This first looked to me like a typical kid's superhero movie, and from Disney no less. I expected it to be juvenile with only enough redeeming qualities to make it worth watching on television. I changed my mind when I started seeing previews and commercials. It actually looked interesting. A superhero school? Been done before, but X-Men 2 didn't delve into the school nearly as much as I wanted. So I decided on catching a matinee, and that's before I even realized Bruce Campbell was in it. Missed him in the previews somehow.

I finally saw it, and surprise surprise, it was actually good.

Plot

I'm actually leery of telling you anything, because half the fun was discovering this new world of superheroes and the school for their children. But, I'll do my best to intrigue you without giving away too many of the interesting bits.

Will Stronghold is the son of two superheroes, but hasn't yet developed powers of his own. His best friend, Layla is also the daughter of a superhero and has a power of her own. It's time for the two of them to start high school. This school, Sky High, is for the children of superheroes to learn all about being superheroes. Instead of dividing them into Houses (well, you knew I had to mention Harry Potter somewhere if all the commercials did), the students are divided into Heroes and Hero Support (aka, Sidekicks).

Will tries to find his place in this new school. He meets friends, bullies, and an arch-enemy. Warren Peace, which is the coolest name ever, has the coolest background ever. His father was a super villain, his mother was a hero.

Naturally there's a plot to take over the world involved, but in the main, this is about the school and about high school life, just with a superhero twist.

Actors

The aforementioned Bruce Campbell (Xena) plays a gym coach. Lynda Carter (Wonder Woman) is the principal. And Dave Foley and Kevin McDonald (Kids in the Hall) are teachers. Those are the four names and faces I recognized while watching the movie. Are there more people I should know? Probably. I see Cloris Leachman's listed, but I didn't see her name or recognize her face at the time.

Anyway, they all played quirky and fun faculty and staff of this unique school.

Writers

The only reason this movie works has to be the writers. So who are they? No one I knew, but it turns out two of them are responsible for "Kim Possible". I've never watched the show myself, but I know it's a great hit with kids and geeky adults as well. It's really an oversight on my part that I haven't checked it out.

Technical Bits

The music was okay, nothing to write home about. The special effects were also okay, though some of them only survived being okay by virtue of the comic and comic book effect they were probably going for. The costuming was the best part. Each of the characters had their own color scheme that was followed no matter what they were wearing. I especially liked the black and red and the black and purple characters.

Closing Thoughts

This held my interest throughout. The school itself was interesting and the world around it a slightly different take on the world of superheroes, most closely resembling The Incredibles. I didn't really notice any juvenile plot twists or jokes that would make me roll my eyes. A lot of the movie revolves around high school relationships, so I would say the best audience for this movie is middle school or junior high kids. However, I'm an adult, and found it quite enjoyable, so don't let that stop you. Little kids may get bored.

I would not be at all surprised to find Disney making a sequel, or a prequel, or a direct-to-video something, or a television show, or an animated show, or a comic book line, or enough merchandise to choke a horse. However, I will give any sequel or show a chance. If they keep the level of writing up, it should be great. If they beat it into the ground, it will be.. expected of Disney.

Hogwarts?

Okay, bonus section. Is it like Hogwarts? Yes and no, but mostly no. It's clearly an American high school, not a British boarding school. We have had schools for magic users and schools for superheroes before. I would say the only two reasons it's like Hogwarts other than that is that the students are split on their first day into groups, and there's a uniquely superhero sport, Save the Citizen.

Recommended: Yes