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Sky High (2005 film)
Encyclopedia
Sky High is a 2005 American comedic
superhero
family
film about an airborne school for teenage superheroes. It was directed by Mike Mitchell
and written by Paul Hernandez, Robert Schooley, and Mark McCorkle
. The starring cast includes Michael Angarano
as Will, an incoming freshman at the school; Danielle Panabaker
as his best friend; Kurt Russell
and Kelly Preston
as his parents; Mary Elizabeth Winstead
as a popular senior; Steven Strait
as Will's rival; and Lynda Carter
as the principal. Andrew Gunn
, Brian Grazer
and Ron Howard
produced the film for Walt Disney Pictures
.
) at Sky High School, a school for young superheroes that floats in the sky. Will's parents pose as suburban real-estate agents Steve and Josie Stronghold, but they are really The Commander (Kurt Russell
) and Jetstream (Kelly Preston
), the two most famous and powerful superheroes. The Commander has superhuman strength, and Jetstream is able to fly. Will's best friend is Layla (Danielle Panabaker
), a pretty supergirl who can manipulate plant life.
The students at Sky High include Speed (Will Harris), a bully who can run faster than the human eye can see; Lash (Jake Sandvig
), a bully who can stretch his body; Penny (Malika
and Khadijah Haqq
), a cheerleader who can make copies of herself; and Warren Peace (Steven Strait
), the brooding, fire-throwing son of a supervillain and a superhero, who are currently at war. Warren's father was sent to prison by the Commander, and will be released after his third life. As the school year begins, Will is the only student who has not yet developed any superpowers. Students with great powers are taught to be heroes, while less capable youngsters are designated as "hero support" and derisively referred to as "sidekicks". The abilities of the sidekicks include melting, glowing, and turning into a guinea pig
. Will is put into the sidekick program due to his lack of powers, and Layla is made a sidekick after she protests the two tiered schooling by refusing to demonstrate her powers.
At the end of Will's first day at Sky High, the Commander shows him the Stronghold family's underground control center, the Secret Sanctum, which holds souvenirs from past battles. One souvenir is a weapon called a "Pacifier", which the Commander took from his arch-enemy, a supervillain named Royal Pain, fifteen years ago. Another is the eyeball of a robot the Commander recently defeated. As the Commander and Will chat, Royal Pain remotely spies on them through a camera hidden in the eyeball.
Will initially makes friends with the sidekicks, but he is transferred to the Hero program after his latent super-strength emerges during a fight with Warren. He also attracts the attention of Gwen Grayson (Mary Elizabeth Winstead
), a beautiful "technopath" who controls machines with her mind. Will makes a date with Layla to prove he still likes her, but he forgets about it and has dinner with Gwen and his parents, so Layla tries to make him jealous by getting Warren to go with her to the Sky High homecoming dance.
On the day before the dance, Gwen tricks Will into throwing a party at his house, and Speed steals the Pacifier when she seduces Will into showing her the Secret Sanctum. She also convinces Layla that Will no longer likes her, but Will rejects Gwen's snobbishness and refuses to go to the dance with her, even though his parents have promised to attend as honorary guests. After his parents leave for the dance, Will reads the Commander's school yearbook, which contains a photograph of a girl who looks just like Gwen. When he sees a picture of the girl holding a pacifier, he guesses that the girl is Royal Pain and Gwen is her daughter, sees that the Pacifier is missing, and concludes that Gwen must be avenging herself on the Commander for defeating her mother. Will contacts the Sky High bus driver (Kevin Heffernan
), who rushes him to the dance.
Meanwhile, Gwen reveals to the dance participants that she is Royal Pain herself, who was formally a brilliant schoolgirl who invented the pacifier, but despite that and her powers, she was underestimated by the school and therefore made a sidekick. Outraged, she hatched a plan to destroy Sky High and replace it with her own school for supervillains, with the intention of turning everyone into babies with the Pacifier and raising them into villains. Only Warren and the sidekicks escape.
When Will arrives at school, he apologizes to Layla and teams up with Warren and the sidekicks to defeat Gwen, Speed, Lash, and Penny. He discovers he has also inherited his mother's flying ability when Gwen throws him off Sky High's floating platform, and he helps to hold the school in the air as the sidekicks reactivate its sabotaged antigravity device. The babies are returned to their original state, Will and Layla kiss, and the dance resumes while Royal Pain and her gang are held in the detention room. Afterward, the villains are sent to prison, Warren becomes Will's best friend, Layla becomes Will's girlfriend, and the bus driver becomes a superhero after falling into a vat of toxic waste.
Exterior shots of the Sky High school were filmed at the Oviatt Library
at California State University
in Northridge.
According to scifi.com, Disney was attracted by the "original concept" of "children of superheroes going to high school", originally conceived by screenwriter Paul Hernandez in the 1990s. After recruiting comedy writers Mark McCorkle
and Bob Schooley
for polishing Hernandez's script, Disney hired several comedians like Kevin McDonald
, Dave Foley
, and Kevin Heffernan
for supporting roles. For the main roles, the casting was a mix of established and new teenager actors: while Michael Angarano
and Mary Elizabeth Winstead
were already successful, Danielle Panabaker
was little-known and Steven Strait
(a former model) was hired after his first audition ever.
