Monster High 2
Monster High 2 is a 2023 musical fantasy comedy film, serving as a sequel to Monster High: The Movie. It follows Clawdeen Wolf, Frankie Stein, and Draculaura in their sophomore year at Monster High, a school where monsters are encouraged to embrace their true selves. The plot centers on new challenges, including a conflict between witches and vampires, and a contest for school prefect. The film explores themes of diversity, friendship, belonging, and self-acceptance, featuring musical numbers and fantasy elements. While generally aimed at pre-teens and early adolescents, parents should be aware of the movie's prominent themes concerning witchcraft, gender identity, and a worldview emphasizing self-discovery and challenging traditional prejudices.
Concerns
LGBTQ & Gender Identity
HighThe movie explicitly features a nonbinary main character, Frankie Stein, who uses they/them pronouns. The film frequently employs language and metaphors commonly associated with LGBTQ+ acceptance, directly linking themes of self-acceptance and diversity to this worldview. The actor for Frankie, Ceci Balagot, is trans and nonbinary, and has publicly stated their appreciation for the portrayal of a 'happy trans child'.
Frankie Stein identifies as nonbinary and is casually introduced using they/them pronouns, a detail that is accepted without comment within the narrative. The film uses phrases like comparing hiding witchcraft to being 'in the broom closet,' which is a direct appropriation of the LGBTQ+ term 'closet'. Another instance is the distribution of 'human-monster pride buttons,' directly echoing 'pride' movements.
Witchcraft & Occult
HighWitchcraft is a central and pervasive theme, explicitly portrayed as a positive and 'beautiful' aspect of identity, initially shunned but ultimately embraced by characters like Draculaura. The film features covens, spellcasting, and references to Wiccan associations, with both benevolent and malevolent practitioners. This includes the use of magical elixirs and a plot revolving around powerful curses.
Draculaura openly practices witchcraft, which is celebrated as 'beautiful' and 'misunderstood'. The plot involves a coven of human witches, the Salem Coven, who use magical artifacts like 'wraith silver' and plot to cast a 'mortality curse'. Characters perform spells to control minds and fly as 'smoky apparitions'. The movie includes references to the '13 moons,' a term associated with Wicca, and the school mascot is 'The Demons'.
Anti-Christian Themes
HighMonster High 2 presents significant anti-Christian themes through its explicit promotion of witchcraft as a positive and misunderstood practice, directly conflicting with Christian doctrine. The film also integrates an 'LGBT worldview' and themes of 'finding your truth' into its narrative, which can be seen as contradictory to Christian teachings on identity and absolute truth. The school's mascot being 'The Demons' and references to Wicca further contribute to this concern.
The movie's plot centers on convincing the audience that 'witchcraft isn't really all that bad,' portraying Draculaura's practice of it as 'beautiful' and historically 'oppressed'. A review from Plugged In explicitly states, 'the embrace of witchcraft here is pretty clearly a thinly veiled embrace of the LGBT worldview as well,' indicating a direct conflict with a Christian worldview. The school's mascot is named 'The Demons,' and a birthday song references '13 moons,' a term associated with Wicca.
Violence
MediumMonster High 2 contains mild fantasy violence, including physical altercations and threats, but generally lacks graphic content. Characters engage in battles involving magical powers and weapons, with some consequences shown or implied. The plot includes a significant threat of mass destruction through a 'mortality curse' aimed at vampires.
Toralei Stripe shows scars from being attacked by witches using daggers made of 'wraith silver'. In a battle scene, Deuce and Heath fight witches, with Heath throwing fireballs and Deuce's Medusa snake biting a witch. A villainous coven plots to use Draculaura to cast a 'mortality curse' to destroy all vampires. The Grim Reaper appears multiple times, once attempting to take Clawdeen after she is poisoned.
Scary & Intense Content
MediumThe movie contains fantasy-based scary elements and intense situations, including monster transformations, spooky settings, and appearances by the Grim Reaper. While not graphic horror, the suspenseful scenes, threats of death, and a kidnapping plot could be frightening for very young children.
Scenes include character transformations from human to monster, graveyards, spooky music, and images of bats and dark castles. The Grim Reaper makes several appearances, attempting to take Clawdeen and later appearing as Deuce enters a portal. Draculaura is kidnapped and placed under a spell to chant a 'mortality curse'.
Disrespect & Rebellion
MediumThe film's core narrative promotes themes of challenging societal prejudices and 'generational curses,' encouraging characters to define their own identities and stand up against historical biases. While this can be seen as positive for self-esteem, it often involves characters questioning and acting contrary to established norms or parental expectations (e.g., regarding witchcraft).
The movie emphasizes 'breaking generational curses and making their own way in the world,' advocating for a more accepting and inclusive generation. The plot revolves around challenging the monster society's historical prejudice against witchcraft, which Draculaura embraces despite its prior shunning. Clawdeen initially hesitates but ultimately stands up for Draculaura and the acceptance of witchcraft against Toralei's divisive rhetoric.
Romance and Sexual Content
LowRomantic content is minimal and innocent, primarily consisting of a single kiss between two main characters. There is no explicit sexual content, suggestive dialogue, or graphic nudity present in the film. The mention of 'sexual references' in some reviews refers to gender identity rather than sexual activity.
Clawdeen Wolf and Deuce Gorgon share a kiss in the final scene of the movie. A man and woman are shown kissing in a brief moment. There are no other instances of romantic or sexual intimacy beyond these mild displays.
Profanity
LowThe movie contains no strong profanity or coarse language. Occasional mild exclamations are present, consistent with a family-friendly rating. Overall, the language used is clean and appropriate for the target audience.
There is 'no coarse language' reported by multiple outlets. The only notable exclamation is Cleo de Nile's repeated phrase, 'Oh my Ra!'.
Substance Use
LowThere is no depiction of alcohol, illicit drug use, or smoking. Mentions of 'substances' refer exclusively to magical spells and potions used within the fantasy context, which are integral to the witchcraft themes rather than representing recreational substance abuse.
Multiple sources explicitly state 'No Drug & Alcohol Content'. The 'use of substances' mentioned by some reviews refers to 'spells and potions' within the magical storyline, such as coven members mixing 'magical elixirs' into health beverages.
Other Notes
Target Demographic
Parental guidance strongly recommended for ages 10+ due to the pervasive positive portrayal of witchcraft, explicit nonbinary character representation, and underlying themes that challenge traditional worldviews. Younger children may be exposed to concepts better discussed with maturity, and the blend of fantasy with these themes requires careful discernment.
Additional Notes
The film has a runtime of 93 minutes. While official MPAA ratings are not consistently reported across all sources, general consensus from various review sites places it in a PG category, with parental guidance suggested for children under 8 or 10 due to fantasy content, scary scenes, and thematic elements. The movie leans heavily into themes of diversity, acceptance, and individuality, often presented through metaphors related to monster identity and personal expression.
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