K-12

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K-12
Released	September 6th, 2019
Distributed by	Abramorama
Running time	92 minutes
Language	English
Budget	$5-7 million
Box office	$347,045 (reflects selected countries only)
Casting
Starring	Melanie Martinez Elita Harkov Zion Moreno Megan Gage Zinnett Hendrix Jesy McKinney Marsalis Wilson Maggie Budzyna
Production crew
Director	Melanie Martinez Josh McKie
Editors	Melanie Martinez Emilie Aubrey Niles Howard
Music	Melanie Martinez Michael Keenan Kinetics & One Love Emily Warren
Producers	Tyler Zelinsky Kimberly Stuckwisch Alissa Torvinen Gergely Varga
Writers	Melanie Martinez
Costume designer	Melanie Martinez Christina Flannery
Cinematograher	Josh McKie
Choreographers	Brian Friedman Joshua Wharmby
Makeup artist	Devan Weitzman
SFX makeup artist	Mo Meinhart
Hairstylist	William Scott Blair

"K-12" is a theatrical film released on September 6^th, 2019, directed and written by Melanie Martinez.

Background

Melanie began writing the script in the summer of 2017 and finished it in February of 2018. The script was then cut down and sent in during mid-2018, with filming taking place in Europe throughout late 2018. The film was edited in early 2019.

On May 15^th, 2019, Melanie released a 19-second teaser trailer, revealing the official title of the album and film, K-12. Exactly one week later, on May 22^nd, a second teaser was released. On May 29^th, the third teaser was released, revealing the release date. On June 17^th, a preview featuring clips of the movie and a snippet of a new song was premiered at the MTV Movie Awards.

The film's official trailer was released alongside the album tracklist and pre-order on July 23^rd, 2019.

The film portrays the story of Melanie's sophomore album. It contains the music videos for all thirteen songs from K-12 with dialogue in between each one, making it an hour and a half long. The videos themselves will also each be individually released once every two weeks.

Synopsis

A brave-hearted girl and her charming best friend make a bewitching pair as they embark on a mission to take down the oppressive schooling system of K-12.

Cry Baby, a strong and sensitive girl, is sent off to a disturbing sleepaway school that's hidden underneath a grandiose façade. Luckily, she has a sweet and unapologetic best friend who sticks up for her when she gets bullied by the other students whose brains are under control by the Principal and his wicked staff. With the help of the magical friends they meet along the way, as well as an Angelic Spirit Guide, they are able to gain the strength they need to fight off the school's belligerent patriarchal conditioning.

Plot

This section uses content from Wikipedia.

Cry Baby wakes up hesitant for her first day at K-12 Sleepaway School. Realizing that her mother is passed out due to excessive drinking, she knows that she will have to walk to the bus stop. On the ride to school, she is bullied by the other students for having a gap between her teeth as she sits next to her best friend Angelita (Wheels on the Bus). They are both revealed to have powers that turn their eyes completely black. The bus driver becomes distracted by the students who are misbehaving and swerves into a lake. Cry Baby uses her powers to lift the bus out of the water and into the sky, before landing it at the school.

Cry Baby and Angelita arrive late to Ms. Daphne's class and are scolded by her. The students recite the rule about tardiness: "when the bell rings, you must be in your assigned seat". During class, a popular mean girl named Kelly becomes jealous of Cry Baby because she has been flirting with Kelly's boyfriend Brandon, so she writes a disturbing letter for Cry Baby saying "You at Recess" accompanied by a stick person and a tombstone. At naptime, Cry Baby shows Angelita the letter. Cry Baby expresses her worries that she has no chance at winning since she doesn't know how to fight, to which Angelita suggests that she uses her powers. Cry Baby refuses, stating that it would be cheating. At recess, Kelly begins punching Cry Baby, until Cry Baby levitates and attempts to strangle Kelly with her braids. As this is happening, Ms. Daphne sees what is happening and stops the fight (Class Fight).

At the Principal's Office, the Principal fires Ms. Harper for being transgender. Immediately after, Cry Baby finds out from a boy named Thomas that the Principal forces the students to take pills in order to control them and stop them from leaving the school. Angered, she uses her powers to call him on the phone and insults him, calling him out on everything he has done wrong. The Principal begins coughing after having a drink, implying that he was poisoned. In tears, Ms. Daphne orders the Bunny Doctors to cure him (The Principal). Cry Baby becomes a marionette puppet to entertain the students during show and tell until Ms. Penelope drops her, causing blood to drip from her nose (Show & Tell). At the Nurse's Office, Angelita turns Cry Baby back into a human. The nurses attempt to keep them restrained and under control (Nurse's Office) until an angelic spirit guide named Lilith frees Cry Baby and Angelita. She attacks the nurses and Bunny Doctors.

In drama class, Cry Baby expresses her discomfort in being placed in a "domestic" role in the school play, instead wishing to play a strong role such as a film director or the President of the United States. The drama teacher, Mr. Cornwell, dismisses her concerns and calls in the guards to capture her when she attempts to leave. Cry Baby is forced to play the role she was assigned, although the events take a turn when she presses a hot clothes iron to another student's face. She then warns the students in the auditorium that they are being brainwashed and uses her powers to defeat the guards and free the students. The students rush to the Principal's Office at Cry Baby's order and begin tearing him apart, killing him (Drama Club). Cry Baby and Angelita bury the body, then leave to play tennis with their friend Celeste. Due to a bubble blown by Cry Baby, the tennis ball floats to a boy named Ben.

