The
High School Musical franchise consists of three
Disney musical romantic comedy-drama films directed by
Kenny Ortega and created by
Peter Barsocchini. It stars
Zac Efron,
Vanessa Hudgens,
Ashley Tisdale,
Lucas Grabeel,
Corbin Bleu, and
Monique Coleman. The
original film was released simply as a
Disney Channel Original Movie, but after its huge success, it was followed by a
television sequel. The
third film received a theatrical release. Tisdale and Grabeel reprised their roles as Sharpay and Ryan Evans in a
spin-off on the series titled
Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure, it was a
direct to video film. Numerous international versions have been created, plus stage musicals and video games have been released, among other things.