Sky High (2005 film)

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
"The kids who get bit by radioactive insects or fall into a vat of toxic waste, their powers usually show up the next day. Or - they die."
—Nurse Spex

A 2005 live-action Disney flick jumping on both the Superhero and Harry Potter bandwagons. Revolves around a kid named Will Stronghold, who is the son of the world's two most famous superheroes and is about to start high school at their alma mater: the titular Sky High, a school exclusively for people with superpowers. Between dealing with Girl Next Door Layla (plant controller), son-of-archnemesis Jerk with a Heart of Gold Warren Peace (fireball thrower) and the typical cliques of high school (being either a hero or a Sidekick "Hero Support"), Will must also face the embarrassing fact that, despite his pedigree, he does not seem to have any superpowers. At least not yet...

From the creators of Kim Possible, about... well, you just read it. The high school and Superhero tropes blend well enough (especially when Played for Laughs), it's almost a shame nobody thought of it sooner, unless they did and it just didn't get made until recently[when?] (*cough*Hero High*cough*). Featured a surprising amount of high-level names, including Michael Angarano as Will Stronghold, Kurt Russell as The Commander, Lynda "Wonder Woman" Carter as the principal, Bruce Campbell as Coach Boomer, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Gwen Grayson. Many critics and reviewers admitted that, upon viewing the film, they didn't dislike it.

Not to be confused with the other famous movie named Sky High or the incredibly obscure seinen manga by Takahashi Tsutomu. Compare PS238 and My Hero Academia.

