Bratz: The Movie (PG)

Material girls in immaterial comedy for tweens.

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Common Sense rates it
2
Seen the movie? Review it
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Movie details
  • Studio: Lions Gate Entertainment, Lions Gate Entertainment
  • Directed By: Sean McNamara
  • Cast: Jon Voight, Nathalia Ramos, Skyler Shaye, Logan Browning, Janel Parrish, Chelsea Staub
  • Running Time: 99 minutes
  • Release Date: 08/02/2007
  • Video/DVD Release Date: 11/27/2007
  • Genre: Family and Kids
  • MPAA Rating: PG
  • MPAA Explanation: thematic elements.

Parents need to know

Parents need to know that this movie derives from a popular line of dolls on the market with an outrageous arsenal of fashion accessories. A pro-shopping, pro-consumerism message underlies all the preaching about acceptance, confidence, standing by your friends, etc. There's a heavy emphasis on physical appearance; overweight or plain-looking girls are not very much in evidence. Food fights happen more than once.

Families can talk about whether the movie promotes an enlightened attitude, or lots of clothing, accessories, and Bratz dolls. Could its message have come across without all the materialism? What's the appeal of the Bratz dolls in the first place?

Message

Social Behavior:

The four heroines are multi-cultural and (mostly) confident in their abilities and friendships. Furthermore, they dare to socialize with people outside their clique at school, and one even urges her divorced parents to be civil to each other. There's a big qualifier though -- as befits characters based on a product toy line -- that they're fixated on fashion and material possessions (Buy! Buy! Buy!). Some stereotyping: the Asian-descended one is a science-math whiz. A boyfriend character is deaf, but defies the disability.

Consumerism:

Not only are the main characters inspired by a line of toys, they're surrounded by (and practically engulfed in) brand-name clothing, cars, computers (Apple, of course), and a shopping-as-empowerment message.

Drugs/Alcohol/Tobacco:

Violence

Some slapstick pratfalls, food fights, and a hostile athlete gets martial-arts punched (and impressed) by a science student.

Sex

A few provocative or tight dresses on the girls, and bikinis at poolside.

Language

Common Sense says

What's the story?

Reviewed by Charles Cassady, Jr.

Set in southern California, BRATZ centers around Chloe (Skyler Shaye), Sasha (Logan Browning), Yasmin (Nathalia Ramos), and Jade (Janel Parrish), four clothing-empowered girlfriends, so fashion-conscious they computer-conference each morning to coordinate their outfits. They eagerly enter freshman year at a cartoonishly caricatured Carrie Nation High School. Here a blonde, preppie class president Meredith Baxter Dimly (Chelsea Staub), who happens to be the spoiled and pampered daughter of the principal (Jon Voight), reigns like a queen. She personally assigns every beginning student a clique to belong to, outside of which they dare not stray.

Is it any good?

2

Bratz could be seen as a PG alternative for those whose children are too young to see Mean Girls. It's designed as a live-action adaptation of a product line of vampish, high-fashion dolls with outlandish fashion accessories, spun off into coloring books, CDs, and a CGI TV series.

Parents (and psychologists) have had their own issues with the dolls' unrealistic proportions and sexualized clothing, but there are issues other moviegoers will have as well. Bratz steals directly from Mean Girls, showing the severe peer pressure that forces girls to try to fit in and be popular. At least this clone, pitched to a younger (doll-buying) tween age group, took out the Lindsay Lohan movie's objectionable language, sex, and alcohol references, while delivering the same self-affirming morals. It gets grudging points on that count.

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Parents and kids say

All Reviews

There are 31 reviews.

5


Posted on 06/11/08 by Annabelle898 Kid contributor, age 13

Good Stuff!

