Felt like writing a review. Feel free not to read.
There was a really interesting article in the Harry Potter Entertainment Weekly (I have no idea if it’s the most recent since I check my mail at best once a week) called “The Making of a Kid Star.” It focuses on the latest crop of stars for the rapidly-becoming-mega-successful Disney and Nickelodeon networks. Both average between 2 and 5 million viewers, and in fact their two big winter premieres (Nick’s The Naked Brothers. Band and Disney’s That’s So Raven spin-off, Cory in the House) drew 4.7 and a record-breaking 7.6 million viewers respectively. (To put that in perspective, the CW as a whole averages 3.1 million viewers per season.)
I’ve always wondered at the propensity for the two networks to spawn personalities that all seem to be able to sing and act until reading that, well of course, the casting pros only look for kids who can do it all. To date, Disney has been responsible for the likes of Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, Ryan Gosling, Hilary Duff, Christy Carlson Romano, Shia LeBeouf, Aly & AJ, The Cheetah Girls (no clue what their actual names are), and Zac Efron and the rest of the overwhelmingly successful High School Musical while Nick can boast Amanda Bynes, Drake Bell, Josh Peck, Kenan and Kel, and Emma Roberts.
Roll your eyes if you want, but in the last decade, the networks have all but cornered the market on cross-market synergy and kids’ market power. In 2006, Disney raked in $72 million in merchandising alone while Nick yielded a whopping $306 million.
Then there’s the fact that Even Stevens alum LeBeouf has just headlined the blockbuster July movie Transformers and is set to star in Indiana Jones 4 as well and fifteen-year-old Miley Cyrus’ first Hannah Montana CD debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top 200, as did her second — which is still there. Bynes and Efron are set to star in today’s anticipated opening of Hairspray; Gosling garnered an Oscar nod for Half Nelson; I’ve lost count how many awards Justin has won; Kenan’s starting his fifth season on SNL this fall; Carlson Romano starred as Belle in Beauty and the Beast on Broadway; Aly & AJ’s last CD went gold and their current one is poised to do (at least) the same; need I say more?
I was equally impressed with another point the article made — namely, if you survive the grueling casting process and are eventually cast in one of Disney’s or Nick’s shows, you will go through a Hollywood “boot camp” of sorts — media training, reality training, how to remain grounded, etc. It’s no surprise that for the most part (we’ll ignore Child Protective Services poster child Spears and those other MMC alums), there are no Lindsay Lohan-Paris Hilton tabloid tantrums to be found. If you ask me, the parents need to go through this training as well — especially if you’ve got parents like Lohan’s.
Anyway, it was an interesting article. I read it shortly before watching High School Musical for the first time. I was familiar enough with the music, because when it debuted in 2006, Mia begged me for the soundtrack and then insisted on listening to it until I was hearing “Stick to the Status Quo” and “Breaking Free” in my sleep, and I’d seen parts of it on Disney. (Incidentally, the soundtrack was the best-selling album of any genre for the entire year.)
I was duly impressed. I consider myself a pretty good judge of musicals, since I’ve seen so many, and honestly, the choreography was as good as any I’ve seen. It was remarkable, really.
Award-winning choreographer and director Kenny Ortega directed and choreographed. He’s directed multiple episodes of Gilmore Girls and Ally McBeal (among other stuff) and choreographed Newsies, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Dirty Dancing, the Salt Lake Winter Olympics, and has worked with the likes of Madonna, Cher, and Gloria Estefan.
The dancing is seriously amazing, and really unique, and I was impressed that the principal actors — none of whom claim much in the way of dancing, except maybe for Corbin Bleu — did a phenomenal job. The acting’s good, and the singing was much better than I expected. Zac Efron actually doesn’t sing most of Troy’s songs because his voice was too low and the PTB wanted a tenor, but he’ll be singing in the sequel, due out August 17, and of course, he sings in Hairspray, which I can’t wait to see. Ashley Tisdale’s voice takes a little getting used to, just because, as it mixes with the others, it’s more Broadway while theirs are more commercial. (She, Vanessa Hudgens, and Corbin Bleu all received recording contracts after the success of HSM, and Monique Coleman appeared on Dancing with the Stars.)
The plot’s pretty typical Disney fare — a modern-day Romeo and Juliet-esque twist — but it is executed well, and with the singing and dancing woven in, it’s a really enjoyable escape from reality.
I watched it twice in a row last night and had the soundtrack on at work today. Really great stuff, and I’m looking forward to seeing the sequel. We’re thinking about having a little viewing party, which will be interesting, because the ages will be so varied — Mia and Kevin and a couple of their friends at 10 all the way up to a few of our cousins (college-aged) and my friend and I (not college-aged).
See? The appeal knows no boundaries.
