There is a hatchetfield cinematic universe as it were so sometimes when the crowd went crazy it's because a character or concept from one of the other two got referenced. Like one (or more) of the lords in black.
Not just the 2 other shows, there's also 13 Nightmare Time Stories, which is where the other 4 Lords in Black were introduced, as well as a lot of other characters in this show
I enjoy the fact that Max is BOTH categories of bully you listed. There is clearly some fucked shit going on at home for him, but, BUT, the show does not for a moment pretend that he isn't a complete psychopath. Because of what's going on? Probably, yeah. But fixing that wouldn't have likely fixed him. You can see this in what he does after coming back to life. He didn't want revenge for being killed. He wanted revenge because the moment he was gone the entire school deconstructed his world view. His order. And the town at large just let them.
The audience loving the Lords in Black makes sense if you do watch the rest of the trilogy, but I think all the shows stand well enough on their own that it's very satisfying to watch just one show, as much as it's satisfying to watch all of them!
28:20 You are absoluetly spot on! In every appearance Grace has, where she has bearing on the plot, issues seem to always stem from her lack of compassion and consideration for others. The crowd tends to go off sometimes bc NPMD is one of the more recent installments of a long running musical series. There’s two other musicals, a short film, and a web series but you don’t actually HAVE to watch them to get each musical. 32:19 He was Officer Petey on Disney’s Jessie and the time villain on Henry Danger
wait...Joey was on Henry Danger?? I use to kinda watch Henry Danger sometimes, I must've missed that episode D: what episode/season is it, if you can remember?
being a starkid fan is very similar to being an anime fan i think. you can technically step in anywhere, but some things that can just take at face value have so much lore behind it that audience reactions might be confusing. and most of the jokes that seem like they have lore behind them are truly just them deciding to be goofy. its an acquired taste but I'm just glad it suits my sense of humor so well.
I love that animatic you talked about. It's so good. My favorite musical of Starkid's is a tie, The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals and Twisted. TGWDLM Takes place in the same universe as Nerdy Prudes, and Twisted is an excellent critique of the Disney Corporation in musical form.
Megan (the person who made the npmd animatic) is an excellent storyboarder and animator. She made my favorite magnus archives animatic and also has a really fun podcast called "my sister made me view it." I'm a big fan of hers :]
I love your analysis so much. As a huge StarKid fan. it was great seeing someone who wasn't as familiar do a deep dive, and it was all very insightful commentary. I'd love to see more of this in future, but I also totally get why that wouldn't be the case.
Starkid has always been really good at character work and critiquing or commenting on specific things. Nerdy Prudes Must Die is their second most recent musical and as someone who has seen all of their musicals, you can tell. It’s much higher quality than most of their other stuff and really shows their progression as a company. That’s not to say any of their other stuff is bad. I love starkid and all the things they do. But unless a certain story or concept intrigues you from one of their other shows, I respect your decision to not launch head first into watching all their shows. This is some of their best quality work imo and it’s cool you got to experience it
NPMD definitely benefits from having context from what came before it, but that is a very big time commitment. It was interesting seeing someone who didn’t have the backstory watch it to see how it plays.
So much you miss in this show not having the full Hatchetfield lore, but it really is a testament to how great it is that you can come in and enjoy it as a stand alone. I definitely liked your reaction and thoughts about the story and the characters, and if you do decide to check out the others, I would definitely enjoy it. Thanks for the distraction.
I would say that if you do want to continue with the trilogy but you’re still on the fence, you should start with The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals. This musical is FUCKING TRANSCENDENT. It uses the way a musical is structured in a way I’ve never seen before, like how they use the I want song in itself is lowkey a work of art.
I know you're new to Team Starkid, since you also said this was your first show you've ever watched, but to explain why "30-40 yr olds" are playing these teen characters; Starkid isn't only a team musical company, its also got their set/recurring actors. the majority of their actors are part of the team and are in every show. they're a group of friends that started in college, performing shows. their very first one was the Harry Potter parody ( A Harry Potter Musical ) and uploading it onto TH-cam for their families and friends to see, it went pretty much viral and launched them, giving them a fanbase and there, Team Starkid was born. every show has actors that come back or show up every other show and its been that way since their beginning. that's why grown adults are playing these teens lol. fans go to these shows to see their fave Starkid actors perform.
35:00 So yes, headgear is still sometimes used, but it's uncommon to rare nowadays. Headgear like that would only be used for incredibly drastic jaw realignment that would heal incorrectly if surgery was done. The headgear is usually only on for about 6-8 weeks, but in that time the patient would be on an all-liquid and supplement diet. Source: My sister tried to refer a kid for this type of headgear. She's a teacher and had a student who needed this headgear for an extremely sever overbite.
