'Once a Wildcat, always a Wildcat': Vanessa Hudgens visits 'High School Musical' original filming location
Vanessa Hudgens has returned to East High School—at least for the 'gram.
In an Instagram video posted on June 27, Hudgens, who played Gabriella Montez in the High School Musical trilogy, brought the Wildcat spirit back to life as she is seen walking on the original set of the 2006 movie with the song Breaking Free as background music.
The Filipino-American actress captioned the post with one of her character's lines in the movie: "Do you remember in kindergarten how you'd meet a kid and know nothing about them, then 10 seconds later you're playing like you're best friends because you didn't have to be anything but yourself?"
As the Disney Channel original first aired sixteen years ago, fans were quick to express how they were hit with nostalgia. Happy and "misty-eyed" users who wrote “iconic” comments also flooded the post with a wave of crying and heart emojis, expressing their happiness over Hudgen’s return to the Wildcats’ haven.
To quote one Instagram user, “Once a Wildcat, always a Wildcat” indeed.
In an interview with Kelly Clarkson for The Kelly Clarkson Show, the singer-actress talked about why she thinks the HSM franchise is still popular to the younger generation.
“It’s so crazy because it continues to live on for generations,” she said. “That’s like the magic of musicals though. Musicals just have this legacy about them — they don’t go out of style.”
The High School Musical movie was followed by the 2007 sequel High School Musical 2 and High School Musical 3: Senior Year in 2008.
Eight years after the original trilogy, the High School Musical: The Musical: The Series came out with a brand new set of promising stars like Fil-Am pop singer Olivia Rodrigo and actor Joshua Bassett.