children’s Programs at the Directors’ Guild of America Awards for High School Musical, but was only nominated for the sequel; the award was won by another regular DCOM director, Paul Hoen, for Jump In!

But it certainly was not all doom and gloom for High School Musical 2. Ortega did win the ALMA award for Outstanding Director of a Made-for-TV movie, and the film won the ASTRA award for Favourite International Program over in Australia, as well as the Choice TV: Movie award at the Teen Choice Awards. Plus, Zac Efron proved that his star was still on the rise as he won for Fave Movie Star at the Nickelodeon Australian Kids’ Choice Awards.

LEGACY

After the success of High School Musical, many new experiences and live shows were created to capitalise on the famous franchise. Some of these experiences were not ready until after High School Musical 2 had already premiered.

One of these was High School Musical: The Ice Tour, which was, as you might expect, an ice-skating show where performers came out to dance along to songs from High School Musical, with High School Musical 2 also being included in this show, since it had just premiered. The Ice Tour originally toured the US from 31^st August 2007 to 25^th May 2008. The show also toured South America in 2007 and 2008, even heading to other continents to hit countries like Australia, the UK, and Spain in 2008 and 2009. I did actually see this in the UK and it was pretty good. I think we still have the glittery hats we purchased there. It would seem in later tour dates of High School Musical: The Ice Tour, a pre-show featuring some songs from the third film was added. Although I can find clips of the ice show online featuring songs from the first two films, I cannot find a video of this “pre-show”.

Following on from the stage production of High School Musical, a stage production of the sequel, titled High School Musical 2: On Stage, was also produced. It would seem that the plot is basically the same as the sequel movie. A new character named Jack Scott was added, though he may simply be an altered version of Jason from the movies. The Sharpettes’ names were also changed, to Violet, Blossom, and Peaches here, and the song “Humuhumunukunukuapua’a” was included into the main story, whereas it was only included as an extended version of High School Musical 2. It would seem that High School Musical 2: On Stage was licensed out for use in both school and professional productions. A UK tour of the show took place from Summer 2009, ending its run in February 2010. The US professional premiere took place in Atlanta in November 2008[6].

Continuing High School Musical’s presence at the Disney Parks, a new pep rally was added, this time promoting High School Musical 2. Replacing High School Musical Pep Rally was High School Musical 2: School’s Out! The concept was still the same, with dancers and singers performing some of the biggest hit songs from the movie. In this case, the songs included “What Time Is It”, “Work This Out”, mixed with “Get’cha Head in the Game” from the first film; “I Don’t Dance”, and “All for One”. It came to Disney-MGM Studios, now Disney’s Hollywood Studios, at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida in August 2007, the same time as it appeared at Disney California Adventure Park at the Disneyland Resort. It appears that Disneyland Paris also got this same pep rally, however, they may’ve been a few months behind in terms of switching between the first movie’s pep rally and the sequel’s one. In the US parks, High School Musical 2: School’s Out! ended in September 2008, ready to be replaced with a new pep rally the next month. In Paris, the High School Musical 2 pep rally ran throughout 2008, not being replaced until Spring 2009.

Also at the Disney Parks, some of the cast of High School Musical 2 made an appearance during the Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade in December 2007. Here, Vanessa Hudgens, Corbin Bleu, Ashley Tisdale, and Monique Coleman recorded a performance of the sequel’s song “What Time Is It” in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle at the Disneyland Resort. Olesya Rulin and Kaylee Stroh were there too. However, this was not just any performance of “What Time Is It” because instead of saying “summertime”, the answer to the question “what time is it?” was of course “Christmastime”. The opportunity was also taken for Disney to promote the High School Musical 2 pep rally at their US parks.

Disney continued to produce new editions of High School Musical 2, like dance along and singalong editions, to air on Disney Channel, novels, video games, and merchandise featuring the High School Musical brand after the premiere of High School Musical 2.

Finally, the biggest announcement to come from High School Musical 2 was the confirmation of a third film. In 2008, we would be getting High School Musical 3, and the plan was for this “threequel” to have a theatrical release, not just a Disney Channel premiere.

FINAL THOUGHTS

High School Musical 2 has a way of evoking a summery atmosphere, because of its setting and its lively soundtrack, regardless of what time of year you’re watching it. It also makes some nostalgic for their own school summer breaks, when watching Disney Channel, rightly or wrongly, may’ve made up a majority of their summer activities! Many think that High School Musical 2 easily outperformed the original film, as I do.

There was no stopping the High School Musical hype train, and with a third film in the works that would be coming to cinemas, it felt like High School Musical 3 was going to be a moment for movie history, as Disney Channel broke out from our television screens into major cinema. Ok, that’s a bit much, but it was still a big moment to see the Wildcats head to the big screen, in a similar way that Lizzie McGuire had in The Lizzie McGuire Movie (2003).

We were going to be expecting even more from this third film now, and Disney had no choice but to accept the challenge and not disappoint us.

REFERENCES

[1] Credit: Entrada at Snow Canyon, ‘Club History’, GolfEntrada.com, date unknown.

[2] Credit: Disney Channel, ‘The Road to High School Musical 2’, Kayla Ybanez YouTube Channel Playlist, June 2007.

[3] Credit: Ernio Hernandez, ‘Disneyland Hosts World Premiere of ‘”High School Musical 2” Aug. 14’, Playbill.com, 14^th August 2007.

[4] Credit: Kimberly Nordyke, ‘TCA: Disney sings along with “High School Musical 2”’, HollywoodReporter.com, 16^th July 2007.

[5] Credit: Ernio Hernandez, ‘Most Likely to Succeed: “High School Musical 2” Draws Record-Breaking 17.2 Million’, Playbill.com, 20^th August 2007.

[6] Credit: Adam Hetrick, ‘Homecoming: Disney’s High School Musical 2 Premieres in Atlanta Nov. 6’, Playbill.com, 6^th November 2008.

16th Jan 202630th Jan 2026 by The Disney Purist

High School Musical (2006)

BACKGROUND

I can’t imagine too many people are unfamiliar with High School Musical.

High School Musical has spanned quite a legacy in the years since its release, with sequels, spin-offs, entertainment experiences, and merchandise only adding to that. It wasn’t even the first musical to come from Disney Channel – that was The Cheetah Girls in 2003 – but for some reason, this movie, very much inspired by Grease (1978), one of the most popular movie musicals of all time and loved by both musical and non-musical fans alike, became a sensation amongst tweens and teens, allegedly making musicals “cool” again. I’ve always liked musicals so I hadn’t realised they were out of fashion.

To be perfectly honest, I don’t like High School Musical. But let me explain.

I was as excited as anyone when High School Musical first came to Disney Channel. I was 13 at the time, so the perfect demographic, and I was obsessed with Disney Channel then, watching series like The Suite Life of Zack & Cody (2005-08) pretty much every morning before school. I’d been watching new Disney Channel Original Movies as they premiered for about two or three years by this point too. I was a big Disney Channel fan.

When High School Musical first arrived to Disney Channel in September 2006 in the UK, about nine months after it had already hit screens in the US, leading to a gigantic buzz that luckily, I didn’t have to see any spoilers for thanks to the lack of social media, I really liked it. I had the soundtrack, which even my sister, who was not a huge Disney Channel fan, liked, and I remember listening to it on a loop on a drive to an airport. I also had the DVD, and watched all the bonus editions of the film that aired on Disney Channel, like the Sing-Along edition, the Dance-Along edition, and the Pop-Up edition, where facts from the movie popped up on screen alongside the film itself. High School Musical was a big deal.

But, as soon as High School Musical 2 came along in 2007, my love of the first High School Musical diminished year-on-year, to the point I hadn’t actually seen the original film in maybe ten years before rewatching it this week, even though I watch the second and third films still. I just find that High School Musical is a bit cringey, the music is not as good – I actually only like three songs in the film, and none are “Breaking Free” or “Start of Something New” – and the costumes, locations, and even the hairstyles just look much better in the second and third movies.

PLOT

High School Musical begins on New Year’s Eve at a ski resort. Two teenagers are on two separate holidays with their families: Gabriella Montez, here with her mother, and Troy Bolton, with his parents. On New Year’s Eve, Gabriella is told by her mother to stop reading and go and join the teens’ party. Troy and his father are told by Troy’s mother to stop playing basketball so Troy can join the teens’ party. Neither Troy nor Gabriella really wants to go.

At the party, the DJ randomly selects two teenagers to sing a karaoke song as the teens get ready to countdown to midnight. The two chosen are Troy and Gabriella. Despite trying to get out of it, neither are allowed to and both have to stand up on a mini-stage and sing a duet together in front of everyone. Troy sings his opening verse and is about to step off the stage, when Gabriella starts singing. Transfixed by her, Troy continues the duet and they actually have a good time. Troy and Gabriella continue to chat as midnight comes closer and they countdown to the New Year together. At midnight, the two awkwardly end the conversation, saying they need to say “Happy New Year” to their parents, so after swapping phone numbers, they both leave, not knowing if they’ll ever see each other again.

A few days later, Troy returns to his school, East High, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, for the new term. As fate would have it, so is Gabriella. Gabriella is used to moving around the country for her mum’s job, but now her mother has transferred to Albuquerque and will be staying until Gabriella graduates. Gabriella is understandably nervous about her first day, and heads to homeroom where her teacher is Ms. Darbus, the school’s drama teacher. Troy is also in this class, along with his teammate and best friend Chad; drama club members and twin siblings Sharpay and Ryan; and smart girl Taylor. Ms. Darbus discusses the latest school news, like the school musical and Taylor’s scholastic decathlon, when the class is interrupted by a ringtone. Ms. Darbus goes around the class, getting everyone with phones in their hands to hand them in and giving those students detention, which includes Troy and Gabriella, since Troy was the one who called Gabriella to check it was really her.

Outside the class, Troy speaks to Gabriella, very happy to see she has moved here. Gabriella says she tried to look for him on New Year’s Day but he’d already left the resort. The two find themselves by the sign-up sheet for the school musical, both jokingly saying the other should sign up, when Sharpay comes up to the sheet and signs herself up. She says the drama department always welcomes newcomers, but it’s obvious she feels threatened by Gabriella for having Troy’s attention, because Sharpay has a crush on Troy.

At basketball practice, Troy asks Chad about the musical, but Chad tells him to forget about it and focus on basketball, as they have a big championship game coming up. In another class, Sharpay tries to warn Gabriella off Troy, but Gabriella mostly ignores her. After correcting their teacher, Sharpay sees that Gabriella is really smart, as does Taylor. Sharpay and Ryan then do some research into Gabriella and discuss why her and Troy are interested in their musical. Sharpay sees that Gabriella is basically a prodigy, winning awards for all sorts of competitions, and prints the information off, to place in Taylor’s locker.

At detention, Ms. Darbus tasks all the students with painting sets for the musical. Taylor rushes over to Gabriella saying she’ll happily let Gabriella onto the scholastic decathlon team, believing she placed the article about Gabriella’s talents in her locker. Gabriella says she didn’t do that and doesn’t want to join any teams right now. Meanwhile, at basketball practice, Coach Bolton sees that his son Troy and Chad are not there, and goes to detention to get them to return to practice, ignoring Ms. Darbus completely. The two teachers complain to Principal Matsui, with Ms. Darbus hating the fact the school favours sporting ability over anything else, with this meeting only confirming this as the principal refuses to side with Ms. Darbus, wanting the basketball team to succeed. At home, Coach Bolton tells Troy not to go to detention anymore, but ignores his son’s talk about wanting to try something else other than basketball, like singing and performing.

The next day, Ms. Darbus reminds her class about auditions for the musical which will be running until midday. Troy lies to Chad about wanting to catch up on some homework during their free period, and heads to the auditions, although Chad senses something is amiss and follows him. Troy takes a weird route through the school and loses Chad, making his way to the theatre and watches auditions from the back of the room, hiding behind a janitor’s trolley. Gabriella soon joins him there, but both are too scared to go and audition. They watch as soloists perform for Ms. Darbus, before auditions open up for pairs, with Sharpay and Ryan being the only pair to audition for the leads. Ms. Darbus is impressed by the twins’ perfect performance, but stills calls out to the room to see if any other pair would like to audition. Nobody comes to the stage so Ms. Darbus ends the auditions. Suddenly, Gabriella walks down to the stage and asks to audition. Gabriella is told auditions are over and there is nobody to sing with her anyway. Troy then appears and says he’ll sing with her. Ms. Darbus is surprised and suspicious to see Troy at her auditions, but nevertheless, the auditions are over, so they’ll have to try again next time.

Troy and Gabriella see student composer and pianist Kelsi Nielsen trip, dropping all her music. They go to help her pick it up. Troy is impressed that Kelsi has written all the music for this musical herself, calling her the musical’s “playmaker”. Kelsi asks Troy and Gabriella if they’d like to see how the duet that Sharpay and Ryan is supposed to be performed, as they changed her traditional ballad into a jazzy number. Kelsi encourages Troy and Gabriella to sing along with her playing. As they end the song, Ms. Darbus appears and tells the two that they have a callback.

The next day, Sharpay and Ryan see that they have a callback with Troy and Gabriella; Sharpay is horrified. The basketball team and others soon see this too and news goes around the school quickly. At lunch, it would seem that the whole of East High has gone mad as students in certain cliques confess that they have interests in other activities outside of their groups, such as Zeke, a basketball player who likes to bake, and “nerdy” girl Martha who actually likes to dance. Sharpay blames Gabriella for all this, as none of this would’ve happened had she not arrived at East High. She goes to confront her in the cafeteria, but Gabriella slips on something and spills all her lunch over Sharpay. Ms. Darbus hears the commotion and comes over. Sharpay accuses Gabriella of tipping food on her on purpose, and says she fears for Ms. Darbus’ musical is being ruined by “outsiders”. Ms. Darbus takes her concerns straight to Coach Bolton, believing that he put his son up to this to ruin her musical, wanting revenge over the detention she gave to Troy and Chad. Coach Bolton claims to know nothing about it, but Ms. Darbus isn’t at all convinced.

Later, Gabriella finds a note in her locker. It’s from Troy, asking her to meet him on the school’s rooftop garden. Here, they talk about the expectations everyone has for them, like how Gabriella is only known for her intelligence, and Troy is just supposed to be the basketball captain, yet when they are together, they can fully be themselves. They decide to rehearse for the callbacks in secret, hiding away from Sharpay and Ryan who are determined to catch them out. However, Troy is late for basketball practice one day because of this and tells Coach Bolton he’ll practise alone to make up for it. Gabriella then comes into the gym, and the two mess around, teasing each other about their free-throwing abilities. Coach Bolton hears this and tells Gabriella that the gym is off-limits until every basketball player has left practice. Gabriella goes. Troy doesn’t like how rude his father was to her, with Coach Bolton saying if she is the one getting him detentions, then Troy should stay away.

Chad also sees Troy getting distracted with all this musical stuff, and reminds him to focus on basketball. Fearing this advice has fallen on deaf ears, Chad talks to Taylor and they devise a plan to keep Troy and Gabriella away from the musical and each other, so the basketball team can win their game, and Taylor can win her decathlon. Chad and the team corner Troy after practice and tell him about all the legends that have played at East High, including Troy’s father, and how he should be on that list. Taylor and the decathlon team remind Gabriella about how dumb jocks are and that she should embrace her intelligence and forget about him. Chad then starts recording Troy, as his baiting has gotten Troy to say that he only cares about the team, and not about Gabriella or the musical. This is then shown to Gabriella. Gabriella is heartbroken, but agrees to join the decathlon.

After this, Troy tries to speak to Gabriella by her locker, but is confused by her reaction to him, telling him she doesn’t want to do the callbacks and that she needs to focus on the scholastic decathlon now anyway. Troy is upset that Gabriella doesn’t want to speak to him anymore and can’t concentrate on anything now, even basketball. Troy and Gabriella don’t talk to each other at school anymore, but they also start to grow distant from their so-called friends too, making Chad and Taylor feel guilty. Good, so they should. Chad comes clean to Troy about what he did by showing the video of him to Gabriella. Taylor does the same, but Gabriella can’t just forget it, as Troy really did say those things about her. Deciding he’ll have to make a bigger apology to Gabriella, he goes round to her house after school. Gabriella tells her mother to lie to get him to leave, so she says Gabriella is busy with homework. Troy then calls Gabriella as he climbs a tree outside her bedroom window. He apologises and tells her to look out her window, as he sings the karaoke song from the night they first met to her. All is forgiven, simple as that.

Rehearsals resume and Troy and Gabriella also focus on their respective teams. Sharpay and Ryan hear Gabriella and Troy singing one day though, and hatch a plan to change the date of the musical callback from Thursday to Friday, so that it will clash with the scholastic decathlon and the basketball game. Luckily, Ms. Darbus doesn’t argue and moves the callback date. Troy and Gabriella learn the news the next day, with their friends. They all agree to work together to make sure Troy and Gabriella can do the callback and their events.

On Friday, the Championship game, the decathlon, and the callbacks all begin. Ryan and Sharpay begin their callback with another over-the-top performance, whilst Gabriella easily wins the first event in the decathlon. Taylor then sends a code from her laptop to shut down the electricity in the school gym, suspending the game. Troy leaves the gym and heads for the theatre. At the decathlon, Taylor and Gabriella wait for their chemistry experiment to go wrong, creating a disgusting chemical reaction which delays the rest of the events. Gabriella heads to the theatre too, however, Ms. Darbus has already called their names, and is closing down callbacks, despite Kelsi asking her to wait for the two to arrive. When Troy and Gabriella do eventually arrive, they are told they cannot perform, but then most of the school come in to watch. Not wanting to disappoint the biggest audience her auditions have ever produced, Ms. Darbus allows the two to sing, with Kelsi on piano.

Gabriella has never performed in front of such a large audience though and clams up, missing her cue. Troy tells her to look at him and they start again. They perform brilliantly, impressing everyone in the crowd, even Coach Bolton who has come to see what all the fuss is about. At the end of their performance, Troy and Gabriella return to the basketball game and the decathlon respectively. The basketball team win their game, with Gabriella coming over to say the scholastic decathlon team won too. Sharpay then arrives, telling Troy and Gabriella they got the lead roles, and that Sharpay and Ryan are their understudies; she seems alright about it though. Chad then asks Taylor out, and she accepts. The whole school come together to celebrate their achievements, now accepting that everybody can do whatever they like, regardless of what “group” they belong to.

In a post-credits scene, we see Sharpay telling Zeke that the cookies he gave her are the best cookies she’s ever eaten. He thanks her and says he’ll make her a crème brûlée. So happy endings and dessert for everyone!

CHARACTERS & CAST

Troy Bolton is a very popular student at East High. He is the basketball captain after all and jocks tend to rule the school. But Troy is cool and will talk to anyone in the school. When he meets Gabriella, Troy is instantly smitten with her, but he doesn’t expect to ever see her again, so what a great surprise it must’ve been to see that Gabriella has joined East High. The problem is with Gabriella here, it makes Troy question everything about himself, and whether he is just “the basketball guy”. He learns that he actually does like to sing and wants to part of the school musical with Gabriella. This leads to other students wanting to break out of their groups too, to pursue their own interests, which turns out to be a great thing for East High as all the students start to hang out with each other.

Zac Efron was cast as Troy Bolton. Prior to his role in High School Musical, he had starred as Patrick McCardle in the movie The Derby Stallion (2005) and had been cast as Cameron Bale in The WB series Summerland (2004-05), which also starred Lori Loughlin and Jesse McCartney. Efron later starred as Link Larkin in the movie musical Hairspray (2007), alongside big names like John Travolta, Christopher Walken, and Queen Latifah.

Although Troy has the biggest journey through High School Musical, having to accept criticism and judgement of his singing from his team because it is so different from what Troy has ever done, Gabriella Montez is arguably the catalyst of this change. If Gabriella hadn’t come to East High, then Troy would’ve just continued playing basketball and nothing would’ve changed. Gabriella lets Troy be himself, and in turn, she can be herself too, not wanting to be known as the smart girl at yet another new school. She manages to avoid too much stereotyping here, as she bridges the gap to the jocks. Gabriella is also unfailingly kind, even to Sharpay who clearly feels threatened by her.

Gabriella was played by Vanessa Hudgens. She had previously been cast as Tin-Tin in the movie Thunderbirds (2004), based on the television series, and went on to be cast in the recurring role of Corrie in Season 2 of The Suite Life of Zack & Cody.

Sharpay is a member of the drama club, being the lead in pretty much every play or musical that they put on. She might not technically be popular but everyone in school knows her because of her diva attitude. Sharpay wants to always be the centre of attention, and doesn’t like anyone taking her spotlight, like new girl Gabriella, who also takes Troy’s attention, annoying Sharpay further. When Gabriella starts to threaten Sharpay’s chance of becoming lead in the school musical, Sharpay is not afraid to disrupt that, by getting the callback date changed to stop Gabriella and Troy attending, however, this backfires and Sharpay loses out on the lead to Gabriella. Strangely enough, she seems alright with it by the end of High School Musical. Maybe she’s just concocting an even bigger revenge plot!

