MONSTER HIGH: GHOULS RULE(not rated)
MOVIE: ** (out of 5)
DVD EXPERIENCE: ** (out of 5)
BY KEVIN CARR
I have to admit that I had no idea what the heck “Monster High” was, mostly because while I’m a huge monster movie fan I don’t have daughters and have gaps in my franchise knowledge here. However, after a quick Google search and watching the DVD of “Monster High: Ghouls Rule,” I got up to speed.
For those in the same boat as me, “Monster High” is a line of Mattel toys featuring fashion figurines based on famous monsters in films and television. They go to a special school for monsters which allows them to exhibit their unique abilities without being hunted by the “normies.” “Monster High: Ghouls Rule” is a CGI animated film based on the series.
In this film, the kids learn about the history of Halloween, which was a time when normies attacked monsters. Some of the kids want to open up better relations with the normies and rekindle the nicer spirit of Halloween. However, when a famous monster hunter from the school starts poking around, things get dangerous for the students at Monster High.
Overall, this is a perfectly fine show for the right audience, particularly tween girls who still watch Nickelodeon. The animation is quite rudimentary, but that’s to be expected for such a small release. The story has the expected uplifting message of tolerance and friendship, and there’s nothing too scary in it for pretty much anyone who can make it through an episode of “Scooby-Doo.”
The DVD comes with three short Flash-animated cartoon vignettes from the “Monster High” vault. They’re cute enough and actually look better than the crude CGI animation of the actual feature.