Bratz The Movie
The Bratz girls in "Bratz The Movie" are not all rich, their families are not all picture perfect, but this movie shows these characters helping and sometimes being the most mature person in the home, like with Sasha and her divorced parents. The film shows people, not just teens, breaking out of cozy cliches, finding skills they thought they would never have, and stepping out from behind a domineering person's shadow and sacrificing for a friend. So what is wrong with that? Not a thing. The girls go to a mall too "OMG"! They like fashion and looking nice too! "OMG"! There is a MEAN girl in the film!!! "OMG"! It's an all too common theme in almost every school kid's life, so critics better take some deep relaxing breaths because there will be more "Mean" themed films in the future I'm sure. Bullies are not the property of just one movie.
The stars of this film are going to loom large in future film careers too. Skyler Shaye is already garnering notice for her unmistakable depth shown in her portrayal of Cloe and her caring is as genuine as any real-life teen girl faced with a parent they love, struggling to make ends meet. Logan Browning as Sasha, is as fun and diverse in her skill and I can't decide if she will be the next Halle Berry or Meg Ryan- how about a combination of both? She has a great natural ability like those actresses to be fun and funny without crossing over into caricature. Janel Parrish as Jade, is equally adept at singing, dancing and acting as is Nathalia Ramos as Yasmin. Both could vie for a future standing of say, a Julia Roberts, able to play in fun yet deeper romantic roles or they may decide to head to music's Top 10 Billboard charts. Chelsea Staub as Meredith, already has an idea of her direction, and if she lends her talents to even more future villainous heroines (
http://bratz-world.diaryland.com/bratzcast.html "Bratz Cast Interview") then we have some fun film characters we'll "love to hate" to look forward to.
The Bratz Dolls have always been on the forefront of fashion and style since their creation and this movie is merely bringing that aspect to life too. Are these film characters any different than the doll's "characters"? No, even the actresses have stated identifying with the doll's elements of style and "personality". The Bratz Dolls line has covered music and sports and caring for animals and yes fashion design among many things. This is a seamless transition, cutting edge fashion dolls become "real" people. Curious how that would look? Then go see the movie.
A few people I have come across on the web seem to downplay the value of what the Bratz characters show as their talents in this film. Walk out the door and play soccer with skill, flip in the air without breaking your neck, sew entire wardrobes, ace science projects, hold a note and dance with ability.. many can't can they? It's because it takes practice and dedication to become that good. So what's wrong with that? Oh and they are, by the way, in high school. These things are important to many teens in school so to downplay these talents as trivial seems silly- they are not in the workplace yet, so be fair.
I have read people put down the film because it was, they claim, just a long commercial. Interesting that any person can go to a film and see nothing but products. What a perfect consumer for advertisers. The exact kind of thing supposedly true in the Bratz movie, in fact is only true about folks who will watch this film and come away with only seeing product ads. Just a consumer looking to spend money, and that is not the Bratz storyline. Every single film has product placements, not just this one, and like all those other films, there is a story to be enjoyed, not a "commercial".
If a teen came out just like the Bratz girls in this feature, their families would be proud. Decent caring helpful people with skills and talents that take work to achieve. Even bad girl Meredith shows considerable talent and skill, you would just hope that real-life Merediths would have their abilities harnessed for good not evil! Too bad a few things I have read seem to be bewitched by the shiny objects that you will see in the movie. If these kinds of people really opened their eyes they would see a great positive film, filled with messages that would help, not hinder, any child or teen.
Who wouldn't want to watch a bunch of teen girls being glamorous?