Producer Mike Mitchell
said that Sky High functions on two premises: "the adults are all insane" and "the girls are smarter than the boys": Therefore, all the adults portrayed in the film tend to be caricatured, while the teenage girls are written as more assertive and powerful than the boys. For the treatment of the teenage actors, Mitchell also stated that the actors all had their own trailer and were generally kept separated, because "we did not want them to date after the second week and break up after the fourth", which would have made filming difficult.
Mitchell, a science fiction fan, admitted that this project "was a dream", because it brought him together with four of his favorite SF cult heroes: namely Wonder Woman
(popularized in the eponymous 1970s series by actress Lynda Carter
), Snake Plissken
(portrayed by Kurt Russell
), Ash Williams
(from Evil Dead, played by Bruce Campbell
) and Cloris Leachman
, who earned fame as Frau Blücher in Young Frankenstein
.
, the film earned a "fresh" rating of 72% positive reviews (85 positive, 33 negative). Critics on this website were generally favorable on the firmly tongue-in-cheek nature of the film, which knowingly spoofed comic clichés, but others found it too cheesy. Commercially it was a success: on an estimated budget of US$
35 million, it earned just under $64 million in the US alone, and another $22 million internationally, bringing the total to just over $86 million.
on July 26, 2005, and is composed of covers
of songs from the 1980s.
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
superhero
Superhero film
A superhero film, superhero movie, or superhero motion picture is: action, fantasy and science fiction film; that is focused on the actions of one or more superheroes, individuals who usually possess superhuman abilities relative to a normal person and are dedicated to protecting the public...
family
Family film
A family film is a film genre that is designed to appeal to a variety of age groups and, thus, families.In December 2005, Steven Spielberg's 1982 film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial came first in a poll of the 100 Greatest Family Films. The genre today generates billions of dollars per annum.Family...
film about an airborne school for teenage superheroes. It was directed by Mike Mitchell
Mike Mitchell (director)
Mike Mitchell is an American film director, producer, actor and former animator. He is well known for directing the films Surviving Christmas, Sky High and Shrek Forever After.-Life and career:...
and written by Paul Hernandez, Robert Schooley, and Mark McCorkle
Mark McCorkle
Mark McCorkle is an American screenwriter, television writer and television producer. Among others, he is creator of the popular Disney cartoon Kim Possible. He frequently collaborates with fellow writer Bob Schooley...
. The starring cast includes Michael Angarano
Michael Angarano
- Early life :Angarano was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Doreen and Michael P. Angarano. He is of Italian descent. His family owns and operates three successful dance studios; two in New York and one in California called Reflections in Dance. His mother is the owner and director of all...
as Will, an incoming freshman at the school; Danielle Panabaker
Danielle Panabaker
Danielle Nicole Panabaker is an American actress. She was a cast member in the CBS drama Shark, and appeared in the films Mr. Brooks, Sky High, The Crazies and Friday the 13th, among other projects...
as his best friend; Kurt Russell
Kurt Russell
Kurt Vogel Russell is an American television and film actor. His first acting roles were as a child in television series, including a lead role in the Western series The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters...
and Kelly Preston
Kelly Preston
Kelly Preston is an American actress and former model.- Early years :Preston was born Kelly Kamalelehua Smith in Honolulu, Hawaii. Her mother, Linda, was an administrator of a mental health center, and her father, who worked for an agricultural firm, drowned when Preston was three years old...
as his parents; Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Mary Elizabeth Winstead is an American actress. She is best known for her scream queen roles in the horror films Final Destination 3, Black Christmas, Death Proof, and The Thing...
as a popular senior; Steven Strait
Steven Strait
Steven Strait is an American actor, fashion model, and rock singer.-Early life and modeling:Strait was born and raised in Greenwich Village, New York City, New York. He is of Dutch and Italian heritage. He attended Xavier High School and took classes at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting...
as Will's rival; and Lynda Carter
Lynda Carter
Lynda Jean Carter is an American actress and singer, best known for being Miss World USA and as the star of the 1970s television series The New Original Wonder Woman and The New Adventures of Wonder Woman ....
as the principal. Andrew Gunn
Andrew Gunn (producer)
Andrew Gunn is a film producer. His production company, Gunn Films, was started in 2001. He has worked with Walt Disney Pictures to produce movies such as Freaky Friday and Sky High....
, Brian Grazer
Brian Grazer
Brian Thomas Grazer is an Academy Award-winning American film and television producer who co-founded Imagine Entertainment in 1986 with Ron Howard. Together they have produced many acclaimed films, including Apollo 13 and A Beautiful Mind .- Career :Brian Grazer began his career as a producer...
and Ron Howard
Ron Howard
Ronald William "Ron" Howard is an American actor, director, and producer. He came to prominence as a child actor, playing Opie Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show for eight years, and later the teenaged Richie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days for six years...
produced the film for Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
.
Plot
The story describes the beginning of the freshman year for Will Stronghold (Michael AngaranoMichael Angarano
- Early life :Angarano was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Doreen and Michael P. Angarano. He is of Italian descent. His family owns and operates three successful dance studios; two in New York and one in California called Reflections in Dance. His mother is the owner and director of all...
) at Sky High School, a school for young superheroes that floats in the sky. Will's parents pose as suburban real-estate agents Steve and Josie Stronghold, but they are really The Commander (Kurt Russell
Kurt Russell
Kurt Vogel Russell is an American television and film actor. His first acting roles were as a child in television series, including a lead role in the Western series The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters...
