The name 'Disney' mentioned springs many good things to mind. When we USED to hear Disney being mentioned, we thought of the masters of timeless storytelling. We thought of a company that introduced us to characters and tales to be cherised after generations and generations of children. Disney were the masters of imagination, warmth and more importantly, the masters of family entertainment. Their name thought of the pure-hearted and good always triumphing the bad, and a certain Mouse warmly welcoming kids into this world beyond your wildest dreams.
In some cases, Mickey Mouse is still being embraced to new children thanks the new Playhouse Disney programme: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and parents have the intelligence to show their kids the magic of Snow White and Cinderella too. Whilst the company's legacy and history still lives on, their reputation continues to be completely crapped on. Their new teen sensation: 'High School Musical' justifies my point completely.
When you hear the 'Disney' name nowadays, the soulful, blissful days of Dumbo and Mickey completely disseaper from memory. When we hear Disney now, we see a company that has completely lost the magic sparkle it once had. Disney has now become a name that is common. We see a company trying to do the same shameful marketing strategy nearly every big corporation is doing now: using teens to make the money.
High School Musical's cheeriness is just creepy. It all feels too positive and happy; it's all evidently and intentionally of course; severely squeaky-clean and harmless. However, for us older people, we all know it's all completely polystyrene and fake. We all know there is something much darker and deeper going on behind it all. It is what we call the worst form of: 'marketing cynicism'.
Everything in this film is pretty much done half-baked. The plot is incredibly simplistic, involving a pretty bad stab at a Romeo-and-Juliet-esquire narrative. Boy who likes basketball, girl who is a bookworm. Their social hierarchy and status in the school separates them from each other, and their friends force to stick with them only. It's a real shame they didn't kill themselves at the end though, like Romeo and Juliet themselves did. The film even goes as far to create its' own balcony sequence with Troy and Gabreilla, the main leads of the film.
The plot lacks of course any deep emotional morality or heart, it's all really under-developed and base. The acting is also pretty bad too, with some pretty boys and pretty girls just um... delivering one line in a completely monotone fashion as the next line. The actors act like puppets, as there is a complete stiffness to their line delivery and overall physical moments. It's all really rather bland and dry as anything.
However, somebody criticising High School Musical, including myself, is like someone complaining about a newborn puppy who jumped on you accidentally. Kids find it all so sweet , so secure, and so more importantly, harmless, it seems really callous going after an easy target aimed at children. For what it aims to do, Hogh School Musical does it pretty well. It's entertainment that doesn't try to promote any sexual innuendo, profanity or any maliciousness. THAT is why my rantings on HSM go off a little lighter this time.
Also to the film's credit, the choreography, particularly for a Disney Channel original movie, is moderately impressive. It is nothing that will rival West Side Story or Grease (both much better films), but for the most part, the dancing flows smoothly and it all seems to be reasonably well-arranged. However, this was the only thing that was commendable about HSM as a whole.
Whilst I don't hate this, it is painful that it has to bear Disney's name. High School Musical is just rubbish, soulless and incredibly mediocre in quality, but it has struck many cords with the tween demographic, so complaining about it really seems like a waste of energy. However, HSM will always be marked as the moment when Disney sold their soul to the tweens.
Walt Disney, you're not the only one who is feeling the pain.
In some cases, Mickey Mouse is still being embraced to new children thanks the new Playhouse Disney programme: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and parents have the intelligence to show their kids the magic of Snow White and Cinderella too. Whilst the company's legacy and history still lives on, their reputation continues to be completely crapped on. Their new teen sensation: 'High School Musical' justifies my point completely.
When you hear the 'Disney' name nowadays, the soulful, blissful days of Dumbo and Mickey completely disseaper from memory. When we hear Disney now, we see a company that has completely lost the magic sparkle it once had. Disney has now become a name that is common. We see a company trying to do the same shameful marketing strategy nearly every big corporation is doing now: using teens to make the money.
High School Musical's cheeriness is just creepy. It all feels too positive and happy; it's all evidently and intentionally of course; severely squeaky-clean and harmless. However, for us older people, we all know it's all completely polystyrene and fake. We all know there is something much darker and deeper going on behind it all. It is what we call the worst form of: 'marketing cynicism'.
Everything in this film is pretty much done half-baked. The plot is incredibly simplistic, involving a pretty bad stab at a Romeo-and-Juliet-esquire narrative. Boy who likes basketball, girl who is a bookworm. Their social hierarchy and status in the school separates them from each other, and their friends force to stick with them only. It's a real shame they didn't kill themselves at the end though, like Romeo and Juliet themselves did. The film even goes as far to create its' own balcony sequence with Troy and Gabreilla, the main leads of the film.
The plot lacks of course any deep emotional morality or heart, it's all really under-developed and base. The acting is also pretty bad too, with some pretty boys and pretty girls just um... delivering one line in a completely monotone fashion as the next line. The actors act like puppets, as there is a complete stiffness to their line delivery and overall physical moments. It's all really rather bland and dry as anything.
However, somebody criticising High School Musical, including myself, is like someone complaining about a newborn puppy who jumped on you accidentally. Kids find it all so sweet , so secure, and so more importantly, harmless, it seems really callous going after an easy target aimed at children. For what it aims to do, Hogh School Musical does it pretty well. It's entertainment that doesn't try to promote any sexual innuendo, profanity or any maliciousness. THAT is why my rantings on HSM go off a little lighter this time.
Also to the film's credit, the choreography, particularly for a Disney Channel original movie, is moderately impressive. It is nothing that will rival West Side Story or Grease (both much better films), but for the most part, the dancing flows smoothly and it all seems to be reasonably well-arranged. However, this was the only thing that was commendable about HSM as a whole.
Whilst I don't hate this, it is painful that it has to bear Disney's name. High School Musical is just rubbish, soulless and incredibly mediocre in quality, but it has struck many cords with the tween demographic, so complaining about it really seems like a waste of energy. However, HSM will always be marked as the moment when Disney sold their soul to the tweens.
Walt Disney, you're not the only one who is feeling the pain.
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