Bratz: The Movie

Arriving in a puff of pink ‘brattitude’ just in time for Christmas is the latest brick in the empire of the “dolls with a passion for fashion”.

And from the moment you here that the cast were chosen because they “most resemble the dolls” in the Discovering Bratz segment of the extras, anyone over the age of 12 will feel their inner cynic spontaneously combust. Then again, if you are over the age range that this film is aimed at, you could just have a good laugh at the idea that the filmmakers clearly feel these stunningly beautiful girls look anything like the rather scary dolls with the outsize heads.

Those under 12, meanwhile, will no doubt enjoy several of the light and fluffy extras – and parents may be interested to note there is a decent message about being true to yourself and not needing a lot of money to look good running through this. The wardrobe mistress is keen to encourage kids to experiment with their clothes – lock up your scissors, mums – but despite a lot of surface gloss, there is a lot less materialism on display than you might have imagined.

The Passion For Fashion set of extras, explains how each girl came to get their ‘look’ and, again, makes some effort to suggest ways kids can get creative in a way that isn’t going to have mums and dads tearing their hair out or break the bank. While the idea that any of the make-up used in the film gives the girls a ‘natural’ look is laughable – they all look as though they are ready for a night on the tiles – it is all handled in such an enthusiastic, life-affirming fashion that it is hard to get upset by it.

The Music Of The Bratz, again sub-divided in to three, easy to watch brief snips, takes you through the choreography and also includes a very short segment on how the music video Rainy Day was put together. There are two full music videos here, too, if you like that sort of thing.

There is even a commentary track by director Sean McNamara, which is as air-light as everything else but reasonably entertaining and pitched at about the right level for his target audience. One thing to note, however, is that this does not have a separate subtitle track. A particularly irritating oversight given that a key character in the film is deaf.

Rounding out the package are deleted scenes – pretty pointless – and a fun Behind The Scenes segment, showing how shots such as The Food Fight were achieved. This also includes the fun extra Doggy Dearest, which sees cast and crew talk about the perils of working with Meredith’s dog, Paris.

All in all, not a bad set of extras in a “Best Friends Forever – whooooooo” kind of way. We will draw a veil over the Bratz Doll advert that has found its way into the trailers section.