Bratz
This review was written for the theatrical release of "Bratz".Finally, a postfeminist multicultural musical extravaganza for 8-year-old girls. Is "Bratz" not the most totally stylin' movie ever? Grownups won't think so, but for their daughters who share a "passion for fashion" with the dolls that are giving Barbie a run for her money, it will be the event of the season.
As the fab four fashionistas collectively known as Bratz enter the emotionally charged terrain of high school, the filmmakers have infused the girly glamour with broad Life Lessons about the importance of friendship and self-expression -- hard to argue with and, for nontweens in the audience, hard to care about.
It was just a matter of time before the multiethnic dolls (dollz?) received a live-action makeover, expanding their multibillion-dollar empire of magazines, books, a computer-animated series and videos with titles like "Rock Angelz" and "Passion 4 Fashion Diamondz". The same "nag factor" that drives sales of Bratz merch, despite many parents' aversion to the dolls' bling-bespangled stripper aura, will generate business for the film.
They may not be able to spell, but the Bratz are not bubbleheads. Dialing down the doll/cartoon characters' sass quotient and, to a lesser extent, their shopping obsession, screenwriter Susan Estelle Jansen ("The Lizzie McGuire Movie") has created some real-girl talents and problems for the central quartet of BFFs. Cheerleader Sasha (Logan Browning) is the subject of postdivorce joint custody. Science geek Jade (Janel Parrish), tragically, must hide her inner fashion diva from her academics-minded parents. The single mom of soccer star Cloe (Skyler Shaye) struggles to make a living. As these three pursue new interests and new friendships, Yasmin (Nathalia Ramos) goes it more or less alone, with the support of an exuberant Latin-Jewish household that boasts not only mariachis but Lainie Kazan.
Also on hand is Jon Voight, providing much-needed moments of comic subtlety amid the frenetic proceedings. As principal of Carry Nation High, he's in thrall to the real power behind the campus surveillance cameras: his daughter, Meredith Baxter Dimly. A familiar composite of every-uppity blond high school-movie villainess, she's played with apt over-the-top gusto by Chelsea Staub. Trailing an entourage that includes a dreamy but spineless boyfriend (Stephen Lunsford) and a pampered lapdog named Paris, Meredith has shrewdly divided her domain into neatly organized cliques, complete with lunchtime seating chart.
After the girls' head-turning high school entrance, the action jumps ahead two years, to the lead-up to the inevitable talent show. This might give adults the false hope that things will move along at a brisk pace. But for all the quick cutting, the story feels endless, much the way momentous adolescent experiences can look inconsequential to anyone out of their teens. Sean McNamara directs with a breathless, short-attention-span frenzy, backed by a wall-to-wall pop soundtrack, and the young actresses tend to deliver their lines with drama-queen urgency. Will Yasmin, Jade, Sasha and Cloe see past the comfort of cliques to once again be best friends? And how many shopping-at-the-Grove montages will it take to find out?
To its credit, the film makes getting the boy a bonus rather than the be-all end-all. Singer Yasmin overcomes stage fright with the encouragement of a cute guy (Ian Nelson) who happens to be deaf, and Jade's science lab partner (nicely played by Chet Hanks) turns out to be a key ally.
McNamara ("That's So Raven," "Beyond the Break") is most inspired in the set pieces, in particular a plot-point food fight set to Strauss. Bernadene Morgan delivers a profusion of spirited costumes, and production designer Rusty Smith balances institutional drab with effusive off-campus sets.
BRATZ
Lionsgate
Crystal Sky Pictures in association with Avi Arad Prods.
Credits:
Director: Sean McNamara
Screenwriter: Susan Estelle Jansen
Story by: Adam de la Pena, David Eilenberg
Producers: Isaac Larian, Steven Paul, Avi Arad
Executive producer: Benedict Carver
Director of photography: Christian Sebaldt
Production designer: Rusty Smith
Music: John Coda
Choreographer: Kishaya Dudley
Co-producer: Kyla Kraman
Costumer designer: Bernadene Morgan
Editor: Jeff W. Canavan
Cast:
Yasmin: Nathalia Ramos
Jade: Janel Parrish
Sasha: Logan Browning
Cloe: Skyler Shaye
Meredith: Chelsea Staub
Avery: Anneliese van der Pol
Quinn: Malese Jow
Cameron: Stephen Lunsford
Bubbie: Lainie Kazan
Principal Dimly: Jon Voight
Dylan: Ian Nelson
Dexter: Chet Hanks
Bethany: Sasha Cohen
Running time -- 102 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
As the fab four fashionistas collectively known as Bratz enter the emotionally charged terrain of high school, the filmmakers have infused the girly glamour with broad Life Lessons about the importance of friendship and self-expression -- hard to argue with and, for nontweens in the audience, hard to care about.
