Monster High: 13 Wishes

=Monster High: 13 Wishes= Share on print Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on pinterest_share Share on google_plusone_share Share on email *Review Date: August 6, 2014
 * Rated: NR
 * Genre: Family and Kids
 * Release Year: 2013

Common Sense Media says
Monster dolls teach lessons but dress provocatively.*Review Date: August 6, 2014
 * Rated: NR
 * Genre: Family and Kids
 * Release Year: 2013

Age(i)
357911131517

Quality(i)
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What parents need to know
Positive messages Monster High: 13 Wishes espouses positive messages about friendship, curbing jealousy, being grateful for what you have, and being careful what you wish for. It aims to show girls that the desire to be popular or get everything you want can have negative consequences and that there are benefits to being yourself and earning popularity or friendships through work and being a good friend. Positive role models Although characters are a bit shallow, they are confident, lively, and engaged friends. Most characters are not well-developed beyond basic traits, but many aim to work through their problems, make things right, and be good friends. Others are mean-spirited, shallow, or petty, and most adults are presented as fairly oblivious. Of particular concern is the fact that the girl characters all are dressed to the nines in every scene -- elaborate hair, makeup, and towering heels. Violence & scariness Any violence or peril is cartoonish and slapstick with no real injuries. A guy is tossed across a hallway by the slime shooting out of a water fountain but is unhurt. A teacher's head is blown off by an electrical explosion, but she keeps talking as she lands in a student's hands. Sexy stuff Relationships are innocuous, but a girl in one couple becomes increasingly focused on her boyfriend's comfort, happiness, and approval to the exclusion of everything else. The girls' clothing -- tiny miniskirts, thigh-high socks, high heels, and extensive, heavy makeup -- are more befitting of a burlesque troupe than a gaggle of high school friends. Language Lots of abbreviated slang, such as "whatevs," "totes," and other terms of the moment. Consumerism The show is based on a Mattel line of dolls, toys, books, games, and accessories, no doubt in high demand after seeing the movie. Drinking, drugs, & smoking Not applicable

Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Monster High: 13 Wishes traffics in high school problems with a gothy, cartoonish twist. Here, teenagers are fanged and furred, and no stone is left unturned for a morbid reference to ghouls and goblins. But the girls are dressed in over-the-top skimpy attire, high heels, and plastered-on makeup, which could interfere with all the positive messages about friendship, tolerance, and being selfless. Any violence or peril is cartoonish and slapstick with no real injuries. Additionally, the franchise is interconnected with the original line of Mattel dolls and accessories.

What's the story?
Howleen (America Young) has just started a new year at Monster High, and she and friends Clawdeen (Celeste Henderson), Dracolaura, Abbey (Erin Fitzgerald), and others all have big wishes for the year. When Howleen gets her hands on a genie, she discovers she has thirteen wishes to be granted. Soon everyone is getting what they've always wanted, but Howleen begins to learn that getting what you want isn't always all it's cracked up to be.

Is it any good?
QUALITY MONSTER HIGH: 13 WISHES is a visual feast and a clever idea; for the kind of tweens who prefer campy horror to Barbie dolls, these goth-lite characters with fangs, fur, bandages, and bolts are a fun twist on the typical fare. But that same visual feast may create a problem for parents. Here, high school teenagers are dressed for more than a costume party -- the skimpy skirts, high heels, and heavy makeup are needlessly over the top. Plus, there's a considerable bounty of merchandise to contend with in the form of dolls, books, and accessories, so viewers beware. That said, there are nice messages about the perils of popularity, greed, jealousy, and all the usual high school stuff and fun puns to boot, if the packaging isn't too daunting.

Families can talk about...

 * Families can talk about popularity. Does the movie show popularity accurately? Why, or why not?
 * What happens after the girls get their wishes? What do you think would happen if you got all your wishes? What would they be? What could they affect?
 * Do these girls dress like girls in your school? What do you think of how the girls dress in the movie, and how does that affect our view of their personalities?

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Share on print Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on pinterest_share Share on google_plusone_share Share on email Our ratings and reviews are informed by child development guidelines. Learn more.

This review of Monster High: 13 Wishes was written by
Tracy Moore

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 * ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
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