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Moonstones & Missed Potential: Our Fix-It Pitch for Zombies 2 | Episode 37
35 Plays1 month ago
This week, we’re biting into Zombies 2—the high-energy sequel that left us wondering where all the impact went. Join us as we navigate the tangled mess of howls, high school tensions, and one deeply confused identity crisis.
We’re dissecting:
– Why Addison’s character arc fizzles out (again) 💁♀️
– How Zed should’ve been the star of this show 🧟♂️
– Whether the werewolves actually add anything 🐺 (Spoiler: we have thoughts)
– And our pitch for the real Zombies 2 that could’ve been 🔄
PLUS: Hot takes from fans and critics (including some truly savage reviews), behind-the-scenes relationship gossip, and a look at where the cast—and their real-life romances—are now.
🍿 Zombies 2 (2020) stars Milo Manheim, Meg Donnelly, Chandler Kinney, Pearce Joza, and Ariel Martin. Watch it now on Disney+ if you dare.
✨ Once Upon A DCOM is your favorite nostalgic rewatch podcast where we rave (and sometimes roast) every Disney Channel Original Movie ever made. Some hold up. Others… not so much. We’re here for both.
📱 Follow us for new episodes!
TikTok: @onceuponadcom.podcast
Instagram: @onceuponadcom.podcast
Recommended
Transcript
Excitement for Johnny Picard's Appearance on Magical Rewind
00:00:00
Speaker
Natalie, before we get into Zombies 2, I just have to tell you because a friend informed me this week that Johnny Picard did a guest appearance on the Magical Rewind podcast. oh What?
00:00:12
Speaker
No. Yes. And apparently he went on and talked all about Now You See It and the things he liked about it, things he didn't behind the scenes. So we're going to have to check that out. We absolutely must. I freaking love Johnny Picard. Oh, what a throwback. Oh, you just made my day. Okay, I'm very happy.
00:00:29
Speaker
I'm so glad I told you.
Introduction to Podcast and Theme: Classic Disney Channel Movies
00:00:34
Speaker
Welcome, fellow Disney Channel babes. Whether you're from the nostalgic 90s, or the awkward odds, or you're giving Gen Z, we're glad that you're here. I'm Gabriella. And I'm Natalie. And this is the podcast where we rave, and sometimes roast, classic Disney Channel original movies. You're listening to Once Upon a Decom.
00:00:54
Speaker
Hello and welcome back to Once Upon a DCOM, the podcast all about your favorite Disney Channel original movies. My name is Natalie and this is my brilliant co-host, Gabby. How are you? great.
00:01:06
Speaker
Such a great I know, it is a good day.
Evolving Opinions on Zombies 1
00:01:09
Speaker
Today we are talking all about Zombies 2, the sequel the 2018 Disney Channel hit
00:01:16
Speaker
We watched zombies, the first film a few months ago. um And we had some very strong opinions back then. We did. But honestly, i cannot remember what they were.
00:01:28
Speaker
I believe you hated it and I initially hated it, but upon reflection loved it like the next day. And then that's what I would like to talk about real quick in this intro, because um I think my opinion has changed of Zombies 1. So can we start there?
00:01:44
Speaker
Like, what do you think of Zombies 1? I like it even more now that I've seen Zombies 2, for what that's worth.
00:01:54
Speaker
I I think back on it fondly, which is kind of weird because I haven't seen it again since we watched it on the podcast and I remember actively disliking it. But like, I think about it now and the songs get stuck in my head and I'm like, I think I zombies. Yeah.
00:02:09
Speaker
and think i like zombies It was actually so good. Okay, well, I'm about to like just start talking about my opinions. So maybe we should do our order. Like, tell us about the movie.
Overview of Zombies 2 Release and Legacy
00:02:20
Speaker
I'll recap.
00:02:20
Speaker
But I have a lot of opinions about Zombie 2. I'm not gonna lie. Okay, okay. I'm excited to hear them. um Okay, we're gonna dive into the plot, some discussion questions. We're gonna talk about the cast, what they're up to now. But before all of that, I have some background info to introduce you to this cinematic experience.
00:02:38
Speaker
It feels really bold to call it a cinematic masterpiece, so I shall not. Yeah, I wouldn't go that far. Cinematic experience. Zombies 2 came out on Valentine's Day 2020. um It was directed by Paul Hohen, who was very familiar with Disney Channel work.
00:02:54
Speaker
He directed, hold for applause, please. He directed the third Cheetah Girls movie, Cheetah Girls One World, Camp Rock 2 Final Jam, Jump In, Read It and Weep, Eddie's Million Dollar Cook-Off, You Wish! exclamation point True Confessions and The Luck of the Irish, as well as the first Zombies film.
00:03:11
Speaker
Whoa, I mean, that is some ups and downs. We've had some valleys in there and some peak moments. yeah We started low, we got high. How could you possibly be the same person who created You Wish! exclamation mark and jump in?
00:03:27
Speaker
hu Or Camp Rock 2 and Cheetah Girls 3. Like that, you can't get farther apart. I feel like those are on a similar level for me personally, but you like Camp Rock 2 more than I do.
00:03:39
Speaker
Do you like Cheetah Girls 3? No, I despise Cheetah Girls 3, but I also dislike Camp Rock 2. oh That hurts my soul, but all right. Anyway, we're going to do some fun facts here.
Fun Facts and Behind-the-Scenes of Zombies 2
00:03:50
Speaker
Okay. This movie features Milo Manheim's first on-screen kiss. So fun. Okay, I'm going to bring that up later. But yes, it does. Oh, all right. All right.
00:04:01
Speaker
um Second one, Meg Donnelly was actually dating one of her co-stars in real life during filming. And I want you to try and guess who it is. The sexy werewolf.
00:04:11
Speaker
Thousand percent. This is a Harry from Descendants 2. No. um Guess again. you gave me You get two more guesses. Can we all wish it was that guy, though? ah He was very pretty. I will say that.
