#seriously the only good thing about the live action monster high movies is Frankie the rest of the casting is awful.

[brebug242posts]

when will the live action remake trend die?

like some of them are good

and then we have some not even out yet and already getting mass hate

[hyperfixated-fan]

Thoughts on the 2022 MH Movie

Alrighty, I think I’ve observed enough to throw my thoughts out into the fandom. Obviously, everything g1 reigns supreme in my heart and I personally was not a fan of g2, but g3 seems to be relatively okay so far. Like it’s barely passing, but it’s passing. Don’t worry, I’ll try not to be a scathing or anything, just my random thoughts and opinions.

Now, the movie. Oof. In general, I am not a fan of live action movies and think animated media is the way to go, especially with a show like Monster High that has so many unique character designs, models, and powers. With animation, the show has the ability to get kooky and freaky with its characters’ emotions and powers without it looking tacky or cringy on low-budget CGI and actors. That being said, the Monster High movie was okay, very average.

What I liked or thought was okay:

Going in and watching it, I had to constantly remind myself that g3 is a reboot. Thus, I need to disconnect all I knew about previous incarnations and just observe these characters as separate. That definitely made the watching experience more enjoyable.

I thought the actors did okay and worked well with what they were given, which wasn’t a lot but they worked with it. The dances were hilarious. Some of those backup dancers were putting their heart and soul into their moves. XD

The movie was okay plot wise. Very generic but I was able to follow along and it set a decent basis for the new g3 material and lore.

Frankie. G1 Frankie never was my favorite character because she was such a plain main character, but I really love movie Frankie. Their quirkiness is one of the very few saving graces of the movie. I was afraid they would come off as annoying but I genuinely loved their scenes.

Now, I must admit, I am a greater fan of side characters in most shows than main characters, Abbey being no exception in MH. I personally loved her design and costume. Her hair! I love it! One of the few looks in the movie that were good in my opinion. Also, just the sheer joy and relief at seeing her back after g2 wiped her away. (a huge reason the g2 movies sucked.) (the g2 series was acceptable in my book since those included her)

Those tiny blink and you’ll miss it moments of Heath and Abbey interacting in the background is what kept me going through this movie.

The songs. The only other saving grace besides Abbey and Frankie. I must admit, I generally enjoy musicals so that gets a pass from me. Once again, pretty generic but they’ve all got good voices. Coming Out of the Dark and the Three of Us were my favorites.

Personality-wise, Draculara was okay and her outfit was pretty cute. You just have to remember to separate g1 Draculara in your mind from what we have now. I kind of like the perfectionistic pressure we see her getting from her dad. A very basic trait but I like it because it’s relatable for most perfectionists (me).

Clawdeen’s dad is so sweet and supportive. One of the best original things to come out from the movie.

What I disliked:

While the overall plot was passable, there were so many things that didn’t make sense.

like half human, half werewolf? Really?! Why? She’s 75% human? There was no point!

Also, that whole skatepark scene that shows Clawdeen’s ears? I guarantee no human would’ve batted an eye about that. I just found that whole scene ridiculous.

Monsters hate witches and witchcraft? Frick Casta Fierce, amiright.

but then Cleo mentions she did magic when she used to be human? Like, what?

Then there’s Draculara, a vampire, chilling over in the corner practicing witchcraft in the toilet. Huh? What correlation does she have to witchcraft?

Clawdeen x Deuce?! No. NO! Just absolutely NO!

The entire humans hate monsters thing and vice versa is such a flat plot point. So much for MH being accepting of everyone and their freaky flaws. I really miss that core message.

I seriously miss the variety of familiar characters. I get though that formulating costumes and renewing the rights to all their characters would be tedious, but still! Gimme all my babies back!

Isn’t Heath’s actor older than most of the cast? He definitely looks it.

I’m kinda between on this but I mostly dislike that it’s reminiscent of Disney Descendants quality but on an even cheaper budget. Did they have to do the choreography like that?

Cleo and Deuce break up is a major hate factor for me. There wasn’t enough elaboration or reason given. WHY?!

Also, where are Cleo’s bandages???

Lagoona. I know a lot of the fandom disliked the entire revamp. It’s not my favorite, but I don’t completely despise it. I think they should’ve renamed her to just be a completely different character or Lagoona’s cousin or something.

The Jekyll and Hyde villain was not it. Did not really enjoy it but at least he had reasonable motives I guess. Like, it’s heavily implied his dad got lynched, pretty gutsy move.

Also, the villain power up climax was really anticlimactic for me. Like he drinks the potion and has the ability to take everyone’s powers and no one runs away! The farthest they run is outside. Then, they all just stand there and talk it out and Komos stands there all powered up doing nothing. Bro, if they don’t have the common sense to run, just attack already.

Ghoulia. They’ve massacred my poor girl. I don’t know what else to say. (Not blaming the actress at all.)

