This is the first installment of Battle of the Bands: a collection of essays about our favorite fictional bands to tie in with our latest Zine.
Before ruling social media with their TikTok comebacks and Instagram-worthy make-up collaborations, the Bratz were known to children and parents alike as the girls with a ‘Passion 4 Fashion’, rivaling that of the Barbies and Polly Pockets of the world. With their signature full lips, big eyes, and an astronomical head to figure ratio, Bratz dolls stood out as the rebellious cutting-edge of children’s fashion toys.
The Bratz are no stranger to media cross-pollination; their stylish line of dolls has spawned video games, animated series, and even feature films celebrating and selling the best that they have to offer. In 2005, they took the music world by storm with their film Bratz: Rock Angelz. The direct-to-DVD music world, at least.
Rock Angelz more than a promotional tie-in. It set itself apart from other music films by putting a heavy emphasis on style, sounds and genres that are often belittled because they are commercially enjoyed by young girls, and empowering female friendships. It also captured this nostalgic, noughties awkwardness that feels familiar, and non-judgemental — free to experiment and achieve the impossible. There’s a wholesomeness in their edginess, showing that the Bratz can be true to themselves without fitting the bubblegum pink, cookie-cutter mold of their competitors.
The film opens with the Rock Angelz’ hit single, “So Good”, a piano ballad and establishes its pop-rock bonafides, comparable to the likes of Evanescence, Avril Lavigne, or Paramore. The girls gather around a car they’re washing jamming out to their own song on the radio. What’s curious about the band is that they’re only seen performing So Good with electric guitars, and not a drummer or keyboardist in sight despite those instruments present in the track.
The girls then take us through how their humble beginnings starting a teen fashion magazine led them to rock and roll superstardom. When Jade (Soleil Moon Frye) gets fired from her internship at Your Thing Magazine by her evil, overbearing boss Burdine Maxwell (Wendie Malick), she and her friends — Cloe (Olivia Hack), Sasha (Tia Mowry), and Yasmin (Dionne Quan) start their own publication: Bratz Magazine.
Hunting down their first-issue scoops take the Bratz across the pond to London, where Cloe meets a not-so-charming Prince Charming, Sasha and Jade butt heads, and Burdine and her cronies — the Tweevils, Kirstee and Kaycee — are hot on their heels. With the help of the Bratz Boyz, Dylan and Cameron, they find themselves in the company of a fictionalised Simon Cowell, Byron Powell, who gives them their shot at musical stardom by performing with singer Roxxi (Jessica DiCicco), forming the Rock Angelz.
It takes a while to get where we need to go, but Rock Angelz comes prepared to shake things up with comedic cutaways, slapstick visual gags, and the heart and soul of many teen films: shopping montages.
The most obvious reason for our heroes to be strutting around different changing rooms is that they need to sell the clothes on these dolls. Each montage advertises a different collection: the Rock Angelz, obviously, their vintage, pirate-inspired Treasures look, followed by the retro, London-bound, and street-ready Pretty ‘N’ Punk collection. We see the girls flaunt their Treasures looks at their hometown mall, complete with bandanas, statement belts, and thigh-high boots adorned in skull imagery and jewels. We don’t get to see the complete Rock Angelz look until the third act of the film; where, despite their cohesive uniformity, each individual girl has their own take on how to style newsboy caps with patent leather, or snakeskin with cropped biker jackets.
Pretty ‘N’ Punk is the look with the most screen time. The Bratz marry London’s 80s punk scene with their noughties Hot Topic sensibilities, complete with Union Jacks, colored hair extensions, and lots of plaid and tartan. An eponymous Pretty ‘N’ Punk song takes their montages anywhere from London’s tourist hot spots, to shopping mall changing rooms, straight to the club dance floor.
For a film about a rock band, the band itself is only seen performing one song. The Rock Angelz’ hit single “So Good” bookends the film, culminating in their performance with Roxxi at Byron’s benefit concert. “So Good” lands the Bratz a record deal, a world tour, and plaques on plaques in sales, but the girls ultimately decide to return to their humble fashion magazine roots.
The official soundtrack includes “What R U Waiting 4” from Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, originally performed by Lindsay Lohan, which was titled “Change the World” in the official Rock Angelz album. All the album tracks are pop-rock heavy, as if they were performed by the Rock Angelz themselves, whilst the songs in the film are an ode to teen radio hits of the time and the feelings they evoke.
For example, when Cloe finally realises her Prince Charming is a Royal Jerk, she wanders the streets of London to a hopeful pop ballad with shimmery guitars, just as Cameron sweeps her off her feet on his motorcycle like a knight in shining armour. Though the song doesn’t appear on the official soundtrack, it speaks to the film’s eclectic use of genre and homages to the teen film genre. Within the film itself are more R&B and hip-hop laden pop tracks like “Livin’ It Up” or the Bratz theme song — both of which have become staples within the franchise.
Rock Angelz aren’t the Bratz’s final foray into music. In their live action film, Bratz (2007), the girls are high schoolers that come together to overthrow a popular girl’s rule over their school by beating her in a talent show. Yasmin (Nathalia Ramos) is the singer of the group, whilst Sasha (Logan Browning) choreographs their performance; Jade (Janel Parrish) uses her fashion powers to create their costumes and special effects for the show, and Cloe (Skyler Shaye) gathers all the outcasts and loser cliques to join them together on stage. The live-action band was more of a girl group than a rock band — complete with wireless pop star mics, matching outfits, and back-up dancers. The Rock Angelz’ album had more music that felt like music instead of promotional crossovers like the live-action Bratz’ Brattitude. The live-action soundtrack, however, came with some heavy hitters like Ashlee Simpson’s “Invisible” and “Express Yourself” by the Black Eyed Peas — very distinct sounds from the mid-2000s with an R&B-pop hit and a classic teen ballad about insecurity.
In 2008, they returned to their animated band roots when they’re sent to a performing arts camp a la Camp Rock in Bratz: Girlz Really Rock to help a friend achieve their full potential, this time playing different instruments!
All in all, Bratz Rock Angelz will be remembered fondly as a nostalgic call to a simpler time, a story of friendship, fashion, and fun. Clearing a level in its GameBoy Advanced game was like you were in the film’s storyline yourself, being able to interact and be a part of the Rock Angelz adventure directly. Bratz will be re-releasing the Rock Angelz dolls as part of their 20th-anniversary rollout, so the angels with a Passion 4 Fashion will definitely be back with a rockin’ vengeance.
