2007 American film
Bratz
(also known as
Bratz: The Movie
) is a 2007 American
teen
comedy film
based on the
fashion dolls of the same name
from
MGA Entertainment
. The film is directed by
Sean McNamara
with a screenplay by
Susan Estelle Jansen
, from a story written by
Adam de la Pena
and David Eilenberg. It is the first live-action film based on the toyline after a series of
direct-to-video animated films
and a
television series
.
Nathalia Ramos
,
Skyler Shaye
,
Logan Browning
and
Janel Parrish
star as the members of the group, with
Chelsea Staub
,
Lainie Kazan
and
Jon Voight
in supporting roles.
[4]
The story revolves around a group of four teenage girls, the origin of their friendship and the social pyramid that tries to make the Bratz conform to
archetypal high school cliques
.
Principal photography
took place in Los Angeles between February and March 2007.
Bratz
was released in the United States on August 3, 2007, by
Lionsgate
. It was universally panned by critics and audiences alike, having received five nominations at the
28th Golden Raspberry Awards
, including
Worst Picture
. It was also a commercial failure, grossing only $26 million worldwide against a $20 million budget,
failing to break even
.
[3]
Plot
[
edit
]
Cloe, Yasmin, Sasha and Jade are four teenage best friends about to start high school. Meredith, the extremely controlling student body president, wants everyone to belong to a
clique
, and goes about organizing students. She dislikes the independent spirit of the four girls and plots to ruin their friendship and make them conform to her pre-fabricated cliques.
Cloe is a soccer player. She meets Cameron and is instantly enamored, distancing herself from her friends. Sasha is recruited as a
cheerleader
. Jade joins the science club, then meets Dexter and discovers a passion for fashion design. Yasmin joins the journalism club, but later decides to focus on singing. She meets Dylan, a popular jock, who is deaf but can lip read, who misses being able to listen to music. Though the girls try to make time for each other, they are all busy with their own respective interests and new friends. The friends begin to drift apart as they are compelled to stay within their cliques due to Meredith's plans.
Two years later, an accidental food fight causes them to get detention for breaking the principal statue. They realize that they miss being close friends and decide to recover that connection. They also try to get the other schoolmates to socialize outside their cliques, but their attempts fail when Meredith's second "Super Sweet 16" party ends disastrously. Meredith tries
blackmailing
the girls by using an embarrassing photo to have them quit the
talent show
. This results in secrets being revealed.
The talent show and its scholarship prize gives them the idea to bring all the cliques together again with a musical number. Meredith's constantly attempts to steal the spotlight. In the end, there is a tie. Meredith gets the trophy, but the girls also obtain the scholarship, which they give to Cloe. They are offered an appearance at a red carpet gala by an
MTV
vice president.
Cast
[
edit
]
- Nathalia Ramos
as Yasmin, a Bratz member with a passion for singing.
- Skyler Shaye
as Cloe, a Bratz member and a soccer player.
- Logan Browning
as Sasha, a Bratz member and a cheerleader.
- Janel Parrish
as Jade, a Bratz and science club member with a passion for fashion design.
- Chelsea Staub
as Meredith Baxter Dimly, a rich and popular mean girl.
- Lainie Kazan
as Bubbie, Yasmin's grandmother.
- Jon Voight
as Principal Dimly, Meredith's father and the principal of
Carry Nation
High School.
- Anneliese van der Pol
as Avery, Meredith's first best friend.
- Malese Jow
as Quinn, Meredith's second best friend.
- Ian Nelson
as Dylan, a deaf student and Yasmin's love interest.
- Stephen Lunsford
as Cameron, a friend of Meredith and Cloe's love interest.
- Emily Everhard as Cherish Baxter Dimly, Meredith's younger sister.
- William May as Manny, Yasmin's self-obsessed younger brother.
- Kim Morgan Greene
as Katie, Cloe's mother with financial issues.
- Carl Rux
as Mr. Whitman, the high school choir and music teacher.
- Chet Hanks
as Dexter, a science club member with a crush on Jade.
- Sasha Cohen as Bethany, the head cheerleader.
- Andrea Edwards as Goalie, the soccer team captain.
- Kadeem Hardison
as Sasha's father.
- Tami-Adrian George as Allison, Sasha's mother.
- Constance Hsu as Julie, Jade's mother.
