For fans of High School Musical character Sharpay Evans or fans of Ashley Tisdale, this fun family film will entertain you. Although the film is related to HSM, it’s a storyline that is primarily focused on Sharpay, as she tries to make her dream of becoming an actress in New York City come true.
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TITLE: Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure: 2-Disc Combo Pack
FILM RELEASE DATE: 2011
DURATION: 89 Minutes
BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition, Widescreen (1:78:1), English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, Subtitles: English SDH, French and Spanish
COMPANY: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
RATED: G
RELEASE DATE: April 19, 2011
Directed by Michael Lembeck
Written by Robert Horn
Producer: Jonathan Hackett and Ashley Tisdale
Executive Producer: Bill Borden, Barry Rosenbush
Music by George S. Clinton
Cinematography by Ousama Rawi
Production Design: Mark Hofeling
Art Direction by Anthony A. Ianni
Set Decoration by Rex Fields, Caroline Gee, Clive Thomasson
Costume Design by Natalie Bronfman
Starring:
Ashley Tisdale as Sharpay Evans
Austin Butler as Peyton Leverett
Bradley Steven Perry as Roger Elliston
Jessica Tuck as Mrs. Evans
Alec Mapa as Gill Sams
Jack Plotnick as Neal Roberts
Lauren Collins as Tiffani Marlos
Cameron Goodman as Lisa Lamore
Robert Curtis Brown as Vance Evans
Just how fabulous do you have to be to make it big in the Big Apple? One aspiring diva is about to find out…the hard way! Ashley Tisdale shines in this totally captivating comedy.
After a talent scout spots her performing with her dog Boi at a charity gala, Sharpay Evans (Tisdale) sets off for the bright lights of NYC, convinced instant fame and fortune are in the bag (designer, that is). But the theatre is a dog-eat-dog world, as she and Boi discover when they encounter the devious owner of a pampered Pooch named “Countess†and a scheming Broadway starlet who will do anything to crush the competition. Fortunately, Sharpay also meets Peyton (Austin Butler), a handsome student filmmaker who finds Sharpay nearly as fascinating as she finds herself.
The “High School Musical” trilogy was a big hit for Disney and one would wonder if the film series would continue in someway or form.
Sure enough, we have “Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure”, a direct-to-video film which revolves around the rich and naive character of Sharpay Evans (played by Ashley Tisdale). The film is directed by Michael Lembeck (“Friends”, “Mad About You”, “Veronica’s Closet”) and a story by Robert Horn (“Designing Women”, “Living Single”, “High Society”) and producers of the HSM films, Bill Borden and Barry Rosenbush.
The film begins with Sharpay Evans, a year after graduating from high school. As she (and her dog, Boi) are performing at a local event in Albuquerque, New Mexico, she is recognized by a talent agent from Broadway who has interest in her and wants her to come out to audition in Broadway for a show starring the popular Amber Lee Adams (played by Cameron Goodman), a star that Sharpay looks up to.
Sharpay looks at this opportunity as what she has dreamed about and wants to go New York for the audition but her father (played by Robert Curtis Brown) is dead set against it. But her father is willing to compromise and gives her one month to make things happen and if she is unable to, she would have to come back home and work at the Country Club and work a “real job”. Fortunately, her mother (played by Jessica Tuck) knows someone in New York who has a son that will help her out.
So, Sharpay and her little dog Boi are off to New York to make things happen in Broadway but her first day in New York doesn’t go as planned. The apartment that she would be staying in does not allow dogs and Sharpay insists that if her dog Boi goes, she goes. And sure enough, she loses the apartment.
Meanwhile, while sitting outside the apartment, a film school student named Peyton Leverett (played by Austin Butler) catches his eye and he begins filming her. He tells Sharpay that he needs to shoot something interesting and unique in New York as part of his school project. As she explains to him of her problems of not having a place, both eventually find out that their mothers know each other and he is the one that was sent to meet with her.
So, Peyton agrees to help Sharpay with moving to a studio apartment (same building where he lives) if she will continue to be the star of his short film. She agrees and both become friends and Peyton shows her around New York City.
When both go to visit the casting agent, the agent informs that Sharpay didn’t look over the information completely and the Broadway play that the audition is not intended for her but it is for her dog Boi. A bit upset that she went to New York thinking that the audition was intended for her, not wanting to come back home and work for her father, she feels that possibly if she takes Boi to the audition for the Broadway play, it will eventually lead to more opportunities for her and also giving her a chance for the casting director’s to see her act and sing.
So, eventually Sharpay takes Boi to audition for the part and both are able to win the heart of the show’s casting director and scribe and as everything looks like Boi would win the audition, here comes the mature 12-year-old, Roger Elliston III and his dog named Countess. And showing that countess can perform on stage and is experienced and eventually winning the attention of the director and scribe.
But with two very talented dogs, they don’t know which will win the part and so actress Amber Lee decides to test them both out and see who is more deserving.
Both Sharpay and Roger want the part for their dog and they eventually compete and sabotage each others audition whenever the dog is alone with Amber Lee. But as Sharpay and Roger continue their bad blood towards each other, both don’t realize that their dogs Boi and Countess are falling love.
Needless to say, for Sharpay, just being in the presence of her favorite star Amber Lee is huge for her and while Sharpay looks up to Amber Lee, as both are nearly alike. Behind-the-scenes, we learn that Amber Lee is actually a very mean-spirited, self-centered person who uses people.
One day, Amber Lee goes ballistic and fires her assistant and now in desperate need of another assistant, she uses Sharpay and makes her think that she is helping her and her Boi by bettering their chances to win the audition but in truth, Amber Lee just wants to use Sharpay and have her as an assistant.
