"Mean Girls" Audience Reactions Reveal People Didn't Know It Was A Musical, And It's Kinda Shocking

BuzzFeed
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Mean Girls is finally here, and the reactions are priceless.

teens hanging out on a bed with the burn book
© Paramount Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

Get in, losers! The plastics and North Shore High are back — with a little twist.

/ ©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection
/ ©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection

For those who didn't know, it's not a sequel. That happened in 2011, and I want to forget about it.

3 of the plastics on the school field in flag football uniforms
ABC

It's also not a remake because we need to stop trying to make remakes happen. It's more of a reimagining.

teens in a classroom
/ ©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection

So, what is it? It's definitely a musical, but based on the audience's reactions, I don't think everybody realized that, and I'm embarrassed for us all.

JoJo Whilden / © Paramount Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection
JoJo Whilden / © Paramount Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

The 2024 Mean Girls is a reimagining of the hit musical with elements, of course, returning from the original 2004 film.

the plastics on stage dancing in santa costumes

Ms. Norbury? She's there.

she's in the gym holding the burn book
Paramount Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

Damian and Janis? Oh, they're there, too.

they're taking notes in class
JoJo Whilden / © Paramount Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

But, yes, there's a lot of singing because IT'S BASED ON THE MUSICAL! Emphasis on the words: "Music."

mom dancing in the aisle with her camcorder
Paramount Pictures / Via media.giphy.com

While some fans enjoyed the movie, like Reneé Rapp's performance as Regina George...

Twitter: @ZoeRoseBryant

Twitter: @rmjswim

Or Avantika Vandanapu's and Jaquel Spivey's breakout performances as Karen and Damian...

Paramount Pictures / Via Twitter: @DavePollard98

Many people were hung up on the fact they were surprise-attacked in the theater by song and dance, and it's pretty funny. Here are some of their reactions:

Twitter: @tylerduran21

Amazon / Via Twitter: @moistxmuffin

i'm so incredibly upset that they didn't advertise this well enough as a movie version of the broadway show mean girls
@x__antisocial_butterfly__x
the fact movies keep doing this is making me scream
@x__antisocial_butterfly__x / Via instagram.com

Paramount Pictures / Via Twitter: @SarahEastcoast

Of course, there were also folks who were completely shocked who didn't realize it was a musical:

no way none of y'all knew it was a musical
@x__antisocial_butterfly__x / Via instagram.com

Own / Via Twitter: @rmjsnow

i'm so mad they didn't promote it more as a musical during the trailers
@x__antisocial_butterfly__x / Via instagram.com

Twitter: @percyscovey

Twitter: @swiftsrenee

In their defense, it's all by design, and we're not collectively losing it (for the most part).

Twitter: @AirheadedAviatR

Last month, according to the Hollywood Reporter, a studio marketer said, "If you spell out the word musical, people have pre-formed opinions. Musical has a connotation that [characters] are going to sing every word, and audiences can be turned off."

This may be based on the poor performances of musical adaptations like 2021's West Side Story, Dear Evan Hansen, or In the Heights, but I would point fingers at the pandemic and not the fandoms.

So, if you went to the theaters and didn't know Wonka or The Color Purple (2023) were musicals, it was probably the studio's intention (and y'all need to read more). We can't ignore that fact.

willy wonka singing
Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett Collection

Mean Girls is in theaters now.

And, yes, there's singing.