Additionally, director
Sean McNamara
makes a
cameo appearance
as Tom McShavie, the Vice President of
MTV Networks
. Producer
Avi Arad
also makes an uncredited cameo appearance as one of the talent show judges. Jerad Anderson plays Jonas Johnson, a member of the football team, while
Lee Reherman
plays the Vice Principal Sludge.
Daniel Booko
appears as a jock, and
Susie Singer Carter
as Barbara Baxter Dimly.
Production
[
edit
]
Paula Abdul
was dropped from the production before completion while working on
American Idol
. 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 reality show on her personal life.
[5]
Susie Singer Carter
also wrote and produced the film for Lionsgate but lost her credit in a Writers Guild arbitration, then her name appears as screenwriter on the final movie poster.
[6]
The film was shot from February to March 2007 at
Santee Education Complex
in
South Los Angeles, California
, while school was in session.
[7]
The film was set to have a sequel, as confirmed by multiple cast members during press junkets however this never came to light. It is unknown what the plot is.
Reception
[
edit
]
Critical response
[
edit
]
Bratz
was universally panned by critics and audiences alike. On
Rotten Tomatoes
, gives the film a rating of 10%, based on 80 reviews, with an average rating of 3.40/10. The site's critical consensus, "Full of mixed messages and dubious role-models,
Bratz
is too shallow even for its intended audience."
[8]
On
Metacritic
, the film has a score of 21 out of 100, based on 18 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".
[9]
Audiences polled by
CinemaScore
gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.
[10]
[11]
Accolades
[
edit
]
It was nominated for 5
Golden Raspberry Awards
in 2007, but received none.
Box office
[
edit
]
Bratz
grossed $10 million in North America and $16 million in other territories for a total gross of $26 million.
[3]
In its opening weekend, the film grossed $4.2 million, finishing in 10th at the box office, ultimately making it a
box office bomb
.
Home media
[
edit
]
The film was released to
DVD
on November 27, 2007.
Soundtrack
[
edit
]
A film soundtrack entitled
Bratz: Motion Picture Soundtrack
was released on July 31, 2007, through
Geffen Records
. The soundtrack featured music from artists such as
Ashlee Simpson
,
Dropping Daylight
, and
the Black Eyed Peas
. Three singles were released prior to the album's release, "Rainy Day" by
Janel Parrish
, "Rockstar" by
Prima J
, and "Fearless" by Daechelle.
Sales for the soundtrack were good and the album remained on the
Billboard
200
charts for three weeks, peaking during its second week at position 83.
[12]
Common Sense Media
gave the soundtrack three stars, writing that "With heavy-hitting help from the Black Eyed Peas, The Slumber Party Girls, Ashlee Simpson, Dropping Daylight, and
Lifehouse
, these young performers gamely negotiate some very ordinary-sounding, preachy material and make the songs sparkle anyway."
[13]
The 9th track on the album "Out from Under" was later covered by
Britney Spears
on her 6th studio album
Circus
.
Track list
[
edit
]
Title
| Performer
|
---|
1.
| "Rockstar"
| Prima J
| 3:25
|
---|
2.
| "Fearless"
| Daechelle
| 3:39
|
---|
3.
| "
Love Is Wicked
"
| Brick & Lace
| 3:42
|
---|
4.
| "Rainy Day"
| Janel Parrish
| 3:17
|
---|
5.
| "Open Eyes"
| Nathalia Ramos, Skyler Shaye, Janel Parrish, and Logan Browning
| 3:09
|
---|
6.
| "Heartburn"
| NLT
| 3:21
|
---|
7.
| "It's All About Me"
| Chelsea Staub
| 3:08
|
---|
8.
| "Now Or Never"
| Orianthi
| 4:02
|
---|
9.
| "
Out from Under
"
| Joanna
| 4:07
|
---|
10.
| "In Crowd"
| Sean Stewart
| 2:31
|
---|
11.
| "Express Yourself"
| Black Eyed Peas
| 3:33
|
---|
12.
| "My Life"
| Slumber Party Girls
| 2:50
|
---|
13.
| "Go Go"
| Jibbs
| 2:51
|
---|
14.
| "It Doesn't Get Better Than This"
| Alex Band
| 2:51
|
---|
15.
| "Saying Goodbye"
| Matt White
| 4:13
|
---|
16.
| "
Invisible
"
| Ashlee Simpson
| 3:44
|
---|
17.
| "Alter Ego"
| Clique Girlz
| 3:28
|
---|
18.
| "Tell Me"
| Dropping Daylight
| 3:21
|
---|
19.
| "If This Is Goodbye"
| Lifehouse
| 2:53
|
---|
20.
| "Fabulous"
| Chelsea Staub
| 2:45
|
---|
21.
| "Bratitude"
| Nathalia Ramos, Skyler Shaye, Janel Parrish, and Logan Browning
| 4:33
|
---|
Video game
[
edit
]
2007 video game
A video game adaptation of the film entitled
Bratz 4 Real
was released to the
Nintendo DS
and
Microsoft Windows
on November 5, 2007. The game was published by
THQ
.
