Mattel’s Monster High toy line gave a classic monster twist to dolls along with a web series that segued into other forms of media to flesh out the dolls’ fictional stories. Its popularity only continues to grow, resulting in a new live-action movie for tweens, full of catchy tunes and monster charm – just in time for Halloween.
Clawdeen Wolf (Miia Harris) struggles to find her place in the world as a half human and half werewolf teen. Feeling shunned by humans, Clawdeen decides to follow in mom’s footsteps and attend Monster High, a school reserved solely for those with true monster hearts. That means she’ll have to keep her human heritage a secret. Clawdeen quickly makes friends with roommates Frankie Stein (Ceci Balagot) and Draculaura (Nayah Damasen), enemies with Cleo de Nile (Jy Prishkulnik), and even forms a crush on the kind Deuce Gorgon (Case Walker). All that newfound acceptance threatens to come toppling down when strange happenings and body changes threaten to expose Clawdeen’s human half.
Director Todd Williams serves up a breezy romp through Monster High, never slowing down a second in this wholesome monster tale about getting comfortable in your own skin. A quick emotional parting with dad and Clawdeen’s singing her way on the moonlit path to an atrociously CG gothic right out of a cartoon. Luckily, the catchy song and dance number that ensues, introducing key players in the process, helps distract from the initial rocky VFX. Even better is that the more Clawdeen becomes comfortable at her new school, the more the set pieces embrace the practical.
It’s not the school that’s important here anyway, but the core friendships between Clawdeen, Frankie, and Draculaura. There’s a much firmer commitment to practical makeup applications regarding the characters and ensuring they match their doll counterparts. The monster trio’s quick acceptance of each other’s quirks begins an endearing friendship that anchors the entire movie. It’s hard not to be charmed by how fiercely they go to bat for each other. Pun intended; writers Billy Eddy, Matt Eddy, and Jenny Jaffe delight in penning monster humor and retooling familiar high school scenarios around monster problems. Poor Deuce, for example, just wants to look people in the eye, but their fear of gorgons makes that a constant issue. Cleo’s mean girl nature might be related to too tight mummy wrappings, constricting her heart for too long.
It’s the precise type of silliness that will delight the young ghoul at heart, its target demographic. The earworm song and dance numbers, combined with infectious performances by its leads and wholesome inclusion messaging, means it’s ripe to become a household favorite for Monster High fans. The live-action feature works well as an introduction to the unfamiliar, setting up teases for possible continuation.
Monster High: The Movie retreads familiar themes from high school musicals that came before, but the spooky twist adds a fun layer that could make for an excellent gateway to a budding monster kid. Some of its effects won’t impress grown-ups, but its target audience won’t mind once Harris, Balagot, and Damasen start exposing their monster hearts in song and dance. But parents beware: this ghoulishly cute monster mash will undoubtedly add to holiday toy wish lists.
Monster High: The Movie releases on Nickelodeon and Paramount+ on October 6.