00:04:24
Speaker
Wait, so she was dating someone that was not Milo Manheim and not the sexy werewolf? Mm-hmm. What other men are in? Please don't tell me it's Bucky. It's not Bucky. Okay, you have one more guess. thank God.
00:04:36
Speaker
What other men are in this? The cheerleader dude? The very flamboyant cheerleader? The flamboyant cheerleader. Noah Zulfikar. He's not gay. Apparently not, or at least he also likes women. Noah Zulfikar, who played the male cheerleader, Jaycee.
00:04:51
Speaker
That is who she was dating when this was being filmed. They are not together anymore, however. But... I found that fact and I was like, that has to be a lie. Nope. Interesting. Okay, well, I'll just say this now because it's not really a discussion point.
00:05:04
Speaker
I was just going to say, I'm so happy that Disney finally got a kiss at the end of a decom. Oh, it was deserved too. It really, well, well, maybe.
00:05:15
Speaker
I'll come back to that. But I was grateful. Yes, you never get a decom kiss. I really enjoyed that tension. Yeah, I think the kiss was great. But now I'm thinking it might have been weird since she's like dating the guy standing behind her.
00:05:31
Speaker
Can you imagine? Oh, God. Okay. act Anyway. Okay. Final fun fact. He's like cheering them on with his pom-poms. Like, yay, my girlfriend's kissing another guy.
00:05:41
Speaker
It's fine. Everything's great. Anywho. Okay. Okay. We're moving on. Final fun fact. Most films of like a high caliber, kind of like this one, they shoot under a code name.
00:05:52
Speaker
And this one's code name was Dog Pack, referring, of course, to the werewolves. And I just thought that was cute. Never could have guessed. Dog pack. All right, Gabby, please give me a little movie recap.
Plot: Zombies and Werewolves Conflict
00:06:05
Speaker
All right. So yes, let me just review in case you missed the first movie. What happened? These stories take place in Seabrook, a utopian community where belonging is everything.
00:06:18
Speaker
Seabrook was a perfect place until one day an accident involving lime soda occurred in the power plant and set off a zombie apocalypse. Science eventually found a solution for the nature of the zombies in the form of Z-bands, which are bracelets that each zombie wears to curb their appetite to eat brains.
00:06:36
Speaker
But even with that solution, the zombies continue to be segregated from this utopian society. Zed, a zombie who's an idealistic dreamer, and Addison, a nearly perfect cheerleader with the exception of her unnaturally white hair, worked together to convince the town that zombies aren't that different from humans and they should be given a chance to integrate with into society.
00:06:57
Speaker
As we pick up the story in the second movie, things seem to have changed for the better. Zombies are now free to cross between Zombieland, where they had been separated to, and the main town.
00:07:07
Speaker
They can go to school, participate in sports and clubs, and most importantly for this movie, they can attend the Prawn. This is a shrimp-themed prom because the high school mascot is a shrimp.
00:07:20
Speaker
The fighting shrimp. So exciting. Yeah. I will admit, i will admit i did cackle when they called it prawn. And I was like, did they say that wrong? Nope. Prawn. It's actually kind of clever. it it won't lie. It's stupidest thing in the world.
00:07:35
Speaker
i did laugh. Yeah, yeah. So this is the big plot of the movie is prawn is coming up and the zombies get to go. Yay. yay So one day, while Addison is returning home from cheer camp, her bus crashes into the woods and she is left wandering the forest for Zed. She's fine, by the way, but she's wandering around looking for Zed.
00:07:55
Speaker
She runs into a pack of werewolves, a group that is believed to be a myth, like up until this point. And while she's able to escape and get home, the appearance of these werewolves causes an uproar in Seabrook.
00:08:08
Speaker
In an attempt to calm the public down, Addison's mother, who's the mayor, reinstates all monster laws from the first movie, which is kind of like reinstating the segregation of them, basically, meaning that Zed and Addison cannot go to the prawn together.
00:08:23
Speaker
du Dun, dun, dun. Yeah, because zombies can't go to prawn at all. And they have a curfew. Like they can still go to school, but that's kind of it. Yeah, that's it. And because they saw werewolves reminding you, like this had nothing to do with a zombie attacking someone. Nothing to do with the zombies. We saw a separate group of monsters and now zombies are the bad guys again. Mm-hmm.
00:08:44
Speaker
So we flash sideways to the group of werewolves. We get to see them pretty early, actually, in the movie. They're not mysterious. Who saw Addison, and we find out that they are looking for what's called the Great Alpha, who they've seen a vision of.
00:08:56
Speaker
And Addison apparently looks exactly like this Great Alpha because of her white hair. Again, that's her, like, unusual feature that keeps her different or whatever. And in this movie, she has, like, embraced the white hair.
00:09:09
Speaker
which is just slightly blonder than her previous wig. Yeah, she's got like Elsa blonde hair and everyone's like, ew. And I'm like, lot of girls dye their hair to look like that. I don't think we should all be like, oh no white hair.
00:09:21
Speaker
And she never lets you forget how outcasted she is because because of her hair. Even though she's the most popular girl at school and up for head cheerleader, she has serious love problems, you guys. And nobody has any problems with her at all. She's like, I'm such an outcast. and you're like, I really don't think you are.
00:09:39
Speaker
She really is having an identity crisis and completely can relate to the zombies who have been segregated for like 100 years. But it's cool. Anyways. It's fine. So now she's being sought after by the werewolves because she looks like this great alpha vision they've had.
00:09:52
Speaker
We also learn that the werewolves each wear a pendant around their neck containing energy from a source called the Moonstone, and that energy helps them to maintain their werewolf powers.
00:10:03
Speaker
So the Moonstone was lost a very long time ago, and their energy is draining, meaning that they're all going to get sick and eventually become nothing, which is, I guess, dying. that It was unclear.
00:10:13
Speaker
Yeah, I think dying. It was unclear, though. Yeah, yeah. ah and And so that's why they're looking for the great alpha, because apparently she can lead them to the Moonstone. So they believe Addison is this great alpha that's going to save them all.