37:30 “In another life, Grace and Richie…” 47:04 “At least someone got a happy ending” Oh, you have NO idea. Starkids’ “Hatchetfield Theatrical Multiverse” is The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals, Black Friday, Nightmare Time 1 & 2 (web series they did during the COVID lockdowns), Nerdy Prudes Must Die, and a 30 minute short film called Workin Boys. There are other lives. Happy endings? Not so much.
really gotta hand it to them tho, after Spies are Forever I thought I had witnessed the most uncomfortable song imaginable to sit through in a musical but dirty girl soup has blown past my expectations
You perfectly identified what I personally love about Starkid: subtle drama mixed with blunt humor. I can't really identify why, but that cocktail just gets me somehow. This was a very refreshingly honest yet respectful analysis, thank you so much for that! Even if you didn't vibe immensely with it, you pointed out the pros and cons, explained them, and kept it subjective. Who knew nuance was still alive on the internet??? Hope you're keeping well in these times 💚 P.S. I wanna hear you talk about Metaphor: ReFantazio 👀
while I disagree with your opinions on some of the jokes and story beats, this is the best analysis of npmd I've seen so far, you actually GET the story, characters, and message of the show and that's extremely hard to find these days
Dont know if someone already commented but chastity appears on an online show that the starkid group did during the pandemic and it is clear that she only bathes on a swimsuit because she is not allowed to touch herself even during the shower until she marries. It is clear also, at least is what the fans theorize that grace is aromantic because she doesnt seem interest in a romantic relantionship with max or anyone.
What's so funny about this series is, two of the characters who are my absolute FAVORITE are characters who, if I met them in real life, I wouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole. And Grace is one of those characters, lol. I do genuinely adore her *as a character*.
1:00 Omg i literally watched nerdy prudes must die for the exact same reson lol. After seeing that fantastic animatic from thirdchild and the amazing music accompanying it a few timea i was like okay i need to watch this.
I love how honest you are in this! I've seen so many reactions to Starkid shows where folks are 100% fans from the start (I've grown up with them, their first show AVPM was the soundtrack to my high school years), and it's honestly refreshing to see a take where someone who isn't usually into this kind of thing tries it out! And yeah, Starkid has some tasty harmonies. XD Oh, and the weird choreography during "Literal Monster" is apparently John Cena wrestling poses/moves. "Why do I keep feeling like I'm being hit in the back of the head with a baseball bat?" That's the true Starkid experience! XD It's so cool that you're seeing this with just the knowledge of the title song - that animation really is a gorgeous rendition of that moment! Oh man, yeah, that bullet scene is intense! "These two are living in an entirely different genre to Grace" is genuinely the best way I've ever heard that phrased!
5:05 As someone who is part of the class of 2021, I knew a girl exactly like her lmfao. This is a bit more exaggerated of course but she would genuinely ask to cheat off homework and use her charm to try and make you feel like you were friends.
I’ve been watching a lot of Starkid reactions lately, so that’s probably how you ended up in my feed, but classically trained vocalist who gave up on theatre despite loving it? Yeah, that’s me, so ok!
I've been a life-long starkid fan and loved Smosh when they first started out as Ian & Anthony. Magically, I ended up returning to Smosh around the same time NPMD came out and "HUH??? ANGELA???" was also my immediate reaction! Definitely a shocking crossover but one that makes a crazy amount of sense. Angela fits starkid so well and I'm excited to see her in more productions! :D
Thank you for watching this and especially your commentary on Grace! I've not watched your channel before but you have a fantastic way with words and i will definitely be watching more of your stuff! ❤
I LOVE your point of view on this! Personally, I've been watching starkid since their first musical and have grown up with them. Being a fan of this universe is a treat, and seeing their improvements in terms of funding and production quality has been a joy. I appreciate how respectful you are in terms of your own interest and I'm glad you took the time to watch NPMD, even if you have no intention of exploring Starkid further. Honestly, it's a breath of fresh air to see someone have the mature take of "You know what, I enjoyed this musical and I've gotten what I wanted out of it. I don't have much interest in exploring further though." That's an extremely respectable decision. I'm glad that you could engage with NPMD and especially Grace's story to the level that you did - I agree her arch is easily the best part of the musical and the commentary on religion + thought crimes and where her story goes is far deeper and more interesting than you'd expect from surface judgement of Starkid's stuff. In the end, I'm glad you enjoyed your short trip into the Hatchetfield universe! (Also "aww, a 40 year old teenager!" is iconic to me.)
please treat yourself to the rest of the hatchetverse. The guy who Didn't like Musicals, Black Friday, then the Nightmare Times. There's sooooo much lore
I’d honestly highly recommend checking out the rest of the trilogy. If you like critiques on narrative structure or capitalism, that’s essentially what The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals and Black Friday get into, respectively. Black Friday especially really calls out consumer mania and governments distrust, things like that. They are alternate universes set in the same town of Hatchetfield and each have a distinct tone and impact. Loved your commentary, and I’d love to hear more of it about some of my other favorites from Starkid.