) and Jetstream (Kelly Preston
Kelly Preston
Kelly Preston is an American actress and former model.- Early years :Preston was born Kelly Kamalelehua Smith in Honolulu, Hawaii. Her mother, Linda, was an administrator of a mental health center, and her father, who worked for an agricultural firm, drowned when Preston was three years old...
), the two most famous and powerful superheroes. The Commander has superhuman strength, and Jetstream is able to fly. Will's best friend is Layla (Danielle Panabaker
Danielle Panabaker
Danielle Nicole Panabaker is an American actress. She was a cast member in the CBS drama Shark, and appeared in the films Mr. Brooks, Sky High, The Crazies and Friday the 13th, among other projects...
), a pretty supergirl who can manipulate plant life.
The students at Sky High include Speed (Will Harris), a bully who can run faster than the human eye can see; Lash (Jake Sandvig
Jake Sandvig
Steven Jacob "Jake" Sandvig is an American actor. He is best known for playing Hugh Payne in 20 Good Years and Preston Shackleton in Cracking Up. In 2009, he made a guest appearance in Ruby & The Rockits. He is also known for his role in Easy A and Sky High-Filmography:-Guest appearances:-External...
), a bully who can stretch his body; Penny (Malika
Malika Haqq
Malika Haqq is an American actress and television personality who is best known for her role as Penny in the 2005 film Sky High. She acted in the movie with her twin sister Khadijah Haqq. She was also in the movie ATL....
and Khadijah Haqq
Khadijah Haqq
Khadijah Haqq is an American actress who is best known for playing alongside her twin sister Malika Haqq in numerous movies....
), a cheerleader who can make copies of herself; and Warren Peace (Steven Strait
Steven Strait
Steven Strait is an American actor, fashion model, and rock singer.-Early life and modeling:Strait was born and raised in Greenwich Village, New York City, New York. He is of Dutch and Italian heritage. He attended Xavier High School and took classes at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting...
), the brooding, fire-throwing son of a supervillain and a superhero, who are currently at war. Warren's father was sent to prison by the Commander, and will be released after his third life. As the school year begins, Will is the only student who has not yet developed any superpowers. Students with great powers are taught to be heroes, while less capable youngsters are designated as "hero support" and derisively referred to as "sidekicks". The abilities of the sidekicks include melting, glowing, and turning into a guinea pig
Guinea pig
The guinea pig , also called the cavy, is a species of rodent belonging to the family Caviidae and the genus Cavia. Despite their common name, these animals are not in the pig family, nor are they from Guinea...
. Will is put into the sidekick program due to his lack of powers, and Layla is made a sidekick after she protests the two tiered schooling by refusing to demonstrate her powers.
At the end of Will's first day at Sky High, the Commander shows him the Stronghold family's underground control center, the Secret Sanctum, which holds souvenirs from past battles. One souvenir is a weapon called a "Pacifier", which the Commander took from his arch-enemy, a supervillain named Royal Pain, fifteen years ago. Another is the eyeball of a robot the Commander recently defeated. As the Commander and Will chat, Royal Pain remotely spies on them through a camera hidden in the eyeball.
Will initially makes friends with the sidekicks, but he is transferred to the Hero program after his latent super-strength emerges during a fight with Warren. He also attracts the attention of Gwen Grayson (Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Mary Elizabeth Winstead is an American actress. She is best known for her scream queen roles in the horror films Final Destination 3, Black Christmas, Death Proof, and The Thing...
), a beautiful "technopath" who controls machines with her mind. Will makes a date with Layla to prove he still likes her, but he forgets about it and has dinner with Gwen and his parents, so Layla tries to make him jealous by getting Warren to go with her to the Sky High homecoming dance.
On the day before the dance, Gwen tricks Will into throwing a party at his house, and Speed steals the Pacifier when she seduces Will into showing her the Secret Sanctum. She also convinces Layla that Will no longer likes her, but Will rejects Gwen's snobbishness and refuses to go to the dance with her, even though his parents have promised to attend as honorary guests. After his parents leave for the dance, Will reads the Commander's school yearbook, which contains a photograph of a girl who looks just like Gwen. When he sees a picture of the girl holding a pacifier, he guesses that the girl is Royal Pain and Gwen is her daughter, sees that the Pacifier is missing, and concludes that Gwen must be avenging herself on the Commander for defeating her mother. Will contacts the Sky High bus driver (Kevin Heffernan
Kevin Heffernan (comedian)
Kevin Heffernan is an American actor, writer, producer, and director, and member of the Broken Lizard comedy group.Heffernan was born West Haven, Connecticut...
), who rushes him to the dance.
Meanwhile, Gwen reveals to the dance participants that she is Royal Pain herself, who was formally a brilliant schoolgirl who invented the pacifier, but despite that and her powers, she was underestimated by the school and therefore made a sidekick. Outraged, she hatched a plan to destroy Sky High and replace it with her own school for supervillains, with the intention of turning everyone into babies with the Pacifier and raising them into villains. Only Warren and the sidekicks escape.