Sky High (2005 film) is the Trope Namer for:
Tropes used in Sky High (2005 film) include:
  • Acrofatic: Speed, one of the supervillian/bullies, was a Flash-like speedster in spite of being overweight.
  • Actor Allusion: After they resisted it the entire film, the Principal's last line is, "I'm not Wonder Woman, you know." She's played by Lynda Carter. Also doubles as a Casting Gag.
  • Adults Are Useless: The Commander and Jetstream are the only competent heroes shown in work, but are taken down in seconds by the villain in the final. Anything worthwhile is done by adolescents. Even the villains are all young. Sort of. (Except Stitches, but he's basically controlled by Royal Pain anyway.)
  • Air Vent Passageway
  • All Guys Want Cheerleaders: Averted with Penny.
  • All Love Is Unrequited: Mr. Boy, for Jetstream. Justified in-story, in that a hero like her could never notice someone in 'Hero Support' - not with the strapping, handsome, charismatic Commander around.)
  • Alliterative Name: Gwen Grayson.
  • All of the Other Reindeer: In this school, you're either a hero, or a zero; "Hero Support" = Sidekick = social inferior.
    • A line from this song is actually sung at one point in the movie.
  • Almighty Bus Driver
  • Alpha Bitch: Penny. "Sorry, all full." She's apparently the entirety of the cheerleading squad, as well.
  • Badass Normal: Ron Wilson, Bus Driver! Until the credits, at least.
  • Battle Trophy: The Commander and Jetstream has an entire section of their base to show off stuff taken from defeated opponents.
  • Batman Gambit: A minor one in the beginning of the film. Will's parents defeat a giant robot terrorizing the city and the Commander takes a part of the robot (its eye) as a trophy. That robot eye is still functioning and being used by Royal Pain (who sent the robot to attack the city in the first place) to secretly spy on the heroes. Royal Pain knew he would do just this ("His ego's bigger than a giant robot") and the reporter says its a habit but if he didn't then plans falls flat, and that would detrail the entire Evil Plan.
  • Be the Ball: One girl's superpower is to turn into a big rubber beach ball. The unimpressed Coach Boomer merely kicks her away shouting "SIDE-KICK!".
  • Berserk Button: Gwen/Sue Tenny/Royal Pain hates when Stitches calls her "Daddy's little girl".
  • Betty and Veronica: Layla and Gwen, respectively.
  • Beware the Nice Ones: Layla. She can weaponize plants, people. She just doesn't, usually. Until you annoy her.
  • Bigger Bad: If one considers Sue and Gwen to be separate characters (though for what it's worth Gwen herself doesn't), Sue could be seen as this. Baron Battle also sort of qualifies, as while he's not behind anything he's apparently an even worse villain than Royal Pain... who spectacularly fails to show up in the movie.
  • Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Or in this case, Big Bad in sheep's clothing.
  • Black and Nerdy: Ethan.
  • Black Best Friend: Penny to Gwen.
  • Brainy Baby: Professor Medulla when he's regressed to a baby. He's still capable of talking and retains much of his knowledge.
  • Brick Joke: Early on in the movie, it's mentioned that the only way for kids of superheroes that don't get powers is to fall in a vat of toxic waste. This is mentioned again later. At the end of the movie, Ron Wilson, Bus Driver falls in to a vat of toxic waste and does, in fact get super powers. See Where Are They Now? Epilogue below.
  • Broken Aesop: The story is mean to show that separating people into groups is bad, but it serves a vital purpose in Sky High -- mainly, it keeps the sidekicks from getting killed by something they can't handle. If Magenta (who only shapeshifts into a guinea pig) tried fighting the Giant Robot from early in the film... It's even worse for Zach (who just glows) and Ethan (who melts), since their powers could easily be replaced with utility belt items (Flashlight and Oil Slick, respectively).
    • Not really. The Aesop is more "The Powers Don't Make The Super Hero" than "Work together". Even with their "lame" powers, they can get by with creative uses. And that without mentioning the super heroes who don't have any super powers, and aren't mentioned at all in the film.
      • "You don't need Hero-class powers to be a hero" rings a little hollow when the main character develops not one but two top-tier powers which which to impress his classmates and save the day. Multiple sub-tier powers can, with the right set of circumstances, provide vital background assistance; or you can single-handedly overpower a cheerleader army with your Green Thumb, be the main muscle through Playing with Fire, or save everyone in and below school by virtue of being a Flying Brick.
      • Though do note, a lot of the Aesop depended on how the Sidekicks were treated; though there was a practical purpose in isolating them and the main hero ended up saving the day, a lot of the conflict stemmed from the fact the sidekicks were treated like second-rate trash and the hero learned to interact and empathize with them.
  • The Call Put Me on Hold: Will. At least until his powers activate
  • Cannot Spit It Out
  • Captain Ersatz: A few, but the most obvious is Layla, being similar to Batman's villainess Poison Ivy. She's a redhead, she controls plants, she pretty much always wears green, she's very environment friendly, etc. -- except she's a good gal.
  • The Cheerleader: Penny.
  • Chekhov's Gun: More like Chekhov's Pacifier.
    • Technically, it's an actual gun called the Pacifier.
