TV Show Info:
Writers: Various
Directors: Various
Cast: Selena Gomez, David Henrie, Maria Canals-Barrera, David DeLuise, Jake T. Austin, Jennifer Stone
Rating: G
Studio: Walt Disney Video
Release Info:
Original Air Dates: October 12, 2007-July 5, 2008
DVD Box Set Release Date: July 29, 2008
Online Availability: Amazon for $14.99, Wal-Mart
I have a teenage son, so the Disney Channel is one station that is on a lot in our house. I’ve found that I don’t like very many of the shows on Disney. Sure, there is The Suite Life of ZacK and Cody and Phineas and Ferb, but pretty much everything else makes me want to jump off a bridge just so I can escape from having to endure the torture of watching these shows. When a new series premiered in late 2007, The Wizards of Waverly Place, I was expecting it to be just like the majority of the other shows the Disney Channel has to offer. Upon catching an episode when my son was watching it, I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. The Wizards of Waverly Place is actually quite funny.
With the soaring popularity of the Harry Potter series and the release of the last book a year ago, The Wizards of Waverly Place debuted at the right time. There aren’t many, if any similarities between this show and the Harry Potter books. What can be said in comparing the two is that The Wizards of Waverly Place is somewhat of a spoof of the wizard lifestyle. This show is definitely a comedy and while the series has flat out spoofed Harry Potter, the two worlds in which these wizard stories are set are remarkably different.
The Wizards of Waverly Place gets its strength from its humor and its cast. The actors work remarkably well together and they are able to play their humor off one another. The three kids who perform on the show, Selena Gomez, David Henrie, and Jake T. Austin are excellent with their respective comedic roles. They act like actual siblings and they have great chemistry with their TV parents, David DeLuise (yes, he’s Dom’s son) and Maria Canals-Barrera.
As Justin, David Henrie manages to play a nerd with humor. Justin is smart, driven, and he likes to have rules to follow because otherwise, “he’ll have a meltdown”. During the first season, he is the most responsible of the Russo children. He uses magic not because it is convenient, but because he respects the fact that he has the ability to use magic. Selena Gomez plays the middle child, Alex. While The Wizards of Waverly Place seems to be a vehicle for Gomez, she has the ability to carry the show. As Alex, Gomez is the complete opposite of Justin. Alex rarely thinks things through, often uses magic because it’s convenient, and is both popular and stylish.Of course, you cannot discredit Jake T. Austin. The youngest child, Max, is a clueless tween. He’s also the comic relief for the show since Max is rather accident prone and forgetful.
The greatest surprise of this show is, no doubt, David DeLuise. Comedy definitely runs in the family for DeLuise, a talented actor with an impressive resume of work. As the Russo father, Jerry, DeLuise isn’t like the other, humorless and boring parents that really don’t have a place on other Disney shows. Not only does DeLuise have an active, well played role, he also has the ability to steal the scenes he is in away from his nearly as talented, younger cast members. His chemistry on screen, with Maria Canals-Barrera is exceptional and the two make excellent parents, with realistic tendencies, despite the magical themes to the show.
The Wizards of Waverly Place Plot
The three Russo children who live above the sandwich shop their parents own, in a loft on Waverly Place, appear to live normal, teenage lives, but in reality, they’re wizards. Their father, Jerry comes from a family of wizards. While all three kids have the ability to use their wizard powers while they’re young, eventually, only one of them will be able to keep their powers, as adults. Jerry is now without his wizard powers (despite being the better wizard – he had to give up his powers when he married his mortal wife, Theresa) though he tries to give all three of his children the opportunity to compete to win their powers themselves.
The Wizards of Waverly Place deals with these three kids living in a normal world with powers they must hide. Real life lessons are easily presented as the siblings work together or against one another, in an attempt to develop their powers. Throughout the episodes, there is little emphasis on the fact that only one of them will get to keep their powers when they grow up, but this seems to be an ever present thought in the minds of the Russo kids. Competition is also explored more in the two part episode, “Wizard School”.