When Will arrives at school, he apologizes to Layla and teams up with Warren and the sidekicks to defeat Gwen, Speed, Lash, and Penny. He discovers he has also inherited his mother's flying ability when Gwen throws him off Sky High's floating platform, and he helps to hold the school in the air as the sidekicks reactivate its sabotaged antigravity device. The babies are returned to their original state, Will and Layla kiss, and the dance resumes while Royal Pain and her gang are held in the detention room. Afterward, the villains are sent to prison, Warren becomes Will's best friend, Layla becomes Will's girlfriend, and the bus driver becomes a superhero after falling into a vat of toxic waste.
Cast
- Michael AngaranoMichael Angarano- Early life :Angarano was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Doreen and Michael P. Angarano. He is of Italian descent. His family owns and operates three successful dance studios; two in New York and one in California called Reflections in Dance. His mother is the owner and director of all...
as William Theodore "Will" Stronghold, a freshmanFreshmanA freshman or fresher is a first-year student in secondary school, high school, or college. The term first year can also be used as a noun, to describe the students themselves A freshman (US) or fresher (UK, India) (or sometimes fish, freshie, fresher; slang plural frosh or freshmeat) is a...
at Sky High. His parents are the two most famous superheroes — Commander and Jetstream — as well as Maxville's top real estate agents in their secret identities. He has both super strength and flightFlightFlight is the process by which an object moves either through an atmosphere or beyond it by generating lift or propulsive thrust, or aerostatically using buoyancy, or by simple ballistic movement....
. - Danielle PanabakerDanielle PanabakerDanielle Nicole Panabaker is an American actress. She was a cast member in the CBS drama Shark, and appeared in the films Mr. Brooks, Sky High, The Crazies and Friday the 13th, among other projects...
as Layla Williams. Will's best friend since childhood. She is a pacifistPacifismPacifism is the opposition to war and violence. The term "pacifism" was coined by the French peace campaignerÉmile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress inGlasgow in 1901.- Definition :...
, vegetarian, and feministFeminismFeminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
, and is able to animate and control plant life. Her mother's abilities are said to allow her to talk to animals, and her father is a normal human. - Mary Elizabeth WinsteadMary Elizabeth WinsteadMary Elizabeth Winstead is an American actress. She is best known for her scream queen roles in the horror films Final Destination 3, Black Christmas, Death Proof, and The Thing...
as Gwendolyn "Gwen" Grayson/Royal Pain/Sue Tenny, a senior at Sky High whom Will has a crush on. Her power is technopathy. Winstead said of her role, "I bounced around. I was either the hero of the sidekicks or the sidekick to the heroes." While in her Royal Pain suit, Patrick WarburtonPatrick WarburtonPatrick John Warburton is an American actor of television, film, and voice. He is best known for his several TV roles, including the title role of The Tick, David Puddy on Seinfeld, the evil Johnny Johnson on NewsRadio, and anchorman Jeb Denton on Less Than Perfect...
provides the vocal effects. - Steven StraitSteven StraitSteven Strait is an American actor, fashion model, and rock singer.-Early life and modeling:Strait was born and raised in Greenwich Village, New York City, New York. He is of Dutch and Italian heritage. He attended Xavier High School and took classes at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting...
as Warren Peace (a pun on the novel War and PeaceWar and PeaceWar and Peace is a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy, first published in 1869. The work is epic in scale and is regarded as one of the most important works of world literature...
), the son of an unnamed superheroine and a supervillain known as Barron Battle, a homophoneHomophoneA homophone is a word that is pronounced the same as another word but differs in meaning. The words may be spelled the same, such as rose and rose , or differently, such as carat, caret, and carrot, or to, two, and too. Homophones that are spelled the same are also both homographs and homonyms...
off barren battleBattle of Barren HillThe Battle of Barren Hill was a minor engagement during the American Revolution. On May 20, 1778, a British force attempted to encircle a smaller Continental force under the Marquis de Lafayette...
(who in jail with four life sentences). He is pyrokineticPyrokinesisPyrokinesis, derived from the Greek words and , was the name coined by horror novelist Stephen King for the ability to create or to control fire with the mind that he gave to the protagonist Charlie McGee in Firestarter...
, meaning he can control and manipulate fire - Dee Jay DanielsDee Jay DanielsDee Jay Daniels is an American television actor.Daniels is best known for his role as Michael Hughley on D.L. Hughley's sitcom, The Hughleys...
as Ethan, a sidekick who is friends with Will, he can melt into a small orange puddle (which earned him the nickname "Popsicle"). His color code is mostly red, orange and yellow. - Kelly VitzKelly VitzKelly Vitz is an American actress, of German and Chinese descent. She is best known for playing Magenta in the Disney movie Sky High and Trish in Nancy Drew. She also attended UC Berkeley and was active in student organizations like The Suitcase Clinic.-Filmography:*Nancy Drew .... Trish*Teenius...
as Magenta/Maj, Will's friend whose ability is to shapeshiftShapeshiftingShapeshifting is a common theme in mythology, folklore, and fairy tales. It is also found in epic poems, science fiction literature, fantasy literature, children's literature, Shakespearean comedy, ballet, film, television, comics, and video games...
into a guinea pigGuinea pigThe guinea pig , also called the cavy, is a species of rodent belonging to the family Caviidae and the genus Cavia. Despite their common name, these animals are not in the pig family, nor are they from Guinea...
complete with purple highlights/streaks in her fur. - Nicholas BraunNicholas BraunNicholas Joseph "Nick" Braun is an American actor.-Life and career:Braun was born in Bethpage, New York, the son of Elizabeth Lyle and actor Craig Braun...