Ashley Tisdale was cast as Sharpay Evans. Also for Disney, Tisdale starred as Maddie Fitzpatrick in the series The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and voiced Candace in their animated series Phineas and Ferb (2007-15), a role she returned to for the 2025 revival.

Ryan is Sharpay’s twin brother and also a member of the drama club, pairing up with his sister to take the lead roles. Ryan doesn’t seem to have a hateful bone in his body, and only goes along with whatever Sharpay wants out of some sort of family loyalty. He could potentially talk Sharpay out of her plots and plans, but he doesn’t, because Sharpay is kind of scary and not someone you want to get on the wrong side of! But even Ryan can’t disagree that his sister is fame-obsessed, not liking Ryan putting his own spin on routines, or wanting to get his moment in the spotlight.

Lucas Grabeel was cast as Ryan Evans. Lucas Grabeel was cast as Ethan in Halloweentown High (2004), reprising his role in Return to Halloweentown (2006), the fourth movie in the franchise. Return to Halloweentown was released in October 2006, a few months after High School Musical, potentially increasing interest in that film. Grabeel was also cast as Scooter in the Disney movie College Road Trip (2008), alongside Raven-Symoné and Brenda Song, and appeared as Danny Nicoletta in the Oscar-nominated movie Milk (2008), which starred Sean Penn as Harvey Milk.

Chad Danforth is Troy’s best friend and a member of the basketball team. He can’t understand why Troy would show any interest in singing and not want to be fully focused on basketball. Chad only wants his teammates to eat, sleep, and breathe basketball, partly because he thinks that is how great teams and players succeed. Chad even uses a funny analogy to try and convince Troy to ignore singing, by using legendary actor Michael Crawford, known for originating the role of the Phantom in Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s musical The Phantom of the Opera. He tells Troy that Michael Crawford’s picture is in his mum’s fridge as a diet tactic, so if Troy continues singing that is where he will end up, not on a cereal box like sporting heroes do. Chad soon learns that this was a mistake as he sees that Troy is unhappy not speaking to Gabriella and not performing, so he puts it right and gets the whole team behind Troy and Gabriella, supporting them all the way to their callbacks.

Chad was played by Corbin Bleu. Early in his career, Bleu was cast alongside Kristen Stewart in the movie Catch That Kid (2004), where he played Austin. He had also been in the main cast of the Discovery Kids series Flight 29 Down (2005-07), where he played Nathan McHugh. He later starred as Izzy Daniels in his own DCOM Jump In! (2007).

Taylor McKessie is captain of the scholastic decathlon team, and is determined to win. She doesn’t initially speak to Gabriella, until she learns how smart Gabriella is, thanks to Sharpay’s online research. From here, Taylor makes it her mission to get Gabriella to join the decathlon team, and she becomes Gabriella’s friend, showing her around East High and telling her the people to avoid, mainly Troy, the basketball team, and Sharpay. Taylor comes to a similar conclusion as Chad, feeling guilty for stopping Troy and Gabriella from singing together, learning that Gabriella will be a much happier member of the decathlon team if she is allowed to talk to who she wants and do what she wants. Taylor is just a little bit of a control freak, but she knows she can’t control her friends.

Monique Coleman was cast as Taylor. Before High School Musical, Coleman had been cast in the recurring role of Mary Margaret, appearing in Season 1 and 2 of The Suite Life of Zack & Cody alongside High School Musical castmate Ashley Tisdale. She also appeared as Molly in Season 4 of the drama series Boston Public (2000-04).

Then, we have Kelsi Nielsen. She is a quiet, shy person, but a very talented composer and pianist, having written the school musical herself. Kelsi allows herself to be walked over by Sharpay, who tells her not to interfere with Sharpay’s arrangements of Kelsi’s music, even if it goes against the spirit of the song. Kelsi is surprised to find Troy and Gabriella had even noticed her enough to help her pick up her music on audition day, and she realises that not everyone in the theatre is self-obsessed. Kelsi becomes Troy and Gabriella’s mentor as they prepare for callbacks, and is ready to help them whenever needed. She starts to come out of a shell by the end of High School Musical.

Olesya Rulin was cast as Kelsi, having previously played the part of Natalie in Halloweentown High, alongside Lucas Grabeel. She had also previously had minor roles in the 2001 DCOMs Hounded and The Poof Point prior to her role in High School Musical.

For the teachers, the main ones we see are Ms. Darbus and Coach Bolton. They don’t see eye-to-eye about anything, with Ms. Darbus not caring about basketball or sports in general, and Coach Bolton seeing her drama club as a bit of a joke. They wouldn’t normally have any reason to interact but when Ms. Darbus takes two of his team out of practice for detention, and then his son starts showing an interest in singing, they suddenly find themselves very much fighting against each other. Ms. Darbus just wants her musical to be taken seriously, and not overshadowed by the school’s sporting achievements. I can say I have been there! It’s really annoying when schools only care about sport… Coach Bolton on the other hand needs his team to focus and can’t have them thinking about musicals, so when Troy starts to do so, it is like the end of the world for Coach Bolton. However, Ms. Darbus learns that jocks can sing, and Coach Bolton sees how talented a singer his son is. The two teachers will have to have their respective departments get along now that musical rehearsals are most definitely going to have to come before basketball from time to time!

Alyson Reed was cast as Ms. Darbus. Reed definitely had reason for being cast as a drama teacher, as she performed on Broadway in various musicals including Cabaret, being nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress for her role as Sally Bowles, and Pippin, where she played Catherine. Reed is also known for starring as Cassie in the 1985 film adaptation of A Chorus Line, directed by Richard Attenborough. Outside of theatre, she was cast in the recurring role of Lyndsay Hamilton in Season 2 of the Hulu series Chance (2016-17) and has guest starred in various series including Modern Family (2009-20).

Bart Johnson was cast as Coach Bolton. Previously, Johnson was cast as Nelson Tucker in the series Hyperion Bay (1998-99) for The CW, which also starred Mark-Paul Gosselaar of Saved by the Bell fame. Since High School Musical, Johnson was cast as Daniel Huntslar in the Hallmark Christmas movie The Christmas Spirit (2013) and had a recurring role as Beau Berkhalter in the Lifetime series The Client List (2012-13), which starred Jennifer Love Hewitt. More recently, Johnson has guest starred as Patrick Ramsey in the Paramount+ series Landman (2024-present).

MUSIC

Nine original songs feature within the movie of High School Musical.

Another original song appears on the soundtrack, but not in the film, with a music video being released showing the cast members recording the song with some clips from the film interspersed within it. This music video for the song “I Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You” was released as a bonus feature on the DVD release of the film. I do like this song, despite it not having a place in the film. Vanessa Hudgens, Zac Efron, Ashley Tisdale, and Lucas Grabeel all appeared in the video, recording this song.

But does that mean they all actually sang the song? During initial interviews and promotional activities for High School Musical, we were all led to believe that Zac Efron had in fact been singing on the movie’s soundtrack. That did not turn out to be the case, and Disney had to come clean and say that singer Drew Seeley had in fact sung the majority of Troy Bolton’s songs. There are a couple of exceptions, such as the opening lines of “Start of Something New” and “Breaking Free”. Different reasons have been given for why Efron did not sing in the film, despite obviously needing to prove he could sing as part of the audition process. It has been said that his singing voice potentially was not strong enough. A more official reason given was that the songs written simply did not suit Efron’s vocal range, so a different singer was required for this particular movie.

It is unclear what the actual reason was, but the point is Drew Seeley sang as Troy Bolton in High School Musical. Funnily enough, Seeley had auditioned for the part of Troy, but did not get the part, possibly due to being a few years older than the rest of the cast and Vanessa Hudgens. Seeley later contributed to other Disney albums such as the Disneymania and Shake It Up albums, and was even cast as Prince Eric in the Broadway stage production of The Little Mermaid in 2009. Seeley may also be known for his role as Joey Parker in the musical film Another Cinderella Story (2008), which saw Disney Channel star Selena Gomez be cast in the lead role of Mary Santiago.

Now back to the actual songs themselves. “Start of Something New” is the first song to appear in the film, as it is the song that Troy and Gabriella sing together at the New Year’s Eve party. It is a typical pop song that references Troy and Gabriella’s own feelings at this point in this film, that they’ve both randomly met and clicked straight away. I think this song has been seriously overused over the years, so I don’t particularly like it anymore. It was performed by Vanessa Hudgens and Drew Seeley, and was written by Matthew Gerrard and Robbie Nevil, who continued to work together on other songs for Disney Channel stars, such as Hannah Montana and The Cheetah Girls.

Following that is “Get’cha Head in the Game” performed by Seeley as Troy, during basketball practice, where Troy is trying to force himself to concentrate on basketball and not on Gabriella and singing. It’s a hip-hop song, for the teens. Again, I’ve heard this too much over the years, and I just don’t like it. I really don’t like when Troy randomly starts singing a little ballad right in the middle of it either. It was written by Ray Cham, Greg Cham, who had both worked on The Cheetah Girls (2003), and Seeley. This song was also recorded by the R&B group B5 for the CD soundtrack.

The next song is “What I’ve Been Looking For”, which is quite a jazzy musical theatre number. It is initially performed by various auditionees, with varying levels of ability, before Sharpay and Ryan show them all up with their perfectly polished performance. It’s not a terrible song, but it is a bit sugary sweet as far as love songs go. “What I’ve Been Looking For” is performed by Ashley Tisdale and Lucas Grabeel as Sharpay and Ryan, and the song was written by Andy Dodd and Adam Watts, who have also collaborated together on music for Hannah Montana (2006-11), the Camp Rock films, and Lemonade Mouth (2011). This song is closely followed by its reprise, a slower version of the song that Kelsi, the composer, had initially envisaged. She encourages Troy and Gabriella to sing her version together, and it gets them a callback. Seeley and Hudgens sing this version.

Next up is “Stick to the Status Quo” which is a fun ensemble number, where students all across the school start saying they have other interests that their friends don’t know about. Hardly the end of the world, but to these teenagers, it really is. I especially like when Sharpay has her solo, because she sounds so distraught about something so silly. It’s also just really catchy. “Stick to the Status Quo” was written by David Lawrence and Faye Greenberg, and was performed by Tisdale and Grabeel as Sharpay and Ryan, as well as Chris Warren as Zeke, the basketball player and baker; Kaycee Stroh as Martha, the intelligent dancer, and Dutch Whitlock as the cello-playing skater dude.

“When There Was Me and You” is a slow ballad that Gabriella sings as she wanders the corridors at school, wondering how she didn’t realise that Troy wasn’t ever interested in her. This song takes place after Gabriella watches a video of Troy saying she doesn’t mean anything to him as part of Taylor and Chad’s plan to get the two of them to focus on basketball and the scholastic decathlon. It’s a moving song, and Hudgens performs it brilliantly. It was written by Jamie Houston.

During the callback scenes, we get two very contrasting songs, one performed by Sharpay and Ryan, and the other by Troy and Gabriella. Sharpay and Ryan’s song is my favourite in this film, and it is a salsa-type song called “Bop to the Top”. It’s just a showcase for their dancing, really, but it’s good fun. The only annoying thing about it is that during the movie, you can’t hear or see it in full as it gets broken up with scenes of Gabriella and Troy at their events, to show that they are going on at the same time as callbacks. It’s quite disrespectful to Sharpay and Ryan if you ask me; Sharpay would not be impressed with that! It was written by Randy Petersen and Kevin Quinn, and performed by Tisdale and Grabeel.

The other song is “Breaking Free”. This is an iconic song from the movie, because it shows Troy and Gabriella singing in front of all their friends for the first time. They are also “breaking free” from the constraints that told them they couldn’t be together or sing together. I personally don’t like this song and don’t think I ever really have. “Breaking Free” was written by Jamie Houston, and performed by Hudgens and Seeley.

The final song to appear in High School Musical is the group number “We’re All in This Together”, performed by all the students as they prove that they can all be friends, irrespective of what “group” they did or didn’t belong to; it shows just how much East High has changed, for the better. The song was written by Matthew Gerrard and Robbie Nevil. Apparently, this track was originally meant to be a song called “Everyone’s a Winner”, but it was considered too cheesy and had to be re-written[1]. I’d like to know what that song sounded like if “We’re All in This Together” isn’t considered cheesy! Not that I care; I like “We’re All in This Together” and the few steps of choreography from it that I can remember.

There was also meant to be a duet for Ms. Darbus and Coach Bolton in High School Musical, similar to “Anything You Can Do” from the musical Annie Get Your Gun. Potentially, it would also have been like “Teacher’s Argument” from Fame: The Musical, which is about two teachers feuding over what is best for their students, like whether a focus on dance or academics is better. This is a bit like Ms. Darbus and Coach Bolton, as they debate whether sport or theatre is more important. The song was cut for timing, although director Kenny Ortega did want to keep it[2].

The High School Musical soundtrack was the biggest and fastest success in the pop charts in years. In the US, it became the No. 1 selling soundtrack album of 2006, selling millions of copies across the globe, and was the first TV movie soundtrack to hit No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 chart[3]. It also topped the US Soundtrack Albums chart, as well as others across the world in countries like the UK, New Zealand, Australia, Argentina, and Mexico. Many singles from the film broke in to Billboard’s Hot 100 chart as well over its time in the charts, with “Breaking Free” going from No. 86 to No. 4 in just one week[4].

At the Billboard Music Awards, the High School Musical soundtrack was nominated for Album of the Year, and won the award for Soundtrack Album of the Year. “Get’cha Head in the Game” and “Breaking Free” were also both nominated at the Primetime Creative Emmy Awards in the Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics category.

The score for High School Musical was composed by David Lawrence. He went on to compose the music for various other Disney Channel Original Movies, including StarStruck (2010), Teen Beach Movie (2013) and its 2015 sequel, and the original Descendants trilogy.

PRODUCTION

High School Musical was set to be just another Disney Channel movie in a long line of Disney Channel movies, albeit a musical one, so its production was not overly interesting.

The filming locations for High School Musical were nothing special or extravagant, choosing to film at a school in Salt Lake City. This school was East High School; Disney decided to use the same name for their fictional school in the movie. East High School was founded in 1913, and is located in the East Bench neighbourhood of Salt Lake City, in Utah. This school was used as the setting for High School Musical’s East High in all three of the original trilogy of films. Specifically, Disney used the exterior of the building, the gymnasium, and the cafeteria of the school for filming[5]. The auditorium area seems to have been filmed at a different Utah school, Murray High School, which was also the location used for other Disney Channel movies, including Minutemen (2008) and Read It and Weep (2006). High School Musical was filmed in Utah during the summer of 2005.

The story of High School Musical isn’t all that unique either. It was written by screenwriter Peter Barsocchini, who based the idea and some of the characters on his daughter and her friends, wanting to write about school life[6]. For many, High School Musical will remind them of the musical Grease, first performed on stage in 1972 but rising to mainstream fame thanks to its 1978 film adaptation, starring Olivia Newton John and John Travolta as Sandy and Danny. Grease itself is loosely based on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, although with a much happier ending! High School Musical takes this idea of two teenagers falling in love despite being two very different people, with very different friendship groups and interests, putting across the message that you should accept yourself as you are and not feel the need to conform to any set clique or group that many teenagers end up placing themselves in. Barsocchini himself said he had been inspired by Grease when writing High School Musical. His first draft was quickly greenlit for production and that is how High School Musical got its start. Barsocchini had previously co-written the screenplay for the action film Drop Zone (1994), a complete contrast to writing a Disney Channel musical, going on to write the other two movies in the High School Musical trilogy, as well as helping to create the story of the animated Netflix musical movie Vivo (2021) and co-writing the screenplay of the musical adaptation of the Nativity story for Journey to Bethlehem (2023).

Kenny Ortega was tasked with directing this new musical for Disney Channel. Ortega was already known to Disney as he had directed and choreographed the Halloween film Hocus Pocus (1993) and the musical adaptation Newsies (1992) for the company. Ortega had also been the choreographer on many musical movies including Xanadu (1982) and Dirty Dancing (1987) prior to that. Ortega was the perfect fit. The High School Musical trilogy was not the end of Ortega’s Disney journey either, as he choregraphed and directed The Cheetah Girls 2 (2006) and the original Descendants trilogy for the channel. Ortega was also choreographing and directing Michael Jackson’s This Is It tour in 2009, which was cancelled after Jackson’s death. Footage from the rehearsals was later released as the documentary film Michael Jackson’s This Is It (2009). More recently, Ortega has directed, choreographed, and produced the Netflix musical series Julie and the Phantoms (2020).

Since High School Musical was going to require more than just acting talent, focusing on singing and dancing as well, the audition process had to be more intense, to ensure they found the right teens to fit these roles, both from a talent and stamina perspective. Disney were looking for “triple threats” as they say. There were apparently over 600 kids who auditioned to be in High School Musical. Vanessa Hudgens said in a behind-the-scenes clip that her callback had taken all day and was very difficult. They had started with twelve people and whittled them down to four. Hudgens said she was consistently paired up with Zac Efron each time to do their scenes and performances, deciding that must’ve been a good sign in terms of the casting directors thinking they had good chemistry!

Once the parts were cast, they were then sent to recording sessions to record their songs for the film, before flying to Salt Lake City for the usual table read, where the music was played as they went through the script to show where and how the songs fit into the overall story. This was followed by two weeks of dance rehearsals, which is quite a standard process for any Disney Channel star to go through when filming a Disney Channel musical. Joining Ortega in choreographing the musical were Bonnie Story and Charles Klapow. Story had worked with Ortega on the choreography on the Opening Ceremony of the Salt Lake 2002 Winter Olympics; Ortega and his team even won two Primetime Emmy Awards for this ceremony, one for Outstanding Directing for a Variety Series, and the other for Choreography. The boys also had basketball practice every day to ensure they looked like a real basketball team who knew what they were doing! Rob LaFallet, a real basketball coach and named the basketball technical director here, was on hand to ensure the basketball scenes were as accurate as possible and helped with the choreography for “Get’cha Head in the Game” since the lyrics contained references to real set plays in the sport.

Despite the intensive process, the cast very much enjoyed filming this movie and loved working with Ortega, who was a friend to all and very approachable, helping to guide these teenagers through the process and hearing their thoughts and opinions on their characters and scenes[7]. Much of the cast were relative unknowns, so no doubt wanted to make a good impression and show how serious they were about getting their scenes right.

RECEPTION

High School Musical was released on 20^th January 2006 in the US, being their Winter DCOM premiere for that year, in the same way that Now You See It… (2005) had been the year before, and Pixel Perfect (2004) the year before that. There was nothing special about this date, and it can be argued that the summer DCOM premieres would’ve had more viewers.

But High School Musical was the phenomenon that no-one expected. It wasn’t envisaged that it would blow up and became what it became. Over the coming months, High School Musical slowly made its way to other countries outside of America, not even reaching the UK or India until September that year. There wasn’t even a social media buzz in 2006 to increase its popularity, and yet, High School Musical had reached 100 million unique viewers globally by the end of the year. It was crazy.

On its premiere night though, High School Musical brought in 7.7 million viewers, becoming the second-most-viewed DCOM during its premiere, with Cadet Kelly (2002) just taking top spot with 7.8 million, according to reported figures. Twitches, released in October 2005, so just a couple of months before, had reached 7 million. This shows that High School Musical was quite anticipated by the Disney Channel viewership, but was not a sensation from the outset; its viewing figures were good but nothing amazing.

For further context in terms of viewing figures, High School Musical could be seen as having boosted viewership of all Disney Channel movies that year since the lowest viewed movie of 2006 was the non-musical Read It and Weep, but even that was viewed by 5.6 million viewers. The Cheetah Girls 2 actually beat out High School Musical by becoming the most-viewed DCOM premiere of 2006, but only just with 7.8 million. Return to Halloweentown rounded out the year during the Halloween season with 7.5 million. But in 2005, apart from Twitches, none of the six other Disney Channel movies reached over 5 million viewers, so it would seem because of High School Musical, Disney Channel had managed to retain and gain the interest of its target demographic. High School Musical currently sits in ninth position in a list of the Top 10 most-viewed Disney Channel premieres, where it will likely remain now that DCOMs are mostly measured on their Disney+ success.

But even High School Musical, for all its fame and glory, could not escape negative criticism; after all, it was a Disney Channel movie and never meant for Academy Award success, so it is quite easy to criticise if you’re determined to be mean-spirited! For those that were against High School Musical, they said the story was too sweet and didn’t appreciate the message of self-acceptance being pushed down the throats to the extent it was. Others also said how the story lacked originality, which I don’t deny but I don’t think that’s a reason to dislike something and I don’t think Disney did a bad job with adapting this non-original story. Generally, it was decided that High School Musical was only for teens and tweens. As High School Musical was made with that audience in mind, then sure, that is a valid point, but it doesn’t mean adults couldn’t enjoy it too. High School Musical simply doesn’t suit some tastes and that’s perfectly fine, however, you can’t say it’s a bad film.

On the positive side, many liked the casting of the main roles, with these actors being fresh-faced, enthusiastic, and perfect for Disney Channel. The music was catchy too, as can be seen by the incredible performance it had in musical charts across the globe. High School Musical was considered to be fun, lively, and colourful. Obviously, retrospectively, High School Musical is considered by many to be one of the most iconic Disney Channel Original Movies of all time, and one of their best movies, if not the best.

