People are saying the message is good, but in all honesty Zombies is a terrible allegory for racism considering that every zombie was a mass murderer not too long ago in the movies universe and you know just... the concept of zombies in general. But overall, very bad movie, very fun watch, wouldn't watch again but I would reccomend
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ztb-927838 March 2018This movie when I saw the preview at first, I had low expectations. I thought it was gonna flop. However.....after watching the premiere, I actually really liked it! :D
The characters were really likable, even the "antagonist/villain" was likable.
There is a lot of "Diversity" in this Movie, which was the main message of the Movie from the start.
Acceptance & Diversity!
Meg Donnelly ie Addison, allows the viewer to see what's like to be accepted amongst your peers only to live with the cripplingly fear of your "true self" being exposed, thereby hiding it and showing a "pretend you" in order to feel accepted. Which is what a lot of kids/teenagers can relate to when starting a new school with new people.
In the end......well I won't spoil it! ;)
But just like I mentioned before, acceptance and diversity plays a big role! So this movie is a fun, entertaining movie for children and young teens to watch, and better choreography than Descendants! Oh....and the lip sync is actually better when they sing in this movie! Just putting that out there! :) -
aubie4320 February 2018Considering this is a Disney Channel TV movie, and not a theatrical film, it was very entertaining! The leads Milo Manheim and Meg Donnelly had great chemistry and their acting (including Bucky, Trevor Tordjman) was great, which you don't usually get with DCOMs. Even some of the leads in the ever-popular Descendents were lacking, so it was refreshing to see some better talent in this movie. I liked the overall tone of the movie and the cheerleaders reminded me a bit of Bring It On, in how they enthusiastic and sometimes corny they were in talking about cheerleading. One negative- I felt that the costuming and setting was a bit over the top. I understand this was done intentionally to portray the differences between the two worlds of humans and zombies, but the pastels and bright neon pink and green was just too much for the eye to take.
The music was good, a little cookie-cutter, but the song Someday was particularly sweet and effective in setting the tone and message for the movie. I thought it was a great statement for young kids on how racism is bad and we should be more accepting of other people/culture/differences, and I loved how Disney put it in the context of Zombies- fun and inspirational! I am curious to see if this gets a sequel and interested to see where they take the story next. -
Frankly, I'm getting very tired of these Disney TV Movie Musicals. I mean, can't they think of other rather MORE IMPORTANT themes to write about and turn into a movie? It's always the girl and the guy coming from two different worlds, e.g. Descendants' Mal and Ben (Villain's Kid and Hero's Kid), High School Musicals' Troy and Gabriela (The Popular Jocka and The Nerd) and then this movie, a guy zombie and a "normal" girl? I mean, please find other important issues to write about.
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This teen love story is a tale of resistance, fighting for positive change, and finding common ground, accompanied by upbeat musical dance numbers and Disney's ever-present white-washing of history, which hangs over the film like a dark cloud. Z-O-M-B-I-E-S, which premiered on Disney Channel in 2018, is a dramatic but ultimately lighthearted musical geared for pre-teens and teens. This film dives into serious topics such as bias and prejudices, institutional racism, segregation and integration, forbidden love because of class status, and more. However, it does this in a very cleaned up "Disney-fied" sort of way, which means it is centered around a teen romance, singing and dancing, the cheer team, football, and a school dance. This musical is about humans who have been infected with a "zombie-virus" and the prejudices they are up against from the non-infected. My main problem with this film is that it uses Zombie-ism as a metaphor for race but doesn't speak directly about race/cultures, even though there are some pretty heavy-handed racially coded issues centrally in the plot. If this movie actually touched on real issues regarding race and didn't just use being infected as a metaphor for it, Z-O-M-B-I-E-S actually would have been even more meaningful to us viewers. But in the act of trying to use a disease as a metaphor this movie erased actual history to simplify its points.
