| Bratz: the Movie | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Sean McNamara |
| Produced by | Isaac Larian Avi Arad Steven Paul |
| Screenplay by | Susan Estelle Jansen |
| Story by | Adam De La Peña David Eilenberg |
| Starring | Nathalia Ramos Skyler Shaye Logan Browning Janel Parrish Chelsea Staub |
| Music by | John Coda |
| Cinematography | Christian Sebaldt |
| Editing by | Jeff Canavan |
| Studio | Crystal Sky Pictures MGA Entertainment Avi Arad Productions |
| Distributed by | Lionsgate |
| Release date(s) | August 3, 2007 |
| Running time | 102 minutes [1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English Spanish |
| Box office | $26,013,153[2] |
Bratz: The Movie (or simply Bratz) is a 2007 American live-action feature film based on the Bratz line of cartoon characters and dolls. It was co-produced by MGA Entertainment, Avi Arad Productions, and Crystal Sky Pictures teamed up. Crystal Sky financed the film, while Avi Arad and MGA executive produced. The screenplay was written by John Doolittle and Susie Singer Carter.[3][4]
Contents |
The four friends: Cloe (Skyler Shaye), Yasmin (Nathalia Ramos), Sasha (Logan Browning), and Jade (Janel Parrish), are about to start high school. Head girl Meredith Baxter Dimly (Chelsea Staub) wants everyone to belong to a clique, and goes about organizing people. She does not like the independent spirit of the four girls and plots to destroy their friendship and make them conform to her pre-fabricated cliques. Cloe is an ace soccer player. She meets Cameron (Stephen Lunsford) and is instantly smitten. Sasha is recruited as a cheerleader; Jade meets Dexter (Chet Hanks) and designs great outfits; and Yasmin's talent is singing. Yasmin meets Dylan (Ian Nelson), who is deaf but can lip read. The friends begin to drift apart, as they are compelled to stay within their cliques.
Two years later, the girls no longer speak to each other. Meredith is organizing a talent show and she engineers it every year so that she can win. Yasmin begins to know Dylan better. Cloe and Cameron like each other, but Meredith likes Cameron as well, and goes out of her way to sabotage their relationship. She sends her dog to mess with Cloe and Cameron. The dog trips Cloe and sends her food flying at Jade. Soon, Sasha, and Yasmin get involved, resulting in a food fight, and the four girls end up in detention. Much to Meredith's distaste however, the girls repair their damaged relationship and vow to stay together.
Meredith prepares for a second "Sweet Sixteen Party", though no one can come unless they are willing to sit with the clique assigned to them by Meredith. Yasmin, Cloe, Jade, and Sasha, unwilling to break their friendship again, refuse to go. But when Cloe's mother becomes sick and can't make the food for the party, Cloe and her friends take over the job. They are humiliated when their server costumes turn out to be clown suits, but Jade and Sasha turn the outfits into amazing clothes that make everyone at the party take notice.
A huge stage has been set up at the party, where Meredith sings. She embarrasses Yasmin but her downfall begins when Yasmin and her friends refuse to serve her. She falls off the back of an elephant she rented for the party, crashes into her birthday cake, and finally plunges into the pool. Humiliated, Meredith calls the girls "brats". They decide to take the name as their heading, and are known thereafter as BRATZ. The girls deal with their own problems: Sasha copes with her separated parents and wants them to try again; Cloe and her mother are struggling to make ends meet. Jade is keeping a part of her identity hidden from her parents. This applies in particular to her overprotective mother.
The film ends on a happy note when the girls perform together at the talent show, overpowering Meredith. Meredith wins the trophy, and the girls win the scholarship, which they give to Cloe. The girls are also invited to a red carpet premiere, where they sing while Meredith watches them with binoculars in the distance.
Paula Abdul was dropped from the production before completion. She was originally enlisted to provide wardrobe designs, choreograph the film, executive produce, as well as hold a role in the film. This was revealed on Hey Paula, her own reality show on her personal life. It has been speculated her erratic behavior may have been a reason behind her involvement in the film being cut.[5]
The film was shot at Santee Educational Complex in South Los Angeles, California, while in session.[6]
Bratz: The Movie received overwhelmingly negative reviews from critics; the film currently holds a 7% critics approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes; the consensus reads: "Full of mixed messages and dubious role-models, Bratz is too shallow even for its intended audience."[7] It received five Razzie nominations, including Worst Actress (all four stars were nominated as a group[8]) and Worst Picture, but it did not win any of the awards for which it was nominated.
Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune called the film "the most horrifying of 2007", remarking that, while the film seems to promote "releasing what's inside" and "letting your spirit soar high" it is all about clothes and outer beauty. He also said that Jon Voight's talent is wasted: "the actor—a good actor; remember?—looks as dazed as he did after being horked up by the snake in Anaconda." Ty Burr of The Boston Globe advised parents to rent Midnight Cowboy, saying it would be "less damaging on their [the kids'] psyches than this soulless mall rat of a movie." Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club concluded his C- review with "This is why the terrorists hate us."[9] In his year-in-review column, however, he cited the film as a "guilty pleasure."[10] A notable review in the Chicago Tribune said that "by the time the movie is over, one hopes the Decepticons will come in and take care of business." Because of that, Richard Roeper and Michael Phillips added Bratz on their top ten worst movies of 2007.
At the 28th Golden Raspberry Awards, bad reviews comparing the film to the Disney Channel's High School Musical were read; the first read, "Makes High School Musical look like Chicago." The second, "Makes High School Musical look like Puccini." The last, "Makes High School Musical look like Gone with the Wind."
There were, however, some positive reviews, such as Teresa Wiltz of the Washington Post who describes the film as "earnest, silly and sweet",[11] along with Adam Schubak of TV Guide who says "Although the film at times seems more a showcase for the trendy clothes specifically tailored for each character's unique personality, it does convey a positive message about loyalty and friendship."[12] Paige Wiser of the Chicago Sun-Times also states that while it is a "Frivolous, and...forgettable" film, that it is ultimately about high school tolerance.[13]
The film was also popular with fans of the Bratz dolls.
Bratz: The Movie opened at #9 at the box office. In its entire theatrical run, it earned a worldwide gross of $26,013,153.[2]
| Song | Chiefly Sung By | Other Singers | Scene |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Fabulous" | Meredith | None | My Super Sweet 16 Party |
| "It's All About Me" | Meredith | Meredettes | School Talent Show |
| "Bratitude" | Bratz | some students of the school | School Talent Show |
| "Open Eyes" | Bratz | None | MTV Video Music Awards Pre-show |
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