Most Disney Channel movies are lucky if they get nominated for any awards, and even more so if they actually win something. High School Musical went against that usual trend completely by winning numerous awards. Kenny Ortega won the Directors’ Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children’s Programs, and was nominated at the Primetime Emmys in the category of Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or Dramatic Special, losing out to Elizabeth I (2005). Also in the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, Kenny Ortega, Bonnie Story, and Charles Klapow won the award for Outstanding Choreography. High School Musical also won the Emmy for Outstanding Children’s Program, shared with HBO’s documentary filmI Have Tourette’s but Tourette’s Doesn’t Have Me (2005). The DCOM was even nominated at the Satellite Awards for Best Motion Picture Made for Television; the award actually went to Lifetime’s television movie A Little Thing Called Murder (2006). Screenwriter Peter Barsocchini also won the Humanitas Prize in the Children’s Live Action Category for his screenplay. Tom McKinley received a nomination at the Costume Designers Guild Awards as well, for Outstanding Costuming Made for Television Movie or Miniseries, but also lost out to Mike O’Neill’s costuming for Elizabeth I.

High School Musical won other awards in less technically demanding award ceremonies. For example, the film won Fave Movie at the Nickelodeon Australian Kids’ Choice Awards, and Zac Efron was voted Best TV Actor at the Nickelodeon UK Kids’ Choice Awards. At the Teen Choice Awards in the US, Efron also won here in the category of Television – Choice Breakout Star; Vanessa Hudgens was nominated in the female version of this category. The two won the award for Television – Choice Chemistry and the movie itself won for Television – Choice Comedy or Musical Show. The young stars were also nominated at the Young Artist Awards, with Efron, Hudgens, and Corbin Bleu receiving nominations in the categories of Leading Young Actor, Leading Young Actress, and Supporting Young Actor in a TV Movie, Miniseries or Special respectively. The film was nominated for Best Family Television Movie or Special here too.

This isn’t even an exhaustive list of all the award wins and nominations that High School Musical received. This shows how its young cast and its talented crew had clearly created something more than just another television movie.

LEGACY

With High School Musical breaking all kinds of records, and defying all kinds of odds by becoming a huge hit across the world, Disney couldn’t just ignore its popularity and not capitalise on its fame now, could they?

In the week of the Super Bowl in early February 2006, Zac Efron was reportedly the second-most-searched team on Google, whereas the two teams in the Super Bowl didn’t even reach the top 10 most-searched terms on the site. High School Musical was continuously re-aired on the channel in a bid to keep up with the demand for the film whilst Disney thought of new opportunities for the story and the cast. Other versions of High School Musical were created for the channel, such as a sing-along version; a dance-along version, where the movie was interspersed with dance lessons from the cast so that viewers could dance along to the song coming up next, and a What’s What edition, with facts about the movie’s production popping up on the screen as the movie was played. The Pop-Up editions could get a little bit irritating to be honest, with the number of facts that appeared.

The cast of High School Musical, Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Corbin Bleu, Monique Coleman, and Lucas Grabeel, didn’t make their first public appearance together until they appeared at the opening of the attraction Expedition Everest at Walt Disney World Resort’s Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park in April 2006[8]. The cast appeared at Walt Disney World again later that year for the Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade in December 2006. Here they performed “We’re All in This Together” on Main Street, U.S.A., with a selection of teenagers from various high schools over the country who had auditioned to be a part of the performance. The cast members who appeared here were Lucas Grabeel, Corbin Bleu, Monique Coleman, and Ashley Tisdale.

This wasn’t even all for High School Musical’s presence at the Disney Parks as a live entertainment show inspired by the film actually came to some of them. This was quite unusual as Disney Channel movies or series rarely get a mention at the Disney Parks. This was the High School Musical Pep Rally which ran initially in October 2006 at Tomorrowland in Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom Park, before moving over to what was Disney-MGM Studios, now Disney’s Hollywood Studios, from January 2007 and saw singers and dancers perform music from the film. Songs used in the pep rally included “Bop to the Top”, “Get’cha Head in the Game”, “Stick to the Status Quo”, and of course “We’re All in This Together”. This pep rally also existed at Disney California Adventure, from late 2006. Both versions had closed by Summer 2007, ready for a new pep rally to begin. It looks like a version of the pep rally also was playing at Disneyland Paris in 2007. Later, Disney chose to redevelop this entire pep rally idea and created Disney Channel Rocks, which began in October 2010 and ended in April 2013. It featured music from various Disney Channel franchises like The Cheetah Girls and Camp Rock series. The only song from any High School Musical film to be used was “We’re All in This Together”.

Another major revenue stream to come from High School Musical was High School Musical: The Concert, which saw most of the cast travel across America to sing for fans. It was first announced around October 2006, with the opening night of the tour taking place on 29^th November 2006 in San Diego. The concert tour travelled to 40 cities in the US, from November 2006 to January 2007. They then did a Central and South American tour in May 2007, visiting seven different cities. The cast performed the songs from High School Musical at this concert, as well as some of them singing their own music, like Vanessa Hudgens performing “Say Okay” and Corbin Bleu performing “Jump In” in order to promote their own solo albums. I said most of the cast attended this tour, but one very important member of the cast was not there, and that was Zac Efron, who was replaced by Drew Seeley, because Efron was busy filming Hairspray (2007) at the time. Since Seeley sang for Efron on the soundtrack of High School Musical, it was a sensible choice for his replacement although I’m sure some teenage girls were very disappointed at not seeing Zac Efron there! The High School Musical: The Concert soundtrack and a DVD of the recording of one of the performances were released around June 2007. The High School Musical concert tour followed in the footsteps of The Cheetah Girls’ The Party’s Just Begun Tour which ran from September 2006 to March 2007 across around 80 cities to promote their second movie, and was also released on DVD and CD after the tour ended.

This tour was shortly followed by High School Musical on Stage!, a musical stage show based on the film. The stage musical basically follows the same storyline as High School Musical, although some new songs were added in, such as “Cellular Fusion” and “Counting on You”, plus “I Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You”, from the movie’s soundtrack, was included as well. A new teacher, Ms. Tenny, was added too. The US tour of the stage musical kicked off in May 2007, ending in August 2008. It went on tour in the UK in 2008. High School Musical has also been performed by various high schools and local theatres over the world in the years since it came to the stage.

The biggest thing to come from High School Musical was its sequel, High School Musical 2, premiering on Disney Channel in Summer 2007. Disney Channel was clever to ensure they inundated the channel’s advertising with behind-the-scenes clips and music videos from the movie to ensure maximum interest from viewers. It is unclear if Disney Channel had already planned a sequel, or whether it was due to its global fame and worldwide attention that it was brought into development.

International Disney Channels later chose to get in on a slice of the High School Musical pie by making their own adaptations or spin-off films. For example, in Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico, each of these respective Disney Channels released a movie called High School Musical: El Desafío, or O Desafio in Brazil, which translates to “The Challenge”. It consisted of an entirely new cast, cast from a reality competition series, new songs, and a new storyline about a battle of the bands, based on the book Battle of the Bands from the High School Musical series of novels. The Mexican and Argentinian films were released in 2008, and the Brazilian one was released in 2010. A Chinese spin-off also came to be, titled High School Musical: China – College Dreams, released in 2011.

Obviously, High School Musical also spanned the usual merchandise, like clothing, novelisations of the film, as well as other books expanding the stories of the characters, and video games. This has continued to exist even twenty years after the movie’s premiere. In 2016, for the 10^th anniversary of the film, there was a televised “mini” High School Musical reunion broadcast on Disney Channel in January of that year. Zac Efron was the only one of the six main cast members not to appear in person, but there was a pre-taped message from him to make up for that. The cast reminisced about their time filming these movies, reliving some of those highlights together. In 2026, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel and Monique Coleman attended an event to celebrate High School Musical’s 20^th anniversary at the Disney Studios in Burbank, California. Tisdale later posted photos on her social media of the event, as well as photos of her trying on Sharpay’s costumes from the films.

We also can’t forget how High School Musical inspired not only other Disney Channel content but also other series around singing and theatre. For Disney Channel, High School Musical led to new musicals being created as part of the Disney Channel Original Movie catalogue. These films included franchises like Camp Rock, Descendants, and ZOMBIES. New movies and spin-offs from these film series are still being released to this day. Outside of Disney, other series that are said to have been inspired by the popularity of High School Musical include the likes of Fox’s long-running drama series Glee (2009-2015), based around a glee club at an American high school, and British channel ITV’s Britannia High (2008), set in a fictional London theatre school. Although Glee was a sensation, especially at the start of its run, sadly for me, Britannia High was not and was cancelled after one series.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I obviously can’t deny that High School Musical was a big deal and that it changed the world of television forever, inspiring numerous series and television movies in the years since.

It also made real stars of its main cast, who have gone on to work both in music and in film and television. They have become regular appearances on our screens ever since, and for good reason; they are very talented.

But I’m nothing if not honest, so for me, High School Musical just pales in comparison to what came after it. It feels too much like a low budget television movie, probably because it was at the time, before Disney decided to throw lots of money at the series.

I guess it worked on me at least, and I was just excited to see what came next.

REFERENCES

[1] Credit: D23, ‘High School Musical Turns 10!’, D23.com, date unknown.

[2] Credit: Stacey Grant, ’23 Surprising DCOM Secrets Even Die-Hard Fans Didn’t Know’, Seventeen.com, 25^th October 2017.

[3] Credit: D23, ‘High School Musical Turns 10!’, D23.com, date unknown.

[4] Credit: ‘”High School Musical”, a Smash on the Disney Channel, Will Get a Stage Version’, Playbill.com, 6^th April 2006.

[5] Credit: Utah Film Commission, ‘On Location: Utah Schools’, Film.Utah.gov, 13^th August 2025.

[6] Credit: Aja Romano, ‘High School Musical – and its ongoing cultural legacy – explained’, Vox.com, 13^th November 2019.

[7] Credit: Disney, “Bringing It All Together: The Making of High School Musical”, from High School Musical (2006) Encore Edition UK DVD (2006).

[8] Credit: D23, ‘High School Musical Turns 10!’, D23.com, date unknown.

9th Jan 2026 by The Disney Purist

#8 Ratatouille (2007)

BACKGROUND

The 2000s saw changes in the animation sector. With technology advancing, movie studios were turning their back on 2D animation and setting their sights on computer animation.

DreamWorks hit the jackpot with their computer-animated film Shrek in 2001 and managed to outdo themselves with its sequel in 2004, but Pixar arguably was the studio ahead of the game in this space as they made the first feature-length fully computer-animated movie in 1995, which was Toy Story.

Since that point, Pixar had had hit after hit. They continued to exceed expectations – until 2006, when they released Cars. Cars was financially successful but it was seen as a misstep by the usually consistently brilliant Pixar. Their next film had to make up for that.

This film, released in 2007, was Ratatouille, a story about a rat who wants to be a chef in a high-end restaurant in Paris. Despite the strange, and kind of gross, premise of rats cooking for humans in a professional kitchen, Ratatouille did receive higher praise from audiences than that of Cars. It has been named as one of the best “food films” in existence and has been mentioned in TV shows and films, such as Breaking Bad (2008-13), The Simpsons (1989-present), Ted Lasso (2020-23), and The Five-Year Engagement (2012).

I watched Ratatouille at the cinema when it came out and I enjoyed it then. I was 14 at that time, and I distinctly remember much younger kids, probably about 4 or 5, who were sitting in the row in front of me and my family, and were quite clearly getting very bored during the last thirty minutes or so. Ratatouille is one of Pixar’s longer movies and it is less colourful, less funny, and less action-packed than their previous ones, which always had something to keep the children entertained alongside the adults. Ratatouille seems to focus on realism and emotional moments rather than zany adventures with odd characters.

I didn’t mind though and my enjoyment of Ratatouille has only increased as I’ve gotten older, particularly as I have some interest in cookery shows that focus on gourmet food. Ratatouille was the first time I felt that Pixar’s films were growing with their audience, combining elements that appealed to small children with those that appealed to teenagers and adults. This was an opinion I felt also matched their next two films WALL-E (2008) and Up (2009), although by the time Cars 2 was released in 2011, I wasn’t so sure that was factual anymore!

PLOT

Ratatouille begins by showing a television programme on the history of Paris restaurant Gusteau’s. It states that the restaurant, run by Chef Gusteau, had a five-star rating and Chef Gusteau became more and more popular with the general public thanks to the publishing of his book, “Anyone Can Cook”, which was panned by food critic Anton Ego.

We then see a rat breaking through a window with this book, after being shot at by an old lady in a farmhouse. This rat, Remy, narrates his story. Remy has highly defined taste and smell, which makes him very different from the other rats in his colony. Remy refuses to eat food from the garbage, and his father frequently becomes irritated by his behaviour. Remy’s brother Emile just finds it fascinating, especially as Remy walks on only two feet instead of four a lot of the time, as it is more hygienic. After a rat in the colony is almost poisoned, but thanks to Remy’s sense of smell he detects it, Remy becomes the pack’s poison checker, which he finds really boring, but it’s the only time he’s ever made his father proud. Outside of that task, Remy frequently steals real food from a nearby farmhouse.

One day, Remy finds a mushroom outside and wants to cook it. He sees that Emile has found a nice piece of cheese, so Remy suggests trying to melt the cheese onto the mushroom. They head up to the roof of the farmhouse to use the residual heat from the chimney, and Remy starts to roast the mushroom. Suddenly, a lightning strike hits the roof and the pair are electrocuted, being tossed to the ground. Remy takes a bite of the cheesy mushroom and loves it – although he’d like some saffron to go along with it to make it even better. Remy takes Emile into the farmhouse kitchen to find it. Emile is concerned, but Remy says as long as the TV is on, the old lady won’t wake up.

Remy begins going through all the kitchen cupboards, but soon becomes distracted by a news report saying that Gusteau’s restaurant lost a star in its rating after a particularly bad review from Anton Ego. The restaurant and the chef never bounced back. Gusteau later died, and as per tradition, Gusteau’s lost another star, leaving it on three. Remy is horrified by this news and to make it worse, the old lady has now woken up and seen two rats in her kitchen! The lady picks up her shotgun and starts shooting at Remy and Emile. Remy tries to lead Emile outside, by Emile heads towards the ceiling, leading right to the colony. Sure enough, a gunshot hits the ceiling, as the woman aims at Emile, and the whole ceiling comes down, revealing the entire colony. The rats run out of the farmhouse and head to the river, where they have boats on standby; that was handy. But Remy wants the copy of “Anyone Can Cook”, so he goes back inside to retrieve it, dodging a bullet as he jumps out the window, going back to the movie’s opening shot of Remy. Remy tries to catch up with the others, using the book as a floatation device, but he falls further and further behind.

Lost and alone, Remy almost drowns in the sewer system. He finally gets out of the water, finding a step to sit on. He starts leafing through the book, when Gusteau comes to life and starts talking to Remy, encouraging him to explore where he is. Remy heads up to the surface, and goes around various apartments, before finding some bread. As he is about to take a bite, Gusteau appears again as a small angel-like figure, conjured up by Remy’s imagination. He tells Remy he is not a thief, so Remy keeps searching. Eventually, he finds himself on top of a roof, looking out at the skyline of Paris. Remy is thrilled to have found his way to Paris, and he discovers that he is right by Gusteau’s restaurant. Remy goes to the restaurant’s skylight and looks down at all the chefs at work.

Inside Gusteau’s, a skinny young man called Linguini has come to the restaurant looking for a job. He tells the head chef, Chef Skinner, that his mother, Renata, a former flame of Gusteau’s, hoped that Skinner might be able to get him a job at the restaurant, leaving him with a letter from her. Renata has since died. Skinner hires Linguini as a “garbage boy”, not seeing him as a chef. Up above, Remy talks to his imaginary Gusteau about all the jobs of the workers in the restaurant, not thinking much of Linguini, although Gusteau reminds him that Linguini could be a great chef, since anyone can cook. Remy then sees Linguini experimenting with a simmering soup nearby. Remy is distraught and, in his rage, he falls through the skylight into a Gusteau’s sink. Remy finds his way out of the sink and dashes about the kitchen, looking for an escape route. He sees an open window over by the soup and heads for it. As he passes the soup, Remy thinks it smells awful and tries to fix it by adding a couple of ingredients, but he just can’t help himself and starts creating a masterpiece. Lost in thought, Remy doesn’t notice Linguini watching him. When he comes to his senses, Remy tries to dash out the window but he is stopped by Linguini. Chef Skinner then accuses Linguini of trying to cook, and scolds him, however, the soup is served up to a customer, despite Linguini’s pleas to stop them as he knows his soup tasted terrible. Skinner tries to stop the order going out but it is too late. He sees the customer call back the head waiter, presumably to complain, and immediately fires Linguini, however, the waiter returns to the kitchen to say the customer wants to speak to the chef. The others wait for the verdict.

Chef Skinner returns to the kitchen stunned. It turns out the customer was food critic Solene LeClaire and she actually liked the soup. Female chef Colette says Skinner can’t possibly fire Linguini now. As Skinner debates what to do with Linguini, not believing he could possibly be a good chef, Skinner spots Remy trying to leave the kitchen. He orders Linguini to catch the rat and kill it away from here. So, Linguini puts Remy in a jar and takes him on his bicycle to the River Seine. As Linguini is about to drown Remy in the river, he sees the pleading in Remy’s eyes and can’t do it. Linguini starts talking to Remy about the soup, trying to figure out how this rat knows how to cook, and sees that Remy can understand Linguini, although he can’t talk back to him. Linguini says he’ll release Remy if he helps him recreate the soup and keep his job at Gusteau’s. As Linguini opens the jar, Remy runs off, leaving Linguini feeling hopeless. Seeing this, Remy feels guilty and returns. He is taken to Linguini’s apartment, which is tiny and cramped but has a great view of Paris.

The next morning, Linguini wakes up and sees Remy has vanished and much of his food has gone, however, it turns out Remy was actually just making them omelettes. Linguini sees herbs inside them and asks Remy where he got them. Remy suggests he took them from plants nearby, but Linguini tells him not to steal anymore. He then sees they are late for work and they head off to Gusteau’s together. Once they arrive, they see all the chefs reading LeClaire’s review of her dinner the night before. Chef Skinner tells Linguini that his first task as a new “chef” here is to recreate the soup, saying he can take as long as he wants on it, because he doesn’t believe he’ll ever be able to do it. Linguini hides Remy in his chef whites, with Remy biting Linguini and occasionally appearing from the sleeve to guide Linguini on what to do and what to put in the soup. After this makes Linguini uncomfortable and causes him to act strangely in front of everyone, he goes to the pantry and tells Remy they need a new system. Chef Skinner then opens the door and thinks he sees Linguini talking to the same rat from last night, but Linguini hides Remy under his hat – his toque – quickly. As they leave the pantry, the two discover that if Remy pulls on Linguini’s hair, it can make him act without thinking. Remy and Linguini practise their new system together, as it perfectly disguises Remy and makes Linguini almost appear normal!

After a couple of days, the soup is recreated successfully and Skinner tells Colette to train Linguini up to be a full-time chef at Gusteau’s, much to his annoyance. Skinner goes to his office and starts thinking of ideas to continue his Chef Gusteau-branded frozen foods, with corn dogs being his next idea. Skinner also reads the letter from Linguini’s mother, where it is revealed that Linguini is Gusteau’s son, although he does not know that. Skinner contacts his lawyer, saying that the two-year deadline to find an heir to Gusteau’s fortune after his death has almost expired, and Skinner needs this not to be true so he can inherit it instead. His lawyer tells Skinner to get some hair from Linguini and he’ll check if the two are actually related. He tells Skinner not to worry as he doesn’t think the claim is real.

Linguini, and Remy, for that matter, struggle to adjust to the quick-paced cooking required to survive as a chef at Gusteau’s. Colette gives numerous tips and advice on how to deal with it, although she is quite annoyed that she is now responsible for Linguini’s success here, not wanting to jeopardise her own career which she fought hard for. During one dinner service, customers start asking for something new, and off the menu. Seeing an opportunity for Linguini to fail, Skinner tells him and Colette to make an old Gusteau recipe which never worked: sweetbreads á la Gusteau. Colette finds the recipe and starts to follow it, this being key to success at Gusteau’s, as they are not there to invent and create. Remy, however, wants to be creative and starts amending the recipe. Linguini tries to get Remy to listen to Colette, but it doesn’t work and Remy forces Linguini to pour his own version of the dish’s sauce on the plate, just as it is taken away and served. Skinner is furious to find that Linguini changed the dish and even worse, the customers actually like it and more and more order it through the course of the dinner service.