    • Of course it's only used for one scene. You have a power weapon to that can render enemies powerless and 'stop using it'?
  • Chekhov's Gunman: Unless you're good at identifying C-list actors under heavy makeup hiding in the shadows, this one will get you. though maybe not so much now that he's won an Academy Award, and all.
  • Chew Out Fake Out: Will trashes the school cafeteria, gets into a fight, and uses his powers when he wasn't supposed to. His dad punishes him by telling him no X-Box for a week. Will protests that he doesn't have one...at which point his dad reveals he's so proud of him for having powers that he bought him one.
  • Clark Kenting: Parodied with Mr. and Mrs. Stronghold, who both wear thick glasses. While Mr. Stronghhold accessories with vaguely 50s-style clothing, Mrs. Stronghold just dresses like a normal mom. A normal, Hot Librarian Hot Mom.
  • Color Coded for Your Convenience: There's a prevalent theme in pairing up characters with complementary color themes.
    • Specifically, Will wears almost exclusively red, white and blue, plant girl Layla wears green,and human glow stick Zach wears neon and white. Justified, in that you would want to play up your powers to impress your classmates. Besides, if your parents are superheroes with similar powers, similar colors would be included in their costumes. Because they like those colours, you would be exposed to them throughout your childhood.
  • Cool Loser
  • Corrupt the Cutie: Will falls victim to this when he is sorted into the Heroes track and starts going out with Gwen.
  • Dating Catwoman: Warren was the result of superhero and supervillain parents who continue to battle each other.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Magenta. She even dryly sings the aforementioned "Rudolph the Red Noise Reindeer" line to tease Zack.
  • Derailing Love Interests: It seems to happen with Gwen late into the film but it's averted when we find out it's actually her facade slipping and her revealing her true character.
  • Designated Girl Fight: Layla vs Penny.
  • Diabolical Mastermind
  • Die or Fly
  • Does Not Know His Own Strength: The Commander. And Will, after he gets his powers.
  • Does This Remind You of Anything?: Will's revelation to his father that he doesn't have any powers and has been classified as a sidekick has distinct overtones of a coming-out scene.
  • The Driver: The school bus driver.
  • Elaborate Underground Base: The Secret Sanctum.
  • Elaborate University High
  • Elmuh Fudd Syndwome: Mr. Medulla as a baby.
  • Enter Stage Window
  • Mr. Fanservice: Steven Strait, a.k.a. Warren Peace, as admitted here by the director.
  • Everyone Went to School Together
  • Evil Chancellor
  • Evil Plan: The Big Bad wants revenge but that's actuall a sidenote to their real agenda. turning everyone in the school into babies and repurposing the school as a villain training center.
  • Evil Twin: Parodied, when Coach Boomer invites Medulla on a double-date with a female hero and her evil twin. When we see the date, it's with Coach looking on in disgust as Medulla enjoys the attention of both ladies.
  • False Dichotomy: Layla, asked to demonstrate her powers, claims that the hero/sidekick dichotomy is a false one, but is cut off by Boomer declaring her a sidekick.
  • Fastball Special: With Will playing the part of Colossus and Hothead playing the part of Wolverine.
  • Fat and Skinny: Speed, the fat guy, actually has Super Speed, but Lash, the skinny guy, has stretching powers.
  • Fire-Forged Friends: Especially in Warren's case.
  • First Girl Wins
  • Five-Bad Band
  • Five-Man Band
    • The Hero: Will. He wears red, he's a Flying Brick and the protagonist.
    • The Lancer: Zack. His useless powers contrast Will's standard and easily used powers. Also, he's super confident despite them while Will was having an indentity crisis.
    • The Smart Guy: Ethan, Magenta. You gotta be smart to make use of their powers.
    • The Big Guy: Warren. (tallest, biggest, and physical-based (albeit elemental) powers).
    • The Chick: Not the only girl but the one who acts 'girly' and is a love interest for the hero.
  • Flying Bus
  • Fountain of Youth: The Pacifier.
  • Freeze Ray
  • Freudian Excuse: Sue became an evil supervillian bent on turning all the superheroes into infants because she was put in the Sidekicks class.
  • Gadgeteer Genius
  • Girl Posse: Penny herself is an entire Girl Posse.
  • Goth: Magenta, possibly a Perky Goth
  • Granola Girl: Layla.
  • Harmless Freezing: Several characters are frozen in various ways. It's treated lightly, but I can't think of any point where we've seen a frozen character unfrozen, and at one point we see two guys who were frozen quite a while earlier, still stuck there, entombed in ice... So Yeah. Possibly, horribly averted.
    • Easy to miss, but after Mr Medulla freezes a student in Mad Science class he does tell someone else to thaw him out. As with the two guys earlier, it's clearly harmless in context.
  • Heroes Want Redheads: Layla.
    • Jetstream also has reddish hair, though she's a hero herself (and already married to one!)
  • Hey, It's That Guy!: Snake has super powers!
  • Hey, It's That Voice!: You may recognize Chester Timmerman as a certain sea sponge.
  • High School
  • Hollywood Nerd: Sue Tenny/Gwen Grayson in her first childhood.
  • Hooked Up Afterwards: Arguably Zach and Magenta, also Warren and Freeze Girl.
  • Hot Dad: The Commander.
  • Hot Mom: Jetstream.
  • Idiot Ball: A very light case, with the Commander.
  • If I Do Not Return: Will and Ron Wilson, Bus Driver, have this exchange:

Will: If I'm not back in 30 minutes...
Ron: Come in after you!
Will: ...I was gonna say "get help".
Ron: [crestfallen] Get help. Right.

"The kids who get bit by radioactive insects or fall into a vat of toxic waste, their powers usually show up the next day. Or - they die."

    • Also by Layla and Magenta

"I forget. Did Tigerman get bit by a radioactive tiger, or was he bit by a regular tiger and then exposed to radiation?"

  • Incompletely Trained: Well, obviously. They're all still in Superhero School.
  • In with the In Crowd
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Warren Peace
  • Large Ham Title: Less pronounced than most, Ron Wilson, Bus Driver!
  • Last-Minute Hookup: Will and Layla
  • Limited Wardrobe: Played with -- each student's clothing varies day to day but with the same colors and design, hinting toward their emerging Superhero personas.
  • Made of Iron: The instructors state that Will has no powers...after he has already taken several hospitalizations worth of punishment during tryouts with no injury. So being Made of Iron is pretty much expected.
    • Not to mention Warren gets thrown face first into a concrete overhang, falls, and hits a table hard enough to splinter it to pieces, is thrown through a wall into a pillar hard enough to nearly break it in half and then gets up, looking not the worse for wear, except for the debris all over him, and goes back for more. Surely, that boy is made of stronger stuff.
    • Given that Will inherited both his parents' powers and Warren also have two super-powered parents, it's possible that Warren has Made of Iron as his secondary superpower along with Playing with Fire.
    • He says "'Think I can't take a hit?" when he walks back in, so it's possible it's an actual power. More likely it's just a genre convention, though
    • Nurse Spex mentions getting kicked through a wall by Will's dad. Make of this what you will.
  • Mad Scientist: The school has a Mad Science class.
  • Mad Scientist's Beautiful Daughter: Seems to be hinted at with Gwen, until we learn she's actually the Mad Scientist herself.
    • She's still a Hammy Evil Clown's Beautiful Adoptive Daughter, if that counts.
  • Manipulative Bastard: Gwen/Royal Pain.
  • Meaningful Name: Warren Peace, the son of a hero and a villain. It's like War and Peace, GET IT?
  • Meganekko: Kelly Preston looked damn good as Josie. As did Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Sue Tenny.
  • Misfit Mobilization Moment: Happens when Will, Layla, Warren, and the sidekicks fight Royal Pain's invasion during Homecoming.
  • Mood Lighting: During the fight sequences, and when Sky High is falling.
  • Mundane Utility: Subverted when Warren offers to heat up Layla's now cold meal. She protests that they're not supposed to use their powers outside the school, but he explains he was just gonna put it in the microwave.
    • Played straight for most of the movie, as most of the kids' power uses fall under this heading. Layla spruces up houseplants (and picks fruit off of trees), Gwen helps Will in mad science class, Zack illuminates a classroom when the power goes out, Speed and Lash bully kids and dominate gym class, etc.
  • My Brain Is Big: Professor Medulla.
  • Never Be a Hero: The message drilled into Hero Support is "Just stand back and hand me the Batarang silver-tipped crossbow, kid. And don't block my camera angles while you do it."
  • Never Trust a Trailer: Not sure if it counts, but this troper has seen advertisements for this on Disney Channel (with their tradition of playing movies that are years old) that had convinced this troper (who had not seen the movie yet) that Layla, the plant girl, was the villain.
  • New Powers as the Plot Demands: Will gets tossed out a window... and discovers he can fly.
