Goosebumps 2 movie review

Movie Title: Goosebumps 2 You can click here to purchase: Goosebumps 2 [With Bonus Content]

Grade: B

Rating: PG, 100 minutes

In a Nutshell: Slappy Halloween! This movie is a fun addition to the Goosebumps books and movie franchise that is sure to get you in the mood for Halloween. My 4 sons loved reading Goosebumps Series 10 Books Collection Set by R.L.Stine (Classic Covers Set 2) when they were little and would have loved watching these Halloween movies if they had been created back then. Goosebumps 2 has a smaller budget than the first one and it shows, but it’s still fun to watch.

Tips for parents:

Some profanity, mostly coming from the teenage girl in the story.
Lots of property damage.
The mom kicks a boy out of her daughter’s bedroom. Good for her. My parents had a very strict rule of no boys in bedrooms. Very wise.
Some cleavage.
A boys’ pants fall down three times and you see his boxers.
Kids in perilous situations.
Some creepy images
Name calling and bullying.
Some violence between creepy things and the kids who are trying to get rid of them.
Sarah disobeys her mother. Talk to your kids about why it’s important to be responsible and why parents ask kids to do certain things.
Young children might be scared when all of the Halloween costumes and decorations come to life at about 44 minutes into the movie. Some are super creepy. Older kids will get a kick out of it.

Uplifting theme:

“Fear is something everyone experiences.” – Sarah (Madison Iseman)
Everyone has a story to tell.
Betrayal
Family
Never judge a book by its cover.
“Maybe when you face your fears, life stops being so scary after all.” – Sarah There is a strong theme of conquering your fears.

Things I liked:

Nikola Tesla has a statue of him in the town square and plays a big part in the movie’s story.
The mom, played by Wendi McLendon-Covey, has a lot of funny lines. Her snarky character made me laugh out loud many times.
Wow! That octopus Halloween decoration made my Mr. Chu was amazing. Some of my neighbors decorate big for Halloween, but never like that! Some sweet friends of mine absolutely adore Halloween and turn their house and yard into a haunted house. You can see some of the cool things they have done over the years at The Hayes Haunt.
It’s such a simple thing, but I really liked the opening music. It made me feel like I was in for a fun adventure.
Lots of jumps and scares, but designed for kids.
Street Fighters coming to life was awesome.
Slappy’s laugh is hysterical. In the last movie, Jack Black was the voice of Slappy, but he was busy filming The House with a Clock in Its Walls , so Mick Wingert took on the voice role in this film. Be sure to read my movie review for The House with a Clock in Its Walls
As an author of 23 books, I love that a book has so much power in this story. (wink) You can check them out at www.TrinasBooks.com (shameless plug)
Some humor that adults will get a kick out of. I especially liked the red balloon comment R.L. Stine (Jack Black) made, as well as his typewriter comment.
This was probably the first movie I’ve seen Ken Jeong in that wasn’t completely crude. He’s usually so nasty and not appropriate for children, but he was totally fine in this movie.
Great ending to lead into another Goosebumps movie! That’s good or bad news, depending on how much you like these movies!
It bothered some people that the cast was different from the first Goosebumps movie, but because all of the Goosebumps 25th Anniversary Retro Set change it up each time, I didn’t mind at all.
The real R.L. Stine actually appears in the movie! He’s the presenter of the Science Award at the end of the movie.

Things I didn’t like:

You never learn who the person was who first called the Junk Brothers to go to the creepy house.
The CGI isn’t as good as the first. Actually, the movie isn’t as good as the first Goosebumps movie. Don’t get me wrong. I still thought this one was fun.

Funny lines:

“I don’t need a wing man.” – Mom/Kathy
“Honey, you need to stop electrocuting yourself and eat your breakfast.” – Mom/Kathy
“You know what else has monetary value, Sam? Actual money.” – Sonny (Jeremy Ray Taylor)
“Oh, my writing was so cliché back then.” – R.L. Stine (Jack Black)
“Kids falling from the sky? My work here is done.” – R.L. Stine

Interesting lines:

“A mother’s love is forever.” – Slappy (voiced by Mick Wingert)
“All the horrors in the world can’t compare to the terrors of the blank page.” – R. L. Stine talking about writing books. (So true!) He also said “Write what you know.” Great advice.
“I think most of us are afraid that we don’t have a story to tell, that there’s nothing special about us.” – Sarah

If you missed the first movie in the franchise, you can catch up now!

Goosebumps