It was just a matter of time before the multiethnic dolls (dollz?) received a live-action makeover, expanding their multibillion-dollar empire of magazines, books, a computer-animated series and videos with titles like "Rock Angelz" and "Passion 4 Fashion Diamondz". The same "nag factor" that drives sales of Bratz merch, despite many parents' aversion to the dolls' bling-bespangled stripper aura, will generate business for the film.
They may not be able to spell, but the Bratz are not bubbleheads. Dialing down the doll/cartoon characters' sass quotient and, to a lesser extent, their shopping obsession, screenwriter Susan Estelle Jansen ("The Lizzie McGuire Movie") has created some real-girl talents and problems for the central quartet of BFFs. Cheerleader Sasha (Logan Browning) is the subject of postdivorce joint custody. Science geek Jade (Janel Parrish), tragically, must hide her inner fashion diva from her academics-minded parents. The single mom of soccer star Cloe (Skyler Shaye) struggles to make a living. As these three pursue new interests and new friendships, Yasmin (Nathalia Ramos) goes it more or less alone, with the support of an exuberant Latin-Jewish household that boasts not only mariachis but Lainie Kazan.
Also on hand is Jon Voight, providing much-needed moments of comic subtlety amid the frenetic proceedings. As principal of Carry Nation High, he's in thrall to the real power behind the campus surveillance cameras: his daughter, Meredith Baxter Dimly. A familiar composite of every-uppity blond high school-movie villainess, she's played with apt over-the-top gusto by Chelsea Staub. Trailing an entourage that includes a dreamy but spineless boyfriend (Stephen Lunsford) and a pampered lapdog named Paris, Meredith has shrewdly divided her domain into neatly organized cliques, complete with lunchtime seating chart.
After the girls' head-turning high school entrance, the action jumps ahead two years, to the lead-up to the inevitable talent show. This might give adults the false hope that things will move along at a brisk pace. But for all the quick cutting, the story feels endless, much the way momentous adolescent experiences can look inconsequential to anyone out of their teens. Sean McNamara directs with a breathless, short-attention-span frenzy, backed by a wall-to-wall pop soundtrack, and the young actresses tend to deliver their lines with drama-queen urgency. Will Yasmin, Jade, Sasha and Cloe see past the comfort of cliques to once again be best friends? And how many shopping-at-the-Grove montages will it take to find out?
To its credit, the film makes getting the boy a bonus rather than the be-all end-all. Singer Yasmin overcomes stage fright with the encouragement of a cute guy (Ian Nelson) who happens to be deaf, and Jade's science lab partner (nicely played by Chet Hanks) turns out to be a key ally.
McNamara ("That's So Raven," "Beyond the Break") is most inspired in the set pieces, in particular a plot-point food fight set to Strauss. Bernadene Morgan delivers a profusion of spirited costumes, and production designer Rusty Smith balances institutional drab with effusive off-campus sets.
BRATZ
Lionsgate
Crystal Sky Pictures in association with Avi Arad Prods.
Credits:
Director: Sean McNamara
Screenwriter: Susan Estelle Jansen
Story by: Adam de la Pena, David Eilenberg
Producers: Isaac Larian, Steven Paul, Avi Arad
Executive producer: Benedict Carver
Director of photography: Christian Sebaldt
Production designer: Rusty Smith
Music: John Coda
Choreographer: Kishaya Dudley
Co-producer: Kyla Kraman
Costumer designer: Bernadene Morgan
Editor: Jeff W. Canavan
Cast:
Yasmin: Nathalia Ramos
Jade: Janel Parrish
Sasha: Logan Browning
Cloe: Skyler Shaye
Meredith: Chelsea Staub
Avery: Anneliese van der Pol
Quinn: Malese Jow
Cameron: Stephen Lunsford
Bubbie: Lainie Kazan
Principal Dimly: Jon Voight
Dylan: Ian Nelson
Dexter: Chet Hanks
Bethany: Sasha Cohen
Running time -- 102 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
- 7/31/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Bratz
Finally, a postfeminist multicultural musical extravaganza for 8-year-old girls. Is Bratz not the most totally stylin' movie ever? Grownups won't think so, but for their daughters who share a "passion for fashion" with the dolls that are giving Barbie a run for her money, it will be the event of the season.
