Disney scores huge hit with "High School Musical"

After seeing those cheesy - yet intriguing - trailers before the movie first aired on the Disney Channel in January, who would have thought "High School Musical" would become such a phenomenon?

Even Rich Ross, president of Disney Channel Worldwide, found the movie's tremendous appeal remarkable.

"The indicator was when we went to iTunes and we saw that the album had gone to number one on iTunes and on amazon.com - and this was an album that launched at number 83 on the Billboard chart," Ross said. "So we thought, 'Something is going on."

The movie's theme is what makes it resound so well with audiences regardless of their age, said Disney Media Networks Co-Chairman Anne Sweeney.

"I think 'High School Musical' has really caught on not just with the 'tween audience but with their parents as well because it's a universal theme," Sweeney said. "It's the theme of acceptance - the theme of valuing other people's differences. And I think it resonates with people of all ages."

Now six months after the movie's first airing, "High School Musical" is the No. 1 DVD in the country, while its soundtrack has gone double platinum.

In addition, Disney plans to air local language versions of the movie in a hundred foreign markets, while a stage production and a sequel are already in development.