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High School Musical 3: Senior Year (Blu-ray) Official AVSForum Review

5K views 10 replies 10 participants last post by  wiigirl 
#1 ·


The Review at a Glance: (max score: 5 )

Film:


Extras:


Audio/Video total rating:

( Max score: 100 )

92






Studio and Year: Disney - 2008
MPAA Rating: G
Feature running time: 117 Minutes
Genre: Family

Disc Format: BD-50
Encoding:AVC (MPEG-4)
Video Aspect: 1.85:1
Resolution: 1080p/24


Audio Format(s): English DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Starring: Zack Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabel, Corbin Bleu, Monique Coleman
Directed by: Kenny Ortega
Music by: David Lawrence
Written by: Peter Barsocchini
Region Code: A

Blu-ray Disc release Date: February 17, 2009







"High School Graduation"



Film Synopsis:


America's favorite Wildcats (Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Corbin Bleu, Lucas Grabeel, and Monique Coleman) are back for their exciting final year at East High. Director Kenny Ortega pulls out all the stops with incredible new music and exhilarating dance numbers that will blow away devoted franchise fans and newcomers alike. Amidst a basketball championship, prom and the big spring musical featuring all the Wildcats, Troy and Gabriella vow to make every moment count, as their lifelong college dreams put the future of their relationship in question. Reprising their roles as fellow Wildcats and devoted friends, from the first two Disney Channel Original Movies, are Olesya Rulin, Chris Warren Jr., Ryne Sanborn, Casey Stroh, Bart Johnson and Alyson Reed. Plus, meet the new crew of sophomore Wildcats (Matt Prokop, Justin Martin, and Jemma McKenzie-Brown) who get into

the act!




My Take:


I have never seen either of the first two HSM films. My teenage kids are familiar with them and have reported that they found them to be corny. After sitting through High school musical 3: Senior year I would probably have to agree that corny is a term that is probably apropos. That doesn't necessarily make it bad and giving credit where credit is due I appreciated the spirit of this film and the grandiose music numbers that accompanied it. The main cast members seem very comfortable in their roles and handled them with confidence. The story was pretty conventional and touched all the bases which included sports, romance, college decisions, conflict and ultimately fulfillment. Mixed in with that was a battery of song/dance numbers that were nicely choreographed and fun to watch. I suspect that this film will find an audience in the pre-teen and young teenage groups rather than those who are near the age of the characters portrayed in the story. At just under two hours I thought it ran a bit too long but I am sure that for fans that might not be the case. I am not sure what lies in store for Troy, Gabriella and the rest of the gang now that they have graduated but fans can take solace in knowing that their final year can be seen as many times as they wish thanks to this superb Blu-ray offering from Disney.




Parental Guide:


There is nothing contained here that would be inappropriate for young viewers.





AUDIO/VIDEO - By The Numbers:
REFERENCE = 92-100 / EXCELLENT = 83-91 / GOOD = 74-82 / AVERAGE = 65-73 / BELOW AVERAGE = under 65

**My audio/video ratings are based upon a comparative made against other high definition media/blu-ray disc.**


(Each rating is worth 4 points with a max of 5 per category)


Audio: 86


  • Dynamics:

  • Low frequency extension:

  • Surround Sound presentation:

  • Clarity/Detail:

  • Dialogue Reproduction:





Video: 98


(Each rating is worth 4 points with a max of 5 per category)

  • Resolution/Clarity:

  • Black level/Shadow detail:

  • Color reproduction:

  • Fleshtones:

  • Compression:

High school musical 3: Senior year comes to Blu-ray Disc from Disney featuring 1080p AVC encoded video that has an average bitrate of 25 mbps and lossless DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio sound that has an average bitrte of 2.2 mbps.

Disney has been consistent in the high quality of their day and date Blu-ray Disc releases and HSM 3 is no exception. This is a reference quality video presentation that boasts exquisite high level detail, three dimensional depth, and deep inky blacks. Colors are visually stimulating and leap off of the screen. Reds were noticeably overstated which caused some color bleeding when varying shades were onscreen simultaneously but its effects were minor. Complexions were rendered with subtle texture and lifelike tonal quality that looked great. Images onscreen has impeccable depth, resolute sharpness and perfectly balanced contrast/brightness that drew out the finest details regardless of the lighting or camera's perspective.

Disney has always offered lossless audio options on their Blu-ray Disc releases. Early on it was in the form of uncompressed PCM. Lately they have started to include high resolution DTS-HD Master Audio and it was nice to see that it was set as the default audio option. This is not an aggressive sound track but this surround mix takes all of its inherent elements and delivers them with aplomb. I was impressed with the weight and descriptive representation of the dialogue through the center channel. The presentation had more of a frontal balance however when the entire system was utilized the aural environment within the room came alive and bristled with the sounds of the musical set pieces, as well as ambient rich detail and effects that supported the onscreen activity. Bass frequencies didn't reach into the deep sub bass regions but extension was appropriately proportionate to the source material and supported the soundtrack quite well.