youtube is wild sometimes, I remember like 2 years back stumbling upon your legend of vox machina reactions and enjoying your commentary and perspective there but I didn't sub back then. Well now this video found me again after going on my yearly starkid related binge, so I'm glad you overcame that starkid-induced initial gut cringe and given this one a shot, many theatre kids can probably relate there. I remember that it took me years to like actually watch one of their shows because I was a bit of a contrarian prick and got a cringey vibe from the fanbase back in the day but as you might have guessed by now I'm pretty ride or die for them. Their creativity and passion really makes up for the budget constrains and general theatre cheesiness imo, and well it helps that their writing is generally top notch too. The other hatchetfield musicals they made are good but you didn't miss out on too much for Nerdy Prudes I'd say. There's some references and world building but it's one of those cases of 'this is rewarding to people that have already enjoyed every release in the series' and perhaps catching up on the other entries is not really worth it just to get like the significance of "The Lords in Black" or whatever. Hell if I had to recommend any of their shows to anyone I'd probably still go with Twisted before The Guy who didn't like Musicals anyway, so I'm just glad you gave this one a spin and enjoyed it for what it's worth. And lemme say, anybody that can sit through Dirty Girl soup is an absolute trooper and has passed through fire, even if you don't check out any of their other work I'd say you have gotten a good deal of the starkid experience with this one. Bringing it back to how I originally found your channel, have you checked out the 3rd season of Vox machina yet?
I really loved the video! Thanks for watching one of my favourite shows. If you ever decide to watch the other Hatchetfield shows I’d love to watch those too. All of them have deeper social commentaries.
Grace’s story is really sad to me. A TH-cam video I watched analyzing her character made me realize some deep religious trauma I didn’t realize I had and so in some ways I connect with her character
Your reaction when you realize what Grace is doing at the end is priceless. The two shows I commonly go back to, along with Nerdy Prudes Must Die, are The Guy Who Doesn't Like Musicals and VHS Christmas Carol. The first is the start of the Hatchetfield trilogy, but more importantly, has some solid numbers. The latter is on the shorter side, and is both a faithful encapsulation of the original story and also a great evocation of 80s music. I found Black Friday a little bland.
I have been dying to see a really in-depth analysis of these musicals, thank you so much! No pressure, but I would LOVE to hear your thoughts on The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals. It was Starkid’s first Hatchetfield horror musical and a huge departure from their previous stuff. I really like Nerdy Prudes Must Die, but I feel like The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals really blows it out of the water in terms of tight storytelling and themes. The casting was also perfect - it was way lower budget and had a tiny cast (most of which are in this musical) that were working so hard and absolutely shining. A lot of this musical came out of the throwaway lines of that one (“Grace Chastity is a nerdy prude” is actually a line from The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals) so you also might enjoy reverse-engineering some of the references you saw the audience reacting to. The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals also has one of my favorite second acts in all theatre - the level of unexpected places that show went in the second half was just absolutely amazing. If you are into intense / surprising endings, you would NOT be disappointed. Either way, thanks again for taking the time to dive into this show and give it some of the attention it deserves!! Take care!!
OMG I LOVE THAT YOU BROUGHT UP MURDER MURDER FOR HATCHET TOWN CUZ THAT WAS MY EXACT REACTION WHEN I FRIST HEARD IT TOO lol. Especially since they’re also both the first songs of act two and has everyone scared of an unknown murderer, the parallels are crazy lol
I totally recommend Twisted and The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals, they're two of their best musicals. Twisted is just overall their best (to me anyway) and TGWDLM is extremely funny and it's a diegetic comedy horror musical which is neat.
Can confirm that I had headgear and then they said I might need jaw surgery (which I didn't get). But yes, people still can get headgear. But I only used mine at night.
I'm just 10 minutes in but i can't wait to the end to comment this STARTING FROM NPMD IS PSYCHOTIC i can already feel that a lot of the criticism is coming from not knowing starkid, their style and their humor. of course high schools aren't actually like this, its a parody of teen movies. of course there are a lot of dick jokes, its starkid. watching npmd as your first starkid musical is like picking up a show from season 6. things are gonna be confusing and weird and not as good as they could've been with the context of all the previous seasons. obviously none of this is a criticism towards you, but like everyone else in the comments, i would suggest watching the full cinematic universe (the guy who didn't like musicals, black friday, nightmare time 1, nightmare time 2) before coming back to npmd (and after it, workin' boys). everything would make a lot more sense.
I both was interested & annoyed at you reviewing a third film in a trilogy lol. But seriously it was like saying, "Hi, I haven't seen any John Wick films, but watch me destroy John Wick 3".
