| Monster Family | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Holger Tappe |
| Screenplay by | David Safier Catharina Junk |
| Based on | Happy Family byDavid Safier |
| Produced by | Holger Tappe |
| Starring | |
| Edited by | Björn Teubner |
| Music by | Hendrik Schwarzer |
Production companies |
|
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures (Germany) Altitude Film Distribution (United Kingdom) |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 93 minutes[1][2] |
| Countries | Germany United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $30 million[3] |
| Box office | $26.4 million[4] |
Monster Family (also known asHappy Family in Germany) is a 2017 animatedmonstercomedy film directed by Holger Tappe, and written byDavid Safier and Catharina Junk, based on Safier's 2011 novelHappy Family. The film starsEmily Watson,Nick Frost,Jessica Brown Findlay,Celia Imrie,Catherine Tate, andJason Isaacs.
The film received generally negative reviews from critics, and was a commercial failure, grossing $26 million against a $30 million budget. A sequel titledMonster Family 2 was released in 2021.
InTransylvania,Count Dracula laments about his loneliness with his three bat servants. He receives a phone call from Emma Wishbone who has mistakenly called him instead of a monster costume store. She talks to him briefly before accidentally dropping her cell phone down a storm drain. Emma is depressed as family tensions build up - her own bookstore is in dire financial straits, her son Max is a victim of bullying due to his awkward and stereotypical mannerisms, her daughter Fay is a narcissistic teenager, and her husband Frank is overworked and sleep-deprived, neglecting her. Dracula decides to make Emma his new bride and persuadesBaba Yaga to curse her and turn her into a real vampire so she will stay with him.
Her new-age friend Cheyenne gives Emma some tickets to a costume party, and Emma makes costumes for Emma's family: She as avampire, Frank asFrankenstein's monster, Fay as amummy, and Max as awerewolf. Due to a mix-up at the party, they are thrown out by security, causing Emma to have a breakdown. Baba Yaga takes advantage of the situation and curses her, but as her entire family were unhappy, they are all cursed and transform into the monsters they dressed up as.
Emma gives chase on Baba Yaga who escapes, but not before they learn that her amulet needs to be recharged at theLondon Eye which happens to have been built on a site of ancient power. Meanwhile, Max scares his bully, enjoying his transformation and Fay is rejected by her school crush. Frank has lost his intelligence, but still shows love for Emma.
At the airport Fayhypnotizes a check-in clerk to allow them to fly, but during the flight Emma is overwhelmed by vampiric bloodlust, and only a timely intervention from Dracula halts this and he absconds with the confused and blood-hungry Emma aboard his personal jet leaving her family on the passenger plane.
Dracula tries to persuade Emma to stay with him, and although tempted she decides to be loyal to her family - causing Dracula to eject her from his plane where she lands next to the London Eye just as her family arrive. Meanwhile, Dracula decides that if he cannot have Emma, nobody can. He instructs hishunchback servantRenfield to prepare a snowflake machine to destroy the world in retaliation.
Baba Yaga charges her amulet but is accosted by the Wishbones, however she sends them toEgypt. Cheyenne tries to help, but after rescuing Baba Yaga from falling to her death the two become friends. Baba Yaga explains that Dracula intended for her to curse only Emma, but the entire family's unhappiness caused them all to change - only the entire family being happy will break the curse.
InEgypt, the family has another argument culminating in them all walking off in different directions: Fay meetsImhotep who believes her to be beautiful and wants to take over the world with her help. Max finds a hotel where all the guests are scared of him, and Frank rescues a group ofsupermodels who take him back to their hotel - the same one Max is at.
Emma is once again consumed by bloodlust and is once again rescued by Dracula. Despite being tempted by him again she still misses her family, who appears in the castle after a repentant Baba Yaga transports them there. Renfield explains Dracula's plan to shoot a giant snowball into theSun, killing all life apart from vampires who do not need the sun to survive. While Dracula is in his Lazarus pool which ensures his youth, the family plans to add holy water to it, killing him, but he overpowers them. Realizing they need to work together and are happy to be together the curse is broken and they all turn back to human form. With the help of Renfield and the servant bats, they trap Dracula between beams of sunlight and freeze him with his snowflake weapon.
The Wishbones return home, and their circumstances change. Frank stands up for himself at work after putting a photo of their family adventure and the frozen Dracula on his desk, Max's bully has realised the error of his ways and befriends him, and Fay meets a nerd in aknight's costume at a costume party that Emma throws at home. Baba Yaga, Renfield, and the three bats crash the party. The family takes another photo together, showing their happiness.
OnRotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 10% based on 21 reviews, and an average rating of 3.40/10. The critical consensus reads: "Monster Family promises a family-friendly animated monster mash, but succeeds only in delivering a viewing experience so lackluster that parents may find it genuinely frightening".[5]
The film was abox office bomb. It grossed $127,259 in the US, £443,269 in the UK, $4,692,430 in Germany and $21,178,934 in other countries for a worldwide total of $26,441,982, making it a commercial failure.[4]
The film was theatrically released in the United Kingdom on 2 March 2018 and was released onSky Cinema on the same day.Monster Family was released on DVD in the UK on 2 October of the same year byUniversal Pictures Home Entertainment.