This film depicts Zombietown as grungy and poor, with few legitimate businesses, which is one of the many ways the movie is trying to show us, the viewers, that they are using zombies as a stand-in for segregated communities of color. "Structural Racism is a system in which public policies, institutional practices, cultural representations, and other norms work in various, often reinforcing ways to perpetuate racial group inequity. It identifies dimensions of our history and culture that have allowed privileges associated with 'whiteness' and disadvantages associated with 'color' to endure and adapt over time." (Glossary for Understanding the Dismantling Structural Racism/Promoting Racial Equity Analysis, The Aspen Institute). This definition is word for word what the zombies are experiencing because of the systems set in place by Seabrook. Z-O-M-B-I-E-S is based in two places; the "perfect" town of Seabrook and a territory called Zombietown. There was an explosion at a power plant in Seabrook that caused some people to get a "zombie virus". People that were infected have been forced to live in Zombietown for 50 years, even though now they have been able to control the part of the virus that makes them aggressive and brain-eating. But now for the first time some teens from Zombietown will be able to attend Seabrook High. In depicting the housing in Zombietown as reminiscent of very low-income communities in segregated parts of America but to not mention actual segregation, is one of the many mistakes that came from using a disease outbreak as a white-washed metaphor for racism. Residential segregation of minority groups is still a major source of racial inequality in America to this day, which means it is much too important and real to act like it doesn't exist.
The main protagonists Addison and Zed are both "different", but I actually think this proves my point about how this movie creates problems for itself regarding race. Addison, who is trying out for the cheer team at Seabrook High has a secret: she has hair as white as snow so she wears a wig every day. Being popular and a cheerleader is all she has ever wanted, and has been able to uphold her own social status for her whole life behind her wig. Zed, who lives in Zombietown, will be in the first group of students from there ever to be integrated into Seabrook High. Zed just wants to join the football team and make friends, but things do not go as expected for Zed and the other students from Zombietown when they start at Seabrook. This is because at school they are still segregated and forced to learn in the bassment. Both of them are great performers, but the issue that I have is with the casting of the two main characters. Zed is played by Milo Manheim and Addison by Meg Donnelly. My problem isn't with them, but it is the whole "white savior complex" trope we see in so many stories (i.e. Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Hunger Games, etc.). Addison and Zed are played by white actors, like in most Disney narratives. It means that this is just another movie where the main sympathetic "different" characters trying to create change are white people. To add to this, I found it notable that the way Addison is "different" is by having pure white hair. Even the fact of her difference still is about her just being very white. There is a lot of diversity in the film in relation to the casting, so in a film so central about prejudices, it seemed redundant to have the two main stars be played by the exact same types of characters that we are so used to seeing in these types of stories. Trying to use white people as a stand-in for metaphors about race is problematic and insensitive.
Z-O-M-B-I-E-S pulls at your heartstrings and has an ethos with seemingly good intentions. The dance numbers were fun to watch and the characters were lovable. This movie was designed to make you think it is something for the time, an insightful tale for the ages. But, through its many insensitivities and mistakes, some of the film's impact falls flat. Even though it's not "woke" enough for the next generation of youngsters, I can't deny that the musical numbers were pretty catchy. I mean, it is a Disney movie afterall. -
accoles6 August 2018This movie was literally a copy of Descendants and it was just the worst movie ever made and honestly really predictable
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isabella-0609724 August 2018It's a classic Disney in every sense of the word, and yes we've seen it before with Descendants BUT, I did enjoy it. The actors were lovable, Zed especially. The wig that Addison(why do they always have names like Addison?) wears, the white one, is frigging awful and a better one should've been chosen, and all the zombies somehow look like the Jokers offsprings, which I just found plain weird, but all in all it's cute. If you like Descendants and wanna watch another movie like it, but with different characters, you'd probably enjoy this too.
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bkoganbing20 September 2018What the Twilight series did for vampires I suppose Z-O-M-B-I-E-S is supposed to do for the undead, break down fear of them and welcome them into society. Of course since this is the Disney Studio certain parameters have to be observed.
The film which leans quite heavily on the High School Musical and Teen Beach films for structure has its setting in some mythical town where the Zombie population has been contained, quarantined, and segregated. A generation of Zombie kids like Milo Mannheim are growing up in the Zombie ghetto.