The Hatchetfield universe/multiverse/setting is probably a little odd in that I believe it is set in modern day... However, they are also homages to more classic horror films and such... As a result, there are maybe elements of multiple different eras within them... Maybe take inspiration from different musicals too. The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals is probably my favourite of the three main Hatchetfield musicals... It's a mix of a zombie movie and invasion of the body-snatchers, but once they are infected they become part of a musical... It lends itself to a fun metacommentary on musicals (or whatever you'd call it), while also being a cool horror musical... It's probably not as high quality as this one in production, I think, but it might be a tighter story... You also don't have to worry about missing any references lol... I think it's a bit shorter too maybe... Team Starkid shows tend to be short runs with limited rehearsal time beforehand, plus I don't think they tend to focus as hard on quality production as they do on making something fun and cool to them or whatever (although they do also clearly put effort into the production side too), so you're not necessarily going to get highly polished performances or whatever, but there's a lot to love from multiple parts of any production... Whether it's the music, the comedy, the storytelling, the emotional moments or whatever else. If your main reason for not delving into more Starkid is time invested, a lot of the shows are quite long, especially the early stuff, so I can understand not wanting to do more... Although, especially if you're into Star Wars, I'd recommend watching Ani (although it's more comedy than musical kinda)... If you're a Disney fan I'd highly recommend Twisted (It's a Wicked style story, but in this case it's Aladdin from the perspective of Jafar... But there are a bunch of fun classic Disney references in general in there too)... If they did a musical based on whatever you are into, there's a good chance you might have a good time... Providing that you aren't too picky lol. Either way, with Christmas coming up, they have a fairly short show called VHS Christmas Carol... There's a live version that's about 45 minutes and it's basically an 80s/maybe early 90s themed, musical retelling of the Scrooge story... They also just dropped a newer performance on youtube, where they added a couple of other stories at the beginning to make it more of a full length show (though still under 2 hours), although I think only for a limited time... Personally I prefer the production on the 45 minute version though and I think I slightly prefer who was performing in that version too (although the cast isn't drastically different)... The Christmas Carol part seems stronger than the other stories too, so I would probably recommend just watching the 45 minute version... Then, if you enjoy it and want more, it might be worth catching the other version if it's still available... Or you could watch the beginning of the longer one, then watch the Christmas Carol part in the older video... Oh well, I'm rambling on a bit, so I'll leave it at that ^_^;;
Great reaction! I would love to watch mire if you decide to do the others in the Hatchetfield universe or more starkid at all. Either way, glad more people got to see one of my favorites!
@@Adam-dd9lo not necessarily bad but awkward and you can hear that it negatively affects their singers sometimes. Like they'll go flat or option down cause they're moving too much..
@@doctorcanonvo4647I remember hearing on a cast live stream that they purposefully put that energy into sounding slightly out of breath because they thought it was very "jock-like". It's definitely a conscious choice in both the choreo and singing style, although I can understand how it might feel jarring to some. For me, I felt like they found the balance pretty well, but I can understand why others might not love it.
So idk if it's different in other countries bc I don't live in the US. But I did have to wear headgear (I only had to wear it at night tho). My orthodontist gave me the chose to either wear it or have jaw surgery.
Cinderella’s castle is coming soon! It’s also by start kids! It has puppets! You should watch it soon! Comes out in 2025! Ok bye! P.S- thank you for the distraction. It is greatly appreciated
i dont mean to ask off-topic, and this question is not meant to put pressure on you, but when can we expect your vox machina reaction? i really enjoyed your reaction and after thoughts and i just need to know when to expect it so i can sit still XD
There is a hatchetfield cinematic universe as it were so sometimes when the crowd went crazy it's because a character or concept from one of the other two got referenced. Like one (or more) of the lords in black.
Hatchetfield Theatrical Multiverse
Not just the 2 other shows, there's also 13 Nightmare Time Stories, which is where the other 4 Lords in Black were introduced, as well as a lot of other characters in this show
@ 13 episodes, and 11 of them have two stories, so really there are 24 nightmare time stories to watch.
@@Ch1ll_0ld_Dud3 Nah season 1 had 3 episodes, 6 stories. Season 2 had 4 episodes, 6 stories. And then Hey Melissa makes 13.
I enjoy the fact that Max is BOTH categories of bully you listed. There is clearly some fucked shit going on at home for him, but, BUT, the show does not for a moment pretend that he isn't a complete psychopath. Because of what's going on? Probably, yeah. But fixing that wouldn't have likely fixed him. You can see this in what he does after coming back to life. He didn't want revenge for being killed. He wanted revenge because the moment he was gone the entire school deconstructed his world view. His order. And the town at large just let them.
"people do not say cool beans anymore"
i have just learned today that i'm not people.
Me neither apparently
I, too, still hear people say "cool beans" lol
"I don't think high schools are like this anymore" they are. They absolutely are. I'm recently graduated and my little sister is still attending.
The audience loving the Lords in Black makes sense if you do watch the rest of the trilogy, but I think all the shows stand well enough on their own that it's very satisfying to watch just one show, as much as it's satisfying to watch all of them!
