Halle Bailey as Ariel from Disney’s The Little Mermaid
White-washing. I’m sure everyone has heard this word once or twice. Simply put, it’s a word used to describe when Hollywood casts White people or lighter people to play everyone, especially characters that were originally people of color. It has been seen as another term to describe “Blackface” in the modern era. White-washing has existed since the beginning of cinema, even when Black people were “allowed” to act in Hollywood. In fact, Whitewashing existed frequently up until as recently as 2017. It was around this time, in 2017, when Hollywood started to realize that casting White actors to play various ethnicities doesn’t always pay pockets in a modern society (Ghost in the Shell, 2017), even if the actor is well known and loved. They even recognized that it could be a career-killer for movie studios and actors alike.
After complaints about the Oscars’ selection of nominees appearing as “White” as possible, the Oscars began to set new diversity standards of eligibility for Movie Academy Awards in 2020. The rules were as follows:
At least one actor from an underrepresented racial or ethnic group must be cast in a significant role.
The story must center on women, L.G.T.B.Q. people, a racial or ethnic group or the disabled.
At least 30 percent of the cast must be actors from at least two of those four underrepresented categories.
This caused Hollywood to go through a frenzy of hiring people of color anywhere they could. One way they have implemented this change is by casting Black people to play characters that were originally White, either by suddenly presenting them as Black…or actually calling them “White” (Hamilton-style) despite their race, with the audience having to suspend a bit of reality. This has been called in recent years “Black-washing”.
Just like with White-washing, Black-washing has also had its share of controversy. Some people find it to be hypocritical that “Black-washing” is allowed culturally when White-washing often gets met with disdain and backlash. Others don’t like “Black-washing” because it makes everything feel less authentic or unrecognizable as the cast doesn’t match the character in the source or most familiar material.
On the other hand, many like this type of casting choice because they feel it finally gives Black people and other people of color more representation. Some have even argued that Black-washing as an ideology doesn’t exist and that casting black people in these types of roles is simply another form of reparations for the mistreatment and erasure of Black people from media during the Golden Age Of Hollywood and during the days of the Hay’s Code (a time when Hollywood restricted what could be seen in cinema).
What I aim to do is give a nuanced perspective about “Black-washing”. Regardless of whether I think the theory holds any merit, as a Black person myself, I want to discuss the good that could come with this idea or concept, the bad that could come with this idea or concept, and the ugly that can often surround this idea or concept. Let’s break it all down.
What this means is that Black-washing gives Black people an opportunity to be even more represented. That is a major feat, believe it or not. I actually remember a time when I went to Backstage.com to find auditions and many of the auditions would say “White-preferred”. As someone who used to be an aspiring actor, it was discouraging to say the least. This was in the early 2010s, not too long ago.
Make no mistake. Almost every lead character is still White, but at least more of them are starting to be people of color. I no longer feel like I would automatically be rejected from an opportunity just because of the color of my skin. I feel like I can finally be recognized for my talent, the talents I’ve had since high school, if I choose acting as a career choice again.
In a sense, this makes Black-washing different from White-washing. White people have never actually been barred from playing any roles in cinema. They have had plenty of opportunities; doors have been open to them from around the world and the doors still are open. Therefore, the effects of White-washing are actually a lot more harmful to Black people than Black-washing is to White people. Black-washing doesn’t bar White people from getting opportunities. Rather, it “evens” the playing field. Don’t misunderstand, I do see a lot of pitfalls that can come from “Black-washing” (which I will get into later in this article), but some of the arguments that many people make against “Black-washing” are usually based on misconceptions, bias, or racial prejudice.
Here is a common argument for example:
“Black people only make up 19% of the population in America. White people are the majority so why should Black people get an increase in roles?”
There are two problems with this statement. One problem is that there is a sense of American-centrism, basically Americans acting as if the entire world demographic begins and ends with America. In the entire world, there are more people of color then White people across continents. To be frank, many actors hired in Hollywood are not exactly from the USA. Many of them are from other countries. So this argument that having more Black people in Hollywood is somehow inaccurate or inauthentic is strange.
Second, these kinds of arguments seem to assume that White people will not relate to characters that are of a different race, so by making more characters of color it will somehow push White people away from watching movies. However, people of color have had to relate to characters of various backgrounds for decades, due to the dominance of White actors in media, and are constantly told that it shouldn’t matter what color they are. So shouldn’t the same apply to White people? Furthermore, why is it that viewers must relate to what they see personally? Isn’t it great to learn about something new and imagine what that would be like? I don’t relate to Harry Potter as a wizard, but I like learning and imagining what it would be like to have wizarding powers. Why doesn’t this logic apply to movies featuring Black culture?
To add, many of the characters that are accused of being “Black-washed” in a movie or a show are often played by mixed or biracial people. This makes the outrage a little more complex. We often have a tendency to see every mixed person that has a drop of Black as ONLY Black. I don’t think this is fair, especially if the actor in question is mixed with White ancestry and understands White culture. If they can act as Black characters, why shouldn’t someone of mixed ancestry be able to act as a White character? Sure, we can talk about how often times the mixed person doesn’t, in any way, resemble the character they are meant to portray. I think in some ways this is a valid criticism. But are you really mad just because they don’t look as you envisioned the part, or are you mad just because the person cast has a little bit of Black in them?
Here is another common argument against Black-washing:
“It is culturally inauthentic to have Black mermaids, elves, fairies, Black aristocracy, etc. These things are based in White culture.”
To counter this, Folklore and other tales have existed all over the world. Stories surrounding fantasy-like creatures didn’t start with the European diaspora. Furthermore, Black people have existed in all classes of European society due to colonialism. For example, many were upset that a Black man was cast to play Porthos in BBC’s The Musketeers. But did anyone know that the original writer of The Three Musketeers novel, Alexander Dumas, was of Black heritage himself, as well as a General in Napoleon’s army? I’m sure he wouldn’t have minded such a casting choice.
Finally, here is another common argument against Black-washing:
“It is unfair because the actor is being given a role just for the sake of diversity or “woke points”, not because they actually can do the job.”
I can understand this frustration. Even as Black people, we don’t just want to be chosen because we’re Black, becoming the “token” actor. We want our talents to be respected. However, it is a broad assumption to assume that every Black person that was chosen for these roles were simply chosen because they are Black.
Furthermore, various people of a variety of racial backgrounds, especially White people, were and still are simply preferred because of their White features, not their talents, compared to talents across other racial backgrounds. Therefore, this is not exclusively a Black-washing issue. If anything, White-washing occurred as a result of this “White” preference in Hollywood; Black-washing is simply another way of giving Black people the same treatment Hollywood has been giving White people for many years.
On the other hand, whether Black-washing exists or not, Black-washing as a strategy for diversity does have some major issues that I think needs to be discussed.
The Bad: Race-baiting, Whiteface, and Blackface
Blackface is when a White person puts on dark make-up to mock Black people, particularly for comedic purposes. This form of entertainment has been popular for many years. White-washing was often compared to Blackface because many times Hollywood would cast White or lighter actors to play Black people or other people of color, which to many felt disrespectful and conflicted with the experiences of people of color.
So what about “Black-washing”? We can see it as synonymous with Whiteface. Whiteface is a type of performance in which a person wears theatrical makeup in order to make themselves look like a White person. While it doesn’t have the same racist history as Blackface (nor does it have the same level of power or influence over how White people are seen overall), it is meant to represent a caricature of Whiteness and White people’s way of being. Whenever I watch movies that have a Black-washed cast, I can’t help but feel like the Black actors are playing a caricature of White people. There are certain mannerisms and ways of being that sometimes seem more in line with the way White people navigate society and respond to it. Although skin color doesn’t necessarily come with a set of personality traits, there are certain cultural differences between those across the Afro-diaspora and those within the Euro-diaspora, and that makes “Black-washing” so obvious to those who are viewing it.
Another part of the issue comes with the demand for the Black actors to live up to the expectations of the public’s perception of Whiteness. When a Black person acts as a character that was once White, many people expect the Black actor to capture the White character from head to toe, and so Black actors are often forced to portray themselves EXACTLY as the White character would even without the nuance of the Black experience. They have to speak as a White person would (this is not necessarily about articulation but rather for environmental responses), behave as White people would in certain situations, and often times the nuances of being Black within the story is not mentioned because technically they are playing a White person. It’s as if they live in a post-racist world where they are celebrated. In theory, this is great news and not all stories featuring Black people should be about “the Black experience”. Some people may even argue that’s the point of acting; to challenge yourself to behave as someone else.
But it doesn’t come without feeling that this new-found celebration of Blackness in Hollywood is less about colorblindness and more about Black people playing the roles White people are comfortable with. It creates a Hollywood form of cultural assimilation. For example, when we think of a Black princess, what exactly comes to mind? To the eyes of Hollywood, a movie about princesses should include a person acting, dressing, and adorning their hair as a European-inspired princess would because that is what Hollywood’s perception of a princess is: White and/or European.
I wouldn’t see a handful of Black girls in a lead role in cinema until my teens and early 20s. To make a comparison of the two movies I saw as a teen and young adult, one was Akeelah And The Bee (2006); the other was Annie (2014). Akeelah and the Bee was a story about a young girl who discovers she has a knack for spelling. She beats the odds of her underprivileged background to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee. In Annie, the movie follows the story of its predecessors where an orphan girl gets lucky enough to be chosen to live with the wealthy Daddy Warbucks, winning the hearts of many. Both actresses did a great job as far as acting goes, and both movies were mildly entertaining for me. When I watched Annie I admit I was excited to see a Black girl on screen as the lead (which I hadn’t seen since Roger’s and Hammerstein’s Cinderella). However, while watching Annie I couldn’t help but compare it to the original movie adaptation, Annie (1982), and all of the other Annie versions before it. While I understand it was meant to be a modern Annie, the only thing this movie had to offer was a “Black face”.
I already had an Annie movie version that I had grown to love long before this new adaptation and I became more critical of the newer movie as a result.
Whereas with Akeelah And The Bee, there was nothing compared to it. It was a one-of-a kind movie and, more importantly, it was an original Black story. You could feel the authenticity based on how it tied in Black culture in such a nuanced way and, yet, gave Akeelah her own personality and interests as an individual. People could watch it and enjoy it for what it was without making a comparison to anything else. Whereas with Annie (2014), if felt as if the Black actors were telling the story of a White girl who happens to have a Black face.
I also wonder: What more does Black-washing offer to Black audiences outside of the skin color of the actors? What more does it showcase to audiences outside of our community about Black people? In the end, most people are going to end up sticking to the more popular “White” versions while the “Black” version of the movie will be wiped from memory as the “knock-off”. Even as I enjoyed “Black-washed” movies like Roger’s and Hammerstein’s Cinderella(1997) or The Wiz(1978), let’s be honest here, these movies are mostly remembered by the Black audience that tuned in to watch in their respective time periods during eras where Black people were a lot less visible than today in movies.
To make multibillion dollar industries and bring in the big box office money, which would help continue Black Hollywood, we have to have something to offer others besides a Black face. Contrary to popular belief, we do not have to do it by imitating White people. Most people in the modern world are looking for new and original story-telling; with an interest in diversity, why are we not taking advantage of this to hop on new ideas and introduce our culture to the world in a fresh, new way?
To add, while “Black-washing” makes some of us feel seen in the moment, will it have the same long-lasting cultural impact, especially in regards to how we see ourselves?
Of course, we can forgive Hollywood executives when they cast Black people as fictional characters, right? These type of characters are usually imagined and so changing their skin color is a matter of taking creative liberties to be more inclusive. This motive is not something I would scorn and sometimes the intentions are good.
However, Black-washing gets murkier when we start to see White historical figures being Black-washed as well. I’m going to examine a good example of this sort of Black-washing: the stage production Hamilton (2015). The Hamilton cast is filled with extremely talented Black actors that capture the characters in quite an entertaining and charming way. I admit that I enjoyed watching it on stage and the talent was inspirational to say the least. To be honest, I even have forgotten that the characters they were portraying were White historical figures.
And that is sort of the problem. These White people, while they shaped the USA in many ways, were also slave owners and they could care less about Black people in their lifetime. So while the cast does a celebratory job of playing these roles, they still are playing White slave owners and colonists. Putting a Black face on these kinds of figures makes us sympathize with them more, I suppose. Yet, it makes us ignore what the actual person did because we see a Black face. We begin to fictionalize the real person because the stage production presented them as Black (even if what they did to Black people was questionable). So the question is, who gets to be celebrated in history, and should Black people be celebrated only when they are acting as White people, especially White people that participated in our oppression?
Understandably, I do believe that there has been a good reason historically for Black-washing. After all, as mentioned before, Black people were excluded from Hollywood after years of racism, and so we would often create movies or spaces that were made to mimic that of White entertainment just to be seen or represented. This was probably the only way Black people could gain visibility back in the past.
However, we are living in the 21st century. I think it is time we progressed past the need for Black-washing. We are one of the most visible minorities on-screen to date. Why do we still hold on to this old idea that the only way to have Black representation is by casting ourselves as White?
In my honest opinion, while I’m always happy to see Black people like myself on screen, I think Black-washing is lazy. It is a lazy way to give people “diversity” without actually giving them a unique story to call their own. There is a perception in Hollywood that Black people cannot carry a movie by themselves without the help of White people. There is also the perception that people won’t go see Black-led movies unless the story is already familiar (or in other words Eurocentric). Whiteness is often treated as the “default” and therefore more acceptable and digestible.
Black Panther (2018) was one of the movies to challenge these ideas. Black Panther, while known by most fans of the Marvel comics, was not as well-known among casual movie goers. In this movie, we see an African king of Wakanda and a true Black superhero who protects his own people, without the need of White intervention or European involvement. In this sense, the movie adaptation introduced an all-new story because it was the first adaptation of its kind. This made a bigger difference in the legacy of Black entertainment when we compare it to the White “knock-offs” that Black-washing had to offer. To add, what we also see from Black Panther is culture. Black culture.
The Ugly: The Absence Of Black Culture
There are different ways to Black-wash. Black-washing can come in the form of a Black reimagination of an established property. What I do like about some movies with this approach is that it gives an opportunity to tell a similar story but with a unique “Black” point-of-view, inculcating the rich culture, music, and fashion that comes from the Black community. Take Disney’s The Princess And The Frog (2009), for example. While it can be seen as a “Black-washed” version of its predecessor (a fairy tale of European origin), it has its own way of telling the story that makes it feel unique from the batch of fairy tale movies. It also caters to the sentiments and experiences of Black people. Just for understanding, this is not to say the movie is perfect (there are various flaws with the movie, starting with the creative decision to showcase the Black princess as a frog for most of the movie). However, you can tell that the creators took an interest in Black culture and wanted to inculcate some of our rich heritage into the movie. Unlike Hamilton, this movie celebrates Blackness rather than Whiteness, even if inspired from a European tale. I feel the same way with The Wiz (1978), the Black adaptation of The Wizard Of Oz, where Oz is designed to resemble that of Black urban neighborhoods, music, and culture. In a sense, we as Black people can both relate to it and see ourselves being represented more authentically.
Unfortunately, many movies today are missing the nuances of our culture in them because they are simply casting Black people to play White people. Movies that Black-wash without the nuances of our culture often feel hollow. They give me nothing to look back and be proud of except the fact that the person playing in the role is Black. Trust me, there will be plenty more feats where the “first Black actor” is playing the “first Black something”. This will get old really soon.
Furthermore, when are we going to start embracing stories from Black communities and culture? I want more movies like The Black Panther (2018). I want to see our culture celebrated, our kings or queens honored, our “fairy-tales” or folk tales visible. When are we going to get an Anansi The Spider movie? What about Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters? There’s so many more Black stories that we need only Google search to find them.
I think about the show Bridgerton (2020-Present). It is a great show with a very diverse cast of characters. However, while the show is progressive in its approach, having as many diverse faces as possible, the styles and attitudes are meant to mimic that of the Regency era in White European society. While this story is based on historical facts (albeit controversially), and it is being produced through a Black-owned entertainment company (even if the writers of the show are mostly White), that doesn’t take away the fact that the inspiration of this show and most shows and movies are always focused on Europe. Why so Eurocentric? Many of these actors will be praised only when they are acting in roles that reflect European culture or aristocracy while movies that reflect other cultures are often criticized as being somehow “stereotypical” or less “universal” to audiences.
Ultimately, it feels as if we are more eager to praise this form of cultural assimilation rather than embrace cultural diversity and liberation. In a story like Bridgerton, we can pretend that people of color were equal to that of White people in those societies. We can ignore the racist history behind people of color at court, how they had to cut off family ties to be seen as more “White” in society, and dismiss their culture to assimilate to a European way of life. We can more easily see Black people in power when the backdrop is European because Whiteness and European values represent power in our minds. We can even ignore the atrocities that occur even within the story of Bridgerton towards people of color, such as when Daphne (a White woman) decides to force Simon, a Black man, to have intercourse with her to get what she wants and gets away with it, especially in the book, which the series adaptation is based on. Amongst the beautiful scenery and European-style costumes, we can pretend that this is what true diversity looks like.
Hollywood champions diversity when it comes to casting, but many of the White producers and directors there don’t actually have enough interest in diversity to delve into a culture that is not their own. No, they should not be able to use the excuse that they don’t know enough about other cultures because the opportunity is there to hire advisors or even have some of the actors give advice. Yet, Black-washing gives them the easiest way out because they believe that Black people are desperate and accepting of their scraps. The truth is that many of the major producers in Hollywood are not interested in expanding their interest. Black-washing is simply another way for them to brush the issue under the rug, with very little effort to include diversity, especially when many of them are reluctant to recruit creative thinkers from even a small number of people from underrepresented groups behind the scenes.
Despite a major increase of Black people in media, what has been staggering is the amount of Black showrunners. Black screenwriters and directors are also very few. In 2017 alone, only 5.1% of showrunners were reported to be Black. Many of the Black people that are on-set sometimes don’t even honestly get a say in how the characters are created, not even when it comes to the creation of Black people in fiction.
As Cord Jefferson, writer of The Good Place (2016-2020), put it: “Something that happens a lot when it comes to diversity in Hollywood ― and everywhere else ― is that people will just populate the room with people of color or queer people or women but not really respect those people’s voices or pay attention to what they’re saying. It feels like you’re diversity decoration a little bit, as opposed to a valuable member of the team.”
Executives mistakenly believe that simply having a “racial-neutral” cast or staff is the best way to add more diversity. As we can see, that only addresses the problem of diversity superficially. When I see a movie that Black-washes in this sort of “color-blind” way, I become very skeptical of the intentions. I do recognize that some producers or casting directors simply want to show talent without discrimination, but this method makes it seem as if they do not actually care who they cast in the role. This is why we get diverse-looking characters, but an absence of diverse story-telling.
Abbott Elementary, a TV series that focuses on a predominately Black school and its teachers, manages to highlight Black characters in a way Black people, especially educators, can relate to because of its authenticity. To date, Abbott Elementary has the best comedy ratings on ABC since Modern Family, even in a time when streaming services dominate traditional cable TV. What makes the show fantastic is that it is not “color-blind”. It is an original story with the intent of showcasing what it is like to work with Black children in a low-income area. Despite the fact that the show does not focus on White people (even with a handful of White people in the show), it still manages to relate to people of various backgrounds. The show didn’t have to be a Black version of an established “White” series nor did the show have to focus on White culture’s influence on Black people.
Instead, what makes this show appealing is that it is an authentic Black story, and because the cast is predominately Black, we don’t have to rely on “token” Black voices to get a full picture of what being Black is like. Through the characters of this show, we can see a variety of attitudes and feelings that can relate to anyone who is a teacher or has ever taught in a low-income school. The show also doesn’t have to shy away from Black culture in order to avoid stereotyping. Instead, it approaches stereotypes in a nuanced way, allowing for Black audiences to recognize themselves while relating to a variety of characters who approach these topics differently. While the show draws inspiration from the other mocumentary-style comedies before it, viewers can feel the intention was to tell a Black story. The best part is it is written by a Black person (Quinta Brunson).
This is what I’m hoping will happen in the future when companies are dealing with Black movies and shows. I don’t think there is anything wrong with being inspired from European stories nor do I think it is wrong to cast more people of color. However, I think we need to do better when it comes to recognizing Black people outside of the face alone, taking on the opportunity to also show respect for where we come from and exploring that experience to make more authentic Black content.
As far as acting as historical figures, we don’t have to be honored in White history in order to prove that we are a part of history. Believe it or not, we Black people have our own history outside of the White European diaspora. We have had kingdoms. We have had Gods. We have had heroes and villains. But how will other generations know or understand this if all they have to see is a White interpretation of Blackness or culturally assimilated Blackness? Black-washing in Hollywood might give us temporary excitement and representation, but will it give us something to look back on that will make us proud to be who we are for a lifetime? I honestly do not think so.
I want to know what you all think. Do you think “Black-washing” is beneficial or is the concept regressive? Do you think it actually exists or is it just all in our heads?
Lightyear, a movie made by Walt Disney Studios and Pixar, was supposed to be the highlight of the summer for the distribution studio. By analysts, it was projected to score $70-$85 million at the box office opening weekend, especially with a rating score by critics of 80% (before release). However, the Pixar movie that was supposed to launch the Toy Story franchise (a franchise that already had four other successful movies) into a new direction has only made $51 million so far on box office opening weekend. While this isn’t a bad figure, for a beloved franchise surrounding Toy Story lore, this is pretty low and shocking for many. What went wrong?
If we’re being truthful, Lightyear didn’t exactly land on the right “foot” leading up to its release. To start, many believed the movie was heavily underpromoted, with Disney/Pixar even waiting until only a few days before release to promote the film as canon in the Toy Story franchise.
Even as they began to explain that this movie is somehow a live-action movie that Andy is inspired to get a toy based on, long-time fans know that this was not the first piece of media that was created based on Buzz Lightyear; let’s not forget Buzz Lightyear Of Star Command, the animated series, was every 90’s kid’s first introduction to the universe of Buzz Lightyear. It had many fans, including myself, wondering why the developers did not capitalize on the nostalgia of that cartoon, using it as the base for Lightyear (2022). I’m sure many fans of Toy Story lore, including myself, would have been even more eager to go and see the movie if they had reawakened our childhood memories with more beloved and familiar characters that tied in that universe with this theatrical film. However, based on what the creators have stated as their inspiration, it seems as if they were either unaware or purposefully ignoring the fact that there was a Buzz Lightyear universe before this movie was conceptualized. As a result, there were many missed opportunities.
