Sky High

Sky High turned out to be a fairly interesting movie—it’s extremely tame in typical Disney fashion, but it was also funny and at times really hits home. What I mean by that is that the filmmakers took every opportunity to thrash the audience with the movie’s message. But, in the end Sky High was cheerful, moderately creative, and amusing.

Will Stronghold (Michael Angarano) is the son of superheroes Steve “The Commander” Stronghold (Kurt Russell) and Josie “Jetstream” Stronghold (Kelly Preston). His father has super strength and his mother can fly, yet Will has never developed any powers—although he somehow manages to hide this fact from his parents, who are under the impression that he possesses super strength. Will has just reached his freshman year of high school, so he is sent off to Sky High, a school that specializes in teaching kids how to use their powers responsibly…which is strangely similar to the X-Men.... And Harry Potter. This particular school, however, divides the students into one of two categories: hero or sidekick, based upon one’s specific superpower or, as in Will’s case, lack thereof. While some kids are blessed with rather impressive abilities and subsequently designated as heroes, others possess powers such as melting, morphing into hamsters, or glowing yellow, thus relegating them into the sidekick category. Heroes are more or less the “in crowd” by default, while the sidekicks (also referred to as “hero support”) become losers and are repeatedly bullied by superpowered jerks. The message, as we’re painfully reminded every two minutes, is that just because one is a sidekick (subtext: dork) it does not make him or her any less important than a hero (subtext: cool kid).

As we know from the previews, Will eventually develops his superstrength during a moment of panic in a fight with a school bully. He gets transferred from sidekick courses to hero courses, where he learns how to build heat rays and laser guns. His friends, meanwhile, remain in sidekick class, where they learn rappelling techniques and how to change into a costume within 5 seconds. Unfortunately, Will’s new hero friends are uninterested in hanging out with sidekicks, so Will is forced to choose between his true friends (the sidekicks), and his new shallow friendships with the in crowd. Eventually a supervillain attacks Will’s parents and the high school, so Will must use his newfound powers to defeat the supervillain and save the day, etc.... The sidekicks are given crucial roles in this fight in order to prove how essential they are as hero support—that, and Disney has to show underdogs overcoming their overconfident hero bullies.

Sky High is definitely a movie that kids will like, and it’s generally worthwhile for adults as well. There were many funny lines and moments in the film that made it enjoyable enough to watch, and aside from the incessant message beating, the story and its characters are decent. The bad guys have those overdone, cartoonish voices and mannerisms, and there is one overly slapstick teacher, but these are common elements in Disney movies, and I’m sure that they appeal to kids. I would recommend Sky High to anyone looking for a wholesome family film, or even to anyone who might want to watch a light and surprisingly funny movie.