28:20 You are absoluetly spot on! In every appearance Grace has, where she has bearing on the plot, issues seem to always stem from her lack of compassion and consideration for others. The crowd tends to go off sometimes bc NPMD is one of the more recent installments of a long running musical series. There’s two other musicals, a short film, and a web series but you don’t actually HAVE to watch them to get each musical.
32:19 He was Officer Petey on Disney’s Jessie and the time villain on Henry Danger
wait...Joey was on Henry Danger?? I use to kinda watch Henry Danger sometimes, I must've missed that episode D: what episode/season is it, if you can remember?
Eyyyyy that's the caption on my little animation!!! SUCH A WIN FOR ME to get a whole reaction video to the show!!!! Great video.
@@ThirdChildFilms thank you! Your art is MASTERFUL.
@doctorcanonvo4647 thankssss, I actually made the Black Book prop you see in this show!!!
Woah that is so cool. Your art is fantastic❤
being a starkid fan is very similar to being an anime fan i think. you can technically step in anywhere, but some things that can just take at face value have so much lore behind it that audience reactions might be confusing. and most of the jokes that seem like they have lore behind them are truly just them deciding to be goofy. its an acquired taste but I'm just glad it suits my sense of humor so well.
I love that animatic you talked about. It's so good.
My favorite musical of Starkid's is a tie, The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals and Twisted.
TGWDLM Takes place in the same universe as Nerdy Prudes, and Twisted is an excellent critique of the Disney Corporation in musical form.
Megan (the person who made the npmd animatic) is an excellent storyboarder and animator. She made my favorite magnus archives animatic and also has a really fun podcast called "my sister made me view it." I'm a big fan of hers :]
I'd say same Multiverse instead of universe.
I love your analysis so much. As a huge StarKid fan. it was great seeing someone who wasn't as familiar do a deep dive, and it was all very insightful commentary. I'd love to see more of this in future, but I also totally get why that wouldn't be the case.
Starkid has always been really good at character work and critiquing or commenting on specific things. Nerdy Prudes Must Die is their second most recent musical and as someone who has seen all of their musicals, you can tell. It’s much higher quality than most of their other stuff and really shows their progression as a company. That’s not to say any of their other stuff is bad. I love starkid and all the things they do. But unless a certain story or concept intrigues you from one of their other shows, I respect your decision to not launch head first into watching all their shows. This is some of their best quality work imo and it’s cool you got to experience it
NPMD definitely benefits from having context from what came before it, but that is a very big time commitment. It was interesting seeing someone who didn’t have the backstory watch it to see how it plays.
So much you miss in this show not having the full Hatchetfield lore, but it really is a testament to how great it is that you can come in and enjoy it as a stand alone.
I definitely liked your reaction and thoughts about the story and the characters, and if you do decide to check out the others, I would definitely enjoy it.
Thanks for the distraction.
I would say that if you do want to continue with the trilogy but you’re still on the fence, you should start with The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals. This musical is FUCKING TRANSCENDENT. It uses the way a musical is structured in a way I’ve never seen before, like how they use the I want song in itself is lowkey a work of art.
I know you're new to Team Starkid, since you also said this was your first show you've ever watched, but to explain why "30-40 yr olds" are playing these teen characters; Starkid isn't only a team musical company, its also got their set/recurring actors. the majority of their actors are part of the team and are in every show. they're a group of friends that started in college, performing shows. their very first one was the Harry Potter parody ( A Harry Potter Musical ) and uploading it onto TH-cam for their families and friends to see, it went pretty much viral and launched them, giving them a fanbase and there, Team Starkid was born. every show has actors that come back or show up every other show and its been that way since their beginning. that's why grown adults are playing these teens lol. fans go to these shows to see their fave Starkid actors perform.
35:00 So yes, headgear is still sometimes used, but it's uncommon to rare nowadays. Headgear like that would only be used for incredibly drastic jaw realignment that would heal incorrectly if surgery was done. The headgear is usually only on for about 6-8 weeks, but in that time the patient would be on an all-liquid and supplement diet.
Source: My sister tried to refer a kid for this type of headgear. She's a teacher and had a student who needed this headgear for an extremely sever overbite.
37:30 “In another life, Grace and Richie…”
47:04 “At least someone got a happy ending”
Oh, you have NO idea.
Starkids’ “Hatchetfield Theatrical Multiverse” is The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals, Black Friday, Nightmare Time 1 & 2 (web series they did during the COVID lockdowns), Nerdy Prudes Must Die, and a 30 minute short film called Workin Boys.
There are other lives. Happy endings? Not so much.