Another one of the missed opportunities that left many fans miffed was the absence of Tim Allen’s voice playing the Star Commander Buzz Lightyear. Tim Allen has been known to lend his voice to Buzz Lightyear in all of the Toy Story movies so far, and so to many fans of the franchise it felt like a snub to Tim Allen’s legacy.
Even the explanation given by Galyn Susman, the producer of Lightyear, was not enough to convince fans, and it left many wondering for whom this movie was made for. After all, if you’re going to use nostalgia as a vehicle for a movie, you have to give the nostalgic-heads something to look forward to. Tim Allen’s voice saying the catch-phrase “To Infinity and Beyond” is one of the most iconic phrases associated with Buzz. Evidently, they believed that the name alone would be enough to get others interested, but somehow did not anticipate that with that name “Lightyear” comes a huge responsibility (to die-hard Toy Story fans). Fans are usually always skeptical of spin-offs, sequels, and prequels, especially if there is nothing else to tie in the original beloved series other than its name. The best thing to do is give them something to be less critical about.
Evidently, the movie also did not win the hearts of the younger crowd over summer break as anticipated, either. It certainly had lackluster promotion on social media (the main source of information for Gen Z and Gen Alpha) as if the company was relying on “word-of-mouth” to carry this movie forward. To add salt to the wound, while the movie trailer does have the typical promotional material used for most movies directed towards kids (a small dose of slap-stick humor, dramatic fight scenes, etc), the characters themselves are not showcased with much personality, leaving it up to the robotic cat to carry the fun in this movie’s promotion.
Of course, we cannot ignore the backlash surrounding Lightyear‘s “inclusion initiative” to feature LGBTQ+ characters openly without editing. When the bill known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill was in progress to become law in Florida, the location of Disney’s biggest park Disney World, many felt that Disney was too passive or cowardly when it came to speaking out against it. They even accused the company of not caring enough about their employees’ desire for LGBTQ+ characters because Disney would hardly ever allow these characters to feature openly on-screen. As a result of this backlash, it seems Disney has decided for the first time to feature two characters of the same gender as a couple with a kiss to confirm it.
Naturally, this did not go over well with many conservative movie-goers (who make up the majority of the world). In fact, Disney’s Lightyear was the worst-rated film of any Pixar film partially due to “review bombing” (the act of giving a low rating to a movie to purposefully encourage its failure) that ensued long before the movie was even set to be released. Whether or not this happened as a result of early screenings or simply because many were not happy to see an LGBTQ+ couple in a “children’s movie” is debatable. However, the movie has been banned in 14 countries (mostly in the Middle East and in some South Asian countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia). While these issues may not have primarily hurt the movie’s projected financial returns for this weekend, it certainly did not help. It has even caused users on IMDB to give the movie a “severe sex/nudity” warning because of the same-gender kiss.
How tf is there severe nudity in Lightyear?! Y’all are reaching with that gay kiss scene… pic.twitter.com/y46seLBEx4
— Introverted Robot 🍉 (@IntrovertedRob) June 16, 2022
However, if we are being very honest here, the film has the highest numbers for an opening weekend for an animated film since the Covid-19 Pandemic swept the nation, beating out Encanto‘s record of being the highest box office numbers opening weekend in theaters post-pandemic.
Many factors could have been at play when considering why both movies have not been met with the same returns as movies in the past. To start, during the release of Encanto, there was more skepticism after the Pandemic when thinking of returning to a movie theater to see a movie. With Disney’s new Disney+ streaming service providing their top movies gift-wrapped and automatically accessible for viewers, many have decided to simply wait for the movie to hit the streaming service. This actually made Encanto one of the most viewed movies on the streaming service. I’d wager that this could become the situation for Lightyear in the months to come. It’s possible the streaming service has taken away Disney’s theatrical box office value. We could also keep in mind that with inflation and the rising prices of gas, many are opting out of going to a movie theater just to see a side story of the original.
However, it is still perplexing how movies like Top Gun: Maverick andJurassic World: Dominion are able to dominate box office sells even with anticipation that they will be accessible through a streaming service eventually. Could it be that the timing of the two movies was better? With Top Gun: Maverick being released right in time for Memorial Day and Jurassic World: Dominion just before Father’s day, this gave many moviegoers more options as to which movies to watch for a Father’s Day weekend; it’s evident that many fathers would prefer those two movies over an animated film about a space ranger.
Lightyear is still a newly released film. It is left to be seen if over the next few weeks it will beat other box office champions like Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (grossing $190 million overall) and Sing 2 (grossing $162 million) in the family-friendly category. Hopefully, Lightyear can gain enough “buzz” from satisfied movie-goers to get people interested.
What factors do you think influenced Lightyear‘s Box Office stagger? Leave me a comment below to express your opinion about Lightyear.
Warning: The following ranking might trigger you, and there may be some spoilers. Viewer discretion is advised.
Greetings! This is SoraGenNext, back to you with more!
You may have noticed I’ve been gone awhile. That’s because I’ve been working on a time-consuming and expensive project over at the Bratz fandom page. On my journey, while collecting information, I’ve had the opportunity to re-watch all of the Bratz movies and I thought, “Hey, I might as well share my opinion on which movies are my favorites.” I’m sure all of my readers (and viewers, if you’re coming from my Youtube channel) are just dying to know, right?
For starters, I want to let you all know that I consider myself somewhat of a Bratz fan outsider when it comes to these movies and the TV show. Let me just give some of you all history on me and my relationship with Bratz.
I’ve been into Bratz since 2000, yes, 2000, when the website was first under construction. I was the tween that begged Bratz to come out with movies, like I was seeing their competitors do. By the time the first Bratz movie arrived, I was probably older than most of the kids really into the Bratz. I was 14 years old, so I had a really clear view and memory of all of the movies, and I was a hugely active member of the Bratz community since their debut. I learned, at that age, that none of the movies were really “canon”. Like Barbie, the Bratz TV show and other series were used to promote the doll brand, not the other way around, so many of the Bratz movies and different series created for Bratz often conflicted with one another or just couldn’t be taken as canon. The only canon universe for Bratz was found among the dolls, if you paid close enough attention.
With this realization, to be honest, I’ve only watched each movie ONCE, and that was the year they were released. I hadn’t watched any of them again until recently when I started the Bratz fandom page.
After watching again, I came up with my own ranking, listing the worst to best Bratz movies, from my own perspective, through my own in-depth review of each movie, centered on the story, characters, visuals, and music.
Once I started, I realized that I don’t just want to tell you which ones I like and don’t. I feel I need to fully explain my choices. Overall, the result is that each movie has gotten its own review, all in this one article. I will put anchors so everyone can navigate.
In this ranking, I will only be reviewing the feature films released as full-length movies. I won’t be including the interactive DVDs, the Passion 4 Fashion DVD game, or the DVDs that only contain TV series episodes like Good Vibes and BFF.
There is also a matching video below, if you’d rather listen to and watch that. Click here.
I’ve watched videos and read articles about the best to worst Bratz movies, and time and again this movie always seems to come at the top of everybody’s list.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I can definitely admit that it causes me some confusion. Everyone has their own nostalgia, and if that’s why they enjoy it, it’s cool. But I’m always confused when people think so highly of this movie.
Last I remembered, this movie was not that good. Yes, all the other movies that came after had some elements from this movie, making this the OG, but I think by the time those movies came out, things had been cleaned up a little AND I had gotten used to this universe. From first impression, Rock Angelz wasn’t it for me. And if I take off the nostalgia glasses and think back to how I really felt about this movie, it wasn’t good, not even for a Bratz fan.
I watched this movie for the first time in 2005 when I was 15 years old, and have to admit I haven’t watched it since until recently last week. It’s been 15 years, my old friend. As I was watching, I started to remember that there was a reason I didn’t return to this movie, and why it soured my interest in the overall Bratz TV series that followed.
I know most Bratz fans are going to come over here saying, “I love the series! It’s my childhood! Rock Angelz was iconic”. That series and this movie ruined my childhood.
Story
Let’s start with the Rock Angelz story. Written by Peggy Nicoll, the same initial writer and overseer of the Bratz TV series, the story centers on Cloe, Sasha, Yasmin, and Jade, with appearances by Cameron, Eitan, and Dylan. Jade gets a job working for fashion editor, Burdine, at Your Thing magazine. She’s the “Barbie” of the universe, and is like Miranda Priestly from the Devil Wears Prada, except louder and more obnoxious. She’s impossible, and ends up firing Jade. The Bratz decide to start their own magazine called Bratz Magazine (obviously to promote the real Bratz magazine that had been released). They steal tickets from Your Thing, fly off to London to cover two big scoops, get into some drama along the way, like Cloe meeting a prince who turns out to be bougie, Sasha taking over a segment meant to be for her and Jade, and Yasmin finding the dog of a reality show judge named Byron Powell (Simon Cowell of this universe), which breaks them all apart for a minute, and then finally, after making up in time to cover the opening of club Pinz, they head to the Benefit concert. However, they realize that their tickets were stolen by the Tweevils, Burdine’s interns and minions, so they have to sneak in. After that, they meet up with Byron who introduces them to Roxxi, who just broke up with her band Crash. After this, they all form a band and continue the show, making their debut as Bratz Rock Angelz.
A lot of fans love to tell me how empowering the movie was because the lead characters overcame the White blonde upper-class woman abusing her power, creating their own start-up diverse magazine. They are entrepreneurs at a young age, influencing the fashion scene at just 16 and what not. And it feels very true to the actual Bratz dolls’ story. With that in mind, I can agree that it is the charm of this story. Mattel did a lot to try and stop the Bratz’s influence back then, and I believe they were already in a lawsuit with MGA over Myscene at the time of this movie’s release.
Rock Angelz is also just a fun and funny movie. I have found myself chuckling at it. So, I get it. However, if I look at the story itself, without thinking about the message the movie was trying to send, it was literally all over the place.
Let me just tell you all my first impression. First off, when I was 15, before this movie came out, I had already received the Bratz Rock Angelz album and dolls, which had been released months before. I was heavily invested in the Bratz World yahoo group community, which was the biggest at the time, and still is across other platforms.
The album was so good. It had so many good themes. I would listen to that album over and over to the point I memorized all the songs. So, this is what I was expecting: A story about them learning not to let fame get to their heads (Sasha’s All About You), a story about someone or all of them not being a good friend (Cloe’s You Think), a romance Story between Roxxi and someone else, someone who is not any of her friends, whose hair is a mess, and who is weird (Roxxi’s I Don’t care). I expected Yasmin to be in a relationship with someone who is trying to own her, almost a relationship that’s semi-abusive (Yasmin’s Nobody’s Girl). I expected there to be some drama.
Now at this time, Myscene was out. My sister became a huge fan of Myscene. I felt threatened by Myscene as a teenager. I was like “They’re copies of the Bratz. They’re trying to take the Bratz fandom and confuse people out of buying Bratz products.” I just felt threatened by them because I didn’t want the Bratz to lose money and not be sold anymore. But my sis liked them and she would watch all of their webisodes and movies. They had media content a good THREE YEARS before Bratz. I was quite jealous of that. I was like, you know, Bratz has been out awhile, and yet Myscene is capturing interest with their webisodes and movies. At the time Rock Angelz came out, Myscene had come out with Jammin’ in Jamaica. To me, my teen self, it was a good movie. It had the slice-of-life that was popular then, the teen drama, an interesting destination theme, and an engaging plot. It brought ALL of the dolls to life, including special edition Jai, and actually had every outfit in the movie.
The Bratz’s first movie, Bratz The Video: Starrin’ and Stylin’, tried to do that, but I guess too many people felt it was lower quality. Also, the Bratz movie didn’t relate to Europeans as much. Rock Angelz centered on the UK, so it made Bratz more popular worldwide. Possibly, the first movie may have even felt more like a copy of Myscene to some fans. I didn’t think about it that way back then, but I was hoping, after hearing the Rock Angelz album, we would finally get content that had the drama and suspense and slice-of-life that rival brand Myscene had.
Imagine my disappointment when Rock Angelz came out. The movie had very little connection to the soundtrack. Maybe you could pull some themes out of it, but it was written without the soundtrack in mind. So, I’m like, what was the point of that whole album then? Why tease us? It wasn’t until later that I realized that the album actually captures unseen events that happened after the movie, but that just makes things worse.
Aside from the movie being nothing like the promotional soundtrack, it itself was a mess. It felt like the movie was trying to tell too many stories at once. First, they were trying to start a magazine, then they also shoved in a Pretty N’ Punk “World Destination” storyline of the Bratz in London, and finally they didn’t even become Rock Angelz until the very end of the movie. This is called Bratz Rock Angelz, isn’t it? Yet, the movie was not really about them BEING rock stars. The movie was mostly about Bratz magazine and their trip to London. It should have been called Bratz Magazine or Bratz Go to London, NOT Bratz Rock Angelz. They ended up shoving in the rock star thing at the very end, which made everything feel rushed and random.
It tried to be too many things at once. Because the movie shoved in Rock Angelz at the end, I was disappointed that Roxxi only showed up in a few scenes. Here I am, with all five of my dolls, finally going to see another Bratz pack member on the screen…and nothing.
I was hoping for a REAL Rock Angelz movie, one that brought the doll universe to life. I was hoping for a REAL story about becoming a rock star, the ups and downs of fame, on-the-road drama, touring, living the rock star life. Later, they used some of these themes but not in a rock star scenario, and this was the movie that should have been about it. They still could’ve inculcated the magazine and London, but possibly trying to write how it feels to be a real rock star, with London being one of their tour spots. Instead, the focus was everywhere but on Rock Angelz.
From the moment the Bratz decided to start a magazine, it was rushed. First off, I don’t care what connections Sasha has, who just sells an office space to teenagers? And I don’t care how nicely they’re able to decorate it, who’s paying to keep the lights on? Was there a fundraiser in-between to raise money for this space? Who is paying the bills? Where are their parents? I was hoping this movie would go a step further than the other doll movies of the time and actually introduce parents or the Bratz characters’ backgrounds. All we saw was a mention of Cloe’s mom calling over and over about Cloe wearing rubber boots. Who agreed to let the Bratz fly off to London and start their own magazine, even while in school? How were they able to fly to London using Burdine’s passes and tickets? Did their parents not question how they got this opportunity? To add, Burdine only would have had THREE passes and tickets, since there’s only herself and her interns, the Tweevils, involved in her company, which means one of the Bratz would’ve been left behind. Whose parents decided to pay? How did Dylan and Cameron convince their parents to let them go? All of these questions in-between could’ve made for an interesting story. Instead, they rushed the building of the magazine, like they did everything else, in a montage, as if it happens overnight, so they could get the girls to London and get them into rock star mode. We never saw the struggle, the obstacles. Ultimately, I respected Burdine more because I’m sure she went through way more to start up her company, and she did it all by herself. I didn’t see the Bratz struggling, so to me I didn’t feel the hard work was rewarded.
At this time, I compared it to their competitor Myscene. Jammin’ in Jamaica, which had come out the year before and was the first full-length Myscene movie, had them traveling to a destination, and it went a lot more realistically than the Bratz Rock Angelz movie. Sure, any destination outside of our country may seem unachievable to most of us. Yet, the movie at least showed the Myscene CONVINCING a parental figure to let them go. At least they had one clear purpose as to why they were going. It made sense who was paying for it, and they were pretty limited to one part of the island, according to their budget. Furthermore, at least it focused on adventures in Jamaica. Yes, I know, Bratz ain’t Myscene. But Myscene’s storytelling appeared superior at this time, especially to a teenager aged 15. Now, I have my criticisms about that movie, too, but this is about the Bratz.
Basically, the Bratz movie seemed a little less realistic and definitely more childish in comparison to their competitor. And I expected Bratz to cut-throats and annihilate their competition. I expected them to snatch edges and get me ugly crying. Most of the time, I found myself wincing and rolling my eyes.
The only struggle the Bratz endured in their story was when they actually had to find topics for their magazine. While, yes, that’s a portion of a struggle, that shouldn’t have been everything. There should have been some airport drama, like there is in real life when you fly into a foreign country. How could the girls even afford to tour London? Again, who paid for what? How were they able to exchange money? Even in passing, this could have been mentioned.
Just because a movie is made for kids doesn’t mean it has to be dumb. I was 15 asking these questions, and I had little experience with traveling outside of the country. However, my family did always travel and encouraged traveling. Even I knew this movie glossed over a lot of things that could have made it a good story had the focus been more narrow.
Overall, I would’ve liked three separate movies or TV show episodes for the start of Bratz magazine, their trip to London in possibly a three-parter, and a whole separate movie about them actually being rock stars. But all together? It was a big sloppy mess. I’ma just keep it real.
Most dolls’ movies are released to tell us what the line they’re trying to promote means. I don’t know what they were trying to promote here. It seems like they were trying to promote Bratz Magazine, Pretty N’ Punk, and Rock Angelz. Which means the title is false promotion.
Characters
This movie also had problems with how they were interpreting the characters. Now, the one thing I hated about Starrin’ and Stylin’ was how they changed the characters, especially in relation to how they were perceived online before that movie, before Charles O’ Connor’s vision took effect. I was most upset that they made Sasha the stereotypical “mad Black woman” and they stripped Jade of all of her interest in extreme sports, her quick mind and quick wit, and made her a one-dimensional character interested in fashion…I mean, aren’t they all interested in fashion? To me, that gave her less dimension than all the other characters. What’s worse about Rock Angelz is they actually gave all of Jade’s “cool qualities”, you know, her interest in extreme sports, to the blonde White CLOE. Unfortunately, it seemed like Cloe was the character with the most dimension. She could now be girly, into fashion that’s shimmery and sparkly, with animal prints, but also like sports, drama, etc.
I believe they gave her these sporty qualities to compete with Myscene’s Delancey, who got the Avril Lavigne treatment. Avril Lavigne was super popular at the time because she gave another image to blondes besides the Britney Spears, Clueless Cher, and Legally Blonde Elle Woods tropes. So, I believe they tried to make Cloe that Avril Lavigne. But seeing as it never suited her character, it was just another random piece of the Bratz Rock Angelz movie that just seemed thrown in there.
Jade was supposed to be way extreme and totally far-out, not just in appearance but in attitude and life. This is what the Bratz 2015 online stop-motion webisodes got right. I was looking forward to them fixing that in Rock Angelz, but they didn’t. And since most people didn’t remember who Jade was in 2001, and the books never captured this piece of her character either, no one, but me, seemed to care.
At least in later movies, they made Jade into a Brainiac, interested in science and whatnot. However, it would’ve been less stereotypical (considering she’s Asian) had they maintained her sporty side, like she once had.
Granted, Carter Bryant did have some different ideas for the characters before release, and Cloe was supposed to be the “Queen of Cool”, but she was still largely girly. She didn’t deserve to have more dimension than all the other characters. But this is what happens when there’s not enough people of color around to help with the story-telling.
Sasha maintained her “mad Black woman” attitude, and I don’t have a problem with it, but it seems like they struggled to give Sasha layers. She was just selfish and hard, not compassionate or caring in any way. I hated that about her, because it just wasn’t me, and yet she was the only one technically representing Black girls. It made her less likeable, and it’s hard enough to sell Black characters as dolls. I remember the polls back then were brutal against Sasha. She was always voted last as people’s favorite. ALWAYS. I think I posted one of those polls in one of my other videos and article Bratz 2018: Please Don’t. Anyway…they didn’t hand the same dimension to Sasha, but at least they gave her interests outside of fashion, unlike with Jade.
Yasmin, the MGA darling of course, got all of the sweet and lovable qualities, even if she wasn’t the focus of the movie.
That’s another thing I hated about the movie. This was supposed to be told from Jade’s perspective, and when you read all of the books based on this movie, it’s “As told by Jade”. Yet, Cloe is primarily the narrator in the movie. The official Rock Angelz movie website, which has since been taken down, labeled CLOE the main character and main narrator of the movie. I have good memory. You all may have thought you took that down, but I remember what I saw.
Overall, this should not have been the case. If you’re going to make fun of Barbie, don’t do the same things she did and make the blonde White doll the central character. It ain’t right.
And let’s talk about these boys. They were probably the worst adaptation of everyone. The first problem was the fact that the only boys who made an appearance were Eitan, Cameron, and Dylan. Cameron and Eitan might as well have been the same dude because they didn’t give them much difference from each other throughout the movie or TV show. And they even often did the other’s job when the other wasn’t around, like taking photos of the girls during photoshoots. There was no mention of Koby and Cade. In the book based off of Rock Angelz, it stated they were “studying abroad”, but then that same book said Yasmin was the new girl who’d just moved there the year before…which would definitely not make sense in the Bratz universe if Bratz Babyz and Bratz Kidz were to exist. That was a problem they brought over from Starrin’ and Stylin’. But at least in the actual Rock Angelz movie, no one could tell when she arrived to meet her friends because it was never mentioned.
Anyway, back to the boys, the boys that did show up were nothing like they were initially interpreted, and I do blame the movie that was released before for this. Cameron was called “The Blaze” not just by CLOE but by ALL the Bratz girls, and this was because they all thought he was hot. Therefore, in my pansexual polyamorous mind, I believe all of them had a crush on Cameron. Period. In the Rock Angelz movie, they made Cameron a lame. There was no indication that the girls thought he was hot. Even Cloe referred to him as “cute” but hard to figure out. She didn’t seem to think he was hot; she just knew him for years and got used to him basically.
To be honest, I can’t even take that seriously. She claimed she’s known Cameron since the second grade, but then what’s Bratz Babyz The Movie? And, really, what about the whole Bratz Babyz and Bratz Kidz universe released the year before? I mean we can argue that just because there were dolls doesn’t mean they knew each other…but it still did take me back a bit, considering the circumstances of the lines. Technically, all of them have known Cameron since they were 3-years-old. So, Cloe was not the only childhood friend here.
