In case you arrive at this movie unprepared and unaware of its history, Moshi Monsters is a massively popular online game from kids aged 8 to 14, which seems like a kids version of World Of Warcraft, mixed with Pokemon, mixed with Tamagotchi. If you are a massive fan of the Moshi Monsters world, then you'll probably have a blast with this movie. But for everyone else, including kids aged 8 to 14 who aren't aware of the Moshi Monsters, you'll be left slack-jawed, wondered just what in the hell is going on?
It starts off with a professor finding an egg, which has potentially both very positive and negative powers, depending on who uses it, and the bad-guy Doctor Strangeglove (who has a hat, but no head) snatches the egg for some nefarious scheme. Meanwhile, the lead six monsters are in the middle of making a documentary when they get recruited by the professor to get the egg back.
At least we THINK that's what the plot was, it was actually quite hard to keep track of due to the retina-scorching visuals. So bright and colourful that you sometimes wish the movie was in 3D so you could stick on a par of dulling, soothing 3D glasses, and so mad-cap and zany that you feel you need to be on some kind of prescription hallucinogen just to keep up with it. Parents will be fully befuddled by what’s going on, as there is no real 'plot' in the way most animated movies have, more 'Go to place A, find object A, have a sing-song, then go to place B, etc.'.
There are a few catchy, bouncy musical numbers - including a Bollywood inspired highlight - and the writers clearly tried to jut in a few jokes for the accompanying parents, with Cole Porter and Mae West quotes, plus using long words like 'pernicious' and 'Machiavellian' that will have the wee ones asking 'What does that mean?' But aside from that, there is nothing much here for anyone but the fans of the game, regardless of age.
