User reviews

Loved most of the songs and the whole movie was aesthetically really pleasing! I enjoyed the first 30 minutes of the movie very much but the rest wasn't as good for some reason. Some of the songs didn't really fit with the plot too well and the acting was a bit cringeworthy at times. I love Melanie but I think the casting & script could have been better. Despite that, I think that she did a great job on this movie considering that she wrote/directed it besides acting etc. Maybe Melanie was just too involved in making the K-12 film because some parts of the movie seemed rushed or just not making sense at all. I got to admire her ambition though: she had a vision of this movie that would explain the album and I think she succeeded in that. If you're going to listen to the album, I recommend watching this movie first (although it isn't that good by itself so just do it for the songs).

When watching this movie, suspend your expectations for a well developed plot or fully developed characters. I went into this movie expecting just that, and it was a bit disappointing. However, if you love Melanie for her music and artistry, you'll get many doses of it. I did cringe at a few parts (cheesy acting alert!) but overall I am happy with the experience and left a bigger Melanie Martinez fan. The movie itself made the album that much more interesting. For example, my sister said "play that song with the puppet scene!". You feel more connected to the album. The messages in the film are pretty standard "society sucks and this is why" in regard to patriarchy and suppression and objectification of women. What I like about it is that many middle schoolers and high schoolers will be able to extract those messages easily and in a relatable way.

If you are a Melanie Martinez fan, I think that you will be blown away by the music (which, to me, sounds more mature and I'm glad that her style has changed a bit, it sounds much better). The costumes are out of this world and the filming place is beautiful. This movie is full of modern issues and I think that it's great for adolescents to watch. It's not hard to understand, even though it is mainly symbolistic. Right now I'm going to talk about what I didn't like. The acting is super cringey at times and I couldn't help but repeat their lines in my head with a better acting. But I think that is understandable. I think that those parts were the door appeared or when you could hear that goddess or whatever it was speaking were kind of forced. We all know that Melanie Martinez likes wicca and all, but I didn't quite understand what those scenes were doing to this movie. Mainly, this movie is full of cliches, but you can't help falling in love with the visuals. That's why my rating is pretty high for the quality of the overall movie.

Melanie Martinez has always been one for interesting visuals and concepts, and nothing exemplifies that more than K-12. The music video portions of the movie are beautiful. Amazing sets, catchy songs, gorgeous costumes and intricate choreography, but it seems as though aesthetic was the main focus of the movie. The plot - if you choose to call it that - is definitely where the movie falls flat. It's clear that Martinez's heart was fully invested in her directorial debut, but the writing itself reeks of immaturity. The integration of the songs itself is also done very poorly. While some songs like 'Wheels on the Bus' are weaved carefully into the plot, you also have abrupt starts and stops of scenes for songs like 'Teacher's Pet'. As a Melanie Martinez fan, though I can admit its faults, I liked the movie. For the casual viewer? I think you're better off watching the visuals themselves as opposed to the full hour and thirty minute feature film.

So much talent everywhere! The people who speak about the bad acting don't realize all the characters are caricatures. Of course they acting is forced, over the top and cringy. The songs get better and better, the lyrics deeper and deeper to the point it becomes chilly. Yes, this is an horror film. A nightmare in pastel colors. Pure genius.

As a Melanie Martinez fan, the movie isnt really a masterpiece or ''the best movie ever'', the album itself is amazing and the film is like a -very entretaining- visual to it, nothing more. (the film is a 7/10, not the album btw)

K-12 is just as it says-- an enchanting musical with a unique touch and wonderful aesthetic. I think people should see this film for its wonderful aesthetic and visual representation, but dont watch it expecting good writing and a plot.

The musical aspects (songwriting, choreography, and singing) of the film are amazing as usual with Melanie's work, but there are many potential plotpoints in the film itself that are just touched on once and never mentioned again. Some songs made seamless integration into the plot, for example "Wheels on the Bus", but others appeared out of nowhere and brought nothing to the plot, like "Strawberry Shortcake".

The movie's timeline is through the school years of Crybaby, but for most of the movie you couldnt tell at all what grade she was in at that time. Along with this, most of the characters are forgettable and dont have defining personality, but hey, at least it looks pretty!