Later on, Cry Baby is seen is a locker room preparing herself for swimming class. The film switches between scenes of her dancing with the other girls in her class and wearing a dress with a large skirt made of cake. She has a look of distress on her face as several boys begin to eat the cake (Strawberry Shortcake). Cry Baby then has a dream in which she is speaking to Lilith, telling her that she doesn't want to be part of this world.

Cry Baby and Celeste notice that Angelita's skirt is stained with blood after she complains about "the worst stomach pain [she has] ever experienced". The three rush to the bathroom to cover it. At lunchtime, Cry Baby meets a girl named Magnolia after separating herself from Kelly's clique, who didn't actually want to be her friends; they were only interested in gossiping and spreading rumors (Lunchbox Friends). Cry Baby and her friends soon discover that Fleur, a friend of Kelly, has the same abilities as them, and they set up a food fight in an attempt to separate her from the group. After seeing that Fleur is leaving with Kelly, Cry Baby follows her to the bathroom, where she realizes that Fleur is bulimic, likely partially due to pressure from Kelly to maintain a specific figure in order to remain friends with her (Orange Juice). Cry Baby tells Fleur that "everyone is deserving of love", and the two become friends. Leo, the Principal's son, stops the food fight and asks who is responsible for the situation. Kelly informs him that Cry Baby was the one who started it, resulting in her being sent to detention (Detention). She is brainwashed by the needle given to her by a nurse until she is set free by Leo.

Ben slips a note into Cry Baby's locker, which contains an anonymous poem confessing his feelings to her. Leo then checks the security footage to see Cry Baby and her friends discussing a plan to take him down. In biology class, the teacher flirts with Angelita, who is flattered by his advances. The teacher uses his relationship with Angelita to trick her into ingesting a potion that causes her to shrink. Just as he is about to cut her open, Cry Baby enters the room and uses her abilities to throw him into the wall. She turns Angelita back to her normal size, and the latter attacks the teacher with a knife, presumably killing him (Teacher's Pet). After a conversation with Angelita about their past lives and marijuana, Cry Baby sings about the requirements one must meet to be with her (High School Sweethearts).

Ben is preparing to ask Cry Baby to the school dance when Leo bumps into him. He watches from behind a wall as Leo asks Cry Baby to the dance, to which she accepts, while thinking "keep your friends close and your enemies closer". He claims to be the one who wrote the note. At the dance, Cry Baby realizes that she had messed up the plan to escape the school by accepting Leo's offer. Her friends express disappointment in her, and she storms off to the bathroom. A ghost appears in the mirror, telling Cry Baby, "Don't beat yourself up" when she is mad at herself for ruining the plan. Leo makes an announcement to the students that he knew what Cry Baby had been planning, and forces all of the students to dance for hours. Cry Baby, who is disguised as a woman named Lorelai, locks Leo in a closet and frees everyone from the spell. She warns the students to leave the school, and all except Kelly flee downstairs to the exit (Recess).

Cry Baby then meets Ben, who confesses to her that he was the one who put the note in her locker. Together, they create a plan to use a bubble to make the school float away and disappear. Once this is done, they both jump out of the balcony to escape. After the school disappears, Cry Baby kisses Ben on the cheek. Lilith appears again with the gate to return home. Magnolia, Fleur, Celeste, and Ben are the first ones to leave. As Angelita was about to go through the gate, she stops and asks Cry Baby if she's coming or not. Cry Baby looks back in shock, hinting at a sequel.

Cast

• Cry Baby: Melanie Martinez
• Angelita: Elita Harkov
• Celeste: Megan Gage
• Magnolia: Zinnett Hendrix
• Fleur: Zion Moreno
• Kelly: Maggie Budzyna
• Blue Boy 1: Adrian Jurics
• Blue Boy 2: Gergely Kiss
• Lucy: Natalia Toth
• Glue Boy 1: Tamas Gog
• Bus Driver: Robert Szabolcs
• Jason: Bence Balogh
• Brandon: Vilmos Heim
• Ghost Girl: Alissa Torvinen
• Ms. Daphne: Anne Wittman
• Henry: Joel Francis-Williams
• Principal: Toby Eddington
• Ms. Harper: Kate O'Donnell
• Thomas: Zacky Agama
• Ms. Penelope: Olga Kovács
• Lilith: Kimesha Campbell
• Mr. Cornwell: Scott Alexander Young
• Dean: Balázs Csémy
• Ben: Marsalis Wilson
• Nurse 1: Judith Amsenga
• Leo: Jesy McKinney
• Biology Teacher: Marton Behr
• Lorelai: Katie Sheridan
• Maya: Oyunbat Batsaikhan
• Daniel: Daniel Kazarján
• Mean Girl 1: Laurka Lanczki
• Mean Girl 2: Ágota Dunai
• Mean Girl 3: Rebeka Péter
• Student: Ngo Quoc Huy 
• Uncredited: Genesis Ilada
• Uncredited: Kendy Cruz
• Uncredited: Quei Tann
• Uncredited: Samantha Lepre