00:10:26
Speaker
So they decide to enroll at Seabrook High School, despite all the chaos that they've caused. And they try and test Addison when they get there to see if she's the great alpha.
00:10:37
Speaker
I also would like to jump in and add a fact. So... There's like, I'm going to make up some numbers, but like a thousand people in Seabrook. And there's like a thousand zombies also in Seabrook, right?
00:10:50
Speaker
There's like eight werewolves. like Yeah, and they're like freaking out. And they're all approximately 14 to 18 years old. And there's like eight of them. Why are we panicked? Yeah.
00:11:03
Speaker
And they do exactly zero acts of violence the entire movie. Yeah. All they do is like look at people and growl. You're like, okay. Yeah. They're like the very like fake intimidating kids at school.
00:11:14
Speaker
Yeah. But when we do see their pack back at like the cave, there's probably like 100 them in there. So there are more. sure. They're all sick, so they can't leave the cave. The teenagers are the only ones who survive.
Tensions Rise as Werewolves Seek the Moonstone
00:11:25
Speaker
Seabrook didn't see them.
00:11:27
Speaker
All they saw was these these group, this some very small group of children and be like, everything is going horribly wrong. Yes, 100%. ah hundred percent And it's totally about popularity for Addison's mother. She wants to like maintain her position. oh She's like, I have to do something.
00:11:43
Speaker
Monster laws are reinstated. There, I did something. Mm-hmm. Okay, so meanwhile, in the background, Bucky, Addison's cheer captain cousin, in case you forgot about him, and Zed, her zombie boyfriend, are competing to be school president.
00:11:58
Speaker
During the first rally, the werewolves invade, again, to try and enroll at school. But thanks to a districting loophole, they are allowed to join the school. And literally, all they do is show up and say, pretty please, can we join your school? And everyone's like, no.
00:12:13
Speaker
And one guy is like, they're technically in the district. If they live in the forest, they can be in school. And they're like, great. And now they're in school. And now they're in school. Even though the monster laws have all been reinstated.
00:12:24
Speaker
And the zombies can go to school for like a generation. Yeah, it's fine. All right. So now that we're clear, since they're after Addison, they all join the cheerleading squad. Sure.
00:12:35
Speaker
And Zed starts to get jealous of one of the more attractive werewolves who seems to be exceptionally interested in Addison. Zed and Addison have a huge falling out in which Addison confront Zed for changing his appearance to look more human and less zombie to win the election for president.
00:12:52
Speaker
And Zed gets really frustrated with Addison for having hidden who she is with her wig in the past. She laments about how she will never fit in anywhere and she goes home sad. Wow.
00:13:05
Speaker
So that night, the werewolves basically kidnap Addison and take her to their cave and show her how to be a werewolf. They present her with a pendant containing an intense amount of moonstone power, and they tell her that if she puts it on and the powers work, then she is the great alpha and she can lead them to the hidden moonstone so they can all regain their powers and stop getting sick.
00:13:25
Speaker
They also give her dreadlocks and teach her how to howl. Great times. There is, in fact, a makeover scene and a dance number. It's great. it's It's quite wonderful. um But before she can put this pendant on to see if she's the great alpha, Zed and her other friends show up to rescue her because they think that she's like genuinely been kidnapped by the werewolves.
00:13:46
Speaker
She requests a day to think about the decision. But before they go home, there is like a loud explosion from the center of town. And the werewolves and Addison kind of realize together that it's coming from the Seabrook power plant.
00:13:58
Speaker
Again, this is the power plant where there was the lime soda incident that caused the zombie apocalypse. which ironically is about to be demolished to make a new cheerleading facility.
00:14:10
Speaker
Sure. So they correctly assume that the source of the power plant must be coming from the moonstone, which probably is buried underneath of it. They just kind of figured this out like five seconds after hearing the explosion, which we never find out what the explosion is, by the way.
00:14:26
Speaker
Oh, wait. Yeah, you're right. I just assumed they were testing demolition stuff. They might have been, but it's never made clear. but it's But it is what prompts them to consider, oh, what's the source of the power?
00:14:40
Speaker
um Must be the moonstone. Even though all the power source is green and the moonstone is purple, clearly that's what it is. have no words.
00:14:53
Speaker
The next day at school, Bucky and Zed have their first real debate. And while at first it seems like Zed's going to win over the school, he accidentally breaks his Z-band and zombies out in front of the entire school.
00:15:05
Speaker
Everyone is terrified and it looks like he's going to lose the election. Meanwhile, while that's all happening, Addison realizes that she's the lost the pendant the werewolves gave her and she starts freaking out about how she will prove that she is the great alpha.
00:15:20
Speaker
Also going on in the background, there's a lot happening at once. The werewolves have decided not to wait for Addison and Zed's help, but to prevent the demolition of the power plant on their own. And they go searching for the moonstone and to try and stop the power plant because they figure if it gets blown up, it could destroy the moonstone underneath, which again, they're still guessing at that, but they're convinced.
00:15:41
Speaker
So they head to the power plant and in the process set off several alarms alerting everyone of their presence. And the adult demolition team rightfully tells them you can't stop it from happening. So go away.
00:15:53
Speaker
Yeah, it's very dangerous. Why are you here? Go somewhere else. Shouldn't you be in school? They've never met these teenage werewolves before who just show up and are like, you can't destroy the plant. And they're like, we've been planning this for years. Why are you here now on the day demolition? Who are you? And why are you dressed like that?
00:16:09
Speaker
Exactly. So overhearing the alarms and wanting to help her maybe pack, Addison rallies everyone from the school, all the teenagers, to go and help the werewolves fight the powers that be so the demolition will be canceled.
00:16:23
Speaker
And through the power of song and breakdancing, it works. we The demolition team, which by the way is run by Zed's father, decide to postpone any destruction until they can investigate the Moonstone situation.
00:16:37
Speaker
However, rogue remote accidentally sets off the demolition bomb anyway, destroying the entire plant.
00:16:48
Speaker
This is so stupid.
00:16:53
Speaker
The fact that this guy just runs up and is like, oh my gosh, the bomb's about to go off and I can't press the button on the remote to stop it. And they just all happen to have gotten out like just in time.
