How High School Musical Redefined Disney Channel Original Movies
When BYU Theatre was deciding on a show to end the 2024-2025 season, we wanted to pick a show to honor the irony of the fact we are performing in a former high school. The well-beloved High School Musical was a perfect choice. As an assistant dramaturg for this piece (and a child who grew up watching the movies), I'm eager to showcase the way HSM changed the young-adult movie musical world and the Disney Channel Original Movie.
DCOM’s (Disney Channel Original Movies) started back in 1983 and were originally called “Disney Premiere Films.” These films were Disney's main source of movies targeted at young adults. When they first started, they were released one every month but slowly were spread out between the year. These movies were branded as DCOM in 1997. High School Musical marked a major turning point beginning the DCOMM (Disney Channel Original Movie Musical) Era.
High School Musical premiered in 2006 and became an instant phenomenon. It broke rating records for Disney Channel and showed the success of original musicals. HSM created the formula for original movie musicals in the future: catchy songs, teen drama, and aspirational themes.
The success of High School Musical shifted Disney Channel's focus to create more musicals. Some of these movies include Camp Rock, Lemonade Mouth, Teen Beach Movie, Descendants, and Zombies. Through this, music and performance became a central theme in not only movies but also Disney television shows. Movie musicals also created a new brand of star actors who could sing, dance, and act. Great examples of this include Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens.
Included in the phenomenon was a new wave of merchandise including soundtracks, clothing, toys, school supplies and live tours. This paved the way for all DCOMs to be multimedia franchises. HSM and other DCOMM’s helped to demonstrate the commercial power of music-driven content for young audiences.
So from its first airing in 2006 to the latest popular shows today, the High School Musical formula transformed the DCOM and created a new teen movie musical blueprint that influences Disney and beyond.
