| High School Musical: el desafío | |
| Director: | Eduardo Ripari |
| Starring: |
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| Music: |
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| Cinematography: | Marcelo Iaccarino |
| Editing: | Juan Carlos Macías |
| Studio: |
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| Distributor: | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |
| Runtime: | 103 minutes |
| Country: | Mexico |
| Language: | Spanish |
High School Musical: el desafío is a spin-off film, to the High School Musical franchise. It is one of three feature film adaptations of a script written by Pablo Lago and Susana Cardozo and based on the book Battle of the Bands. The film stars the finalists of the reality television High School Musical: La Selección competition series, created with participation of the musical duo Jesse & Joy. To coincide with the Mexican target audience, some of the soundtrack is of the reggaeton genre.
High School Musical: el desafío premiered in Mexico on September 5, 2008. The premiere was held on August 24, 2008, at the Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City.
Cristóbal (Cristóbal Orellana), the captain of the school football team, "Los Borregos", discovers that his neighbor and classmate, Mariana (Mariana Magaña), has changed a lot over the summer. Meanwhile, Luli (Mar Contreras) is still as vain as ever and overshadows her poor brother, Fernando (Fernando Soberanes), and his companions, whom she refers to as "The Invisibles." A new school year begins at High School Mexico (HSM, initially interpreted), and the school has announced a "Battle of the Bands" contest hosted by Jesse & Joy. Working against the clock and with limited resources, the guys put forces for the big day. Cristobal, Mariana, and a few of their peers, come together and form a band called "Fair Play". In an effort to win, Luli dares the impossible task of separating Cristobal from his friends. But only one band will be the winner; the one who understands that teamwork, personal development, and hard work will make them better artists and also better people.
| Main Cast | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Actor | Character | Parallel | Notes | |
| Cristóbal Rodríguez | Troy Bolton | Soccer team captain for the Borregos. | ||
| Mariana Magaña | Mariana Galindo | Gabriella Montez | Shy and brainy, Mariana is also a talented singer. | |
| Luli Casas Del Campo | Sharpay Evans | Fernando's fraternal twin sister; the undisputed star of the school. | ||
| Fernando Soberanes | Fernando Casas Del Campo | Ryan Evans | Luli's fraternal twin brother who acts as her lackey until he's recruited to choreograph for Cristobal's band. | |
| Jorge | Chad Danforth | Cristóbal's best friend | ||
| Supporting Cast | ||||
| Actor | Character | Parallel | Notes | |
| Fabiola Paulin | Faby | Taylor McKessie | ||
| Juan Carlos | Jason Cross | |||
| César Viramontes | César | Zeke Baylor | He is a cook | |
| Paulina Holguin | Pau | Emma | A member of Luli's clique | |
| Carolina Ayala | Caroline | |||
| Mr. Rodrigues | Jack Bolton | The father of Cristobal. | ||
| Mrs. Galindo | Lisa Montez | The mother of Mariana. | ||
| Mrs. Casas Del Campo | Darby Evans | The mother of Luli and Fernando. | ||
| Victor Martin Hugg | Mr. Casas Del Campo | Vance Evans | The father of Luli and Fernando. | |
| Mr. Guerrero | Principal Matsui | The school principal. | ||
| Angelina | ||||
| Joy | ||||
| Jesse | ||||
| Marifé | ||||
| Roger González | Cook | |||
| Stephie Camarena | Stephie | |||
The film's soundtrack was released on August 15, 2008, and features the same songs composed by Fernando López Rossi for the Argentine incarnation, but with different arrangements (e.g. reggaeton). The soundtrack also includes a cover of "Dime Ven" from Mexican band Motel and the song "La Vida Es Una Aventura", performed by Jesse & Joy.
The DVD was released on December 2, 2008, five months sooner than previously advertised.
High School Musical: el desafío was transcribed into a novel, and was released by Random House. The book contains 8 pages of stills from the film.