I do think that Melanie put too much on her shoulders for this film. She wrote the script, directed, was the lead actress, did all of the songs, and edited the whole thing-- I applaud her for all the effort she went to make this film. For all of this being new to her, I think she did well, but I think that she should take it easy next time.

The film left me a little disappointed with more questions than answers, but at least I left the cinema with 14 new bops to add to my playlist.

I just saw this with my 15 year old daughter. I'm old. Let's not dwell.

The cinema was full. The vibe was positive. The movie looks gorgeous, the pastel colours, the well framed shots and the costumes all looked amazing.

I was wondering after 10 mins into the start of a bus ride , was there going to be music?

O yeah. There was music. So so much music.

If you like MM this will blow you away. The story based around some he'll like school was secondary to the real story of acceptance both of yourself and others.

MM and her friends share an actual super power. Not spoiling it, but do not upset them they will totally ruin you.

Her songs were threaded throughout the movie, tying what really is chaos into a nightmare like vision into MM's dark side.

You will not like this movie if you treat it as a typical movie, this isn't one. It's 80mins of music video interspersed with scenes that may not make sense to us in reality, but do in this world.

Stay past the credits to see MM working hard in the studio showing how she's learning to dance.

(Warning: this review is almost as long as the film)

For all those expecting to see a feature-length film: this is more like a series of music videos, one after the other, with some dialogue. It's interesting to read that Melanie Martinez, who's responsible for pretty much this whole thing, originally planned it to be much longer and had to cut several scenes to fit the budget. To put it simply, it shows.

From a musical perspective that isn't necessarily a bad thing. The choreography is absolutely outstanding. Martinez is just as good as the professional dancers and their moves fit the themes and moods of the songs. There's diversity among the dancers, too, although given their messages I would have quite liked to see some more variation in body type. The problem is that the powerful emotions Cry Baby displays while she's singing and dancing just aren't carried through into the script.

Honestly, the writing isn't bad, and for someone like Martinez who is known for writing music to branch out into scriptwriting is a brave thing to do. She knows she's putting it out there for criticism and that's what she's going to get. It just lacks something - there are scenes where a song will end with a furious character literally murdering an antagonist only to show the same character blandly smiling and chatting with her friend. It's very obvious where Martinez's talent lies, which is to show emotion through music and dancing; adding dialogue to the mix just seems to complicate things unnecessarily. The images in the film - Martinez holding up an orange as dancers lie around her like a religious painting; a woman cutting open another woman's head; a character about to be dissected by a science teacher - speak louder than the script ever could.

I'll acknowledge the elephant in the room and say that the visuals in this film are absolutely stunning. I've never been a fan of Martinez's pastel aesthetic but this is another level, diluting the cuteness with toned-down shades of pink and blue and imposing camera angles of misty fields so that it is more sophisticatedly sinister than cloying. I found myself wanting to sleep in a bedroom as cosy (and enchanted) as Cry Baby and Angelita's. It is obvious and rewarding how much thought went into hair, costumes and makeup. The special effects are hit and miss - there's one awkward moment where a character stares into a mirror and it shatters, only for it to be left painfully obvious where the shot changed - but when they work, they really work. A school bus goes under the sea and flies through the sky, and this manages to be convincing. Ghosts are ghostly enough. Puppets are enjoyably creepy and two characters even manage to levitate during a playground fight. For all its eerie prettiness, though, there is a frustrating lack of substance.