But change comes slowly and at last Zombie kids are going to go to real people's high school where there was not one classroom scene. In fact the Zombie kids are relegated to the basement.
But when a throughly medicaed Mannheim becomes a football star and cheerleader Meg Donnelly shows an interest in him, could this be the final barrier to fall. Not if cheerleader captain Trevor Tordjman has anything to say about it.
The musical numbers are nice and the message about tolerance and diversity is also good, but clumsily delivered.
One thing I thought was dumb. Donnelly has this horrible secret that she has platinum blond hair. Why that's so terrible God only knows. Hasn't this generation ever heard of Jean Harlow? -
stacershyla20 February 2018I absolutely adore this movie and the young new actors! It was nice to see some fresh new faces on Disney. The overall production, the songs, the acting, the whole thing kept me and my kiddos entertained (even my "too cool" teenager got into it!)
Can't wait to see what Milo and Meg become in the future! -
MB-reviewer18514 July 2022Z-O-M-B-I-E-S (2018) is a fine Disney Channel original movie. Disney Channel original movies can be good, but there some that are not that good.
Z-O-M-B-I-E-S (2018) is good for Disney Channel movie standards. There are moments that do not work, but I did find things I did like about the movie.
There are some funny moments, and there are some nice moments. Milo Manheim and Meg Donnelly as Zed and Addison are both good and I liked their personalities, along with them being cute together when they start having good chemistry.
The musical numbers are well done, and the dance choreography is good, along with the songs being nice to listen to. I do like how they setup the world that takes place in the movie and how they got the zombie problem solved.
There are some issues like it having some annoying characters or some over exaggerated moments, but other than that I can see kids liking a movie like this. -
matthewssilverhammer29 January 2020An afternoon preteen sitcom with a completely predictable prejudice allegory story, peppered throughout with decently cool music videos that feel like they were pumped out of an earworm machine.
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kayleighcoots18 February 2018I very much enjoyed the movie. I am 14, and even I enjoyed the plot and development of the entire thing. The movie has a lot of older humor and idealistic attitudes to it that I very much enjoyed. It feels as if the whole movie was a more childish take on racism and personal values on being different and taking pride in who you are as a person.
Since it has come out I have watched it a total of three times-two of which were the premiere night! -
laura-1871231 December 2020Although some of the songs were a bit too long and some of the acting was cringey, this movie had some great moments. The movie is very much produced as if it were a stage play for kids, which is heavily shown through the main characters breaking the fourth wall to talk to the viewer at some points in the movie. This was the most negative part to me and is a little off putting if you're over the age of eight, but some parents or children might find it charming. The big dance numbers were really fun to watch and I even started bopping to one of the songs by the time the movie was over. The colors were super vibrant - sometimes the costumes seemed cheap-looking but for a Disney Channel film, nobody in the age bracket they're producing for will probably notice that stuff anyways. The best part of the film was the message. Super relevant to today and a great way to teach kids about diversity and how to combat what they call "zombiephobia". The cast was also super diverse and also very likeable, which made me want to keep watching. Not the best, but definitely not the worst, and would definitely watch again.
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cricketbat23 March 2019Look, I like cookie-cutter made-for-TV Disney movies as much as the next guy, but Zombies is pretty awful. I mean, I tried to explain to my kids that electromagnetic bracelets aren't enough to stop the bloodthirst of the undead, and that all it takes is for one Z-bands to malfunction and the zombie apocalypse would start, and somehow I'm the bad guy? Aside from some catchy songs, I cannot abide this movie's heavy-handed message, cheesy acting and pro-zombie propaganda.
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accoles6 August 2018This movie is literally a copy of Descendants and it was plain out just an awful awful movie
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fireworksness16 September 2020High school musical meets The Descendants meets The Walking Dead for kids! Cute little movie.