Thankfully, the doll universe ignored this couple, placing Cloe with Kobe, Cade, and other boys. Thankfully, the series and commercials gave Cameron other love interests throughout the Bratz universe, such as Roxxi and Sasha. The whole “Nigel is a jerk and I’m supposed to be with Cameron” didn’t fly with me. Sure, it does teach girls to be realistic about their choices in love and not to fall for the first handsome prince they meet. But if she really liked Cameron, she never would have let Nigel influence her like that in the first place. They made Cameron the hopeless romantic, pining after a girl that clearly was showing little interest in him. I felt that Cameron was getting played by Cloe left and right throughout the movie and the series. She would only use him when she didn’t have anybody, but had no qualms with flirting with other boys or dating them either. Had the nerve to get mad jealous when Cameron dated other people after her. And they would just make him a S.I.M.P. I felt like he was being used by Cloe.
I’m sorry. I missed when he was The Blaze, single and ready to mingle, just like all the other Bratz pack members, before they gave him the “Ken-doll” treatment.
But fans began shipping this couple, so it stuck, unfortunately.
Anyway, to move along, let’s continue talking about how the movie failed to even adapt the boys’ nicknames and personalities. Dylan was named “The Fox” because the GIRLS considered him slick. Instead, in the movie, they made him a complete cornball who THOUGHT he was slick. I was hoping he’d have the “slick Nick” personality, you know, like in Zootopia. Instead, they made him a cornball. And while Dylan’s comic relief probably saved this show, he was no longer the cool character I imagined him to be. Just because they are boy dolls in the girls’ world doesn’t mean they have to be created to be stupid.
Eitan was supposed to be a “non-stop hot shot”. He’s supposed to be the one given the VIP treatment. He is “The Dragon”. He is possibly the character meant to be “conceited” in the Bratz girls’ opinion. But none of the movies, not the books, nothing, ever interpreted him based on his nickname or initially developed personality.
IN FACT, they don’t even mention their nicknames, and probably because the writers didn’t even care to get the characters right. I mean, come on, they had Yasmin calling Cloe Kool Kat in the Rock Angelz movie. Unless she has eyes on the side of her head, she was talking to Cloe. There was definitely a problem with the writing. They weren’t fooling me. I know who is who.
Normally, I’m more forgiving with visual errors as it’s not easy or cheap to capture things visually. I draw the line at script errors that’s as obvious as in this movie. At least, get the characters right. That’s who you’re representing. It’s like a mom decided to write a story about a bunch of dolls and just skimmed over the Bratz line before writing the story. And to me, there’s no heart in that. The details weren’t taken into account. They must have really thought kids were that stupid…Well, since everyone liked the movie, I guess kids really didn’t care about the details and I was just too old to be watching it.
Because the writers didn’t care, most fans of the Bratz TV series didn’t truly even know who the Bratz Boyz were and they didn’t even know Cameron or Eitan HAD nicknames. When Cameron was re-released in 2018 as “The Blaze”, people were responding like “Who’s the Blaze?” Yet, everyone wants to tell me this was the best Bratz movie and that the series that followed was iconic? Okay, you can feel what you feel. I don’t cosign.
Let’s also talk about Cameron’s look. First off, they switched out his oily surfer boy hair with Dylan’s curly hair, and White-washed Dylan by giving him the oily wet surfer boy hairdo, knowing no Black boys looked like that. Weird. This caused confusion later on when trying to adapt him live. We all know Dylan was Black, at least biracial.
And they seemed to be doing their best to wash out Eitan’s Asian heritage as well, as his hair was far shades lighter than it was supposed to be. He hadn’t worn one outfit from his collection, so I had to admit I was confused as to who he was until the Bratz girls said his name was Eitan. So they funked up the boys.
What’s worse is that Eitan didn’t even go to London with the Bratz. In the actual Bratz Rock Angelz line, Eitan was the ONLY boy that made an appearance, and yet he was the ONLY boy not present with them in London. He was even in the Pretty N’ Punk World Destination London line, too. He should have been in London with the other Bratz pack members. Sasha wasn’t even in that line. She should not have been in London, unfortunately, even if they had intended to make a Sasha for the line. It made me mad enough they didn’t make a punk Sasha, let alone stick her in London after that, making me want punk Sasha even more.
They didn’t add in my favorite girl Meygan, either, who was considered Rock Angelz’s “number one fan”. I know that doll was only released in select locations as a special edition, and maybe even released after the Rock Angelz concept was complete. Still, I would’ve liked to see her anyway. It seems like the movies loved to omit Meygan out of everything when she was one of the original Bratz characters. And she was actually in the Pretty N’ Punk line, so no excuses. She should have been in London with her friends. If you’re going to shove in that portion of the story, actually add the characters that belong there.
Finally, Roxxi. I was so looking forward to Roxxi. She was the cool rock star, Spice, and the newest character to be interpreted, but she was literally only in a few minutes at the end of the movie. She got her five seconds of fame and it was over. I was looking forward to more development from her, and they didn’t deliver. First off, even making her “the new girl” was weird because Roxxi had been released in 2004, a year before the release of Rock Angelz. Ya know, most doll brands tie in new characters into the movies if they want to weave in a new girl in the story; they release them to tie directly into the movie. Roxxi wasn’t the new girl in the Bratz universe, so it was weird for the Bratz not to know her by the time the movie came out. It was made weirder when they developed a Bratz Babyz for Roxxi and Phoebe, and her twin sister appeared in the Bratz Kidz line. The commercials and art showed them interacting with everybody as toddlers, so how is she new?
Also, as an identical twin myself, it was also disappointing not to see her sister Phoebe around. I mean, what girl has the premiere of the century and her twin sister isn’t around to see it? I would never let that happen. I would make sure she’s there. My sister would make sure she’s there. And with Phoebe being the sweet one, who’s always supportive and giving advice? She’d have definitely been there.
Granted, all of the Bratz families were screwed up in the movie and the series, so, hey. Roxxi got the least amount of development in this movie, so I’m not surprised.
Overall, I didn’t feel like there was much improvement with the characters from the first movie (which I’ll get into later). Eventually, I got used to them, which is why the other movies that came after felt better to me, and some of the characters grew on me and were really funny and entertaining, but from my initial impression, it didn’t make me fond of this movie and it also killed my enjoyment of the Bratz series.
Visuals
This is probably the best part of the movie. No, the visuals don’t look like anything today, but back then, CGI was still relatively novel, and the Bratz visuals felt like the dolls were coming to life. Barbie in the Nutcracker had come out a few years before, so I saw the impact of those kinds of graphics on promoting doll brands. For the Bratz, it really made it feel like the dolls came to life. The hair movement, the outfits, it came alive.
Unfortunately, the details themselves were missing. Obviously, there were many backgrounder and location images recycled throughout the Bratz series and Rock Angelz, even if they weren’t intended to be the same location or places. Eventually, it became a staple of the show and even a running gag (after watching Super Babyz, I saw that little wink from a Bratz Kidz Yasmin look-alike). But it could make things confusing sometimes.
One of the worst parts about the visuals in the movie is the lack of attention to the Bratz girls’ fashion passions. It seemed like they translated their fashion passions into personalities instead. For example, instead of Cloe wearing dramatic clothes, she’s a drama queen, or instead of Yasmin liking bohemian fashion, she behaves like a stereotypical bohemian, practicing yoga and saving the environment. Don’t know where they were going with Jade, but her personality was “cool”, not her style. While it’s good to focus more on their individual personalities than clothes, they were known for also having individual style, and it was significant. Unfortunately, the visuals didn’t cater to those details. Thus, we saw Bratz characters in outfits they shouldn’t have been in.
Perhaps the first sign of this was the switch between Cloe and Jade’s outfits. This irritated me from the first scene because I couldn’t tell who was doing the talking. I literally kept confusing Jade for Cloe. The problem was that the dolls had already been released, and Jade was my favorite, of course. When they stuck my favorite outfit on Cloe, I was in an uproar. First off, why would Cloe, the girl who likes shimmery, sparkly fabrics and animal prints, as well as trendy outfits, be wearing those Beetlejuice shoes? Only Jade could pull that off, not Cloe. But again, no one had the heart to adapt the Bratz correctly.
I find that to be some poor promotion. I mean, I’ve seen some doll brands promoting outfits that don’t exist, but at least Mattel will make sure the outfits they are releasing are promoted on the right doll because they hope those dolls will sell. If you’re going to make a movie to promote the line, at least sell it properly. Back then, little girls were confused in toy aisles, buying up Cloe instead of Jade, and Jade instead of Cloe, depending on the one they liked best.
Because they couldn’t get their styles right, and didn’t pay the same painstaking attention to detail the designers did working for MGA, the passion fashions got all mixed up. It got to the point I didn’t even care about their fashion passions and it got to the point I stopped caring if I could tell them apart.
Unfortunately, I believe this is why they weren’t able to produce more Bratz pack members in the series for fear they would look too much alike. Kumi, Dana, and Tiana would just look like Jade, and this was made worse when they started putting their outfits on Jade. If they’d stuck to the outfits they actually released for these characters, we could at least tell the difference between the characters based on what they wore. But since they didn’t care to pay attention to that, we got a limited Bratz pack universe.
This issue traveled into the Bratz TV series. They put Ooh La La outfits on Jade and Sasha, knowing good and well those girls didn’t even appear in the line, even if they were supposed to. This prevented Kumi and Dana from ever appearing in the future. They did the same in the Bein’ Who We Are music video. It got so mixed up, that eventually fashion passions no longer mattered in the actual Bratz brand. They started throwing outfits on any one of the characters, and they started looking more and more identical, with less individuality. Bratz Rock Angelz movie started that mess in my opinion. Thankfully, the outfits were still well-made, even if less individualistic. Still, it was a change that was noticeable.
Also, because they’ve released characters out of order, making Roxxi a new girl when most Bratz fans been knowing her awhile, it’s likely any other former stories connected to them would have been altered or rearranged. They weren’t good at giving a proper backdrop for the dolls, beginning with them not making the story consistent with the timeline. The story didn’t line up with the way the dolls were being sold, so it became a confusing mess.
Music
The music was okay, but it wasn’t what I expected. I expected to hear more rock music, to set the Rock Angelz mood, and especially the music from the Rock Angelz album. Unfortunately, it was filled with songs from the future Bratz TV series, very pop and urban, with some random pop rock numbers, and only ONE song from the album made it in…at the very end of the freakin’ movie. Overall, the music felt like it was tossed in there to give a Bratz feeling, but not a Rock Angelz feeling. This is what happens when you want to tell too many stories at once.
Overview
So, you all might say I’m super negative, not a real Bratz fan, and that I’m the only one who feels this way about Rock Angelz. I agree I’m a Bratz fan outsider today, in today’s world, where the kids who grew up with Bratz at a much younger age now have a stronger influence on the community, and have a different attachment to Bratz. But back in the day, I know I wasn’t the only one. All of the older Bratz fans back then had the same problem, which was why everything was cleaned up better in the next couple of movies that came after. Notice how Genie Magic and Forever Diamondz had music from their soundtracks. Notice how the movies inculcated the lines better and gave the fifth girl in the line more screen time or importance. They still couldn’t hardly get their outfits right, and they still made old-time characters, like Katia, suddenly seem like new girls, but at least they cleaned things up a little more. They wouldn’t have done that if fans hadn’t complained. So I don’t think I was the only one, even if I probably am one of the few remaining fans from back in that time…
The Bratz Rock Angelz movie brought the dolls to life with its CGI and it had humor and entertainment, but it tried to tell too many stories at once, it didn’t really focus on the Rock Angelz band, the characters remained altered and misinterpreted, so different from the doll universe, and the music wasn’t even from the freakin’ soundtrack.
Coming in next is Bratz Go to Paris. I wrestled with whether I should even include this on the list because it’s basically like BFF and Good Vibes where it’s a collection of episodes made into a movie. However, I think with this DVD they attempted to make all three episodes into one full-length film. It barely gets a pass. Re-released in 2013, several years after it aired on television, they basically wanted to give fans more movies but didn’t have the same backing they did back in the day. So they just started re-releasing stuff. I remember I was 23 and just never considered this a real movie.
Story
Written by Peggy Nicoll, the story focuses on the Bratz as they are recruited by Byron Powell, who they discover is a spy, to go undercover as spies themselves. Someone had been poisoning super models in Paris right before designer Jean-Paul’s major show. The models have all aged tremendously from the poisons. The Bratz agree to help, not being able to resist going to the “City of Lights”. Cloe is hoping for a romance story, Yasmin is hoping for inspiration for her writing, Jade is a major fan of Jean-Paul, and Sasha wants to experience the nightlife…I think. Anyway, when the girls show apprehension about going to Paris due to them needing to complete their magazine, Byron tells them he only needs one of them anyway. He decides to put them through a spy test to determine who will go.
This sparks an obvious rivalry between the girls, as they all try to beat the other and hold each other back, but in the final race to the finish, Yasmin crashes. The Bratz resolve that they will not leave one another behind. Byron reveals the real test was one of working together and he agrees that all of them are ready to go.
The Bratz pack, along with Cameron and Dylan, arrive at the runway show to find Jean-Paul stressed and having a break-down because his models are dropping like flies. Nicole, one of his last remaining models, tells the girls what’s been happening. Jade comforts him, and in her, Jean-Paul finds a new muse. At this moment, Nicole shows herself to be jealous of this, but she gets distracted when she catches sight of Cameron. She begins flirting with him the rest of the movie, causing Cloe to be jealous. In the midst of all of this, Roxxi shows up with her former bandmate Cruise, and Sasha becomes smitten. She and Cruise form a relationship. However, because the girls are in Paris for a mission, she ends up leaving him hanging right before their first official date. He takes it personal. Later, Sasha finds him on the cover of a magazine with Alonce (the “Beyonce” of the Bratz universe). Heartbroken, she’s unable to focus on the mission.
Eventually, the Bratz realize they’ve got to stay focused, especially when someone breaks into their hotel room, attacks Yasmin, and flees. Byron takes the evidence and finds a strand of hair that belongs to modeling Agent Elimina. Believing they’ve found the culprit, Byron drops the case. The Bratz aren’t so convinced. As they dig deeper into this, Jade and Cloe are lured into an abandoned room by Nicole and poisoned right before they were to appear in the show. Eventually, Sasha and Yasmin are able to find them as Nicole is trying to drag them into a car to escape. The girls are able to take her down using their new spy techniques and they save the day. In the end, Sasha is able to talk to Cruise about the misunderstanding, so they’re happy, and the show continues on, making Jean-Paul a success.
My first impression of the re-release was that this was really cheap. Most fans wanted a new movie, not a DVD with already-released episodes. By the time the DVD was released, I’d already seen everything, so I had no reason to buy it.
But the story is really cool, it’s one of the best Bratz TV episodes. It was nice to have Paris as the setting, a runway show as the focus, and it was just exciting, action-packed, full of drama, and suspenseful. This was a lot more cleaned-up in comparison to Rock Angelz and it maintained focus.
I would have liked the movie to explore Paris a little more than it did. It kind of didn’t focus on the landmarks that are so iconic. But the gem was that it wasn’t stereotypical. Eh.
The other thing I don’t think was necessary was the initial competition to see who would get the spot to go to Paris. Or rather it definitely seemed like Byron tricked them. They said they couldn’t go because of the magazine, clearly not seeing the opportunity to create an epic article from this adventure. Byron tells them he only needs one of them anyway. During the “I Spy” competition, they all agreed not to go if all of them couldn’t go. When Byron says they all passed and could all go, that still left the problem of who was going to run the magazine…If that was such an issue before, all of them winning together doesn’t solve the initial problem that caused the competition in the first place. I think Byron knew he could convince them all to go if he motivated them to compete, but they never brought up the magazine again…
Again, another problem was that this was supposed to be an Ooh La La theme, but it was without Dana and Kumi. It grinds my gears, especially when Sasha and Jade weren’t in the line. And now, the possibility of Kumi and Dana being in the show with these outfits is slim to none because the other four girls wore their outfits…
Characters
Cloe really irritated me in this movie. I understand she is jealous of Nicole spending time with Cameron because she supposedly has a secret crush on him, whatever, but she has been dating and flirting with other guys throughout the whole Bratz TV series and in all the books. She only recognizes Cameron when he’s moved on, then she just wants him all to herself. Girl, he’s not yours to claim.
I was happy that finally Sasha received a love interest. I get tired of people thinking Black girls are these tough, independent characters without layers. I think this is the first episode I ever saw Sasha show emotion, and I actually would’ve loved to see more emotion from her in the other movies and shows.
I loved Yasmin and Jade’s roles in this. Jade was super focused on the task. Despite Yasmin trying to find inspiration for her writing assignment, she was also on task.
I don’t even know why Dylan was there.
All the supporting characters felt recycled, but it became a staple of the show and movies, so…
Visuals
The visuals were meh in my opinion. They mostly spent time in one location and much of the visuals had been recycled from the TV series, like in all the original episodes. I think they did at least choose a different kind of hotel. Did they? Anyway…The outfits were beautiful on the characters, they just weren’t the right outfits. A lot of characters were recycled from the TV episodes, which caused me more confusion. I think they could’ve put a lot more Parisian scenes in it to make it more visually stunning. It felt flat in comparison to what I was hoping for.
I felt this would have been better if they had trained in Paris, too. Then we could see more of the scenes and sights. Of course, they wanted to have a test of friendship first. I still felt like there should have been more when covering Paris.
Music
Because this was not originally a full-length film, it doesn’t have its own music or music that’s a staple of it. The movie had overplayed songs from all the other movies and TV show episodes. It doesn’t feel like it had its own soundtrack. It was nice to hear some familiar favorites, but it just didn’t have music that set the mood, due to this originally meaning to be a couple of 20 minute episodes.
Overview
Overall, the story was pretty exciting and amazing. I was definitely on the edge of my seat. However, it misses the actual Bratz back-drop, the Ooh La La line characters, the characters in this movie annoyed me, the visuals were blah, and the music was just shoved in there…because it wasn’t really meant to be a movie.
Coming in next is Bratz Girlz Really Rock. I first watched this movie in 2008, when I was around 18 years old, starting my first year in college. I was pretty grown-up by the time I watched this. I don’t think my feelings have changed too much since I’ve watched it 12 years ago. Man, I feel old.
Story
Written by Norah Lally and Meg Martin, the story appears to be a movie musical about a movie musical. It centers on the Bratz pack members Cloe, Sasha, Yasmin, Jade, Dylan, and Eitan heading to Camp Starshine, an arts camp in the woods. Initially, the Bratz go to the camp for fun, but they soon realize everyone else is taking things way too seriously there. The camp is hosting a contest for campers to perform something spectacular, with the winner receiving a movie deal. Later, the Bratz girls begin to see why everyone is so serious, and they start to get serious once their own individual talents are recognized. This breaks the group apart. Eventually, Dylan and their new friend Anna begin to help them realize they are changing, especially when a self-centered dance instructor named Demidov threatens to separate them, all so she can get her shot at the limelight. In the end, they are able to re-unite back together and win the contest along with their friend Anna.
Overall, the story is okay. It’s engaging in a lot of ways.
My first impression of it wasn’t as bad as with Rock Angelz because I’d gotten used to the new Bratz universe by this time. Of course, the story was also more focused on the girls trying to stay together amidst competition. One thing that was always interesting about the Bratz dolls’ storytelling was that they didn’t mind showing the girls competing against one another or challenging themselves. That was different than the “princess sweet” stories often told about girls. But they always learned that they were stronger together. This story was about them being diverse and strong apart, but stronger together. They also learned to take their talents seriously and to work hard to reach their dreams rather than goof off all the time. Anna learned to make time for a “life”. They all learned to balance work and play. It was a very cute story.
It was also the first story where Dylan actually had a serious relationship with a girl. It was nice to see him in a different light. However, I still felt like he was in “limerence” with Anna, not “in love” with her. Honestly, the boy only saw her across the room and thought he was madly in love. He knew nothing about her, and actually hated ballet, according to the Secret Date electronic game. So, he only got into ballet just to get closer to Anna. Dylan probably did get serious with Anna later, but to me, he really didn’t fall in love with her. He fell in love with the idea of being with her. Personally, I wasn’t feeling it.
Now, I’m not the most romantic person, so maybe that plays a role in shaping my opinion, but if I could give you all an example of my favorite on-screen romances it would be Sakura and Syaoran and Touya and Yukito from Cardcaptor Sakura. I like relationships that develop over time, relationships and bonds that form after people get to know each other well. Dylan and Anna were…I don’t know, but something about Dylan’s approach to Anna felt like his approach to any other girl; she just took the bait. And this is aside from the fact I don’t really like the way they developed Dylan’s personality entirely in the CGI universe as it is. There’s nothing wrong with a goofy side, but it’d be nice if it was balanced out with something deeper. But okay…
Overall, though, I thought it was a pretty engaging movie. I found myself wanting to see what would happen next. Of course, it was predictable, just like most movies based off of dolls, but everything is predictable nowadays since every story has been told before. It’s hard to please people one hundred percent. I sometimes look forward to a predictable story with a predictable ending as long as I can follow along.
My biggest criticism of this movie though is that, just like with Rock Angelz, it really wasn’t focused on the “Girlz Really Rock” line. I mean, they did at least initially have the girls attempting to perform their rock band to win the contest, but the great majority of the movie was spent on them doing other things and not really focused on the band line at all. What’s worse nowadays is the outfits from the dolls don’t even appear in the movie online. They appeared in the music video for “Friends Are Everything”, and at the end of the original movie, if I remember correctly.
It also feels like this movie didn’t really happen in the Bratz universe. In the end, Cloe broke the 4th wall, if that’s what you call it, and said she forgot her line while they were all saying good-bye after camp. When they were on the red carpet, I think it was said that it was a movie about their real experiences, but I couldn’t really tell.
Overall, I would say the story wasn’t remarkable, but it wasn’t bad either.
What was most annoying about it was that it was a musical, and just about everything was a musical back then, thanks to the popularity of High School Musical, Hannah Montana, and Camp Rock. It kind of got out of hand. Girlz Really Rock was riding that band-wagon, like all the other dolls. Even American Girl was reported to be working on their own Julie musical back then…Weird.
Anyway, the story was designed around musical clichés common in then-tween-teen musicals, such as friendship drama, romance, and excuses to perform.
Characters
The characters brought over the same personality traits they had from Rock Angelz, so, hey. Again, Jade was the only one focused on fashion, and they didn’t dare inculcate other interests in her character, such as her interest in extreme sports. But the movie did a good job of introducing their individual talents and giving them individual screen time, despite the fact the movie was supposed to be told from Sasha’s point of view.