'Frustrated' is probably an accurate word for how Martinez felt trying to condense a planned three hours' worth of plot into about half that. 'Frustrated' is an accurate word for how viewers will feel when this leaves some characters' stories rushed or untold. It's a sad spoiler alert that the bully character, Kelly, is never given redeeming qualities or even a backstory. We see Cry Baby's mother passed-out drunk and yet Cry Baby still has a home, complete with a magical alarm clock and a pet tarantula, with no other indication of what her home life is like. Cry Baby spends a much too fast-paced section of the film skipping from song to song as she recruits friends, finding one in a cafeteria and introducing her as 'Magnolia' without having even spoken to her (I can just about excuse this scene because of the incredible dancing). On the bus, she talks to Angelita as if they have met before, but this is never explained. She finds another friend, whose name could be Flora or Fleur due to the lacklustre sound editing in the scene, who suffers from an eating disorder. All it takes is a very in-your-face speech about loving yourself from Cry Baby and Flora/Fleur is cured. Martinez checks off a list of societal problems - body image, the patriarchy, transphobia - without devoting more than five minutes to most of them, leaving some subplots that the story would have made sense without. A transgender teacher never gets her acceptance, for example, and the sources of the children's 'powers' are never clarified. Doesn't Kelly have powers? Doesn't Flora? Cry Baby's character can become convoluted due to all the conflicting morals she's pushing - why is she singing about being unsure of her body when she's already made the revelation that bodies are temporary? I couldn't help but think that the messages, especially coupled with the spiritual aspects of the film, were not as subtle as they could have been, though Martinez has demonstrated her mastery of metaphors in the past. It seemed like 'Strawberry Shortcake' and 'The Principal' could have been simplified versions of 'Alphabet Boy', whilst 'Orange Juice' was another level of 'Mrs Potato Head'. This loss of ambiguity in favour of expositional dialogue, as well as errors in pacing in which the lengths of gaps between songs would vary too much or too little, was probably the most disappointing part of the film. Perhaps it's the surrealism causing the confusion - although there are fine lines between fantasy, surrealism and using the above two to justify style over substance, and Martinez has parked her pastel pink school bus over all three.

For all its flaws, it's obviously very worth a watch for fans of Martinez's music and for all who enjoy films with a strong aesthetic, as long as they're willing to settle for some moments of questionable acting (Martinez is actually one of the strongest actors in the cast). It's by no means a triumph of cinema, but for what it was meant to be it's definitely a treat to both listen to and look at. There is a distinct lack of the dark comedy that was promised, and at times it's more like watching a sleekly nightmarish ballet than a human-made film about humans, but it should be considered where it came from. All of it is straight out of the mind of a woman with a clear creative vision, one which she has executed for the first time into a project full of loving detail. It's like Wes Anderson shot a musical based on a fever dream Tim Burton had about Mean Girls. Whilst it's ultimately missing the sarcastic, flawed, slightly scary side of the Cry Baby character we saw from Martinez's first music videos, it's a visually impeccable continuation of her story - and it's definitely a lot more interesting than a typical day at school.

Melanie just deserve the credits for the originality of created about this world/character and for release your new album in a movie, which have a great production, show us wonderful and colorful scenarios, weird and diferentes wigs and clothes. The story is kinda without explication, but is funny to see, all the musics has a way to criticize something, like bullying at school, or harassment and body acceptance, worth seeing.

I love and support Melanie's creative vision and music, but K-12 was a cluster of lackluster clichés sprinkled with social issue undertones-both of which I'm not the biggest fan of. The acting was sub-par, with only a couple of characters convincing enough to make me believe that this alternate reality was real. This film would have been better off as a series of music videos whose stories bled into one another, as there was really no clear storyline/plot in K-12 either. I do, however, have to give credit where credit is due; the visuals, costume and set design, location, and choreography were very solid and enchanting. You can also clearly tell that Melanie has grown spiritually and that her confidence has raised tremendously-she absolutely shines during the High-school Sweethearts bit! Despite my critique, I do hope that she continues to write and direct; Melanie truly is a breath of fresh air in the music industry and I'd love to see what she is able to execute as the years pass by.

I love Melanie Martinez's music so much and that is one of the reasons I love this film. I think that the rating should be 12 because I have seen 12 rated movies and they are worse than this. Yes the film has rude doodie bits and a bit of violence but that should put anyone of watching this film. It was such a good idea for Melanie to make this film and I absolutely can't wait for the sequel!

I loved the songs, but the movie was very confusing and didnt make much sense at parts. The song High School Sweethearts was just a music video in the middle of the movie which seemed like she just didnt know how to interpret it into the film. If you dont like Melanie's songs you probably shouldn't watch this movie.