The game's plot mirrored that of the film and players are tasked with completing goals and errands in order to progress the story along. The DS version of the game also allowed users to design their own clothes patterns, care for a digital pet, and play various mini-games. The PC edition also utilized mini-games, but excluded the option for players to design clothing or raise a digital pet. In both games users could play as one of the four main characters and view clips from the film.
Reception
[
edit
]
Pocket Gamer
heavily criticized the game and stated that it felt that it was released too early and that "There are some nice ideas at play, in particular where it attempts to break down the social barriers that beset children in secondary education, but as a game it's far too vacuous to recommend."
[15]
IGN
shared similar sentiments, writing that "
Bratz 4 Real
does some work to recast the shallow, self-absorbed
Bratz
girls in a more redeeming light, using them and their friendship to tell a tale of unity and breaking down social barriers. But whereas that premise and the game's compelling customization options prove to be solid positive points for this package,
Bratz 4 Real
is still a game brought down by a variety of other oddities."
[16]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"
Bratz
(PG)"
.
British Board of Film Classification
. July 24, 2007
. Retrieved
December 5,
2011
.
- ^
"Bratz (2007)"
.
The Wrap
. Archived from
the original
on March 3, 2017
. Retrieved
February 28,
2017
.
- ^
a
b
c
Bratz
at
Box Office Mojo
- ^
"Bratz"
.
Turner Classic Movies
.
Archived
from the original on March 8, 2016
. Retrieved
March 7,
2016
.
- ^
Caroll, Larry (July 24, 2007).
"
'BRATZ' STARS, VIRAL VIDEO TELL VERY DIFFERENT STORIES OF PAULA ABDUL'S ABSENCE FROM FILM"
.
MTV
.
Archived
from the original on February 26, 2018
. Retrieved
February 25,
2018
.
- ^
"A team that's picked up steam"
.
articles.latimes.com
. August 2007.
Archived
from the original on October 25, 2015
. Retrieved
December 11,
2018
.
- ^
"Afriqueenligne.fr"
(in French). Archived from
the original
on September 27, 2007.
- ^
"Bratz: The Movie"
.
Rotten Tomatoes
. August 3, 2007.
Archived
from the original on April 26, 2016
. Retrieved
March 16,
2020
.
- ^
"Bratz"
.
Metacritic
.
Archived
from the original on March 4, 2016
. Retrieved
May 18,
2016
.
- ^
Kilday, Gregg (August 7, 2007).
"Uni's 'Ultimatum' accepted: No. 1 open"
.
The Hollywood Reporter
.
Archived
from the original on December 7, 2022
. Retrieved
January 18,
2022
.
though its target audience did award it a grade of B-plus.
- ^
"BRATZ: THE MOVIE (2007) B+"
.
CinemaScore
.
Archived
from the original on September 16, 2017
. Retrieved
January 18,
2022
.
- ^
"Top 200 Albums (2007)"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved
May 18,
2016
.
- ^
"Bratz: The Movie Soundtrack - Music Review"
.
Common Sense Media
.
Archived
from the original on June 5, 2016
. Retrieved
May 18,
2016
.
- ^
Thomas, Lucas (December 4, 2007).
"Bratz 4 Real Review"
.
IGN
.
Archived
from the original on June 24, 2016
. Retrieved
October 15,
2013
.
- ^
"Bratz 4 Real review - DS reviews"
.
Pocket Gamer
. December 2007.
Archived
from the original on June 1, 2016
. Retrieved
October 15,
2013
.
- ^
Thomas, By Lucas M. (December 4, 2007).
"Bratz 4 Real Review"
.
IGN
.
Archived
from the original on June 24, 2016
. Retrieved
May 18,
2016
.
External links
[
edit
]
Wikinews has related news:
|
---|
Dolls
| |
---|
Video games
| |
---|
Films
| |
---|
Music
| |
---|
TV series
| |
---|
Related
| |
---|
|