Jeff Blim is such an underrated composer outside of the Starkid fandom, imo. He's a genius
Dirty Girl Soup is a song you have to listen to like 3 times before you stop cringing at everything
really gotta hand it to them tho, after Spies are Forever I thought I had witnessed the most uncomfortable song imaginable to sit through in a musical but dirty girl soup has blown past my expectations
I loved it from second one, it's an incredible performance and the lyrics are really clever
Ooh! I'm so excited to see you react to this, starkid has some excellent musicals
You perfectly identified what I personally love about Starkid: subtle drama mixed with blunt humor. I can't really identify why, but that cocktail just gets me somehow. This was a very refreshingly honest yet respectful analysis, thank you so much for that! Even if you didn't vibe immensely with it, you pointed out the pros and cons, explained them, and kept it subjective. Who knew nuance was still alive on the internet??? Hope you're keeping well in these times 💚
P.S. I wanna hear you talk about Metaphor: ReFantazio 👀
34:50 yes that type of head gear is still used to correct underbites. I had one for a bit and it did its job.
while I disagree with your opinions on some of the jokes and story beats, this is the best analysis of npmd I've seen so far, you actually GET the story, characters, and message of the show and that's extremely hard to find these days
Dont know if someone already commented but chastity appears on an online show that the starkid group did during the pandemic and it is clear that she only bathes on a swimsuit because she is not allowed to touch herself even during the shower until she marries. It is clear also, at least is what the fans theorize that grace is aromantic because she doesnt seem interest in a romantic relantionship with max or anyone.
Fantastic commentary at the end! I really enjoyed hearing your thoughts about the musicals message and about art as a whole. It was great :)
you should watch "the guy who didn't like musicals" its super fun and has a lot of the same actors, its also the forts in the hatchetfield trilogy.
What's so funny about this series is, two of the characters who are my absolute FAVORITE are characters who, if I met them in real life, I wouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole.
And Grace is one of those characters, lol. I do genuinely adore her *as a character*.
1:00 Omg i literally watched nerdy prudes must die for the exact same reson lol. After seeing that fantastic animatic from thirdchild and the amazing music accompanying it a few timea i was like okay i need to watch this.
NPMD was such a wiild watch the first time around, was a treat watching your reaction!
The Nightmare time starting notes always hit so hard in those dark moments. IYKYK
I love how honest you are in this! I've seen so many reactions to Starkid shows where folks are 100% fans from the start (I've grown up with them, their first show AVPM was the soundtrack to my high school years), and it's honestly refreshing to see a take where someone who isn't usually into this kind of thing tries it out! And yeah, Starkid has some tasty harmonies. XD
Oh, and the weird choreography during "Literal Monster" is apparently John Cena wrestling poses/moves.
"Why do I keep feeling like I'm being hit in the back of the head with a baseball bat?" That's the true Starkid experience! XD
It's so cool that you're seeing this with just the knowledge of the title song - that animation really is a gorgeous rendition of that moment!
Oh man, yeah, that bullet scene is intense!
"These two are living in an entirely different genre to Grace" is genuinely the best way I've ever heard that phrased!
5:05 As someone who is part of the class of 2021, I knew a girl exactly like her lmfao. This is a bit more exaggerated of course but she would genuinely ask to cheat off homework and use her charm to try and make you feel like you were friends.
I’ve been watching a lot of Starkid reactions lately, so that’s probably how you ended up in my feed, but classically trained vocalist who gave up on theatre despite loving it? Yeah, that’s me, so ok!
Oh hey, same!
Me, watching one of your videos for the first time and having watched Smosh videos before: ?? Angela?
(Plays Grace Charity)
I've been a life-long starkid fan and loved Smosh when they first started out as Ian & Anthony. Magically, I ended up returning to Smosh around the same time NPMD came out and "HUH??? ANGELA???" was also my immediate reaction! Definitely a shocking crossover but one that makes a crazy amount of sense. Angela fits starkid so well and I'm excited to see her in more productions! :D
10/10 reaction. Appreciate your input and perspectives!
OHHH THIS JUST MADE MY DAY ❤
Thank you for watching this and especially your commentary on Grace! I've not watched your channel before but you have a fantastic way with words and i will definitely be watching more of your stuff! ❤
I LOVE your point of view on this! Personally, I've been watching starkid since their first musical and have grown up with them. Being a fan of this universe is a treat, and seeing their improvements in terms of funding and production quality has been a joy. I appreciate how respectful you are in terms of your own interest and I'm glad you took the time to watch NPMD, even if you have no intention of exploring Starkid further. Honestly, it's a breath of fresh air to see someone have the mature take of "You know what, I enjoyed this musical and I've gotten what I wanted out of it. I don't have much interest in exploring further though." That's an extremely respectable decision. I'm glad that you could engage with NPMD and especially Grace's story to the level that you did - I agree her arch is easily the best part of the musical and the commentary on religion + thought crimes and where her story goes is far deeper and more interesting than you'd expect from surface judgement of Starkid's stuff. In the end, I'm glad you enjoyed your short trip into the Hatchetfield universe! (Also "aww, a 40 year old teenager!" is iconic to me.)