Well, that’s all I can think about right now. I’ll probably share my thoughts on the animated series later.

[sparklyaxolotlstudent]

Well, I finally got the time to watch the new Monster High Movie. It’s a fun watch, 100% recommend.

But then again, I’m a fan of Disney Channel Original Movies like High School Musical and Descendants, so if you don’t like corny movies about the Power of Friendship and prefer more philosophical and deep movies, this is not for you.

SPOILERS

 Overall, the movie is fun, doesn’t take itself too seriously and it seems the actors were having a blast making it, which is always appreciated. There are a couple of cringe moments, but the new take on the characters is nice, as are some of the jokes that land really well.  

Draculaura: I like the original concept of her being the bubbliest and innocent of the group, sometimes it was a bit too much (as G2 Twyla can attest haha) although it always felt weird that she was the oldest in the group, yet behaved like the baby (Technically Cleo is the oldest, but most of that she was asleep and/or trapped in a cave, so a lack of maturity is not that odd). I like her new aloof personality and how she opened up to the Magic of Friendship™. The wording and behavior of Draculaura make me think she’s actually 16 in G3, but I could be wrong.  

Clawdeen: Unpopular opinion, but I like she has a different personality than the stereotypical “Sassy Black Woman”, and while I will miss her interest in fashion, she seems to be a more developed individual this time around. Her budding relationship with Deuce felt well developed and not forced like many other teen movies are. I liked their vibe together, and really wouldn’t mind seeing the Live Action of them get together, and I wouldn’t mind if they decide to be Better As Friends either.

Frankie: LOVED THEM. My favorite of all, the writers and the actor did a really good job of portraying Frankie as a “newborn” experimenting things for the first time. This limits a bit the plots they can get, but I love how they were Ride or Die immediately for Clawdeen.

Cleo: I think she’s the one who changed the least of all the characters, and I’m a bit annoyed that it took Clawdeen literally saving her life to get character development, but even that didn’t feel as forced as other instances. Her friendship with Lagoona is oddly sweet, as it seems Lagoona is no different than anyone else. And her snarky lines were some of the best lines, like calling Draculaura “Bat Girl”. Also props for mentioning Heka.

Deuce: I like that he is an actual character this time around and not just Cleo’s side piece, which started since G2. And unlike G1, it seems this time around he is not the Big Man on Campus, so even that is character development for Cleo, even if they don’t get back.

The rest: I love how unhinged and deranged Lagoona was. She’s the one who got less development in the whole movie, but outright offering to eat Deuce if Cleo was mad at him made me love her. She’s a true friend right there! Ghoulia was quirky and a bit of a jerk, and I loved how she kept popping out of nowhere, specially at the graveyard. Abbey felt like she would be also a good character to focus, as all her scenes imply that she’s as new to Monster High as Frankie and Clawdeen were, but having much less trouble fitting in. She even seems to have gotten on friendly terms with Heath rather quickly… and speaking of Heath, I thought he was going to be more of a bully jerk this time around, but other than explicitly being a jock, it seems he also retained his personality from G1, and along with everyone else named here, responded to Clawdeen’s plea of help, so he can’t be that bad.

Mr. Komos… I still simp for him, so yeah.

But jokes aside, I think it’s a bit unfair how he was treated by the narrative and all of that. His father was not only expelled of Monster High, but outright banned from Monster Society, for the crime of being part human, and then outright murdered by humans. We don’t get more of his backstory, but I don’t think his childhood was all peaches, and we aren’t even sure if he was abandoned or raised by his human mom… but even if he was raised by his mom… where? It’s pretty obvious his horns are natural, so he wouldn’t have fit with humans, and he didn’t attend Monster High, so he probably has been hiding his whole life. I hope he get a redemption arc in the future (We know Deuce stoning isn’t permanent, as he himself was cured)

And… like… Monsters kind of sucks for that one. Even if his story is biased, we see that both Dracula and Headmistress Bloodgood were part of the team that expelled Mr. Hyde. And it’s also heavily implied that he was friends with Dracula and Clawdeen’s mom (I think?). And none of them even try to help him. A parallel could be made that Clawdeen would have gone the same way (Hunted by human) if Frankie and Draculaura were as shitty friends as the previous generation, but they are actually decent individuals and went looking for her. I hope this is addressed in a future movie (There was a sequel hook, se it’s highly likely we’ll get a second one) because the Headmistress and Dracula getting off as being the “Good Guys” without any consequence on their part of this crisis really left me with a bad feeling, and makes me wonder if the “war with witches” and ban on witchcraft is not some more of their bullshitty bullshit.

PLUS, the fact that Frankie’s brain has the knowledge than monster-human hybrids can have changes while they’re teenagers and become more human means than monsters-humans hybrids used to be more common at a time, enough that one of Frankie’s brain parts retained the knowledge.

Anyway, the music is also a total banger. “True Monster Heart” and “I Can Trust You” are my favorites.