Saturday, July 28, 2007

The four stars of Bratz appeared Thursday in Toronto on the television series MuchOnDemand, to promote their new film.

While a great deal of computer animated, direct-to-DVD Bratz films have been made, as has a relatively successful television series, Bratz: The Movie is the first time the characters have appeared in live action.

The film centres around four “BFF”s, best friends forever, Yasmin (Nathalia Ramos), Jade (Janel Parrish), Sasha (Logan Browning) and Cloe (Skyler Shaye). Each has a distinct personality, talents, and fashion sense, which each friend supported. But entering high school, they suddenly face being lumped into social cliques, enforced by senior Meredith Baxter Dimly. Torn apart, they eventual decide to find peer pressure head-on, as “the Bratz”.

Director Sean McNamara commented in press materials, “The producers, writers and I hung out and talked about the fact that we had all lost friendships during high school, not because you want to but you start meeting new people and start hanging out with people that are into the same things as you.”

“This theme of cliques still happens even when you grow up, it’s in the business world — hey they are everywhere,” McNamara continued. “I think that’s what I’m trying to say with this movie is that you don’t have to be part of a clique exclusively. You can have friends all over the place and still be with kids that are into what you’re into… be with your jock friends, your science friends, whomever.”

Actress Logan Browning comments, “Friendships are so important because you can think that you can go to school and be by yourself and be the coolest girl but without true friends, you’re going to be stuck in your life.”

The movie is produced by Avi Arad, a producer of the Spider-Man and X-Men trilogies, The Hulk, The Fantastic Four, The Punisher, and Ghost Rider.

Arad feels that “If we can unite kids without taking away their individuality, that’s fantastic.”

MuchOnDemand is a long-running program MuchMusic, Canada’s primary music channel. The program airs every weekday at 5 pm ET, as an hour-long per broadcast viewer interactive television program.

View all of the Creative Commons-licensed photos by Robin Wong at Wikimedia Commons’ gallery.