"The Phantom of the Megaplex strikes again!"
Phantom of the Megaplex is a 2000 Disney Channel comedy film. Very loosely based on The Phantom of the Opera, the story concerns strange happenings at a megaplex on the night of the premiere of a major Hollywood film, Midnight Mayhem. Pete Riley, the seventeen-year-old assistant manager of the theater, has to cope with malfunctioning equipment, disappearing staff, and a broken popcorn machine! He investigates the troubles to find out if it's all a coincidence or the result of sabotage by a mysterious "phantom", not to mention the antics of his younger siblings.The movie provides examples of:
- Accidental Misnaming: Wolfgang Nedermeyer keeps getting Shawn McGibbon's last name wrong. After Shawn is revealed to be the Phantom, Wolfgang comes down on him hard and gets his name wrong, again. This drives Shawn to scream and correct him. He tells him he did all this so he can get recognition and so Wolfgang would get his name right. But he's already fed up with his job and quit. A famous director decides to give him a movie deal, Phantom of the Megaplex: The Shawn McGibbon Story.
- Affectionate Parody: Of movies in general, but most notably big-budget blockbusters.
- Another Story for Another Time: About the Werewolf of the Megaplex...
- Beware the Nice Ones: Hilary may be the Team Mom, but between the stress of preparing the theatre for the premiere and dealing with the Phantom's shenanigans, she does not react well to two of Karen's friends hiding out in the bathroom in an attempt to sneak into the premiere.
- Big Eater: Pete develops a big appetite from working at the megaplex all day, as evidenced by the big bowl of cereal.
- Bizarrchitecture: The Megaplex.
- Bigger on the Inside: Even though it's pretty big on the outside, too.
- Blame Game: Karen chews Bryan out for accusing Merle, the projectionist, of being the Phantom.Bryan: Well, I don't hear you coming up with better ideas!
- After Donnie spills all the gumballs from the gumball dispenser, he quickly pins the blame on Karen and Bryan, to which Bryan blames "The Phantom of the Megaplex."
- Brother–Sister Team: Bryan and Karen
- Building of Adventure: Again, the Megaplex.
- By-the-Book Cop: Ricky Leary, a.k.a. "Ricky Rules", is this minus the cop part.
- Cassandra Truth: Nobody will listen to Bryan about the Phantom, at first.
- Character Development: Pete was too dedicated into his work. By the end of the movie, he decides to mellow out.
- Cool Old Guy: Movie Mason, whose family used to own the town's first movie theater. Despite not working at the megaplex, he shows up every day and even attends staff meetings.
- Deadpan Snarker: Pete, Karen and Bryan, must run in the family.
- Description Cut: Pete and his mom are talking about the premiere, while Julie openly worries if he can handle the pressure. Pete assures her that he and the team are professionals who can handle anything. Cut to Shawn:Pete: Mom, we're professionals, we have everything under control.Shawn: (hangs up phone) It's a disaster!
- Dramatic Unmask: When Pete unmasks Shawn to be "The Phantom", everyone at the premiere was aghast.
- Evil Laugh: The Phantom indulges in this a lot.
- Elaborate Underground Base: Movie Mason has one dedicated to old movies.
- Finagle's Law: Basically, during the night of the premier, anything that can go wrong, does go wrong. Even Pete's mom and her boyfriend George have a lousy night, and they weren't even at the megaplex for most of the evening.
- Granny Classic: "The Cinema Sitter", an elderly usher that only appears 3 times in the entire film, not including the employee meeting at the beginning. After that she is never seen again.
- He Who Must Not Be Seen: The Phantom.
- Jerkass: Shawn MacGibbon, and many of the Hollywood-ites who show up for the premiere as well.
- Shawn at least has the excuse of being stressed out setting up the premier, recently being denied a promotion, and now dealing with the phantom's antics. At least until we find out he is the phantom.
- Jerkass Has a Point: When Movie Mason is finally given a chance to help as a ticket taker, he blows it by refusing to admit viewers to movies he doesn't like. While Shawn is wrong to chew him out and insult him, Mason's Cool Old Guy quirks simply don't translate to a working environment, and he's more a hinderance than a help.
- During the Phantom's Motive Rant, Shawn points out that Wolfgang has just hired his incompetent son-in-law to General Manager in a classic case of nepotism, ignoring the hard work Shawn has dedicated to the Megaplex for years. Near the film's end, said son-in-law quickly admits to know nothing about the Megaplex's layout or where to find the projectionist, somewhat proving the Phantom's point.
- Jerk Jock: Donny Hollie. A Smug Snake who enjoys giving Pete a hard time at his job.
- Kick the Dog: Everyday Mason would come in to the Megaplex and offer his services, he'd even make a work schedule for himself and hand it over to Shawn for approval. And every single day, Shawn would kindly take the note, tear it up and throw it away... right in front of Mason.
- That and calling him a freakshow during the grand opening, seriously, the man has zero respect for his betters. Considering how his superior Wolfgang keeps getting his name wrong, it's probably understandable.
- Motor Mouth: "Racy" Lacy, the theater worker, known for being super-fast in the talking department.
- Nightmare Fetishist: Terri, a.k.a. "Scary Terri", who enjoys recapping disturbing urban legends to anyone in earshot. Of course, it turns out that Terri herself is capable of being scared.
- Offscreen Teleportation: The Phantom has a knack for appearing and disappearing at will.
- "Scooby-Doo" Hoax: All the shenanigans that Shawn MacGibbon did as "The Phantom of the Megaplex" was to get back at Nedermeyer for not noticing him.
- Show Within a Show: The movies playing at the Megaplex.
- Shout-Out:
- To The Phantom of the Opera. The 1925 film adaptation is even mentioned by Pete at the beginning of the movie as being the first to premiere at the original theater.
- Another movie playing at the megaplex that night has a tornado as its main plot point.
- Several giant dinosaur balloons fall upon the masses at one point. May also be a reference to Godzilla.
- Team Mom: Hillary Horan, a.k.a. Hillary Honey. Pete himself likens her to a sweet old grandmother, in the body of a teenager.
- Theatre Phantom: Pete struggles to cope with the broken popcorn machine at the concession stand, disappearing theater staff and technical difficulties plaguing every screen. All seemingly caused by a mysterious masked figure roaming the halls only to vanish without a trace.
- Title Drop: Happens thanks to Pete's brother Bryan.
- A second time by the director when he offers to turn the whole caper into a movie, with an added subtitle; Phantom Of The Megaplex: The Shawn MacGibbon Story
- White Mask of Doom: If it's based on The Phantom of the Opera, of course.