Monster High: The Movie is a 2022 live-action musical fantasy film directed by Todd Holland and produced by the television division of Mattel and Brightlight Pictures. In the United States, it was released on both Paramount+ and Nickelodeon on October 6, 2022.

Monster High: The Movie
Official release poster
Genre	Musical Fantasy
Based on	The Monster High fashion doll line by Mattel
Written by	Jenny Jaffe[1] Greg Erb[1] Jason Oremland[2]
Directed by	Todd Holland[3]
Starring	Miia Harris Ceci Balagot Nayah Damasen
Music by	Sunna Wehrmeijer
Country of origin	United States Canada
Original language	English
Production
Executive producers	Todd Holland Adam Bonnett Frederic Soulie Philip "Phil" Breman
Production companies	Mattel Television Brightlight Pictures Nickelodeon Productions
Distributor	Mattel Television
Release
Original network	Paramount+ Nickelodeon
Original release	October 6, 2022 (2022-10-06)
Chronology
Followed by	Monster High: The Movie 2 (2023)

Based on the Monster High fashion doll franchise by Mattel, it is one of two projects announced on February 23, 2021, alongside an animated series as part of a second Monster High brand relaunch.[1][2]

Plot

Clawdeen Wolf is a half-werewolf half-human biracial girl, born from a human father, named Apollo, and werewolf mother, named Selena (who passed away for unknown reasons). Due to being part monster, Clawdeen spent her whole life in the world of humans hiding from people. On Clawdeen's 15th birthday, she receives an invitation to study at Monster High, a high school for monsters her mother used to attend. Although reluctant, Apollo agrees to let her attend the school. He warns her that she must hide her human side, because humans are considered monsters' biggest threat and only "true monster hearts" are allowed in the school.

Upon arriving at Monster High (which is depicted as a boarding school), Clawdeen finally feels like she belongs somewhere. She befriends Frankie Stein, a non-binary Frankenmonster who is just 15 days old with a brilliant brain made from different brain bits, and falls in love with Deuce Gorgon, son of Medusa and Lyra. She also meets Draculaura, daughter of Dracula who is pressured by her father to be a top student, Cleo de Nile, daughter of the Mummy, the school's Queen Bee and Deuce's ex-girlfriend, Lagoona Blue, Colombian daughter of a Sea Monster and a Sea Nymph and Cleo's best friend, and the Zombie Ghoulia Yelps who helps her find her dormitory. The school's Headmistress Bloodgood invites Clawdeen to speak at a dinner with the Monster High Council on Founder’s Day to represent the students, to which she agrees.

During her time at Monster High, Clawdeen discovers that she temporarily transforms into a full human when she feels strong emotions like fear or nervousness. During her first class, her new professor, Mr. Komos, teaches the students about the history of Monster High and how humans are hated by monsters. He tells them the story of Edward "Eddy" Hyde, a half-human half-monster former student who was expelled from the school when his human side was discovered and was killed by human hunters, which makes Clawdeen fear getting discovered even more. She learns from Mr. Komos that Hyde created a formula that could transform a half-human half-monster into a full-blooded monster, but he never tested it due to being expelled before he could. Clawdeen decides to find and drink the formula so no one will find out her secret and researches Hyde.

Clawdeen starts transforming into a human even more, particularly around Deuce, only to be discovered by Frankie. While briefly freaked out, Frankie doesn't shun Clawdeen. Instead, they help her look for Hyde's secret lab, which is apparently located in the school's graveyard. Upon arriving there, they discover Draculaura practicing witchcraft, something forbidden since witches and vampires have been at war for centuries. Frankie and Clawdeen promise to keep her abilities a secret (being impressed by the vampire's magic), and Draculaura helps the two in their mission. They discover a place that apparently is the lab, but it has a lock that only a certain hand can open.

Draculaura discovers a spell that might unlock the opening, but one of the ingredients is ogre's bone which happens to be what the Headmistress's mug is made of. Clawdeen goes to her office to collect shavings of the cup and is nearly caught by Cleo. Draculaura manages to transform Clawdeen to look and sound exactly like Bloodgood, so Cleo thinks it's the actual Headmistress. The next ingredient is snake's venom which Clawdeen obtains from one of Deuce's snakes in his hair. On their walk, Deuce tells Clawdeen how gorgons aren't always monsters to trust, making the two fall in love and bond. Later that night, Clawdeen, Frankie and Draculaura try to unlock the door with the spell, but it doesn't work. They return to school and are caught in the act by Headmistress Bloodgood, Mr. Komos, and Cleo (who snitched on Draculaura and told Headmistress Bloodgood about Draculaura's secret magic practice). Suddenly, the school starts to quake, and Clawdeen saves Cleo from getting crushed by a falling gargoyle. Headmistress Bloodgood realizes that the school is screaming for help because there is an "untrue monster heart" among them (probably a human) and if they don't find out who it is the whole school might fall apart.

