Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Troy, the popular captain of the basketball team, and Gabriella, the brainy and beautiful member of the academic club, break all the rules of East High society when they secretly audition for the leads in the school's musical. As they reach for the stars and follow their dreams, everyone learns about acceptance, teamwork and being yourself.

The one that started it all finally makes its way to Blu-ray. I am actually surprised this wasn’t released at the same time as the sequel as it appears this encode and soundtrack were done some time ago. This film is classic Disney Channel stuff and has the look and feel of just about all their other programming. The film is full of fun musical numbers and unlike most teen films it is actually safe for the entire family with no signs of suggestion or sexuality. It is easy to see why this series has become so popular with parents and tweens alike.

This movie was originally produced for the Disney Channel and not theatrical distribution so it does have a video like quality to it. But the HD presentation holds up remarkably well. I actually thought this one looked a tad better than the newest installment, High School Musical 3. Colors are extremely vibrant and give the image a Candy Land look that is common throughout the films. Fine detail is quite good and even longer shots hold up quite well. I didn’t notice any distracting video artifacts and ringing and compression are never an issue. While the overall dimensionality isn’t quite as strong as some bigger budget Disney releases, this is still a very good looking film.

The soundtrack is presented in uncompressed PCM which is one indication that this one may have been done a little while ago and held off to coincide with the Blu-ray release of the newer film. It still sounds great though. The sound design is pretty simple and the highlights are definitely the fully produced song and dance numbers that are littered throughout the film. The soundtrack isn’t quite as polished as the newer film but it does sound better than what you typically get from a cable channel movie.

Extras include a look at the musical numbers and choreography along with an inside look at the popularity of the film. For music fans there are quite a few music videos from the film, a sing-along mode and some dance-alongs as well. A making-of feature with interviews and behind the scenes footage is also included.

For fans of this series this is an easy recommendation. Disney has finally brought the entire series to Blu making it a tween dream come true.