Monster Mia review – kooky kid discovers school of beastly besties in wholesome Halloween fun

*Monster Mia* is a pre-teen animation about a chaotic girl who finds friendship and acceptance after accidentally enrolling in a school for monsters. Its Halloween setting and culture-clash humour offer young audiences a light-hearted story about embracing difference.

Mia lives in Primrose, a town said to have been free of monsters for 500 years, and is often overshadowed by her high-achieving twin. At Rotwood Academy, she befriends misfits including a vegan vampire, while the monsters regard humans as frightening creatures who prefer cupcakes to grave-worms. The review calls the film entertaining and wholesome, though its message is delivered with little subtlety; it opens in UK and Irish cinemas on 23 October.