Kenny Ortega team
"High School Musical 2", one of the most iconic Disney Channel movies in the renowned "High School Musical" series.
Summer is just around the corner, and with it, the possibility of making fun memories with friends and family. However, modern teens have reportedly been staying inside more often during the summertime, failing to accumulate stories of high school life. If you find yourself sitting on the couch this summer, throw on a fun, warm-weather movie. It might inspire you to call your friends, make plans, and have the teen summer of your childhood dreams. Here are some movies to put on after school ends to maximize your experience:
Some of the most classic summer movies can be found on Disney Channel, filmed in the late 2000s and early 2010s. One example is the iconic second film in the High School Musical series. It follows Troy and Gabriella during the summer after the first film, where they begin working at Sharpay’s country club. As Troy becomes interested in college plans, he separates from Gabriella, creating an adventurous, musical, and romantic movie to watch as preparation for a fun summer. For a more beachy vibe, Teen Beach Movie tells the story of teenagers sent back in time, finding themselves in a real-life version of their favorite 1960s teen movie. As their presence begins to disrupt the movie plot, the teens must try to fix the storyline and return home. This film is perfect to inspire you to go to the beach or take a trip to the ocean. The style and music in the movie create an ideal vintage setting for a warm summer day. Lastly, Camp Rock is a Disney Channel fan favorite with the iconic teen idols, Demi Lovato and Joe Jonas. It is an underdog story about a girl who wants to go to rock camp but can only get in by working in the kitchen. When a pop star overhears her singing, she gets to prove herself as someone with real talent. All three of these films provoke nostalgia and inspire a summer that emphasizes friendship, love, and fun.
Beyond Disney Channel cinema, teen summer films rose significantly in popularity in the late 20th century. Universal Pictures’ Dazed and Confused, for example, is a story of high school juniors preparing for their senior year and initiating the incoming freshmen in 1976. The movie covers the nostalgic component of summer, where all of the teens feel themselves moving quickly into adulthood with fond memories of their younger years. This film perfectly represents 70s teen life, style, and aesthetic, making it one of the most widely known high school movies of its time. Because it takes place immediately after the school year ends, it is a perfect film to watch on the last day of school this year.
Another 20th-century film, Dirty Dancing, starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, was hugely popular in the summer of ’87. This story follows a young girl hoping to make the best of her summer vacation, but she gets stuck spending the months at a boring resort with her parents. Luckily, the resort’s dance instructor requests that she perform in the yearly dance recital as his partner, which livens up the drab summer. The two quickly fall in love and spark an exciting forbidden romance as he teaches her how to dance. This movie was iconic in the 80s, and it still holds up today with its original soundtrack and teen idols. Dirty Dancing is a perfect movie to inspire you to take on new opportunities and try new things that will get you out of your comfort zone.
The ’90s saw a drastic rise in teen horror movies, meaning that I Know What You Did Last Summer was one of the most viewed films in the summer of ’98. The film starred all of the most famous young actors of the time, including Sarah Michelle Gellar, Freddie Prinze Jr., Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Ryan Phillippe. The actors played four friends who accidentally run over a fisherman and dump him in a lake to avoid being caught. Throughout the film, they are sent mysterious warning signs signaling that someone witnessed their crime. While trying to find the sender, the friends are tormented by an unknown man with a fishhook as they try to discover who is responsible for these attacks. This is a great movie to watch if you are looking for something a little scary to prepare for summer, rather than an average high school movie. Other films along this line include It (2017) and The Lost Boys.
Hopefully, this stretch of films will allow you to have entertaining movie nights, fun beach days, and captivating summer adventures!