As the fab four fashionistas collectively known as Bratz enter the emotionally charged terrain of high school, the filmmakers have infused the girly glamour with broad Life Lessons about the importance of friendship and self-expression -- hard to argue with and, for nontweens in the audience, hard to care about.
It was just a matter of time before the multiethnic dolls (dollz?) received a live-action makeover, expanding their multibillion-dollar empire of magazines, books, a computer-animated series and videos with titles like "Rock Angelz" and "Passion 4 Fashion Diamondz". The same "nag factor" that drives sales of Bratz merch, despite many parents' aversion to the dolls' bling-bespangled stripper aura, will generate business for the film.
They may not be able to spell, but the Bratz are not bubbleheads. Dialing down the doll/cartoon characters' sass quotient and, to a lesser extent, their shopping obsession, screenwriter Susan Estelle Jansen (The Lizzie McGuire Movie) has created some real-girl talents and problems for the central quartet of BFFs. Cheerleader Sasha (Logan Browning) is the subject of postdivorce joint custody. Science geek Jade (Janel Parrish), tragically, must hide her inner fashion diva from her academics-minded parents. The single mom of soccer star Cloe (Skyler Shaye) struggles to make a living. As these three pursue new interests and new friendships, Yasmin (Nathalia Ramos) goes it more or less alone, with the support of an exuberant Latin-Jewish household that boasts not only mariachis but Lainie Kazan.
Also on hand is Jon Voight, providing much-needed moments of comic subtlety amid the frenetic proceedings. As principal of Carry Nation High, he's in thrall to the real power behind the campus surveillance cameras: his daughter, Meredith Baxter Dimly. A familiar composite of every-uppity blond high school-movie villainess, she's played with apt over-the-top gusto by Chelsea Staub. Trailing an entourage that includes a dreamy but spineless boyfriend (Stephen Lunsford) and a pampered lapdog named Paris, Meredith has shrewdly divided her domain into neatly organized cliques, complete with lunchtime seating chart.
After the girls' head-turning high school entrance, the action jumps ahead two years, to the lead-up to the inevitable talent show. This might give adults the false hope that things will move along at a brisk pace. But for all the quick cutting, the story feels endless, much the way momentous adolescent experiences can look inconsequential to anyone out of their teens. Sean McNamara directs with a breathless, short-attention-span frenzy, backed by a wall-to-wall pop soundtrack, and the young actresses tend to deliver their lines with drama-queen urgency. Will Yasmin, Jade, Sasha and Cloe see past the comfort of cliques to once again be best friends? And how many shopping-at-the-Grove montages will it take to find out?
To its credit, the film makes getting the boy a bonus rather than the be-all end-all. Singer Yasmin overcomes stage fright with the encouragement of a cute guy (Ian Nelson) who happens to be deaf, and Jade's science lab partner (nicely played by Chet Hanks) turns out to be a key ally.
McNamara ("That's So Raven," Beyond the Break) is most inspired in the set pieces, in particular a plot-point food fight set to Strauss. Bernadene Morgan delivers a profusion of spirited costumes, and production designer Rusty Smith balances institutional drab with effusive off-campus sets.
BRATZ
Lionsgate
Crystal Sky Pictures in association with Avi Arad Prods.
Credits:
Director: Sean McNamara
Screenwriter: Susan Estelle Jansen
Story by: Adam de la Pena, David Eilenberg
Producers: Isaac Larian, Steven Paul, Avi Arad
Executive producer: Benedict Carver
Director of photography: Christian Sebaldt
Production designer: Rusty Smith
Music: John Coda
Choreographer: Kishaya Dudley
Co-producer: Kyla Kraman
Costumer designer: Bernadene Morgan
Editor: Jeff W. Canavan
Cast:
Yasmin: Nathalia Ramos
Jade: Janel Parrish
Sasha: Logan Browning
Cloe: Skyler Shaye
Meredith: Chelsea Staub
Avery: Anneliese van der Pol
Quinn: Malese Jow
Cameron: Stephen Lunsford
Bubbie: Lainie Kazan
Principal Dimly: Jon Voight
Dylan: Ian Nelson
Dexter: Chet Hanks
Bethany: Sasha Cohen
Running time -- 102 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
As the fab four fashionistas collectively known as Bratz enter the emotionally charged terrain of high school, the filmmakers have infused the girly glamour with broad Life Lessons about the importance of friendship and self-expression -- hard to argue with and, for nontweens in the audience, hard to care about.
