Cranston Academy: Monster Zone is an animated family film that tells the story of an intelligent boy that is enrolled into a secret boarding school, who opens a portal of monsters from another dimension that features the voice acting of Jamie Bell and Ruby Rose.
The story begins when we meet teenage genius Danny (Jamie Bell) who is constantly creating new and creative inventions, but he feels alone at school because he is bullied for being intelligent. Danny thinks that things are about to change when he receives a scholarship from Cranston Academy, a prestigious school for geniuses, but the school has a high standard for its students. So, in an attempt to impress his teacher, Danny reluctantly teams up with his classmate Liz (Ruby Rose) to get the schools broken down nuclear reactor working, but instead they open up a portal to the fifth dimension which unleashes a series of monsters that begin to wreak havoc on the school.
I found this film rather difficult to get through. The characters weren’t particularly likable, the dialogue is cringeworthy, and the animation looked very dull. In fact, the film includes some additional animation during the end credits which looked a lot better than what was used in the actual film. It is also strange because the animation looked quite impressive when the film takes place in the fifth dimension, but that is only for a fleeting moment. I understand that this film didn’t have the same budget of a Disney/Pixar film, so it might not look as good as those films, however, I still didn’t think that it was pleasing on the eyes.
The voice acting left little to be desired as well. This could be because of the weak script, although it didn’t sound like the actors were inspired either. The story itself wasn’t too bad, but honestly, the script is a mess. The characters are all mean spirited, so it is hard to like them and want them to succeed. But I think what disappointed me the most is that what I love about family films is that they are able to be emotional yet still have humour, however Cranston Academy: Monster Zone has no heart, the jokes are few and far between and they are not very funny.
Unfortunately, Cranston Academy: Monster Zone is a forgettable film. If you are looking for an enjoyable family film, then I suggest that you look for another option.
Cranston Academy: Monster Zone will be released in Australian Cinemas from the 24th of June 2021.