Alice Upside Down: The Movie

Alyson Stoner and Lucas Grabeel radiate a goofy charisma as siblings relocating to a new town and enrolling in a new school when their widower dad (Luke Perry) buys a music store. While older bro Lester (Grabeel) is instantly popular, Alice’s (Stoner) inept social skills cause embarrassment at every turn. Even worse, she draws the continuing ire of her stern teacher, Mrs. Plotkin (Penny Marshall). Director Sandy Tung is frighteningly successful at making things uncomfortable for Alice, but it all works out in the end.

Shelf Talk: The High School Musical franchise opened the tap to the lucrative tweener market, and new titles continue to pour out. Producers must figure that if they keep production values somewhat slick and feature actors with exposure on Disney and Nickelodeon, kids will likely check out these titles. Alice Upside Down fits the bill and has the added benefit of being based on Phyllis Reynolds Naylor’s series of novels, priming the target DVD audience by about 2 million readers. Stoner is known from The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, Grabeel has the highest profile in the cast as a High School Musical regular, pretty co-star Ashley Eckstein is familiar from That’s So Raven, and Perry and Marshall have enjoyed long careers. Look for a media blitz on all things ABC and Disney, as well as print ads in Girl’s Life, People and Bop.