It was just a matter of time before the multiethnic dolls (dollz?) received a live-action makeover, expanding their multibillion-dollar empire of magazines, books, a computer-animated series and videos with titles like "Rock Angelz" and "Passion 4 Fashion Diamondz". The same "nag factor" that drives sales of Bratz merch, despite many parents' aversion to the dolls' bling-bespangled stripper aura, will generate business for the film.
They may not be able to spell, but the Bratz are not bubbleheads. Dialing down the doll/cartoon characters' sass quotient and, to a lesser extent, their shopping obsession, screenwriter Susan Estelle Jansen (The Lizzie McGuire Movie) has created some real-girl talents and problems for the central quartet of BFFs. Cheerleader Sasha (Logan Browning) is the subject of postdivorce joint custody. Science geek Jade (Janel Parrish), tragically, must hide her inner fashion diva from her academics-minded parents. The single mom of soccer star Cloe (Skyler Shaye) struggles to make a living. As these three pursue new interests and new friendships, Yasmin (Nathalia Ramos) goes it more or less alone, with the support of an exuberant Latin-Jewish household that boasts not only mariachis but Lainie Kazan.
Also on hand is Jon Voight, providing much-needed moments of comic subtlety amid the frenetic proceedings. As principal of Carry Nation High, he's in thrall to the real power behind the campus surveillance cameras: his daughter, Meredith Baxter Dimly. A familiar composite of every-uppity blond high school-movie villainess, she's played with apt over-the-top gusto by Chelsea Staub. Trailing an entourage that includes a dreamy but spineless boyfriend (Stephen Lunsford) and a pampered lapdog named Paris, Meredith has shrewdly divided her domain into neatly organized cliques, complete with lunchtime seating chart.
After the girls' head-turning high school entrance, the action jumps ahead two years, to the lead-up to the inevitable talent show. This might give adults the false hope that things will move along at a brisk pace. But for all the quick cutting, the story feels endless, much the way momentous adolescent experiences can look inconsequential to anyone out of their teens. Sean McNamara directs with a breathless, short-attention-span frenzy, backed by a wall-to-wall pop soundtrack, and the young actresses tend to deliver their lines with drama-queen urgency. Will Yasmin, Jade, Sasha and Cloe see past the comfort of cliques to once again be best friends? And how many shopping-at-the-Grove montages will it take to find out?
To its credit, the film makes getting the boy a bonus rather than the be-all end-all. Singer Yasmin overcomes stage fright with the encouragement of a cute guy (Ian Nelson) who happens to be deaf, and Jade's science lab partner (nicely played by Chet Hanks) turns out to be a key ally.
McNamara ("That's So Raven," Beyond the Break) is most inspired in the set pieces, in particular a plot-point food fight set to Strauss. Bernadene Morgan delivers a profusion of spirited costumes, and production designer Rusty Smith balances institutional drab with effusive off-campus sets.
BRATZ
Lionsgate
Crystal Sky Pictures in association with Avi Arad Prods.
Credits:
Director: Sean McNamara
Screenwriter: Susan Estelle Jansen
Story by: Adam de la Pena, David Eilenberg
Producers: Isaac Larian, Steven Paul, Avi Arad
Executive producer: Benedict Carver
Director of photography: Christian Sebaldt
Production designer: Rusty Smith
Music: John Coda
Choreographer: Kishaya Dudley
Co-producer: Kyla Kraman
Costumer designer: Bernadene Morgan
Editor: Jeff W. Canavan
Cast:
Yasmin: Nathalia Ramos
Jade: Janel Parrish
Sasha: Logan Browning
Cloe: Skyler Shaye
Meredith: Chelsea Staub
Avery: Anneliese van der Pol
Quinn: Malese Jow
Cameron: Stephen Lunsford
Bubbie: Lainie Kazan
Principal Dimly: Jon Voight
Dylan: Ian Nelson
Dexter: Chet Hanks
Bethany: Sasha Cohen
Running time -- 102 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
- 7/31/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Lionsgate puts up with 'Bratz'
Lionsgate is getting into the Bratz business.
In a twofold deal announced Thursday, the studio has acquired U.S. distribution rights from Crystal Sky Pictures to the first Bratz live-action theatrical feature, based on the popular Bratz dolls from MGA Entertainment. The indie studio also has signed a distribution deal with MGA for future animated Bratz direct-to-DVD features.
