Vanessa Hudgens closer to 'graduation'

At 20, Vanessa Hudgens is finally ready to "graduate" from high school -- and "High School Musical." The Disney starlet is stretching, looking for challenging work and hoping to bring her audience with her.

She knows that it's a long way from "HSM" good-girl Gabriella to Blondie, her character in "Sucker Punch," set to film this fall. That 2011 release has been described as "Alice in Wonderland ... with machine guns," by its director, Zack Snyder ("300," "Watchmen"). 

She sounds nervous but excited as she pitches "Sucker Punch" -- "It's basically about a group of girls who undergo a journey while they are at a brothel. My character's name is Blondie. She's kind of the tough one, you know. It's very serious, kind of edgy. I'm going to have to control my laughter. I've never played a tough girl before."