After dinner service is over, Skinner sees a silhouette of the rat in Linguini’s toque and decides to talk to him in his office, getting him drunk on expensive wine in the hopes he might let slip that he is working with the rat. However, Linguini lets Remy outside so Skinner does not find any concrete evidence in the toque that Remy is there or has been there. Despite getting drunk, Linguini also does not reveal anything so it was all a waste. He leaves Linguini to clean up the kitchen and lock up. Meanwhile, Remy is in the alley, eating some food that Linguini gave him as a reward, when he hears noises nearby. It turns out it is his brother Emile and the two are reunited at last. Remy gets some food from Gusteau’s and tries to get Emile to appreciate this type of food but it falls on deaf ears, and Emile is quite happy eating out of the trash of high-end restaurants instead! Emile takes Remy back to the colony to see their father, where they have a party to celebrate his return, however, Remy accidentally reveals that he’s been working with a human, and will not return to the colony. Remy’s father takes Remy to a shop filled with traps and poison, warning him that humans will always hate rats, so there is no point getting close to them.

Remy ignores the warning and returns to Gusteau’s the next day, and finds Linguini sleeping, having not left from the night before. Remy tries to wake him, but nothing works. Colette arrives soon after so Remy gets under the toque and tries to force Linguini to start cooking and prepping for the day. However, Colette wants to talk to Linguini about his meeting with Chef Skinner, but with Linguini not being awake, and Remy not being able to talk, Colette doesn’t get any responses from him, making her more and more angry, to the point she slaps Linguini around the face. That certainly wakes him up – though he has no idea what he’s done to deserve the slap! Linguini runs out to Colette to stop her from leaving, and apologises for not listening to her. He wants to reveal what is making him act so weird, namely that he has a rat helping him cook. As Linguini lifts the toque from his head, Remy pushes Linguini to Colette and the two kiss, ending that conversation.

Whilst all this is going on at Gusteau’s, the restaurant is becoming popular again, leading Anton Ego to want to revisit the restaurant soon, thinking it is still as mediocre as when he last went. Chef Skinner also learns that Linguini is in fact Gusteau’s son, and wants to hide this from him for a few more days, so the deadline can expire. Skinner later discovers that his paranoia about the rat has been warranted as the initial hair given to his lawyer for the DNA sample was in fact rodent hair. A little while later, as Colette and Linguini become closer, Remy starts to feel like Linguini is forgetting about him, causing some tension between the two. Emile keeps returning to Gusteau’s as well, wanting Remy to steal some food for him and his friends from the restaurant. This time, the pantry is locked so Remy goes to Skinner’s office to retrieve the key. Whilst searching for the key, he stumbles upon all these documents and learns that Linguini is Gusteau’s son. Remy steals the papers, in a bid to show Linguini, but he is chased through the streets of Paris by Skinner. He loses him by the river as Skinner falls in attempting to jump between boats. When Skinner returns to Gusteau’s, he finds Linguini and Colette in “his” office. With Linguini now in charge of the restaurant, Skinner is fired, and all the chefs burn the collection of Gusteau-branded frozen foods! In retaliation, and knowing there really is a rat in the kitchen, Skinner calls the health inspector, asking for them to inspect Gusteau’s, but he is told there will likely be a long wait.

A press conference is soon held with Linguini. He is asked a question about where he finds his inspiration, but now Remy wants some credit for all his hard work, Linguini actually gives the credit to Colette, not his “tiny chef”. Ego then interrupts the press conference to say he will be critiquing Gusteau’s the following day, warning Linguini not to disappoint him. Linguini dumps Remy outside after the press conference, angry that he tried to ruin everything. Emile and his friends laugh at Remy as they see him being treated like a human’s pet. Remy decides to let Emile and the others go through the pantry themselves that evening, wanting to punish Linguini for his poor treatment of him. When Linguini sees Remy has not returned to the apartment that night, he comes to the restaurant to apologise, but he quickly shuns Remy when he discovers that him and his rat colony have been stealing food from the restaurant.

On the day of Ego’s visit, Linguini is told to make a motivational speech to the chefs, but it isn’t very inspirational, thanks to his nerves and general awkwardness. Remy returns to Gusteau’s to watch the evening unfold, with Emile questioning why he’d want to do that. Emile sniffs out some cheese and is about to get caught in a trap when Remy pushes him out and takes his place. The trap is picked up by Skinner and put in his car. Remy is told he’ll now make a new line of frozen foods for him. Skinner goes into the restaurant to see the Ego visit. Ego arrives and tells the waiter that Linguini should serve whatever he dares to serve him, refusing to order. Skinner asks for the same as Ego. Linguini is a mess, as he doesn’t have any recipes or knowledge of what customers are ordering and hides in the office!

Remy is rescued from the trap and Skinner’s car by his brother, father, and the rest of the colony. He immediately returns to Gusteau’s. The other chefs see Remy and try to kill him, but Linguini rushes out of the office, and says that Remy is the one who can cook, not him. Hearing this craziness, all the chefs, including Colette, quit and leave right there and then. Linguini fears the restaurant will close now, as nobody can cook tonight, and returns to the office, feeling hopeless. Colette drives home on her moped, crying and almost getting herself killed in a crash. However, she stops at one point and sees Gusteau’s book “Anyone Can Cook” in a nearby shop window. She has a change of heart and turns around.

Remy wonders what he can do to help Linguini now, when his dad comes over, saying he was wrong, not just about the cooking, but about his “human friend”. He asks what the colony can do to help. Encouraged by this, Remy sticks all the rats under the commercial dishwasher and splits them into groups to deal with different elements, whilst Remy oversees everything. Linguini tasks himself with being the head waiter for the evening. The health inspector then arrives and looks shocked at seeing all these rats in the kitchen. He rushes back to his car, with Remy ordering a group of rats to return him. They do, and he is tied up and thrown in the pantry! Colette also returns and asks Remy what it is he wants to cook for Ego; she’ll handle that. Remy hands Colette the recipe for ratatouille. She can’t believe he’d want to serve something so simple, but she goes along with it, making the dish in the way Remy wants it done. Linguini serves the ratatouille to Ego and Skinner. Ego initially seems bemused by this dish but after tasting it, it takes him back to his childhood and he loves it. Skinner also loves it and goes to the kitchen, demanding to know who cooked it. Having seen all the rats in the kitchen, he too is tied up and thrown in the pantry.

Ego goes to thank Linguini for the meal, but Linguini says he was just the waiter today. Ego asks who he needs to speak to. Linguini asks Colette what to do. She comes out and says if he wants to speak to the chef, he’ll have to wait until everyone else is gone. He agrees to do that. At closing time, Ego is introduced to Remy, and Linguini explains how he helped him cook at Gusteau’s. Ego doesn’t say much and after the explanation is done, he simply thanks them for the meal and leaves.

The next day, his review comes out. It states that he never understood Gusteau’s famous motto of “anyone can cook”, until his evening at Gusteau’s, now understanding what he meant: that a great artist can come from anywhere, and this definitely applies to the new “chef” at Gusteau’s. He looks forward to seeing more from them in future visits. However, with Skinner and the health inspector having to be released from the pantry eventually, word got out about there being rats in the kitchen and Gusteau’s was promptly closed down. Ego also lost his credibility and job for praising Gusteau’s. But there is a happy ending, as we see Remy telling this story to his rat colony in what appears to be the terrace of a restaurant. This restaurant is in fact his, and Linguini’s, I suppose, called La Ratatouille, having been backed by Ego, who is now a small business investor. The movie ends as Remy comes in to the kitchen to help Colette with Ego’s order of ratatouille.

CHARACTERS & CAST

Not wanting to be, or not feeling like, a normal rat sets Remy apart from every other member of his colony. Unfortunately, Remy being different isn’t considered to be a good thing, and his love of food and rejection of stealing junk from bins creates tension between him and his father. When Remy becomes separated from his family and colony, he finds himself alone – but he’s alone in Paris, a city of culture and haute cuisine. This is the perfect place for Remy to find himself, especially as he ends up at Gusteau’s restaurant, his favourite restaurant. Here, Remy finds himself in an unusual position of being not human enough to be a chef, and not rat-like enough to fit in back home. Because of Linguini’s human body, Remy is able to finally fulfil his dream of becoming a chef, despite all the obstacles. With Linguini’s support, Remy finds he can achieve anything, even being accepted as a chef amongst other humans – although it’s probably still a good idea for most of his customers at his new restaurant not to know that their food is being cooked by a rat!

Patton Oswalt voiced Remy. Oswalt has had a long career as an actor, a voice actor, and a stand-up comedian, winning an Emmy award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special for his comedy show Patton Oswalt: Talking for Clapping in 2016. In film, Oswalt has had roles including as Matt Freehauf in Young Adult (2011), which starred Charlize Theron; as Tom Stenton in Netflix’s The Circle (2017); and as Dr. Hubert Wartzki in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024). He also took over the voice role of Max from Louis C.K. in The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019) and is set to voice a character in Sony Pictures’ 2026 animated film Goat. Oswalt is also known for his longstanding roles on sitcoms, such as being cast as Spence Olchin in The King of Queens (1998-2007) with Kevin James and Leah Remini, and the narrator, also known as present-day Adam, for ABC’s The Goldbergs (2013-23).

Linguini starts as a garbage boy at Gusteau’s, purely thanks to his recently deceased mother, who was a former girlfriend of Chef Gusteau and had assumed Chef Skinner would be able to find a job for Linguini. Linguini doesn’t seem to know how to keep his head down and deal with the job he’s got because he can’t help but try and cook, by messing about with the soup that was on the stove next to him. He would certainly have been fired had Remy not come in a decided to save the day, only because the sight of someone ruining a beautiful soup was painful to him! After this, Linguini wants to work with Remy, even though he’s a rat, so that Linguini gets to keep his job at Gusteau’s, not having another path to follow in life. Linguini later discovers that he is Gusteau’s son, thanks to Remy, and despite a brief falling out between the two, as Linguini spends more time with his love interest Colette, and leaves Remy to fend for himself, Linguini protects Remy from the chefs after he returns to Gusteau’s on the evening Anton Ego visits the restaurant, and Remy helps Linguini save the reputation of the restaurant. They later go into business together, remaining unlikely friends.

Linguini was voiced by former Pixar employee Lou Romano. In animation, Romano has worked in areas like visual development and production design. For Pixar, he worked on movies including Monsters, Inc. (2001); The Incredibles (2004), and voiced Bernie Kropp; and Up (2009). Romano voiced Snot Rod in Cars (2006) too. After Pixar, Romano chose to work at animation studio LAIKA, helping to make stop-motion films The Boxtrolls (2014) and Kubo and the Two Strings (2016).

Chef Skinner becomes the new head chef of Gusteau’s after the death of Gusteau. Although Skinner clearly wants to run a high-end establishment in the heart of Paris, and has precise expectations of his chefs, Skinner has spent much of the time since Gusteau’s death using his image to create a brand of cheap frozen foods for the masses, that have nothing to do with high-quality food, or even French cuisine; they are for things like burritos and fried chicken. It’s unclear why this is considered necessary. Whether it is just Skinner being greedy and wanting some additional financial revenue, or whether these frozen products are actually keeping the Gusteau restaurant afloat, I don’t know, although the restaurant seems to have a decent flow of customers throughout the movie, even at the start when Gusteau’s only has three stars. Once Skinner believes that Linguini is colluding with the rat from dinner service, he starts to get very paranoid, seeing Remy everywhere. Skinner is later fired for concealing the fact that Linguini is Gusteau’s son, so he could inherit everything instead. Skinner is the first to figure out that Linguini cannot cook and that the rat is the chef, even going so far as to capture Remy so that he can produce new foods for a new frozen food line! He also contacts the health inspector to get Gusteau’s closed. We don’t know what happens to Skinner after Gusteau’s closed down, but hopefully he could finally get some peace – or even some therapy to deal with all these strange events!

Ian Holm voiced Skinner. Sir Ian Holm began his career with the Royal Shakespeare Company, appearing in productions such as Twelfth Night, King Lear, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Holm moved into movie roles after that, being nominated at the Academy Awards in the Best Supporting Actor category for his role as Sam Mussabini in Chariots of Fire (1981), later winning a BAFTA for his performance. His other roles include King John in Robin and Marian (1976); Ash in Alien (1979); Fluellen in Kenneth Branagh’s Henry V (1989); Francis Willis in The Madness of King George (1994); and Terry Rapson in The Day After Tomorrow (2004). He also played Bilbo Baggins in the original The Lord of the Rings trilogy, before reprising the role in The Hobbit trilogy, with The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014) being his last film role. Holm died in June 2020. He won the Annie Award for Outstanding Voice Acting for his role as Chef Skinner in Ratatouille.

For Remy’s family, he has his father, Django, and his brother, Emile. Emile is quite close to Remy, although he does not understand Remy’s love of cooking, or the need to eat “only the good stuff”. Emile is happy to eat anything and everything, whether that is from the trash, or from a high-end restaurant’s food store; it all tastes the same to him! Emile does encourage Remy to steal food from Gusteau’s for him and his friends, leading to Remy being shunned by Linguini when this is discovered, but Emile doesn’t ever mean to hurt Remy, getting help when Remy is caught in a trap by Skinner, and joining the rats in finishing dinner service at Gusteau’s when Anton Ego is there. Pixar animator Peter Sohn voiced Emile. Sohn is a Pixar animator and voice actor, having directed and written the short film Partly Cloudy (2009) and voiced Squishy in Monsters University (2013). Sohn had also worked as a story artist on Finding Nemo (2003), The Incredibles (2004), and Up (2009). He later directed The Good Dinosaur (2015) and Elemental (2023), and voiced Sox in Lightyear (2022) and Ciccio in Luca (2021). Sohn is set to direct Incredibles 3.

Django, Remy’s father, is not at all understanding of Remy’s desire to be a chef, or his pickiness over food. The only time Django initially seems to be proud of Remy is when he sniffs out rat poison, but after that, he thinks Remy is just fussy. When Remy is finally reunited with Emile and his father, after a long period of time working as a chef with Linguini, he is even more different that he was at the start of the film. Django attempts to show Remy just how dangerous humans are, by taking him to a pest control shop, but this doesn’t dissuade Remy. Even when Remy is trapped by Skinner, once he is released by Django and the colony, he immediately returns to Gusteau’s to help Linguini. Django then sees how important this dream is to Remy, and mobilises the colony to help him out in the kitchen. By the end of Ratatouille, it is quite clear that Django has accepted his son and is very proud of him. Django was voiced by Brian Dennehy. Dennehy had previously been cast as Cobb in the Western film Silverado (1985) and went on to play Ted Montague in Romeo + Juliet (1996) which starred Leonardo di Caprio and Claire Danes in the title roles. In television, Dennehy also starred as serial killer John Wayne Gacy in the Fox TV movie To Catch a Killer (1992), with Dennehy being nominated for an Emmy Award in the Lead Actor category for his performance. Dennehy also won awards for his role as Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman, both in the TV adaptation in 2000, where he won the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award in the equivalent of the Best Actor category, and on stage, receiving a Tony Award for his role in the 1999 production of the play. More recently, Dennehy was cast in the recurring role of Dominic Wilkinson in NBC’s Blacklist (2013-23) from Season 3 to Season 7. He passed away in April 2020.

Moving on, we have the stern food critic Anton Ego. Ego’s name strikes fear into the hearts of all chefs across Paris, as his criticism can make or break a restaurant. In the case of Gusteau’s, he actually did both. Initially, his harsh critique of the restaurant causes it to lose a star, and could be a cause of the death of Chef Gusteau, as his five-star restaurant quickly lost its good name and reputation, thanks to Ego, and he lost hope. This then led to another star being lost, as per tradition that if a head chef dies, a restaurant must lose a star from its rating. Ego says himself at the end of Ratatouille that negative criticism is both fun to read and write, so this review of Gusteau’s may’ve been unnecessarily unfair. I personally like to sit more on the side of being compassionate alongside my criticism, whereas Ego clearly doesn’t! Ego seems to have quite a problem with Gusteau’s, as he only returns to the restaurant when he learns it is becoming popular again, wanting to crush the dreams of new head chef Linguini before it can rise again. However, that is not what happens, and despite being served a basic dish of ratatouille, Ego finds himself transported back to his childhood with the plate of food and devours it. When Ego learns that Remy, a rat, was in fact the chef that evening, he slowly takes in what this means, and writes a very positive review – without mentioning the rat part! Once Gusteau’s shuts down from a rat infestation, Ego loses his job as a critic, but joins up with Linguini and Remy to fund a new restaurant so this new artist, as Ego called him, can flourish in Paris once more.

Peter O’Toole voiced Anton Ego. O’Toole is well-known for his role as T.E. Lawrence in the epic drama film Lawrence of Arabia (1962), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor, and won the BAFTA, amongst others. After that, he portrayed King Henry II of England in Becket (1964), with Richard Burton in the title role. O’Toole won the Golden Globe for Best Actor for his performance, also being nominated for an Oscar and others once again. O’Toole also portrayed Henry II in The Lion in Winter (1968), which also starred Katharine Hepburn and Anthony Hopkins, winning a Golden Globe for the role. He won another Golden Globe when he was then cast as Arthur “Chips” Chipping in the musical film adaptation Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969). Later in his career, O’Toole was cast as Priam in Troy (2004) and as Pope Paul III in Season 2 of The Tudors (2007-10), also playing Maurice Russell in the movie Venus (2006). O’Toole died in 2013.

Chef Gusteau only appears as himself in Ratatouille in archive television footage, shown in a documentary and a news report about him and his restaurant. However, throughout Ratatouille, a small, imaginary Gusteau appears to speak with Remy from time to time, guiding him on his journey. Gusteau also speaks to Remy through the cardboard advertising cut-outs for the frozen foods, which all show Gusteau in whatever stereotypical dress may match the cuisine being sold! This is only when Remy is in Skinner’s office and learns that Gusteau is Linguini’s father – where the various Gusteau’s are shocked at this discovery, naturally, because Remy didn’t know so how could they? Brad Garrett voiced Gusteau. Garrett starred as Robert Barone in Everybody Loves Raymond (1996-2005), alongside Ray Romano, for which he won three Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor. Garrett has voiced other characters for Disney and Pixar, including Dim in A Bug’s Life (1998), Bloat in Finding Nemo (2003), Hook Hand in Tangled (2010) and Eeyore in Christopher Robin (2018).

There are numerous other chefs who work at Gusteau’s, alongside Skinner, Linguini, and Remy. One of these, and the one most important to the plot of Ratatouille, is Colette, the only female chef in the kitchen. She isn’t convinced by Linguini at the start of their training together, although she does tell Skinner he can’t fire Linguini if he cooked a dish that was liked by a renowned food critic, ensuring Linguini keeps his job. During the sessions of Colette training Linguini, Linguini quickly falls for her, though Remy isn’t so happy about the fact he has to speed up his techniques to suit a high-paced professional kitchen, and “cannot be mummy”, as Colette so eloquently puts it! Remy also learns he can’t be creative here, so when Colette and Linguini are tasked with recreating an old dish of Gusteau’s that was apparently terrible, Linguini tries to stop Remy from going against Colette’s advice to follow the recipe to the letter, but this is ignored. That same evening Linguini talks with Chef Skinner, and the next morning, because he is asleep and Remy is trying to hide that fact, Colette gets frustrated that Linguini seems to think he’s better than her, even though she had to work very hard to get to this position as a woman in a male-dominated industry, something many women can relate to. Linguini and Colette later become an item, and Colette even accepts that Remy is a chef, after a brief time of being disgusted by this and the betrayal, continuing to work with Remy in his new restaurant. Janeane Garofalo voiced Colette. Garofalo began her career in comedy in stand-up before moving in to movie and television roles. Some of these include being a cast member in the 1994-95 season of Saturday Night Live (1975-present), playing Louise Thornton in Season 7 of The West Wing (1999-2006), and voicing Bridget the giraffe in Disney’s The Wild (2006), amongst many others.

The other chefs at Gusteau’s don’t have many lines and are not given much character development, but they are important to the kitchen, so I’ll list them here anyway. Horst is the German sous-chef at Gusteau’s, who has been to prison, but nobody knows why as he changes his story all the time, saying he created the hole in the ozone or that he killed a man with his thumb! He was voiced by Will Arnett. Arnett is known for roles like George Oscar Bluth II in Arrested Development (2003-06, 2013-19) and voicing the title role in BoJack Horseman (2014-20). He also voiced the role of Lego Batman in the Lego movie franchise. Recently, Arnett wrote, produced and starred as Alex Novak in the movie Is This Thing On? (2025) opposite Laura Dern.

Lalo supposedly ran away from home at the age of 12, and joined the circus initially. He is the saucier chef. Lalo was voiced by Julius Callahan. Pompidou is the pastry chef, and was a cheat at cards, having been banned from numerous casinos in Las Vegas and Monte Carlo. Pompidou was voiced by animator Tony Fucile, who worked on other Pixar films like Brave (2012), Inside Out (2015), and Soul (2020). Larousse worked for the Resistance, but he never said which resistance, only that they didn’t win. Larousse is the chef garde manger, meaning he deals with the cold dishes. He was voiced by James Remar, who is well-known for playing Harry Morgan in the crime drama Dexter (2006-13), reprising the role in the continuing series Dexter: Resurrection (2025-present). He also was cast as Peter Gambi in The CW’s superhero series Black Lightning (2018-21) and recently played Francis Shaw in HBO’s It – Welcome to Derry (2025-present).

