Credit: Far Out / Apple TV+
Thu 3 September 2026 20:45, UK
There are some movies that stand the test of time, and Kurt Russell is happy his 2005 comedy, Sky High, is one of them, as he was very open about how much fun he had making it.
He spoke highly about the script, the idea for the story, and generally about how well put together everything was, firmly concluding, “I love Sky High. I love to hear you say that. I love Sky High. It’s really funny. It’s a great premise, a great idea for a story for a movie. A very visual thing, too”.
So, what is Sky High about? Well, the premise is pretty out there, but it’s a lot of fun. The whole thing takes place in a fantastical high school which floats in the air. Here, kids who get superpowers learn the basics of education, alongside how they can control their powers.
This fun superhero story doubles up as a coming-of-age tale as our protagonist needs to learn how to be as good a superhero as his parents, both of whom are teachers at the school, one of whom is played by none other than Kurt Russell.
Made on a budget of $35million, the film did pretty well, making a cool $64m in the US and raking in an additional $22m overseas for a solid profit of which must have had studio executives pretty impressed.
As far as audiences were concerned, people left the cinema pretty happy as well. However, this isn’t one of those comedies which has been forgotten about the more that time goes on, for it seems that people are still able to connect with the movie on some level, and it continues to find new audiences despite coming out over two decades ago.
Russell has spoken about this newfound success and attributes it to the fact that it has a few hidden layers to it. Firstly, it’s a fun superhero film, and God knows that Hollywood can’t get enough of them these days. As the tales surrounding extraordinary people with powers seem to just get more and more hyped up, the fact that this is a superhero movie alone does a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to its success. Moreover, you also have the coming-of-age element, and the pressure that comes with starting high school and desperately wanting to blend in.
Further reading: Cutting Room Floor
The majority of people, when they start high school, will do so hiding something or attempting to keep something about themselves secret. It’s this element that Russell thinks does so well in the movie, and that he thinks adds to its timelessness. Out of all the great films he’s been involved in, this is one that he’s happiest about, who would have thought it?
“I think that it’s very relatable, anybody who’s gone to high school, your freshman year, there’s a lot of things that you want to try and hide, and of course you’re not going to hide them for very long,” he said, “People are increasingly finding that movie now. I’ve done a lot of movies that’s been the case, and it’s fun to see that happen with Sky High”.