00:17:05
Speaker
I know. They're like, um we should probably all run for our lives. Yeah, thank exactly. So also, i flashback just a little bit. At some point during their celebrating that they had canceled the demolition, Zed admitted to Addison that he stole her pendant because he doesn't want her to be a werewolf.
00:17:23
Speaker
But he gives it back and she tries it on and turns out she was never the great alpha anyways. So now she feels more lonely and sad than ever. a boo Not a werewolf. Sorry. You're just human. Like nothing happens and it's very anticlimactic for her.
00:17:38
Speaker
So with the power plant destroyed, the werewolves and zombies lose all hope of ever finding the moonstone. They assume it's wrecked forever and the werewolves all start getting very, very sick. They decide that on their last night of life, they want to go to the school dance despite the monster laws still preventing them from going.
00:17:55
Speaker
So the zombies and werewolves crash the prawn in formal wear. And Zed apologizes to Addison for stealing her pendant and their fights and whatever. and then all the werewolves die.
00:18:08
Speaker
Just kidding. I wish. who Oh, hot take.
Resolution: The Moonstone and Addison's Mystery
00:18:13
Speaker
ah No, what really happens is at the Prawn, there is like a massive earthquake that creates a huge trench in the ground.
00:18:20
Speaker
And all the students decide we should climb down inside because maybe there's something down here that we should check out. So they end up finding the Moonstone buried deep underground.
00:18:31
Speaker
And the werewolves are able to repower their necklaces and heal from their sickness. And now they're going to be good for like 100 Um, they try to move the moonstone, but it's too heavy.
00:18:42
Speaker
After that, they almost all die in a cave But Zed bravely removes his Z band, which again is the thing keeping him from like eating brains. And he zombies out so he can use his strength to hold the door open so everyone can escape the cave in.
00:18:57
Speaker
This is actually a huge deal because without the band, he really, in theory, should revert to a brain eating monster, but he's able to control it just long enough to save everyone. And that's something we haven't fully seen displayed before, like a little bit in the first movie.
00:19:11
Speaker
But this really dug into like the possibility that he might not need the Z band. And I would love to talk about that. Yep. I think we will. So we're almost at the end here. With everyone out safe, they all return to the prawn and they sing a song about being friends.
00:19:28
Speaker
Friends forever.
00:19:31
Speaker
Yes. And we are treated, as we said, to a rare decom kiss between Addison and Zed. Hooray. And, you know, I i loved it. It's pretty great. I mean, I felt things, but not as much as I would have in the first movie. We'll get into it.
00:19:47
Speaker
And in one final scene, we see Addison sleeping in her bed while a strange light, probably some kind of, I don't know, UFO or something, crashes into Seabrook outside of her window.
00:19:59
Speaker
She wakes up, says weird to the camera because once again, the breaking of the fourth wall is part of this movie for some dumb reason. And her white hair glows a bioluminescent blue.
00:20:12
Speaker
And we cut to credits. So clearly there's a third movie, The End. And a fourth. And an animated series. Yeah, there's the, this one will never die.
00:20:22
Speaker
yeah Zombies. Zombies will never die. and didn't mean to say that, but that's funny. Pat myself on the back for that one. The Undead DCOM series. That's totally going to be the title of this episode. Incredible. Wow. Wow.
00:20:36
Speaker
Wow. Wow. What do you think? Because you texted me you were loving this movie. And I have to say, you're wrong. and And I invite that feedback.
00:20:49
Speaker
Let me say, i have i have ah one sentence, perhaps two. um The songs weren't as good. The romance was not as good. All over, it just wasn't as good as the first one.
Critique: Character Development and Plot Misses
00:21:01
Speaker
But I still had a great time.
00:21:04
Speaker
Like, and also this was the exact same movie as the first one. Interesting. Okay. May I share my thoughts? Oh, please do. Okay. So I will say I'm having a similar vibe to the first movie in that as I watched it, I had the pitch perfect. This makes my beard taste bad effect, which I've talked about in previous episodes.
00:21:25
Speaker
Yeah. And upon reflection, I enjoyed it more than I did during the viewing. But for me, this second movie took everything good from the first one and either removed or wrecked it.
00:21:39
Speaker
It felt to me like everything significant was reduced to a joke, including the nuanced conflicts with segregation became about a popularity contest.
00:21:50
Speaker
And the romance felt like it was really boiled down to the point where the kiss for me felt a little bit less earned. Whereas the first one had that Romeo and Juliet tension and the chemistry was there. This one felt a little less of that, probably because I just so disagreed with Addison's perspective on everything. Oh, yeah.
00:22:11
Speaker
Addison was a mess in this movie. Yeah. and And everything kind of just felt thrown together at the last minute. Like big plot points like Zed changing his appearance were kind of glossed over and just brought in when convenient for the plot.
00:22:25
Speaker
The werewolf community was very rushed. They were not fleshed out enough for me to have the same level of empathy for them that I had for the zombies in the first movie. So all of these like really important themes, the Z-bands, like ah the friend, I forget her name, ah the zombie friend who's like all about them buying Z-bands anymore.
00:22:46
Speaker
Eliza. Eliza. Her whole thing could have been fleshed out. Like there was just a lot where I'm like, yeah fleshed out, pun intended. Wow, we're doing great. We're doing great with the puns.
00:22:56
Speaker
Just the whole thing felt like it was just really reduced to nothing. Listen, I agree with you completely. I feel like this was not the way Zombies 2 should have gone.
00:23:11
Speaker
There were other things we could have focused on. There was no need to bring werewolves into this. There was so much more to explore with humans and zombies alone. Yeah, I agree. i really wanted to dig into their ability to control themselves without the Z-Band. Exactly. Yes.
00:23:27
Speaker
Because in the first movie, and this was a part that I really, really loved in that first movie, was when he's like, I mean, y'all watch the movie again or listen to the podcast that we did on it. But like Zed goes to like attack Bucky and he stops himself and he's not wearing the Z-Band.
