SYNOPSIS:
Disney's Original Movie is bigger and better than ever with
awesome exclusive bonus features that will blow your mind. Think
you have the moves to groove with the East High Wildcats? Let
the stars show you what they've got in an interactive dance-along
that lets you control the action, and relive your favorite parts
of the movie with an incredible virtual scrapbook! It's the
movie you love and so much more! High School Musical 2: Deluxe
Dance Edition brings you inside the world of the Wildcats with
"Bigger, Better, Best" bonus features including deleted
scenes, a behind-the-scenes special and a first look at the
highly anticipated big-screen bash High School Musical 3: Senior
Year.
MOVIE REVIEW:
While this reviewer is counting down to the day when
the third movie of the musical experience of a generation
that is High School Musical (HSM) finally hits the big screen,
along comes this DVD of the franchise’s second movie
- a reissued two disc version nonetheless! And if his memory
hasn’t failed him, he remembers reviewing the “High
School Musical 2: Extended Edition” a while ago, so
what’s he to do with the “High School Musical
2: Extended Dance Edition” in his hands now?
Watch
it again, of course!
And
because he wants to provide a different review from the previous
one (you can click on the older review to read it again if
you are a real fan), he is inspired by his fellow columnist’s
style of including screen captures (we all want to make this
a more interesting read, don’t we?). So here we go –
introducing the colorful cast of the world of HSM:
First
up, we have the school heartthrob Troy Bolton, played by the
increasingly popular Zac Efron. The boy is so pretty, we seriously
can’t find any fault with him. And he sings well (the
star also played a heartthrob in the musical movie Hairspray)
dishes some slick dance moves too. Here he is seen dancing
to the TV movie’s opening tune “What Time Is It?”
Check out his very blue eyes. See. Them. Up. Close.
Up
next we have Troy’s high school sweetheart Gabriella
Montez, played by the very sweet Vanessa Anne Hudgens. Her
lusciously dark hair makes her a perfect Disney princess.
Sure, she had a little boo boo with the pictures that leaked
onto the Internet, but we’ve forgiven her, for what’s
a star without a rough patch? She’s seen here doing
a Stomp in the musical number “Work This Out”,
tinkling wine glasses and making merry music. She and real
life boyfriend Efron are such a treat to the eyes, which makes
their chemistry in the movie spot on.
If
saccharine sweetie pies aren’t your thing, check out
Sharpay Evans, played by the wonderful Ashely Tisdale. The
New Jersey born actress plays the high school bitch, and she
plays the role of the spoilt brat so well, it makes every
scene with her in it a hoot to watch. We read somewhere about
the Barbie doll lookalike having a nose job, but who cares
- you’d be a rare Hollywood celebrity if you hadn’t
had one. Here we see Sharpay in a deleted scene, singing “HUMUHUMUNUKUNUKUAPUA'A”.
She thinks she is a mermaid, or a whale, or something.
And
in this group shot, we see the rest of the characters which
make up HSM. There’s Sharpay’s brother Ryan Evans
(Lucas Grabeel), the African American (nice racial representation
here) couple Chad Danforth (Corbin Bleu) and Taylor McKessie
(Monique Coleman), together with other happy young kids, singing
to the obligatory feel good number “Everyday”.
This wholesome song definitely makes a good school concert
performance item.
In the next group shot, we have the closing number “All
For One”, where all the characters come together to
sing merrily and “have fun in the sun”. It’s
one happy Disney ending, and everyone becomes friends with
each other again. How great is that?
And for Disney Channel fans, here’s a cameo from Hannah
Montana (the increasingly popular Miley Cyrus) dancing amongst
the HSM gang:
This 111 minute Disney Channel Original Movie’s got
everything a kid can ask for to have a good time. The success
over the years has allowed it to be making its first leap
to the big screen, and as the tagline tells you, the worldwide
phenomenon is now a cinematic experience. And you can be sure
the world can’t wait for that to happen.
SPECIAL FEATURES :
As much as this reviewer is an obvious fan of HSM,
he still has some integrity left in him to tell readers that
this “High School Musical 2: Extended Dance Edition”
is a money milking machine. The first disc in this version
is exactly the same one as the previously released edition.
You can now find someone to give that edition to (Christmas
is a few months away…), while forking out some money
to purchase this one.
Here
are the extra features on the second disc of this edition:
Deleted
Scenes – There are four scenes cut from the
TV version totaling four minutes. Here, you get to see some
bitching between Sharpay and Gabriella and some friendly setup
between Ryan and Gabriella at the poolside. Hmm, Hudgens looks
saccharinely sweet in that red swim suit of hers.
Music
and More – In the Dance Along
segment, the HSM gang will teach you some cool dance moves
from “What Time Is It?” and “All For One”.
This interactive feature is so cool; it allows you to learn
the steps in different modes, including one from the back
view. This reviewer would like to try, but his crammed room
doesn’t allow him to do so. Also included in a Music
Video “All For One”
which inter cuts scenes from the movie and the recording session.
Under More Music Videos, you see a slew of
music videos from different countries including Canada, Brazil,
Spain, Italy and Holland. There are, like, more then 15 of
these music clips. The term “worldwide phenomenon”
takes on a whole new meaning here. Check out these two clips
if you don’t have time to go through them all: “Stitch
Meets HSM” from Japan (Experiment 626 and friends do
a “We’re All In This Together” from the
first HSM movie) and “All For One” from India
(this music video inspired from the song is a mega production,
and proves that Bollywood means business when it comes to
movie making)
Backstage
Disney – In High School Confidential, there
are 12 clips (ranging from two to four minutes) which show
how much fun the stars had on set. Hear how the cast gush
about having Zac “Troy Bolton” Efron around on
location, how Vanessa “Gabriella Montez” Hudgens
feels happy with everyone around, and how Miley “Hannah
Montana” Cyrus had a great time with her Disney Channel
friends shooting the last scene. There’s even a clip
about the cute dog in the movie. The Making
of HUMUHUMUNUKUNUKUAPUA'A is a five minute featurette
sees how Tisdale and Grabeel rehearse the ridiculous dance
moves for the deleted scene. In the five minute Cast
Favourites, we hear the young cast member’s
favourite actors, movies, songs, singers, and err, favourite
type of pizza and dessert. Maybe they are expecting fans to
like the same actors, movies and songs as these up and coming
stars. On Location takes you behind the scenes
of the movie, and this four minute clip tells you which rock
is fake, and a Native American tells you about how sacred
the land they shot the “Bet On It” sequence actually
is. The four minute In The Kitchen brings
you to the “Work This Out” location, which was
incidentally the movie’s first day of shoot.
Sneak Peek at High School Musical 3 –
And this is it – the clip you’d be eagerly waiting
for before paying to watch HSM 3: Senior Year on the big screen.
In this three minute featurette, we get introduced to three
new characters, some songs and scenes which will only tease
you and make you anticipate the day you experience the worldwide
phenomenon in the cinema.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The disc’s visual transfer is pristinely pretty, and
there are Dolby Digital 5.1 English and Mandarin, 2.0 Hindi
audio options available.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD
RATING :
Review
by John Li
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