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A bit of a qualifier. I am a zombie fan, but I did not seek out this Disney Channel musical on my own. I watched it with my children. In this zombie universe, the zombies have regained their senses thanks for to government created Z-bands, computerized bracelets that stop them from feeding on unsuspecting human. However, despite being normal folks again, other than their grey skin color, zombies have been segregated and live in the run down ghettos of Zombietown and attend separate schools, while the plastic looking humans live in 1950s idealized suburban Edward Scissorhands-conformity. Tensions arise between the two communities when the local human high school is forced to integrate. While this set up sounds similar to the very grim new zombie film "The Cure" (where zombies have been cured but remember all of their horrible acts and are discriminated against by those who remember being terrorized by them, even their own families), but this Disney film is really just a Romeo and Juliet story of star crossed lovers from different sides of the tracks. A pretty cheerleader who hides that her hair is naturally white under a wig falls for a cute zombie boy much to the chagrin of her family and fellow cheerleaders. There's lots of singing an dancing and a climactic showdown at a cheer competition, so don't expect much George Romeo or Robert Kirkman. Instead, expect plentiful helpings of "High School Musical" or "The Descendants," which is what I was expecting since this is Disney after all, and you'd likely be blandly entertained.
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SnoopyStyle17 February 2020It's been 50 years since the zombie apocalypse. Zombies can now control their appetite with electronic bracelets and live in the segregated Zombietown. Addison (Meg Donnelly) is a normal teen in the neighboring Seabrook. Everyone is desperate to fit in and she has to hide her weird hair with a wig. She's trying to join the cheerleaders and is forced to prank the zombies as an initiation by her zombie-hating cousin Bucky. She refuses and befriends zombie Zed (Milo Manheim) as they fight the prejudice against zombies.
This is a simple Disney Channel movie. It hits all the right moral notes. It's silly but that's Disney. The most important part is Meg Donnelly and Milo Manheim. She is enchanting in a broad way. He is a performer ready for Broadway. They are an appealing pair and that helps a lot. It's cute, silly, and fine. -
That review might seem a little harsh, however that doesn't mean that it is not true. I am usually very positive when I review movies. As negative as this review may appear, I do like to give most movies the benefit of the doubt. However, it took me 3 separate views too find anything that I can even consider passible.
Lets start with what I find passible with the movie. Probably the most passible thing in the movie is the couch of Zed's team. The character is almost like something out of a Kevin Hart or Tyler Perry movie. His character is self-depracting and aware of just how pathetic he is. He's also over the top and clearly not taking this seriously. However, he never truly reaches anything above passible.
No lets get into the things I find bad about this movie. And rest assured, There is a lot of things. But to keep things relatively streamlined and to keep me from explode in a mixture of rage and violence, I'll start with the production design.
The production design looks like it was done in an afternoon with whatever they could find laying around the soundstage. The colors of the sets include pastel pink and blue that don't sever any purpose whatsoever. The make-up makes the zombies look like they're all amateur cosplayers dressing up as The Joker for ComicCon.
Next, I'm going to talk about the acting. Apart from the couch, none of the performances reaches anything above serviceable. Zed, the lead male of the film, is a zombie who wants to join the football team. He barely seems like he cares thought the movie, clearly have fun an letting too much of himself into the character. There's also Addison, the female lead of the movie, who is a human hoping to become a cheerleader. She appears to be trying really hard throughout the entire movie. However, this combination isn't very good at all. Not to mention that their on screen chemistry can best be described as two people who were told early that morning that they would fall in love.
There's also Bucky, Addison's cousin who is also the captain of the cheerleaders. He is constant flipping from coked out maniac and wooden stump throughout the movie. And then there's everyone else, whom are basically the same as Bucky.
Then there is the writing and story, which is probably my least favorite aspect. The messages and themes, while definitely good and important, are delivered with the all of the subtlety of a sledgehammer being swung towards a house made of glass. Not a single line is clever or service the story in a unique way. And the message of the film appears to be "We call all solve racism by cheering." If only Malcolm X or Fredrick Douglas k new that all he needed to do was cheer.