as Zachary "Zach" Braun/Zack Attack, Will's spacey childhood friend, who has the ability to glow in the dark. - MalikaMalika HaqqMalika Haqq is an American actress and television personality who is best known for her role as Penny in the 2005 film Sky High. She acted in the movie with her twin sister Khadijah Haqq. She was also in the movie ATL....
and Khadijah HaqqKhadijah HaqqKhadijah Haqq is an American actress who is best known for playing alongside her twin sister Malika Haqq in numerous movies....
as Penny Lent, Gwen's best friend, who can duplicate herself and is naturally athletic. - Jake SandvigJake SandvigSteven Jacob "Jake" Sandvig is an American actor. He is best known for playing Hugh Payne in 20 Good Years and Preston Shackleton in Cracking Up. In 2009, he made a guest appearance in Ruby & The Rockits. He is also known for his role in Easy A and Sky High-Filmography:-Guest appearances:-External...
and Will Harris as Lash and Speed, the resident bullies at Sky High; Lash is skinny, and has elasticity and can stretch his body parts far, while Speed is large yet can run at super speed. - Kurt RussellKurt RussellKurt Vogel Russell is an American television and film actor. His first acting roles were as a child in television series, including a lead role in the Western series The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters...
as Steve Stronghold/The Commander, Will's father. As the Commander, he is one of the world's strongest superheroes, displaying superhuman strengthSuperhuman strengthSuperhuman strength, also called superstrength, super-strength, or super strength, is an ability commonly employed in fiction. It is the ability for a character to be stronger than humanly possible...
and invulnerability, and is a successful businessman in his secret identity. - Kelly PrestonKelly PrestonKelly Preston is an American actress and former model.- Early years :Preston was born Kelly Kamalelehua Smith in Honolulu, Hawaii. Her mother, Linda, was an administrator of a mental health center, and her father, who worked for an agricultural firm, drowned when Preston was three years old...
as Josie DeMarco-Stronghold/Jetstream, Will's mother. She is a successful real estate agent. As Jetstream, she has the power of supersonic flight; she is also touted as being an expert in hand-to-hand combat. - Lynda CarterLynda CarterLynda Jean Carter is an American actress and singer, best known for being Miss World USA and as the star of the 1970s television series The New Original Wonder Woman and The New Adventures of Wonder Woman ....
as Principal Powers, the principal of Sky High. She appears to have the power to transform into a comet and back at will. She mainly uses her power as a form of transportation. - Bruce CampbellBruce CampbellBruce Lorne Campbell is an American film and television actor. As a cult movie actor, Campbell starred as Ashley J. "Ash" Williams in Sam Raimi's Evil Dead series of films and he has starred in many low-budget cult films such as Crimewave, Maniac Cop, Bubba Ho-tep, Escape From L.A. and Sundown:...
as Tommy Boomowski/Coach Boomer/Sonic Boom, the gym teacher at Sky High, also known as Sonic Boom due to his ability to release sonic waves from his vocal cords. His power is known as sonic screaming. His real name is Tommy Boomowski as seen in the Commander's Sky High Yearbook. - Kevin HeffernanKevin Heffernan (comedian)Kevin Heffernan is an American actor, writer, producer, and director, and member of the Broken Lizard comedy group.Heffernan was born West Haven, Connecticut...
as Ron Wilson, the Sky High bus driver/pilot. Ron is the son of two superheroes but does not have any powers himself. He feels a great sense of pride in driving the "superheroes of tomorrow" to school. - Cloris LeachmanCloris LeachmanCloris Leachman is an American actress of stage, film and television. She has won eight Primetime Emmy Awards—more than any other performer—and one Daytime Emmy Award...
as Nurse Spex, a kind and eccentric elderly lady that serves as Sky High's single known nurse, with the ability of X-ray visionX-Ray VisionIn science fiction stories or superhero comics, X-ray vision is the ability to see through physical objects at the discretion of the holder of this superpower. The most famous possessor of this ability is DC Comics' iconic superhero character, Superman....
. - Jim RashJim RashJim Rash was born in Charlotte, North Carolina and is an American actor, comedian and screenwriter.His most noticeable appearance was when he portrayed Mr Grayson/Stitches, a sidekick to the supervillain 'Royal Pain' in the 2005 film Sky High and as the recurring characters Fenton on That '70s Show...
as Mr. Grayson/Stitches, Royal Pain's bumbling sidekick. He raised her as his daughter after she was turned into a baby by the Pacifier. - Dave FoleyDave FoleyDavid Scott "Dave" Foley is a Canadian comedian, writer, director, and producer best known for his work in The Kids in the Hall, NewsRadio, A Bug's Life, and Celebrity Poker Showdown...
as Jonathan Boy/All-American Boy, the Commander's old sidekick. He now works as Hero Support teacher at Sky High - Kevin McDonaldKevin McDonaldKevin Hamilton McDonald is a Canadian comedian and actor, known as a member of the Canadian sketch comedy group The Kids in the Hall.-Early life:...
as Professor Medulla, the Mad Science teacher, with a hyper-advanced (and oversized) brain, which grants him advanced intelligence, creativity and a multitude of genius-level skills – so much that even as a baby, he still possesses an intellect greater than the average adult. - Kim RhodesKim RhodesKimberly "Kim" Rhodes is an American actress, who portrayed the role of "Cindy Harrison" on two different soap opera series, Another World and As the World Turns, as well as Carey Martin in the Disney Channel sitcom The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and The Suite Life on Deck, where she played the...
