HigH sCHOOL MUsiCAL 3

High School Musical 3: Senior Year opened in theaters yesterday. We have had the date marked on the calendar for weeks but once we found out it was the same day as Late Night with Roy, we let Hailey decide which one she wanted to go to on Friday. Hailey wisely chose Late Night since it only happens once a year and we could go to HSM3 today.

I’m not sure who the biggest fan of HSM3 is in our house. Hailey (age 6) chose to be Hannah Montana for Halloween even though there were plenty of HSM costumes to choose from so I would not say she was the biggest fan. Leah (age 3) told me yesterday that she likes HSM more than Hannah Montana because she “loves Gabriella and Troy.” As for me, I loved HSM and HSM2 and was really looking forward to this movie. The fact that I got irritated at my kids anytime they distracted me from the movie probably means that I would win the biggest fan title. If I was in middle school, I would have a picture of Zac Efron on my wall.

With a budget that was $6.3 million more than the HSM2 budget, Disney really went all out with this production. The sets were incredible and at times made me feel like I was in the audience of a hit Broadway musical. The choreography is amazing and the songs are catchy as always. I dare say it is impossible to sit through the movie without once tapping your feet or fingers or moving your head to the music.

I have read reviews about it being too sweet and corny…ummm, hello!!…it is DISNEY and it is rated G! What did you expect? In a time when even the television shows about high school regularly feature sex, drugs, and high school, it is a relief to have a non-animated movie series that I can watch with my children.

Hailey’s favorite part of the movie was when Troy kissed Gabriella. Leah’s favorite part was when Troy gave Gabriella flowers. I guess I am raising two romantics. They come by it naturally. My favorite part is when Troy reveals his future plans at the end of the musical. His speech actually brought tears to my eyes…yes I know it is pitiful that someone my age would get teary over a movie about high school…so sue me.

The chemistry between Zac and Vanessa (they are very much in love and involved in real life) makes you pull hard for Troy and Gabriella to make it as a couple in the movie. And because I love Troy and Gabriella so much, I hope Zac and Vanessa are able to stay together as well.

Ultimately, this movie is about moving on after high school and the decisions you have to make. It is about being your own person and believing in yourself and your dreams for your future, about stepping out from under the shadow of your parent’s expectations for your life and making the decisions that are right for you.

I believe this is the best of the three movies and I had no problem with letting my children see it. There is slightly more kissing in this movie (of course, that isn’t saying much since there was no kiss in HSM and only one kiss at the end of HSM2) but no more so than in other Disney films. In our house, we call “those” misses “movie” kisses…because Leah did try to give us open-mouthed kisses after seeing Enchanted.

If I had money to burn, I’d go see it again tomorrow. We will absolutely be buying the DVD as soon as it is released!