The Critic's Corner #3

As promised, The Critic's Corner is back. This is one we borrowed on DVD recently.

Sky High
Walt Disney Pictures, 2005
PG
100 minutes
available on DVD

Michael Angarano, Kurt Russell, Kelly Preston

Young Will Stronghold (Angarano), son of legendary heroes The Commander (Russell) and Jetstream (Preston), carries lofty expectations as he enters Sky High, a secret high-tech high school in the clouds where the students have super-human powers, arrive at school on a flying bus, and are divided into Heroes and Sidekicks. Unfortunately, Will’s own superpowers have yet to make themselves known, and he finds himself relegated to being a mere Sidekick, something his ultra-Hero father has a hard time accepting.

Trying to find a balance between being a normal teenager and an extraordinary being, Will must somehow survive his freshman year while dealing with an overbearing gym coach, a bully with super speed and a rebel with a grudge – and the ability to shoot fire from his hands. And of course, there’s the usual angst, parental expectations and girl problems that accompany teenage life. When an evil villain threatens his family, friends and the very sanctity of Sky High, Will must use his newfound superpowers to save the day and prove himself a Hero worthy of the family tradition.

Sky High is one of those special effects bonanzas that lives up to the expectations associated with the family films of Disney. There’s something for everyone – teenage romance, dramatic fight sequences and the classic coming of age backdrop as our young hero discovers his true strengths.

Being classified a Sidekick doesn’t start Will’s high school career quite as he anticipated, but the friends he makes in the “Hero Support” class turn out to have powers that, of course, become quite useful in the film’s final scenes, the ultimate confrontation between good and evil. Will learns that it takes loyalty and teamwork to truly become a hero, and his Sidekick friends learn that it doesn’t take super strength or heat vision to overcome a villain.

Disney Channel regular and current Shark (James Woods, CBS Fridays) costar Danielle Panabaker is Will’s loyal, label-eschewing best friend Layla, who can make plants grow telepathically. At “Power Placement” on the first day of school, Layla refuses to demonstrate her heroic ability and is unceremoniously dumped into the Sidekick class. Panabaker’s sweet, smart-girl charm is appealing, and a nice balance for Angarano’s goofy albeit puppy-dog cute character.

For Russell and Preston, the film is a nice change of pace – low-key and cheesey, and chock full of the family value “life lessons” so prevalent in most Disney flicks. The story is your typical hero-versus-villain fare, but with its clever gadgetry, special effects and quirky alternative superpowers possessed by its characters, Sky High is cute enough for the rental and worth spending a couple of hours with the kids and a bowl of popcorn.

=) JB