There are four episodes included on the The Wizards of Waverly Place: Wizard School DVD. These are four episodes from the first season of the show. Here is a list of the episodes and a brief description of each:
“Wizard School – Part One” – During the summer, Justin gets a break from the family when he goes to wizard school (yes, this is a total Harry Potter spoof). Justin is certain he’ll be in a much more productive, responsible environment. When Alex shows her irresponsibility by playing with magic the Russo’s decide to send her to Wiz Tech, as well. Alex is sure that she’ll finally find a place at the school, since she’s so good at magic, but like always, it is Justin who excels and Alex who tries to bend the rules. When their professor, Dr. Evilini shows favoritism over Justin, Alex decides maybe coming to Wiz Tech wasn’t such a good idea after all. Meanwhile, back on Waverly Place, Max decides to spend time doing all the things he cannot do with his parents when his siblings are around. This includes camping out on the terrace.
“Wizard School – Part Two” – Justin discovers he’s exceptional when playing a ping pong type of game. Alex learns that Dr. Evilini isn’t what she seems and the bad news is, she’s using Justin in her evil game. Alex must stay and try to convince Justin of the truth, but with Alex always having trouble with behaving and honesty, this is easier said than done. Back on Waverly Place, Max must go out and get customers for the Sub Station because a competitor for The Salad Bowl is advertising right outside the Russo Sandwich Shop.
“Disenchanted Evening” – Alex is sick of not being able to use her powers to make her life easier because her parents, Jerry and Theresa, are too strict. When Alex discovers that a boy at her school, T.J. Taylor is a wizard and he can use his powers whenever he wants, she asks him to help her by having his parents convince the Russos that they need to let Justin, Alex and Max use their powers whenever they want. When something goes wrong, because Alex has found a way to get her way, she soon realizes that maybe rules were in place for a reason.
“Curb your Dragon” – Justin always believed he caused his pet dog to run away, but Alex admits it was her fault. To make up for the loss of Willie, Alex buys Justin a dragon that just happens to be disguised as a beagle. Using the excuse that the dog was found by them on the street, Theresa and Jerry unknowingly allow them to keep “Dragon”, as long as they put up ‘Lost Dog’ posters. When someone claims Dragon as their own pet, while the kids are in school, they must find a way to rescue their dog/dragon before their parents find out the truth.
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Audio/Visual:
The four episodes on The Wizards of Waverly Place: Wizard School DVD were all filmed within the last year. The quality is excellent. It looks like it did when these episodes originally aired on the Disney Channel. All of the episodes are presented as 1.33:1 full frames. The colors on this DVD are vibrant. Black tones are deep. There is excellent contrast and I had trouble noticing any visible errors in any of the episodes.
The sound is as good as the video for The Wizards of Waverly Place: Wizard School disc. Every episode features English, Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo sound. This quality is great because The Wizards of Waverly Place is a dialogue driven show. There wasn’t any need to play with the volume. Music and dialogue both sound quite good and the sound is fairly dynamic for being available in stereo. Subtitles are available in English.
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Bonus Features:
There is one bonus, but if you’re a fan of The Wizards of Waverly Place, it will be worth watching. This is a Backstage Disney featurette that goes behind the scenes with the cast of the show. “Work It Like A Wizard - Take a Spellbinding Trip Behind the Scenes with the Cast!” features Selena Gomez, David Henrie, and Jake T. Austin. You’ll learn about things they love to do (Selena – Shopping, David – Boxing, Playing the Guitar, and Jake – Skateboarding), their favorite foods, and what they have in their mp3 players.
While there isn’t an abundance of bonuses on this DVD, if you like the cast, this is a great way to get to know them better.
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Bottom Line:
For a Disney Channel television show The Wizards of Waverly Place is actually quite good. While it is disappointing that The Wizards of Waverly Place: Wizard School DVD has only four episodes on it, Disney isn’t known to release its shows on DVD in season sets. If you’re a fan of Waverly Place you’ll want to pick this up, merely because you might not have a chance to get these episodes on DVD again. If you’ve never seen The Wizards of Waverly Place and you like comedy or if you have a child over the age of 5 or 6 who enjoys crazy television series, then you should check the show out. It airs on the Disney Channel multiple times throughout the week. Who knows? You might just like this show as much as your child.
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Technorati Tags: Wizards of Waverly Place, Wizard School, Disney, TV Show, Kids, DVD Review, Selena Gomez, Jake T. Austin, David Henrie, David DeLuise
Written by Dominick Evans - Visit Website
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Dominick is in his late 20s. He lives in Michigan with his life partner, Ashtyn, their 14 year old son Robert, and their Shih-Tzu, Oliver. Dominick is a writer and the head editor for both LI Kids and Literary Illusions. He enjoys composing music and is an aspiring director/screenwriter. In his free time he enjoys spending time with his family, playing and watching sports, playing video games, watching movies, and singing.
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