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by kellie abrahamson
kabrahamson1@aol.com
In an attempt to knock High School Musical off as king of the Disney Channel Original Movie mountain, Jump In! dominated the Disney Channel for months with promos, music videos and cast appearances. As a result, the film broke DCOM ratings records and the soundtrack made it to #3 on the Billboard 200 and was certified Gold in March. Jump In! is now available on special edition DVD.
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Isadore “Izzy” Daniels (Corbin Bleu) is a teen boxer who is following in his father’s Golden Gloves footsteps. His path in life takes a sharp turn, however, when Izzy discovers double dutch thanks to a pretty neighbor girl, Mary (Keke Palmer). When Mary’s double dutch team loses a member, they ask the curious Izzy to be their stand in, whose admiration for the sport drives him to accept. As their team prepares for the city-wide Double Dutch Showcase, Izzy begins slacking off on his boxing training, a move that concerns and disappoints his father (David Reivers). It soon becomes clear that Izzy must choose between the sport his father is convinced he’s destined for and the one that he loves.
The Jump In! DVD has a handful of extras, but only a couple of them are worth a look. The “Backstage Disney” section houses two supplements. The first is “Learning the Moves” where cast members Corbin Bleu, Shanica Knowles, Laivan Greene team up with double dutch instructor Chris Emerson to share the basics of the sport and to show off some advanced tricks. The other extra here is “Inside the Ropes: The Making of Jump In!,” which gives fans a brief look behind the scenes with sound bites from the cast, choreographers and filmmakers. Under the “Music and More” section there are two music videos, Keke Palmers “Jumpin” and T-Squad’s “Vertical.” The stuff under the “Backstage Disney” banner is by far more interesting than the songs but, due to their length, not by much.
Jump In! is, like most DCOMs, a family friendly film with a positive message. The acting is decent, though not groundbreaking. While Corbin Bleu shows a lot of promise throughout, it’s Keke Palmer that does the most impressing, not surprising given her terrific performance in Akeelah and the Bee. What makes this film particularly fun are the high-energy jump rope sequences. After watching the film for the first time, my two small children actually demanded jump ropes of their own. Anything that gets kids wanting to go outside and get some exercise is a good thing in my book. It was also nice to see people of color taking center stage on the Disney Channel. My main gripe with the film is that the storyline is a bit too similar to High School Musical, and the message is downright identical. I would have also liked to have seen more bonus features, given that this is supposed to be a special edition release.
It’s no High School Musical, but Jump In! is a cute little movie that the intended audience will enjoy. The DVD leaves a bit to be desired in the bonus features department, but that won’t stop your kids from putting it on their wish lists.
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