And as Amber Lee continually uses Sharpay to the point that Sharpay is at her beck-and-call almost 24/7, she has no time to shoot the short that she promised Peyton, nor does she have time to be around her dog during auditions (in which Roger continues to sabotage Boy’s chances of being selected for the audition).
Needless to say, her friend Peyton becomes concerned, knowing that Amber Lee is using Sharpay and when he tells Sharpay about how he feels about her working with Amber Lee, instead of listening, Sharpay goes ballistic on Peyton and telling him that at least she’s working with a major actress and he’s nothing but a college student trying to make a short film. Sharpay hurts Peyton’s feelings and eventually ending their relationship.
Now with only a few weeks to make things happen in New York City, will Sharpay be able to make her dream happen in New York City? Or will the star that she idolizes prevent her from reaching stardom?
VIDEO:
“Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure” is presented in 1080p High Definition (widescreen 1:78:1). Similar to the “High School Musical” films, Sharpay as always sports the hot pink, red, white and turquoise colors and in the film, the one word you can used to describe the picture quality of this film is vibrant.
But typically when you deal with a lot of reds and hot pinks, some films are going to display banding and in the case of “Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventures”, there are times which banding is noticeable. And this is where the PQ has some issues.There are times that I felt I did see some artifacting but these were during the times of high red colors and it was mixed with banding but for the most part, for its intended demographic, I don’t think the audience will probably be too nitpicky and will find the picture quality to be good.
Skin tones are natural, you can definitely see the detail of clothing and the sheen of Sharpay’s rhinestones. Blacks are nice and deep but for the most part, “Sharpay’s Fabulus Adventure” is a colorful film.
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
“Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure” is presented in English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, Spanish Dolby Surround and French 5.1 Dolby Digital. While the film is primarily dialogue-driven and is clear and understandable, the film does feature a soundtrack which includes six tracks showcasing Ashley Tisdale, HSM’s Lucas Grabeel singing Justin Bieber’s “Baby” (note: “High School Musical” star Lucas Grabeel is not in this film) and also a cover of “Walking on Sunshine” by Aly & AJ.
Subtitles are in English SDH, Spanish and French.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure” comes with the following special features:
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BLOOPERS – (1:21) Ashley Tisdale and the cast cut up on set.
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AUSTIN CAM – (6:59) Actor Austin Butler, who plays student filmmaker Petyon, not only shoots scenes needed for the movie, but takes his camera behind the scenes to see how Ashley Tisdale has fun between takes.
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THE EVOLUTION OF SHARPAY – (8:57) A Blu-ray exclusive. Ashley Tisdale traces the development of her bigger-than-life character from the High School Musical movies through her current movie.
EXTRAS:
“Sharpays Fabulous Adventure: 2-Disc Combo Pack” comes with an embossed slip cover case and a DVD which is presented in widescreen (1:78:1- enhanced for 16×9 televisions), audio is presented in English, French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital and subtitles in English SDH, French and Spanish.
For fans of “High School Musical”, if you were a fan of Ashley Tisdale’s character Sharpay Evans, then “Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure” will no doubt appeal to you. And the fact that you have HSM producers Bill Borden and Barry Rosenbush does help.
But for those who were so used to Kenny Ortega’s fun style utilizing an ensemble cast to perform various musical numbers, “Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure” does have a musical number (“The Rest of My Life”) with a group of people featured at the end of the film but most of the music featured in the film are Ashley Tisdale (Sharpay) solo songs .
Although related to a “High School Musical” film, this is primarily a Sharpay film and showing her maturity and what happens when she tries to make it New York City but also encounters someone like herself and wanting to not be like her. If there was only one thing that I didn’t like and maybe the kids might find it more appealing is the second storyline featuring Boi and Countess falling in love. As much as I don’t mind dogs falling for each other, as we have seen it with Disney’s “Beverly Hills Chihuahua”, I was
Granted, I’m sure those familiar with Broadway may scoff at a storyline about Sharpay and her dog and may find it a bit kitschy but I want to emphasize that this film is not exactly targeted towards adult viewers, while its intended viewership are the younger viewers, the Disney Channel fans who have watched Ashley Tisdale on “High School Musical” and “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody”.
I know that many fans were wondering which “High School Musical” cast member was going to make an appearance but unfortunately, I didn’t see any cast member show up (note: I may have missed it) but I do know that fellow HSM cast member Lucas Grabeel who plays Sharpay’s brother Ryan Evans in “High School Musical” does have a song in the film, singing a cover of Justin Bieber’s “Baby”.
For those who are familiar with Tisdale’s work on “High School Musical” and even “The Suite Life of Zack Cody” will definitely enjoy the humor in “Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure”. Those not familiar with “High School Musical” may have a problem with the film, especially if they do not know a thing about her character. If anything, I did enjoy that her character was explored even more and to see her character grow up a bit in this film. I wish there was more focus on Sharpay and Peyton and not involve the storyline of the two dogs falling in love. But again, I’m not exactly the demographic that this film is targeted for and the children may find the addition of the dog romance to be cute and enjoyable.
As for the Blu-ray, it’s a good release but I wish there were more special features or even an audio commentary track by Ashley Tisdale. It’s important to note that there are two versions on Bu-ray being released. A 2-disc combo pack featuring the Blu-ray and DVD and a special 3-Disc Blu-ray Combo Pack which comes with a digital copy and a limited edition pink clutch purse.
Overall, If you are fan of Ashley Tisdale or her character Sharpay Evans, this film is definitely for you. It’s nothing like the “High School Musical” films but it does explore her character a bit and for the most part, it’s an enjoyable film for children and the entire family.
