Disney // 2008 // 90 Minutes // Not Rated
Reviewed by Judge David Johnson // February 9th, 2009
New style. New look. New world.
This is my first encounter with the Disney Channel original series Wizards of Waverly Place. Shockingly, some bigshot TV exec though there was mileage to be gotten out of young kids learning magic and getting into trouble. Wonder where that inspiration came from? Anywho, the show is about a family of magic-wielders who also own a café, for some reason. When they're not slinging hash, the kids are learning all manner of wacky spells, which always come into a play at some point in the episode's adventure. Grab your wand and strap in for some lightweight teen comedy featuring the worst laugh-track I've ever heard...and that includes Scooby-Doo.
Four episodes of magical tomfoolery!
"Credit Check"
Alex (Selena Gomez, Another Cinderella
Story) is offered an internship at a high-profile fashion magazine and
instantly makes her mark with great ideas that (of course) make her boss
jealous. She decides to sabotage his reputation, at an upcoming fashion show,
but wouldn't you know it. Her plan backfires and she's forced to use the Freeze
Frame spell to try and repair the situation. Meanwhile, Justin, the older
brother, finds himself hopelessly enamored with the new waitress.
"Smarty Pants"
Gearing up for the school's big quiz bowl,
Alex inadvertently screws up the buzzer wiring and electrocutes one of the girls
on the team. She agrees to fill in and, fearing she'll get crushed in the
competition, dons some experimental "wizard wear" to gain a magical
advantage. But -- wait for it -- her scheme backfires! Back in junior high, Max
the young brother tries to make money bottling fountain water.
"Beware Wolf"
Justin's new flame, Isabella, is displaying
some bizarre personality traits; she's acting like a dog. That's right, he's
dating a werewolf and it's not long until he becomes a werewolf himself, clad in
extraordinarily inexpensive makeup and fur.
"Graphic Novel"
In the most experimental episode of the
batch, Alex's brothers discover her "magic journal," which apparently
allows Alex to live in a fantasy world, filmed with one of those watercolor
filters from Photoshop. Unfortunately, Alex's school nemesis is accidentally
sucked into the journal and it's up to the young Russo wizards to work their
magic mojo and handle their bidness.
And that's your DVD. The show is corny and riddled with lame jokes, but I can see where its pre-adolescent appeal comes from. Selena Gomez is a charmer and certainly sports some of that Hannah Montana-ish feistiness. She's definitely the star of the show, and the plots smartly orbit around her. What's not the star of the show? That laugh-track. Simply awful.
The disc: a nice enough full frame transfer and 2.0 stereo mix, a boatload of trailers, and a behind-the-scenes featurettes on the show's costume department.
Review content copyright © 2009 David Johnson; Site layout and review format copyright © 1998 - 2012 HipClick Designs LLC
Scales of Justice
Judgment: 75
Perp Profile
Studio: Disney
Video Formats:
* Full Frame
Audio Formats:
* Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo (English)
Subtitles:
* None
Running Time: 90 Minutes
Release Year: 2008
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Distinguishing Marks
* Featurettes
Accomplices
* IMDb
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0799922/combined