Financed by Steven Paul Crystal's Sky Pictures, Bratz: The Movie is to be directed by Sean McNamara (Raise Your Voice) and written by Susan Estelle Jansen (The Lizzie McGuire Movie). MGA CEO Isaac Larian, Arad Prods.' Avi Arad and Paul Will produce the picture, with Crystal Sky president Benedict Carver executive producing. The film, which centers on four teenage girls from diverse backgrounds who use their friendship to discover their individuality, is set to begin production in February. Casting has not been announced.
Lionsgate also has signed a deal with MGA that provides the studio with exclusive North American rights to future Bratz animated and direct-to-DVD features. Under that deal, Lionsgate will release Bratz Fashion Pixies on DVD in the spring.
Since 2004, MGA has produced five Bratz direct-to-DVD animated movies, which 20th Century Fox had distributed. According to MGA, the deal with Fox ended with the two DVDs that currently are in the marketplace.
"There is no company that has a better pulse on what today's girl is looking for than MGA," Lionsgate president Steve Beeks said. "It's amazing to realize that 'Bratz' is only five years old considering its incredible popularity and penetration in the marketplace."
The Bratz live-action film marks Lionsgate's second partnership with Arad, who paired with the indie studio on The Punisher in 2004 and the direct-to-DVD Marvel Animated Features series.
"We're very excited about working with Arad Prods. and Crystal Sky Pictures to create the definitive 'Bratz' live-action feature film," Larian said. "We consider Lionsgate an ideal partner for our 'Bratz' live-action theatrical film and animated features and welcome the company's innovative marketing technique."
For the direct-to-DVD component of the deal, MGA will support each film with all-new lines of dolls and other toys based on each of the movies.
In a twofold deal announced Thursday, the studio has acquired U.S. distribution rights from Crystal Sky Pictures to the first Bratz live-action theatrical feature, based on the popular Bratz dolls from MGA Entertainment. The indie studio also has signed a distribution deal with MGA for future animated Bratz direct-to-DVD features.
Financed by Steven Paul Crystal's Sky Pictures, Bratz: The Movie is to be directed by Sean McNamara (Raise Your Voice) and written by Susan Estelle Jansen (The Lizzie McGuire Movie). MGA CEO Isaac Larian, Arad Prods.' Avi Arad and Paul Will produce the picture, with Crystal Sky president Benedict Carver executive producing. The film, which centers on four teenage girls from diverse backgrounds who use their friendship to discover their individuality, is set to begin production in February. Casting has not been announced.
Lionsgate also has signed a deal with MGA that provides the studio with exclusive North American rights to future Bratz animated and direct-to-DVD features. Under that deal, Lionsgate will release Bratz Fashion Pixies on DVD in the spring.
Since 2004, MGA has produced five Bratz direct-to-DVD animated movies, which 20th Century Fox had distributed. According to MGA, the deal with Fox ended with the two DVDs that currently are in the marketplace.
"There is no company that has a better pulse on what today's girl is looking for than MGA," Lionsgate president Steve Beeks said. "It's amazing to realize that 'Bratz' is only five years old considering its incredible popularity and penetration in the marketplace."
The Bratz live-action film marks Lionsgate's second partnership with Arad, who paired with the indie studio on The Punisher in 2004 and the direct-to-DVD Marvel Animated Features series.
"We're very excited about working with Arad Prods. and Crystal Sky Pictures to create the definitive 'Bratz' live-action feature film," Larian said. "We consider Lionsgate an ideal partner for our 'Bratz' live-action theatrical film and animated features and welcome the company's innovative marketing technique."
For the direct-to-DVD component of the deal, MGA will support each film with all-new lines of dolls and other toys based on each of the movies.
- 11/10/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Dis sets deal for 'McGuire' sequel
With The Lizzie McGuire Movie, the big-screen version of the popular television series Lizzie McGuire, hitting theaters today, the Walt Disney Co. has quietly struck a deal with writer Melissa Gould to pen a potential sequel. Gould did not write the first McGuire film -- it was written by the TV series' executive producer Susan Estelle Jansen and Ed Decter and John Strauss -- but Gould has worked as a writer on the series. The possible sequel is in the early stages of development, with no story line yet announced, and McGuire star Hilary Duff yet to sign on. The first McGuire film centers on the teenager going on a summer vacation to Italy after graduating from junior high. In addition to writing for the small-screen McGuire, Gould has written for such successful TV series as Party of Five and Beverly Hills, 90210. Gould is repped by ICM.
- 5/2/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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