While Anna was cute and everything, I actually would’ve preferred the story to introduce a Bratz pack member instead of the random movie-only character. There were so many other characters in the line, like Phoebe, Roxxi, Meygan, and Dana, but they didn’t bother trying to inculcate them in the movie. But her inclusion didn’t hurt the movie either, so she was okay. I liked her story of trying to balance work and play, and learning not to become a slave to someone else’s dream. I didn’t like her initial attitude towards the Bratz, like sneering at them in the cafeteria, but she evolved as a character, so she was okay.
Eitan barely had a role, yet again, and Dylan was thrown a romance story. You know, I would have liked a movie where the boys had more of a storyline, outside of romance. Like what were Dylan’s wishes, hopes, and dreams? I felt they made him pretty one-dimensional throughout most of the Bratz movies and series. I hate that about Ken in the Barbie universe. And yes, I know it’s mostly about the girls, but it would have been nice to see more development from the boys. I even wished there were more episodes that catered to them. I think Crush in a Rush was the only one, and it was, yet again, a romance story. There’s got to be more to them than girls. This is why I’ve been writing up my own Bratz series, maybe just as a fan, and hopefully with all of this research I’ve been doing about the Bratz universe, I can get that going and kind of unite the Bratz universes together.
Visuals
I felt like the visuals had improved, mostly due to the era in time. CGI was getting better, and it showed. They still recycled background characters. I saw a few Easter eggs. Still, I think by this time, they kind of felt it became a staple of the universe, so it fit. The setting was really interesting, though I don’t understand why an arts camp had to be in the middle of the woods. It didn’t make sense to me. But a real camp setting was nice. I think the visuals would have been better if the Girlz Really Rock outfits had actually been included beyond the music video portion of the movie.
Music
Again, it was a musical. When I first watched the movie in 2008, I couldn’t stand the music. I thought it was annoying and out-of-place. This kind of movie didn’t need a musical. When I watched it again in 2020, it didn’t turn out to be as annoying as I thought it would be. In fact, it felt like the music didn’t really take over the movie, which was a good thing. Back then, maybe it was annoying because I was tired of musicals. Especially in this movie, the songs seemed to be poorly written. Particularly “We’re Gonna Shine”. I hate songs that just “talk-sing” every little line. It just feels like they could be talking instead of singing. In fact, the movie would have been fine without the music. Some songs were re-written and reprised, such as All about Me. That was originally We all Can Be Starz. Summertime Fun was nice and Friends Are Everything was pretty fun. It had a fun summertime little soundtrack. And hey, at least all the songs from the soundtrack appeared in the movie. But I can definitely say you won’t find me bumping these songs in my car the way I would other albums from the Bratz. Unfortunately, this is my least favorite soundtrack. Yet, it was the only one that had every single song in the movie. {sigh}
Overview
Overall, the story was easy to follow, it had interesting points, and all the music from the soundtrack was actually in the movie. However, the movie didn’t add to the characters in any way, the story was cliché, and the musical numbers were poorly written or just not necessary in the movie.
Coming in next is Bratz Babyz The Movie. It was released in 2006, my Junior Year in high school, and I was around 16 years old. Many of you Bratz fan readers are probably mad that I rated this higher than some of the fans’ faves because it’s just a cheesy Bratz Babyz movie. Well, I do have a soft spot for the storytelling in a lot of the Babyz movies because I think they all mostly have at least a message to send, and the messages are more diverse than overcoming “Barbie” and “romance”.
Story
The twin Bratz Babyz, Nita and Nora, get ready to join Cloe, Jade, Sasha and Yasmin at the daycare center in the mall. Snappy, Nita’s puppy, jumps into Nora’s bag when no one’s looking, and Nora, hurrying to keep up with Nita, rushes out without knowing Snappy is in her bag. Once they are at the daycare center, Snappy gets out and escapes into the mall. The Babyz escape to find her, but by then Snappy has been dognapped by Duane, the mall bully. He’d overheard Nora singing in the mall, and demands the Babyz join the karaoke contest and win the prize money of $50 for him as a ransom for the dog. Nora, being shy, is afraid to do this, and Nita insists Nora can’t do it because of her stage fright. They all come up with different ideas on how to get the dog back, despite Duane’s demands. Jade, Cloe and Nora try to get Snappy back by earning money doing something else, while Sasha, Yasmin, and Nita try to get her back by trying to grab her when Duane isn’t looking. When time starts to run out, they decide the only way to get $50 is for Nora to win it in the karaoke contest. However, Nora learns not to give into a bully. The Babyz team up and overcome the bully, all while still managing to get their puppy back.
While at face value, this may seem like a cheesy story centered on a bunch of babies (that don’t really sound or act like babies to some people), I felt it was pretty clever in its approach. As someone who has worked with children, I can tell you that some of the “babies'” behaviors are spot on. It was like watching the Rugrats without the baby talk. I liked how the scene was set in a mall, and from the eyes of a 3-year-old, where everything in the world seems bigger. I liked that the story took two different approaches to dealing with a bully, and ultimately, taught the lesson that you just don’t give in to a bully because they will keep coming back to harm you.
I also have a soft place in my heart for this movie because Nita and Nora remind me of me and my own twin when we were younger. My sibling was more of the Nora, sweet and would get nervous easily, and I was the Nita, strong-willed and had more of a smart mouth. I had to realize that sometimes I would say things that would hurt them and other people. It wasn’t my intention but I did feel like we always got in trouble because of my sibling’s clumsiness.
Now, while I did enjoy the movie, there were some things I didn’t understand. I mean, of course, babies won’t do things that make sense all of the time. Still, I thought that when the babies lost the puppy, they should have immediately told their teacher. They were afraid of getting in big trouble, but when they were caught after sneaking out, which was worse, Ms. Calabash didn’t even react or call their parents or anything. So, it wouldn’t have been bad at all if they had told their teacher. None of the Bratz Babyz realized that they should have just told the teacher in the first place.
None of the babies told the security guards or other surrounding adults about the bully Duane either, which I thought was unusual. Kids usually tell an adult when someone is being mean to them, especially at 3-years-old. And if they don’t, there’s usually an indication as to why they’re not doing it. Instead of trying to run away from the security guard, why didn’t they just tell him why they kept escaping or why they were having a hard time? I mean, maybe they didn’t want to admit they brought a puppy into the mall and didn’t want to get into trouble. Still, after they got caught the first time by security, and saw that they weren’t really in trouble, why didn’t they just confess the problem or even think to do so? Also, why didn’t the adults ask them why they were sneaking out? I mean, I know Ms. Calabash and Officer Murphy were dim-witted, but really? Anyway, I think this story would have been a lot shorter if that had occurred. Nora would have never found the courage to stand up and out on her own, and none of them would have stood up to the bully Duane. However, I would have written it so the babies had no choice but to take control, basically having them exhaust all options. Only then would this kind of story have made sense–well, from a mischievous baby’s perspective.
Characters
The characters were cute and funny. Of course, some of them were…annoying. It was nice to be introduced to some characters from the Bratz pack universe. Still wish Yamit, from the Lil’ Dancers line, had been in it, but almost everyone was in this movie. I would like to see an older version of Nita and Harvey one day.
But back to the movie…
Nita was definitely a handful with her temper tantrums. I can’t say much because I was bossy and tough like her. Still, it’s not a likable quality, even I can admit that. I didn’t like how mean she was to her sister the whole movie. And all the Bratz Babyz could say was “Break it up you two”. No, it wasn’t the “two” of them fighting; it was Nita basically bullying her sister. And Nora even said her oldest sister, Jilian, was also mean. She’d been getting it from both of her older sisters. I am glad that Nita realized her behavior was wrong by the end of the movie. Admittedly, though, many three-year-olds act like Nita. They throw tantrums to get their way, they boss each other around, I mean, hey. Can’t expect a whole lot of maturity.
I was a little bothered by Cameron and Harvey’s behavior towards their teacher as well. They found it fun to throw toys at their teacher, and it was kind of cringe-y to watch. I kept wanting to call some parents myself. Poor Ms. Calabash was so sweet, but those kids were just rotten and she didn’t have the back-bone to get the class under control. Nita earned my respect when she shaped that classroom up, I’ll tell you that. But I hate that Cameron and Harvey participated in that garbage.
The main four Bratz girls were interpreted as their usual selves, with Yasmin being given the least screen time and development. But at least they showed up and out when necessary.
Visuals
Due to the 2-D animation, it obviously didn’t have the fancy CGI graphics everyone was used to by this time, but it also didn’t have the luscious greenery, sinister sunsets, and realistic-looking buildings present in Starrin’ and Stylin‘. It gave me A Pup Named Scooby-Doo type of vibe. To me, the animation felt cheaper than Starrin’ and Stylin‘, but it gave it an old-fashioned cartoonish charm that brought me back to the good old days of Saturday morning cartoons.
Music
The music was everything to me. I think this is the most memorable Bratz Babyz tracklist. My favorite song is “Catch Me If you Can”. I just love that club pop vibe. The music was catchy and unforgettable FOR Me. I think it set the mall scene well.
Overview
Overall, the story had a good message, it brought me back to my childhood, and I could relate well to the characters. The movie was cute and funny. But some actions didn’t make sense in the story, some of the characters were a bit annoying, and the 2-D wasn’t of the best quality.
Coming in next is Bratz the movie. I know a lot of you Bratz fans out there are going to be on here like, “I know this heifer didn’t just put the worst Bratz movie higher than Rock Angelz and Girlz Really Rock!” Yes, I did!
This movie arrived in theaters the Summer of 2007, Summer Break for me, before I entered my last year in high school. I saw it the day it arrived in theaters.
Now, yes, I was a bit stunned to see a completely different story than the one that had been developing the last couple of years prior, especially because the CGI movies and TV show had been really popular (particularly outside of the USA). You’d think they’d continue to profit off of it.
But it didn’t make me too mad. In fact, it made me happy, because finally people could understand that the CGI TV series was not the ONLY canon universe surrounding the Bratz. In fact, the only canon universe is the DOLL universe itself (if even that universe). This movie proved it. Unfortunately, people will find you to be “less of a fan” if you actually like this movie. I don’t care. I’ve been with the Bratz nearly 21 years now, so I think I have the right to like any take on the Bratz. It doesn’t measure how much of a fan I am.
So while everyone else was complaining that this movie didn’t have Bratz magazine and the Tweevils, I was ready to dive into a new take on the Bratz. I took this movie for what it was. This doesn’t mean I felt it was the best movie in the Bratz universe, but it did have some strengths.
Story
The screen play was by Susan Estelle Jansen, and the story was by Adam de la Pena. I heard Sean McNamara, the director, had a huge hand in the story as well.
The story centered on four diverse girls, from diverse backgrounds, Cloe, Jade, Sasha, and Yasmin, who start the big-bad high school for the first time. Enthusiastic, excited, and confident, they shake the campus as soon as they arrive with their fashionable style and amazing talents. Though they are very different from one another, they maintain their friendship, not really starting off interested in the cliques set up in the school.
This deviant behavior catches the attention of student body president Meredith who feels it’s her duty to maintain control of the school and keep the cliques afloat and separate. Of course, because Meredith herself has been the one responsible for organizing the school according to cliques, and because she’s had the power to do so, being the rich daughter of the principal and daughter to a mother with connections to MTV, all the students have helped her in keeping the status quo. She puts pressure on the girls and the rest of the student body to make sure the cliques stay in-tact.
Eventually, the cliques end up pulling the four girls apart for two years, and it seems Meredith has won. However, after a cafeteria food fight at lunch, the girls all end up in detention, leading them to talk out their differences and rekindle their friendship. The Bratz re-unite, threatening Meredith’s power. She tries everything to wrestle it back; She tries to throw ANOTHER super sweet 16 (though she’s already 16), this time with MTV involved, and she attempts to organize and monopolize the school talent show so she can decide who joins and who doesn’t. Though her stunts have the whole school turning on the Bratz, including their so-called friends, the Bratz manage to bind together and overcome Meredith by tying with her for the win at the talent show. Ultimately, they are able to unite the cliques on stage with them and wrestle back control, which was the true win.
Overall, the story took some elements from Rock Angelz, which was focused on the Bratz wrestling control from a Barbie-like figure and empowering themselves, accepting themselves, and not letting someone label them. While it took that element, it was more clear in its focus. It felt like it understood what story it wanted to tell, which I appreciated.
This story brought Bratz back to its roots. Initially, Carter Bryant designed them to be the “cool girls in school” and, according to the book You Don’t Own Me: How Mattel V. MGA Entertainment Exposed Barbie’s Dark Side, that was even going to be the Bratz dolls’ slogan. The movie played off of that, showing how cool the Bratz really were, showing how they were able to conquer the school with their style, talents, and individuality. And yes, they did threaten the Barbie empire in real life, much like how things played out with Meredith. Ironically, the ending credits lists Meredith’s mom as “Barbie” Baxter-Dimly. Because of this connection to the dolls’ roots, I have a certain fondness for the movie.
However, let’s be real. The movie was one big cliché, especially because it seemed like a big rip-off of other tween-teen movies like Mean Girls and High School Musical, which, again, were REALLY popular movies at this time. The emphasis on cliques, on some “pair” or person not really subscribing to the cliques, and then the same individual(s) using “music” or some sort of show to take back power and overcome the cliques. It’s the exact same story as High School Musical to be honest, with some elements stripped from Mean Girls (like the seating charts). Maybe it was meant to be a parody.
To be fair, it’s a lot like an exaggerated form of high school. Some people do go their own way in high school, especially when people start joining after-school activities. I separated from a lot of my childhood friends in high school. We eventually came back together later in life, but some people just part ways. It takes a lot of strength to overcome cliquish behavior.
Of course, I don’t remember high school being as exaggerated as this movie portrays it, and I believe the director said he was inspired by his daughter’s vision of high school, her fears and ideals, the summer before she started. That’s why it came across this way. Our visions of things before we’ve experienced it, especially as children, are always more exaggerated. Imaginations are funny like that.
With that being said, while I appreciated the fact this movie brought Bratz back to their roots and gave us fans a fresh new story, it wasn’t what I really wanted from the first theatrical film. What I was really hoping for was maybe a World Destination story, possibly one for Tokyo a-go-go, more like Cheetah Girls 2 or The Lizzie McGuire movie. It would have been nice to have more Bratz pack members, like Fianna, Tiana, Kumi, May-Lin, and Eitan, adapted for the big screen. Or maybe the movie would actually adapt the actual Bratz the Movie doll line on the screen, with Sharidan and Bryce returning. It really had no connection to the dolls’ movie line, which was frustrating for a fan like me.
But it had a decent story about friendship and celebrating diversity. To me, it wasn’t big enough to be on the big screen, but it was decent, and remains a cult favorite.
Characters
With a star-studded cast, it was hard to look away from the movie. As soon as I saw Anneliese Van der Pol from That’s So Raven (she starred as Chelsea Daniels), I got a little excited. The movie also had Malese Jow from Unfabulous, one of my other favorite shows back then. Chelsea Staub was the show-stopper. She played Meredith very well. And I just found out Sasha’s father was in KC Undercover, another show I loved, which drew me into the Bratz movie again more recently. So, this movie gives me more reasons to revisit.
Yet, what was best about the movie was the actual development of the characters. Though I may not have liked everything about the movie, finally, FINALLY, a movie tapped into the Bratz pack’s past. We saw PARENTS. No, the families didn’t match the Bratz universe, which was disappointing. Cloe should have an older sister named Sonya, and two infant siblings named Colin and Isa. Her mother should be a glam woman named Polita. Sasha should have a younger sister named Zama. I’m quite sure by now, after examining the Rebel Royalty prototype and Itsy City fish shack, that Jade is also of Japanese descent, not just Chinese (which they seemed to allude to, based on her mother’s portrayal). But at least they attempted to develop a back-story for these girls. Yasmin’s mom may have appeared somewhere in the background, but they focused on her Bubbie and Manny, so it’s a pass. I’m happy they also tapped into her Jewish past. Carter Bryant did intend her to be Hispanic, but she was kind of transformed into an Iranian-Jewish girl, too, after her name change before debut. We all know that name is a Persian name. So I would like to think that her heritage consists of both. Yasmin is actually quite connected with Iran culturally.
With the parents around, the Bratz girls weren’t just acting out unwatched and unattended like in the CGI movies. I never could understand how these girls were secret agents or traveling the world without their parents’ knowledge. I mean, maybe it’s not necessary because it’s not real, it helps kids dream, and it’s a lot of fun, but it still crossed my mind. Bratz, the live action movie, was more realistic in that way, and that’s saying a lot, considering how exaggerated the movie actually was. There was some parental supervision, some support, and some insight as to how these girls developed into the ladies they became.
Of course, in their attempt to make the characters more distinct, more changes were made to the characters. Jade did not return back to her athletic roots, but she at least showed interest in chemistry, something other than fashion. And while Cloe maintained stealing Jade’s sporty side from her, Cloe was stripped of her girly and glam tendencies as well, so fair game. They also gave her an interest in media and film. Yasmin was still the sweet-heart, the journalist, and into music. Ya’ll know she’s the darling of MGA, and, if you’re a fan, ya’ll know why (she’s named after the CEO’s daughter, Jasmin Larian). Of course, she didn’t seem as interested in plants and animals as she had in prior media. No sweat, because she seemed more like the Yasmin from Starrin’ & Stylin‘ and that whole universe. Sasha still seemed somewhat like a dancer, but was made into more of a cheerleader, which was cool. Of course, she completely jacked Cloe’s style with the glitter and animal prints. I didn’t like that they made her stuck up and, yet again, the “mad Black woman” without a compassionate side. But at least she had a personality. I really felt like they took away Cloe’s personality. She was clumsy, but not dramatic, like she’d always been interpreted. She was very quiet. Of all the Bratz pack members, she seemed to have the least lines.
In any case, the characters were developed more than in previous movies, and even in comparison to movies after. However, even this movie failed to review the full Bratz universe, and those who developed it failed to analyze Bratz well enough to adapt it exactly as it should have been.
I especially say this in the cases of Bratz Boyz Cameron and Dylan. I don’t know what it is about doll companies and flunking the boys. They just don’t seem to know how to help the boys shine in a woman-driven universe, and it’s sad.
As mentioned before, Cameron is supposed to be THE BLAZE, the hottest boy around. In Bratz, Cameron was Meredith’s S.I.M.P. boyfriend, a lame, a cornball. He was preppy and ultimately quiet for most of the movie. I think he only had a few lines. Where was the edgy, smokin’ hot boy he was at release? Back in 2002? I swear, the only media that ever got the Bratz Boyz right was the commercials.
And Dylan…Whoo. Let me come down before I go into this one. White-washing don’t fly with me. Don’t get me wrong, Dylan has been light-skinned in his earlier releases, so it can be implied that Dylan is biracial, but we KNOW his behind got some Black in him. There’s no way he would be wearing box braids like that in Wild Life Safari and Wintertime Wonderland if he wasn’t (unless some cultural appropriation went under the radar). He was definitely Black-coded. His bronzer skin in the Play Sportz line and Kidz line should be indicators as well. So, when I saw who they cast for DYLAN in this movie, I almost asked for my money back. I don’t support racism, colorism, or White-washing. That’s why I refused to watch Ghost in the Shell and Avatar The Last Airbender, knowing my anime behind would normally. Heck, I don’t even like watching movies when they replace a White person with a Black person. To me, it’s jarring, clearly fake, feels low-budget, it’s not real representation, and I don’t think we should accept hand-me-down stories. It’s modern Black-face, like with Hamilton. It made me uncomfortable to think a bunch of Black people were acting as slave masters…
Hopefully, in the future, the White-washing thing will be out of the water. If the Bratz are EVER to be properly adapted live action again, we don’t need a spoonful of Whiteness to make the Blackness go down. I don’t want to see this in a Bratz movie again.
What makes it worse is FINALLY Dylan was written with dimension. He was more sensitive, caring, and they developed him into a character with hearing loss…But he had to be White in order for it to happen? Now, for Biracial characters, I do believe that it could be argued that a Black OR White actor can play them, but why do we always choose White over Black in these situations? This is is exactly why Bratz the movie couldn’t get higher on this list. Ultimately, I can’t just blame whoever picked the cast. If they decided who would play the characters based on that Bratz TV series, it’s no wonder they got it wrong. The only hint of his Black heritage in the CGI universe was the actor cast to play him. Still, I’d argue that Black people aren’t a monolith and don’t all look the same, and the casting director should have known this, considering his heritage like they did with the Bratz girls. I also would like to know who was the consultant at this time…
Among the supporting cast, Meredith was definitely the delicious villain that we all loved to hate. She was pretty, well-dressed, funny, entertaining, and a great performer. Honestly, she was more fleshed out than some of the Bratz characters. We actually saw her home, her parents, her sister, and the rest of her lifestyle. We didn’t see any of that from Cameron or Dylan.
However, despite her fascinating portrayal and intriguing actions, I found her motivations to be confusing. Really, why was she so obsessed with keeping the cliques in-tact? Of what benefit was it to her? At least in High School Musical, one of the movies Bratz tried to imitate, Sharpay’s motive for keeping the cliques in-tact was to continue to be the lead in the school play so she could have advantages in show business. In Mean Girls, Regina didn’t even create the cliques; they created themselves based on people merging with others like themselves, just like herds of animals. There were natural cliques in the school, and probably would have always been because most people clique off with people they get along with and are in after-school clubs or teams with.
We never got to know or understand why Meredith was obsessed with maintaining these cliques, as if it was her duty. There’s nothing in it for her, and I can’t see a character as rich and powerful as she is caring about where people sit at lunch for little to no reason.
Ultimately, I can only conclude that she had no interest really in maintaining the cliques, she just used that as an excuse to mask her jealousy of the Bratz, and utilized the cliques to keep them apart because she feared they were stronger together than apart. She was jealous that they received so much attention from the moment they walked in, and as student body president, they made her look bad, especially when they ignored her seating arrangements.
But the problem is this can only remain a theory. I would have liked deeper insight into her mindset instead of a superficial display of a Sharpay-Regina-George mash-up character. I would have liked the Bratz to actually get to the root of Meredith’s behavior rather than taking her down in a talent show. The girl was clearly insecure, and they could’ve really gotten rid of the problem by getting to the problem at the root.
