To quote Al Pacino (sorta), “Just when I think I’m done reviewing High School Musical, they pull me back in!” Insert rimshot here.
But seriously, with High School Musical 3 coming to theaters soon Disney wastes no time in getting another DVD version into stores to build up the excitement for the big theatrical premiere.
Summer vacation is nearly here and the High School Musical gang is watching the clock tick down till schools out. Young lovers Troy Bolton (Zac Efron) and Gabriella Montez (Vanessa Hudgens) have big plans for the summer, but first everyone has to get summer jobs to fund those plans.
Sharpay (Ashley Tisdale) and Ryan (Lucas Grabeel) Evans head to the Lava Springs Country Club, on which their family is the board of directors, where they usually spend their summers.
Sharpay has other plans in mind though and informs the manager Mr. Fulton (Mark L. Taylor) to make sure that Troy is hired on at the club “at any cost.” The cost turns out to be, to Sharpay’s shock, that her schoolmates all get jobs at the club. So her rival Gabriella, Taylor (Monique Coleman), Chad (Corbin Bleu), Zeke (Chris Warren Jr.), Kelsi (Olesya Rulin) and the rest all show up at the club.
Things aren’t much different than high school in that Sharpay is the predetermined winner of the Razzle Dazzle Award, an award given at the club’s talent show. Not only does she want to steal Troy from Gabriella, but she also wants to have Troy be her partner in the talent show and uses her parent’s influence to bait Troy with promises of a brighter future.
His pals start to dislike the new Troy and can he turn things around before he loses Gabriella and his friends?
This is the second release of Disney’s hit television movie franchise. With the next chapter, High School Musical 3: Senior Year, hitting theaters soon it’s time to try and cash in on another release.
The first disc is identical to the first release and the second disc’s major selling point is the preview for the theatrical part three as well as a free ticket to see the film. This release only continues the usual pattern as Disney releases an edition with more special features after their first release, especially when it comes to a moneymaker like High School Musical.
The film is strangely addicting and features some great music, although the performances are rather broad.
High School Musical 2 is presented in fullscreen as it was shown on television. As I said before disc one is basically what was released before. Disc one includes 4 minutes of bloopers.
The “Music and More” sections contains the extended scene separately and some music videos. The 5-minute “Humuhumunukunukuapua’a” is the Hawaiian themed show that Sharpay puts on. The 3 minute “You are the Music in Me” is a music video lifted directly from the film.
The next is a 3 minute “You are the Music in Me” done for Spanish audiences with different performers. There are also two 3-minute versions of “Gotta Go My Own Way” for Canadian markets in both English and French. This section also gathers all the songs from the film in the “Sing Along with the Movie” option and you can put Karaoke lyrics on the songs during the movie.
The “Backstage Disney” section starts off with 35 minutes of rehearsal cam footage with an introduction by director Kenny Ortega. You can also activate the “jump to movie” feature, which shows the completed sequence after you watch the rehearsal footage. There’s also a 2-minute “Phineas and Ferb Sneak Peek” introduced by Ashley Tisdale (who also stars in the show).
There are also some sneak peeks at other Disney products. Disc two is where the new stuff begins, kinda. All of this appears to have been made around the time of one of the airings of the show on the Disney Channel. First up are 4 minutes of deleted scenes. The “Music and more” section has the “Dance Along” segments from the Disney Channel that has the cast teaching you some dance steps. Next is a 4 minute music video for “All of me.”
Finally there are 24 minutes of music videos from around the globe by performers from different countries with a 42 second introduction by director Kenny Ortega. The “Backstage Disney” section contains a digital scrapbook with around 27 minutes of featurettes, a quiz, and a photo gallery. Next is the 5-minute “Making of Humuhumunukunukuapua’a.”
The 4 minute “Cast Favorites” has the cast going through a list of their favorite movies, stars, etc. The 4 minute each “On Location” and “In the Kitchen” looks at some behind-the-scenes footage. The main feature that fans will be looking for is the 3 minute “Sneak Peek at High School Musical 3” and the case also contains a free ticket to see the film when it opens in theaters.
High School Musical 2 is still a fun film. However, I wonder how long fans will continue to buy up the merchandise as it falls into a certain pattern. I guess it depends on how dedicated a fan you are.
This edition is a fine two-disc release, but you get the impression that all of the special features could’ve been on the first DVD release (they all appear to be shot at the same time as the stuff on disc one) but Disney Marketing held off to milk some more cash.
High School Musical 2: Deluxe Dance Edition is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for this version of the DVD in the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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