Dancers

• Alice Gorst
• Lorna Brown
• Judit Kalo
• Natasa Podlovics
• Dora Paulov
• Cintia Staudinger
• Amata Farkas
• Nikolett Szabo
• Abel Indrei
• Niki Krauczy
• Vivien Varga
• Jozsef Horvath
• Keoni Hayles
• Nara Narantsatral
• Devon Young
• Alishia Blake
• Daniela Monterio
• Olivia Lewis
• Dreya Mac
• Kailum Richardson
• Levan Peart
• Sian Langley
• Rebecca Moffett
• Nicole Valverde
• Asha Verma
• Tamas Fischer
• Gemma Nicholas
• Olivia Higham
• Angel Wharmby
• Lillia Radoci

Synchronized Swimmers

• Lili Baraksó
• Adél Fodor
• Réka Laszló
• Zsófiá Laszló
• Kinga Mészáros
• Natália Szappanos-Nagy
• Sára Tringer

Film

Melanie Martinez - K-12 (The Film)

Errors

• As Wheels on the Bus begins, the view cuts to the bus driving away. At this point, a cameraman can be seen in a window.
• When Brandon enters the bus, Maya is sitting with a girl who was originally sitting in front of Angelita and Crybaby instead of Dan. When everyone looks at Brandon, Maya is sitting with Dan and the girl is in her original seat.
• When Brandon boards the bus, Cry Baby stands up, singing to him. After Kelly catches them and gets angry, Cry Baby is shown sitting on the seat in front of Angelita. When Brandon hears Kelly scream, he pushes Cry Baby, who is standing in front of him again, out of the way and into the previously mentioned seat.
• When Angelita and Cry Baby get off the bus, Cry Baby is on the left and Angelita is on the right. However, when the angle changes, they have switched positions.
• In Class Fight, before the second verse, Brandon can be seen sitting with Cry Baby and Angelita in the background even though supposedly he hadn't sat with them yet.
• At the beginning of Show & Tell, one of Cry Baby's female classmates raises her head twice: first when the door first opens, then in sync with the rest of the students.
• The cut on Cry Baby's arm from Show & Tell does not reappear in Nurse's Office despite the scene taking place directly after.
• In Nurse's Office, a nurse cuts Cry Baby's hair and throws it away; however, the chunk of hair is not seen on the floor later on.
• In Nurse's Office, when Lilith appears and the nurses turn around, one of the nurses on the right has her hands in the front while the rest have their hands behind their backs. When Lilith makes the nurses pass out, the same nurse quickly puts her hands behind her back.
• Some of the nurses that were killed by Lilith in Nurse's Office reappeared during Drama Club.
• During Lunchbox Friends, Melanie knocks a tray off a table with her foot. However, when the scene cuts back to the table, the tray cannot be seen on the floor.
• After Orange Juice in the cafeteria when Cry Baby goes behind the counter, a boy with blue hair and glasses is seen left of the counter. The camera goes to a wider shot soon after where he suddenly vanishes and reappears when the camera angle changes again.
• During Detention, the girl sitting in the middle of the first row in the class raises her head twice; once when the nurse starts pricking her, and another time when she ends.
• During Teacher's Pet, the Biology Teacher throws the sheet of stickers out after putting a gold star on Angelita's test; however, he is seen holding the sheet again in a later shot.

• During High School Sweethearts and Orange Juice, Melanie's inside of the arm tattoos can be spotted.

Q&A

On May 29^th, 2019, Melanie did a Q&A regarding the album and film on her Instagram story. Questions about the film can be found below.

Trivia

• The film is inspired by pop surrealism.
• The film was #2 on YouTube trending on September 8^th, 2019, two days after its release.
• Melanie helped edit the movie.
• The movie was filmed at the Eszterháza in Fertőd, Hungary.
• According to Melanie, she had to be on set at 3 am. She started the day with hair and makeup.
• Melanie's tattoos were covered up with an airbrush to "separate [her] as a human and Cry Baby as a character".
• The film was originally meant to be three hours long, however, it had to be cut down for budget reasons.
  • The original film had an $11 million budget.
• There are two name typos in the dancer section of the credits; Gemma Nicholas' name did not have a space and Abel Indrei was mentioned twice.
• The song played during the credits is Fire Drill.
• Melanie confirmed that the film will have a sequel.
• During the filming of the Class Fight scene where Angelita has fire in her hand, a pillow caught on fire.
• According to Natalia Toth, the temperature on set was extremely low, getting to -15°C, because it was winter in Budapest.
• Cry Baby is the only student in the whole school with her nails painted.
• Class Fight occurs on May 23^rd, as the blackboard reading "NAP TIME" contains the date.
  • In a regular year, May 23^rd is the 143^rd day of the year, leaving 222 days left until the end of the year. This was likely deliberate as 222 is Melanie's lucky number.

Gallery

K-12 (Film)/Gallery