as Elastic Girl/Professor Jeannie Elast, who has the talent to twist her body into anything she wants. - Tom KennyTom KennyThomas James "Tom" Kenny is an American actor, voice actor and comedian. He is especially known for his long-running-role as SpongeBob SquarePants in the television series of the same name, as well as the live-action character Patchy the Pirate, Gary the Snail and the French narrator based on...
and Jill TalleyJill TalleyJill Talley is an American comedic actress, best known as a regular cast member of Mr. Show and for her long-running-role as Karen on SpongeBob SquarePants.-Career:...
as Mr. and Mrs. Chester Timmerman, who make a small cameo in the movie.
Production
Oviatt Library
The Oviatt Library serves the California State University, Northridge campus, located in Northridge district of the northern San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles, California. The library is named for Delmar T...
at California State University
California State University
The California State University is a public university system in the state of California. It is one of three public higher education systems in the state, the other two being the University of California system and the California Community College system. It is incorporated as The Trustees of the...
in Northridge.
According to scifi.com, Disney was attracted by the "original concept" of "children of superheroes going to high school", originally conceived by screenwriter Paul Hernandez in the 1990s. After recruiting comedy writers Mark McCorkle
Mark McCorkle
Mark McCorkle is an American screenwriter, television writer and television producer. Among others, he is creator of the popular Disney cartoon Kim Possible. He frequently collaborates with fellow writer Bob Schooley...
and Bob Schooley
Bob Schooley
Robert "Bob" Schooley is an American screenwriter, television writer and television producer. He and Mark McCorkle are the creators of the animated television series Kim Possible, which aired on Disney Channel. He was also an executive producer of the series, as well as having written scripts for...
for polishing Hernandez's script, Disney hired several comedians like Kevin McDonald
Kevin McDonald
Kevin Hamilton McDonald is a Canadian comedian and actor, known as a member of the Canadian sketch comedy group The Kids in the Hall.-Early life:...
, Dave Foley
Dave Foley
David Scott "Dave" Foley is a Canadian comedian, writer, director, and producer best known for his work in The Kids in the Hall, NewsRadio, A Bug's Life, and Celebrity Poker Showdown...
, and Kevin Heffernan
Kevin Heffernan (comedian)
Kevin Heffernan is an American actor, writer, producer, and director, and member of the Broken Lizard comedy group.Heffernan was born West Haven, Connecticut...
for supporting roles. For the main roles, the casting was a mix of established and new teenager actors: while Michael Angarano
Michael Angarano
- Early life :Angarano was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Doreen and Michael P. Angarano. He is of Italian descent. His family owns and operates three successful dance studios; two in New York and one in California called Reflections in Dance. His mother is the owner and director of all...
and Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Mary Elizabeth Winstead is an American actress. She is best known for her scream queen roles in the horror films Final Destination 3, Black Christmas, Death Proof, and The Thing...
were already successful, Danielle Panabaker
Danielle Panabaker
Danielle Nicole Panabaker is an American actress. She was a cast member in the CBS drama Shark, and appeared in the films Mr. Brooks, Sky High, The Crazies and Friday the 13th, among other projects...
was little-known and Steven Strait
Steven Strait
Steven Strait is an American actor, fashion model, and rock singer.-Early life and modeling:Strait was born and raised in Greenwich Village, New York City, New York. He is of Dutch and Italian heritage. He attended Xavier High School and took classes at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting...
(a former model) was hired after his first audition ever.
Producer Mike Mitchell
Mike Mitchell (director)
Mike Mitchell is an American film director, producer, actor and former animator. He is well known for directing the films Surviving Christmas, Sky High and Shrek Forever After.-Life and career:...
said that Sky High functions on two premises: "the adults are all insane" and "the girls are smarter than the boys": Therefore, all the adults portrayed in the film tend to be caricatured, while the teenage girls are written as more assertive and powerful than the boys. For the treatment of the teenage actors, Mitchell also stated that the actors all had their own trailer and were generally kept separated, because "we did not want them to date after the second week and break up after the fourth", which would have made filming difficult.
Mitchell, a science fiction fan, admitted that this project "was a dream", because it brought him together with four of his favorite SF cult heroes: namely Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is a DC Comics superheroine created by William Moulton Marston. She first appeared in All Star Comics #8 . The Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986....
(popularized in the eponymous 1970s series by actress Lynda Carter
Lynda Carter
Lynda Jean Carter is an American actress and singer, best known for being Miss World USA and as the star of the 1970s television series The New Original Wonder Woman and The New Adventures of Wonder Woman ....
), Snake Plissken
Snake Plissken
S.D. Bob "Snake" Plissken is a fictional character in John Carpenter's films Escape from New York and Escape from L.A., played by Kurt Russell. He is an ex-special forces commando/war hero in World War III turned criminal...
(portrayed by Kurt Russell
Kurt Russell
Kurt Vogel Russell is an American television and film actor. His first acting roles were as a child in television series, including a lead role in the Western series The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters...