Then again, the Bratz girls could barely understand when their friend Yasmin suddenly dropped out of the talent show, so I guess they weren’t the types to analyze another person’s behavior. Meredith was just meant to be a mean girl, and that’s all. I mean some people feel there’s no excuse for mean behavior, but I think the bullying would have been put to rest permanently if they had dug a little deeper.
Meredith’s actions and behavior was appalling enough, but let’s talk about the strange behaviors and actions of some of the Bratz girls’ other so-called “friends”. I couldn’t stand them.
Before I get into why the “friends” in this movie annoyed me, I’d like to point out that, yet again, Sasha, the Black girl, is the only one left without a love interest. This is always how these movies depict Black women, like we don’t have a feminine side, like we’re not capable of love. We’re all just “sassy and independent”. This happens because we are not usually the ones on the team to help create these movies.
Then again, to be fair, I’m glad Sasha didn’t get a love interest because the boys in this movie sucked. Cloe’s man, “Cameron”, made out with Meredith right in front of her. And while yes, Cloe and Cameron technically weren’t dating at the time, he seemed to like it a little too much. I would argue that Cameron was weak. He let Meredith control him from the very beginning, and just followed her around instead of being his own person. Now, if we’d seen more of a story about it, about why he’s letting this happen, maybe it would have made him more interesting. Sadly, I felt he was S.I.M.P-ing…and was a straight…I can’t even tell ya’ll what I really thought he was. It would be too inappropriate.
Dylan was White-washed, so nothing about him was right.
Then there was Dexter, Jade’s “love interest”. First off, he ain’t even a Bratz pack boy, so I don’t care to know him. Second, he was weak-minded, too. When Jade decided to stand with her friends, he threatened her, talking about if she can’t hang with him and his friends, she can’t be with him and their chemistry club. When Jade tells him not to “be that guy”, he firmly says “that’s not up to me”. The what? What do you mean it’s not up to you? What, you’re not in control of yourself, boy? Meredith got you whipped? After that, any “chemistry” he and Jade had went out of the water for me, too. I shuddered when I saw Jade kiss him at the end of the movie. I’m like, uh uh. No. He never apologized for that. He contributed to their misery. As far as I’m concerned he was a bystander, and that’s as bad as the person doing the bullying. He gave Jade an ultimatum, and when she didn’t do what he wanted, he walked away. To me, he’s showing how he will be in a real relationship. There are red flags there.
I felt the same way about Sasha’s “cheerleader” friend. Girl, bye. She stated, “If you can’t hang with us, then maybe you’re not a fit”. Nah girl, your cheer squad ain’t a fit, because before Sasha jumped in, the team was stiff and robotic. Bye.
Anyway, though this movie showed more evolution for the Bratz characters in a lot more ways than the other movies had, it was still attached to racial stereotypes, White-Washing, and weak-minded supporting characters.
Visuals
The visuals in this movie were ON POINT. In fact, the visuals are the best part of this movie, and it made this movie entertaining. The fashion, oh, the fashion. I swear I wanted every single outfit in this movie, and I mostly like androgynous fashion. I don’t even look like this. Ya’ll know. I was TOO MAD when there were no dolls released wearing anything from this movie.
When they finally released the signature collection, Closmins happened. Basically, only the White character, Cloe, and racially ambiguous Yasmin, the favorites, were released with two outfits from the movie. The actual Bratz the Movie dolls wore nothing like the outfits from the actual movie. There were implications from the Hollywood Holidays book that Bratz was a “movie made about the Bratz”, not necessarily a real part of their lives or universe, so that could explain why none of the outfits appear in the Bratz the Movie line. However, I felt the outfits in the movie were better than the actual Bratz the Movie line. I was still pretty disappointed.
The outfits were just a portion of the best parts of this visually intriguing movie. Everyone was good-looking, and everything was looking good, too. There was this grandiosity, an exaggeration of daily life, that made everything feel larger-than-life. The school was huge, Meredith’s house was HUGE. The shopping center was INVOLVED. The Super Sweet 16 was almost a literal circus. The girls’ bedrooms were stylish! Each scene was pleasing to the eye, drew you in, and told you a story.
The only visual thing I hated was Dylan. He spoiled the movie for me. It’s not that he was ugly, he just wasn’t Dylan. I wish someone passionate about Bratz, someone who knew the fan base and knew the dolls, were on board with this movie. Someone with heart, someone who really cared about this brand. People can be good writers, but that doesn’t mean they truly understand or feel what they’re writing. That lack of feeling comes across right away when a hard-core fan watches the material.
Music
The soundtrack game was pretty strong. Some 2000s favorites were laced through the album, and some songs are so iconic, they became a staple of Bratz, like Prima J’s Rockstar. To this day, I love Brick and Lace’s “Love is Wicked” to death. I’ve smashed that replay button on this song over one hundred times.
I also loved the “Bratz” songs from the movie. Meredith’s songs were amusing and entertaining, and I would argue a bit better than the Bratz’s “Bratitude” song. Of course, Meredith’s “All About Me” (Trivia: It’s actually the second Bratz soundtrack song with this title), is pretty dated as “Myspace” is a part of the lyrics, and that is mostly a thing of the past. The Bratz music is more timeless and can be listened to later down the line. When I first watched the movie, I was disappointed in “Bratitude” as a “final” song. I don’t know why. I mean, it was hype and everything. But it felt a bit sloppy. They tried to add too many things to it. I understand the Bratz girls wanted to bring the school together, so they found a song that combined many different elements into one sound. However, it made the song’s composition a bit messy, and it came across more like noise in many respects. I really didn’t know where the song was going at first. Eventually, I got used to it, but I understand why the Bratz only tied with Meredith and didn’t beat her.
The song that played during the ENDING credits, “Open Eyes”, was a bop. I would argue that should have been the final song against Meredith. They probably would’ve won then. I guess it was more chill than hype, and they wanted a song that could get the crowd on their feet and get the Bratz dancing.
The stage was pretty epic during the “Bratitude” musical number, adding to the grandiose setting, so I think only a hype song could have fit. However, I still preferred “Open Eyes”, and yet, it only played during the ending credits.
Overview
Overall, the movie was fun, it was flashy with the visuals, was probably the closest to designer Carter Bryant’s vision for the dolls, and it gave a little bit more evolution to the Bratz universe than all the other movies, giving them a family background and individual interests outside of fashion.
However, it was cliché, stereotyped all the characters, White-washed Dylan, didn’t include the universe everyone was hoping for, and didn’t pay attention much to the details in the actual Bratz doll universe.
Coming in next is Bratz the Video: Starrin and Stylin. And calling it a “video” is showing its time. I first watched this movie at age 14, starting my first year in high school. The first Bratz movie ever, it was the first time the Bratz came to life on-screen, being developed with a 2-D animated universe. Keep in mind, though, there had been tons of other Bratz books, another Japanese stop-motion series overseas, the official website information, commercial story-telling, AND the Bratz dolls’ boxes themselves fleshing out the Bratz universe before this movie was released. But this movie was the Bratz’s first full-length animated movie. So, here goes.
Story
Written by Meg Martin and Norah Pierson, the story follows the Bratz girls, Cloe, Yasmin, Sasha, and Jade, along with friends Cameron and Dylan, as they prepare for prom weekend. Unfortunately, right before, their teacher gives them a big art project about expressing themselves, which he makes due the Monday after prom. Fortunately, Yasmin comes up with an idea; they can do a video during their prom week and each do a segment from their perspectives.
Prom week is full of drama though. Cloe crashes her car with all of her friends nearly hurt, Sasha has been stressing over being head of the prom committee, Jade is panicking over losing her “fashion sense” after her friends found her latest outfit picks to be “unappealing”, and someone has been leaking stories to the school newspaper, slamming the Bratz pack and making waves.
Eventually, the Bratz girls discover that it’s YASMIN who has been writing those things about them, and everything starts to fall apart in their friendship as well. Eventually, Yasmin is able to catch up with the Bratz and explain. They’d been talking about how boring her column is, and so she wanted to spice things up.
Once Yasmin began apologizing for hurting everyone, everything seemed to fix itself. Cameron finished fixing Cloe’s car, they Bratz girls are able to find the perfect prom attire, and their video is almost complete. Though there was a slight snag when the prom caterers, photographer, and DJ didn’t show up, the Bratz pack got themselves together to make sure it was a success. When Monday rolled around, they all got As on their video project.
For me the story was simple, with a slice-of-life, and interesting. It didn’t need the fancy flash-and-dash to be good. There were many twists and curve balls, and it left me wanting to know what would happen next after each scene. With a little more tweaking, the story could have been even better, but overall it was a good start for Bratz.
Now, remember, the movie came out shortly after rival Myscene’s first movie Jammin in Jamaica, so it had a lot to live up to. While it didn’t have the world destination theme, it did attempt to capture the tween-teen spirit and what average teens go through, even if it appeared a bit cliché, like much of the TV shows and movies back then, such as Lizzie McGuire, Unfabulous, Zoey 101, Rugrats All Grown Up, As Told By Ginger. You get the picture. I believe it also captured Carter Bryant’s vision of making them the “Cool girls in School”, which I think was a unique take, different from the “Geeky Girls in School” tropes that were so popular to use at this time. Also, it wasn’t exaggerated, like in the live action Bratz movie.
I did wish the movie had explained in detail how they got their name “The Bratz”. The movie almost didn’t even acknowledge that they had the name, which left quite a hole.
My biggest criticism of the movie was that much of the story made some of the Bratz characters look bad, and for some people, no amount of apology could fix it. The behavior of the characters didn’t really bother me, as I hate Mary Sue characters and prefer characters to have flaws and imperfections, but it can be a turn-off to people who want their characters to display better character traits.
Characters
Speaking of characters, let’s get into that. To me, this was the obvious weakness of the movie. Being the first movie, I was expecting them to bring to life ALL the qualities present in the Bratz universe, including Jade’s love of extreme sports and her far-out outlook, as outlined in the Bratz’s first video game and on the official Bratz website. Instead, they made Jade a one-dimensional character that “loved fashion”. Dramatic Cloe loved art and planned on being student body president. Quiet and shy Yasmin was interested in journalism. Sassy and hip Sasha was into partying and music, and had a knack for organizing and planning events. And Jade was just…into fashion. Cutting edge fashion, but just fashion nonetheless. NONE of the Bratz girls were sporty, so that was a bummer. But at least Jade maintained her way extreme and totally far-out outlook. More than I can say about Bratz Rock Angelz‘s take on Jade. Why would anyone like Jade ever try to work with pink Your Thing?
Still, despite it being better than the movie that followed, there were quite a bit of issues with the development of the characters.
In Starrin’ & Stylin’, some of the characterizations made it difficult for the Bratz going forward, and I would say it began to be dated as the universe was trying to expand. First off, Yasmin was supposed to be a girl who “just moved to town recently”. This conflicts with the whole Bratz Babyz and Bratz Kidz universe that followed after the movie. So, it’s hard to take the story seriously within the totality of the Bratz universe.
Second, Cameron was “Ken-dolled” (In reference to the Ken doll only being known for being the romantic companion to Mattel’s Barbie doll), permanently making him Cloe’s love interest, when everything, from commercials, to lines like Secret or Blind Date, showed otherwise. What made Bratz different from Barbie was that they were all single and ready to mingle. They weren’t “owned” by each other. They may have had crushes on each other, but they were friends first, and recognized they were too young and independent to settle down. Cameron was “The Blaze” because ALL the Bratz girls thought he was hot, which means they all had a crush on him, not just Cloe. This allowed the Bratz to potentially be seen with anyone, opening up the possibilities of interracial dating, queer dating, and even friendship dates that lead to nothing romantic. It actually made lines like Secret Date possible and FUN.
Barbie was settled with Ken, and could never seem to shake him even when she broke up with him and tried to come out as Bisexual. Please, of all the pandering. Bratz never had that kind of pandering before…until they “Ken-dolled” Cameron. Now, whenever the Bratz return, they only bring Cameron back so he can be the love interest to Cloe, giving him little evolution beyond his attraction “to the girl”. The Bratz Boyz were so much more than love interests before Starrin’ & Stylin‘. There were even books just about the Bratz Boyz. Starrin’ and Stylin‘ ruined that.
Now, I’m not saying it’s wrong to have a romance story, but when it’s limited in this way, the “White boy” ends up with “White girl”, there’s no room for growth and diversity.
What’s worse is that only Cloe had a romance story, which added to her popularity, and made her outshine everyone else. Cloe was the drama queen with all the personality, along with the romance story, and honestly this made her the most likeable character in the movie and beyond.
While all of the characters of color, Jade, Sasha, and Yasmin were made mostly unlikable in this movie. Jade was boring and one-dimensional, Sasha was bad-tempered and a control freak, and Yasmin was a sneaky back-stabber. It was made obvious when the school newspaper, aka Yasmin, didn’t even have anything bad to say about Cloe. Even Dylan was made more unlikable than Cameron, though admittedly, he had more personality. I was still hoping for a slick “Nick” type of character development for Dylan, as implied by the nickname the GIRLS gave him. If he was as corny as he appeared in this movie, why would the girls even give him this type of nickname?
In the movies and series, it appeared that the boys gave themselves those nicknames, which conflicts with the back of their boxes where they say the “Bratz” call them this, meaning the “girls”. There’s a difference. Pay attention. I wish some of these writers would pay attention to the details. But there’s the conflict of creating your own artistic vision and trying to represent the Bratz brand. I get it. Still, I want a writer who really knows Bratz. I can’t help it.
Visuals
A lot of people used to come down hard on the Starrin’ & Stylin”s animation style. And while the movie displayed a cheaper animation style, I really liked the 2-D animation. No, it’s not the fancy CGI “next-gen” graphics or whatever, but it had character and heart.
The main reason why it was used was because of the animated characters present in the commercials. Before the movies and animated series, the only media providing a lens into the Bratz universe was the commercials. The animation style had the Bratz interacting with their surroundings, and it actually lead to people asking for a movie about the Bratz, using those animated characters. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to translate well into movie form in some people’s eyes
I liked it, though. The backdrop actually appeared like a real neighborhood, especially when I saw it recently. The coloring was luscious at some points, dark and sinister at other points, and just set the mood in ways CGI animation couldn’t. Also, the backdrop or neighborhood was interesting because it appeared like an upper class suburb, similar to Springfield, Missouri, Carter Bryant’s hometown and the birthplace of the Bratz concept. Stiles High even looks a bit like Kickapoo High School, the school of the students that inspired Carter Bryant’s designs. Later, the Bratz TV series and the CGI movies placed them in Stilesville, California, which was okay, too. However, I liked that little detail in Starrin’ & Stylin‘.
Music
The music was pretty good. It’s quite nostalgic. “Summertime Girl” was actually played everywhere in children’s commercials back in the early 2000s. I remembered it being played on Nickelodeon’s Slime Time Live back in the day and even in the promotional commercials for the Kids’ Choice Awards. I think it played during a New Year’s segment, too. Anyway, the music had this cool beach party vibe that I dug. Most of it is iconic. I’d like to add that because DVDs had the BEST features, the Karaoke feature allowed viewers to sing along to these songs, making them more iconic.
Overview
Overall, the gem of this movie is that it didn’t need the fancy animation and world destination theme to be a good engaging story with a twist. The animation was really beautiful in my opinion, especially when capturing the neighborhood and the houses. And it was cool to see the commercial animation get full-length with voice actors.
But of course, the downside is the writers didn’t pay attention the groove of the Bratz universe, they stripped some characters down to one-dimensional characters, made all the characters of color unlikeable, and approached the first full-length film with simplistic storytelling, which didn’t really “Wow” the general crowd.
Coming in next is Super Babyz. This movie was released in 2007, shortly after the live action Bratz film as released in theaters. I believe I was in my final year of high school, which would be my Senior Year, according to USA schools.
Story
Written by John Doolittle, the story follows our favorite core four Bratz Babyz characters: Cloe, Yasmin, Jade, and Sasha. They are excited to go to a super hero convention at an amusement park, and are excited to meet their favorite super heroes from their favorite show. Of course, as little impressionable babies, they long for super powers, too, especially because they believe they won’t have to go to bed if they don’t want to nor be told what to do.
The next day, while at the amusement park, a bunch of potato aliens, who’d crash-landed the night before, gets one of his devices, the “Matter Exchanger”, lost among the toys at a gift shop. When the Bratz get to that shop, their Nana accidentally buys it for them.
Late that night, while they are sleep, Nana, who can’t see very well without her eyeglasses, takes the device, thinking it’s a remote, and accidentally presses the button on it, causing a shockwave through the house that ends up giving the Bratz Babyz powers. When they wake up the next morning, they have super abilities. They begin using these abilities to save the people and animals in their community, but eventually start tiring out.
The aliens reveal that their mission on Earth is to transform themselves into babies and take the Earth babies’ place, (mistakenly) believing babies are worshipped on the planet. Remembering the Babyz from the gift shop, they realize the Bratz Babyz have taken their Exchanger. They scheme a plot to steal back their Matter Exchanger, and replace the Babyz while the Babyz are out saving the world. The Babyz realize the aliens’ plans, and seek to get rid of them. However, their super powers get more in the way, and the Babyz get worn-out trying to use them.
They soon learn that they don’t need super powers. Their own abilities, as normal Babyz, could help them save the day. They are able to trick the aliens into turning themselves into rats, getting them kicked out of the house. In the end, the aliens are held as pets by a local worker.
When the movie was first released, I’m not going to lie, the movie was kind of cheesy and forgettable. But I expected it coming from a movie told from the perspective of toddlers or “Babyz”. I remember thinking to myself, “Uh, the planet is being invaded by vegetable aliens”? {LOL} Okay. It wasn’t until I got older that I appreciated it more, maybe because I’ve worked with 3-and 4-year-olds closer. What I found interesting about the Bratz girls’ relationship to the idea of “super heroes” was the fact that they idolized the heroes, much like many of the American kids of that time did during the early super hero Marvel craze. Many kids wanted super powers of their own. What I like about the movie now is it teaches the lesson that kids don’t need super powers to “save the day” or to make a difference. It also teaches them to appreciate being young while they still can. The Babyz wanted to be able to stay up all night, and thought super powers would give them the chance to do that (Though, now that I think about it, I don’t see how they came to that conclusion. Hey, they’re Babyz). But after getting the super powers, they realize how much work it is to have powers. They realize it comes with a certain set of responsibilities.
Eventually, the Babyz also began to realize their own favorite super heroes were fakes, breaking the illusion that a real hero has powers at all (or wears a cape). A real hero is someone willing to help others. That message was actually a pretty good one. So, I can say I appreciate the story a little more now that I’m older. To be honest, I even got used to the aliens. The inclusion of aliens isn’t weirder than genies and pixies. The Bratz world is just weird.
Characters
The movie stuck to the core four, which was for the best, especially since they were in the Super Babyz line. The best part about this movie is that they gave Jade a little more dimension than in even the movies with her as a teenager. Sure, we only learned she was a really messy toddler, but it was still a little something more than she’s just “a fashionista”. Because, again, they all are.
Nana was my favorite character overall, though. I’m still trying to figure out if she’s a relative of Cloe’s. In any case, with her lack of vision and three pairs of glasses strung around her neck to help her see, she reminds me of my own grandmother. Therefore, she was so funny to me.
Of course, the “potato alien” thing was kind of weird. But it was mildly entertaining. I don’t understand why they chose potatoes as enemies to be honest. Vegetables would have been perfect. What is more of a natural enemy to a toddler than vegetables, amiright?
Visuals
The visuals were passable. A staple of its time. Of course, the “alien potatoes” had a really strange look to them. I liked the detail, but when I was younger the potatoes looked so weird to me, especially as babies. It kind of creeped me out.
Aside from lower-budget CGI, at least the Babyz actually WORE the right super hero costumes from the actual Bratz line and all from the line were present in the movie. Of course, I’m still interested in the Super Babyz artwork promoted with the film that seems so different from the actual line. Where does that even fit in?
Overall, the visuals of this film didn’t do much to improve the overall quality of the movie, but it was decent enough.
Music
The songs on here were cute and pretty catchy. “Feel the Power” was my favorite for a minute. I loved “We Can Win”, too, as it felt like it had some soul to it.
Overview
Overall, the movie had a cute story with a good message, all of the characters from the line were in the movie, WEARING THE RIGHT outfits, and the music was good. However, the story was cheesy and forgettable, and some parts of the animation weren’t too appealing.
Next up is Bratz Babyz Save Christmas. Released in 2013, I was definitely an adult by the time it arrived, and aged 23. Basically, I was way older than the target demographic. At the time, I was just excited to get anything from Bratz, since there had been issues with the court cases and Bratz arriving back for their 10th Anniversary. This movie is close to my heart in that way, but there are other things I liked. Of course, there were also a few elements I didn’t like so much.
Story
Written by Karl Geurs, the story centers on Bratz Babyz Cloe, Jade, Sasha, and Yasmin, staying with their Nana, excitedly awaiting the return of their parents from a winter vacation, just in time for Christmas. Unfortunately, their parents end up stuck in a winter storm, forcing the Babyz to spend Christmas Eve with Nana.
Being babies and all, they are upset, missing all of their parents and family traditions. Nana tries to do the traditions with them to make their Christmas special, but the Babyz feel like it’s not the same. Hoping to cheer them up, Nana takes them to see Santa at the local mall. The Babyz think it’s a good idea to visit Santa, hoping they can ask Santa to bring their parents home.
While there, three criminals, Max and his minions, Ralfie and Reggie, plot to dress up as a fake Santa and elves so they can pick the pockets of the parents in the shopping center. While Max is talking to his boss, who he apparently owes money to, the Bratz, mistaking him for Santa, misunderstand him when he gripes about “a lack of helpful elves”. They believe he’s canceling Christmas because he doesn’t have help. Later that night, they learn on the news that Santa is at a place nearby called The North Pole, about to deliver a large donation to Summer House, a home for orphans, and they decide to visit it.
Meanwhile, the three criminals hear about it, too, and they head to the place to steal the money. Their boss, Milly, disguised as a security guard, also heads there. The criminals arrive first. While plotting to steal the key to the car trunk full of money from the Head Elf, the Bratz Babyz arrive, putting a wrench in their plans. The Babyz offer to help the Head Elf. In order to distract them, Max sends his minions out to pretend they want to help, too.