00:23:43
Speaker
And there's like this moment. And it's never discussed in the first film. And i was really hoping they talk about the second one. And then they just did it again. And I was like, why? I want that to be the second movie, you know?
00:23:57
Speaker
Right. And Bucky brought it up in this movie during the presidential debate. He said, I know you're not going to hurt me, but they don't know that. And I was like, okay, flesh out Bucky as a real villain here. He knows that Zeg can control himself, but he wants to win the presidency. So he's letting everyone see him as a monster.
00:24:14
Speaker
Yeah, there's okay. I think at the the boiling point of why I liked this film is because it was just so much fun. But under the surface, it is annoying that like there are so many things that could have been that just didn't quite hit the way that I wanted them to.
00:24:35
Speaker
Yes. I also wanted more of Bonzo and the other cheerleader friend. I also forget her name. But their cute little relationship because it's like a biracial relationship. And I want to see that fleshed out more.
00:24:48
Speaker
Yeah. I feel like they leaned, they being the Disney entity, leaned too far into the, remember, it's a kid's movie. Let's have fun. And away from the, this could be really impactful.
00:25:02
Speaker
Yes, I agree. There were so many random plot points and character motivations that were just so half-baked. Zed's dad on the demolition team is huge because he never would have gotten that position in the first one.
00:25:14
Speaker
h And they reduced that to a joke of like yeah him just being like, okay, I guess we'll cancel the demolition because you guys are upset about it and you danced at me hard enough.
00:25:25
Speaker
Yeah, I do also want to talk about the choreography. This is a hard left turn. It did not live up to the Zombies 1 choreography. No, it didn't. And neither did the lyrics. No. It felt like it was coasting on the coattails of the first movie being successful. But the first one was a very experimental and innovative with the choreography. Yes. not have that.
00:25:47
Speaker
Except for maybe – The first opening sequence at cheer camp. I did feel like that one was kind of that was fun unique. Yeah. Yeah. I will say two things about songs. First of all, being we own the night, the, the werewolf song has been stuck in my head since I watched this week or whatever. It's an earworm.
00:26:06
Speaker
It is stuck in my head and it is making me dance around the house. I'm not going lie to let you. um Second thing When they started singing the Someday reprise from like the first movie, I was like, ah this song is making me feel things. And it took me a couple of seconds to be like, oh, it's the song from the first one.
00:26:26
Speaker
I'm dying. This is so cute. It was so good. Such a good, oh, the perfect placement of that song. I agree. And like, you know how I had a crush on Zed in the first movie.
00:26:38
Speaker
I didn't feel that way about him in this one. He felt too goofy. He felt younger to than the first movie. He feel younger to me. lacked that like powerful motivation of like, I really just want to see change in the world and I believe in the power of our love. Like as cheesy as that is, I ate it up.
00:26:54
Speaker
And in this one- Yeah, he was kind of a side character. I think the problem with this one is that Addison was the main character. Thank you. That's what I was going to say. Yeah, first one, Zed was the main character. Second one, what's, I don't even remember her name. What is this girl's name?
00:27:08
Speaker
Addison. Addison. Addison was the, that's how little I care about her. her She was the main character in this and she did not deserve to be a main character in this because her experience in the narrative of what these films are about does not matter as much as Zed's experience or even the werewolf's experience.
00:27:29
Speaker
I agree. Honestly, Zed might be the only character with a compelling motivation and realistic reactions to things. And he just continues to be pushed to the side. It's so frustrating.
00:27:40
Speaker
And like, I would also love to dig out Addison's mother as the mayor as kind of a villain. Like I could see her and Bucky teaming up to like ruin lives. So here's what I want to talk about. How can we make this better?
Discussion: Should Werewolves Be Removed?
00:27:51
Speaker
Let's rework the second zombies movie.
00:27:54
Speaker
What children should they have kept and what should they have left out to make it a thousand times better? Yes, this is me having absolutely no knowledge of Zombies 3, 4, up to infinity. I have not seen the other movies that have come out.
00:28:07
Speaker
um But I think we should have, I'm sorry, don't hate me, eliminated the werewolves. Agreed. I think that this should have been just another focus on the zombies versus humans topic.
00:28:24
Speaker
I think we could have talked a little bit more about maybe Eliza having a bigger role in this movie. I feel like she was really underutilized in this film. i like the election thing. I think we could have stuck with the Bucky versus Zed running for president thing, but it should have been more, again, less of a joke and more of a serious topic of, you know, a reflection of what this would actually look like in our real world.
00:28:54
Speaker
in ah an environment with this is still happening. Right. Yes. And keep Zed the main character. Really get into why he's changing his appearance. Like have him struggle and wrestle with that with Eliza.
00:29:05
Speaker
Like that his posters look like he's just a human. Yeah. maybe the So what would be the the main conflict of the movie if that's the case? Because I feel like the presidency thing would be a side plot perhaps.
00:29:19
Speaker
But like what would be the inciting incident that would reinstate monster laws and get them like kicked out of the prom? Would it be Zed like zombying out? during an election debate you know it could be i feel like maybe it would be bucky sabotaging someone you know okay like let's really i listen i love bucky he is a cheese and a half and i love seeing him on screen i know that you feel differently however like i i would not be upset about him really embracing the villain
00:29:51
Speaker
Yeah, I could see it being like the movie goes like this. The beginning is the exact same. They get the prawn thing going. They want to be prawn king and queen, whatever. And then at some point along the way, Zed decides to run for president because Eliza has convinced him we need even more rights and we don't need to wear the Z-bands because we can control it without them. I want to be free.
00:30:12
Speaker
And Zed's like hesitant about the Z-bands, but up for president. He does the debate. He accidentally zombies out due to something other than like the Moonstone breaking his bracelet. um Maybe Bucky sabotaging him.
00:30:24
Speaker
Yeah. and then- Or provoking him enough. Right, right. And then that gets monster loss reinstated. That causes them to not go to the prawn. He and Addison have a huge conflict because maybe she's like, like, I don't know how to handle this with my mom or something like that. Instead of it being like her not fitting in her just being like, well, you know, maybe you shouldn't be entertaining the idea of taking off your Z bands and like that causes tension between. Yeah.