Feeling she's putting her friends and everyone else at risk, Clawdeen leaves the school during the night in sadness and returns to human world. Draculaura and Frankie find her the next day, claiming they are her friends and will help her no matter what. They then discover that Clawdeen's human hand (transformed by her ability to turn into human) can open the entrance of the room in the graveyard (since Hyde was also half-human) and manage to do it on the night of the Founder’s Day dinner. The place, at first, appears to be only an ogre's tomb. However, they discover a secret door and finally find Hyde's secret lab and the formula. Clawdeen is about to drink the formula but is reluctant about giving up on her ‘other half’, her father. Suddenly Mr. Komos appears in the lab, revealing he is half-human as well. He tells Clawdeen giving up on yourself isn't the answer and there's a better way. She gives him the formula. However, Mr. Komos drinks the formula instead, revealing himself to be actually Hyde's son Edward "Eddy" Hyde, Jr. who seeks to destroy Monster High and the humans to avenge his father's death.

The formula transforms Komos into a full-blooded monster with the power to absorb a monster's powers and essence, taking Draculaura's vampire abilities first. After locking Mr. Komos in the lab, Clawdeen, Frankie and Draculaura go live to call Cleo for help who, later, arrives with Lagoona, Deuce, Ghoulia, Heath Burns, and Abbey Bominable. Clawdeen, Frankie and Draculaura are able to escape using the rest of Draculaura's unlocking spell.

Once the teenagers are outside, Mr. Komos manages to escape and steals Deuce's gorgon powers, transforming the former into stone. Clawdeen, heartbroken, transforms into a full human, much to the other teenagers' shock. Much to her surprise, they don't shun Clawdeen, and Cleo gives her her phone to make Mr. Komos look into his reflection on the selfie camera, transforming him into stone and, in result, returning Draculaura's and Deuce's powers, bringing Deuce back to life in the process. Headmistress Bloodgood, Dracula, and the Monster High Council arrive in time to discover, not only Mr. Komos's true intentions, but Clawdeen's secret as well.

The next day, Apollo arrives at Monster High to pick up Clawdeen, who has transformed back into a werewolf, so they can return to the human world. To both their surprise, Headmistress Bloodgood claims she's not expelling Clawdeen because she has shown she has a ‘true monster heart’, and Dracula states that they are doing some rewriting to the school's charter as not all humans are bad. The monsters welcome Clawdeen as their first official human-blooded student. Dracula allows Draculaura to practice witchcraft, and Deuce runs for Student Council, The three friends celebrate Clawdeen's stay at Monster High with the rest of the school, Dracula, and Apollo.

In some other place, a mysterious witch is watching everything through a crystal ball, planning to get rid of the vampires as she instructs her minions to bring Draculaura to her.

Cast

The cast were announced as follows:[3][4]