    • This is actually Foreshadowed (albeit subtly) when he's had his First Kiss with Gwen: He shoots out his arm in a triumphant punch like Superman and flies along the street, grabbing a post and swinging on it to slow himself. He probably thought it was just his Super Strength which elevated him, or maybe was too ecstatic to really notice (he's a teenager); or perhaps he took note but just manage to master it until he needed to. It must be remembered that his mother's power is flight, and so it's not implausible to inherit abilities from both his parents.
  • No Plans, No Prototype, No Backup: The Pacifier. Despite being built by Royal Pain, the whole plan rests on getting it back from the Strongholds. It seems Royal Pain just could not build another.
    • Possibly justified by the original being a group design based on the picture of the science club. Also, she seems to have forgotten everything about her past life, while retaining her powers. She didn't know how to make it from scratch, and even if she did, she's a supervillain. She'd steal it just for poetic revenge.
      • Also possibly justified by the fact that she's a technopath rather than an actual genius. She can make stuff but might not really understand them. Reference the number of times Forge has created stuff and never been able to create them or undo them again.
  • No, You Go First: Layla is going to confess to Will that she likes him, by asking him to the school dance. As she was going to talk about the school dance, Will figures it's the perfect time to mention that he's going with the most popular girl in school. So Layla ends up telling him that she's going as well. With his archenemy.
  • Not Wearing Tights / Civvie Spandex: Notably, only the adult heroes wear Spandex, Latex, or Leather, and then only when in action or on special occasions.
  • Old Superhero: Chronically unappreciated All-American Boy is the past-his-prime sidekick without the retired superhero. His assigned mentor, The Commander, is still operating at his peak, while All-American Boy is now teaching "hero support" classes in the titular hero school. Partially subverted as All-American Boy is all but decrepit, and is still able to help the heroes.
  • Operation: Jealousy: Layla started a fake relationship with Jerk with a Heart of Gold Warren Peace in order to annoy Will. Warren, who disliked Will for his own reasons, was happy to oblige.
  • Ordinary High School Student: Will, and most of the others, too.
  • Paper-Thin Disguise: The Commander is wearing glasses and Steve Stronghold is not, as Layla points out and his disguise is totally different from Superman.
  • Phosphor Essence: Subverted with Zach: he can glow in the dark... and that's about it.
  • Plot Tailored to the Party: In the climax, everyone's powers become useful and are used, even the lame powers like glowing.
  • Powered Armor
  • Power Nullifier: The Detention Room.
  • Puberty Superpower: In some cases. Will gets his powers in his early teen years, while Layla apparently had hers when she was in kindergarten.
  • Punny Name: Warren Peace = War and Peace. As the son of a hero and a villain, it's appropriate.
  • Raise Him Right This Time: Royal Pain was regressed to a baby by her own Pacifier device, then raised by her henchman to be evil again.
  • Real Life Relative: The actors who play the Timmermans, Tom Kenny and Jill Talley, are husband and wife in real life.
  • Really Seven Hundred Years Old: Will is seriously squicked out when when he learns that Gwen is Sue Tenny.

"I made out with an old lady!"

  • Red Herring: Warren's dad. But not Gwen's.
  • Rule of Funny: In the DVD Bonus Features, there's one question which Kevin McDonald (in his Medulla costume -- large head and all) answers "Yes, I agree", and then he consents for the editors to use him saying that for anything they like. Throughout the documentary, they randomly cut to him saying "Yes, I agree" for virtually anything. It's hilarious.
  • Samus Is a Girl

"Of course I'm a girl, you idiot! How I lost to an fool like you I'll never know."

Coach Boomer: ''SIIIIIIDE-KIIIIIICK!''

"Remember when we used to use real citizens?"
"Yeah..."

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