Ralfie and Reggie are much more sentimental about Christmas, and with the Bratz, they prove to the Head Elf that they can be helpful elves to Santa. Eventually, Max is able to steal the key, and just as his boss Milly arrives. She has him and his minions lock the Bratz and the Head Elf in the stables, and they take the car with the money and drive off. After the Bratz Babyz find out Max was a fake Santa, and even learn that the place they’re in isn’t the real North Pole, they almost lose hope for this Christmas. The Head Elf tells them that he does work for the real Santa, and that the reindeer in the stables are Santa’s real reindeer.
Outside and feeling guilty, Ralfie and Reggie hop off the car their boss tries to drive away, and head back to The North Pole to release the Bratz and the Head Elf from the stables. Ralfie, Reggie, and the Babyz all head out on the reindeer to stop Max and Milly. They are able to cut them off and have them arrested. The police are able to drive the Bratz Babyz home before Nana even notices they’re gone.
What they didn’t know the whole time was that Nana had dressed herself up like Santa and was attempting to climb down the chimney so the Babyz wouldn’t lose hope in Christmas and Santa like she did growing up. While stuck in the chimney, Santa is able to meet her on the roof, surprising her and fulfilling her wish to meet him.
The story is really cute. What I love most about the story, and was pleasantly surprised to see, was the time-old story of appreciating what you have. I think many kids, and many adults, miss what the holidays are all about behind all the traditions and presents.
I didn’t grow up celebrating Christmas, so I never desired presents nor understood the compulsory need to give expensive gifts or stress yourself out cooking and throwing parties. I hated parties in my house anyway because, let’s just say, it was really stressful in my home. I was thankful we didn’t celebrate it. I got rewarded when I did good in school or did my chores well, so I just didn’t expect my parents to give me things. I was taught that money doesn’t grow on trees, and that everything you get should be treasured, taken care of, and earned. What I liked about this movie was that the Bratz Babyz learned to appreciate making new traditions and seeing the silver lining instead of complaining about what they don’t have. They initially think it’s the worse Christmas because everything isn’t perfect, but they learn to be adaptable and make their own Christmas special.
I still felt bad for Nana because she was trying her hardest to make things good for the Babyz, and obviously they didn’t see how hard Christmas must have been for her. She seemed to live in an old house, all alone. I have seen a picture of a couple on one of her tables, so maybe she has children, but none of them were there on Christmas Eve. I do wish that the Babyz had seen how happy they could have made Nana, instead of thinking about how others could make them happy.
Still, I felt the message was good, as with all the Bratz Babyz movies.
That aside, I have to admit that some things didn’t make sense, as with many of the Bratz Babyz movies. When the Bratz Babyz, Ralfie, and Reggie were chasing the criminals, I don’t know how the Head Elf or the police were able to find them after they veered off of the road. I mean, sure, the Head Elf could have used some magic to notify the police, and prior to veering off of the road, the criminals almost ran into someone, so maybe that person called the police. And that’s aside from a police man chasing Milly all the way to The North Pole. Still, how could the police have gotten there so fast unless one of them had been tailing them all along? In any case, anything can be explained away with magic.
Some people have trashed this movie, and find it stupid. I actually liked it and think it’s cute, especially for a movie about dolls. The story seems like a toddler told it and handed it to the writers. But that’s fitting for a movie where toddlers are the central characters.
Characters
I think the four main Bratz girls were kind of drowned-out in the movie. They didn’t display as much individuality from one another. But at least none of them were made to be worse off than the other, as with other movies. They seemed more united in this movie.
However, the stand-out characters were the supporting ones, particularly Ralfie and Reggie, who missed out on a childhood of toys and games because they’d always been ill-behaved. They had a longing for their childhood back, giving them Peter Pan syndrome and a sense of nostalgia, kind of like myself, and their evolution in the story was most entertaining and interesting.
Visuals
Though the visuals weren’t miraculous by this time, and I’d gotten used to CGI by 2013, I thought that there were many details in the background that added to the story. For example, it’s clear that the Bratz Babyz lived in a warmer climate, so as they moved toward the “North Pole”, suddenly snow started to show up in the background. That was a pretty interesting detail to add, especially because a lot of kids in the west coast and warmer climates don’t get to see snow. It was a way the Bratz Babyz could experience a white Christmas, despite not always having that luxury.
Music
There wasn’t much music, which was kind of disappointing. My favorite song from the movie, “Feel the Magic”, only played in the credits. There were two other cheerful Bratz Christmas songs that I liked, too. If you want to get in a Bratz Christmas mood, these songs would be perfect. The best part about these songs is that they are only associated with this movie, so if you hear it anywhere else, you’d know where it came from.
Overview
Overall it was a pretty cute movie with a good message, despite the wacky things that happened in it and the average visuals.
Next up on the list is 2007’s Bratz Fashion Pixiez. I was 17 when this was released, and in my Senior Year, or last year, of high school in the USA. Dark Pixies, light pixies, gnomes, magic, and Bratz. What could be better? What a lot of ya’ll may not know about me is I love fantasy, and I don’t care what forms it comes in. I was always into Peter Pan, Cardcaptor Sakura, Sailor Moon, and much more when I was growing up. I still love magic, mystery, and dark fantasies with hidden messages. Obviously, this movie came out around the height of Winx‘s popularity. Barbie: Fairytopia was also hugely popular at this time as well. This was the Bratz pack’s take on teen pixies, so I was all in.
Story
Written by Bart Jennett, who I believe wrote some episodes of the Bratz TV series, Fashion Pixiez centers on a family of pixies who have learned to hide in plain sight from humans while helping the planet. Breeana, the youngest in a family of pixies and a pixie or fairy princess, notices that her older sister Cymbelline has been acting angsty. One day, Breeana follows her sister as she sneaks out and shockingly notices her sister sprouts wings and flies off.
At school, the Bratz pack, Cloe, Yasmin, Sasha, and Jade, are friends with Cymbelline, who happens to be in their same grade, and they have also noticed her behavior has changed. She was put in charge of the upcoming Magnolia Ball, hosted by Breeana’s father, and always seemed to take school and responsibilities seriously. A new girl appears at the school, a gothic girl who dresses similarly to Breeana and Cymbelline, signifying some magical leanings. Dylan becomes smitten with this mysterious girl, despite Breeana’s attempts at trying to ask him to the dance.
Eventually, this mysterious girl is able to draw Dylan deep into the forest and manipulate him into being her slave. The next day, he begins acting strangely, so the Bratz confront Breeana about her sister’s behavior and Dylan’s, especially when they learn Dylan has asked Breeana to meet him alone. The Bratz girls follow Breeana to her house, and out of impatience, Cloe and Yasmin climb the gate in time to be confronted with angry gnomes and a flying girl who they discover is Cymbelline.
The next day, Cloe and Yasmin try to explain to Sasha and Jade what they saw, but they don’t believe them. They confront Breeana, and discover that Dylan, who’d been acting strangely, asked her to meet him in the forest. Yasmin and Cloe decide to go with her, finding the whole situation suspicious. When the girls enter the forest, they are ambushed. Yasmin and Cloe are captured by the dark fairy, who they learn is Lina, and her legion of dark fairies, with Breeana managing to escape.
The next day, Cloe and Yasmin begin acting strangely, having a bit of a ‘tude, being rude, and shirking their Magnolia ball responsibilities, just like Cymbelline. This time, Jade and Sasha believe something must be going on and they approach Breeana about it, who had been crying after Cloe and Yasmin were captured. Breeana tells them about her family history, of them being the family of pixies or fairies, and of their mother disappearing years ago, leaving them only with magic charm bracelets and a wand. She shares with them the world of the fairies through magical “glasses” or masks, and explains that her father is the fairy king and oversees the fairies who need to live in secret to help humans. She explains how her sister got caught up in wanting wings, which only sprout when you are 18 and only when you do a good deed. Cymbelline had wanted wings ahead of time, but their father refused. This led to her getting connected with the dark pixie Lina, who had been leading a revolt against the King for 10 years, and who offered Cymbelline wings of her own. Sasha, Jade, and Breeana come up with a plan to follow Cymbelline to a party she revealed she was going to deep in the woods.
When they arrive there, they find Cloe, Yasmin, and Dylan at a dark pixie club, a pixie circle, dancing under a spell. While trying to get Yasmin and Cloe out of their trance, they give their presence away. Lina tries to bring Breeana over to her side, needing Breeana’s power to get stronger, but Breeana uses her mother’s wand to put the club’s lights out with magic, which hurts the pixies. Lina uses her magic to cause the tree, where the party was being held, to collapse on top of the three girls, and she heads to the Magnolia Ball with her army of fairies to take down the fairy king.
Using their cell phone flashlights, they navigate through narrow openings until a group of gnomes discover them. The gnomes had been following them, so they were able to find them and help them. They brought with them the royal flying unicorns as well. Breeana, Sasha, and Jade fly through the sky to the Magnolia Ball, and they confront Lina. Breeana’s dad, the King of the Fairies, faces off against Lina and is able to break some of her slaves out of their spell. He’s weakened after this, and for a moment Lina has the upper hand. Breeana gathers her friends, her sister Cymbelline, who’d been broken from the spell, and they discover that their mother has been turned into the Magnolia tree in the center of the park after they sense her presence. They surround the tree, bring forth Cymbelline and Breeana’s mother, Dee, and together they overcome Lina and turn her into a tree. That’s the gist anyway.
The story is pretty involved. On it’s own, it’s a really engaging story. Lina is one cool, seductive, and sinister witch fairy, and on its own, I love it. The whole family dynamic, of a mother disappearing years ago due to a revolt lead by a dark pixie? It makes for a pretty cool story. Throughout, there was so much mystery surrounding the story, bringing me in and making me want to know more.
But that is only on the surface. If I look at this movie as being something that’s supposed to promote the Fashion Pixiez doll brand? MGA, what the heck were you thinking? First off, in the Bratz Fashion Pixiez line, Breeana, Lina, and Dee are sold as pretty, young, ingenue TEEN pixies. They weren’t given the adult body types that adult moms Polita and Portia were given later as to distinguish them from the teen dolls. Unfortunately, in the movie, the “adult” pixies look almost as young as teenagers in their true forms. Yet, they are supposed to be “adults”.
The PROBLEM IS there is no indication on the boxes that Lina and Dee are meant to even BE adults, and this causes confusion for kids during playtime. I’ve seen kids literally play out Dee with Cameron romantically, or even Lina with Dylan, not realizing THEY’RE GROWN WOMEN. Now, there have been other adult Bratz dolls, but the boxes clearly indicate that one is the “mom” doll and the other is a CHILD. Without that indication, all of the dolls in Fashion Pixiez are assumed to be TEENAGERS. Now, I can’t come down on a young-looking woman because everybody says I look like a 13 year old sometimes. Look at Ariana Grande? But still, if you’re going to have a young-looking adult sold, there should be some indication to the children playing with the dolls that’s what they are. Otherwise, problematic playtime could occur, such as the “adult” fairies ending up in fantasy weddings with the teenage Bratz Boyz. This occurs with kids who don’t fully understand the Fashion Pixiez movie or never watched it.
That also brings me to another problem. Lina was technically an adult flirting with a teenager and manipulating him, making him her slave in this movie, I’m just going to be real. That looks bad. I understand she looks like a young teenager forever, almost like the vampires in Twilight who have lived for hundreds of years, yet are in a relationship with some of the humans in the story or movie. But in the case of those movies and books, they kind of do a good job of making the Vampires feel like wandering ghosts who remain the same age forever, especially since most of the time, they never mingle with any adults or anyone older than 16. It’s almost like they are still teenagers in “vampire years”. Monster High uses this formula as well to give the illusion that they are still “teenagers”.
With Dee being MARRIED with a teenage daughter, we can’t use the illusion that they are “teenagers” in pixie years, like they did with Monster High’s Draculaura, who is 1600 years old. Dee got into an altercation with Lina TEN YEARS before the events of the movie, which also means Lina must be older, too. Therefore, we have to assume Lina was a full grown adult preying on Dylan and making him her “lover boy”.
And that wouldn’t be a problem, because it could be a cautionary tale encouraging young people not to talk to strange adults, to avoid thinking they are in love with you when they are preying on you, and whatnot. Yet, the problem is they were actually selling a DOLL based on this character. And then the character basically dies at the end of the movie, or is rather turned into a tree. So, why sell this doll?
Now, I’ve seen several people trying to theorize why the Fashion Pixiez doll looks so different from the movie version. Some people say they’re selling a version of the pixies that showcases them before they were adults, before Lina turned evil. I call bull. It’s pretty obvious what happened.
The dolls were designed first, and 1,001 bucks they were all designed to be teenagers. The writers and producers of the movie were handed a handful of the dolls to write a story around and they just wrote any old thing using the characters. They didn’t think, “Oh, these characters are going to potentially be sold to kids, being perceived as teenagers”. No. Some of the other toys included, like the Magic Mini Pixie Friends, didn’t even appear in the movie. That just says to me there is little to no connection between the Bratz Fashion Pixiez doll line and the Fashion Pixiez movie.
So while the story is very interesting, and one of the best in the Bratz franchise, it fails to capture the Bratz universe appropriately.
Characters
The primary Bratz pack characters’ personalities carried over from all the other movies, but I felt that Jade and Sasha were interpreted better in this movie. It was interesting that Cloe and Yasmin were the compassionate girls who impulsively jumped in to help Cymbelline, and that Sasha and Jade were the clear-headed girls who actually saved the day. There wasn’t as much emphasis on their individuality, but I felt it wasn’t needed.
I do still feel they leaned towards making Sasha more selfish than everyone else, especially when Jade suggested they go to the dark pixie party to save their friends, and Sasha was over there more worried about the Magnolia Ball. This is not to say Black characters have to be perfect, but I just feel like the darker-skinned characters are never structured as sweet or kind. If there’d been more Black representation, like with Felicia or Lydia making an appearance, then I’d probably be okay with Sasha being who she is. But with her being the only one representing darker-skinned girls, I wasn’t happy that she was written less likeable, especially considering how little she appeared in the lines after the TV series and how poorly Black characters are received in general.
But overall, the characters weren’t so difficult to handle in this movie.
Once again, though, they made Dylan a cornball. More interested in Lina, a grown woman, than Breeana, someone around his age. As soon as Dylan showed interest in Lina, I really felt that Breeana should not have tried all movie to ask him out. Once somebody shows you who they are and what they want, listen to them. At the end of the day, even if he were to get with Breeana, he’d be looking for the “Lina” in her. That’s what caught his attention. Honestly, I really felt bad for Breeana, because she was designed to appear so desperate for his attention, and he just didn’t see anything in her until Lina turned out to be bad. She was his second choice. Just saying.
Dee was an interesting addition as a mom and MARRIED character. Can’t believe that little thing popped out two children. And it just feels kind of weird to think the doll Dee is even married because in my mind all of the Bratz pack characters should be in open, friendly relationships with mild crushes, with an emphasis on independence. Ya’ll ruined that, too.
Overall, though, each character played their part in making the movie itself good. If I wasn’t seeing this as a Bratz movie, it’d be more enjoyable for me.
Visuals
The visuals are pretty mesmerizing, not gonna lie. All the magic, fairy dust, flapping wings, it was all pretty, especially for 2007. I felt like most of the story took place at night, and considering Lina was in town, the weather did seem mostly cloudy, like a shadow had clouded over the city. I think it was considered drab until Jade and Sasha put on the fairy glasses/masks and saw the world in color. It seemed like there was supposed to be a contrast. I thought that was artistically laced within the movie. It’s not revolutionary or anything, but I like when it’s done in movies.
And of course, I was very happy to see the prototype pixie outfits in the movie, since they couldn’t make it on the dolls. And they looked just as amazing as I imagined them to be. Still think the prototypes should have been released as special editions, but hey. Beggars can’t be choosers.
Music
The best part about this movie is that the songs from the Fashion Pixiez soundtrack actually appeared in the movie. I believe they heard the complaints from fans back in 2005 with Rock Angelz and started fixing it ever since with the other movies. “One of a Kind” and “Look Closer” are my favorite songs, so it was great to hear them in the movie. I love the modern pop feel, but they also had this mystical magical quality that really brought me into the pixie universe.
Overview
Overall, I loved the movie’s story. It was full of magic, mystery, excitement, thrill, family drama, and family togetherness. It was very fun and had its touching moments. The story drew me in, and I actually would like to know more about the Kingdom of the Fairies. I loved the visuals, and the music took me there.
But it was not a good adaptation of the actual doll line, and it made things problematic as a fan of the dolls. I wish Lina and Dee had been developed into the teenagers they were meant to be, or at least Lina wasn’t as problematic so I could enjoy having the Lina doll a little more.
Higher up on the list is Bratz Genie Magic. Released in 2006, earlier in the year before Passion 4 Fashion Diamondz, I was still a Sophomore, in my second year of high school, and almost 16 years old. Man, time flies.
Story
Written by Peggy Nicoll, the writer who wrote the “Bible” of the Bratz series and oversaw it, the story focuses on teen genie Katia. She escapes from her home, the ESA headquarters, and heads to Cafe Mambo where she meets the Bratz for the first time. Mesmerized by the Bratz girls’ music, she finds herself following them backstage. The Bratz girls find her intriguing and like her outfit, but a famous celebrity Matt Rock distracts them as he connects with Jade, who has shown interest in him all night. When a bouncer enters backstage looking for Katia, who didn’t pay to enter, she uses her mysterious magic to escape.
The next day, the Bratz girls meet back up with Katia, and discover that she’s being chased. They are willing to protect her, but then discover that she’s lived in a closed-off facility with no freedom, and had run away from home to live life like a normal teenager. Her father sent some goons to bring her back. Though the Bratz believe she should talk to her father, they agree to give her a real teen experience. They organize a sleep-over at Cloe’s house.
While there, Bratz Boyz Dylan and Bryce attempt to crash the party, which frightens Cloe, and she ends up wishing that they “would croak”. Katia misinterprets this to mean that Cloe wants them to turn into frogs, and so she grants it. At first, the other Bratz girls can’t believe what they’ve seen. Katia explains she’s a genie, granting one wish to each person until she’s 18, and expressing the limitations of not granting eternal life, more wishes, immense wealth, or something harmful. (Of course, there are loopholes through this; more on this later). After the Bratz Boyz wish for themselves back, the Bratz realize they have a new genie friend that can help them with their troubles. Cloe is trying to get an A in Geography, Sasha is trying to win a DJ contest, Jade is trying to score a date with Matt Rock, and Yasmin wants to have an animal shelter built to protect the animals from the crazy weather that’s been lately spiraling out of control all around the world, including in Stilesville. Because Cloe has already used her wish, Katia agrees that the girls can share three wishes. Anyone can make the wish at any time, and she won’t have to be present for it to come true. Unfortunately, this causes an argument between the girls as they try to decide whose wishes should be made.
In the midst of this, Bryce asks Katia on a date, and she agrees, making this is her first time going out with a boy.
The next day, while with the Bratz pack in the shopping center, Katia continues granting the wishes of people around her, gaining the Bratz pack’s admiration. They shop with her for some outfits similar to hers before she goes on her date with Bryce. She starts to feel light-headed suddenly, and shares with the girls that it happens when she’s away from her magic bottle for too long.
While out with Bryce, she catches the goons watching her and abruptly ends her date to find her new friends. As she gets closer to the Bratz pack, whose arguing is getting worse, they catch sight of their friend running from the goons. They try to help Katia, but she is caught. She reassures them that she’s going to talk to her father.
Back at the facility, a shady science lab located on a boat in the middle of a body of water, her father is angry with her for leaving, wearing makeup, and hanging with boys. He refuses to listen to her, causing her to be upset. At this facility, we learn that Katia is working with a man named Kon and his partner Zelle to “improve weather conditions” or “natural disasters”. She believes she’s helping, so does her father, who has decided to dedicate his life to science since he lost his own powers after his genie bottle was broken. But actually, Kon and Zelle are a part of an evil scientists’ association that is using Katia’s powers to create dangerous weather conditions around the world so they can extort money from the world’s governments. Eventually, Katia overhears their plans to harm her friends because they know of Katia’s powers. She escapes again to warn them and help them. Kon and Zelle, realizing she’s left to warn her friends, send their goons, and they reach Cloe and Yasmin before Katia can, kidnapping them. Katia manages to reach Bryce, Jade, and Sasha. Unfortunately, at this moment, while standing in pouring, flooding rain, Sasha makes a wish for an umbrella, leaving them all with only one wish left.
When they arrive at Cloe’s house where she and Yasmin were supposed to be, they realize they’d been kidnapped. Byron Powell, a famous friend of the Bratz pack and a secret agent, enters the broken-into home, and he begins to tell them more about Kon and Zelle. Katia realizes she’s been helping criminals. Byron asks Jade, Sasha, and Bryce to protect Katia, giving them gadgets for assistance, but Katia is adamant about going with them so she can protect her father.
Katia summons her magic carpet, splits it for her friends, and Bryce, Jade, Sasha, and Katia ride to the facility to find her father and their friends. When they arrive, hey discover her father has left his study, where he normally is, and is out looking for Katia. While they are searching for him, Zelle has given a truth serum to Cloe and Yasmin to find out what they know. She then prepares a mind sweep so they can become mindless minions like the goons. Fortunately, Katia, Bryce, Jade, and Sasha are able to arrive just in time to save their friends. Zelle flees the room.
As Kon enters to warn Zelle about the Bratz, he realizes she’s gone and the Bratz have the upper hand. He takes Katia’s bottle out of his jacket, and threatens to destroy it. Katia needs her bottle in tact in order to keep her powers, otherwise all of the wishes she’s ever made will be undone. The Bratz take this opportunity to wish for Katia’s father to be back safely in his study. What they don’t know is the study is rigged with a trap that could freeze him to death.
With all three of the Bratz wishes gone, they feel trapped. Bryce steps in quickly, wrapping the new gadget wire comb rope Byron gave him around Kon’s legs, crashing him to the floor. Katia is able to step forward and grab her own bottle. However, at this moment she realizes in order to save her father, she has to sacrifice her own powers. She smashes her bottle, causing every wish she ever made to be undone.
Kon is able to escape at this time, and he attempts to lock all of the Bratz pack in the room by breaking the entrance pad. Jade, Sasha, and Katia manage to escape, but Bryce, Cloe, and Yasmin get trapped on the other side. As Kon heads back to his office, Zelle knocks him out and handcuffs him to a pipe on the wall. She has been tired of his patronizing ways towards her, and turns on him, stealing all of the money.
As soon as the Bratz catch up with Kon, they realize that he has been over-powered by Zelle. The Bratz head to the roof to try and stop Zelle. Using their teamwork and clever ideas, they are able to take her laptop holding all of the money (Jade did her thing hoping onto that helicopter and sliding out of the moving helicopter, not knowing if she would make it. Chiiillld), and crash her helicopter, thanks to Katia and Jade distracting her with a split magic carpet and Sasha using an excavator truck of some sort. Though Zelle manages to get away, Kon is taken in by Byron and Katia. She and her father are reunited, and her father decides their family will live a normal life.
The story is very involved, and personally, as the third movie in the Bratz universe, it was a vast improvement from the first two fumbles. First off, the story actually focused on the Genie Magic line and the concept as a whole. Katia was used in majority of the movie. It had a clear purpose, and actually it was the first time a Bratz character was interpreted WITH A FAMILY, with parents. Though they didn’t focus on the families of the core four characters, it was a start. I also thought a story centered on a teen genie was so unique at the time. There’d been a lot of teen shows about witches like Sabrina the Teenage Witch and ones about teen fairies like Winx. But none about teen genies. I thought it was a unique spin on the typical genie story. To be honest, I would have liked a series centered on just Katia. She would make a good lead character because she has a family background and more adventures to tell with her genie powers (though she unfortunately loses it at the end of this movie, sort of).
Now, again, the story was missing the WHOLE Bratz Genie Magic landscape, just like most of all of the other movies. Meygan, who’d been a part of the main Genie Magic line, was missing from this movie, and that bothered me. I’d rather have her than Dylan or Bryce. I mean, I understand a Bratz boy was used so Katia could go on her first date like a quote “normal teenager” (clearly I wasn’t normal because I didn’t date in high school…). But there’s no excuse for them to ignore Meygan time and again. Regardless of her inclusion, the movie was pretty entertaining. It was exciting, magical, fashionable, and fun.
There was one big hole that I discovered after watching, though. Maybe it’s not so much a hole, but it definitely made this movie confusing at times. I found it interesting that though Katia can’t grant immense wealth, she was able to grant the wish of a passerby who said he wished “he had a dime for every time his girlfriend asked [if she was fat]”. Ultimately, couldn’t that make him immensely wealthy?
Also, though she can’t grant any wishes that harm others, Zelle and Kon were able to use her wishes FOR HARM by lying about the circumstances of the wish. Her powers didn’t pick up on the “ill intent”. So, I wondered if the regulations are controlled by Katia, all of those conditions being her own regulations. The movie never specified why these conditions existed or who established them, yet, unlike with most genie tales, where the genies are usually not in control of whether a wish is granted or not, it appeared as if Katia was in control of the wishes she could grant, and that the greater issue was that she was largely manipulated by people into making wishes happen. Her real issue seemed to be not knowing if people really liked her for who she really was but for what she could do for them. Just an observation of mine.
Characters
The main four Bratz girls were interpreted much like they had been in Rock Angelz, BUT I’m glad they brought out Jade’s more extreme tendencies. She didn’t show any reservations when she hopped on that helicopter to take down Zelle. And then, while fighting off Zelle in a moving helicopter, girl used her acrobatic skills on the goon and grabbed the laptop, almost falling to her DEATH before being caught by Katia on her flying magic carpet. If that isn’t “way extreme and totally far-out”, as Jade is often described, I don’t know what is.
The other Bratz characters maintained their dramatic (Cloe), tough (Sasha), and superior-acting (Yasmin) streaks, which weren’t bad because they all learned to set aside their negative qualities to help their friend Katia.
Bryce…was a surprise visit. Prior to the movie, it was assumed he was romantically involved with Meygan (though there has been evidence she’s been interested in Nevra, too). Based on the Secret-Blind date adverts, that was implied. So many people didn’t know how to feel about the Katia-Bryce interpretation. But as I’ve said, I’ve always seen the Bratz as independent creatures who have crushes, but just don’t settle down. So, it’s all good. We don’t all crush on just one person in our lifetime, and its especially fleeting when we’re teenagers. Bryce’s appearance was altered so he could have a pair of glasses.
Dylan was yet again a cornball.
Without Meygan, this female dynamic was incomplete.
Katia was fully developed in comparison to the other Bratz characters, having a backstory, a family, and a reason to have a passion for fashion. I think after Katia, though, the “parents-are-super-strict” thing was overused (Passion 4 Fashion Diamondz, Bratz live action movie). However, what parents wouldn’t be strict with the Bratz? They do seem quite rebellious, even to real parents.
The one pet peeve of mine regarding Katia was how the writers tried to weave her into a Moroccan character. Initially, it was pretty obvious Katia was meant to be Russian. Back in the 2000s, on the social security name database, Katia was a name most commonly used in Russia, hardly even used in the USA, and not at all in any Arabic or middle eastern countries. To give Katia more of a proper Arabian nights feeling, they developed an Arabic background for her.
It’s still possible her mother is Russian, as there hasn’t been much information on her mother. But we know that she was supposed to be Russian when she was released in the Bratz Holiday line in 2005, a year before this movie was even released. And again, she’s going through the same problem as Roxxi, messing up the timeline. They have her written in as a new girl when she’s been around at least a year before this movie was even released. I felt they should have already made her a friend to the pack instead.
Again, I don’t know any doll brands who introduce old characters as new ones in their media content. They usually introduce an all-new character to fulfill this role because they know the doll community won’t know the character and will be excited to get a new character and a new doll, increasing the purchase of the doll. Katia has had other dolls before Genie Magic, like Holiday and Hollywood Style Katia, and they were just as beautiful as Genie Magic a year later. So what’s the pull? If they were ever to make a movie based on the Holiday dolls or Hollywood Style, it would be weird for it to take place after the events of Genie Magic. Also, didn’t Katia have a Bratz Babyz doll, with illustrations showing her interacting with the other Bratz pack members? How is that possible if the Bratz just met her in Genie Magic? I mean, I guess she can have a doll without having ever met the Bratz, but it still leaves more questions than answers. They can do what they want, it just doesn’t make sense in the Bratz doll timeline. That’s all.
Visuals
The outfits were so beautiful in this movie, and it kind of lit up the scene. Throughout much of the movie, it was gloomy, dark, and rainy. The bejeweled outfits were so colorful, that they stood out against the backdrop. In fact, I felt that the CGI was actually pretty sharp for the time, again with the hair having fluid movement (instead of stiff movement, like you may have found in other doll movies).
However, I did notice that they put Yasmin’s doll outfit on Sasha, and Sasha’s doll outfit on Yasmin. Luckily, they look differently enough from one another that there’s no way we can confuse them in toy aisles (unlike with Jade and Cloe in Rock Angelz). But it is jarring when you’re looking to buy the doll and she’s wearing a totally different outfit.
Music
This was the first time the music from the album actually appeared in the movie. Granted, some of the music from the album was from the TV series. Fine. But it is important to have some of the soundtrack music appear in the movie, especially if the soundtrack is released first. It’s expected that it will set the tone for the movie.
Unfortunately, the music wasn’t full of the same storytelling that Rock Angelz‘s album had, but the sound of the songs set the scene with a captivating “genie-like” vibe.
Overview
Overall, the movie was magical, mystical, action-packed, and visually stunning. Some favorite music numbers were put in, showing the complaints about Rock Angelz were heard. It was cool to watch a movie about a teenage genie. I wish they could have inculcated the Bratz Genie Magic line a little more closely, with Meygan included, and considered Katia’s status or place in the Bratz pack, as well as her cultural background, by the time of the movie’s release. Other than that, it was a good movie.
Within the top 5 is is Passion 4 Fashion Diamondz. This was released September 2006, surprisingly the same year as Bratz Genie Magic. They were really working hard to promote Bratz this year. I was 16 years old, and just started my Junior Year, or third year, in high school, just to give context as to how old I was and how strong my memory was.
Story
Written by Janna King Kalichman, the story follows the Bratz as they are recruited by Byron Powell for his reality show America Rocks. The Bratz represent their self-titled magazine, visiting three cities to find the next teen fashion designer while competing against rival magazine Your Thing. Three girls were expected to be chosen by each magazine and taken to New York City to put on a fashion show. Between the two teams, one winner was expected to be chosen, with he winner earning diamond go-go boots and a contract with a famous designer.
As the Bratz pack and Your thing travel throughout the USA, they are met with “road trip drama”, such as ghost-story ghost hitchhikers coming to life, lonely diners with strange waitresses, and aliens. On the way, the Bratz pick up one contestant, named Mandy, who makes sure she’s the only one. She frames second contestant Tiffany, and secretly sabotages Your Thing‘s team.
When Your Thing retaliates, leading the Bratz off of the road, they meet Sharidan, who they discover is a shy but gifted designer, especially after they discover her studded design work (Forever Diamondz outfits). The Bratz recruit Sharidan to be their second contestant. Though her parents are initially apprehensive, they allow her to follow her dreams. Intimidated by the competition, Mandy steals Sharidan’s designs, the tour bus, and heads to New York City by herself to steal the show. Fortunately, Sharidan’s parents assist by offering their daughter their car. While headed after Mandy towards New York City, the Bratz discover that all of the road trip scares were concocted by Byron Powell for higher ratings on the reality show. Though they are disappointed in him, they continue on the show to make sure Sharidan’s dreams come true.
When they arrive at New York City, they’ve realized that Mandy has passed off Sharidan’s fashions as her own. They encourage Sharidan to use her design skills to make the studded designs they saw back on her farm. When Sharidan is complete, voila! They are shining like “real diamondz”. Shardian wins the competition.
Mandy isn’t having any of it. She knocks Byron out as he tries to bring the diamond shoes to Sharidan, and makes a dash for the New York City subway. The Bratz chase her, but she’s slick. Shardian is able to cut her off, but Mandy dangerously walks the tracks, with Sharidan inching in, almost putting them both in harms way. Eventually, the other Bratz are able to cut her off, with the police charging in with Byron Powell to arrest her.
The Bratz are awarded by the famous designer with a photoshoot wearing his new Ice champions (or On Ice) fashions, and they all live happily ever after.
And what became of Your Thing? Burdine went batshit crazy after being abducted by the fake aliens planted by Byron Powell, the Tweevils ran away her only contestant, Kristy, and they failed to impress anyone on the runway in the contestant’s place. The end.
Personally, I loved, loved, loved the story. Growing up, every summer, my family went on a road trip from one state to another, and we’ve had some adventures. One day, I would love to travel my large country, the USA, even more. There’s a lot to see here. Maybe one day when the situation is better. I personally love road trip movies and stories of spooky situations on the road. What was great about this movie is that it was full of adventure, suspense, shady western characters, action, and fashion! Though some moments were predictable, it never seemed like they tried to hide the intentions of most of the characters. We knew that everyone was shady, we just didn’t know when everything would blow up. The suspense made for a really fun movie.
The one thing I did question was the fact that these teenage girls were driving a truck or trailer, as it has been called in advertisements, supposedly being around “16 years old”. The Bratz are from California, and California law states any trailer that is over 20″ long or over 10,000 gross vehicle weight (or gvw) requires a CDL. In order to drive it across state lines, they have to be 21 years of age or older to receive the proper license. The Bratz are nowhere near that age. I mean, it’s just a slight hiccup, but hey, what’s the fun if you think of ALL the details, right? Overall, the idea of four teenagers taking a road trip by a rolling runway is just FUN, and it’s cool that there was a doll-sized version.
I was thinking possibly they faked their age or Byron pulled some strings to get them driving across state lines…Or maybe they were just breaking the law on live television and people overlooked it. I believe you just have to be 18 to drive within the state. Maybe the Bratz were reinterpreted as 18, and they just happened to drive across the state lines, stretching the law a bit. Just a bunch of outlaws they are.
Anyway, it didn’t take away my enjoyment of the movie.
Characters
I really liked the quirkiness and spontaneity of the characters. The core four Bratz pack members were the same as ususal, but they didn’t really focus on individualizing them. Dramatic Cloe was her same usual self the most, and it made for an entertaining time. The Tweevils and Burdine had me dying most of the movie, and when they threw in…What’s her name, Kristy? It was even more fun.
Mandy was something else. She was a delicious villain.
And of course, I was happy to see the development of Sharidan. Since Sharidan was first introduced in the Forever Diamondz line, they finally made the new doll the NEW girl, not some old-time doll that they suddenly tried to make a new part of the pack. And this was before Fashion Pixiez. Of course, I would have liked other characters from the line to appear, such as Vinessa, Katia, and Fianna, (though I kind of felt she appeared in the movie as Tiffany) It would have been nice to actually have them all there. Still, the girls from the main line were present, so it was all good.
The only thing I didn’t like was when the Bratz pack members tried to give Sharidan a “makeover”, deciding to “take off her glasses” and change her clothes. Back in the late 1990s and early 2000s, makeover scenes were very common, and they often ended with the “nerd” removing their glasses to appear more “attractive”. The Bratz should have helped Sharidan feel confident the way she was. I say this as someone who doesn’t let anyone take off her glasses. I rock my own style with them on. So, I felt a bit funny about that. But considering Sharidan really wanted to wear her own fashions and style, and didn’t seem too comfortable with her Plain Jane appearance, that’s fine.
Visuals
Okay, the dusty roads weren’t glamorous, but it really set the mood. Long stretches of road and totally isolated. That’s how it felt watching it. And it made it all the better when they reached lit-up New York City and walked down the runway in the diamond-studded outfits, contrasting the long road they’d overcome. It was refreshing to have the Bratz leave Stilesville again and have a totally different setting for most of the whole movie.
Also, I was so happy the Bratz pack were wearing THEIR OWN OUTFITS, and it was great to see the prototypes with the original words on the tops. Of course, there have been two other prototypes for the Forever Diamondz line before even that prototype, and honestly, they are better than what became the final copy.
Music
There wasn’t too much music, but the three main songs that appeared, “Just Having Some Fun”, “You’ve Got It”, and “Let Go”, were reprised versions of the songs on the album and I LOVED them. It was like a special edition that you can only get by buying the DVD, and then if you want the other version, you have to buy the album. It was a clever way to sell both, if you ask me. I was disappointed the song “Forever Diamondz” and “Oooh Fashion” wasn’t included in the movie, but hey, I’m not going to complain because at least some songs appeared in the movie. I liked the various feelings the music gave, whether on the road, on the catwalk, or ice skating.
Overview
Overall, it was a fun movie, full of suspense, thrill, action, adventure, and friendship. It’s definitely not realistic for teenagers to drive a trailer truck across the USA, but it’s all in good imaginary fun, so whatever. The movie was great, but I would’ve liked more from the Diamondz universe.
Coming in at number 4 is Pampered Petz. This movie was released in 2010, the same year the Bratz returned during their first reboot, after the court case fiasco, and the year I turned 20. I’m often really surprised that this movie is rated so low, but then again I’m not because many Bratz fans think Bratz is about the magazine and the Tweevils and whatnot. Whatever.
I felt this story had a lot of heart. It was very heartwarming, honestly.
Story
Written by Sindy McKay, the story follows the Bratz as they help one of their neighbors, an elderly woman, named Lola Reyes, save her home and her animals from her greedy neighbor, who wants her property for himself.
Early in the movie, Jade learns that her line of handmade accessories caught the attention of Mud Spa Springs and they invite her to open a booth there. They allow her to bring her friends.
Suddenly, the Bratz pack here ruckus outside and rush out to see what’s happening. They run into Jixi, the mischevious monkey, and two men named Mr. Joe Lacky and Mr. Grunian. The Bratz discover that the noise was occurring because the men were trying to get their “plans” back, which were stolen by the monkey. Being an animal lover, Yasmin manages to retrieve the plans from the monkey and hand it back to the men. Yasmin and Cloe then allow the monkey to lead them to his home.
When they arrive at the home, they realize it’s packed full of animals. The resident of the home is Lola Reyes, and she’s made it her mission to rescue animals from the cruelty of the local pound. Of course, she admits that she has too many animals, and has no family to help her with all of them. She reveals that she only has a daughter, but they have been estranged since she became a successful lawyer. Yasmin then agrees to come by and help the woman every week after the Bratz pack’s trip to the luxury spa.
As soon as the two girls leave, the two suspicious men spy on them and huddle together to scheme a plan.
The next day, as the Bratz head to the luxury spa, the Bratz pack receive a phone call from Lola. Someone has called the police on her, discovering she has more pets than Stilesville allows (which is three pets per household). The officers tell her she has only 72 hours to get rid of the pets or they will go back to the pound.
With this news, Yasmin and Cloe agree to stay behind and help Lola find her animal companions homes. Jade and Sasha continue on to the spa, since this is Jade’s one opportunity to sell her accessories.
When Jade and Sasha arrive at the luxurious spa, they get caught up in relaxing. In fact they get so caught up, they almost lose sight of time, causing Jade to be late to set up her booth. Scrambling out of the mud bath towards Jade’s booth, with the mud still on them, they fail to heed the warning from their attendant, who told them to shower right away after leaving, otherwise they’d stiffen. The booth ends up being a complete flop, with them fumbling to operate it while stiff and messy.
Back in Stilesville, Cloe and Yasmin decide to give the animals makeovers. While doing this, they discover an old box revealing Lola to be the famous musician Dolores Reyes. She shares her scrapbook with them, revealing that she and her husband travelled around with their daughter, Celia, at one time, but that life on the road was not good for her. They sent her to a boarding school, but their relationship had not been good sense.
After learning of Lola’s past, Yasmin and Cloe are more determined to help. They begin posting signs to get people adopt a pet. What they don’t know is Lola’s neighbor, Mr. Grunion and his “lackey” Joe Lackey, have been sabotaging their efforts, following them and pulling down fliers wherever they put them up and setting up signs convincing people that the girls are looking for stray animals (causing them to have more animals than they started with).
Soon, Lola’s landlord is contacted, and she is given an eviction notice since pets violate the terms of her lease. Yasmin and Cloe decide to visit Lola’s daughter to see if she will help, since she’s a lawyer. However, when they arrive, they are dismissed.
Jade and Sasha return from their trip, and all the Bratz pack fill each other in on what has happened. At this time, Jinxi steals other plans from Mr. Grunion, this time bringing it to the Bratz. They discover Mr. Grunion has been behind all of the issues surrounding the animals, and that he plans on getting Dolores kicked out of her house to he can buy the property to have a larger house built for himself.
Mr. Grunion takes it a step further and has the local news appear, attempting to paint the “famous musician” as a “lonely, eccentric, recluse” and “animal hoarder”. Sasha is able to turn the story around, announcing the Lola actually plans to throw a comeback benefit concert to find the animals homes.
Angry that his plans are foiled, he and his lackey (also his brother-in-law, we learn), kidnap the animals, along with stealing Jade’s remaining supply of her accessories, and hold them captive. While preparing for the show, Yasmin discovers they’re gone. The girls search everyone, with Cloe approaching Lola’s daughter one more time, bringing Lola’s special scrapbook, with her. Cloe is dismissed again, but this time, Cloe leaves the scrapbook in the office, which peaks Celia’s curiosity.
Meanwhile, Joe Lackey, the bumbling lackey, is tricked by the animals, and Jinxi is able to help the animals escape by taking the keys and opening the cages. When Mr. Grunion pulls up in his vehicle, the animals hijack it and dangerously drive it through the city, with Jinxi navigating.
The animals eventually reach the concert stage, wearing Jade’s accessories. The Bratz discover them, and they proceed to start the show.
After the show, at Lola’s house, the Bratz, Lola, and the remaining animals are celebrating when the police show up. Since Dolores was still over the city limit after 72 hours, Mr. Grunion orders them to remove her from the house, since the landlord agreed to sell it to him already.
At that moment, Celia arrives, expressing her feelings of being angry with her mother after feeling abandoned. Her mother apologizes and they patch things up. Celia then reveals that she’s bought the property from the landlord, and plans on turning it into an animal shelter. Mr. Grunion’s plans are foiled. The End.
I really loved this story. No, it didn’t have the romance, the action, or whatever. But it was a very moving story about animal cruelty and family togetherness. When I thought of Lola, I thought of all of my own elderly family members, and how they sometimes feel that us younger people are too young to spend time with them. I found it so moving that Lola rescued these animals from being killed in the pound, and I was moved by the compassion the Bratz pack showed. But of course, Yasmin and Cloe are the only ones designed to have a heart, which burns me up.
Regardless, I still loved the story.
Of course, it has unrealistic elements. Obviously, the monkey Jinxi was surprisingly advanced, even for a monkey. Unless he was trained, how could he drive like that all the way to the show? Those animals would’ve crashed, period. In any case, it was a comical little gag. Ultimately, I was happy the animals were able to save themselves and escape.
I think everyone can relate to this movie.
Characters
Once again, Sasha was interpreted as lacking the most compassion. She was designed to care more about shallow things than the others. I can’t stand that. But Sasha made up for it by standing beside Lola when they tried to make her look bad on live television. She used her brains to turn that around real quick. Cloe’s drama wasn’t as exaggerated in this movie, which was good. This was the perfect movie for Yasmin, the animal lover. Generally, I felt I received all of the characters really well. Their personalities didn’t interfere with the story, and they mostly all put others before themselves.
Visuals
When watching it again, I noticed how polished the animation was. The Bratz pack looked gorgeous in their outfits, and they wore several new outfits with some old pieces. Unfortunately, none of the outfits were really released on the dolls. The Pampered Petz line didn’t look anything like what was in the movie. Even some other Pampered Petz artwork that I found looked nothing like what’s in this movie. They look like prototypes or whatnot, but they didn’t look like what they were trying to promote on the dolls. Again, another movie fashion line that didn’t seem connected to the Bratz doll universe.
Music
I loved the Latin-themed music, and I think the sound makes this movie a stand-out when it comes to sound. No other movie has inculcated Latin music that heavily, which always surprised me, considering how popular the sound was and still is. Unfortunately, there were only three songs, but they made an impact and were quite catchy in my opinion. I loved “Let’s Celebrate”. It was suspenseful, mesmerizing, and upbeat. It was a great time.
Overview
Overall, the movie was heartwarming, interesting, and cute. The characters showed the most compassion towards the elderly Lola, making me like them a little more. Yes, the animals and villains were cheesy, but it made this a pretty fun experience. I would have liked the outfits from the Pampered Petz line to actually appear in the movie, though. I wouldn’t say this was the most amazing movie ever, but I didn’t have any problems with the movie either, as a Bratz fan.
