Monster High 2

IN A NUTSHELL: Hi, ghouls! This a family-friendly movie for the kids to get in the "safe" spirit of Halloween. Our favorite monsters from the first Monster High are back, entering their Sophomore year in school with colorful costumes, monster puns, musical numbers, and a new villain and threat to the world.

The film was directed by Todd Holland, who also co-wrote it with Matt Eddy and Billy Eddy.

THINGS I LIKED: If you haven't seen the first movie, you'll be caught up to speed within the first few minutes.

I love that it's a musical. The songs are catchy, performed by talented teens.

The monster costumes and characters are well defined and entertaining.

The choreography is cute.

There's a twist. Ooooooh!

The talented cast includes Miia Harris, Nayah Damasen, Ceci Balagot, Salena Qureshi, Case Walker, Marci T. House, Jy Prishkulnik, and more!

Rather than just being singing monsters, it was fun to see many of them use their special powers.

Keep watching during the final rolling credits to see some behind-the-scenes footage.

If you enjoy this cute franchise, you'll be happy to know the film ends with a cliffhanger, alluding to ANOTHER sequel.

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE: If you don't like puns, beware.

It's very goofy.

Because more time was spent on character development in the first movie, we don't learn much about the various monsters in this one.

TIPS FOR PARENTS: Lots of farting and belching Some violence One of the characters is played by a Trans/non-binary actor.

Some French is spoken without subtitles.

Parents will approve of all the lessons taught.

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Monster High 2 is an impressive film that takes audiences into an immersive experience within this world of monsters. It has fantastic special effects and characters that left me on the edge of my seat.

Monster High 2 is the sequel to Monster High in which Clawdeen Wolf (Miia Harris) is a half werewolf, half human that is running for prefect of Monster High against the new student Toralei (Salena Qureshi). Toralei ends up getting magic banded at Monster high so Draculaura (Nayah Damasen) runs off with a boy who promises that he can reunite vampires and humans as fellow witches. From there the chaos of this movie continues to unfold.

One of my all-time favorite parts of this film is the choreography. It's all very fun to watch and also believable and makes sense within the context of the storyline. The vocals, combined with the choreography, make it even better. Two of my favorite songs from the film, for both vocals and choreography, are "Reason We've Got Magic" and "You Don't Know." They both add so much to the story and are very engaging to watch. Definitely keep a look out for those in the movie. Something else I love is the costumes and sets. The whole show is set at the mythical school of Monster High and thus, they must have very elaborate costumes and sets in order to bring this school to life - the movie really pulls that through. Toralei and Draculaura have some of the coolest costumes in the film. Finally, the characters are terrific; each character is so well fleshed out and their personalities add so much to the film.

The message of this film is you don't have to change who you are for anyone else. Stay true to yourself always.

I give Monster High 3.5 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 12 to 18, plus adults. You can watch this film now on DVD and Paramount+. By Avalon N., KIDS FIRST!

The sequel to the movie Monster High: The Movie (2022), and based on the Mattel toys, I did not know this was going to come out this year considering I did see the first movie and thought it was ok but not for me. To be honest, Monster High 2 (2023) is not as good as the first movie, mostly because of the plot having two plotlines going on at the same time which made the film convoluted for a movie that should be simple. Though this movie is still not for me like the first movie, it still has good things about it like the first movie that does help the movie out.

The acting in the movie is not bad, and they are doing a respectable job with what they are given, along with them being good in the musical numbers; the focus of the movie being Draculaura, she was a little interesting in the movie as a vampire being able to do witchcraft, but vampires do not usually like witches for many reasons leading to the her being accepted as a vampire who can use witchcraft and other witches out there in the world. Another thing going on is Clawdeen Wolf going up against returning student Toralei Stripe on who can be a better leader for monsters at Monster High; this plotline and Draculaura's plotline did not go well together and made the movie crowded.

I did not like the main antagonists that much, other than being evil witches, they take Draculaura for a rare spell for a specific reason, and the story of the war between witches and vampires felt like it made the movie complicated. The musical numbers were still not bad, and the songs were not bad; the look of Monster High looked cool, some of the CGI effects look better than the first, and there were moments in the movie that could be funny or a bit awkward to watch.

If they took out the plotline where Clawdeen Wolf is going up against someone to be a good leader in Monster High, and focused more on the Draculaura's plotline, then the movie would have been a bit better. I thought Monster High 2 (2023) was like the first movie except with new elements into it, like them going to Seattle to find Draculaura; the movie has good songs, good acting, and it has its entertaining moments to it. This movie is obviously not made for me, but I can see kids liking this movie like the first, making this movie harmless to watch.

This movie is phenomenal! It has such great storytelling and it was easy to digest aswell. Monster high means a lot to me and this movie did the entire brand justice. Especially after all the negative comments and reviews about generation 3. I loved watching it with my friend. The new songs is amazing and the visuals and acting has improved SO much in this movie! I won't spoil much but I was crying so hard halfway through the movie. This one is better than the first in so many ways. If you're having doubts after the first movie I really do suggest watching the second! It truly steps up from the first!

I love the first movie, I have watched it multiple times. But the new movie Monster High 2 brought something into it that I totally dislike, Politics. America has enough political nonsense as it is without adding it into a family movie. Other than the political aspect of the movie I think it is great. It brings to light what was meant at the end of the first movie in regards to witch craft. The actresses and actors in the movie do an awesome job, the dancing, choreography and singing brings the movie to life. The best thing I like about these movies is that there is not any dead space, both movies keep you watching intently because you don't want to miss anything.