Finally, Mustafa, the easily stressed maître d’, was voiced by John Ratzenberger, Pixar’s “good luck charm”, who had a voice role in every Pixar movie, starting with Hamm in Toy Story (1995), up to construction worker Fennwick in Onward (2020). He later returned to Pixar to reprise his voice role as Fritz, one of the mind workers, in Inside Out 2 (2024) and will reprise his role as Hamm in Toy Story 5 (2026).

Although the voice cast do a brilliant job with their roles in Ratatouille, it is quite strange that no French actors were cast in the main roles, despite many of them putting on French accents! There is also another random voice casting that may only interest those in the UK. The health inspector was voiced by chef Jamie Oliver in the UK release of the film.

PRODUCTION

Quite a lot of films have stories of directors changing, sometimes multiple times over the course of a movie’s production, due to story issues or clashes of personalities. Animated movies are no different.

For Ratatouille, it was meant to be the first Pixar feature assignment for Jan Pinkava, who had previously directed the short Geri’s Game (1997) for Pixar, which accompanied the release of A Bug’s Life. Pinkava had also worked as a story artist on Toy Story 2 (1999) and Monsters, Inc. prior to starting work on Ratatouille. However, John Lasseter, then Chief Creative Officer of Pixar, didn’t like how the story was going, not feeling that it was progressing sufficiently, so he and producer Brad Lewis tasked Brad Bird, who had just finished directing The Incredibles, with fixing the story for Ratatouille. Bird later took over from Pinkava as director, with Pinkava leaving the company around 2006. He did, however, still receive story credit[1].

Brad Bird had just enjoyed the incredible success of The Incredibles, his first movie for Pixar, which won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, and goes down as one of Pixar’s best films to this day. Bird was not an original employee of Pixar, having also worked on The Simpsons (1989-present) beforehand, and rose to prominence after directing the technically impressive The Iron Giant (1999) for Warner Bros. Feature Animation, although it underperformed at the box office. Bird then joined up with Pixar, where he became part of the creative team. After directing Ratatouille, Bird directed two live-actions films, one being Disney’s live-action film Tomorrowland (2015), and the other being Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011). He later returned to Pixar to direct and write Incredibles 2 (2018), the first sequel in The Incredibles franchise, and will return to write and executive produce Incredibles 3, set for release in 2028. Bird also wrote and directed the animated movie Ray Gunn, which is due to be released on Netflix in 2026, for Skydance.

It is unclear just what the original concept for Ratatouille under Pinkava was meant to be, although it was always meant to be about a rat in Paris who loves to cook, so the basic idea was there from the beginning, as was the title “Ratatouille”. Pinkava’s idea was more focused on Remy leading a double life, so cooking in the kitchen with Linguini and then returning home to his life as a rat. An element of this may be evident in the deleted scene “Heist/Fantasy”, although it is not obvious whether Ratatouille’s deleted scenes came after or during Pinkava’s involvement in the movie. In the scene “Heist/Fantasy”, Remy’s rat family was shown to be thieves who targeted restaurants’ trash cans like robbers target bank vaults; when they stole food, it was like a heist. Remy volunteers to be the lookout on one of these heists, watching over the restaurant, which happens to be Gusteau’s, from the skylight. However, instead of focusing on whether or not any human is heading for the trash cans, Remy starts to daydream about working there as a chef in this kitchen. Remy is pulled out of his daydream by Chef Skinner shouting, but it is too late for Remy to signal to the colony and they all rush home to the sewer, angry at Remy for not doing his job. An early version of the story also included Chef Gusteau, the real human being Chef Gusteau, not Remy’s imaginary version. In a cut scene, Gusteau is shown in his office telling Skinner how he is against all the frozen food lines that they are selling. This idea was not used, as it included too many storylines, so living Gusteau had to go[2].

Another necessary of aspect of creating Ratatouille, along with building the story, was to build the environment for it. Ratatouille was to be set in Paris, so naturally, the team had to visit Paris for research trips. This involved researching and studying the architecture and the cuisine, both of which had to look authentic. Everyone knows some of the key landmarks of Paris, like Notre-Dame Cathedral and the Eiffel Tower, and they both appear in Ratatouille, however, it was not only these obvious elements of the city that had to be included. Essential parts of city planning like manhole covers, gutters, and edgings also had to be photographed and studied up close, especially as the rats go in and out of the sewers and pipework in this film. The Pixar animators also had to capture just what Paris would look like from a rat’s perspective, so that meant lots of photographs taken from the ground. The team also observed how this centuries-old city looked, with stonework eroding and limestone degradation, to ensure they captured the age of Paris. You’ll also notice that Ratatouille’s Paris seems to be a less modern-day one, as there are no skyscrapers in the skyline.

As Bird came on to the project quite late, he was only able to go on one research trip to Paris, but he was inspired by one specific moment for one specific sequence in the film. This is the sequence of Linguini and Remy down by the Seine, when Linguini is meant to drown Remy in the river, as instructed by Chef Skinner, but he can’t bring himself to do it. Bird said this was inspired by a walk along the Seine by Notre-Dame Cathedral one night. It had a spooky quality to it, with drifting fog and fading light, and it was decided they had to have a scene at this spot, in that atmosphere, within the film[3].

A further area of research was looking at restaurants and their kitchens, where the Pixar team noticed a huge contrast between the atmosphere and look of the main dining room versus the kitchen. For the interior dining room and exterior façade of Gusteau’s restaurant, using their knowledge of high-end restaurants, they created stone pillars and a large stately building to host the restaurant, with lots of fabrics and red hues for the main dining room, embellished with plenty of gilt. The kitchen, on the other hand, is mostly white tile and brass or copper details, and plenty of expensive cookware.

There was more studying of chefs themselves at The French Laundry restaurant in Yountville, California, in Napa Valley, during an evening dinner service. Here, they learnt that each chef knows precisely what they are doing and where they are going in the kitchen, making their seamless movements look almost choreographed. They also discovered that chefs use a lot of spoons and not too many other utensils, knowing it would therefore be inaccurate to see them cooking with anything else, for the most part. This study of chefs even went to the characters being created, who have burn marks and scars on their arms and hands if you look closely, as many professionals do. The interior dining room is meant to symbolise serenity and relaxation, despite the back kitchen being loud, busy, and hot[4].

Speaking of The French Laundry restaurant, which is a three-Michelin-star restaurant, it is owned by head chef Thomas Keller, who had a hand in Ratatouille as well. He was tasked with updating the simple ratatouille dish for a Michelin-star-worthy restaurant, so we have him to thank for making something so simple look so good. Keller was also a food consultant on this film, and was also studied by the animators when cooking[5].

Back at the Pixar studio in Emeryville, now they had the research, they just had to get animating. It was soon discovered that food digitally created by a computer doesn’t look right. It struggles to look organic and fresh. This was immediately an obstacle for the animators because they couldn’t make Ratatouille without showing high-quality menu items. The only way to do this was to continuously work on making the food look tasty. Therefore, more than 270 pieces of food were created, with help from Michael Warch, Pixar’s sets and layout manager, who had been to culinary school. These meals were cooked for the animators to photograph and use as reference material for their animation. Warch served as the production’s “sous-chef”[6]. You also couldn’t animate Ratatouille without looking up close at rats, where many of the Pixar animators learnt to like rats, finding them quite sweet. They focused on areas of the rat that were the most appealing, such as their fuzzy fur and their little eyes and ears. They avoided focusing too much on other less cute areas, like their tails. The rats were brought in by animators who had pet rats, and they focused on their movements and how their fur moved or changed in different environments[7].

Finally, I’ll mention a few Easter eggs that Pixar are known for placing in their films. One is the Pizza Planet truck which is a constant in Pixar films. In Ratatouille, the truck is travelling on a bridge over the Seine during Skinner and Remy’s chase through Paris when Remy has stolen documents about Gusteau. A113, the classroom number where many of Pixar’s animators studied at CalArts, is printed onto the tough rat’s ear on a tag. You can also see references to other Pixar movies within Ratatouille, such as Dug’s shadow being seen as Remy is running through the apartments when he first arrives in Paris, and Hal the cockroach from WALL-E is in Linguini’s apartment when we first see inside it. Both WALL-E and Dug’s film Up were upcoming movie releases for Pixar. The character Bomb Voyage from Brad Bird’s previous film The Incredibles is also seen a couple of times, like on the front of the paper Colette is reading as she reads out the critic’s review, and as a mime when Colette and Linguini are roller skating. For any food fans out there, you’ll also have discovered that the rating system for Gusteau’s does not comply with the Michelin Guide, where a restaurant can only have three stars. Gusteau’s has five only because Pixar didn’t want to waste story time explaining those who didn’t know to the audience; a five-star rating is globally understood as something good.

MUSIC

Michael Giacchino was the composer of the music in Pixar’s Ratatouille, and the reason he was chosen is simple: because Brad Bird liked collaborating with him on The Incredibles.

Pixar seem to have longstanding collaborations with various people including composers, with Giacchino being just one of those who has worked on numerous other Pixar films. Giacchino’s musical credits for Pixar include composing the score for Up (2009), Inside Out (2015), Coco (2017), and Lightyear (2022). He has also composed the music for Disney Animation’s Zootopia (2016) and Zootopia 2 (2025). Away from animation, Giacchino was nominated for Primetime Emmy awards for his work on the series Lost (2004-10), winning one for his underscore of its pilot episode, and composed the music for the Jurassic World trilogy, ending with Jurassic World: Dominion (2022).

Giacchino spoke about creating two themes for Remy for this film. One follows his rat life, where he is running through the apartments in Paris, looking for food, like in the track “Wall Rat”, and a second which is the theme of his hopes, which can be heard when Remy first sees the Paris skyline and Gusteau’s restaurant, like in “Ratatouille Main Theme”. I also like “Souped Up”, which plays as Remy fixes the soup that Linguini has messed up because it becomes very jazzy, and high-spirited, as we see Remy in his happy place, creating food. “Remy Drives a Linguini” shows Remy and Linguini’s “buddy theme” as they learn how to work together to get Linguini to come across as brilliant chef, with Remy moving him like a puppet via his hair. The score was recorded on the same scoring stage at Sony Pictures Studio as that of Jurassic Park (1993)[8].

The song “Le Festin” was written to reflect the story of Remy achieving his dream. It plays during the ending sequence where we see Remy happy cooking at his restaurant, but it also appears after Linguini takes control of Gusteau’s in that montage. It was performed by French singer Camille, who was proud to perform a song for a film set in France, as well as being able to perform it in French[9]. It is a beautiful song, which perfectly captures the setting of Ratatouille, transporting you to the streets of Paris. Camille recently co-composed the score and songs for the movie Emilia Pérez (2024) with Clément Ducol. Camille also performed on the song “El Mal” as background vocals. “El Mal” won the Academy Award, the Critics’ Choice Award, and the Golden Globe for Best Original Song. Another song from this film, “Mi Camino”, was nominated in this same category. The soundtrack as a whole won the Cannes Soundtrack Album at the Cannes Film Festival.

In terms of awards, Giacchino was nominated at the Academy Awards in the category of Best Original Score, but lost out to Dario Marianelli’s music for Atonement (2007). He was also nominated at the Satellite Awards for Best Original Score, this time losing to Alberto Iglesias and The Kite Runner (2007). The only song in the soundtrack, “Le Festin”, was nominated at the World Soundtrack Awards and the Online Film & Television Association Awards for Best Original Song. Giacchino did win the Annie Award for Music in a Feature Production, and the Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack Album for his work on Ratatouille. He also won the International Film Music Critics Association Award for Best Original Score for an Animated Film.

In October 2015, the Royal Albert Hall held an event titled Ratatouille Live in Concert, where the movie was screened with a live orchestra playing the score.

RECEPTION

Ratatouille was released in the US on 29^th June 2007, having apparently originally been set for release in 2006; Pixar’s Cars took the 2006 date instead.

Due to the potentially unfamiliar word with non-French-speaking audiences, it was decided that all the movie posters should show phonetically how to pronounce the film title “ratatouille”, to ensure there was no confusion!

In theatres, Ratatouille was accompanied by a Pixar short film, as is tradition. In this case, the short film was titled Lifted. It had previously debuted at the Chicago International Film Festival in 2006 before being paired with Ratatouille a year later. Lifted sees a young alien being tested on abducting humans, like we’d be examined for a driving test. The young alien, named Stu, struggles with the pressure and the various switches on the control panel, not being able to get the sleeping human through his bedroom window and beamed up to the ship. Instead, the alien hits all the switches, causing chaos in the human’s bedroom. Eventually, the alien works out what to do, and beams the human up to the entrance to the ship but in all the excitement, the human is dropped. The examiner alien takes over, returning all the items and human back to their rightful place in the room, before taking the controls to return home. Seeing the young alien sad, the examiner hands the controls to the alien to steer them home, but the spaceship crashes onto the human’s house, destroying all of it, apart from the human’s bed, which he is still asleep in. The ship leaves behind a huge crater, which the human accidentally falls into when he wakes up.

The short was written and directed by Gary Rydstrom, a sound designer and film director, having also won awards for his sound work on the likes of Titanic (1997), Jurassic Park (1993), and Saving Private Ryan (1998), as well as animated movies like Hercules (1997), Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001), and A Bug’s Life (1998). Lifted was nominated for Best Animated Short Film at the Academy Awards, losing to The Danish Poet (2006).

There were initial concerns about Ratatouille at the box office, despite being No. 1 at the domestic box office on its opening weekend, having sold $47.2 million worth of tickets in its first three days, way ahead of second-place Live Free or Die Hard (2007) with $33.2 million. But it was the lowest opening result for a Pixar movie since A Bug’s Life, which made $33.3 million in its first few days in 1998. It also continued a trend of each Pixar movie failing to surpass its predecessor, as Cars had made $60.1 million in 2006. Ratatouille was said to have struggled due to competition from Transformers (2007)[10].

However, I don’t particularly care about how a movie does in only America, as it’s the worldwide box office figures that give the best overall picture of a film’s financial success in my opinion. Ratatouille did well in European markets, for example, setting record results in countries like Germany and Austria, as well as becoming the No. 1 film for six weeks in Summer 2007 in France, the country where Ratatouille is set[11]. Ratatouille didn’t even open in the UK until October 2007, so for the US media to be condemning Ratatouille to being a financial disappointment for Pixar back in June was a bit premature.

Overall, Ratatouille made just over $623 million from its initial release, ending the year in the No. 6 spot at the worldwide box office; it made just over $200 million domestically, and it surpassed Cars, which made $462 million in total. The Top 5 movies of 2007 were made up by Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End; Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix; Spider-Man 3; DreamWorks’ Shrek the Third; and Transformers, so sure, Pixar didn’t match up to DreamWorks’ third Shrek film, but they did much better critically, which would matter most to me. Elsewhere in animation, Ratatouille surpassed The Simpsons Movie; DreamWorks’ Bee Movie; and Disney’s Meet the Robinsons.

In terms of audience reception, most reviews were positive. Many felt Ratatouille was a great addition to the Pixar catalogue, and recovered Pixar’s reputation after the lacklustre Cars. The animation was once again seen to be amazing, and it was decided the story was both funny and endearing, with a great voice cast. Some even say that Ratatouille is one of the best animated movies ever made.

On the other side, some felt Ratatouille wasn’t particularly funny, unlike some of Pixar’s earlier movies, and that it was less child-friendly, due to the length of the film and the emotional depth of the story. I would have to agree on both of these comments, not that it bothers me, but it did feel like Pixar hadn’t made a film directly aimed at children for the first time. Some also commented on the fact some characters were ignored, such as the chefs at Gusteau’s, who barely get any lines themselves and whose backstories are delivered in one three-minute scene between Colette and Linguini. Others simply couldn’t get past the idea of rats being in the kitchen, finding it too hygienic to get on board with!

During awards season, Ratatouille did very well, picking up many awards and nominations. For example, at the Academy Awards, Ratatouille was nominated, not only for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Score, but also for Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Original Screenplay. Pixar only went home with the award for Best Animated Feature, but it was still a success for them nonetheless, despite the fact only two other animated films were nominated in this category: Persepolis and Surf’s Up.

At the Annie Awards, Ratatouille received 13 nominations, going on to win nine awards, in categories including Best Animated Feature, which also saw The Simpsons Movie and Bee Movie being nominated alongside Persepolis and Surf’s Up; Character Animation; Directing; Production Design; Storyboarding; and Writing. Pixar lost the Animated Effects award to Deborah Carlson’s work on Surf’s Up though, and could only win once in the Voice Acting category, with the win going to Ian Holm as Skinner; Patton Oswalt and Janeane Garofalo were also nominated for their roles as Remy and Colette respectively.

Other awards Ratatouille won in the Best Animated Film category include the Critics’ Choice Award, the Golden Globe, the Kids’ Choice Award, the Satellite Award, and the Saturn Award. The People’s Choice Awards handed out the Favorite Family Movie award to Shrek the Third for some reason. Brad Bird was also nominated in some other ceremonies for Best Original Screenplay, winning the award at the Boston Society of Film Critics Awards and the Saturn Awards, where it was in the category of Best Writing.

LEGACY

As with most Pixar, and quite a few Disney movies, when they are released on DVD or Blu-Ray, usually they are released with a new short film, sometimes related to the movie, like an exceptionally small sequel of sorts.

In the case of Ratatouille, this short film was titled Your Friend the Rat. This short saw Remy and Emile take the audience on a journey through the history of rats, trying to get us humans to change our opinion on them by showing that rats can be cool and should be able to live in peace and harmony with humans. If you’re concerned this short film has made light of the dangers that rats can pose to humans in terms of diseases, don’t worry because Pixar added a disclaimer at the end, saying that we should be careful around rats! This short uses a combination of both computer-generated and traditional hand-drawn animation sequences, with 2D animation also being used in the end credits of Ratatouille.

At the Disney Parks, Ratatouille has increasingly become an addition by way of attractions. Disneyland Paris was actually the first to reference Ratatouille, which is perhaps surprising because the US Disney Parks tend to get the biggest, newest attractions first, but then again Ratatouille is set in Paris so it makes complete sense! The 4D trackless attraction Ratatouille: L’Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy opened at the Walt Disney Studios Park in July 2014, alongside an area dedicated to Ratatouille, which also included the restaurant Bistrot Chez Rémy, and Chez Marianne, a souvenir shop. The restaurant serves French foods, like soup and steak frites, but the menu is not inaccessible to the majority of park-goers. The interior consists of larger-than-life decorations, to resemble that terrace where Remy and other members of the rat colony are sitting at the end of the film, and to make guests feel as though they are the size of rats. These are all still at the secondary park of Disneyland Paris, however, after a refurbishment, the ride will reopen in Spring 2026 with an updated video which will not be in 3D, reverting to a 2D video instead. Walt Disney Studios Park will also be renamed to Disney Adventure World in 2026; however, this area should remain untouched during renovations and refurbishments of the park. Emile and Remy have both been seen at Disneyland Paris as meet-and-greet characters, however, they have not been seen for a few years.

In 2021, Walt Disney World Resort in Florida recreated the Ratatouille-themed attraction in their Epcot Park, specifically in the World Showcase’s France Pavilion. Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure opened on 1^st October 2021, to coincide with Walt Disney World’s 50^th anniversary date and the celebrations that followed on from that. It had previously been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure recently underwent a minor refurbishment – only a few days long – to change the video portion of the ride from 3D to 2D, reopening in mid-November 2025. The construction of this attraction led to a new area at the back of the France pavilion being opened up, where a restaurant was also added. This is La Crêperie de Paris, technically a table-service restaurant, serving savoury and sweet crepes, naturally, however, this is a kiosk attached to it, which sells certain items from the restaurant from its walk-up window. Also in Epcot, for the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival, an annual event, a scavenger hunt allows for guests to spot different figures of Remy throughout the pavilions of World Showcase; it is called Remy’s Ratatouille Hide & Squeak. Technically it is a paid-for addition, however, if you don’t want the map or need the prize at the end of it, you can just spot the Remys without paying. Remy may also be featured on merchandise sold for this event, due to his culinary skills.

In terms of meet-and-greet characters here, at the time the film was released in 2007, Remy was meeting guests at the former The Magic of Disney Animation pavilion at the previously named Disney-MGM Studios Park, now known as Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Remy and Emile also were both seen during the Limited Time Magic event, where rare characters came out to meet guests, in January 2019. An animatronic Remy was also seen at Les Chefs de France for a limited time from 2009 to 2013; his last appearance was in October 2013. Remy would visit guests by their tables, sitting on a cart on a plate. Here, he would interact with guests. This event was called Bon Appétit from Chef Remy and was a pre-booked dining experience. Animatronic Remy was also seen at Disneyland Paris around this time, at the Rendez-Vous des Stars, or Restaurant des Stars, in Walt Disney Studios Park. It is unclear when Remy the animatronic disappeared from here, but it may’ve been when the attraction and its accompanying restaurant were built.