I've read a few reviews on this movie, and frankly I think that most people totally missed the true message of the movie. I thought that the movie was about four teenage girls who show the true meaning of friendship and overcome a clique problem in their high school. I think that everyone will deal with these issues sooner or later. And even though I despise the Bratz company for selling dolls that are sexest and make girls think that they HAVE to be like this, I thought the movie was good. It shows one girl who lives in a crowded home, like someone out there, one girl who's parents are of different cultures, like someone else out in the world. Sasha's parents are divorced, like many people's parents. And Cloe has lost her father, like many others. It shows how all of these girls, no matter how different they are, are all friends. Cloe,Sasha,Yasmin,Jade. The girls who love to shop, but keep it real! But the dolls don't! But oh well, at least it has great tunes!
0


Posted on 02/27/08 by Meerdog Kid contributor, age 10

CURSE YOU BRATZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I AM APALLED AND DISGUSTED BY THIS HORRIBLE, DISGUSTING, REPULSIVE AND ALL-AROUND ABOMIDABLE MOVIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I DON'T GET IT!!!! WHY DO THESE MOVIE COMPANIES THINK THAT ALL GIRLS(I'm a girl, by the way)HAVE TO LIKE THIS DISGUSTING CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!???????????? I MEAN, WHAT KIND OF MESSAGE IS THIS SENDING????!!!! REBELLIOUS GIRLS WITH BAD ATTITUDES, INAPROPRIATE CLOTHING, AND AN OBSESSION WITH SHOPPING?????!!!! LAST TIME I CHECKED, THAT IS NOT ENTERTAINMENT!!!!! What happened to Looney Tunes, Felix the Cat, and Underdog? What about Popeye? WHAT HAS ENTERTAINMENT COME TO?????!!!!! Long story short, don't let your kids watch this GARBAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1


Posted on 02/23/08 by pinerivergirl Adult contributor

Yawn! but better than I thought it would be

Happily, the real life girls don't look that much like the overly made-up dolls. They wear trendy clothes, not more revealing than you would see on a teenager at the mall. It ends with them getting along after staying in their cliques throughout high school.
2


Posted on 02/03/08 by DexterSmith Adult contributor

Bad messages, bad acting - just plain bad. Don't waste your time

Sexual Content (Pause): Suggestive lyrics and revealing outfits. Violence (Pause): Food and fist fights. Language (Not an Issue): Just a few uses of "Oh my God." Social Behavior (Pause): The Bratz betray each other and treat each other in questionable ways, and Meredith has a condescending attitude towards everyone, including her own family. However, there is a message of self-esteem, friendship, and being yourself. Commercialism (Off): Apple computers, MySpace, and of course, a "shop-til-you-drop" message. Also, the movie is based on the popular doll line. Drug/Alcohol/Tobacco (Not an Issue): None.
2


Posted on 02/02/08 by carmel_lavender Kid contributor, age 12

Did They Really Have To?

Did they really have to make the cartoon-like show into a movie? I mean, it was kinda pathetic. The movie was overall pretty entertaining and I got a few laughs. But, it reminded me a bit of The Cheetah Girls and Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Overall, I would give it around a C+.
3


Posted on 01/19/08 by dan shall rate! Kid contributor, age 12

Oh Gosh. Another Chick-Flick!!

This implies the wrong thing upon young tweens and teens. My sister wanted to watch this, but I didn't. Although, I got bored and decided to watch it. IMMEDIATELY, I REGRETTED IT. It's just another movie about spoiled teens and girls at war with each other. How about a movie called "Angels" or "Teens Who Actually Listen To Their Parents And Decide To Solve Problems With Other Girls By Handling The Situation Maturely Like The 15 Year Old Teens They Are." Yes, I quite am annoying.
1


Posted on 01/17/08 by 900 Kid contributor, age 8

i lost six brain cells watching this.

3


Posted on 01/14/08 by Miley1cyrus3 Kid contributor, age 11

Mean Girls for kids

I thought this movie was ok. It was pretty much a remake of Mean Girls but for kids. It was kinda boring at parts. I would say if you are too young for Mean Girls (rated PG-13) this may be a good movie for you!
4

Posted on 01/09/08 by Anonymous Kid contributor, age 10

coolest movie

i luv this movie
0


Posted on 01/05/08 by PATSarelove64c Kid contributor, age 14

lyk omg bratz 4evah!...NOT!

