“So fetch!” Mean Girls (2024) made its debut in theaters on January 12, 2024. The movie stars Angourie Rice (Cady Heron), Renee Rap (Regina George), and Auli’i Cravalho (Janis ‘Imi’ike). It follows a similar plot as Tina Fey’s “Mean Girls” (2004). The movie includes the main character, Cady Heron, adjusting to high school life and fitting in after coming from Africa, along with more modern twists such as popular makeup products and iPhones. Even with the similar plot, the directors, Samantha Jayne and Aurturo Perex Junior, take the movie in a completely new direction: making the movie a musical.

“I wasn’t really expecting it,” junior Simone Worrick said. “There was no advertisement about the musical aspect on the trailers, so I was shocked when I got to the theaters.”

The producers did not advertise the movie as a musical, with the trailer set to “get him back!” by Olivia Rodrigo. Movie marketers have been careful about previewing the musical aspect of these films after recent musicals like “West Side Story” or “In the Heights” flopped at the box office.

“Wonka,” a musical released in December of 2023, also downplayed the musical aspect of the movie after hearing multiple reports about the general public hating musicals. One studio marketer told The Hollywood Reporter that the word “musical” has a negative connotation to it, as viewers believe that the actors are going to sing every word of the movie, causing a loss of interest for many of the viewers.

“The musical aspect definitely made the movie enjoyable,” senior Avery Smith said. “ I wish Chris Briney (Aaron Samuels) got the chance to sing a bit more.”

Despite the reputation that many recent musicals have been given, “Mean Girls” was quite the opposite. In its opening weekend, it made $24.4 million. The movie proves that even musicals are “fetch” in 2024.