At Disneyland in California, at the Pixar Place Hotel, many references to Pixar movies can be spotted around the location, including ones to Ratatouille. Figurines of both Remy and Emile, and Chef Skinner have been seen at the Creators Club Concierge Lounge here. Other references may be seen in artwork and décor. At Pixar Pier, there may be similar nods to Ratatouille, specifically at the Lamplight Lounge dining location. During Pixar Fest from April 2024 until August 2024, there was a food both named Gusteau’s To-Go at Disney California Adventure’s Pixar Fest Marketplace, which served a ratatouille mini-pizza and a Gusteau-themed macaron, and some specialty drinks. Some limited-edition merchandise items themed to the movie were also available at this time. Ratatouille was strangely absent from any of the live entertainment offerings at Pixar Fest 2024 though, despite Emile and Remy both appearing during the Pixar Pals Dance Party at Pixar Fest in 2018. It would seem that Pixar Fest 2024 was really just an advertisement for Pixar’s newer film releases that hadn’t had as much coverage due to the pandemic, rather than a true celebration of all of their films. Pixar Fest has not returned to Disney California Park since 2024.

In the Disney Parks in Asia, there are less references to Ratatouille, but there are still a few. For example, Remy’s Patisserie, a bakery themed to Remy and the film, selling French-inspired goods opened at Shanghai Disneyland on 16^th June 2016, the same opening date as the park. It is situated on Mickey Avenue. Remy’s Patisserie doesn’t seem to be listed on Shanghai Disneyland’s website for some reason; I don’t know if it has since closed. Remy is also used for the Rat in the Garden of the Twelve Friends, where Disney and Pixar characters resemble the signs of the Chinese zodiac. Outside of Remy and Emile meeting guests at Hong Kong Disneyland back in 2018, Ratatouille doesn’t appear to be a popular property for the Disney Parks on this continent.

On the Disney Cruise Line, there is more luck as the restaurant Remy exists on the Disney Fantasy and Disney Dream ships. Remy is an upscale restaurant, for adults only and with a strict dress code, lightly themed to Ratatouille. Its private Chef’s Table dining room is called Chez Gusteau’s. There is also likely to be some reference to the film at the Pixar Market Restaurant on the Disney Adventure ship when that sails in 2026.

Disney allegedly had been planning on producing a Ratatouille wine, with Remy featured on the label, to be sold at Costco in 2007, no doubt as promotion for the movie. However, Disney quickly cancelled their plans when the California Wine Institute pressured them not to release it, reminding them of advertising codes, where alcohol labels cannot be seen to be appealing to children. Due to having Remy on the label, who would become a recognisable icon of a movie aimed at children, this wine was deemed unsellable and the project was cancelled[12]. This led to other food and drink tie-ins being a struggle to promote, however, standard merchandise items like homeware, bags, plush toys, and pins themed to Ratatouille and Remy are readily available at some Disney Parks and Disney Stores. There was also the usual video games released, following the film’s storyline. I had Ratatouille the game on PlayStation 2, but never finished it.

Finally, back in 2020 when everyone was bored at home during lockdowns, the social media app TikTok exploded in popularity, particularly in the US, and one viral moment to come from it that year was the Ratatouille TikTok musical. The musical all began with Emily Jacobson, a teacher, who posted a video to TikTok in August 2020 with a song written about Remy. This video later was seen by Daniel Mertzlufft, an orchestrator, who arranged the song as a Broadway musical-style song. Other TikTok users and musicians began adding to this idea for “Ratatouille the Musical” and it became a complete show, directed by Lucy Moss, the co-creator of musical Six, and streamed to the world on 1^st January 2021. Some big names appeared in this show including singer Adam Lambert, comedian Wayne Brady, and actor Tituss Burgess, known for playing Titus Andromedon in sitcom Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (2015-19). The show raised $1 million for The Actors Fund[13].

Disney and Pixar didn’t have a problem with this unofficial remake of their work, but don’t think this means that Pixar movies will start getting the Disney “live-action remake” treatment, because it has been stated by Pete Docter, Pixar’s Chief Creative Officer, that there is no live-action Ratatouille, or any other live-action remake coming from Pixar[14].

FINAL THOUGHTS

Who would’ve ever thought that a film about a little rat wanting to cook could become such an iconic piece of animation history for so many?

I like Ratatouille for its animation and the scenes of cooking. I like the romanticism of Paris that the movie captures. And I particularly like Anton Ego’s final critique of Gusteau’s with its quiet reflection of just what being an artist can mean and how art touches people. Those at Pixar are experts at creating art that means so much to people themselves.

Ratatouille continues to be remembered by audiences even if perhaps its popularity has been overtaken by newer films that might be more fun and colourful. Ratatouille felt like it was aimed at a slightly older audience unlike its predecessors but that suited me as a teen. I haven’t really considered what my personal ranking of Pixar movies would be, however, I know that Ratatouille would easily fit in my Top 5.

REFERENCES

[1] Credit: Richard Corliss, ‘Savoring Pixar’s Ratatouille’, Time.com, 7^th June 2007.

[2] Credit: Pixar, “Deleted Scenes”, from Ratatouille (2007), Disney+.

[3] Credit: Pixar, “Building Paris”, Special Features YouTube Channel, 29^th March 2021.

[4] Credit: Pixar, “Behind the Swinging Doors”, Special Features YouTube Channel, 29^th March 2021.

[5] Credit: Harvey Steiman, ‘Animation, Cooking and Rats’, WineSpectator.com, 15^th November 2007.

[6] Credit: Disney, ‘Five Facts about Ratatouille That Every Fan Should Know’, Disney Official YouTube Channel, 25^th February 2021.

[7] Credit: Pixar, “Care and Feeding of Your CG Rat”, Special Features YouTube Channel, 29^th March 2021.

[8] Credit: Pixar, “My Dad the Composer”, Special Features YouTube Channel, 29^th March 2021.

[9] Credit: Pixar, “Ratatouille – Behind the music with Michael Giacchino”, from antcornfield YouTube Channel, 5^th April 2009.

[10] Credit: Dean Goodman, ‘‘Ratatouille’ cooks up lukewarm box office win’, Reuters.com, 9^th August 2007.

[11] Credit: The Guardian, ‘Ratatouille races to top of global box office’, TheGuardian.com, 9^th October 2007.

[12] Credit: Jim Korkis, ‘More Disney Dream Dining’, MousePlanet.com, 19^th Aprul 2017.

[13] Credit: BBC, ‘Ratatouille musical: TikTok phenomenon raises $1m for actors’ charity’, BBC.co.uk, 4^th January 2021.

[14] Credit: Zoe G. Phillips, ‘Pixar CCO Says Live-Action Remakes Bother Him: “I Like Making Movies That Are Original’, HollywoodReporter.com, 11^th June 2024.

19th Dec 202519th Dec 2025 by The Disney Purist

The Prince of Egypt (1998)

BACKGROUND

The Walt Disney Company had probably hoped when Jeffrey Katzenberg was let go as Chairman of the Walt Disney Studios that Katzenberg would slip off quietly and there wouldn’t be any additional competition in the animation world, other than the movies of Pixar – but Disney were working on combining forces with Pixar, so that would be easily avoided.

Well, that didn’t turn out to be the case, because pretty much as soon as Katzenberg had left Disney in 1994, he had his own plan to create an entirely new studio to go up against Disney. To be fair, I’m sure the primary objective was just to make movies that he wanted to make, but the competitive element was surely an added bonus.

This company was DreamWorks Pictures, founded in October 1994. Its co-founders alongside Jeffrey Katzenberg were David Geffen and Steven Spielberg. The new studio was also going to include a new animation powerhouse. Not something Disney was likely anticipating, and certainly not something they’d have wanted to see.

Disney might have been in the midst of their so-called Renaissance Era in the 1990s, but by the time DreamWorks released their first film, Antz, in 1998, the tide was slowly turning and they were unable to recreate their big hit of 1994, The Lion King. Antz had its own problems, like Disney accusing Katzenberg of stealing the idea from Pixar’s A Bug’s Life, but then what should happen but DreamWorks release a traditional 2D animated movie, and a musical no less, trying to outdo Disney’s Mulan. Oh, DreamWorks, trying to play Disney at their own game? Risky, but clever. Luckily for DreamWorks, this mostly paid off with The Prince of Egypt, a musical take on the Biblical story of the Book of Exodus.

I vaguely remember watching parts of The Prince of Egypt at primary school but I don’t know if I’d ever watched it in full until I found it many years later on Netflix. From the epic opening musical number, I was hooked and amazed at how moving I found it; I hadn’t been expecting much. The Prince of Egypt is quite a heavy story, but it is brilliantly done, bringing tears to my eyes in numerous places, mostly due to its an amazing soundtrack. The Prince of Egypt also benefits from high-quality animation and a stellar all-star cast.

DreamWorks was showing Disney their studio was just as capable at making family-friendly movies with heart and soul, the irony being that Walt Disney Feature Animation is where DreamWorks co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg would’ve learnt everything he needed to do that!

PLOT

The Prince of Egypt opens in Ancient Egypt where we see the Hebrew people being treated poorly as slaves, forced to construct buildings and statues for the Pharaoh Seti. Fearing an uprising, due to the number of Hebrews in his kingdom, the Pharaoh decrees that all newborn Hebrew males will be killed. Hearing this news, a mother, carrying her newborn baby, heads to the river with her two older children, avoiding guards who are tearing through their village. At the river, the mother places her baby in a basket and sends it on its way, knowing that this is a better option than having her child killed. The basket makes its way through choppy waves, passing by boats, and ending up in a pool outside the Pharaoh’s palace. Here, Queen Tuya, the Pharaoh’s wife, sees the child and chooses to raise it as her own, to be a brother to her son, Rameses, calling the baby Moses.

The story picks up years later. Moses and Rameses are now young adults, chariot racing through the streets of Egypt, causing trouble and breaking the nose off one of their father’s statues of himself that was currently being built. They also send an avalanche of sand right into the kingdom. Pharaoh Seti is furious. He puts most of the blame for the chaos on Rameses, despite both the brothers saying it was Moses who had suggested the race, due to the fact, Rameses, as the eldest brother, should know better. Rameses storms off to be alone. Moses pleads with their father to not be so hard on Rameses, but the Pharaoh says Rameses needs to take more responsibility for his actions since he will be the next ruler of Egypt. Moses says he believes Rameses will live up to that title one day.

Moses then tries to console Rameses, but Rameses is too angry with Moses for always getting him into trouble even though it is usually Moses’ fault and not his. Moses then drops wine onto the Pharaoh’s advisors, Huy and Hotep, who are below them in the courtyard. Huy and Hotep immediately blame Rameses, proving his point. Moses encourages Rameses to drop more wine on them, since he’s already taken the blame!

The two brothers then find they are late to the Pharaoh’s banquet and race over to it. They arrive in front of a huge crowd, finding that the Pharaoh has just named Rameses Prince Regent – following Moses’ advice to give Rameses the opportunity to show he is a leader. Rameses is gifted a woman from Huy and Hotep, a “desert flower”, for his new title, but she is incredibly feisty and not at all happy about being forced here against her will. Rameses offers her to Moses instead, but she is none too pleased to be around him either. Moses reminds the woman to show him the respect he deserves as a prince of Egypt. She says she is, because he doesn’t deserve any respect. Moses then grabs the rope she has been tied with, and the two briefly fight – until Moses lets go of the rope, making her topple into a pond nearby, embarrassing her. She is taken to Moses’ room. Rameses then names Moses as his Chief Architect and the celebrations continue.

Later that night, Moses returns to his room to find a man tied up; the woman from earlier is nowhere to be seen. He watches as she makes her escape from the palace, on her way back to her home in the desert. Moses proceeds to follow her, distracting some guards to make sure she gets away. He follows her again and sees her ride off into the desert. He is then distracted by two Hebrews by the nearby well. The brother and sister act strangely in front of him, with the sister suddenly announcing that Moses is actually their brother. Moses doesn’t believe the utterings of this mad woman, and warns her, Miriam, that she will be punished for her actions. The brother, Aaron, begs Moses for leniency, but Miriam just won’t stop, explaining why and how their mother gave Moses away. Moses is about to walk away, even more angered, when Miriam begins to sing a lullaby, the same one that was sung to Moses as their mother pushed his basket onto the river. Moses remembers it, and runs back to the palace, shaken to the core.

Moses is very confused about who he is now, having been brought up to believe he is a prince of Egypt, but now discovering he was actually born a Hebrew, and would therefore have been a slave. He struggles to reconcile this fact, and learns from hieroglyphics on the walls of the palace, and from the Pharaoh himself, that Pharaoh Seti had in fact ordered the murder of newborn Hebrews, proving that Miriam’s story was accurate. The Pharaoh says those he killed were “only slaves”, horrifying Moses who walks away from him. Moses speaks with his mother, the Queen, asking why she let him live a total lie. She says Moses is still their son, regardless of where he came from, and that she has never wanted to question the miracle of Moses being brought to her.

Later, Rameses outlines a grand new vision for the construction in Egypt, putting the slaves to work instantly. Moses starts to see how badly the slaves are treated for the first time. On seeing an elderly man being whipped, Moses demands that the guard stop, and in a moment of pure rage, Moses runs up to the guard and seemingly pushes him off a ledge and to his death. Aaron and Miriam saw this play out nearby, as Miriam was also calling for the whipping to stop. Troubled by what he’s done, Moses runs away. Rameses catches up with him and tells him not to worry, as he can simply stop Moses from being blamed for the man’s death. Moses says that he is not the person he thought he was, and asks Rameses to talk to their father about who is, before escaping into the desert.

Moses travels alone through the desert, choosing to shed all his princely items of clothing – all except a ring, which he keeps. He is then buried in a sandstorm. The next day, he is discovered by a camel. Moses drags himself out of the sand, and hangs onto the camel, as he is so weak and he cannot walk. The camel takes him to a waterhole where Moses happily drinks from it. He sees thieves harassing some children, seemingly trying to steal their sheep. Moses sees the thieves’ camels nearby, and lets them loose, making the thieves run after them, leaving the sheep and the children alone. Moses then stumbles into a well. The three girls try to pull him out, when their sister comes to see what they are doing. She helps them pull the man out of the well – but she is shocked to discover that man was the former prince of Egypt, and Moses is shocked to find she is the woman from the banquet. The woman, Tzipporah, drops Moses back into the well and walks away.

Moses is rescued from the well and taken to their community of Midian, led by High Priest Jethro, who welcomes Moses as an honoured guest. Jethro is also Tzipporah’s father and father to the three girls. At dinner, Jethro thanks Moses for being with them, but Moses doesn’t see himself as worthy. Jethro reminds Moses that he saved Tzipporah and his other daughters, and that he should see his worth through his actions. Moses joins the community, becoming a shepherd and eventually, him and Tzipporah fall in love and get married.

One day, Moses is chasing a lost sheep through the desert when he enters a cave. Inside the cave, he sees a burning bush. He then hears a voice say his name. It is God, speaking to him. God says he has seen the oppression of his people in Egypt and says Moses shall be the one to deliver them to the Promised Land. Moses doesn’t believe he can possibly be the right person, but God tells him he is that man, and not to fear, as He will be with him, and will smite Egypt with all his wonders, through Moses’ staff. Moses is changed by this encounter and goes to Tzipporah to tell her what happened. Tzipporah is concerned Moses cannot do this on his own, but Moses say he must try. The two go to Egypt together.

In Egypt, the two see that the treatment of the slaves has only gotten worse in the time Moses has been away. They arrive to meet with the Pharaoh, where Moses discovers that Rameses is that new ruler. Rameses greets Moses, pleased to finally be reunited with his brother, fearing he was dead. Rameses is hoping for a heartfelt brotherly reunion, pardoning Moses for his crime of murder, however, Moses has another purpose for this meeting. He tells Rameses that they might still be brothers, but things cannot ever be the way they were, since he is a Hebrew, and his only purpose in Egypt is to demand that his people at free. Rameses doesn’t believe what he’s hearing. Moses uses his staff to prove the power of God, with the staff turning into a serpent. Rameses then gets Huy and Hotep to respond, using their powers to create two serpents of their own, showing that Moses’ power is not impressive. It is shown that God’s serpent easily eats the other two though. Moses retrieves his staff and him and Rameses go to talk alone. Rameses says he must maintain the traditions of their father, and will not let Moses’ people go. Moses declares they are not on the same side anymore and returns his royal ring.

Fearing this battle will not be easy, this is then shown to be true as the Hebrews turn against Moses, questioning why he is only caring about them now, and is that just because Moses found out he was one of them. This all comes from Aaron, Moses’ brother, however, Miriam convinces Moses to not abandon them and to keep on with God’s plan. Moses sees Rameses on the river on his boat and goes to the water. He demands that Rameses let his people go once again, but Rameses refuses. God tells Moses to put the staff into the water. The water turns to blood, troubling Rameses’ guards, however, Huy and Hotep simply recreate this same “trick” for Rameses. The Hebrews feel that Rameses is too powerful and Moses is not, not seeing any change in their future. Moses tells them not to lose faith.

Over the coming days, Moses uses God’s powers to engulf Egypt in plagues including locust, frogs, hail fire from the sky, pestilence, and darkness. Moses feels guilt for the suffering he is causing, but sees no other way, since Rameses is refusing to do the right thing and let the Hebrews go. Moses goes to the palace again to speak with Rameses. The two reminisce about their times as children. Rameses reiterates that Moses was always getting him into trouble, although he also got him out of trouble just as much. Moses and Rameses are interrupted by Rameses’ son who is scared of the darkness that has overcome Egypt, blaming Moses for all this. Moses warns Rameses that something much worse is coming, and to allow the slaves to be freed now. Rameses says he will not let them go, and threatens to slaughter them all because of Moses’ interventions. Moses leaves.

That night, Moses tells all the Hebrews to mark their doors with sheep’s blood to avoid God’s final plague that night. Sure enough, the plague comes and kills every firstborn whose family was not protected by the mark. This includes Rameses’ son. The next day, Moses goes to him and sees Rameses laying his son to rest. Angry and distraught, Rameses tells him that he and his people can leave Egypt.

Not wanting things to have ended this way, and feeling guilt for all the suffering, Moses returns to Tzipporah and Miriam, letting them know that the Hebrews are free to leave Egypt. Slowly, everyone learns this news and they leave Egypt in a group, happy for the miracle that has come at last. It is a long journey to the Promised Land, but eventually, they reach the Red Sea, where their path is blocked by the body of water. Suddenly, they hear noise behind them. It is Rameses and his army, who have followed them. With the Hebrews trapped, they fear they will be killed. A storm forms, and a bolt of fire rises up to block the army. Moses is told to walk into the Red Sea. Using his staff, the sea parts, giving the Hebrews a way to cross it. The crossing is treacherous and difficult. As they almost get to shore, Moses sees that the fire bolt has been removed and Rameses makes the order to attack and kill them all. Moses hurries the last few to shore.

As the Hebrews make it to shore, the Red Sea returns to normal, drowning the Egyptian army and throwing Rameses onto the rocks away from them. The Hebrews celebrate their survival as Rameses cries out Moses’ name in anger. Moses says goodbye to him over the sea. Moses later receives a stone tablet from God, on which The Ten Commandments are written. Moses readies himself to share this discovery with his people. The Prince of Egypt ends with lines from various Biblical texts that reference Moses and his journey to free the Hebrews from Egypt.

CHARACTERS & CAST

In The Prince of Egypt, Moses is brought up to believe that he is a prince of Egypt, and a son of the Pharaoh, making him spoilt and entitled. Thanks to a chance encounter with his real brother and sister, Moses learns that he is not Egyptian, and is in fact a Hebrew. After this, Moses starts to really see the suffering that the Hebrew slaves experience in Egypt. Confused and angry, Moses escapes into the desert to be alone, although he actually finds himself in Midian, where he meets High Priest Jethro and falls in love with Jethro’s daughter Tzipporah. Moses is then chosen by God to free the Hebrew people from Egypt, a task he feels he is not worthy to undertake, but dedicated to the cause, Moses pleads with Rameses to let his people go, and when that doesn’t work, Moses must endure the guilt he feels as he watches The Ten Plagues devastate Egypt. Moses is committed to delivering the Hebrews to the Promised Land, to the point he ruins the relationship he had with his brother, and becomes someone completely different to who he used to be.

Val Kilmer was chosen to voice Moses, and was also the voice of God. Kilmer is known for his role as Iceman in Top Gun (1986), a role he reprised in the sequel Top Gun: Maverick (2022). He also played Madmartigan in the fantasy film Willow (1988) in the 1980s. After that, Kilmer was cast as Batman in Batman Forever (1995). The Prince of Egypt was not the only time Kilmer voiced a character for an animated movie, as he later came to Disney to voice Bravo in Planes (2013). Kilmer was diagnosed with throat cancer in the mid-2010s, later writing and producing the documentary Val (2021) about his life and career, where he discussed his health struggles. Kilmer passed away in April 2025 at the age of 65.

Rameses is a real prince of Egypt and is to be the next Pharaoh of Egypt, a role he feels much responsibility to undertake well, even though he lets himself be talked into Moses’ childish schemes and pranks, which gets them into trouble with their father. With Moses gone from the palace, Rameses then becomes a hard-hearted Pharaoh, promising to follow in the footsteps of his father, ensuring their legacy continues to be built. Although Rameses is clearly pleased to be reunited with Moses many years later, he is saddened to find that Moses no longer feels they can be brothers. Rameses refuses to let the Hebrews go to keep with “tradition”. Despite the plagues causing destruction to Egypt, Rameses continues to hold strong on this – up until his eldest son is killed by the final plague, leaving him devastated. He tells Moses he and the Hebrews may leave, only to turn up with his army in a bid to slaughter them all on their journey. Rameses’ plan is thwarted by God and he is left alone on the rocks by the Red Sea, uncertain of his future.

