Children's entertainment is quickly changing. Television shows that were popular one minute quickly disappear; the current "hot" song roars on the scene and just as quickly, fades out. However, kids always gravitate toward appealing characters in compelling stories about enduring elements of their lives. The ongoing popularity of Disney's High School Musical is due to the way it touches many of the elements that kids like.

The plot of High School Musical relays how Troy, the captain of the basketball team and Gabriella, a shy and very smart transfer student confront everyone else's expectations and audition for their high school's winter musical. Due to the fact that the story centers on the struggles between members of two different social groups, its author and many critics refer to it as a modern Romeo and Juliet. Young people have often struggled with expectations placed on them by their peers, and High School Musical adeptly illustrates this.

High School Musical also celebrates the significance of performance and accomplishment. All kids dream of being talented enough to excel for an audience, whether on the playing field, or at an academic competition, or on the stage. In High School Musical, children watch characters with courage and talent working hard to do their best. One of the welcome aspects of Disney's story is the way in which it celebrates the desire to be true to oneself and be successful.

Another indication that High School Musical may be on its way to lasting popularity in children's entertainment is its durability and adaptability to other media. No other television movie has produced its lasting impact. In addition to the first movie, audiences enjoyed High School Musical 2, a DVD release-1.2 million copies in six days is the fastest-ever selling television movie-a great soundtrack that reached number one of the charts twice, a enthusiastically received concert tour, an exciting touring stage musical, an ice touring show, a New York Times best-selling novel, and an recent series of books chronicling the stories from East High.

With talented characters in a plot that deals with the universal issues of following a dream and learning how to be true to your own identity, kids have loved High School Musical from the moment it's characters sang and danced their way off the screen and into the hearts and minds of young audiences across the world.