It retreads familiar themes from high school musicals that came before, but the spooky twist adds a fun layer that could make an excellent gateway for a budding monster kid.

Between all the magic and mayhem and singing and dancing and general spooky revelry in Monster High, there’s all kinds of good lessons about accepting ourselves and each other, exactly as we are.

[A] mix of Disney’s Zombies franchise meets Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. While the story is a bit forced and cheesy at times, the catchy musical numbers are genuinely good and where the film really shines.

In the vein of Disney's popular Zombies films, Monster High: The Movie lets characters work out typical teen angst and identity issues under the guise of fantasy figures from the monster world.