My Sweet Monster is an action-packed, musical, fairy tale that constantly calls attention to its own trope, often through short, catchy, original songs, discussing therein how a fairy tale is unlike real life, that is, the adults in this beautifully animated adventure assert that love is not real or worth fighting for, until the hero wins the day, and they all learn the truth. My Sweet Monster is clever in this way, and in other ways, as the theme of nature versus technology abounds, with robots created by humans that are both helpful and monstrous, depending on how they are programmed.
The overall message, that humans are destructive to “Mother Nature,” and therefore self-destructive, is upheld by the heroic, sweet, monster Bogey (Martin Cooke) and his helpful friend Bunny (Josh Wilson), as they spend their days chasing people out of the natural world they inhabit in order to preserve peace and harmony. When Princess Barbara (Kay Rommel) escapes her palace, where she is essentially held prisoner, in search of her great love Edward (a character in a series of novels she reads), she is entangled with Bogey and Bunny in their natural habitat, and learns the value and power of nature, as well as the meaning of true love, as together they defeat the evil Weasel and his egotistical plot to take over the world.
The idea here, that nature cannot be contained and manipulated without consequences, asserts that everyone and everything has their place in the natural order of things, and they should stay in their lane. Both sides of the coin are highlighted – that technology is neither good nor bad on its own, but is a byproduct of the aspirations of man, and should, at all times, be humbly submissive to that which is greater than themselves. Even the concept of cyborgianism is introduced, as the King has used his engineering skills to fashion robotic hearts for the fragile creatures he cares for, and when his daughter discovers this, she affirms a regretful Bunny that he is not a “thing” because he has a soul, alluding to the human power of choice and the ability to love.
In the end, Mother Nature is the ultimate hero, who is capable of taking and restoring life out of grace towards respectful humans that defer to its superiority, exemplifying the idea that true love is found in unlikely places and characters, in line with a type of Beauty and the Beast message, as Barbara sees the heart of her monster hero, and through faith and hope, helps restore him to his natural condition.
My Sweet Monster is awarded the Dove Seal of Approval for All Ages.
The Dove Take
It’s a lively, musical, adventure film for every age, that cautions where humans should place their faith and hope.