Bonus Features:

  • Extended version of the movie

  • Blu-ray Disc Exclusives:

    1. (HD) New Cast profiles - 13 minute feature
    2. (HD) Senior awards - Cast/crew fun presentations ( 2 minutes)
    3. BD-Live experience
  • (HD) 8 deleted scenes with Director introduction

  • (HD) Bloopers - 2 minutes

  • (HD) Night of nights - 7 minute featurette

  • (HD) Its all in the dress - 2 minute featurette

  • (HD) Cast goodbyes - featurette

  • Sing along mode

  • DisneyFile Digital Copy Bonus Disc - Includes a standard definition version of the film that can be downloaded from a compatible PC to a portable playback device

  • A separate DVD copy of the extended version of the film





Final Thoughts:


High School Musical 3: Senior Year is an energetic feature film musical that marks the third in the series and the first to be released theatrically. While it may seem to shield itself from some of the realities of today's world I think it provides a nice escape. It's too bad that the only concerns for every graduating teenager aren't who to take to the prom, winning the championship game, losing the lead in the play, or which college offer to accept. By today's standards I think that most parents and students could easily live with that. Disney has done a magnificent job with its presentation on Blu-ray Disc and continues to support the format with high quality 1080p video and lossless audio encodings. In addition to all of the bonus content included on the 2 disc DVD version, the bonus features included on this 3 disc Blu-ray deluxe extended edition contains Blu-ray disc exclusives, BD-Live access, DisneyFile Digital Copy, and a separate DVD disc containing the extended version of the movie. If you're a fan this is the package to pick up. For those who are curious I would recommend it as a rental prior to purchase.














Ralph Potts
AVS Forum Blu-ray Reviews





Reference Review System:



JVC DLA-RS20 1080p High Definition Front Projector

Carada Precision Brilliant White 96" Screen

Oppo 970HD universal disc DVD Player (480i HDMI)

Toshiba HD-XA2 HD DVD Player (HDMI Audio/Video)

Panasonic DMP-BD55K Blu-ray disc Player (HDMI Audio/Video)

Sony Playstation 3 Blu-ray disc Player (HDMI Audio/Video)

Marantz DV7001 Universal Disc Player

Denon AVR 5308CI THX Ultra 2 Preamp/Video Processor

B&K Reference 200.7 Series 2 seven Channel amplifier

Philips TSU9400 Pro Series Touch Panel Remote Control

Canton "Ergo" Series speakers

Axiom Audio QS8 Quadpolar speakers

SV Sound PB-13 Ultra (Rosenut finish)

APC AV S15BLK Power Conditioner/Surge Protector

Furman SPR-20i Stable Power Regulator

Wireworld, VizionWare, Audioquest, Best Deal Cables - Audio/Video/Speaker Cabling

Cool Components - CP-CP102 cooling package
 
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#3 ·
My kids are 9 and 10. Just picked this up for them. (I have 1 and 2 on SD DVD.) They listen to the soundtracks every night. I suppose I'll be wearing this BD out, too.


I'm glad that Disney still knows how to make movies that touch young people (and still wants to.)


I never mind watching a reference-quality disc on my system. Thanks for the review, Ralph. Musicals 1 and 2 were similar in theme. I haven't seen this one yet, as my wife took the kids that day. However, I know I will see it now, many times.


(I am happy my kids never got into Barney!)
 
#4 ·
Interesting, when I saw the high score I figured it would have been because of audio being a musical and all.

Not exactly my type of film but I can appreciate what they are doing.
 
#5 ·
I have a cousin who is absolutely in love with these movies. Can someone please tell me why? lol
 
#7 ·
Ralph,


Did you notice a super long load time for High School Musical 3? It gets to the annoying forced Disney trailers pretty quick, but from the end of the trailers to the disc menu took over 5 minutes on my Panasonic BD55. I thought the player or disc was defective. All I had during those 5 minutes was a blank screen. And wouldn't you know it, it happened while I was showing off the HT to new visitors and friends.
 
#8 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by xradman /forum/post/15929827


Ralph,


Did you notice a super long load time for High School Musical 3? It gets to the annoying forced Disney trailers pretty quick, but from the end of the trailers to the disc menu took over 5 minutes on my Panasonic BD55. I thought the player or disc was defective. All I had during those 5 minutes was a blank screen. And wouldn't you know it, it happened while I was showing off the HT to new visitors and friends.

Greetings,


Arrghh! I hate when that happens! As I recall it did take some time to load. I don't remember exactly how long it took though.


Regards,
 
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