Vampirina: A Show Where Only The Goofy Sidekicks Don't Have Names Labelling What They Are.

Ha, I've only been getting like, one of these things a month out, huh?

Well, I'm gonna be honest, I'm losing speed for this project. A lot of new shows have been coming out on Disney, and while I usually am pretty able to watch them all with a day or two each, I'm actually starting to see shows with premises that make me uncomfortable. Particularly, Hailey's On It! It really does seem as though they made a show that specifically triggers my obsessive compulsive disorder, and personally, I don't wanna watch it. So I think what I plan to do is watch everything that came out up to that point, and then nix the project.

Anyway, why don't we talk about Vampirina?

12:41 PM · Jun 15, 2021 "vampirina: do not be afraid. i am a friendly normal vampire."
12:46 PM · Jun 15, 2021 "remember how doc mcstuffins is like cheers jr? vampirina is very clearly addams family jr."
12:50 PM · Jun 15, 2021 "vampirina from transylvania but she moved to cisylvania"
9:20 AM · Jun 20, 2021 "vampirina feels like "what if the whole addams family had an anxiety disorder" and i think this anxiety comes thru in a lot of chris nee's work. i saw a LOT of it in doc mcstuffins, and even some of the henry hugglemonster eps she worked on that i saw"

Vampirina is about what you'd expect, it's about Vampirina Hauntley (also called Vee in the series) moving from Transylvania to Pennsylvania and getting adjusted to the human world. And of course, she hides the fact that she's a vampire from those she doesn't completely trust yet. It's worth noting this show was created by Chris Nee of Doc McStuffins fame, who is also a lesbian, so the gay metaphors here definitely come through. 

And if you it's stupid for the character named Vampirina to hide that she's a vampire, let me introduce you to the Hauntley's next door neighbors, the Peoplesons.

12:44 PM · Jun 15, 2021 "edna peopleson...."

Poppy Peopleson is Vee's best friend and one of the few people who knows that the Hauntleys are vampires. She is generally really cool about it, while hiding it from her mom, Edna, and her brother, Edgar. "Beach Night" is probably the best example of this, as vampires in the show turn into bats uncontrollably if in the sun too long and without sunblock.

7:47 AM · Jun 20, 2021 "vampirina: this is terrible beach weather
poppy: 75 degrees and not a cloud in the sky
im siding w vee on this one 75 is WAY too cold for beach"
7:48 AM · Jun 20, 2021 "so normal vampires burn up in the sun twilight vampires sparkle and vampirina's family... gets the batties......"
7:49 AM · Jun 20, 2021 "THEY FORGOT DEMI'S STUFF... also the vampire sunblock."

They also have to hide the other creatures who live next door often as well.

8:42 AM · Jun 20, 2021 "gregoria is doomed to be edna's garden gnome :-\"

You may wonder why they'd want to hide their vampire (and other monsters) status, and I would say to look no further than Edgar. Edgar is that guy who is definitely weird about it. He's something of a miniature paranormal investigator and is fascinated by vampires and other monsters. In the end, it turns out that he's cool with it too, but you can really see how willing the guy is to make a spectacle of monsters, when they just want to live a peaceful life.

8:14 AM · Jun 20, 2021 "FUCK EDGAR...."
9:13 AM · Jun 20, 2021 "do i HAVE to watch the edgar lore episode"
10:31 AM · Jun 20, 2021 "edgar is flipping out because his neighbor vampirina is a vampire"
10:32 AM · Jun 20, 2021 "you are a person and your last name is peopleson"

Then there's Bridget, Vee's other friend who's a homophobe. 

6:02 PM · Jun 16, 2021 "bridget is the kind of person who goes "i'm not racist/homophobic/etc BUT""
8:15 AM · Jun 20, 2021 "bridget is homophobic but she goes to pride"

Okay, Bridget isn't ACTUALLY homophobic. Bridget's whole thing is that she is very jumpy and anxious, which makes her afraid of monsters, including vampires. When you're an adult, it definitely feels aggravating to see someone like Bridget hanging out with Vee, but I think from a kid's point of view, it makes sense. There's probably a bunch of young kids out there like Bridget, who are taught by their parents, or society at large to hate others because they're different from that, and Vampirina helps those kids start to be social with people who are different and learn to accept them.

In addition to the show being about acceptance, there's also episodes about the Hauntleys dealing with new concepts from the human world, such as "Deliver-Eek," an episode about the Hauntleys discovering next-day shipping. Honestly I kind of forget how recent this show is... It only finished up about a week after I watched it.

8:47 AM · Jun 20, 2021 "vampirina touching upon the poor working conditions of deliverers but blaming it on the consumer... smh"

Other episodes are about finding other monsters and befriending them or introducing them to the main cast, like "Mummy Mayhem," where Vee runs into a family friend who's working as a museum exhibit and wants to be more popular.

5:44 PM · Jun 16, 2021 "man is just rlly sad that people like dinosaurs more than him"

Or "TNN" which introduces Vee's childhood friend Frankie, who comes to school only to experience a ton of anti-monster microaggressions.

4:11 PM · Jun 17, 2021 "this girl reported on microaggressions against her all day and everyone is telling HER she is in the wrong"

The third season has a lot more focus on the monsters, unfortunately, I didn't watch most of the third season, because Vampirina becomes incredibly context heavy after a while.

6:45 PM · Jun 20, 2021 "fun fact: i got to vampirina a week before the season 3 finale. if there was gonna be new lore added to the series i don't care anymore."

So why don't I talk about what I really like in this show, the monsters.

9:15 AM · Jun 20, 2021 "sitting thru vampirina finally has me understanding how creature likers feel, because the human/humanoid characters (except MAYBE poppy) do not hold up to the funny little creechurs like demi, gregoria, and chef remy bones"

This show has a lot of humanoid monsters, which I discussed, but it also has a lot of funny little creatures. There's Demi, a silly little ghost guy who usually helps Vee whenever she's in trouble. Usually in times when Vee's secret is at risk, he's there. Not too far behind Demi is Gregoria, a grumpy but well meaning gargoyle who bounces off Demi really well! Honestly, I remember "Gregoria Takes Flight" being one of my favorite episodes of the series that I watched, because the focus on her as she tried to see the stars was really sweet.

6:04 PM · Jun 16, 2021 "gregoria gay ally"
8:12 AM · Jun 20, 2021 "god gregoria rlly is the best girl"

Finally, there's Chef Remy Bones. I don't really have anything to see about him except he has one of the funniest names in the show (and this is the show with Poppy Peopleson) and he walks around the Hauntley house almost naked cooking them the nicest delicacies in the world.

8:09 AM · Jun 20, 2021 "this man only wears an apron and hat which is so fucked up of him"

Vampirina is one of those shows where I really enjoy what it's trying to do, but I can't help finding it incredibly boring. Which, fair, it wasn't meant for me. It was meant for the four year old who relates to Bridget, Poppy, Edgar, or maybe even Vee herself.  It's honestly one of those shows that does make me question my theory about baby shows being made for kids and adults, because I really do think a child's eye is required for this one.

Oh also the theme song owns.

7:46 AM · Jun 20, 2021 "vampirina theme goes hard and then immediately loses like. all its sauce...."

Overall Rating for Vampirina: C Tier