Tween-targeted adventure, fun and excitement arrives on DVD in the form
of The Suite Life on Deck: Anchors Away!, a sort of fleshed-out, thematically grouped spin-off offering of the hit Disney Channel
original series The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, starring Dylan and Cole Sprouse.

Reprising their roles from the show, the twins Zack and Cody Martin hit
the high seas with hotel heiress London Tiptoe (Brenda Song, above center), enrolling in a semester-at-sea program aboard the S.S. Tipton. Much to his chagrin, dutiful hotel manager Mr. Moseby (Phill Lewis, above right) also gets sucked along on the outing, assuming responsibility for all three youngsters. Hijinx ensue, don’tcha know, as well as romance; the boys try to woo some young ladies, to the extent that “action” involves holding hands and a peck on the cheek. Ashley Tisdale, of the High School Musical flicks, even reprises her role as Maddie from the original series.

Some of the outfitting is all wrong (hipster and vintage videogame T-shirts?), but the shaggy-haired Sprouse twins serve as harmlessly charming anchors for this slice of diverting adolescent entertainment. The direction is pretty flat and straightforward, and the writing makes sure to carefully underscore each set-up, but it’s all performed with cheery enough aplomb, and thankfully doesn’t feel the need to “dual-pitch,” with coded double entendres or other jokes for adults.

Housed in a white plastic Amaray case with snap-shut hinges, The Suite Life on Deck comes presented in 1.33:1 full screen, with a Dolby digital surround sound audio track, and optional French and Spanish language tracks and subtitles as well. The disc’s supplemental features include “Much Ado About Nothing” and “International Dateline,” two bonus episodes which offer up further sea-set adventures. The latter, in which the crew enters a time warp and is forced to repeat the same day over and over, is no Groundhog Day, but probably ranks as the best offering of the bunch. There’s also a 10-minute segment, “Debby on Deck,” in which the Sprouse twins goof around with and interview Debby Ryan (above left), the newest member of the cast, as well as an additional 10 minutes of glad-handing incidental footage from the on-deck premiere event for the show. Yes, parents, this is a suitably wholesome distraction. To purchase the DVD via Amazon, click here. B- (Show) B- (Disc)