95 mins, Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Family/Action/Comedy/Sci-Fi/Drama, also available to buy. Starring: Michael Angarano, Kurt Russell, Kelly Preston, Danielle Panabaker, Dee-Jay Daniels, Nicholas Braun, Kelly Vitz, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Lynda Carter, Bruce Campbell.

LIVING up to your parents' lofty expectations can be a stressful experience for any teenager - for Will Stronghold (Angarano) it's almost unbearable.

As the son of legendary superheroes The Commander (Russell) and Jetstream (Preston), he must follow in their footsteps and attend Sky High, a prestigious high school where the heroes of tomorrow receive their formal training.

Unfortunately, Will has no superpowers of his own and he is relegated to "Sidekicks" class with best friend Layla (Panabaker) and misfits Ethan (Daniels), Zach (Braun) and Magenta (Kelly Vitz).

When a dastardly villain threatens his parents, Will has to marshal all his courage to find the hero within.

Sky High is an incredibly smart and savvy coming-of-age comedy that plays like a giddy conflation of John Hugs and The Incredibles.

Comic

The screenwriters create a larger-than-life comic book world in which to play out a traditional tale of adolescent angst, unrequited love and cafeteria power struggles. They provide the cast with pithy and knowing dialogue, as well as some spectacular set pieces, including the "Save The Citizen" trial that forces Will and Warren to work together.

Angarano is an appealing teen hero and Russell delivers a great comic turn as his old man, who briefly considers invoking his son's superpowers by "dropping him in a vat of toxic waste".

Cloris Leachman is a hoot as Nurse Spex and Lynda Carter has a tongue-in-cheek supporting role as high school Principal Powers, who despairs, "I'm not Wonder Woman, you know!"

Director Mike Mitchell maintains a breakneck pace from the onset.

DVD Extras: Welcome To Sky High featurette, Breaking Down The Walls: The Stunts Of Sky High featurette, Filming The Guinea Pig featurette, Super Bloopers, alternative opening, deleted scenes, storyboards, music video.