High School Musical: El Desafío is a spin-off of the American film High School Musical for the Argentine market, based on the book Battle of the Bands. It began filming in February 2008 and it is the first Disney-branded feature film made in Latin America. The movie has a script created specifically for the cinema and an original plotline. Eight new songs have been produced exclusively for the movie. In addition to these songs, Alejandro Lerner also composed the main theme, which he performed, and which is played during the closing credits.
The roles in the movie are played by the winners and finalists of the Argentine TV program High School Musical: La Selección: Agus, Fer, Delfi, Walter, Gastón, Vale, Sofi and Juanchi. It also has the special participation of Andrea del Boca, Adriana Salonia, Peter McFarlane and the debut in a film of Liz Solari. The movie arrived in Argentine theaters on July 17, 2008, reaching in its debut week second place in the national box-office charts.