On the evening before my 26th birthday, I told my housemate that all I wanted to do was watch High School Musical 3. It’s my favorite of the trilogy — not only because it’s the best, IMO, but because I remember watching it in the theater shortly after my 10th birthday. (If that makes you feel old, join the club).
Like many of my fellow elder Gen Zs, the High School Musical movies were a massive part of my childhood, and for many years, I — now a professional pop culture expert — have claimed to know literally everything about the franchise.
That was until I read Disney High by Ashley Spencer — the book that details the making of the iconic shows and movies we grew up watching on Disney Channel — and I was left simply stunned by some of the behind-the-scenes details I discovered for the first time.