Alright this movie was the biggest waste of an hour and a half of my life and I say that with pride. That is the pride I have left because most was taken away by seeing this movie. My sister and I saw it on TV and we both knew it was stupid, but we wanted to see just how bad it was. And oh it was bad. First of all, I'm a freshmen and freshmen do not look and act as idiotic as these girls do here. The cliques are outrageous because of course every school has people going around with afros and dancing to disco songs right? Another thing is some bad steryotypes and stupidity and some random deaf guy that made the movie even more awkward than it was. Meredith Baxter the daughter of the principal makes up a seating arrangement and is so focused on making everyones life horrible with some cable where she stores information and embarassing videos of her fellow peers. This movie is manipulative and the girls made me sick and I've never seen a nose bigger and faker than Jon Voights in this movie. The parents look up to the girls for advice on their own finance problems or relationship issues or some wierd chocolate obsession (which if Yasmin gave her mom one chocolate truffle, she in return got a new pair of shoes, realistic huh?). All in all yes this was stupid and I hope you don't wind up like me with this wasteless fluff stored in your brain forever.

See all 31 reviews >

Adult Reviews

There are 5 reviews.

1


Posted on 02/23/08 by pinerivergirl Adult contributor

Yawn! but better than I thought it would be

Happily, the real life girls don't look that much like the overly made-up dolls. They wear trendy clothes, not more revealing than you would see on a teenager at the mall. It ends with them getting along after staying in their cliques throughout high school.
2


Posted on 02/03/08 by DexterSmith Adult contributor

Bad messages, bad acting - just plain bad. Don't waste your time

Sexual Content (Pause): Suggestive lyrics and revealing outfits. Violence (Pause): Food and fist fights. Language (Not an Issue): Just a few uses of "Oh my God." Social Behavior (Pause): The Bratz betray each other and treat each other in questionable ways, and Meredith has a condescending attitude towards everyone, including her own family. However, there is a message of self-esteem, friendship, and being yourself. Commercialism (Off): Apple computers, MySpace, and of course, a "shop-til-you-drop" message. Also, the movie is based on the popular doll line. Drug/Alcohol/Tobacco (Not an Issue): None.
1


Posted on 12/30/07 by Zaranai Adult contributor

The kids will love it, but you'll be bored to tears.

The movie is at best a bad copy of Disney's movie-musical style, and at worst a big snore for anyone over 13. The Bratz movie moves away from the prostitute-like appearance of the dolls, but vanity and commercialism are still glorified as always. The moral of the film is to avoid cliques, but it can get lost in the "spite the evil queen" feel of the Bratz's rebellion against the seating chart assigned by Meredith. All in all, it's okay for kids, but not worth the money. A bad script, limp acting, and painfully obvious voice actors for the singing parts stop this movie dead in its tracks.
0


Posted on 08/10/07 by Surfer_Clock Adult contributor

Horrifying

"This is a sign of the times, folks. The Apocalypse is coming, and the Bible couldn't have been more wrong about how it'll all end. It's not going to be fire and brimstone and destruction and chaos and mayhem. Rather, it's all going to end in a neon-pink atmosphere of absolute doom! There will be four horsemen, but they won't be these huge, strapping men, but the four Bratz characters! And they'll be riding in on My Little Ponies! Ken will be our Paul Revere, shouting, "The end of the world is coming! The end of the world is coming!" All the flowers in the world will rebel and start choking random gardeners and mother-daughter couple in the mall just looking for a slice of Sbarro's. Buuut seriously folks, if you have a decent bone in your body, please don't support Hollywood for letting this filth leave post-production alive. Make it your mission to keep some poor, ignorant fools from watching this if you have to. Just keep it off of the top box-office gross lists and let this steaming pile of 'hip' fade into obscurity!"
1

Posted on 08/09/07 by Anonymous Adult contributor

Don't waste your money if you are over 10

It was cheesy and poorly acted and directed. Even my 11 year old daughters laughed at how bad it was. There was no subtlety to it, just extremes. Cheetah Girls was much better and it was a made-for-TV movie.

Kids Reviews

There are 26 reviews.

5


Posted on 06/11/08 by Annabelle898 Kid contributor, age 13

Good Stuff!