Rameses was voiced by Ralph Fiennes. In the 1990s, Fiennes was known for his roles as Amon Göth in Spielberg’s Schindler’s List (1993), for which he was nominated at the Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor, and for playing Count Laszlo de Almásy in The English Patient (1996), where he was once again nominated for an Oscar, this time in the Best Actor category. Fiennes did not win either award, although both films did win the award for Best Picture, amongst many others. After The Prince of Egypt, Fiennes was cast in numerous films of many different genres, including as Christopher Marshall in the romcom Maid in Manhattan (2002), alongside Jennifer Lopez; as Justin Quayle in the thriller The Constant Gardener (2005); and of course, as Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter films, starting with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005). In more recent years, Fiennes has been cast as M in the James Bond movies, first appearing in Skyfall (2012) and played the characters Orlando, Duke of Oxford in the Kingsman prequel The King’s Man (2021) and Chef Julian Slowik in The Menu (2022). He was also nominated for another Oscar in 2025 for his role as Cardinal Thomas Lawrence in Conclave (2024). Fiennes is set to reprise his role as Dr. Ian Kelson in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple and play Coriolanus Snow in the prequel The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping in 2026. The Prince of Egypt was also not Fiennes’ only voice role for an animated movie, as he also voiced Victor Quartermaine in Aardman Animation’s Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005).

Tzipporah is Moses’ wife, although from their first meeting it does not look like they would end up together. Tzipporah is brought to the palace as a “gift” for Rameses after he is named Prince Regent, but she has no respect for Egypt and wishes to return home. After a tussle with Moses, she is sent to his room, but she escapes, returning to the desert. The two are later brought back together in this same desert as Moses finds his way to her home and community. After some time together, they fall in love and get married. When Moses is chosen by God to return to Egypt to free the Hebrews, Tzipporah goes with him as support, ensuring he continues with the mission and never loses faith.

Michelle Pfeiffer was cast as Tzipporah. Pfeiffer has been nominated for an Oscar on three occasions, for her roles as Madame Marie de Tourvel in Dangerous Liaisons (1988), Susie Diamond in The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989), and Lurene Hallett in Love Field (1992). She is also known for being cast as Elvira Hancock in Scarface (1983) and as Catwoman in Batman Returns (1992). In more recent years, Pfeiffer played the character Janet Van Dyne in the Avengers franchise, beginning with Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018), and she was cast as Caroline Hubbard in Murder on the Orient Express (2017). Pfeiffer may also be familiar for such roles as Velma Von Tussle in Hairspray (2007) and Lamia in Stardust (2007). She returned to DreamWorks to voice Eris in Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003).

Miriam is Moses’ sister. She saw Moses being sent away on the river by her mother and has been praying for him to return and free all the Hebrews for all the years since. Miriam has much more faith in Moses than even he has in himself. Moses has no idea of his past until he meets Miriam by the well on that night, and she goes some way to convincing him of his real identity, even risking being punished by the guards, since Moses thinks she is simply delusional. Miriam stays by Moses’ side during his conflict with Rameses, much like Tzipporah does, being another supportive person in his life.

Miriam was voiced by Sandra Bullock. Bullock has had various roles over the years, with one of her most famous in the 1990s being Annie Porter in Speed (1994) and its sequel Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997). After The Prince of Egypt, she went on to play Gracie Hart in Miss Congeniality (2000) and its 2005 sequel. Bullock is also known for her roles in romance movies such as Two Weeks Notice (2002), playing Lucy Kelson; The Lake House (2006), playing Dr. Kate Forster; and The Proposal (2009), playing Margaret Tate, with her “leading men” in these movies being Hugh Grant, Keanu Reeves, and Ryan Reynolds respectively. She is also known for more serious roles, such as portraying Leigh Anne Tuohy in The Blind Side (2009) for which she won the Best Actress Oscar amongst other awards, and playing Dr. Ryan Stone in Gravity (2013), where she won various awards including a Critics’ Choice Award. More recently, Bullock played Debbie Ocean in Ocean’s 8 (2018), Maloria Hayes in Netflix’s horror Bird Box (2018), and Maria Beetle in Bullet Train (2022).

Aaron is Miriam and Moses’ brother. He is uncertain whether to reveal that they are family to Moses on the night that Miriam does, pleading with Moses to take pity on her, claiming her to be ill and not know what she is saying. Aaron also turns on Moses after Moses’ first attempt to reason with Rameses does nothing, with Aaron accusing Moses of only caring about the Hebrews after finding out he was one of them. Aaron takes some convincing that Moses will eventually free him and the others, but Moses succeeds, and Aaron is just as grateful to him as everyone else.

Jeff Goldblum was chosen to voice Aaron. A very popular actor, Goldblum has had roles in hit films such as his role as Dr. Ian Malcolm in Jurassic Park (1993), a character he returned to for The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) and Jurassic World: Dominion (2022), as well as David Levinson in Independence Day (1996). Goldblum has also made appearances in various Wes Anderson films, including as Alistair Hennessey in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004); Deputy Vilmos Kovacs in The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014); and voicing Duke in Isle of Dogs (2018). Most recently, Goldblum played The Wizard of Oz in Wicked (2024) and Wicked: For Good (2025). He also hosted his own documentary series for Disney+, The World According to Jeff Goldblum (2019-22) and starred as Zeus in Netflix’s series Kaos (2024).

Jethro is the leader and High Priest of the community in the desert that Moses joins, Midian. He is also Tzipporah’s father, as well as that of the three girls that Moses helps by distracting the men trying to steal their sheep. Jethro is kind-natured and very welcoming to Moses. He is also knowledgeable and wise, telling Moses a life worth living just needs to be filled with joy and kindness towards others.

Jethro was voiced by Danny Glover. He had already voiced Barbatus for DreamWorks in their movie Antz (1998), which came out before The Prince of Egypt. He is also known for his role as Marty Madison in the musical Dreamgirls (2006) and for his role as President Thomas Wilson in the disaster film 2012 (2009). In television, Glover portrayed Nelson Mandela in HBO’s television film Mandela (1987), being nominated in the Lead Actor category at the Emmys, and later played Joshua Deets in the miniseries Lonesome Dove (1989), being nominated for another Emmy in the Supporting Actor category. Recently, Glover was cast as Milo Walker in Jumanji: The Next Level (2019), and also played Santa in Disney Channel’s The Naughty Nine (2023).

Pharaoh Seti and Queen Tuya are Rameses and Moses’ parents. Pharaoh Seti is quite strict with Rameses in particular, as he knows Rameses will take over as ruler after he is gone, but doesn’t know if he is willing to accept that responsibility if he continues to let Moses lead him astray. Seti rules Egypt with an iron fist, making Hebrews work as his slaves to construct his empire, even going so far as to order mass killings of new born children to ensure the Hebrews cannot rise up against in. This is the type of leadership he expects from Rameses, and it is exactly how Rameses ends up being. Seti must’ve been so proud…

Sir Patrick Stewart was cast as Pharaoh Seti. Stewart has had a career that has spanned both stage and screen, being cast in Shakespeare productions in his early career. In the years after that, he became known for his lead role as Jean-Luc Picard in the Star Trek franchise, beginning with the series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-94), reprising his role when required. He also played Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men franchise, starting with X-Men (2000). Stewart has voiced characters for other animated movies too, including Mr. Woolensworth in Disney’s Chicken Little (2005); Bill Shakespeare in Gnomeo & Juliet (2011) – and Poop in The Emoji Movie (2017). Maybe I should’ve skipped that one…

Queen Tuya actually finds Moses in his basket, as it floats into a pond by the palace, instantly choosing to bring him up as their son alongside Rameses. Queen Tuya later goes to Moses telling him that just because he may have Hebrew heritage, they still consider him their son, feeling he has no need to be questioning his identity. Queen Tuya seems to be a caring mother to her boys, although she is aware of Rameses’ responsibility as the next leader, and her husband’s wariness about whether he will ever be ready for it.

Helen Mirren voiced Queen Tuya. Dame Helen Mirren is a much-acclaimed actress, beginning her career acting with both the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre. On screen, some of Mirren’s film credits include being cast as Mrs. Wilson in Gosford Park (2001); Alma Reville in Hitchcock (2012); and Hedda Hopper in Trumbo (2015). More recently, she played Dorothy Bunton in The Duke (2020) with Jim Broadbent. She also played Elizabeth Best in The Thursday Murder Club (2025) for Netflix. Mirren won the Academy Award and BAFTA for Best Actress, amongst many other award wins in her career, for portraying Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen (2006). In series, Mirren appears as Maeve Harrigan in MobLand (2025-present) for Paramount+. She later voiced Dean Hardscrabble in Monsters University (2013) for Pixar.

Huy and Hotep are the Pharaoh’s advisors, both Seti’s and Rameses’, and are also High Priests, worshipping the Egyptian gods. They are arguably meant to be the comic relief in The Prince of Egypt, although they are definitely not overused in this way and do not take away from the seriousness of the story. Their funniest moment is when Moses drops wine on them from an upper balcony, with Rameses being blamed for it. Their other key moment is when they try to disprove the powers that Moses brings to Egypt, such as the river water turning to blood, and his staff turning into a snake. Eventually, even their powers cannot mimic some of the other horrors that come to Egypt, leading Rameses to believe that Moses has indeed been granted power from a higher being.

Huy and Hotep were voiced by comedians Martin Short and Steve Martin respectively. Together, they both first appeared in ¡Three Amigos! (1986) with Steve Martin playing Lucky Day and Martin Short playing Ned Nederlander, becoming close friends ever since. They have also both starred in the movies Father of the Bride (1991) and its 1995 sequel with Martin playing George Banks, and Short cast as Franck Egglehoffer. They continue to tour the US with their joint comedy show and currently star in the Hulu murder-mystery-comedy series Only Murders in the Building (2021-present) with Selena Gomez. Short plays Oliver Putnam and Martin plays Charles Hayden Savage.

PRODUCTION

To talk about how The Prince of Egypt film came to be, I need to mention how DreamWorks was created – and to do that I just have to go back to Disney Animation.

Back in 1984, Walt Disney’s son-in-law, Ron Miller, was removed as CEO from The Walt Disney Company. Frank Wells, who had previously worked at Warner Bros., and Michael Eisner, coming from Paramount Pictures, took over as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Executive Officer respectively. They became the first people to have been brought in to Disney management from “the outside”. Eisner and Wells then employed Jeffrey Katzenberg, also from Paramount Pictures, with the official title of Chairman of Walt Disney Studios, also taking the reins at Disney Animation.

During this time, Katzenberg oversaw the turnaround of Disney Animation from the major flop of The Black Cauldron (1985) all the way into the 1990s with their “Renaissance Era”, which began with The Little Mermaid (1989). Things seemed to be going well, although some felt that Katzenberg promoted himself as much as he promoted the movies he was involved in, which rubbed some up the wrong way.

Katzenberg’s Disney Legend status was not to be though, because after Frank Wells tragically died in a helicopter crash in April 1994, it soon became clear that Katzenberg wanted Wells’ job. This annoyed Michael Eisner, who did not like this, nor did Roy E. Disney, Walt Disney’s nephew and chairman of the animation division. A news article proclaiming Katzenberg as the saviour of Disney Animation would be the final straw, with rumours surfacing of Katzenberg’s imminent departure from the company. At the red-carpet premiere of The Lion King in June 1994, Katzenberg refused all interviews, knowing his position was on unsteady ground. He was forced to resign from the company in October 1994[1].

But that didn’t slow him down, as Katzenberg simply joined forces with acclaimed director Steven Spielberg and film producer David Geffen to found their own studio, DreamWorks, also known as DreamWorks SKG, referencing their surname initials. The studio was founded in October 1994, so Katzenberg didn’t waste any time!

Katzenberg had plans to create animated movies at this studio, which would mean going up against his former employer. He clearly relished the challenge, as DreamWorks Animation’s first film was Antz (1998), released in October 1998 to rival Pixar’s A Bug Life (1998), which came out just a month later Antz was a fully computer-generated animated movie, like Pixar, but now was the time for DreamWorks to go head-to-head with Disney Animation specifically, by creating their first traditionally animated movie.

Katzenberg had reportedly wanted to adapt The Ten Commandments story at Disney Animation, but this option was never considered by Disney, potentially because the material was not as universally appealing or as “safe” as using a fairy tale as a story basis. Katzenberg was able to bring his idea to his own studio instead, making The Prince of Egypt a bit of a passion project for him. Apparently, Spielberg was the one to suggest that they turn the Book of Exodus into a brothers’ story, with their movie focusing on how the relationship between Moses and Rameses evolved, from growing up as children, to their bond being completely destroyed by Moses’ mission from God.

The Prince of Egypt had three directors. One of these was Brenda Chapman, who by directing The Prince of Egypt became the first woman to direct an animated feature at a major studio. Chapman had previously worked as a story artist at Disney Animation, on such movies as Beauty and the Beast (1991) and The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), before moving to DreamWorks on Katzenberg’s request. After The Prince of Egypt, Chapman worked as a story artist on The Road to El Dorado (2000) and Chicken Run (2000) for the studio, before being invited to move over to Pixar in 2003 by her friend Joe Ranft, who became Pixar’s Head of Story in 1992. The two worked together on Pixar’s Cars (2006). Chapman was then set to write and direct Brave (2012) for Pixar, which began its life under the title The Bear and the Bow. Although this was Chapman’s initial idea, and she remained credited as a co-director on Brave, Chapman was not able to see her project through to the end. She was taken off the project in 2010 and replaced with a different Pixar employee, Mark Andrews. Chapman stated that she was struggling to put across this female-centric story in a company that she described as “a boys’ club”, plus Joe Ranft died in a car accident in 2005 which shook everyone up at Pixar and she did not get on particularly well with John Lasseter, the Chief Creative Officer at both Disney and Pixar at the time[2]. Most recently, Chapman directed the fantasy drama Come Away (2020).

The other two directors were Steve Hickner and Simon Wells, both long-time employees at DreamWorks Animation. Hickner was a story artist on such DreamWorks movies as Shark Tale (2004), Over the Hedge (2006), Mr. Peabody & Sherman (2014), and Home (2015), as well as co-directing Bee Movie (2007) with Simon J. Smith. Simon Wells had previously directed An American Tail: Fievel Goes West (1991) and Balto (1995) for Amblin Entertainment, which was absorbed by DreamWorks, then becoming a story artist for DreamWorks, on Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002), Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003), Flushed Away (2006), The Croods (2013) and its 2020 sequel.

Wells was initially concerned about how they would be able to tell the story of Moses in The Prince of Egypt, wondering whether it would end up being too sanitised. Katzenberg and Spielberg both said that they had to go beyond what was expected, and be able to talk about those serious subjects and moments, such as Moses killing the Egyptian guard. Kelly Asbury, co-head of story with Lorna Cook, remembered being told those same things, and how they couldn’t avoid tackling the slavery aspect or the plagues, otherwise there would be no point in adapting this story. The Prince of Egypt adapts the first 14 chapters of Exodus[3].

Asbury had been a story artist on Pixar’s Toy Story (1995), before coming to DreamWorks, where he worked on various movies, including directing Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, with Lorna Cook, and co-directing Shrek 2 (2004). Asbury later directed Gnomeo & Juliet (2011), which was distributed under Disney’s label Touchstone Pictures in the US, and was also a story artist on Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph (2012) and Frozen (2013). He later directed the Smurfs live-action film reboot Smurfs: The Lost Village (2017). Asbury passed away in June 2020. Lorna Cook worked in story on DreamWorks films like Madagascar (2005), Flushed Away, and The Croods, having also worked as an animator on Don Bluth’s An American Tail (1986) and on Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King. The screenwriter for The Prince of Egypt was Philip LaZebnik, who was also a co-writer for Disney’s Mulan (1998), which won an Annie Award for Achievement in Writing, and Pocahontas (1995).

Although The Prince of Egypt tries very hard to accurately adapt The Book of Exodus for the screen, there were some changes made to suit the brothers story that DreamWorks wanted to tell. Some of these include the fact that in the original text, Moses is actually found by Pharaoh’s daughter, not his wife, and that Moses knew he was a Hebrew during his childhood, not being raised as if he were a prince of Egypt and Rameses’ brother. Characters are also omitted from The Prince of Egypt, such as Moses and Tzipporah’s children, and the role of Aaron, Moses’ actual brother, was reduced.

To prove that DreamWorks did make the effort to be inclusive and as accurate as possible whilst still considering the story they wanted to tell, DreamWorks contacted various religious leaders as consultants on the film. Religious broadcaster Jerry Falwell said he got a call from Jeffrey Katzenberg asking for Falwell to put together a group of evangelical leaders to look at the film, although Jewish and Islamic leaders were also consulted. Some were amazed at how much time Katzenberg spent on attempting to maintain ethnic sensitivity and the Biblical accuracy on this film. But in all movies based on source material, changes are always made; it’s just more controversial when it is a biblical story being adapted[4].

In order to ensure that the animation of the Ancient Egyptian kingdom was accurate, DreamWorks producers, animators, directors, etc. took a research trip to Egypt and the Sinai Peninsula. It helped to see the buildings up close, like the Valley of the Kings and St. Catherine’s Monastery, located at the foot of Mount Sinai, to get a feel for the environment by walking through the same locations from the story. The background artists went somewhere slightly less exotic, to Death Valley in Nevada. This was for inspiration for the desert sequences, so they could get an idea of what it would have been like to journey through the vast landscape and the heat, as well as to depict the importance of light, and the ratio of sky to land, in that environment. Other reference material for the animation was gathered, including recordings of traditional dancing, and seeing camels and sheep up close to animate the animals in this story[5].

For the 2D animation of the characters, DreamWorks wanted to create their own distinct style for these human characters. DreamWorks has more of a reputation for creating animal characters in their movies, or their later humans, like in Shrek (2001) have more of a caricature-quality to them, meaning they don’t look authentic to real people. Disney has their own way of drawing human characters, but they had been doing that for years, and created their own style. DreamWorks’ human characters in The Prince of Egypt, and in others like The Road to El Dorado, are more stylised, with sharp, angular edges to them instead of the softer look of Disney’s characters.

The use of technology was hugely important in The Prince of Egypt despite the focus on traditional 2D animation, since some sequences would be hugely difficult to animate by hand. Some examples of these include the various plagues. It would be inconceivable for animators to have to draw millions of locusts, and the pestilence plague shows insects crawling on surfaces and inside food items, so that would be difficult to achieve by hand too, and would be incredibly time-consuming. These effects were computer generated. There was also the hail fire from the sky, and turning the water to blood that was done this way, along with the final plague, the “Angel of Death”, which appeared in a vaporous form.

For the chariot race early on in the film, this combined both 2D animation with the 3D world thanks to new software tool called the Exposure Tool. This allowed for cameras to be placed into the 3D set, with the camera able to follow them freely as though it was being shot like a live-action movie, where the camera could chase the action. This meant the sequence took only a few days to make as opposed to several months. Also, the chariots in this sequence were computer-generated, showing further blending of animation techniques. The computer-generated hieroglyphic dream sequence is also a highlight of the movie, for its stylisation and impressive use of computer animation.

The group scenes required some computer animation too, with this being noticeable in the sequence of the Hebrews leaving Egypt as well as the crowd shots of the Hebrews as slaves. Here, each character was animated individually on the computer to ensure they looked as close as possible to the 2D animated characters and didn’t become a strange-looking, identical crowd. I can’t say I even noticed, so they must’ve blended well together[6]!

The parting of the Red Sea was potentially the most difficult sequence to create, although it was considered to be quite special to be animating a great miracle. There was some pressure though since this had already been done in Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments (1956), which was an inspiration throughout the production process on The Prince of Egypt. This had to be a big moment. They decided the walls of waters had to be huge, rising out of the water, as well as the image of showing Moses and the staff in the water, before the staff comes down and causes water to rush in all directions, leaving him on a dry section of the seabed. Concept artists helped created this sequence, by coming up with the initial idea, which helped the animators create this incredible moment. A whale shark was also included, swimming by the Hebrews as they walk along, to create atmosphere and to remind the audience that the Hebrews are walking under the sea right at that point. This sequence required a mixture of 2D and 3D effects to create it[7].

Overall, The Prince of Egypt took a large team of dedicated people four years to finish, combining multiple different departments and very talented artists and story people.

MUSIC

For me, the best part of The Prince of Music is undoubtedly its music.

The soundtrack consists of the six original songs from the film, the instrumental tracks from the score, plus songs that don’t appear in the film and re-recorded versions of some of the movie’s songs.

