The High School Musical franchise has remained one of the most popular and successful in Disney's history. The music and songs have become iconic with a whole generation with the romantic storyline being mixed perfectly with the fun friendship storylines.
All three movies proved to be a hit with audiences, but there's no doubt that the first two movies were the most popular. Now that Disney+ is available, fans are getting the chance to relive this world, with newer audiences experiencing the story for the first time.
Within this article we will take a look at the first two movies, giving five reasons why the original is the best, and five reasons why the sequel was better than it.
The Original: Basketball
When many people think about High School Musical they instantly think of basketball. This was the sport of choice at the school and the Wildcats were incredibly popular with fans as Troy Bolton worked as the star of the team. It was a core part of the movie, led to some brilliant dance scenes and brought some real action to the film.
While there was a little bit of basketball taking place in the sequel, it was nowhere near the same level as the original. It was more, talking about basketball and the future, rather than showing it, which wasn't quite as exciting. unfortunately.
The Sequel: Troy & Gabriella's Romance
In the original High School Musical movie, it was clear Troy and Gabriella had a romance blossoming, and at the end of the film that was finally confirmed. But in the sequel, audiences finally got to see that relationship play out, with all the highs and lows that came with it.
It wasn't a perfect relationship, as it had a few wobbly moments, but it certainly was a fun relationship to witness. It wasn't over the top or pushed in the face of the viewers, and that's why people ended up loving them as a couple so much.
The Original: A Clear Antagonist
Sharpay Evans is the character that we all love to hate from the High School Musical franchise. She's the antagonist in both the original and the sequel, but it's much clearer in the first movie. That's because she is the school brat, someone who believes she is better than everyone else and won't take no for an answer.
While she is the same in the sequel, the group all go into her world, where that behavior is expected. On top of that, Troy Bolton falls into her lifestyle and it becomes harder to dislike her because of that as she is shown to be more emotional and likeable.
The Sequel: Development Of Characters
While Sharpay wasn't quite as villainous in the sequel, she as a character did develop nicely, becoming a more well-rounded and emotional person. But she wasn't the only character that was developed, as the entire cast was given more personality and backstory.
They all really developed and become more adult, which was something that worked really nicely throughout the movie. It was less about the 'Troy and Gabriella' story and more about the other characters getting screentime to develop alongside them.
The Original: Set In The High School
The whole premise of this franchise is in the title, it is a high school movie and that's why the original is greater. The entire film is set around the school, with the musical itself being the pinnacle of the movie. However, the sequel is on summer break and the storyline to get them all together is a little weaker.
The sequel feels more like things are squeezed in together with a random musical at the end just to tie it in with the title. The original has a stronger setting, with this making far more sense than the sequel, with the story really connecting greater.
The Sequel: Ryan Evans
In the original High School Musical, Ryan Evans is very much just a ing role. He is put down by his sister at every available opportunity and really just provides a backing track for her. While Sharpay tries to have him in that role in the sequel, thankfully the writers didn't fall into that trap again.
In the sequel, Ryan is given tons of focus and becomes one of the main characters properly. He gets a featured song and we get to actually see his personality as it becomes clear that deep down, he is a nice guy after all.
The Original: Better Songs
Ultimately when it comes to any musical movie, the focus is always going to be on the music and the songs. That is the core principle of the film, it's what people are expecting and the High School Musical franchise delivers really well in all three films on this.
While the sequel has some fantastic tracks such as "Bet On It," when you compare both soundtracks it is the original which comes out the strongest. High School Musical just has some truly fantastic songs all the way that have become catchy and iconic.
The Sequel: It's Funnier
Neither film takes itself overly seriously, which is part of the franchise's charm, and both movies have a lot of comedic moments placed in. However, out of the two, it is High School Musical 2 that is funnier, and a large part of that is due to the character Mr. Fulton.
He is tons of fun and that isn't the only part of the movie that brings humor. The posher setting brings with it a lot of fun moments as the group certainly doesn't fit in within this world, leading to some great scenes.
The Original: A Stronger Story
When you look at both movies from start to finish, it is the original that certainly has a better story overall. It identifies a clear beginning, middle, and end, with the huge payoff at the basketball match. There's a clear goal of a musical and the basketball game and it's all about how the characters get to that point.
The sequel attempts to do the same thing by having a summer musical, but it's never really as well defined and because of that the movie does unravel at points. There are lots of random moments within it that feel thrown together, and because of that, the original has to be seen as the superior film.
The Sequel: More Emotions
Something that High School Musical 2 did better than the original was bringing an emotional aspect to the film. This was less of a cheesy musical and more of an actual movie, which the film really benefits from. A lot of that is because the groundwork was already done and fans knew about the characters, but also because the story itself was better.
There was plenty of twists and turns as Troy and Gabriella teased being split up, with Troy almost getting caught up in his future. While it's not a movie that is going to be winning Oscar's for the emotions it tugs on, it certainly does do a better job of tapping into a wider range, which makes it enjoyable
