As an 18 year old girl, its not my favorite movie. But I'll admit, when I watched it countless times with the kids i babysit, I couldn't help getting the songs stuck in my head. It's cute. And what's wrong with a movie geared for kids that's fun, clean and a hit? I'm going to assume that most most people who claim to hate it are over the target audience age. Did anyone expect a Disney channel original movie to be made that had a great, unpredictable story plot with excellent acting? When Life is Ruff, and the Cheetah Girls and the countless other DCOM came out with the sme quality plot and acting, no one complained. They didn't get the same publicity, but it's for a good reason. These movies didnt hit the success that HSM did. So no one jumped on the we hate this movie bandwagon.
Despite what people over the age of 13 think, the movie was great. It was great for Disney, it was great for kids, and it was great for parents who wanted a fun movie for their kids to watch. Hey, I'd prefer High School Musical over any Mary Kate and Ashley or Lindsey Lohan movie any day (the other types of movie made for HSM's audience).
Disney did something right with HSM. It was one of the Disney Channel's biggest hits in its history, and it made the company lots of money. Why not sell merchandise and have a show in the parks? (one moving show is in no way comparable to stitch's attraction) I think all the HSM hype is deserved. People here seem to forget that the parks are also for little kids, who light up when they see their favorite characters from tv. It's not just for Disney purists.
(oh and despite all my HSM support, Kenny Ortega (the choreographer) in my mind will always be the guy who brought newsies to dancing life. making high school kids dance is only second)