High School Musical 3: Senior Year

           

WHAT TEAM? WILDCATS

    Hey cats! This week will be the final post about the High School Musical series. The final movie is called High School Musical 3: Senior Year (HSM3). This movie follows the students through the second semester of their senior year, as stress about college, relationships, and an impending musical creates chaos. 

    If you missed my other posts about HSM, check those out first! This movie is a continuation of those events. It would help with your understanding of this movie if you're familiar with the previous films. 

    I hope you enjoyed my mini-series! I thought it would be an interesting concept, and I had so much fun! It almost felt like watching a TV series or something, where you have to wait a week for the next update. Seems ironic, considering there is a High School Musical: The Musical: The Series television show (That's a mouthful!). Anyway, let's get right into our final review of the HSM franchise! 

High School Musical 3: Senior Year

Watching HSM3!

Disney+

History

    HSM3 was released in 2008, predicted to be the final movie in a successful series.  

Who's in the Cast?

    Zac Efron starred as Troy Bolton, a popular student and captain of the basketball team. Vanessa Hudgens starred opposite of Efron as Gabriella Montez, a transfer student with a mind for science. Ashely Tisdale and Lucas Grabeel performed as twins Sharpay and Ryan Evans, respectively. Corbin Bleu portrayed Chad Danforth, Troy's best friend, and Monique Coleman played Taylor McKessie, Gabriella's friend. Other characters of interest include Bart Johnson as Jack Bolton, Alyson Reed as Ms. Darbus, and Olesya Rulin as Kelsi Nielson. Jemma McKenzie-Brown and Matt Prokop join the cast as Tiara Gold and Jimmie "Rocket Man" Zara, respectively.

Overview

    The final installment in the High School Musical series opens with 16 minutes left in the championship basketball game of Troy's senior year. The team is determined to play their hardest to win the championship. At the end of the game, for the winning shot, Troy throws the ball to a rookie on the varsity team, Jimmie "Rocket Man" Zara, who is shocked but makes the shot to win the game (Now or Never). There's a huge celebratory party at Troy's house after the game. Troy and Gabriella discuss their future together, seeing as the end of their senior year is approaching quickly. Gabriella is planning to attend Stanford, and Troy has plans to attend the U of A. They decide to focus on the now rather than the upcoming changes in their lives (Right Here, Right Now).

    The following school day, Sharpay is approached by an exchange student from London named Tiara Gold. Tiara has volunteered to be Sharpay's personal assistant for the remainder of her senior year, in the hopes of learning from her. Sharpay announces to the entire home room that she is planning a one-woman show for the spring musical. Kelsi immediately signs all of the other students up to participate, hoping to bring them all together for one last performance as seniors. Ms. Darbus announces that scouts from Julliard will be attending their performance, and they are planning to award a scholarship to one of four students: Sharpay, Ryan, Kelsi, and Troy. Troy thinks it's a joke, because he hadn't ever applied to Julliard, but Ms. Darbus insists someone nominated him. The students each begin to announce their futures, or what they hope their future holds. Sharpay has planned out her life of fame at Julliard and on Broadway as an actress, with Ryan at her side (I Want It All). Ryan is concerned that there is only one scholarship, but Sharpay insists that since they're twins, they'll both get a scholarship. She tells Ryan to get close to Kelsi so they can use the songs she'll write for Troy and Gabriella, since "she always writes the best songs for Troy and Gabriella."

    Troy asks Gabriella to go to the prom with him, and she teaches him how to dance (Can I Have This Dance). Jimmie and his friend Donnie hope to take over Troy and Chad's position as captains of the basketball team next year, but Troy and Chad say they need to earn their lockers first. They steal their clothes and race around the school. Jimmie and Donnie end up on stage, clothed only in a towel, and Mr. Darbus announces that they will be joining the musical with the stage crew as detention. Chad assumes he and Taylor will be going to prom together, but she is offended that he didn't even ask her. As a result, she shuns him until he pulls off a grand prom-posal. Troy and his friends are nervous about prom and dancing, while Gabriella and her friends are excited for the same reasons (A Night to Remember). Ms. Darbus makes Jimmie and Tiara understudies for the show. Gabriella tells Taylor that she's been accepted into Stanford's Freshman Honors program, meaning she'll need to leave high school early to attend a lengthy, 3-week orientation. Tiara tells Sharpay, who prints out the "secret" information. 

    Ryan practices for the musical with Kelsi, learning the song that she's written for Troy and Gabriella but also growing closer to Kelsi. He asks her to prom. Troy and Gabriella begin rehearsing the song she wrote for them as the set for the musical is beginning construction (Just Wanna Be With You). Sharpay is still insistent that Ryan take the song from Kelsi. He argues that the song is for Gabriella, not Sharpay. 

    Chad and Troy take Troy's old pickup to an old car lot hoping to find some parts to fix it up. They reminisce about their time there as kids and how fast life can change (The Boys Are Back). Gabriella still hasn't told anyone about her acceptance into the Stanford Honors program except for Taylor and her mother, and Taylor tells her she should be celebrating the fact. Gabriella doesn't want to leave Troy in Albuquerque and considers staying behind from Stanford for a year. Troy doesn't know if he truly wants to attend the U of A or not, despite pressure from his father and Chad. 

