HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 2: 2-DISC DELUXE DANCE EDITION
(TV-G)
MOVIE: *** (out of 5)
DVD EXPERIENCE: **** (out of 5)
STARRING
Zac Efron as TROY BOLTON
Vanessa Hudgens as GABRIELLA MONTEZ
Ashley Tisdale as SHARPAY EVANS
Lucas Grabeel as RYAN EVANS
Corbin Bleu as CHAD DANFORTH
Monique Coleman as TAYLOR MCKESSIE
Directed by: Kenny Ortega
Studio: Disney
BY KEVIN CARR
There was a time when the Walt Disney Company had to let their movies go through a cycle on the shelves for several years before they could pull them from circulation and the reissue them later. That process used to take years. Now, it’s a matter of months.
This isn’t a complaint, necessarily. More power to them if they can market a film so effectively that the fans will buy multiple copies on a yearly basis. It may not work for their classic animated films, but it definitely works for the tween crowd that gobbles up everything “Hannah Montana” and “High School Musical.”
When the original release of “High School Musical 2” happened a year ago, I remember commenting that the bonus features were a little thin. Knowing the Disney DVD marketing plan, I knew it was just a matter of time for a true extended edition to be released.
That time has come with the “High School Musical 2: 2-Disc Deluxe Dance Edition.” This new release is timed with the pending release of “High School Musical 3” in theaters this October, and it fills out the DVD nicely, in contrast to the weak selection of features with the first release.
I won’t bore you with my thoughts on the movie, because they were covered in my previous review. Instead, let’s take a look at what’s different.
New features included on the Deluxe Dance Edition is an interactive dance-along, more deleted scenes, a new music video, a behind-the-scenes featurette on the making of a scene, interviews with the cast in which they dish about their favorite scenes, an on-location featurette, a tour of the set and a new “High School Musical Confidential” interactive yearbook. This last feature is rather cute, allowing the viewer to surf through the different characters to learn more about the actors portraying them.