The year 2021 brings another animated movie that revolves around a family that is not normal. They are monsters but not scary. Like the sequel of Addams family released weeks earlier, Monster Family 2: Nobody’s Perfect, is a scary, fun-filled adventure, which may not be too spooky, but surely connects most of the families.

Set a year after the Wishbone family’s accidental transformation into Monster Family (2017) by Baba Yaga, this movie begins as the Wishbones turn into monsters again, this time to rescue the kidnapped Baba Yaga, before she exchanged vows with hunchback Renfield.

The mother Emma (voiced by Emily Watson) becomes a vampire; the father Frank (Nick Frost) ends up as something like Frankenstein; the teenage daughter Fay (Jessica Brown Findlay) is transformed into a ‘mummy’ while the prodigal son Max (Ethan Rouse) turns out to be a werewolf.

Unlike the previous film, the Wishbones find themselves pitted against the wealthy philanthropic Starrs, who believe they will make the world a better place. Scientific geniuses Marlene and Maddox Starrs plan to capture all of the world’s monsters and Dracula and Baba Yaga become their prey.

The Monster Family 2 is a fight between the most imperfect family in the world and the most perfect one. Who manages to outclass who, is what makes the story interesting, adventurous, and engaging. Voiced by British teenaged prodigy Emily Carey, Super athletic Mila could easily give James Bond a run for his money. Mila and Max are of the same age, but she uses high-tech gadgets and travels in her Starr Copter.

Based on German Novelist David Safier’s Happy Family, the film is directed by Holger Tappe. Emmy Award-winning author Safier, who also co-wrote the previous instalment of Monster Family, manages to send messages for the whole family with this one.

From a teenage boy’s perspective, it is not necessary to be strong, tall, or handsome to get the required attention from the opposite sex, but courage, kindness, and caring is the key. For a girl, it is better to know more about your strengths than your weaknesses, and for the parents, it is time to let the children make their own decisions, rather than constantly bullying them.

The sequel of Monster Family is better than the previous one with many soothing colours and better sound direction. However, the absence of Count Dracula and his plans were badly missed throughout the 103-minute duration.

Published in Dawn, Young World, December 11th, 2021