    At school the next morning, prints of Gabriella's acceptance into the Stanford Honors program are plastered around the school, courtesy of Sharpay. That evening, Troy and Gabriella have a picnic. Troy encourages her to go to the program, as it's such a huge honor. Troy leaves so Gabriella can think it over. She is still on the fence, but ultimately decides to go, and leaves the next day (Walk Away). Ms. Darbus announces that Sharpay will fill in for Gabriella in the musical, and Tiara will take Sharpay's place. Troy and his dad argue about where Troy will go for college. In frustration, Troy drives to school late at night to rage in privacy with as much space as he needs (Scream). He ends up on the stage, where Ms. Darbus applauds him. Hidden in the shadows, she tells Troy that she too, comes to the theater to think. She also tells him that she was the one who nominated him for Julliard. Gabriella calls Troy and tells him that traveling back and forth from Stanford to Albuquerque will be too hard on her and that she's not coming back. Troy, determined not to let her go, drives all the way to Stanford, dressed for prom, and they celebrate prom together on their own. 

    The day of the musical, Troy texts Jimmie and tells him that he won't be at the show to start, after driving all night. The show begins with the Wildcats performing, then Ryan, and then Jimmie goes on for Troy, to the shock of Sharpay. The two perform together, Sharpay trying to impress the scouts from Julliard. Just then, Troy arrives with Gabriella, having driven them from Stanford. Sharpay storms off-stage, where she encounters Tiara wearing Sharpay's dress. Tiara reveals she was simply assisting Sharpay to "learn the ropes" at East High, and how she plans to run the drama club next year. She aims to perform in Sharpay's role during the show. Troy and Gabriella sing their duet together onstage, and are joined by their friends, who are thrilled that Gabriella has returned. After, Tiara performs, but Sharpay intrudes and steals the show back from her. It is a grand collaboration of all the previous songs in the film (Senior Year Spring Musical).

    At the end of the performance, all of the seniors gather onstage. Ms. Darbus announces where each student will be attending college, in a sort of "pre-graduation" ceremony. Julliard has given two scholarships instead of one: to Kelsi and Ryan. Taylor will attend Yale, and Sharpay will attend the U of A. Troy announces that he will be going to the University of California, Berkeley, where he will be able to pursue both basketball and theater. Chad will be attending U of A (We're All In This Together (Graduation Mix).

    At the real graduation ceremony, the seniors all celebrate graduating high school and moving on to the next chapter of their lives (High School Musical).

Thoughts

    We've finished the series at last! Wow. And what a way to go! I think showing graduation at the end was a smart choice, and it made perfect sense to end the series in that way. It was also cool that they announced where the characters would be attending college. It rounded out their character development from the past movies but let us know that their stories weren't over. 

    I'm an avid fan of Ashley Tisdale as Sharpay in the other movies, and this movie is no exception. In fact, Tisdale was my favorite character in the final film. The passion and drive she brought to Sharpay was exceptional. Although Sharpay still wanted to steal the song meant for Troy and Gabriella, there was a definite difference between her character in the first and final films. She seems to have matured more, but still knows her worth and wants to make it big. I respect that. Like I've said before, she's supposed to seen as the antagonist, but in reality she's more of the anti-villain: her aspirations are good, but the schemes she pulls aren't always morally correct. I think this was very much reflected in HSM3. Even when she felt defeated again, having Troy miss their duet and Tiara steal her song, Sharpay rose to the challenge and stole the show right back. Her energy in this film was fantastic.

    I'm listing two songs down below as my favorite song, and it was hard to even choose two! The soundtrack from this movie is probably my favorite out of all of them. The Boys are Back is such a banger. I will admit, it felt a little bit weird in the movie. Seeing Troy and Chad in a car junkyard dancing was fun to watch, but it felt like an unnecessary scene in the movie. However, the song is good enough to overlook the irrelevancy. Scream is also a fantastic song. On its own, it's a great song, but when you watch the movie the experience is heightened even more. Zac Efron did a great job in showing Troy facing all of his stress and issues, with pent-up frustration and the need to blow off some steam. 

    I don't typically talk about the sets/locations, but I have to today. I also struggled with picking a favorite set. Ultimately, the rooftop is my favorite. Can I Have This Dance is a beautiful song, and watching Troy and Gabriella dance among the beautiful flowers and plants on the rooftop green house is spectacular. However, the stage for the musical is also an impressive set, with many different pieces for the various acts in the show. And even Troy's own house was an impressive set, with a huge party in the backyard and a treehouse! I wish I had a treehouse, although I supposed I could climb a tree with my claws. 

    I'm giving the cat rating 3 stars today. I loved the energy in the opening scene of all the students passionately cheering for the Wildcats. And the mascot was back! Turns out, it was Ryan who was wearing the mascot costume! I loved anytime the mascot was on screen. Throughout the whole movie, the students kept reiterating their fondness for East High and the Wildcats. I love to see other cats being appreciated!

Ratings

Find the rating scale here.

Soundtrack          ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Acting                  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Lighting               ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Set                        ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Overall                 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Cat rating             ⭐⭐⭐

Best song: The Boys Are Back/Scream

Best actor: Ashley Tisdale

Best set: Rooftop

Fun Facts!

• Chad's father is played by David Reivers, who is Corbin Bleu's actual father. 
• Although Tiara was meant to only be a year or two younger than Sharpay, the actress for Tiara, Jemma McKenzie-Brown, was actually nine years younger than Ashley Tisdale!
• Sharpay's locker was updated in the third movie. In the previous films, she had a single locker, painted bright pink. In HSM3, she had expanded to two pink lockers, which opened like a wardrobe. The locker is still at the school today (East High School in Utah) and is used each year by one (lucky!) student. 
• HSM3 was the only film of the franchise to be released in theaters instead of on TV.