Disney has released three new character posters for High School Musical 3… and they’re autographed. Literally, the casts’ signatures adorn the posters. The last time I remember seeing cast signatures on an actual movie or its marketing materials, it was at the end of Star Trek VI, when Shatner, Nimoy, Kelly and the rest said goodbye to one of the biggest, longest-running franchises of all time. When those credits rolled, we were saying goodbye to legends, and somehow their signatures flashing up on screen meant something.
And then there’s High School Musical 3. I know it’s a big deal and all… but it’s a big deal for kids under 15. Should they really be splashing the actors’ autographs all over the marketing materials as if they’re some sort of legendary, mythical cast? I mean, it’s Vanessa freakin Hudgins, not Peter O’Toole or even William Shatner. What the heck do I know though, I’m not a parent and I’m over 30. I suppose that makes me completely irrelevant, but I can’t help longing for the days when kids wanted to grow up so they could watch cool adult entertainment, as opposed to now when adults are thrown by the wayside to market everything to kids. It’s a strange world. Here’s the new posters:
