Name: Monster High 2
Director: Todd Holland
Released: 2023-10-05T19:45:42

In Monster High 2, Clawdeen and Draculaura’s friendship is tested when personal ambitions and new threats enter the picture. The film is now streaming on Paramount+.

Story

Clawdeen and her friends start their sophomore year at Monster High. Thanks to Clawdeen, Monster High is more inclusive now. The fact that Clawdeen transformed the school makes her popular among old and new students.

Toralei Stripe, a werecat who was studying abroad last year, returns to Monster High. She is also a popular student, but she is prejudiced against humans and witches. As they have different views, Toralei and Clawdeen end up becoming rivals.

The school chooses Toralei and Clawdeen as candidates for the post of school prefect. When witches sneak into the school to kidnap Draculaura, the other students start agreeing with Toralei’s views. If Toralei becomes the prefect, Clawdeen’s efforts to make the school more inclusive will come to nothing.

The incident and the pressure of competing against Toralei create friction in Draculaura and Clawdeen’s friendship. Will Clawdeen be able to make the school accept witches and mend her relationship with her best friend?

Performances

Miia Harris, Ceci Balagot, and Nayah Damasen not only fit their roles but also have good onscreen chemistry. This film focuses more on Draculaura’s story, and Damasen was able to depict different sides of her character, which were not explored in the previous film.

Salena Qureshi, who plays Toralei, is a great addition to the cast. She is sassy, wild, and strong in all the right ways. She never fails to grab attention whenever she makes an appearance.

Ana Ortiz does not get much screen time, but she still manages to convince the audience that she is the kind of wicked villain that one would expect to see in a film like this one.

Positives

Like the first film, Monster High 2 also tries to teach the importance of being open-minded and accepting people who are different. It uses fiction to highlight the kind of problems that are created in societies because of discrimination.

The film emphasizes the idea that people fear what they do not understand. It then uses the main characters, whom the audience knows to be good, to show that being different is not the same as being dangerous. It is a good lesson to teach children.

The songs and the dance moves in the film are bound to make older audiences nostalgic. They are fun, catchy, and suit the voices of the actors quite well.

Negatives

The film is made for a younger audience. While older audiences might enjoy some parts of it, it is not a film that would stay with them. It is fun, but it is just as forgettable, as it has common conflicts and expected plot twists.

As the film deals with prefect selection as well as Draculaura’s story, neither of the two plots gets adequate attention. As a result, the audience gets half-baked character developments and conclusions.

Furthermore, the audience does not get to see much of most of the characters, even Frankie. They are there, but just for the sake of it. The film touches on Frankie’s struggles in the beginning but later forgets all about it.

Verdict

Monster High 2 is a film that has some important lessons for children. It is entertaining and fun as long as one does not expect it to be more than a children’s film.