I've read a few reviews on this movie, and frankly I think that most people totally missed the true message of the movie. I thought that the movie was about four teenage girls who show the true meaning of friendship and overcome a clique problem in their high school. I think that everyone will deal with these issues sooner or later. And even though I despise the Bratz company for selling dolls that are sexest and make girls think that they HAVE to be like this, I thought the movie was good. It shows one girl who lives in a crowded home, like someone out there, one girl who's parents are of different cultures, like someone else out in the world. Sasha's parents are divorced, like many people's parents. And Cloe has lost her father, like many others. It shows how all of these girls, no matter how different they are, are all friends. Cloe,Sasha,Yasmin,Jade. The girls who love to shop, but keep it real! But the dolls don't! But oh well, at least it has great tunes!
0


Posted on 02/27/08 by Meerdog Kid contributor, age 10

CURSE YOU BRATZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I AM APALLED AND DISGUSTED BY THIS HORRIBLE, DISGUSTING, REPULSIVE AND ALL-AROUND ABOMIDABLE MOVIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I DON'T GET IT!!!! WHY DO THESE MOVIE COMPANIES THINK THAT ALL GIRLS(I'm a girl, by the way)HAVE TO LIKE THIS DISGUSTING CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!???????????? I MEAN, WHAT KIND OF MESSAGE IS THIS SENDING????!!!! REBELLIOUS GIRLS WITH BAD ATTITUDES, INAPROPRIATE CLOTHING, AND AN OBSESSION WITH SHOPPING?????!!!! LAST TIME I CHECKED, THAT IS NOT ENTERTAINMENT!!!!! What happened to Looney Tunes, Felix the Cat, and Underdog? What about Popeye? WHAT HAS ENTERTAINMENT COME TO?????!!!!! Long story short, don't let your kids watch this GARBAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2


Posted on 02/02/08 by carmel_lavender Kid contributor, age 12

Did They Really Have To?

Did they really have to make the cartoon-like show into a movie? I mean, it was kinda pathetic. The movie was overall pretty entertaining and I got a few laughs. But, it reminded me a bit of The Cheetah Girls and Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Overall, I would give it around a C+.
3


Posted on 01/19/08 by dan shall rate! Kid contributor, age 12

Oh Gosh. Another Chick-Flick!!

This implies the wrong thing upon young tweens and teens. My sister wanted to watch this, but I didn't. Although, I got bored and decided to watch it. IMMEDIATELY, I REGRETTED IT. It's just another movie about spoiled teens and girls at war with each other. How about a movie called "Angels" or "Teens Who Actually Listen To Their Parents And Decide To Solve Problems With Other Girls By Handling The Situation Maturely Like The 15 Year Old Teens They Are." Yes, I quite am annoying.
1


Posted on 01/17/08 by 900 Kid contributor, age 8

i lost six brain cells watching this.

3


Posted on 01/14/08 by Miley1cyrus3 Kid contributor, age 11

Mean Girls for kids

I thought this movie was ok. It was pretty much a remake of Mean Girls but for kids. It was kinda boring at parts. I would say if you are too young for Mean Girls (rated PG-13) this may be a good movie for you!
4

Posted on 01/09/08 by Anonymous Kid contributor, age 10

coolest movie

i luv this movie
0


Posted on 01/05/08 by PATSarelove64c Kid contributor, age 14

lyk omg bratz 4evah!...NOT!

Alright this movie was the biggest waste of an hour and a half of my life and I say that with pride. That is the pride I have left because most was taken away by seeing this movie. My sister and I saw it on TV and we both knew it was stupid, but we wanted to see just how bad it was. And oh it was bad. First of all, I'm a freshmen and freshmen do not look and act as idiotic as these girls do here. The cliques are outrageous because of course every school has people going around with afros and dancing to disco songs right? Another thing is some bad steryotypes and stupidity and some random deaf guy that made the movie even more awkward than it was. Meredith Baxter the daughter of the principal makes up a seating arrangement and is so focused on making everyones life horrible with some cable where she stores information and embarassing videos of her fellow peers. This movie is manipulative and the girls made me sick and I've never seen a nose bigger and faker than Jon Voights in this movie. The parents look up to the girls for advice on their own finance problems or relationship issues or some wierd chocolate obsession (which if Yasmin gave her mom one chocolate truffle, she in return got a new pair of shoes, realistic huh?). All in all yes this was stupid and I hope you don't wind up like me with this wasteless fluff stored in your brain forever.
0


Posted on 01/01/08 by Mary229 Kid contributor, age 9
0


Posted on 12/21/07 by ShortNsweet64c Kid contributor, age 13

this sucks

THIS SUCKS IT SUCKS SUCKS SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DO NOOOOOOOT SEEEEEEE IIIIIIIIT
See all 26 kids reviews >
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