There are other things that are terrible about this movie, but I don't have the time or the patience to describe them -
cobanion-599078 March 2018My 11 year old daughter and I love this movie! We still like the re-runs too. The songs were written very well and are catchy tunes. Bamm! is full of energy and I love the choreography performed by such talented dancers! I happen to think the casting of Zed, Addison, Bucky, Eliza & little Zoe was spot on. They are great in their roles and look forward to seeing more from Milo & Meg. Is it a simple, typical plot, yes, but found it to be entertaining and in my opinion more so than any of the High School Musical movies.
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JoBloTheMovieCritic20 July 20197/10 - Descendants meets Step Up in this surprisingly enjoyable DCOM with a killer soundtrack
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jonathanrspalding22 February 2018Thurston Howell on Gilligans island once said that message movies do not make any money. This was a message movie that was not any good.
Disney can do interesting and socially relevant. (think the color of friendship) What can't be done is make that into a happy musical designed to be funny. You can do that low key thoughtful like Decendants II, but you cannot try to apply a message with a sledgehammer and the movie be any good.
It was an attempt to hit all the boxes. Cute actors dancing, yeah got that. Attempt at catchy songs, yes. Zomibies WERE the thing, so lets do that. Anti trump tolerence message, sounds like fun. Put it all together and bake it you have dreck that is Zombies. Any one of those themes would have been fine and could have made a good movie, but all of them together with no focus is not.
I will give this movie one positive point (spoiler). At least they did not win the state cheer competition at the end too to hit every possible cliche that you could have a movie. Pretty girl falls for outcast guy. He is really deep and special. Friends and family do not like it and causes friction. There is a big competition, job, role, etc. on the line that the relationship effects. The heros win in the end, well at least not here.
The movie was an insult kids intelligence, cheerleading, football and zombies. -
seether-5903920 February 2018I thought it was pretty cute with a good message and it kept my 6 year old niece entertained. The only thing I really hated about this movie was Bucky. I really wish they would have toned his character down a bit... Bonzo was definitely the best character.
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MasanoriHirano2 May 2018Before I saw this movie, I thought it was a boring movie. But, it is completely wrong!
Although usually movies related to zombies are some kinds of horror movies, this movie is whole different kind of movie and it fascinated me! Some musical or dances, is feature of Disney Channel Original Movies, in this movies are also very good and musics intrigued me. In particular, "someday" and "my year" become my favorite music.
Before I saw this movie, I don't know Meg Donnelly, but I become one of her funs because of this movie!
If you do not decide whether you see this movie or not, I definitely recommend you to see this movie! -
rgkarim18 February 2018Disney Channel Original Movies, are all the rage on the cable station, with epic promotion, marketing, and merchandizing to build up the film for your little ones. Back in the day, these movies actually did a decent job telling predictable stories, that held some suspense and impressive stunts in a variety of sports and disciplines. Since the new age of Disney though, these stories have taken a major hit in their quality, resorting to marketing gimmicks and dance numbers to do their lifting and dumping the story down the drain. After the success of Descendants, the studio that brought the villain prodigy tales to you, brings another movie to the small screen, in hopes of maximizing the ratings again. Robbie is back with another review on TV movies, so let's get started, shall we?
LIKES:
The Message: Disney is taking some bold moves in their political statements, doing little to disguise the messages contained in the movie. Zombies is a flat-out statement about how wrong racism is, with the entire writing/cinematography set out to show the horrors of prejudice. The movie shows the various responses to the candor of segregation, and the right and wrong ways to fight all under the prowess of changing things that need to be changed. In addition, the movie has a strong focus on being yourself, learning to change things that are toxic about yourself, not because someone doesn't like it.
The Leads: Milo Manheim and Meg Donnelly are the stars of the show, getting a majority of the camera time. Milo has a fresh energy about him, giving the movie that entertaining, fun quality you want in a DCOM. He manages to transition between silly and serious smoothly, never crossing into the realm of overacting. In addition to acting, his dance moves, singing, and ability to act like a savage, brain hungry monster are worth noting as well. Meg on the other hand is the strong, women protagonist that is the trend of Disney at the moment. While not wielding spears or martial arts that leave extra reeling in pain, Meg's public speaking and political games are the highlights of her character's ability. Like Milo, she has a good balance in her tones and acting style, alongside an impressive facial acting that speaks the emotions and tone of the scene. She injects energy at the right moments but stands as the symbol of hope/change in this installment. And in terms of singing, her harmony with the actors is astonishing and quite honestly my favorite voice of the group.
