High School Musical 2: Extended Edition
Ratings (out of five)
- Movie: 4
- Audio: 4
- Video: 4
- Goodies: 4
- Interface: 4
- Value: 4
Specifications
- Suggested retail price: 29.99
- Feature run time: 111 minutes
- Aspect ratio: full frame 1.33.1
- Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
The Movie
The gang at East High is out of school for the summer. Scheming drama queen Sharpay (Ashley Tisdale) decides on a whim that Troy, basketball star and “special friend” of Gabriella, should be her boyfriend and singing partner at the local country club’s summer talent show. She arranges for Troy (Zac Efron) to get a job at the country club, but soon the whole Wildcat student body is working there as well (who knew basketball players had such mad cooking skillz?) To keep Troy at her side, Sharpay makes him an offer she thinks he can’t refuse—a chance at a college basketball scholarship—forcing Troy to choose between his friends and his future. Or does he have to choose? Hmmm, sound like the perfect time to break into song.
To most Disney Channel fans, HSM2 was the event of the summer, and over 17 million viewers tuned in on August 17 to see if the sequel was half as good as the beloved original movie. On its debut night, HSM racked up some pretty impressive stats: it now ranks as the most-watched cable program of all time, and the most watched program across the board among kids 6-14 years old. In addition, the HSM2 soundtrack debuted at no.1 on the Billboard 200 album chart, a first for a TV movie soundtrack. But is the movie any good, or is it just coasting on the success of the first movie?
The good news is that HSM2 stands on its own as a quality movie. The songs are just as catchy as in the first film, and the dancing is even better. A couple of the numbers, “I don’t dance” and “what time is it,” are honest-to-goodness showstoppers. Aside from a few plot irritations—why does Sharpay go from bratty girl to sweet girl in the first movie and then change back to super-bratty girl in the second movie? And why are the kids so quick to forgive and forget her bad behavior, especially since she never comes out and apologizes to them? Oh that’s right, it’s a pretend movie.
Most of the other characters and plot points are palatable; Sharpay’s brother Ryan (Lucas Grabeel) emerges as a star in his own right, as his character undergoes a fun transformation while singing and dancing up a storm. The romance between Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens) and Troy is refreshingly restrained, with a little kiss at the end to seal their reconciliation. Director Kenny Ortega is in his element on the Disney Channel, delivering upbeat, non-threatening entertainment with a positive message for kids, and HSM2 succeeds on all levels. The extended edition aspect of HSM2 is an added scene and song worked into the movie. The song, “Humuhumunukunukua’pua’a” (try transcribing that song title under one minute—I dare you) was included in the HSM2 soundtrack but never appeared in the TV telecast. It’s a fun little scene with Sharpay demonstrating her talent show number for Troy with Ryan and a host of Polynesian-costumed extras. The song was released on the soundtrack, so most fans are already familiar with the tune, and should be pleased with the scene added back into the film.
The Goodies
Sing Along with HSM2
This is an easy way to see the best part of the movie—the song and dance numbers—and have a lyrical cheat sheet on the bottom of the screen. You can choose “play all” to run through each song.
High School Musical Karaoke
This feature is formatted in the same way as the Sing Along option, but with a twist. All the vocals in the musical numbers have been removed so you can have a karaoke experience. The lyrics are arranged in the same way as in the Sing Along version.
Rehearsal Cam
Kenny Ortega introduces this special feature and explains the options for viewing the rehearsal footage. If you choose the “bounce” option, the rehearsal footage will run first, then the finished version of the song number plays directly afterwards. There is also an option for the rehearsal footage alone. This is one of the best features of the DVD, as it shows each step of the rehearsal process and how the dancers and actors worked with the director and choreographers on each step to perfect the numbers for filming.
Bloopers
The standard blooper reel, mainly featuring the young cast making silly faces. My favorite clip shows Sharpay’s dad hitting a golf-ball right into his movie-wife’s chest, hard. Funny in an “America’s Funniest Home Video” kind of way.
Music Videos
The music videos included on the disc are not your standard Disney Channel star-wants-to-make-a-music-video dreck. Canadian Nikki Yanofsky has two versions of “Gotta Go My Own Way” included, first in French, and again in English. There is also a Spanish language version of “You Are the Music in Me,” as well as the original version from the movie. All four videos include clips of the film. The French and Spanish versions are the most interesting to listen to, but none have stellar production values. However, I appreciated the different approach to the “Music and More” section of the bonus features.
Audio, Video and Interface
My only complaint with HSM2 when I first viewed it on the Disney Channel was the horrendously poor quality of the audio portions of the musical numbers. When the characters would head into their musical numbers, the quality of the audio would markedly drop. The soloists seemed to be lost in a sea of background singers and tinny instrumentals. I had to walk out of the room a few times it irritated me so much. The key to a successful movie musical is that the audience never really notices when the character transitions from dialogue to song—it should be so seamless that the viewer is carried along with the character’s convictions and inner thoughts and accepts it all being put to music. With the poor audio quality during the debut telecast, the seamless quality ground to a screeching halt.
Reviewing the DVD, I was so happy to hear the wonderful quality of the DVD Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. Each character’s voice is singled out loud and clear during their solos, and the transitions are now perfectly unobtrusive. The DVD is presented in 1.33.1 aspect ratio and looks much the same as it did when it first aired on the Disney Channel, minus the commercial breaks.
The Final Evaluation
There are only a few things that would make HSM2: Extended Edition a better value and a better DVD release. I would have enjoyed a commentary option featuring Kenny Ortega and perhaps the choreographers. And would it have hurt to include “The Road to High School Musical,” the short features used as previews to the premiere of the movie on the Disney Channel? And how about footage of the world premiere party at the Disneyland Resort? Don’t get me wrong—this is an excellent DVD package—much improved over the first DVD release of the original High School Musical. However, I just spent several days enjoying the bonus features on another movie musical DVD release—Hairspray—and I must say that the Disney Channel has a ways to go to satisfy their HSM fans the way that the Hairspray franchise has. Regardless, I consider the HSM2: Extended Version a worthwhile purchase and a nifty stocking stuffer for the East High fan in your life.