Love This Musical. I've Watched I Don't Know How Many Times. That I Lost Count.
please treat yourself to the rest of the hatchetverse. The guy who Didn't like Musicals, Black Friday, then the Nightmare Times. There's sooooo much lore
I’d honestly highly recommend checking out the rest of the trilogy. If you like critiques on narrative structure or capitalism, that’s essentially what The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals and Black Friday get into, respectively. Black Friday especially really calls out consumer mania and governments distrust, things like that. They are alternate universes set in the same town of Hatchetfield and each have a distinct tone and impact. Loved your commentary, and I’d love to hear more of it about some of my other favorites from Starkid.
youtube is wild sometimes, I remember like 2 years back stumbling upon your legend of vox machina reactions and enjoying your commentary and perspective there but I didn't sub back then. Well now this video found me again after going on my yearly starkid related binge, so I'm glad you overcame that starkid-induced initial gut cringe and given this one a shot, many theatre kids can probably relate there. I remember that it took me years to like actually watch one of their shows because I was a bit of a contrarian prick and got a cringey vibe from the fanbase back in the day but as you might have guessed by now I'm pretty ride or die for them. Their creativity and passion really makes up for the budget constrains and general theatre cheesiness imo, and well it helps that their writing is generally top notch too.
The other hatchetfield musicals they made are good but you didn't miss out on too much for Nerdy Prudes I'd say. There's some references and world building but it's one of those cases of 'this is rewarding to people that have already enjoyed every release in the series' and perhaps catching up on the other entries is not really worth it just to get like the significance of "The Lords in Black" or whatever. Hell if I had to recommend any of their shows to anyone I'd probably still go with Twisted before The Guy who didn't like Musicals anyway, so I'm just glad you gave this one a spin and enjoyed it for what it's worth. And lemme say, anybody that can sit through Dirty Girl soup is an absolute trooper and has passed through fire, even if you don't check out any of their other work I'd say you have gotten a good deal of the starkid experience with this one.
Bringing it back to how I originally found your channel, have you checked out the 3rd season of Vox machina yet?
I really loved the video! Thanks for watching one of my favourite shows. If you ever decide to watch the other Hatchetfield shows I’d love to watch those too. All of them have deeper social commentaries.
Grace’s story is really sad to me. A TH-cam video I watched analyzing her character made me realize some deep religious trauma I didn’t realize I had and so in some ways I connect with her character
Your reaction when you realize what Grace is doing at the end is priceless. The two shows I commonly go back to, along with Nerdy Prudes Must Die, are The Guy Who Doesn't Like Musicals and VHS Christmas Carol. The first is the start of the Hatchetfield trilogy, but more importantly, has some solid numbers. The latter is on the shorter side, and is both a faithful encapsulation of the original story and also a great evocation of 80s music. I found Black Friday a little bland.
I have been dying to see a really in-depth analysis of these musicals, thank you so much! No pressure, but I would LOVE to hear your thoughts on The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals. It was Starkid’s first Hatchetfield horror musical and a huge departure from their previous stuff. I really like Nerdy Prudes Must Die, but I feel like The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals really blows it out of the water in terms of tight storytelling and themes. The casting was also perfect - it was way lower budget and had a tiny cast (most of which are in this musical) that were working so hard and absolutely shining. A lot of this musical came out of the throwaway lines of that one (“Grace Chastity is a nerdy prude” is actually a line from The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals) so you also might enjoy reverse-engineering some of the references you saw the audience reacting to.
The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals also has one of my favorite second acts in all theatre - the level of unexpected places that show went in the second half was just absolutely amazing. If you are into intense / surprising endings, you would NOT be disappointed.
Either way, thanks again for taking the time to dive into this show and give it some of the attention it deserves!! Take care!!
OMG I LOVE THAT YOU BROUGHT UP MURDER MURDER FOR HATCHET TOWN CUZ THAT WAS MY EXACT REACTION WHEN I FRIST HEARD IT TOO lol. Especially since they’re also both the first songs of act two and has everyone scared of an unknown murderer, the parallels are crazy lol
watching you watch this is so much fun
I totally recommend Twisted and The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals, they're two of their best musicals. Twisted is just overall their best (to me anyway) and TGWDLM is extremely funny and it's a diegetic comedy horror musical which is neat.
omg megan lloyds scheme is working
28:43 omg you are right, Grace literally has no grace.
Can confirm that I had headgear and then they said I might need jaw surgery (which I didn't get). But yes, people still can get headgear. But I only used mine at night.
I'm just 10 minutes in but i can't wait to the end to comment this
STARTING FROM NPMD IS PSYCHOTIC
i can already feel that a lot of the criticism is coming from not knowing starkid, their style and their humor. of course high schools aren't actually like this, its a parody of teen movies. of course there are a lot of dick jokes, its starkid.
watching npmd as your first starkid musical is like picking up a show from season 6. things are gonna be confusing and weird and not as good as they could've been with the context of all the previous seasons.
obviously none of this is a criticism towards you, but like everyone else in the comments, i would suggest watching the full cinematic universe (the guy who didn't like musicals, black friday, nightmare time 1, nightmare time 2) before coming back to npmd (and after it, workin' boys). everything would make a lot more sense.