• Miia Harris as Clawdeen Wolf, daughter of the Werewolf and Apollo, and best friend to Frankie and Draculaura, and Deuce’s implied girlfriend. She is half-werewolf and half-human, and a bit sheltered since she was raised in the human world. She initially has a rivalry with Cleo after she falls in love with her ex- boyfriend, Deuce, but the two later make up and become friends after she saves Cleo from being crushed by a falling gargoyle. At the end of the movie, after Monster High is saved, it is implied and heavily hinted she starts a relationship with Deuce.
• Ceci Balagot as Frankie Stein, child of Frankenstein and child of Dr. and Dr. Stein and best friend to Clawdeen and Draculaura. They are a frankenmonster born just 15 days ago and assembled from some of the greatest geniuses in history, Frankie is Clawdeen's roommate. Unlike previous incarnations of the character, Frankie is non-binary and made of different male and female body parts like a brain made from the brain bits of Albert Einstein, Marie Curie, and a woman named Liz who was not given credit for creating the Internet while their heart is from a fisherman.
• Nayah Damasen as Draculaura, daughter of Dracula and friend of Frankie Stein and Clawdeen Wolf. A bit of a rebel, she's obsessed with magic, specifically witchcraft, even though it's strictly forbidden.
• Case Walker as Deuce Gorgon, son of Medusa and Lyra, Heath's best friend, Cleo's ex-boyfriend, and Clawdeen's boyfriend. Due to his gorgon powers, he is forced to wear glasses so he doesn't transform anyone into stone and hides his snakes under a hat so they don’t bite anyone. He does get his powers taken by Mr. Komos/Hyde and is turned to stone, much to Clawdeen's devastation, but is soon brought back to life after Hyde is defeated, and runs for student council at the end of the movie.
• Kyle Selig as Mr. Komos / Edward "Eddy" Hyde Jr., a half-monster and half-human with horns and Monster High's resident "cool teacher". Mr. Komos is incredibly trustworthy, and offers Clawdeen guidance and advice for how to fit in at Monster High. But he is revealed to be the son of half-human half-monster Edward "Eddy" Hyde who got killed by humans after being expelled from Monster High, and steals Deuce and Draculaura’s powers before he is turned to stone by Clawdeen using Cleo’s camera.
• Marci T. House as Headless Headmistress Bloodgood, the headless horsewoman who is Monster High's tough-but-fair headmistress and a stickler for following the rules.
• Scotch Ellis Loring as Apollo, a human who is Clawdeen's father. Unlike most humans, Apollo never had a bad opinion on monsters, he loves his daughter and wife very much, not caring for the fact the two are werewolves (Clawdeen half werewolf).
• Steve Valentine as Dracula, Draculaura's father, a friend of Bloodgood, and a member of Monster High Council. Dracula pressures Draculaura in order for her to become an excellent student, just like him, his father, grandfather and grand-grandfather were.
• Jy Prishkulnik as Cleo de Nile, daughter of the Mummy, Deuce's ex-girlfriend, Lagoona's best friend, and Monster High's resident Queen Bee. She grows jealous of and begins to bully Clawdeen after she and Deuce fall in love, telling her that she doesn’t stand a chance with him, but only has a change of heart after Clawdeen saves her from being crushed by a gargoyle, and later helps her defeat Hyde, and doesn’t stand in the way of her and Deuce now.
• Lina Lecompte as Lagoona Blue, daughter of the Sea Monster and a Sea Nymph. She is Cleo's best friend.
• Justin Derickson as Heath Burns, son of the Fire Elementals, Deuce's best friend, and Abbey's love-interest.
• Lilah Fitzgerald as Ghoulia Yelps, daughter of the Zombies. Unlike previous Monster High projects, Ghoulia actually speaks and doesn't limp around.
• Nasiv Sall as Abbey Bominable, daughter of the Yeti and Heath's love-interest.
• Ajay Banks as Greigor
• Brian Dobson as Eye
• Natasha Leggero as Skullette
• Artemis Pebdani as Witch

Production

Background and context

Monster High is an American fashion doll franchise created by Garrett Sander for Mattel, with illustrations by Kellee Riley and Glen Hanson,[5] and was launched on June 11, 2010.[6] Initially consisting only of dolls and a web series, it soon expanded to also include other various consumer products mainly marketed towards children, such as other types of toys, clothing, accessories, books, comics, stationery and other forms of merchandise. Featuring characters inspired by monster movies, sci-fi horror, thriller fiction, folklore, mythology and popular culture, this franchise involves teenage children of famous monsters and creatures of which the principal list are Draculaura, Frankie Stein, Clawdeen Wolf, Cleo de Nile and Lagoona Blue attending a high school with the same name as the franchise itself. The first two film specials were animated in Flash by WildBrain Entertainment which later switched to CGI animation by Nerd Corps Entertainment in 2012 starting with Why Do Ghouls Fall in Love? and ending in 2016 with Great Scarrier Reef. The franchise was rebooted in 2016 with a reboot and origin story film special called Welcome to Monster High, using revamped face molds, upgraded animation technologies and techniques, which was not well received by critics and fans and led to its initial cancellation on February 9, 2018.

Before the announcement of the film, there was a previous attempt at making a live-action Monster High film in the brand's launch year of 2010. Universal Pictures (then Universal Studios) announced that a live-action, around-the-world musical adventure film[6][7] would be directed by Ari Sandel,[8] written by Craig Zadan, Neil Meron, Stephanie Savage and Josh Schwartz, with the latter two handling the screenplay[8] and given a scheduled release date of October 7, 2016.[9] Nothing was said since the announcement.

Development

On February 23, 2021, Mattel, through its television division, announced the second return of the Monster High brand, promising new content and products for the following year, including a new animated series and a live-action film based on the franchise, both of which will air on Nickelodeon in the United States.[2] On November 9, 2021, the film's cast and director were revealed with the latter being Todd Holland (who directed 50 episodes of The Larry Sanders Show, 26 episodes of Malcolm in the Middle and the 1989 film The Wizard) and the former at time of announcement being Miia Harris as Clawdeen Wolf, Ceci Balagot as Frankie Stein and Nayah Damasen as Draculaura.[3]

Promotion

On June 30, 2022, a trailer of Monster High: The Movie was uploaded to Nickelodeon's official YouTube channel.[10]

Sequel

On October 25, 2022, a sequel titled Monster High: The Movie 2 was announced. Production will begin in January 2023 for a premiere that same year on Nickelodeon and Paramount+.[11][12]

Soundtrack

References

External links

• Monster High: The Movie at IMDb