), Ash Williams
Ash Williams
Ashley J. "Ash" Williams is the protagonist in the Evil Dead horror film franchise, played by Bruce Campbell, and created by director Sam Raimi. Throughout the series, Ash has to face off against his loved ones inside an abandoned cabin as they are possessed by "deadites", the evil souls of the dead...
(from Evil Dead, played by Bruce Campbell
Bruce Campbell
Bruce Lorne Campbell is an American film and television actor. As a cult movie actor, Campbell starred as Ashley J. "Ash" Williams in Sam Raimi's Evil Dead series of films and he has starred in many low-budget cult films such as Crimewave, Maniac Cop, Bubba Ho-tep, Escape From L.A. and Sundown:...
) and Cloris Leachman
Cloris Leachman
Cloris Leachman is an American actress of stage, film and television. She has won eight Primetime Emmy Awards—more than any other performer—and one Daytime Emmy Award...
, who earned fame as Frau Blücher in Young Frankenstein
Young Frankenstein
Young Frankenstein is a 1974 American comedy film directed by Mel Brooks and starring Gene Wilder as the title character, a descendant of the infamous Dr. Victor Frankenstein. The supporting cast includes Teri Garr, Cloris Leachman, Marty Feldman, Peter Boyle, Madeline Kahn, Kenneth Mars, Richard...
.
Reception and box office figures
Sky High received generally favorable reviews. Based on review aggregrator Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, the film earned a "fresh" rating of 72% positive reviews (85 positive, 33 negative). Critics on this website were generally favorable on the firmly tongue-in-cheek nature of the film, which knowingly spoofed comic clichés, but others found it too cheesy. Commercially it was a success: on an estimated budget of US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
35 million, it earned just under $64 million in the US alone, and another $22 million internationally, bringing the total to just over $86 million.
Soundtrack
The Sky High Original Soundtrack was released by Hollywood RecordsHollywood Records
Hollywood Records is an American record label owned by Disney Music Group, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company.-History:Hollywood Records was founded in 1989 by then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner with the idea of expanding the music operations of the company and to develop and promote...
on July 26, 2005, and is composed of covers
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of songs from the 1980s.
Track listing
- "I Melt with YouI Melt With You"I Melt with You" is a song by the British post-punk and New Wave band Modern English. The song, produced by Hugh Jones, was a single from the 1982 album After the Snow, and is about a couple making love as nuclear bombs fall. It reached #7 on Billboard's Top Tracks chart and #78 on the Billboard...
" – Bowling for SoupBowling for SoupBowling for Soup is an American pop-punk band which originally formed in Wichita Falls, Texas in 1994...
(Originally by: Modern EnglishModern English (band)Modern English are an English rock band best remembered for their songs "I Melt with You", "Hands Across the Sea", and "Ink and Paper". The group disbanded for a period in 1991, but later recorded in 1995 and 2002 with new members...
) - "Through Being Cool" – They Might Be GiantsThey Might Be GiantsThey Might Be Giants is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years Flansburgh and Linnell were frequently accompanied by a drum machine. In the early 1990s, TMBG became a full band. Currently, the members of TMBG are...
(Originally by: DevoDevoDevo is an American band formed in 1973 consisting of members from Kent and Akron, Ohio. The classic line-up of the band includes two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs and the Casales . The band had a #14 Billboard chart hit in 1980 with the single "Whip It", and has maintained a cult...
) - "Save It for Later" – Flashlight BrownFlashlight BrownFlashlight Brown is a Canadian punk rock band, originally from Guelph, Ontario, who formed in 1996.-Biography:Fil, Mike, Matt and Tim formed a band, then simply called "Flashlight", out of boredom and frustration and quickly moved from the small college town of Guelph to the much larger Toronto,...
(Originally by: The BeatThe Beat (band)The Beat are a 2 Tone ska revival band founded in England in 1978. Their songs fuse ska, pop, soul, reggae and punk rock, and their lyrics deal with themes of love, unity and sociopolitical topics....
) - "Everybody Wants to Rule the WorldEverybody Wants to Rule the World"Everybody Wants to Rule the World" is a song by the British New Wave band Tears for Fears.It was the band's ninth single release in the United Kingdom and seventh UK Top 40 chart hit, peaking at number two in April 1985...
" – Christian BurnsChristian BurnsChristian Burns is an English musician and the son of Tony Burns of "The Signs", a Liverpool-based rock band signed to Decca Records in the 1960s.-Career:...
(Originally by: Tears for FearsTears for FearsTears for Fears are an English new wave band formed in the early 1980s by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith.Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, they were initially associated with the New Wave synthesiser bands of the early 1980s but later branched out into...
) - "One Thing Leads to AnotherOne Thing Leads to Another"One Thing Leads to Another" is a song by new wave rock group The Fixx, from their album Reach the Beach. "One Thing Leads to Another" is the group's best known song, and their most successful single, peaking at No. 4 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in November 1983 and peaking at No. 2 on the US...
" – Steven StraitSteven StraitSteven Strait is an American actor, fashion model, and rock singer.-Early life and modeling:Strait was born and raised in Greenwich Village, New York City, New York. He is of Dutch and Italian heritage. He attended Xavier High School and took classes at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting...
(Originally by: The FixxThe FixxThe Fixx is an English rock band formed in London in 1979. Their hits include "One Thing Leads to Another," "Red Skies," "Stand or Fall," "Saved by Zero," "Sign of Fire," "Are We Ourselves?," "Secret Separation," "Driven Out," "How Much Is Enough?," and "Deeper and Deeper," which was featured on...