The Dance Numbers: The focus of this movie is obviously the musical numbers. What will most likely be a hot selling item, these numbers capture the energy and spirit of the movie. Unlike other musicals that focus on adjusting their styles to make a nice blend for the track, Zombies sticks to the major pop meets electronic beat. While not as dynamic, this allowed for some impressive choreography that brought in some breakdancing, some line dancing, and even more so the cheerleading flips and dynamics. These numbers work in the theme of the movie and again highlight the singing talents of our stars.
DISLIKES:
The Story: While the message is good, the story really took steps down in terms of quality. For one thing, the story isn't unique, just a carbon copy of half of their stories, which are often diluted versions of classic movie stories. But ignoring this, the movie is not fleshed out very well with so many plot holes and stretches having to be taken to even semi-piece the tale together. The character development is rushed and sloppy, the love story fairly cheap and pathetic (when they aren't singing), and the impasses are laughable as they resolve with little to no effort. It's obvious that the focus was music, because much of this story looked for opportunities to introduce another song number, sacrificing key plot points.
The Other characters: Not everyone will fall into this dislike, but a large number of the characters are lame to put it as nicely as I can. These characters are those with extreme flaws/prejudice, who fail to move an ounce during the first 85 minutes and often present their grandiose ways in an overacted direction. I can't tell how much of this is due to the direction and writing, but these characters are certainly some of the weaker ones to grace the Disney line up. Characters like Bucky and his squad in particularly are the worst, in terms of their inconsistency and presentation. And the parents of the crew/fans are only a couple of paces behind.
The Writing: This would explain a lot in terms of the other dislikes, but the writing was kind of shoddy in this film for me. Dialogue is limited in terms of anything unique, with only the anti-segregation lines holding any sustenance to them so you can get some mimicking from your kids started. Outside of that, I've already stated that the writing built everything around the dance numbers, leading to rushed plot lines, rapid character development that is almost nonexistent, and just poor planning in general.
Cheap Production: I know TV movies don't have the biggest budget, but seeing as Disney is essentially the money maker of the world, they could have done better than this. Zombie's stunts are not the greatest in terms of special effects, with many props looking snazzy, but very cheap. Sure, the light shows and setting look decent, but they can't mask another big dislike, they couldn't find another team/different uniforms to switch them into. You pay attention, you see that the football teams and cheerleaders are all the same. It's not the fact that unique teams are key to a movie, it's the laziness that the movie had when they have the means to go all out. In addition, beating the same team over and over, means again a lack of developing story/tension.
Lazy on Soundtrack: You just heard me say I like the soundtrack, so why on Earth am I putting this as a dislike. Simple, because half the track is unique and the other half are just reprisals that often pale to the first mix. Descendants, Teen Beach Movie, and even High School Musical do a nice job with keeping their tracks different, unique, and with as few remixes as possible. Zombies failed on this level, cheating the fans out of unique mixes just to cut some costs. Why Disney didn't fun this DCOM more so, I don't know, but it didn't impress me in these regards. At least the numbers didn't have those annoying, lazy lyrics like some tracks have had though... right.
The VERDICT;
Zombies, in my opinion, was a massively overhyped movie that promised a lot more than it delivered. I'll admit it was fun at times, energetic, and a great medium for promoting anti-segregation (always a plus) and that the acting and dance numbers did their jobs. However, this installment makes me fear tor the future of DCOMs if all they focus on is the music and the merchandizing that will follow. This team cut a lot of corners, shucking originality, deeper development, and meaningful dialogue and comparing it to other DCOMS that remain hidden in their vaults, it's sad. I'm hoping they will utilize the star actors and the supporting zombies in future projects, but the company needs to get their act together if they plan to keep their DCOMS from further plunging down into crappy depths.
My scores: Musical/Romance: 5.0 Movie Overall: 3.0