Coming in 3rd place is Bratz Kidz Fairy Tales. This movie was released in 2008, when I was almost 18, getting ready to graduate from high school. Whoo!
A lot of people may be surprised that any Bratz fan ranks the Bratz Kidz movies higher than the movies with them as teens. Honestly, I would think that the other Bratz movies would be just as good. Unfortunately, I just found the Bratz Kidz to be more enjoyable for me. That’s sad, considering it’s really considered a spin-off.
Story
Written by Bart Jennett, who was back better than ever, Bratz Kidz Fairy Tales begins with the Bratz Kidz Cloe, Jade, Yasmin, and Sasha, trashing the fairy tale characters they are meant to portray in a school play: Rapunzel, Snow white, Little Red Riding Hood, and Cinderella. Suddenly, a magical talking frog appears before them, telling them the keeper of Grimm’s fairy tale books have heard them insulting the stories and will make them learn to “walk a mile” in the princesses’ shoes. If they can learn from the error of their ways, the frog can turn back into a prince. He whisks them away inside the Bratz’s fairy tale book, and they find themselves in the fairy tale land. Throughout the story, the girls have to find a way to finish the characters’ stories. Alone, each of them discovers they are unsuccessful, and that it wasn’t as easy as they thought it would be to escape. These kids did ultimately find a way to change the stories, showing they are smart and clever and brave, but they realize that they wouldn’t have been as successful if it weren’t for each other. They learn to respect the fairy tale books. After they finish their stories and return, the frog turns back into a prince…kind of. He literally stays a frog, with a crown appearing on his head, then he disappears. Shortly after, their school principal, Mr. Grimm, appears, sounding just like the frog. We get an inkling that he was the real keeper of the tale. The Bratz Kidz put on a show expressing how much they “opened their eyes” and appreciate the stories now more than they did.
I LOVED this story, and not just because I love fairy tales, especially Grimm fairy tales. I love the message. So many fairy tale stories and Disney movies get ragged on for having princesses who are “damsels in distress” waiting for a man to save them instead of saving themselves. And while there should be conversations about how we portray women in the media, and there should be a balanced view of those portrayals, many times people fall into the trap of “victim blaming”, often missing the whole point of these stories and acting like they would have done better had they been in these girls’ situations. Yes, Cinderella waited to marry a prince so she could escape her situation. But it makes sense for the time period. Women didn’t have many options. She could just leave the house, but then where would she go? Who would take her in? There weren’t programs to help people back then. Women weren’t protected by the law. How would she eat and survive? People act like she could just get a job and become successful right away. In any case, without a support system or any kind of money, that’s difficult even in modern times for people, let alone in Cinderella’s time.
Sure, we can have inspiring stories of these time-old princesses saving themselves, but would that be realistic? And if most of us were in that situation, we would probably see our opportunity to leave the house the same way. Some people ARE in that situation RIGHT NOW.
I just love how the Bratz pack thought they were big and bad, and got their behinds handed back to them. Look, I have no problem with people using their brains and strengths to get the job done, but don’t look down on someone else who’s doing it differently from you because you don’t know the gag. You don’t know what people going through.
I love this story more now than ever because I really like Ever After High. If Bratz and Ever After High weren’t from such different worlds (MGA vs Mattel), it’s be nice to see the Grimms interact. It’s likely they’re all descendants of the original Grimm Brothers.
Another thing I love about this story is that each Bratz girl gets their time to shine. Each girl has her moment to showcase her talent, abilities, and personality, and that’s really the strength of both of the Bratz Kidz movies.
The true shame of this movie is that there was never a Bratz Kidz line based off of this. I believe they came out with a Bratz 4 Ever Kidz Fairy Tales line later, but it wasn’t based off of this movie in any way. I don’t even know why they made this movie. Maybe a line was in the works but was scrapped.
In any case, I would like to see the main teen Bratz in a fairy-tale themed line in the future, if they ever get back to the point they are targeting the dolls to a general audience so they can make play-lines again.
My only criticism of this movie’s story is I couldn’t tell whether the fairy tale land they landed in took place in the past or in a futuristic version of the fairy tale land. The frog said it took place in an old century, but they had cell phones to call fairy godmothers, magic mirrors dressed like modern-day reporters, and “street signs” on tree trunks. It seemed like Ever After High, a fairy tale world with a modern-ish twist in my opinion.
Characters
I really felt like each Bratz pack character showed themselves fully, their strengths and their weaknesses. Each character had to learn and grow, and I love evolutionary stories like this, ones with a lesson or a purpose. It was easy to follow and understand, and I think I took something away from it myself, from each of the characters’ stories. All of the movie-only characters are memorable, especially because they all played a unique role in these timeless classic stories. After watching it a few weeks ago, I think I’ve watched it at least three more times after.
Visuals
I would say a minor criticism of mine is the design of the fairy tale land in this tale. I imagined the fairy tale land to be much more vast and beautiful. I felt the shading was pretty dull in comparison to what I expected. I don’t know why. I also wanted to know why Stiles High was used as the Bratz Kidz’s elementary school, unless they go to a K-12 school, which is very rare in the USA. I saw some teenagers in the background, which confused me. I’m quite sure they didn’t all skip grades. Other than that, it was refreshing to see a different world outside of Stilesville once more, and each scene suited the story they were telling, as I imagined they would.
Music
There weren’t that many songs in the movie, which was pretty surprising. I wasn’t mad, because that would be pretty stereotypical for a fairy tale movie. The songs they did have were really catchy. “Round and Round” was catchy. “Are you Sure?” was like a slap in the face on those girls who thought it would be easy to be in someone else’s shoes. “I’ve Opened My Eyes” was a good musical number to express the girls’ feelings about being more open-minded than they were before. Personally, I felt the songs had purpose and meaning in the story. They weren’t just stuffed in there, and so the songs are a staple of the movie.
Overview
Overall, this was one of my favorite Bratz movies. I loved how the characters were portrayed, the overall message, and how easily the music taught the lessons as effectively as the story itself. I do wish they’d had an actual line for this and I wish there was more clarity as to whether this was a modern world or a time period piece. I also would have liked a little more vibrancy in the scenes, but I’m really pulling stuff out my behind because I know I liked this movie.
Coming in second place is Bratz Kidz Sleep-Over Adventure, released in 2007. I was 17 that year, and was starting my last year in high school. It was good this movie came out before Halloween because, man, it was spooky, in a good way.
Story
Written by Robert Schlueter, the story focuses on Cloe, Yasmin, Sasha, Jade, and Meygan, yes, Meygan, attending a slumber party held at Sasha’s new friend Ginger’s house. Ginger and her family just moved to an old house that was once abandoned and she’s never had a sleep-over before. Their sleep-over turns out to be fun; they eat and dance, and then time for spooky stories. At this point, Ginger becomes afraid, not just of the stories, but it seems she’s also afraid of something else…
Each Bratz girl begins telling her story: Cloe tells a story of a talking dog that tried to prevent her from getting her own puppy by ruining her life; Sasha tells a story of her being so in love with her own reflection that it came to life as her doppelganger and lived life like her; Meygan tells her story of being so upset that she couldn’t do what she wanted to do at the carnival, wishing everyone to go away, and finding at a magic show that makes her wish come true, only for her to be left alone in a haunting empty amusement park; Yasmin tells her story about selfishly buying an expensive bracelet instead of a birthday gift for her friend Dana only for it to haunt her, following her, not allowing her to take it off; and Jade tells the story of her thinking an amusement park ride isn’t scary and is for babies only to find her friends shape-shifting into monsters during the ride.
At the end of it all, the Bratz start hearing weird noises in the house. They ask Ginger to start her story, and she appears to be telling them about herself, when she runs out of the room scared. As the Bratz pack follow her, they realize that the house has gotten cold, dusty, and old. As they open the doors to the house, they realize that everything is falling apart and dusty, like no one lives there. Suddenly doors start closing on them, and they realize the house is haunted. As they run out of the house, they pass a “No Trespassing” sign that wasn’t there before. Apparently, Ginger was a ghost.
As the girls run for safety through the streets, they stop by different houses, running into the creatures from their stories. They run into the talking dog that drove Cloe crazy, they run into Sasha’s doppelganger, they run into the creepy clown from Meygan’s fun house horror, and they seem to run into Ginger at every house they try to run to. Eventually, they start shape-shifting into monsters. Not realizing it, they disappear into the strangeness of the night.
This movie was super creepy and honestly scary. When I first watched it, I was 17. It creeped me out. I still can’t watch this at night because it gives me chills. And it’s not that I believe it’s real, it’s just the principle. Like a doppelganger coming out of your mirror? Being alone at an amusement park? Being on a scary ride where your friends’ eyes start glowing and they turn into monsters? Having a charm bracelet follow you? And worst of all, having one of your new slumber party friends…reveal themselves to be a ghost? If that wasn’t a twist, I don’t know what is. This movie is one of the most unforgettable and sticks with me, so I feel that it was really well-written. It had a goal in mind, and that was to give you a light-hearted scare. For a children’s movie, it’s not too shabby.
I loved hearing each Bratz girl tell their own story. Again, the strength of the Bratz Kidz movies is their individual story-telling because each character is allowed a chance to take center stage and express themselves. Ultimately, we learn something about them.
Characters
That brings me into the character development. Finally, FINALLY, we got Meygan. In the actual Bratz Kidz Sleep-over line, Meygan was present, and I’m happy that they didn’t set her aside just because another red-headed girl was going to be the Bratz pack’s friend in this movie (Ginger). I was so happy to see her and to get a story line about her. She’s the fifth Bratz pack member, she should be in there sometimes, probably more than Cameron and Dylan. She was in the Bratz before they were. It made me sick that Roxxi, Katia, and Sharidan got more screen time than she did. What’s up with that? I’m glad they remembered her for this movie.
They even brought in Jade, though she wasn’t even in the sleep-over line. I’m glad they did.
I’m happy they finally interpreted Jade to be the daredevil she really is, too. She wasn’t afraid of a “baby ride”. Ya’ll know Jade is supposed to be the daredevil. Why does it take a kid movie to bring out Jade’s coolest streak? They made Sasha self-centered again, but at least this time, she learned her lesson.
I was also surprised they even brought over Dana into the mix. Dana was not in the primary Sleep-over Adventure line but she was in the Bratz Kidz Sleep-over Super Secret Manicure Bedroom, which is a detail I didn’t think anyone caught. It was too bad Phoebe didn’t make an appearance, though. She was in the Bratz Kidz Sleep-Over Super Secret Lotion-Making Bathroom playset, which seems connected to this line, too. But Rock Angelz ruined the possibility of her being included because apparently the Bratz didn’t meet Roxxi until “the benefit concert”, meaning they couldn’t have possibly met her twin sister, either…
All of those Bratz Kidz lines Phoebe was in apparently largely went ignored in the Bratz series and movie universe.
On a positive note, it was great to have Ginger, too. I heard she was trademarked by MGA Entertainment and was supposed to be released, too, but it never happened. Possibly because, prior to the release of Monster High, it was hard to get “ghoul toys” on the shelves. According to creative director Carter Bryant, back then, it was hard to get dark toys past the Walmart buyers. It was still nice to have her in the movie, though.
Visuals
I want to point out that almost all the outfits from the Sleep-Over Adventure line appeared, but they seemed to give Sasha one of Cloe’s second outfits. Not sure why, but I do believe Sasha’s outfits may have looked too much like the other pajamas AND I think they had to give Jade one to even include her in the movie, since she didn’t have an outfit in the line. Don’t know why they couldn’t change Cloe’s outfit instead because I would have preferred the pink on Sasha, but it’s all good though.
Music
The music set the mood, that’s for sure. “Get Ready” made the whole environment creepy, but “Step One” and “Bratz Kidz”, the theme song, lightened the mood. I think if they hadn’t lightened the mood, it would have ended up being too scary for kids. It was scary enough for a teenager like me.
Overview
Overall, I fully enjoyed this movie. I can watch it over and over, especially as I search for answers to the mysteries going on in this movie. I have concocted several theories about Ginger’s family, and piecing it together is a chore. But I’m ambitious. I liked that several key Bratz pack members finally got their moment to shine, and happy most of the outfits appeared in the film. Still wish the right girls were wearing the right outfits and that Phoebe could have appeared. However, it didn’t take away from the movie at all. At least one of the playset characters appeared.
Coming in 1st place is Bratz Desert Jewelz: Genie Magic 2. This was released around New Year’s Day, 2012. I was about to turn 22 years old! I can’t even believe it.
Some of you all might be a little shocked that I’ve ranked this higher than the original, especially because this movie came out way later. No, this movie didn’t include the rushed Bratz magazine or anything like that, but it had a lot more going for itself than all the movies on this list as far as I’m concerned.
Story
The movie opens telling the story about the legend of the genie in the Temple of Aziz. There’s a lamp in the middle of a cave, in the middle of a desert, in the heart of Morocco, and only those with a pure heart can obtain it. Once obtained, the person who has it gains three wishes from a genie. After all wishes are granted, the genie returns to the lamp another 2,000 years before the lamp is found and touched by the next pure heart.
The story follows the Bratz as they head off to Morocco. Jade is a finalist in a designer contest, and is set to put on a “Genie Magic” show at the Shallah Museum. Katia has come along for the ride, bringing her father’s old carpet that she thought lost its magic. She had been stretching the truth to her father, Sebastian, telling him she was putting it in the museum when really she was going to allow Jade to use it in her show. While they are getting ready, a lone bandit catches sight of the carpet as she breaks into a museum to steal a ring, preparing to take it off to a cave in the middle of the desert.
As soon as the show starts, the carpet is lifted into the air, the magic returning to it, and it lifts the Bratz girls on the runway into the air with it and off towards the desert. When the girls arrive, they learn that a magic ring was connected to the carpet, and a girl named Alia retrieved both for her master Charlat, an archeologist. Charlat pretends to be nice, offering to take the carpet back to the museum for them, pretending he didn’t make Alia steal the ring and carpet, but when seeing Katia virtuously wanting to return the carpet herself, he believes she is the “chosen one”, the pure person who can help him with his plan. He tricks Katia into standing on the carpet, and has the carpet fly off, nearly leaving his pupil Alia behind. The Bratz try to stop him by jumping onto the carpet, but they aren’t able to stay on the carpet long enough.
With the carpet gone, the remaining Bratz pack members end up stranded in the middle of the desert. Alia, Charlat, and Katia meet an old woman who only allows them to eat and drink from her Oasis if they trade her something. Eventually, the Bratz girls find themselves here as well. The Bratz try to contact Katia’s father, but he can barely hear them. The woman becomes intrigued with Cloe’s cell phone when it plays a ringtone, she provides two camels to them in exchange for it. She warns them of the dangers in the sand, including cracked sand that can break and have them plunging to their deaths.
Hearing only a bit on the phone, Katia’s father calls the museum, who tells him the ring of Aziz has been stolen. He immediately makes plans to fly to Morocco, fearing for his daughter’s life.
As Katia’s band travels across the desert, she is able to temporarily trick Charlat, asking to see the carpet’s ring on his finger, only to take it off and fling it into the desert, causing the carpet to crash. As Charlat scrambles to find the ring, Alia keeps an eye on Katia. With Alia watching her, Katia learns more about her. Alia is trying to use the ring and carpet to get to the Genie’s cave so she can wish to know about her parents, who disappeared years ago. She tells Katia the story of how her father found an old goblet and gave it to her. They were from a very poor family, but her father helped her learn to appreciate the gift. One day, a man tries to exchange bread for the goblet, but Alia refuses, causing her parents to argue the night before because she kept the goblet instead of getting food for her poor family. The next day, her parents disappear, and Alia blames herself. After learning this, Katia hesitates.
Eventually, Charlat finds the ring. When he catches Alia looking at a picture of her parents, he sneers and tosses it off into the desert as a distraction. He flies off in the carpet with Katia, leaving Alia alone in the desert. With Alia roaming the desert, she eventually runs into the Bratz girls. Though she’s apprehensive at first, she eventually agrees to travel with them. They all learn to see each other in a different light.
Eventually, they come to the cracked desert in the sand. As soon as they walk, it gives way, and most of the Bratz girls struggle to stay on level ground. Cloe and Yasmin end up on an isolated pillar in the middle of the desert, barely clinging on to life. While the Bratz are able to save Yasmin and barely Cloe, they aren’t able to save one of the camels. Cloe had grown fond of the camel, so this causes her grief. Alia begins to realize how caring the girls are in comparison to her master.
At this same time, Charlat and Katia arrive at the side of a mound. Charlat uses the ring as a key, and the carpet turns into a magical door, opening to reveal a cave on the side of the mound. Charlat had been forces Katia into the cave and tries to force her to pick up the magic lamp. Katia realizes that the magic lamp has her family name on it. When she demands to know of it, Charlat realizes she’s a descendant of the Genie Aziz. He sees even more opportunity.
At this time, the Bratz pack and Alia, barely getting passed the traps and pits in the cave, finally arrive. Charlat threatens to keep Katia’s friends trapped with Katia in the cave if she doesn’t lift the lamp. Katia agrees to do it, but she doesn’t hand the lamp to him. She begins tossing it to her friends, and eventually the lamp ends up in Alia’s hands. Tempted to know about her parents, instead of returning the lamp to the stand, she rubs it and makes her first wish. While in a taxi cab on his way to the airport, Katia’s father suddenly starts disappearing. He reappears as the Genie of Aziz. Katia is devastated because her father is now transparent, almost like a ghost. She begs Alia to stop. Alia proceeds with her wish.
Alia learns that her parents were killed, which makes her overcome with grief. Then, she asks the Genie (Katia’s father) to tell her who did it. Sebastian grants her wish, and she learns Charlat was responsible. Alia is pissed now, and she is ready to use her last wish to destroy Charlat, but seeing Katia beg to say good-bye to her father one last time, she is moved with compassion. Alia breaks and wishes to set Katia’s father free. Charlat gets mad with greed. He starts to try to remove the stand that held the lamp, causing the cave to come crumbling down. The Bratz girls, Alia, and Sebastian all escape. Alia takes one last look at her master before the door closes in on him, trapping him permanently.
Alia is happy that she escaped, but feels alone now. At this moment, Katia and Sebastian accept Alia as a part of their family. The old woman arrives with the lost camel, who seems to have been magical. She gives them words of wisdom about being trapped by greed before she walks off into the sunset. The Bratz pack finish their runway show, this time with Sebastian playing the sax and Alia sharing the runway stage with them.
This movie was amazing. It had me laughing, it had me crying, it had me on the edge of my seat, it had me moved, it had me angry. I felt so many emotions, and I can’t really say that about a lot of movies written for dolls. I think the American Girl movies were the only ones that did that for me.
The story was very involved, from the setting in Morocco, to the themes of abuse (I mean who does Charlat think he is having Alia call him master? What is he teaching her? And I didn’t accept how he was grabbing Katia by her wrists and pushing her around!), and then to moments of grief and lessons about continuing on after loss, to lessons on greed and learning to understand what is truly valuable…
This movie was just simply the best. It just wasn’t as empty-headed as some of the other Bratz movies, and yet I think it’s underrated because of when it came out and how it just didn’t have the same format as the Bratz TV series, which most fans apparently love. However, I felt this movie had more heart than all of the movies I’ve listed before it. Every time I watch this movie, I know I’m listening to a tale, a real tale. I already love magic and mystery. This was more than I bargained for.
I love that they didn’t try to throw in any random new Bratz pack characters, and that Katia was treated like a member of the pack, which she was, and should have always been.
This was just an overall enjoyable film. While some things may have been unrealistic or even random, it was meant to be. In some ways, it made the story better, in my honest opinion. Everything could be explained away with magic.
My only criticism is I was hoping to see more about Katia’s mother, but I’m sure if it went that route, it wouldn’t be about the Moroccan desert or her Genie lineage, if indeed she’s interpreted as Russian as her name suggests.
Characters
I love the way the characters were interpreted. Finally, finally, Sasha was not the selfish, arrogant diva she’d been in every other movie. When Alia was refusing to ride with the girls, and Jade was adamant about leaving her in the desert, Sasha stepped up and said “We can’t leave her here” and she let Alia ride with her. See, that’s the “layers” I was hoping to see for the only Black girl that represents all Black girls in the Bratz movies. All of the characters learned something about themselves and others, and they grew. Cloe grew to love camels, which she initially hated. Jade learned to accept Alia, and Alia learned what real love was from the Bratz. Katia learned more about her family and her Genie heritage. She could have learned more, but the mystery around her makes her more alluring, I think. I really think she brought out the “Flirty Turtle” in this movie because she played the role when trying to escape Charlat. Ain’t gonna lie. You have to do what you have to do to survive.
Visuals
As in Genie Magic, the outfits were stunning in this movie.
The backdrop of an ancient Moroccan city and desert just wrapped me in. I love destination themes, and you throw in some history AND MAGIC? I’m sold.
Unfortunately, the outfits weren’t anything like the actual dolls, and unfortunately the oufits in the movie were BETTER, way better, than the actual dolls’ outfits. The actual line didn’t even have Sasha in it. She was never released. I’m a bit mad about that. These outfits look more like some Desert Jewelz artwork in the Bratz books. They look more like prototypes. I wish they’d been released, and it seems like it would’ve been two outfits because they are wearing pretty dresses during the ending credits. The animation definitely got sharper, in my opinion, and I enjoyed watching it visually as well as for the story.
Music
I loved the music. Just like with Bratz Kidz Fairy Tales, the music was carefully placed to get the viewers to think. “Steal your Breath” was a song preparing us for a future adventure, “Think About It” was in there to teach us to re-warp our minds when seeing people, “Time to Celebrate” was a song celebrating the end. I loved the Arabic “Genie-Magic” sound the soundtrack had.
Overview
Overall, this is the best Bratz movie to me. It gave me so many emotions, it took me in, and I was left thinking about life, my own life, at the end of it. I wish the doll line was half as good as the movie at the time. I hope future movies are like this, but I doubt it. Somebody really just needs to bring all the Bratz universes together, because at this point there’s so many contradictions and inconsistencies, there really is no canon universe. But if any media produced for Bratz in the future can be half as thought-provoking as this movie is, while also capturing the fun and vibrant spirit of the movies that came before it, it would be perfect.
Generation Next 