) - "LiesLies (Thompson Twins song)"Lies" is a 1983 song by the British New Wave/Synthpop band Thompson Twins. It was released as the first single from the album Quick Step and Side Kick , and the song peaked at #67 on the UK singles chart. The single fared better in the United States, where it peaked at #30 on the Billboard Hot 100...
" – The Click FiveThe Click FiveThe Click Five is an American power pop band from Boston, Massachusetts. The original members, most of them students at Berklee College of Music, started on January 1, 2003 and played in various local venues. They then quickly got the attention of talent scout Wayne Sharp...
(Originally by: Thompson TwinsThompson TwinsThe Thompson Twins were a British pop group that were formed in April 1977 and disbanded in May 1993. They achieved considerable popularity in the mid 1980s, scoring a string of hits in the United Kingdom, the United States and around the globe. The band was named after the two bumbling detectives...
) - "Voices CarryVoices CarryVoices Carry is the first studio album by the American band 'Til Tuesday, released in 1985. .'Til Tuesday's debut single was the album's title track, which went to #8 on the Billboard singles chart and remains the band's best-known song...
" – Vitamin CVitamin C (artist)Colleen Ann Fitzpatrick is an American pop music singer, songwriter, dancer, and actress better known by her stage name, Vitamin C. Her singles include "Graduation ", "As Long As You're Loving Me", "The Itch", and her most successful hit the Top 20 Gold certified "Smile"...
(Originally by: 'Til Tuesday'Til TuesdayTil Tuesday was an American New Wave band formed in Boston in 1982. Its original lineup was bassist/vocalist Aimee Mann, guitarist/vocalist Robert Holmes, keyboardist Joey Pesce, and drummer Michael Hausman.-History:...
) - "Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I WantPlease, Please, Please Let Me Get What I WantThe Dream Academy covered "Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want" in 1984. This version peaked at #83 in the UK Singles Chart. The instrumental version of the song is the better known cover version, since it was used in the film Ferris Bueller's Day Off along with an other Dream Academy...
" – ElefantElefant (band)- Background :Born in Detroit to Argentine parents in the late 1970s, Diego Garcia immersed himself in the sounds of Iggy Pop and MC5 at an early age. Music carried him throughout his tenure until his cardiologist father moved the family back to Tampa, FL when Garcia was a young teenager, and by...
(Originally by: The SmithsThe SmithsThe Smiths were an English alternative rock band, formed in Manchester in 1982. Based on the song writing partnership of Morrissey and Johnny Marr , the band also included Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce...
) - "True" – Cary BrothersCary BrothersCary Brothers is an American indie rock singer-songwriter originally from Nashville, Tennessee. After moving to Los Angeles and becoming a regular performer at the influential Hotel Cafe venue, Brothers first gained national attention with his song "Blue Eyes" on the Platinum-selling,...
(Originally by: Spandau BalletSpandau BalletSpandau Ballet are a British band formed in London in the late 1970s. Initially inspired by, and an integral part of, the New Romantic fashion, their music has featured a mixture of funk, jazz, soul and synthpop. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s, achieving ten Top Ten singles...
) - "Just What I NeededJust What I Needed-Cover versions:*Big Daddy - Big Daddy*Caleigh Peters – Sky High soundtrack*Sister Hazel – Lift*Poison – Poison'd*Bang Tango – Untied and live!*The Insyderz – Fight Of My Life and Paradise CD Single*Replicants – Replicants...
" – Caleigh PetersCaleigh PetersCaleigh Anne Forsyth-Peters is a pop rock musician. Born in Los Angeles, California, she is the daughter of Jon Peters and producer Christine Forsyth-Peters. Caleigh graduated from the Archer School for Girls in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California in June 2007. She is the god-daughter of Barbra...
(Originally by: The CarsThe CarsThe Cars are an American rock band that emerged from the early New Wave music scene in the late 1970s. The band consisted of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Ric Ocasek, lead singer and bassist Benjamin Orr, guitarist Elliot Easton, keyboardist Greg Hawkes and drummer David Robinson...
) - "Can't Stop the World" – Ginger Sling (Originally by: The Go-Go'sThe Go-Go'sThe Go-Go’s are an all-female American rock band formed in 1978. They made history as the first all-female band that both wrote their own songs and played their own instruments to top the Billboard album charts....
) - "And She WasAnd She Was"And She Was" is the name of a rock song written by David Byrne for the 1985 Talking Heads album Little Creatures. According to Byrne, the song was written about a girl he knew who used to take LSD in a field next to a Yoo-hoo beverage factory in Baltimore, Maryland. It reached number 54 on the...
" – Keaton Simons (Originally by: Talking HeadsTalking HeadsTalking Heads were an American New Wave and avant-garde band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band comprised David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison...
) - "Twist and Crawl" – SkindredSkindredSkindred is a Welsh rock band from Newport. The band was formed in 1998 following the disbandment of vocalist Benji Webbe's previous band, Dub War. Skindred's musical style mixes alternative rock, heavy metal, punk rock and reggae...
(Originally by: The BeatThe Beat (band)The Beat are a 2 Tone ska revival band founded in England in 1978. Their songs fuse ska, pop, soul, reggae and punk rock, and their lyrics deal with themes of love, unity and sociopolitical topics....
)