Miia Harris & Heather Laura Gray Talk “Monster High 2”

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Yesterday, we announced the winner of our Monster High 2 giveaway. To further celebrate the film, which was just released on DVD three weeks ago, I was able to speak with star Miia Harris, who plays Clawdeen Wolf, and choreographer Heather Laura Gray, who won an Emmy for her choreography on the first Monster High film. These two talented women shared what it was like working on a production that included acting, singing, and dancing in huge platform shoes!

To get into the spirit of Monster High, I wore a “Business Goth” outfit for our interview with a wig from Irresistible Me and rhinestone cat ears. But my little fancy dress was nothing compared to how much work went into the costuming on this movie: Harris shared that her days on set could start as early as 3:30 AM, in order for the costume and makeup department to get her in full Clawdeen attire with everything from a wig cap to contacts. From there, it would be on to rehearsals – sometimes memorizing last-minute changes to the script – and filming. “It is go, go, go for sure,” she told me.

Those excellent multi-tasking skills paid off when it came to learning the dance sequences for the movie. “The cast was so game,” Gray said. They were working with an extremely tight timeframe, doing five numbers in just two weeks; but Gray explained that she enjoyed the process. “I just love being in this space. It is always a challenge, no matter what, to try and create something incredible for camera in that short amount of time. But I felt like we could like do anything with what the script was offering and have even more fun while working hard.”

And that hard work paid off when Gray took home the Children’s and Family Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography for Monster High: The Movie in 2023. The combination of Gray’s choreography and talented actors like Harris expressing their vibrant characters through dance makes for a winning team, creating a movie that is immensely enjoyable for families to watch together. So grab your popcorn and your cat ears, because Monster High 2 is now available on DVD!