Disney / Buena Vista | 2011 | 89 min | PG
While they were in theaters I consciously avoided the High School Musical franchise, fearing an all out assault on my musical sensibilities. When I finally viewed the trilogy on DVD and Blu-ray, I was pleasantly surprised. They turned out to be a fun, even exciting experience. These kids could dance; and while they weren’t the best singers in the world they were having a great time. While Vanessa Hudgens has parlayed that success into a series of roles in awful films (Beastly, Sucker Punch), and Zac Efron looks to gain adult credibility in indie cinema, Ashley Tisdale is content to continue with the adventures of Sharpay. This time, she tries to make her mark on the Great White Way.
After yet another successful local showcase of her talents, Sharpay (Tisdale) is approached by a New York casting agent. With her parents’ reluctant blessing, Sharpay chases an invitation to star in an upcoming musical. However, when the acting offer isn’t quite what she imagined, Sharpay is forced to rough it in New York City, battling to get her dog Boi, in a show, despite stiff competition from pre-teen Roger (Bradley Steven Perry) and his trained pooch. Facing the wrath of the show’s star (Cameron Goodman), and a friendship with film student Peyton (Austin Butler), Sharpay is left confused, fearing her dreams will never come true.
The script by Robert Horn has about half a dozen funny lines to stretch over the almost ninety-minute film (for example, a Murphy bed is described as a “closet with a tongue”) with a few yawn-inducing musical numbers sprinkled throughout. Oddly, the music seems uninspired and a bit forced. Since this film was produced by the same folks responsible for High School Musical, I would have expected the musical numbers to be a high point. Tisdale’s singing is thin; she doesn’t have the voice of a diva to go along with her character. Worse yet, the story is painfully predictable. The dogs fall in love, and Sharpay and her guardian angel Peyton have a falling out, before realizing they have feelings for each other. The tween audience for whom this was made may likely find it exciting and fun, but there is very little here for anyone past the preteen years.
Director Michael Lembeck (Tooth Fairy) could have injected a little more energy into the proceedings, and the script conveniently forgets that when we last left Sharpay’s brother, Ryan, he was off to study at Julliard, so the mother racking her brain to come up with a New York contact for her daughter seemed odd. Continuity in a film series is always a good thing, and I’m sure the audience for these films will be aware of the lapses.
Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure comes to Blu-ray presented in anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen, and it looks very good in HD. The pinks are vivid, and detail is such that you can see individual hairs on the blonde wig that Tisdale wore throughout the film. I saw no compression artifacts, and viewers ought to be pleased with the overall look of the film.
We get a English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, and it does a good job of handling the musical scenes. But early in the film the voice levels are ramped down so much that you think there’s something wrong with the sound and have to turn it up. Later in the film as well the musical performances and segues are so loud that some in your family will reach for the volume control, and then you’ll have to fidget with it again when someone else can’t hear the dialogue that comes in afterwards. That said, the tonal quality is good. Additional audio options are in Spanish and French Dolby Digital 5.1, with subtitles in English SDH, French, and Spanish.
Aside from a standard DVD, we get a limited package of special features:
- The Evolution of Sharpay (HD, 9 minutes): Ashley Tisdale discusses her character’s growth, personality, snarky comebacks and first steps into the HSM spotlight in this clip-heavy EPK.
- Austin Cam (HD, 7 minutes): Actor Austin Butler grabs a high definition camera and stalks his fellow cast and crew members on set, shots from which appear throughout the film itself.
- Bloopers (HD, 1 minute): This outtake reel’s lone saving grace is its short length.
- Discover Blu-ray 3D (HD, 4 minutes): Timon and Pumbaa introduce the wonders of 3D… in 2D.
- Sneak Peeks (HD): Trailers, TV promos and quick sneak peeks are included for The Lion King, The Fox and the Hound and The Fox and the Hound 2, Bambi II, Prom, Cars 2, Shake It Up and Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension.