As a long time Melanie fan I've been waiting 3-4 years for this album/movie release. To be honest, I'm disappointed. The music featured in this movie is wonderful by itself but the way Melanie chose to integrate the music into the plot was just plain terrible. Many times throughout the movie, scenes will abruptly end and cut straight into a song that has nothing to do with the previous scene and you will be very confused. The entire experience felt more like 13 different music videos smashed into one accompanied with bad acting and a terrible script. If you simply are looking for good music you will be pleased, but if you are looking for a plot you will find it missing.

This movie is really aesthetically well-made, smooth transitions between scenes and music as well as highlighting problems in today's society. However, this is more of a 90 min long music video rather than a movie with a plot. The storyline was confusing and played little role in these 90 mins. I also have to note that the acting of some characters were not remarkable, sadly Melanie Martinez falls under this category. Overall, this movie is worth watching if you like Melanie Martinez and her music, not something that would entertain the masses (which movies don't always have to do). If I would rate this as an artwork; a solid 8. If I would rate this as a movie: a weak 4.

So I'm a 47 year old dad to a teen daughter, and k-12 fell into my YouTube queue and auto played after something else I watched. My first reaction was to realise it was an hour and a half musical, not a 5 minute vid or parody. The production values in the whole thing are top shelf. If you like pink and pastel Victorian dolls, then this is the costume movie for you. The music was pop, but the lyrics were deep, and explicit. It sort of reminded me of a musical Sucker Punch, teen movie, Alice in LSD land all rolled into one pink candy floss ball. Weird.

Don't go in expecting you're gonna get a movie with fleshed out characters or a coherent story. The thing you're gonna get is just a bunch of music videos mashed together. The way the story is written is how kids from elementary school play make-believe with their friends. (only the friends have magical powers, everyone wants to get a bit of that spotlight, being a bit grotesque sometimes for the fun,...). It seems as if Martinez had a lot of fun with this project and I don't blame her, if I had the chance I would do the same. My main problem with the movie is that it tackles way too many themes (bullying, transphobia, body image,...) and it ends up being a "we live in a society"-mess wherein only the obvious get stated without saying much in depth about it. I do praise the movie for the costume design and set design, the colors in this movie had me in awe and that's what you kind of expect if you've seen Martinez previous music videos for her Crybaby album for example. I would recommend this movie to people who are a big fan of Melanie Martinez and for the people who watch movies solely for the aesthetic.

I give it a 8/10 because there's barley a storyline , it more of just music videos . the story makes sense for the most part , there just isn't much of it . some parts get a little confusing because the music videos sometimes wouldn't have much to do with the clip before , but it all aligns. as for the visuals , the visuals are astounding , and very beautiful . i am a little biased because i'm a huge melanie martinez fan , but , i still expected more of a story . i like how this movie / films talks about topics such as bulimia , transphobia , fake friends , & bullying . the comedy is kind of cheesy but i like it .

First and foremost I have to say that my expectations were mostly fullfilled- the movie represented Melanie in all ways (Music, scenery, plot, characters, costumes,..) which I appreciated a lot. Shoutout to the pastel scenery which was mesmerizing (and also shot in my homecountry Austria!). It was very pleasant to watch the movie and notice all the little details in the costumes and decorations.

Something that has negatively stood out to me from the beginning on was the awkward storyline and the dialogues. I quickly lost track of all the timelines and converstations which just seemed to switch randomly and then when i felt like I was up to the plot, a song was interrupting the scene and completely threw me off. I was so in love with the character ideas and was also pleased to see a the discussion of social problems (sexism, LGBTQ+ hate, bullying,..) but it the execution of it felt very forced at some point and I had the feeling i could already tell what happens next.

Nevertheless i have to admire the music, which played probably the biggest role in this musical and without it, I would have rated this probably 2/10. Melanie is able to make her music so unique, yet recognizable from the first note on. I was very impressed how she managed to support every song with creative visuals and therefore explain the meaning of it even more than just with words.

All in all I was happy to finally see a movie directed by her and I am looking forward to her next projects!