The songwriter on The Prince of Egypt was Stephen Schwartz. Schwartz had previously been the composer and lyricist on the musicals Godspell, first performed in 1971, and Pippin, first performed in 1972, before going to Disney Animation to work with composer Alan Menken on the music for Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Schwartz won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for “Colors of the Wind” from Pocahontas (1995). Schwartz had actually written three songs for Mulan but left to work on The Prince of Egypt for DreamWorks. This led to Disney threatening to remove Schwartz’ name from the publicity for the two Disney movies he had worked on[8]. But the animosity didn’t last too long, as Schwartz was once again teamed up with Alan Menken to work on the music for Disney’s live-action movie Enchanted (2007), and its recent sequel Disenchanted (2022). Schwartz is also famed for writing the music Wicked, which first came to Broadway in 2003. He later returned to work on the 2024 film adaptation and its 2025 sequel, with each film covering one act of the musical. Schwartz contributed new material to the sequel, with two new songs, “No Place Like Home” and “The Girl in the Bubble”, which have both been nominated for awards. He has also won three Grammy Awards, one for “Colors of the Wind”, and the other two for the score for Godspell and the album for Wicked.

Stephen Schwartz was invited to work on The Prince of Egypt by Jeffrey Katzenberg, having both worked at Disney Animation. Schwartz says he really learnt the importance of music in animated movies from his time at Disney, and was able to apply what he’d learnt to this film. He wanted the movie’s music to feel accessible to modern audiences, but with the music feeling rooted in the time and place of Ancient Egypt, so the songs are not commercial or typical Broadway-style songs. There was even the inclusion of some lyrics in Hebrew, for example, in “Deliver Us” and “When You Believe”, to maintain authenticity of the characters.

The opening song of The Prince of Egypt is “Deliver Us”, a powerful number, detailing both the pain of the Hebrew slaves and the despair of a mother having to give up her child in the hopes he can find a new life elsewhere. It starts with a chorus, before moving into the lullaby from Moses’ mother, which is reprised by Miriam, his sister, as she watches Moses being taken in by Queen Tuya. The song finishes again with a chorus. It was performed predominately by Ofra Haza, an Israeli singer-songwriter, being basically the voice of Moses’ mother; a character we never see again. Haza had previously represented Israel at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1983. She sadly passed away in 2000 at the age of 42. Eden Riegel provides the singing voice for Young Miriam here, going on to be cast as Bianca Montgomery in the soap opera All My Children (1970-2013) from 2000 to 2013. “Deliver Us” is also reprised briefly at the very end of the film.

The next song is “All I Ever Wanted”, performed by Amick Byram as Moses. This takes place as Moses questions his identity and wonders how he can live like a prince of Egypt when he isn’t one at all. Queen Tuya later sings in this number, as she tries to convince Moses that she will always be her son, regardless of where he came from. Queen Tuya’s vocals are provided by Linda Dee Shayne. I really like this song, even though it is quite short. Byram has performed in numerous musical productions including the 90s production of Sunset Boulevard, playing Joe Gillis, and as Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar.

Following that is the upbeat “Through Heaven’s Eyes”, performed by Brian Stokes Mitchell as Jethro. This song plays during the sequence of Moses being welcomed into the community by Jethro and falling in love with Tzipporah. This song is all about how you should measure your life, not through material things, but through happiness and community. Brian Stokes Mitchell has also performed in numerous musicals, including as Fred Graham / Petruchio in Kiss Me Kate on Broadway between 1999 and 2001, and as Inspector Javert and Sky Masterson in performances of Les Misérables and Guys and Dolls at the Hollywood Bowl in 2008 and 2009 respectively.

Then, there is “Playing with the Big Boys”, a song performed by Steve Martin and Martin Short as Huy and Hotep. This is when the duo are using their powers from the Egyptian gods to try and disprove the powers that Moses has brought to Egypt, to show that their gods are mightier. It’s the least serious song in The Prince of Egypt, but it still has a dark element to it, with a chorus creating an atmosphere of mystery.

Following that is “The Plagues”, performed by Ralph Fiennes and Amick Byram as Rameses and Moses. In this number, Moses is unleashing The Ten Plagues on Egypt, whilst pleading with Rameses to let the Hebrews go if he wants to stop the destruction. Rameses refuses to back down. I really like the vocal battle between the two, and how their voices blend together; it’s another powerful song, plus there is a similar chorus to “Playing with the Big Boys” which starts off the sequence to create an ominous mood. Schwartz has said that he regrets not being able to write a brothers song for Moses and Rameses that would’ve taken place earlier on in the film, potentially as the second song. He gave it a few attempts but nothing was working and he couldn’t figure it out[9]. I’m assuming it was meant to be more of a playful song, because The Prince of Egypt technically already has a “brothers song” with “The Plagues”, it’s just not a carefree one!

“When You Believe” is the final song, all about miracles and hope. It accompanies the Hebrews leaving Egypt full of relief and hope for the future. It was meant to be like the anthem of Moses’ journey. It was performed mostly by Michelle Pfeiffer as Tzipporah and Sally Dworsky as Miriam. Dworsky was had previously provided Adult Nala’s singing voice in The Lion King for Disney.

The End Credits features a cover of “When You Believe”, with additional lyrics from writer-producer Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, performed by Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston. The song charted well in numerous countries, hitting No. 15 in the US Billboard Hot 100; No. 4 in the UK Singles Chart; No. 2 in Greece; and No. 4 in Belgium, Italy, and the Netherlands. It was so popular that the song was used for the 2007 The X Factor final in the UK, where Leon Jackson and Rhydian Robert battled it out, each performing the song. As I didn’t watch the final, I don’t know if they referenced it as a song from The Prince of Egypt or whether it was just a song by Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. I’m not sure many people know this song is originally from a film, much less a DreamWorks Animation film. The fact the song was so popular away from the film probably has something to do with it being released as a single in October 1998, almost two months before the film came out.

Outside of that, “I Will Get There”, written by Diane Warren and performed by Boys II Men is the second End Credits song, an original song for the soundtrack. “Through Heaven’s Eyes” was also recorded by R&B duo K-Ci & JoJo for the soundtrack, as was “River Lullaby”, performed by Amy Grant. It seems to be an extended version of the lullaby in “Deliver Us”. Another song included on the soundtrack is “Humanity”, written by Louis Brown III and Scott Parker, and performed by Jessica Andrews, Clint Black, Shirley Caesar, Jesse Campbell, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Boyz II Men, Kevin Max.

The soundtrack also includes tracks from the score. My favourites of the score are “The Burning Bush” and “Red Sea”, simply because they are quite emotional moments, accompanied by some truly emotional music. Hans Zimmer was the composer of the score for The Prince of Egypt, having previously worked on The Lion King (1994). Zimmer later returned to compose for its 2019 live-action remake. Outside of that, Zimmer has collaborated with DreamWorks on various others films, including The Road to El Dorado; Shark Tale; the Madagascar series and the Kung Fu Panda series. Zimmer also composed the music for such films as As Good as It Gets (1997), Gladiator (2000), Inception (2010), and Dunkirk (2017). Zimmer has won the Oscar for Best Original Score for both The Lion King and Dune (2022), as well as the BAFTA for Dune, and the Golden Globe for both films’ scores. He also won a Golden Globe for his music on Gladiator. At the Grammys, Zimmer won the award for Best Score Soundtrack Album for Visual Media for both Dune: Part Two (2024) and The Dark Knight (2008), amongst many others.

The Prince of Egypt soundtrack as a whole peaked at No. 1 on the US Billboard Christian Albums chart and hit No. 25 on the Billboard 200 chart. It also was nominated for many awards, most importantly winning the Academy Award for Best Original Song for “When You Believe”. The score was also nominated here, but lost to Stephen Warbeck’s music in Shakespeare in Love (1998). “When You Believe” also won the Critics’ Choice Award for Best Original Song. Outside of that, the song was nominated at the Satellite Awards, losing to “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” by Aerosmith from Armageddon (1998). It was also nominated at the Golden Globes, as was the score, but did not win. Instead, the score to The Truman Show (1998) and the song “The Prayer” by Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli from Quest for Camelot (1998), an animated film from Warner Bros, won. The score was also nominated for Best Music at the Saturn Awards, but lost to John Carpenter’s music in Vampires (1998). Finally, at the Grammys, both the soundtrack album and “When You Believe” were nominated in the respective categories. The winners were Disney’s Tarzan (1999) and “Beautiful Stranger” performed by Madonna and William Orbit for the second Austin Powers film.

RECEPTION

After a premiere on 16^th December 1998, The Prince of Egypt came to theatres on 18^th December 1998, reportedly being released both in the US and to international markets on the same day, which is not that common, however, with the release so close to Christmas, it was felt it should be enjoyed by people all around the world over this festive time.

However, it could not be enjoyed by everyone, because The Prince of Egypt was banned in certain countries, most notably in Muslim countries, due to its depiction of Islamic prophets, which is forbidden in Islam. DreamWorks went to great efforts not to offend any nationality or anyone of any religion, but by choosing to make this grand adaptation, I’m sure it was expected that the movie would be banned in those countries, including Egypt itself. Egyptians had further complaints, saying that it distorted the history of Ancient Egypt and was biased against Arabs and Muslims. DreamWorks stated that they had consulted with experts, including religious leaders in Islam and Egyptologists to avoid offence[10].

For those that did get to see The Prince of Egypt, there were a mixture of opinions, however, those who did not mind the creative licence taken in the development of the story have called The Prince of Egypt an animated masterpiece, and say it is one of DreamWorks best films, and even one of the best animated movies ever made. The Prince of Egypt certainly deserves to be on that list of the best animated movies of all time, for both its story, music, and animation, but there are other animated movies I rewatch much more often than The Prince of Egypt, because sometimes you need more carefree, less intense movies!

Specifically, audiences liked how the storytelling was free of silly jokes and theatrics, avoiding that comic relief that accompanies most animated films, as a way of keeping the kids entertained or distracted from the dark themes that may’ve crept in to their movie. Even the traditional comic relief characters, here, Huy and Hotep, are used minimally. The Prince of Egypt maintains its serious tone throughout the movie, accompanied by some stunning animation and atmospheric backgrounds. The use of a mixture of 2D and computer-generated effects and characters was also appreciated by many; the hieroglyphic dream section, where Moses sees his early life and his mother’s sacrifice to save him from the same fate as other Hebrew newborns, was a particular highlight. The music was another point that was praised by viewers overall. It was seen to be a mature animated movie, that surprised some by just how good it was, impressing even the most non-religious of people.

However, on the other hand, because The Prince of Egypt feels very different to other animated films, especially in the 1990s when families were used to see the Broadway-style fairy-tale musicals from Disney, DreamWorks did struggle to find a specific demographic to target. It was considered too intense to suit children, and it was already a well-told religious story to some adults, with older generations potentially not seeing the merit in an animated adaptation of a Biblical story. Others complained about how the Book of Exodus was altered for The Prince of Egypt, saying it was not accurate. But it really is worth stating that on the whole, the positive reviews did outweigh the negative ones.

As The Prince of Egypt was released in December 1998, it avoided any direct competition with a new movie from Disney, or their affiliated studio Pixar. Mulan, Disney Animation’s 1998 release, came out in June of that year. But DreamWorks had already started a battle with Disney over their release of Antz, in October 1998, just a month before Pixar released A Bug’s Life. Despite both films doing well at the box office and with audiences and critics, the toxicity between the two studios was obvious to the press, as public digs were made between the feuding sides[11]. The battle was going to the box office, and DreamWorks was not the big winner. A Bug’s Life became the highest grossing animated film of 1998, with over $360 million, and Disney’s Mulan didn’t feature too far behind it with a little over $300 million. A Bug’s Life finished 1998 at No. 5 on the Worldwide Box Office list, and Mulan was just one spot below. Antz sat at No. 22, but The Prince of Egypt did fare better, finishing up at No. 16, having grossed a total of around $218 million.

1998 was a good year for cinema in general, as Armageddon topped the worldwide box office, following by Saving Private Ryan, Godzilla, and There’s Something About Mary taking the top four positions. Others above The Prince of Egypt included The Truman Show, You’ve Got Mail, and Shakespeare in Love, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture for that year and just so happened to star Ralph Fiennes’ younger brother, Joseph.

There was some speculation about just how much DreamWorks had spent creating The Prince of Egypt, how much they had spent marketing it, and whether or not they were happy with their early figures at the box office. It made $14.5 million in its opening weekend, which DreamWorks claimed was in line with their expectations, as the weekend before Christmas is a historically slow period for movie-goers, with many choosing to head to the cinema in the days after Christmas. There was also questions around how much The Prince of Egypt would need to make to be considered profitable, especially since there were no McDonald’s toys, or other merchandise tie-ins because it simply didn’t fit the serious nature of the film. There was a lot of competition at the cinema at that time of year for family-friendly films, with A Bug’s Life still playing, alongside The Rugrats Movie and Babe: Pig in the City[12].

In the end, The Prince of Egypt didn’t do amazingly well financially, but it did well enough across the domestic and international markets. It didn’t really matter too much anyway to DreamWorks, allegedly, because they were proud of the movie they made. They wanted to show that animation could be a fine artform. To be fair, I think Disney’s Beauty and the Beast was the first to prove that, but I see their point!

The Prince of Egypt was nominated for various Annie Awards after its release, including for Best Animated Feature, but it lost out to The Iron Giant (1999), directed by Brad Bird. This was also the case in the categories of Animated Effects, Directing, Storyboarding, and Voice Acting, where Ralph Fiennes was nominated for his role as Rameses. The Prince of Egypt did, however, win the inaugural Best Animated Feature Award at the 4^th Critics’ Choice Award, although it was a tie with Pixar’s A Bug’s Life. That must’ve been awkward… At the Youth in Film Awards, The Prince of Egypt won the award for Best Family Feature Film: Animated, as well as another for Best Performance in a Voice-Over in a Feature or TV: Best Young Actress, which went to Aria Noelle Curzon for her voice role as Jethrodiadah, one of Tzipporah’s little sisters. She also voiced Cornchip Girl in Disney animated series Recess (1997-2001), and Ducky in The Land Before Time franchise. The Prince of Egypt won a few other awards including Best Animated Film at the Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards, and was nominated at other ceremonies in the Best Animated Film category, like the Satellite, where A Bug’s Life won. Not all major award ceremonies had this category in 1998, such as the Academy Awards or the Golden Globes, although The Prince of Egypt was nominated at the Saturn Awards in the Best Action or Adventure Film category, but it lost to Saving Private Ryan.

In 2025, The Prince of Egypt’s record for best opening weekend box office numbers for an animated faith-based movie would be beaten by a new movie, The King of Kings, which earnt around $19 million on its opening weekend, putting the independent film in second place at the US box office, behind A Minecraft Movie[13]. The King of Kings is loosely inspired by the children’s book The Life of Our Lord, written by Charles Dickens and published in 1934. It details the life of Jesus. The movie features an all-star voice cast with names like Kenneth Branagh, Ben Kingsley, Uma Thurman and Mark Hamill. This just goes to show how difficult it can be for certain genres of films to make money. DreamWorks was brave to make The Prince of Egypt and in many ways, the risk did pay off for them.

LEGACY

The Prince of Egypt doesn’t quite finish the full story from the Book of Exodus, ending quite simply, with Moses holding a stone tablet, which states The Ten Commandments, seemingly ready to announce this discovery to his people.

DreamWorks told the key part of the story though, having the Hebrews freed from Egypt, making their way to the Promised Land, so there wasn’t likely to be a sequel to The Prince of Egypt. However, this was not the end of DreamWorks adapting Biblical stories, because the studio did create a prequel of sorts to The Prince of Egypt.

This prequel was the direct-to-video movie Joseph: King of Dreams (2000). This film adapts the story of Joseph from the Book of Genesis, following Joseph through his brothers selling him to Egypt, and becoming a trusted servant of the Pharaoh, where his skill of interpreting dreams is realised, and becomes key to the saviour of the Egyptian empire from potential famine. Joseph also later reconciles with his brothers and invites them and their families to live in Egypt with him. The movie ends with the Hebrews entering Egypt, which is where the story of The Prince of Egypt would then pick up.

I have only seen Joseph: King of Dreams once, and I didn’t particularly like it. Although it benefits from some good casting, like Ben Affleck in the title role and Mark Hamill as Judah, the music was not as good and the animation didn’t have the same quality asThe Prince of Egypt either. I thought it was just ok, and if I want to watch an adaptation of this same story, I’d personally rather watch Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat.

Many years later, as can be the case with certain popular animated movies, a stage musical was then created based on the story and music of DreamWorks’ The Prince of Egypt, but its path to the stage was anything but simple. There was initially a concert performance of the first act of the show presented at The Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor in New York in 2015, with a further performance of the musical due to take place in 2016, however, the concert was later cancelled, with an announcement made on 28^th July 2016. This cancellation was deemed necessary amid controversy surrounding the casting of the musical, with concerns about a lack of diversity[14]. A year later, in 2017, the World Premiere for The Prince of Egypt musical finally happened at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, which was directed by Scott Schwartz, son of the film’s songwriter Stephen Schwartz. It ran for roughly a month, between October and November.

The Prince of Egypt musical then made its debut at the West End’s Dominion Theatre in London in 2020. It opened on 25^th February 2020, set to run until 31^st October that year. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to shut many entertainment venues, the musical was forced to close on 17^th March. It reopened in July 2021, and ended its run in January 2022. Although the animated movie has some extraordinarily positive reviews, the reviews of this musical were fairly mixed. Where the animation helped to enhance the story, it was felt some aspects of this adaptation simply did not translate well to the stage. The expanded story to fill the typical two hours or more that is needed for a stage musical was also not received well. Others didn’t enjoy the new music, or the altering of the originals, although it was felt that the vocal performances were still good. And most of these reviews were coming from fans of the original movie. Based on this, it would seem that The Prince of Egypt may not be making a comeback to the West End anytime soon, or a transfer to Broadway, but a recording of this stage musical was released to the public in 2023, both theatrically and digitally.

Also in 2023, The Prince of Egypt celebrated its 25^th anniversary. To celebrate this anniversary, DreamWorks released a series of making-of videos, discussing select scenes, for those interested in the movie’s development to enjoy, alongside a remastered music video of their award-winning song “When You Believe” in 25 different languages.

Naturally, given the serious nature of the film’s story, and very unlike Disney, there is not much by way of official merchandise available to purchase, although it does look like there were a series of dolls based on the characters produced back in 1998.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The very start of The Prince of Egypt shows a disclaimer, saying that although the film is based on The Book of Exodus from the Bible, some historic and creative licence was used in the retelling of the story. For some, this was an issue that caused them not to like the film. For others, The Prince of Egypt was simply not something they could or wanted to see.

Since I’m not particularly religious, though I wouldn’t class myself as an atheist, and had only heard the story of Moses from Religious Studies classes at school, the potential lack of accuracy here didn’t bother me. Regardless of whether you believe it to be true or not, The Prince of Egypt tells a very poignant, moving story on a grand scale.

My point here is that even non-religious people can enjoy The Prince of Egypt, because it is a story of humanity. At its most basic level, it reminds us that humans are more similar than we are different, and that no-one should consider themselves superior than anyone else. We are all just people, living on the same planet, trying our best to get by.

At least, that’s what I took from it.

REFERENCES

[1] Credit: Don Hahn, Waking Sleeping Beauty (2009).

[2] Credit: Petrana Radulovic, ‘Prince of Egypt director Brenda Chapman: ‘We wanted to do something that reached more adults’, Polygon.com, 17^th December 2018.

[3] Credit: Michael Lyons, ‘Sacred Storytelling: The 25^th Anniversary of “The Prince of Egypt”’, CartoonResearch.com, 1^st December 2023.

[4] Credit: Jim Korkis, ‘Animation Anecdotes #390’, CartoonResearch.com, 23^rd November 2018.

[5] Credit: DreamWorks, The Prince of Egypt: From Dream to Screen (1998)’, VHS BTS YouTube Channel, 28^th March 2019.

[6] Credit: DreamWorks, ‘The Making of The Prince of Egypt (1998)’, from The Prince of Egypt (1998) UK DVD (2012).

[7] Credit: DreamWorks, ‘The Prince of Egypt 25^th Anniversary: Parting the Red Sea’, Animation World Network YouTube Channel, 26^th December 2023.

[8] Credit: Jim Korkis, ‘Remembering “Mulan”’, CartoonResearch.com, 26^th August 2022.

[9] Credit: Jim Korkis, ‘Animation Anecdotes #158’, CartoonResearch.com, 2^nd May 2014.

[10] Credit: Mona Eltahawy, ‘Egyptians disown celluloid ‘prince’’, TheGuardian.com, 17^th April 1999.

[11] Credit: Michael Lyons, ‘Small Wonder: The 25^th Anniversary of “A Bug’s Life”’, CartoonResearch.com, 24^th November 2023.

[12] Credit: Claudia Eller and James Bates, ‘Water Don’t Part for DreamWorks’ ‘Prince of Egypt’’, LATimes.com, 22^nd December 1998.

[13] Credit: Benjamin VanHoose, ‘The King of Kings, Starring Oscar Isaac as Jesus, Breaks a Box Office Record Set by 1998’s Prince of Egypt’, People.com, 14^th April 2025.

[14] Credit: Andrew Gans, ‘Scott Schwartz Details Reasons for Cancellation of Prince of Egypt Concert’, Playbill.com, 30^th July 2016.