Sky High
It was with mild trepidation that I and 3 uber-lucky friends checked into the local cinema to check out the new superhero offering from our favourites at Disney. This apprehension was due to an inference made from the advertising campaign; that the movie in question, Sky High, was going to be a re-run of another children-orientated film, Spy Kids — laden with lavish special effects but with a deficit in actual warmth and humour. However, the trepidation was transformed into belly-laughs, as Sky High appealed to both young and old with a winning combination of good-natured humour, strikingly original ideas, and a straight-forward plot development. The well-executed performances by actors working within the framework of recognisable stock characters were also crucial in heightening the film’s appeal.
Sky High was bestowed with a cartoonish quality, apparent from the opening scenes. This was realised by the colourful sets, the appealing two-dimensional nature of several of the characters and a thoughtful approach to costume. The story follows Will Stronghold (performed by the charming Michael Angarano) who is the son of Kurt Russell’s tongue-in-cheek The Commander and Kelly Preston’s Jetstream, the two most famous and beloved superheroes in the country. Hilarity ensues with the admission that Will, to the disappointment of his parents, has no “special power”. Will is sent to a school for superheroes and side-kicks, Sky High, and it is there that he learns several scheduled and unscheduled lessons in life, love and heroics. The characters at this school are also a dazzling display of the wit behind this film. For example, the initial villain of the piece, the son of a superhero and a villain is named Warren Peace. It is this style of good-natured humour that transcends age boundaries and guarantees a laugh.
Sky High succeeds as its heart is truly in the right place, and its cheerful, swiping jokes delight the audience. The original ideas afford the makers with an opportunity to use several standard cinematic constructs, which in turn make the movie straight-forward and enjoyable, but also never boring. For those with children, early adolescents, young cousins and with a need to kill a couple of hours on a rainy Sunday afternoon, subtly suggest Sky High as an outing and the entire party will thoroughly enjoy it. A true delight.
Sarah Reid
