High School Musical 2: Extended Edition (Blu-ray)
Directed by Kenny Ortega
Studio: Disney
Year: 2007
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 1080p AVC codec
Running Time: 111 minutes
Rating: TV-G
Audio: PCM 5.1 English, Dolby Digital 5.1 English, Spanish, French
Subtitles: SDH, Spanish, French
MSRP: $34.99
Release Date: December 11, 2007
Review Date: December 6, 2007
The Film
3.5/5
High School Musical has been a genuine phenomenon for Disney. Conceived as a light preteen entertainment for the Disney Channel viewership, its huge acceptance through all age groups took everyone by surprise. The soundtrack album became the biggest selling CD of 2006. The TV-movie scored ever higher ratings every time Disney replayed it. A concert tour featuring almost all of the original cast sold out venues with numbers that only rock acts could dream of attaining. The DVD sold millions and was quickly double-dipped by Disney for more millions in sales. The Disney marketing arm quickly spread the word through linens, lunchboxes, toys, and games. And, of course, almost every high school in the country requested licensing rights to perform their own versions of the show.
No TV-movie in recent memory had been more anticipated than the sequel to the original film. Airing in August 2007, High School Musical 2 scored the highest rating for a non-sports entertainment program in the history of basic cable. By the end of the weekend when it first aired, more than forty million viewers had seen the further adventures of Troy, Gabriella, Sharpay, and all the gang. The soundtrack CD for the sequel now ranks as the biggest selling CD of 2007, and once again, Disney finds itself with another huge smash on its hands.
As films, both High School Musical romps hang a dozen songs each on the thinnest of storylines, but that’s obviously what makes them so appealing. The teens are attractive, polite and respectful to a fault (excepting the spoiled Sharpay who gets her gentle comeuppance and is accepted into the gang), and wildly talented: academically, athletically, and artistically. Director Kenny Ortega keeps things moving at a rapid clip so that there is seldom more than a few moments between musical numbers. It’s the key to the success of both of these modestly conceived but monumentally performed teen musicals. The makers know what they’ve got and pump up their assets to the max.
We’re back at East High at the beginning of High School Musical 2, but it’s the last day of school, and the teens are eager for summer adventures. For all of our cast who seem to be ending their junior years, they’ve got college in their futures and need to work during the summer to earn money to make college dreams possible. So, despite the title of the piece, most of the action apart from a dazzling opening number takes place away from school.
The film’s “villainess” Sharpay Evans (Ashley Tisdale) has decided that BMOC Troy Bolton (Zac Efron) is the boy who can make all her dreams come true, so she sees to it that her father’s country club Lava Springs hires Troy in a variety of capacities from golf tutor to waiter. True to his friends, Troy gets all of his pals jobs at the resort so they can all spend the summer together while he pursues dreams of his own with girl friend Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens). Troy’s natural gifts and sparkling personality greatly impress Sharpay’s father who puts in a good word with the board of the University of Albuquerque, and soon Troy is being wooed by the university’s basketball squad, much to the envy of his buddies who are still bussing tables back at Lava Springs. Also feeling left out is Sharpay’s twin brother Ryan (Lucas Grabeel) who had heretofore been Sharpay’s partner in their musical act but who now finds himself being ousted by his sister who wants talent plus romance as part of the act. Ryan, then, goes looking for friends among Troy’s dejected buddies.
It’s typical high school misunderstandings at play here, but no one is watching High School Musical 2 for the story (the first film had a much stronger plot). It’s the musical numbers that earn the lion’s share of attention, and in that regard, the film is a real winner. Emmy-winning choreographer Kenny Ortega has staged several dynamite sequences including elaborate production numbers in the kitchen (“Work This Out”), the baseball field (“I Don’t Dance,” the film’s best number), and the swimming pool (“All for One”). There’s one clunker, too, Sharpay’s over-the-top Hawaiian extravaganza “Humuhumunukunukua’pua’a” which has been added in its entirety to the DVD and Blu-ray releases as an extended scene.
All of the young cast who perform these numbers are hard-working and talented, so one regrets that engineers have decided to augment Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, and Ashley Tisdale’s vocals occasionally with synthesized enhancements that take the purity of their singing away and give it an overly manufactured and inert feel. (And it’s odd, too, that it isn’t always used. The duet “You Are the Music in Me” between Efron and Hudgens is simple and lovely.) The hyper-energetic dancing and constant movement which these young performers display is quite amazing and more than worth your attention and admiration.
Video Quality
4.5/5
The program is presented here in a 1.78:1 1080p transfer using the AVC codec. It’s a gorgeously candy-colored image that boasts remarkable sharpness and no noticeable artifacts. Most of the film takes place in bright daylight settings where colors are amped and flesh tones sometimes appear overly tan. The few nighttime scenes generally feature good blacks (but not always consistent blacks) and shadow detail that’s just fine. For a TV-movie, the film has an expensive look to it that’s well captured on Blu-ray. The movie has been divided into 20 chapters.
Audio Quality
4/5
The PCM 5.1 track (48 mHz/24 bit, 6.9 Mbps) does great service to the music with the orchestra and chorus pumped joyously through the surrounds and the featured singers rooted in the center channel. Bass in the music gets ample play in the subwoofer. Other opportunities for surround effects (golf, swimming, and basketball, all of which happen during the movie), however, aren’t exploited fully by using the surrounds.
Special Features
4/5
“Sing Along with High School Musical 2” offers the lyrics in subtitles for 12 songs performed during the film. There is a “Play All” feature or one can choose individual tunes to sing along with.
“High School Musical Karaoke” takes those same 12 songs and removes the lead vocals from the track and furnishes lyric subtitles allowing viewers at home to sing the leads in all of the songs in the movie. Again, one can choose to sing all the songs or make individual selections.
There is a 4-minute blooper reel (in 480i) in addition to the bloopers which play over the closing credits. It’s nice to see the young actors react so graciously and good naturedly to their gaffes.
The “Humuhumunukunukua’pua’a” sequence in its entirety is presented as a bonus feature. It is slightly longer here (5½ minutes) than in the finished film.
Two pairs of music videos are offered for two songs in the show. An American and a Mexican version of “You Are the Music in Me” and a French-Canadian and English-Canadian version of “Gotta Go My Own Way” are presented, the latter by Canadian singer Nikki Yanovsky.
The Rehearsal Cam feature takes 9 musical numbers in the movie and shows the cast working in rehearsal halls and occasionally on the actual set before filming actually begins. Each sequence shows from 3-5 minutes of rehearsal footage (mostly near the end of the rehearsal process after steps have been painstakingly learned) and allows the viewer to then jump to the finished number in the movie. By far the best extra in the set, this bonus shows the back-breaking work that these actors have put into making the smooth dance moves in the film look so effortless. The footage is presented in 480i, unfortunately.
As one of the voice cast, Ashley Tisdale introduces a 2-minute promotion for a new Disney Channel animated series Phineas and Ferb.
The Blu-ray offers trailers for the upcoming Underdog, Tinker Bell, and High School Musical: The Ice Tour. The trailer for High School Musical 2 is not offered in this set but has appeared on Disney DVDs for the past several months.
In Conclusion
4/5 (not an average)
Truly a movie that the entire family (especially the distaff members) can watch and enjoy, High School Musical 2 comes to Blu-ray in a sparkling, well produced video and audio package that’s sure to please.
Matt Hough
Charlotte, NC