00:30:48
Speaker
So like they get a real fight. And then like Eliza's trying to stop the demolition for like a different reason. Or we don't even have the demolition. She just is doing something else significant with the Z-bands. then Eliza becomes the president.
00:31:01
Speaker
That would be cool. I feel like, and I was thinking that during the movie. I was like, why is she not the president? I feel like she cares more than anyone. Yeah, that's true.
00:31:12
Speaker
And I like that they're trying to get like the zombie language as a language taught at the school. Yeah, love that. Yeah, this had so much potential. Just get rid of the werewolves and do all the things we just said. And it's a great movie.
00:31:26
Speaker
All right, Gabby, tell me what the rest of the world thought of this movie because we we have opinions, clearly. Oh, prepare to be angry Prepare yourself. All right.
Critical Reception of Zombies 2
00:31:38
Speaker
Shockingly, we have a tomato meter because, you know, we go over to Rotten Tomatoes where we see our critics score, the tomato meter and the audience score, the popcorn meter. And to have a tomato meter, you need at least five reviews. Well, this movie had five reviews.
00:31:51
Speaker
I would like you to guess what you think our tomato meter percentage is. Okay. Critics score. Okay. I think it's going to be high, actually. How high? I'm going to 85. 95? Natalie, the critics gave – our five critics gave this 100% tomato meter score.
00:32:12
Speaker
This is 100% certified tomato? All five of them. Wow. Wow. yeah Okay, maybe that's – I mean, I enjoyed it, but I would not perhaps go that far. Yeah.
00:32:23
Speaker
I would not go that far, especially if you're this is your living is critiquing movies. Come on, guys. See the flaws. All right. So here's what three of them had to say.
00:32:34
Speaker
While zombies and its sequel are obviously this decade's high school musical, it does have its own distinctive flavor, says Alice in Rose. I mean, yeah, I hear you. It's nothing as good as High School Musical, but I see why she's making the comparison. yeah And it's this generation's version. Because remember, we had all the Halloween costumes and the birthday parties that were themed. And that's what this is now. So I get it. I understand what she's saying.
00:33:00
Speaker
True, true. All right. Second critic, uh, Tina Lamb said, how do you dislike dancing zombies and werewolves with little to no violence, sound messages of acceptance and catchy songs?
00:33:13
Speaker
Zombies too is a fun and appropriate for the whole family film. I mean, yeah, you scale it back. I think any kid would love this. I think that we are adults looking at this children's movie and having opinions because the first one led us to believe that we should.
00:33:29
Speaker
Yeah. Hmm. Yeah. I blame the goodness of the first movie. Okay. Last critic review, Tessa Smith. With a compelling plot, debatable, amazing new songs and dances, wrong, and some real life lessons, zombies do prove that a sequel can be better than the original. Oh, no.
00:33:49
Speaker
Outright lies. Tessa. You need a new career. Ooh. Hot take. I do think the acting got better in this one, but that's the only thing I think was better.
00:34:01
Speaker
I would agree for everyone except for Zed, unfortunately, but that might be the writing fault. Yeah, he didn't get the material to be more. for sure. Our popcorn meter is taking a drastic nosedive down to 52%.
00:34:15
Speaker
Wow. That disparity is wild. I know. All right. So we have Abby T who says, another amazing movie, amazing cast, storyline, and overall theme. I love it so much. It's so amazing. It healed my inner child.
00:34:32
Speaker
Mm-hmm. Okay. She was not one of the ones contributing to the 52%. Apparently not. Okay. And then this next one, I don't know who submitted it. Anonymous says, this masterpiece of a movie has honestly left me speechless.
00:34:46
Speaker
I thought the first movie was absolutely amazing, but this honestly tops it. And I totally agree with the 100% it's gotten on the tomato meter. From the great new songs to their hair, parentheses,
00:34:58
Speaker
like Addison's hair is flawless in this movie, along with the werewolves, you can really see the amount of love and effort put into making it. I love that the hair, you know, we went out of our way to make sure that the hair was a part of the rating status.
00:35:12
Speaker
I know, right? ah I'm not even done yet. Hold on. Zed and Addison, again, have my heart. And the song someday will forever be ingrained in my mind. That's true. This is honestly my favorite movie to watch whenever I am sad or happy. Truly wonderful.
00:35:28
Speaker
My guys. I actually have three more reviews, but they're much shorter. ah Me and my friends had to endure all three of these movies. Nothing has ever been the same since. Okay, so we're declining.
00:35:40
Speaker
o ah Okay. People getting upset. ah This fourth one had half a star. That's how much they reviewed it. I think that's as low as you can go. i think so.
00:35:51
Speaker
This movie is terrible. There are so many plot holes and unanswered questions. I'm genuinely offended. It has 100% rating. Oh, I mean, i would agree that we are also probably genuinely offended. it is confusing.
00:36:05
Speaker
It is confusing. Okay, and final review, also negative. This movie was just a terrible sequel to the first one, and the first one isn't good at all anyways. They had these werewolves with these lazy designs.
00:36:17
Speaker
The main girl, Addison, is so unbearable, and she tries to involve herself in every little thing there is in this movie. Her hair insecurity is such a lame way to make a different character and there isn't really any impact of it other than her trying to get involved in everything.
00:36:30
Speaker
She kind of reminds me of a white girl who discovers that she's 6% African and makes it her whole personality. o which she kind of does. Whoopsie. That was a spicy review there. Sorry. wasn't sure if I should throw that in, but someone else said it, not me.
00:36:46
Speaker
I mean, it is giving that. It is giving that. So that's what the people thought. All right. Where are they now? Of course. So um i I have a lot and I apologize, but also you're welcome.
Cast Updates: Where Are They Now?
00:37:03
Speaker
Interesting because we've done this before and they haven't gone basically anywhere. Right. So I have Milo Manheim and Meg Donnelly are two main people. I just a tiny recap from what we did before.
