Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		3.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		2.0

High School Musical Blu-ray Movie Review

Cultural phenomenon or sign of the apocalypse?

Reviewed by Ben Williams February 28, 2009

January 20th remains a profound date for a good number of people around the world, for a variety of different reasons. Some might choose to remember the date to mourn the deaths of Audrey Hepburn, Al Hirshfeld or King George V of the United Kingdom, while others highlight this historic date to celebrate the birthdays of Buzz Aldrin, DeForest Kelley or Federico Fellini. Still, I’m sure many hoist a glass to remember that January 20th, 1265 was the date in which the English parliament first met; Americans choose the 20th to toast the inauguration of their favorite presidents. There is, however, a seedier side to January 20th; one that confounds and confuses, while making me feel like an old, out of touch codger. That’s right, history buffs; High School Musical was first released on video on January 20, 2006.

Unsure of how to weigh the historical implications of this extraordinarily coincidental date, I’ve enlisted the help of my 9-year-old niece, Stephanie, to help decipher the impenetrable appeal of High School Musical. Stephanie would hold the key to understanding this cultural phenomenon that is being supported solely by the untold billions of babysitting dollars changing hands in this country. Soaking up High School Musical by the ton, Stephanie is an apex predator who devours every factoid and tidbit of HSM goodness. Stephanie isn’t exactly a film buff; when pressed to complete a film proficiency test, she incorrectly placed Orson Welles as the High School Principal from Mean Girls, while writing in her answer of “Paris Hilton” as the Director of Photography for Fitzcarraldo. While the Werner Herzog section of the test turned out to be a complete disaster, she did, surprisingly, indicate an appreciation for Darren Aronofsky films. Go figure.

Think of this list as a ransom note for your sanity.

Stephanie was very annoyed when I confessed to her that I didn’t know the plot of High School Musical. “What are you, dumb or something? It’s like this; Troy (Zac Efron) and Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens) are singing together, doing karaoke and skiing. Then they have to go home and they miss each other. Zac is so cute and he plays basketball. Then, Gabriella shows up at his school and they fall in love and try to get in the musical at school. Sharpay (Ashley Tisdale) is mean to them and her brother Ryan (Lucas Grabeel) is mean too. But then they all get along fine and everything is okay. They dance a lot and the songs are the best.”

Having seen the movie, I really couldn’t have said it any better, actually.

While short on real plot and long on dance numbers and songs, High School Musical plods along with little regard for adult viewers in the room. Kids, on the other hand, seem to be transported into another dimension during the course of the movie. There’s certainly nothing wrong with that, it’s all presented in a crisp and clean manner that is age appropriate and well meaning. Stephanie has, by her own count, seen High School Musical and its sequels, “Thousands of times, seriously.” So, replay value is pretty high.

One warning to those who might interfere with the viewing of High School Musical: don’t even think about bothering a kid while they are in the throws of miming the film’s dance moves and singing along. When I haphazardly asked Stephanie if the movie was almost over, I was met with a sharp “Please! Stop interrupting! This is the best part!” You’d be well served to just disappear into a wall or something and let the kids do their thing. This isn’t for you, after all.

High School Musical Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

High School Musical looks almost exactly like you'd expect it to; it's colorful, overblown and somewhat plain, while showing definite signs of its limited budget. There's not much to crow about here, but Disney has done the best that they could, considering the source material. Purists will enjoy the AVC Mpeg-4 encode in the flick's original aspect ratio of 1.78:1. Don't be surprised, however, if the film's target audience couldn't care less about these specs. "What are you talking about?" was Stephanie's response to my reading the specs aloud. "Can you just hit play, please?"

Stephanie did, however, seem to appreciate the improved colors and widescreen presentation of High School Musical. "This looks great! Did you steal this from the movie theater?" she asked, with a level of seriousness that frightened me. No matter, she was pleased. Ultimately, the most discerning videophile tweens should be thrilled with High School Musical on Blu-ray. Why wouldn't they?

High School Musical Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Upon explaining the audio specifications of High School Musical to Stephanie, she maintained an air of being unimpressed. "Aren't you excited that this is being presented in Uncompressed PCM 5.1, Stephanie? Isn't it your favorite audio standard?" My questions were intercepted with a stern look of indifference and obvious impatience. "Let me have the remote," was her only comment, one that indicated her obvious displeasure at my delaying the start of the movie. So, off we went, to a world of musical basketball teams and dancing in the school cafeteria. Stephanie was clearly in heaven, "Turn it up! This is so cool!" were her only vocal responses to the sound while she mimicked the dance moves perfectly and sang along loudly.

Frankly, I've heard better surround tracks in my time. Music is front loaded and surround usage is light. Perhaps the low budget origins of High School Musical limited the fidelity of what my system was reproducing, but Stephanie didn't seem to notice. Dialogue and vocals in the musical numbers were handled as well as could be expected. Stephanie agrees, adding: "rewind that… I asked you for the remote once. Why do you insist on keeping it?"

High School Musical Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Here's what's included:

-Sing-Along with the Movie
-"Bringing It All Together"
-"A High School Musical Reunion"
-"Learning the Moves"
-"Disney Channel Dance-Alongs"
-"The Hollywood Premiere"
-Music Videos

Stephanie was thrilled at the "sing-along" feature and spent an unholy amount of time replaying her favorite numbers from the film while belting out the numbers as though she had been born to sing them. She wasn't as interested in the "Hollywood Premier," and "Bringing it all Together" featurettes; they were a bit too talky and behind the scenes for her tastes. "Learning the Movies" and "Dance-alongs," however, proved to be very popular. As for me, I had entered what is known as the "alpha-state" by this point and was relegated to shallow breathing and lowered body temperatures.

High School Musical Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

High School Musical is a challenging flick that tested my patience, sanity and willpower to continue to maintain a home theater. Stephanie, on the other hand, was overjoyed with being given yet another opportunity to experience her favorite movie on a big screen with surround sound. "This is just awesome," she kept exclaiming, while blissfully unaware of my near coma and rapidly falling heart rate. Ultimately, I did recover relatively quickly from the experience; the pain was short-lived and worthwhile, especially considering Stephanie's joy at seeing her favorite movie. Very rarely can we put a price on the happiness of a child. In this case, that price is $23.99 from the link listed above; you know what you have to do, parents.

Adjusted ratings for High School Musical fans: All 5s, across the board.
For parents and others who happen to be in the room: Take a valium.