🤩 When the best of my hyper fixation gets recognized
Oh i love that animation! Im so glad it inspired u to check out NPMD
4:00 you're close. Jon is 35 lol
12:28 Hehe i love motifs.
Omg thank god thank you ❤
I both was interested & annoyed at you reviewing a third film in a trilogy lol. But seriously it was like saying, "Hi, I haven't seen any John Wick films, but watch me destroy John Wick 3".
The Hatchetfield universe/multiverse/setting is probably a little odd in that I believe it is set in modern day... However, they are also homages to more classic horror films and such... As a result, there are maybe elements of multiple different eras within them... Maybe take inspiration from different musicals too.
The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals is probably my favourite of the three main Hatchetfield musicals... It's a mix of a zombie movie and invasion of the body-snatchers, but once they are infected they become part of a musical... It lends itself to a fun metacommentary on musicals (or whatever you'd call it), while also being a cool horror musical... It's probably not as high quality as this one in production, I think, but it might be a tighter story... You also don't have to worry about missing any references lol... I think it's a bit shorter too maybe...
Team Starkid shows tend to be short runs with limited rehearsal time beforehand, plus I don't think they tend to focus as hard on quality production as they do on making something fun and cool to them or whatever (although they do also clearly put effort into the production side too), so you're not necessarily going to get highly polished performances or whatever, but there's a lot to love from multiple parts of any production... Whether it's the music, the comedy, the storytelling, the emotional moments or whatever else.
If your main reason for not delving into more Starkid is time invested, a lot of the shows are quite long, especially the early stuff, so I can understand not wanting to do more... Although, especially if you're into Star Wars, I'd recommend watching Ani (although it's more comedy than musical kinda)... If you're a Disney fan I'd highly recommend Twisted (It's a Wicked style story, but in this case it's Aladdin from the perspective of Jafar... But there are a bunch of fun classic Disney references in general in there too)... If they did a musical based on whatever you are into, there's a good chance you might have a good time... Providing that you aren't too picky lol.
Either way, with Christmas coming up, they have a fairly short show called VHS Christmas Carol... There's a live version that's about 45 minutes and it's basically an 80s/maybe early 90s themed, musical retelling of the Scrooge story... They also just dropped a newer performance on youtube, where they added a couple of other stories at the beginning to make it more of a full length show (though still under 2 hours), although I think only for a limited time... Personally I prefer the production on the 45 minute version though and I think I slightly prefer who was performing in that version too (although the cast isn't drastically different)... The Christmas Carol part seems stronger than the other stories too, so I would probably recommend just watching the 45 minute version... Then, if you enjoy it and want more, it might be worth catching the other version if it's still available... Or you could watch the beginning of the longer one, then watch the Christmas Carol part in the older video...
Oh well, I'm rambling on a bit, so I'll leave it at that ^_^;;
ThirdChildFilms my goat
Great reaction! I would love to watch mire if you decide to do the others in the Hatchetfield universe or more starkid at all. Either way, glad more people got to see one of my favorites!
Is the choreo bad? For the jocks im pretty sure they made it awkward as a choice, but I don't know much about what makes good musical choreography.
@@Adam-dd9lo not necessarily bad but awkward and you can hear that it negatively affects their singers sometimes. Like they'll go flat or option down cause they're moving too much..
@@doctorcanonvo4647 ohh gotcha, thanks!
@@doctorcanonvo4647I remember hearing on a cast live stream that they purposefully put that energy into sounding slightly out of breath because they thought it was very "jock-like". It's definitely a conscious choice in both the choreo and singing style, although I can understand how it might feel jarring to some. For me, I felt like they found the balance pretty well, but I can understand why others might not love it.
So idk if it's different in other countries bc I don't live in the US. But I did have to wear headgear (I only had to wear it at night tho). My orthodontist gave me the chose to either wear it or have jaw surgery.
Cinderella’s castle is coming soon! It’s also by start kids! It has puppets! You should watch it soon! Comes out in 2025! Ok bye!
P.S- thank you for the distraction. It is greatly appreciated
Hey if you haven’t checked it out Slay the Princess is a really cool horror visual novel style game that you might enjoy doing for this channel.
Please watch The guy who didn’t like musicals, it’s the first and (in my opinion) the greatest of the Hatchetfield series.
I promise, wedgies suck. Ruth got it bad 😭
this is hype! hope to see some other hatchetfield stuff in the future!
Where’s the link? You said you were gonna link the animation below. But I don’t see it.
i dont mean to ask off-topic, and this question is not meant to put pressure on you, but when can we expect your vox machina reaction?
i really enjoyed your reaction and after thoughts and i just need to know when to expect it so i can sit still XD
Please, please watch Black Friday!!!! It’s sooooooooooooooo good!! It also by starkid btw