00:37:15
Speaker
um But then I also covered a handful of werewolves. So o I got some people. It's exciting. okay We're going to start off with leading man Milo Manheim, who played Zed. um As we shared in our first Zombies episode, he competed on season 27 of Dancing with the Stars.
00:37:30
Speaker
He is currently leading Paramount Plus' show School Spirits. He's done a few theater gigs, including starring as Seymour in the off-Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors in early 2025. Oh, he is perfect perfect for that.
00:37:41
Speaker
Oh, and he is good. Y'all look up those videos online. He is good. Currently, he is gearing up for filming season three of School Spirits, and he continues to voice act in the Zombies franchise animated works.
00:37:54
Speaker
And if you didn't know, Zombies 4 is coming to a screen near you soon. And Milo both starred in and executive produced that. Whoa. Oh, that's exciting.
00:38:04
Speaker
Good for him. know. So hopefully it'll be good because he's in charge of it. Prediction. i think he will be like Zac Efron in the same way we're saying this like High School Musical of this generation.
00:38:16
Speaker
I think he'll be successful far beyond the Zombies franchise. I agree with you. He is a very good actor. Yeah. And he's got a great little charming personality. Like, I think people will love him. And he's so handsome.
00:38:28
Speaker
He is. Next, we have Meg Donnelly, who played Addison. Again, we've covered her before, but just a little for you. She continues to play her zombies characters in the animated series and the live action franchise. And also, she does a whole lot of voice acting and a bunch of other projects.
00:38:43
Speaker
She competed on season 13 of The Masked Singer, finishing third um And at just 24 years old at the time of being on that show, she was the youngest finalist that the show had ever had.
00:38:56
Speaker
um oh Finally, she is dating no longer JC, the cheerleader from Zombies 2. She is dating actor Drake Roger, who she met on the Supernatural spinoff series, The Winchesters.
00:39:08
Speaker
And they have been together for over a year and a half now. And they're just so cute. Oh, wow. I don't think I know him, but cool. He's a cutie. um So now we're going to jump into some of the actors that were new to the franchise.
00:39:22
Speaker
First, we have Chandler Kinney, who played werewolf pack leader Willa. She, spoiler alert, goes on to star in Zombies 3 as well. So we will see her again. Oh, goody.
00:39:32
Speaker
is a lifelong dancer, having trained in multiple styles, and she got to show that off when she competed on, wait for it, season 33 of Dancing with the Stars, because of course... For sure.
00:39:43
Speaker
She was the first that season to get a perfect score, and she ended up finishing third. Dang, good for her. She is so pretty, too. She's stunningly gorgeous.
00:39:55
Speaker
um In other news, she is a black belt in Taekwondo. She is a student at UCLA, and she co-founded a charity that helps disadvantaged youth, and it is called Chandler's Friends.
00:40:07
Speaker
Okay, I officially like her. i think I just like her character more now because of how cool she is as a person. Right, the character's annoying. She seems solid. She isn't. Oh, and can we all? I'm sorry.
00:40:18
Speaker
What was her relationship with the sexy werewolf? You know who I'm talking about? Like, are they supposed to be related? Are they dating? Like, who knows? Okay, they're clearly not dating.
00:40:28
Speaker
But there's chemistry there that goes beyond, like, sibling. There's something. I agree with you. There was something. And they're kind of the leaders, but only because the actual leaders are dying.
00:40:40
Speaker
I don't. Anyways. Yeah. It was complicated. Just had to throw that out there. It was a bit confusing to me. But speaking of him, lead male werewolf Wyatt. Oh, here we go. Pierce Joza.
00:40:52
Speaker
I don't have a ton of info on him. He seems very private. But he did do a few smaller roles leading up to this film. And he's done a few smaller things after. But overall, details on his life are pretty limited.
00:41:05
Speaker
Even when you head to his Instagram, he kind of just posts very... um gen z content which is not a derogatory term just saying that like there's not really like a life update thing happening rude you know it's just kind of pictures with an unrelated caption and you're like okay um so you're good my guy i gotta is he still hot ah oh yeah no he's still this movie just came out oh it is pierce jose p-e-a-r-c-e j-o-z-a
00:41:36
Speaker
Oh, Z-A. Oh, cool. Oh, yeah. He's very attractive. He's like younger than me and still very attractive. Okay, cool. He did return to this role in the animated series Zombies and in Zombies 3 and 4. Oh.
00:41:51
Speaker
so But that is all I have for you. That's all I got. What on earth is the fourth one going to be about? um my gosh. Okay. Cowboys. I don't know. The true monsters.
00:42:02
Speaker
The true monsters. The cowboys. I love cowboys. Please don't think I hate cowboys. Okay. Two more. um First, we have Ariel Martin, aka Baby Ariel.
00:42:13
Speaker
And I will tell you why that is her aka in a moment. She played the werewolf winter, the weird one with the space buns. She was annoying. Sorry. She was. And I'm going to tell you why.
00:42:24
Speaker
She is a TikTok slash YouTube influencer with literally millions of followers. Ding, ding, ding, ding. We're talking like 35 million ish followers.
00:42:36
Speaker
Yeah. What on earth? Who is this girl? And why is she in zombies too? it ah Tough to say. um Anyway, she released music singles prior to her role in this movie.
00:42:48
Speaker
She dances and sings and does funny content on the internet. She continues to create content across all of those platforms and engage with her fans online. And she is especially known these days for her anti-bullying activism that she is very strongly um like promotes on all her platforms.
00:43:08
Speaker
Well, that's good. Yeah, she continues to act as well. And we will see her in future zombies movies. but You can see literally everything about her life on the internet. The complete opposite of last guy.
00:43:20
Speaker
I would be 0% surprised if we found out that they were like we want a gen z tiktoker in zombies 2 to like get more traction and they found her and she was like i'll do it but only if i'm a werewolf and then they were like we're gonna rewrite the entire thing around werewolves for this girl ariel Who is the most annoying character and contributes absolutely zero to this film.