I was willing to give K-12 a chance because it is a unique concept to release a whole film to launch an album, and it could have been a great opportunity to merge people and ideas from different art sectors (writer, directors, cinematographers, with Melanie as the musician). However, I've also heard a lot of horror stories from music video directors about musicians who are super controlling over the video concept and don't let the directors and other creative heads do their thing, and unfortunately that's what happened here. As a writer, the script and plot was super disappointing and cliche.

Just when a cool metaphor is shown through the visuals, Melanie (as a character) must explain it in narration or forced dialogue. While Melanie has some interesting metaphors and concepts, she isn't a scriptwriter and hence most of her writing completely overrules the show-don't-tell rule in cinema. While it's good that she might have wanted to tell a very personal story, there are some techniques in scriptwriting that shouldn't be ignored.

Similarly, Melanie directing a work she is starring in and wrote really messed up some of the shots. You can tell there's some clunkiness in the transitions between shots and that whoever planned the shots/directed the shoot, didn't really have a strong grasp of certain shooting techniques especially regarding choice of shots.

One way she could have improved this is actually really simple: she could have not starred in it. Sometimes what you need is to take a step back and see the film as a whole.

One good thing, however, was the absolutely stunning cinematography, which kudos to Josh McKie on that one! The beautiful cinematography and aesthetic only goes to show how wonderful this movie could have been if it was a collaborative effort rather than just Martinez trying to do everything.

This movie is a loose interpretation of a "movie" in all the best possible ways. It follows Cry Baby's journey through school days and what happens at the school itself, with it being an overaly exaggerated and at the same time very true representation of how the american school system treats their students.

This movie tackles many issues in our society and not in an overly "in your face" way that many others do. It's enjoyable while getting a point across, something most movies cant do. It also pokes fun at itself in a sense, not taking anything too seriously with Melanie and her friends seemingly having a lot of fun with this project,

The BIGGEST compliment is the directing, set desgin, and most of all, choreography. I did NOT expect this much choreography from her but wow did she really go in with the dancing. My personal favorites have to be the "The Principal" and the "Show and Tell" scenes.

Overall, if you like surrealism, dark humor, fantasy, and most of all music, i'd highly recomend this movie. Couldnt recommend it enough.

Prior to watching "K-12" I wasn't very familiar with Melanie Martinez other than that having heard "Carousel" and maybe some other songs. Being a horror buff and respectful of musicals I decided to give this a watch & despite it actually not being horror I enjoyed it.

Now, where do I start... It's kinda of like a very long music video with beautiful aesthetic style on the side. Sure, it doesn't sound much like a rich and substantial movie/musical, but it worked. Every song, along with the accompanying visuals, can be cut out and it'll be it's own thing, which is what, I think, Melanie is doing and putting them on YouTube. 40 minutes in I was pretty mesmerised by the visuals, set & costume design and, most of all, by the fact that there was a thought put in each of the songs. A lot of commentary, served in a form of metaphors or some more modern (read: vulgar) way of words. The 2nd half of "K-12" started to fall a bit flat, repeating its shtick over and over again, with only the audial side of songs not losing their touch though. At the end it felt like the best the movie had to offer was packed in its first half. The plot is pretty obscure & the most substance can be find in the lyrics of the songs. From a production design standpoint, this movie is a boogeyman for everyone who can't stand pastel tones & it's also beautifully done, a lot of creativity has been put into the fairytale-like bubble universe of "K-12". The performances, the choreography asked for no complaints and I'm honestly slightly impressed by how multidimensional can Melanie Martinez be.

Personally, I'm not a fan of this type of music or even this type of a esthetic style and everything that comes with it, but, nevertheless, I enjoyed the oddities of this millenial musical. Oh and the horror genre in "K-12" amounts to only some blood and a little gore that has only an artistic reason. My rating: 7/10.

If I wasn't a big Melanie fan I would've turned it off after about 20 minutes. A lot of reviews are right when they say it's basically a 90 minute music video. The writing kinda sucked and Melanie isn't a great actress, unfortunately. It could have been better I think if she had not directed and written it by herself.

Having said that, the music was awesome and the musical parts weren't cringey. Set and costume was great.