00:43:46
Speaker
i I'll give you this. She had some good moments. There were glimmers of a moment where I'm like, oh, is there acting going on there? But they went away click quickly whenever she spoke.
00:43:57
Speaker
And that's not necessarily to say she's a bad actress. I might be saying that, but that's not necessarily what this statement is. um More so that the lines she was given were so cringy that I was like, you're not helping this girl out at all.
00:44:11
Speaker
Correct. Yes. I'm not a casting director as you are, Natalie, but I personally think we could have gone another direction. You know, you you can't you can't deny 34 million followers is going to help you sell a movie.
00:44:27
Speaker
I guess. All right. Lastly, we have Kylie Russell, who played zombie activist friend Eliza. And that she had like a small little tiny role in this one.
00:44:39
Speaker
deserved better, but I wanted to mention her because she's been doing some fun stuff recently. Um, she has stayed busy in the zombies franchise, of course, like everybody else, she's returned for all the movies and the animated series. She has stayed busy and a handful of other projects too, but what she is most occupied with these days is being a mother.
00:44:59
Speaker
Really? Yeah, I know. Doesn't she look so young? Is she like 16? In 2022, she welcomed her first child, a daughter, and balancing filming Zombies 3 around her pregnancy and the early days of motherhood were very difficult for her, obviously.
00:45:15
Speaker
But she did it like a champ, um and she talks about it openly in interviews, and it's just the cutest, sweetest little thing. That precious. And her sweet little baby. And that is our cast. Dude, being seven and a half months pregnant right now, I can't even imagine trying to film a movie where I had to get that level of makeup done every single day while pregnant like this. Like, girl, you're my hero. And dancing.
00:45:40
Speaker
even and Even if she was like a month pregnant and she had to dance. Can you imagine? That's even worse. You got the morning sickness on the front end. Jeez. Well, good for More power to her.
00:45:51
Speaker
yeah Okay, what are we watching next week? Okay, yeah, so we should probably just alert you guys that because of the impending child I'm having, as I just mentioned, We are wrapping up season two here with this final episode, this next one that we're going to do.
00:46:07
Speaker
ah So hopefully it's a good one and not, you know, another you wish flop for us. After that, we are going to continue our biweekly release schedule and we're going to give you some mini sodes. Very exciting. So I think we'll be doing some ranking again and ah some other fun things that maybe we'll mention next week.
00:46:25
Speaker
but it should work out. And again, this is a bit of a loose schedule y'all cause you know, babies be babies, but it should work out that we're back towards the end of October. And maybe you'll only go like one week without an episode from us. Maybe we'll even figure something out.
00:46:41
Speaker
ah But just to give you that heads up, this will be our final full episode for season two before we move on. All right. You ready, Natalie? I'm so ready. Okay. Okay.
00:46:53
Speaker
The randomizer will choose for us. Season finale. Insert drum roll here, but I won't actually drum on the table because my audio engineer will be angry. Yeah. Hey, by the way, thank you, Kaori, who we love. We put her into the outro, but she's doing all of our audio sweetening for like the last 10 episodes and she rocks.
00:47:13
Speaker
So grateful for her. Okay. But here we go. Okay. Okay, Natalie. So here's the thing. The randomizer has picked a film that we can't do yet because we haven't watched the one before it, but I think it's worth us just watching the one before it for our finale. Is that okay with you? Yes.
00:47:35
Speaker
but me yes Maybe. Should I tell you? Should I tell you what it is? Yeah. What is it? The randomizer has selected Cheetah Girls 3. Normally I'd just skip this and pick another one, but we should watch Cheetah Girls 2.
00:47:48
Speaker
We're
00:47:51
Speaker
watching Cheetah Girls 2 for our finale. Cheetah Girls 2. For our season 2 finale. Cheetah Girls 2 for season 2. I'm so excited. I'm so excited. And I love this one, you guys. This is not like Cheetah Girls 1. You gotta strut like you mean it.
00:48:05
Speaker
Wow. This is so exciting. Oh my gosh. Cheetah Girls 2. We get Angel. Angel. Angel is in this movie. So is that girl that's like discount Hannah Montana.
00:48:16
Speaker
yeah She is discount Hannah Montana with the with the jeans that are long on one side and cut offs on the other side. I wanted those so bad. So bad when I was younger. Now I look back and I'm like, what is that's not fashion.
00:48:28
Speaker
That's just weird. It is, but I wanted it to. I think I probably did it actually at some point. um This was also another film that had like the pop-up edition on Disney Channel that gave you all the fun facts.
00:48:40
Speaker
Yes. Oh, recall. So you know I'll coming out with my fun facts next week and our taglines. Oh, I'm so excited. This is incredible. Thank you so much for this gift, randomizer. oh guys, I'm so excited. Season finale. Yay!
00:48:54
Speaker
It's gonna be great. All right, guys, that is it for this episode. We'll see you in two weeks. Watch Cheetah Girls 2 and enjoy every second. Yes, yes. And um might as well rewatch the Zombies 1 while you're at it.
00:49:06
Speaker
Yep, yep. Because apparently it's actually a good movie. And I really liked what we came up with for Zombies 2. Maybe we can use AI to create the Zombies 2 of our dreams. We could just write it.
00:49:17
Speaker
We're better than AI. I mean, we can use AI to create the visuals. it Can we? Well, that's a project for another year.
00:49:28
Speaker
all right, everybody. We love you. Love you guys. Bye. Bye. Thank you all so much for listening to this episode of Once Upon a DECOM. Like what you just heard? Leave us a rating and review. We'd love to hear your thoughts.
00:49:41
Speaker
Also follow us on Instagram and TikTok at onceuponadcom.podcast and share this podcast with your Disney loving friends. A big thanks to Gabby for editing this whole podcast together. Thanks, Fran. Plus, shout out to Kaori for sweetening the audio on this track. And don't forget to subscribe because there's always a new episode on the way. This is Gabriela. And Natalie. Signing off with a sprinkle of pixie dust. And a whole lot of nostalgia.