the zombies universe makes no sense and i need to talk about it
okay i need to TALK about the disney zombies franchise because this has been festering in my brain for way too long and i’m finally snapping
like. i loved the first movie. genuinely. unironically. it was FUN, it had a clear concept, and most importantly it actually made sense within its own universe.
the whole premise?? a power plant explosion causes zombies. boom. done. explained. it’s sci-fi, it’s a little campy, but it WORKS. there’s a cause, there’s a consequence, and the entire worldbuilding is built around that one event. segregation between humans and zombies? makes sense. the z-bands stabilising them? makes sense. the social commentary? surprisingly solid for a disney channel movie. like… it had a foundation.
and then the franchise just… completely loses its mind.
because tell me WHY in the second movie we suddenly get WEREWOLVES???
and not even in a “this is a new development” way. no. they’ve apparently just… always been there. living outside the town. existing this whole time. and no one mentioned them. EVER.
like i’m sorry??? you’re telling me a town that literally built its entire identity and social structure around one supernatural event (zombies) just casually ignored the existence of a whole other supernatural species??? that’s been THERE the entire time???
it breaks the internal logic immediately. because now the question isn’t “how do humans and zombies coexist” it’s “what the hell is going on in this world???” like are there rules?? are we just adding creatures every sequel like it’s a checklist???
and the werewolves themselves don’t even feel integrated into the original concept. they feel like they walked in from a completely different franchise. the aesthetic shifts, the lore shifts, the tone shifts. it stops feeling like a continuation and starts feeling like a spin-off that accidentally got glued onto the main story.
and then. THEN.
the third movie said “you know what would fix this?? ALIENS.”
ALIENS.
i wish i was joking.
so now not only do we have zombies (science accident) and werewolves (??? just there ???), we now have literal extraterrestrials showing up because their planet got destroyed.
and again—this isn’t built up. there’s no groundwork. they just arrive. suddenly. and we’re supposed to accept that this universe now includes space travel and intergalactic refugees???
it completely nukes the scale of the story. the first movie was local. contained. it was about a town dealing with one massive change. by the third movie, the stakes are so all over the place that nothing feels grounded anymore. if aliens exist, why should i care about high school dynamics?? why should i care about cheer competitions?? the world just became infinitely bigger and the story didn’t evolve to handle that.
it’s like the writers kept asking “what’s bigger than the last thing we did?” instead of “what actually fits the world we created?”
and THEN—because apparently we hadn’t reached peak chaos yet—the fourth movie goes “okay but what about VAMPIRES.”
not just one type either. no no. TWO different kinds.
and they’re connected to some moonstone?? or magical energy?? or whatever the explanation was supposed to be???
at this point i genuinely felt like i was watching a different franchise entirely.
because what even is the logic anymore.
we went from: – science-based mutation (zombies)
to: – unexplained long-existing supernatural species (werewolves)
to: – literal space aliens
to: – magical vampire lore with mystical objects
THAT IS FOUR DIFFERENT GENRE SYSTEMS.
four.
and none of them properly connect.
there’s no cohesive mythology tying it all together. no unifying rule. no “this is how the world works.” it’s just stacking ideas on top of each other and hoping the audience doesn’t notice the cracks.
and the thing is—people DO notice.
because it stops feeling like storytelling and starts feeling like escalation for the sake of content.
which is why the last three movies feel like cash grabs. i’m sorry but they do.
they don’t expand the world in a meaningful way, they just add to it. and adding isn’t the same as building. building requires structure. consistency. intention. and it genuinely feels like that got lost after the first movie.
and this isn’t even just a zombies problem, this is a wider disney problem right now.
because instead of developing strong, original ideas and actually nurturing them, they keep: – stretching franchises past their natural lifespan – throwing in bigger, flashier concepts to keep attention – relying on recognisable branding instead of solid writing – remaking old content instead of creating new stories people can actually connect to
and it shows.
because when you compare the first zombies movie to the later ones, you can literally feel the difference in care.
the first one had something to say. the others just… had more stuff.
and i hate that because there was SO much potential there.
they could have deepened the zombie/human dynamics. they could have explored the consequences of the original incident more. they could have built a richer, more layered world.
but instead we got supernatural creature bingo.
and i’m still mad about it.
anyway if you actually read all this you’re a real one and i need to know if this bothered anyone else as much as it bothered me because i feel like i’ve been holding this rant in for YEARS
okay AND ANOTHER THING because i’m still not done and now we need to talk about zed and addison because this part actually makes me more annoyed the longer i think about it
because what happened to them???
like genuinely—WHAT happened???
in the first movie, their relationship WORKED. it had a clear emotional core. it was literally built on the idea of two people from completely different worlds choosing each other anyway. it was messy, it had conflict, but the conflict made sense. zed wanted acceptance for zombies, addison wanted to fit in with humans, and they both had to unlearn stuff to meet in the middle.
and most importantly—they actually LIKED each other.
there was effort. there was mutual growth. they both messed up, but they both tried. that’s what made it good.
and then the next three movies just… slowly dismantle that dynamic piece by piece until it’s barely even the same relationship anymore.
because from movie two onwards it starts feeling like this weird imbalance where zed is constantly expected to prove himself over and over and OVER again while addison just… stands there judging him half the time.
like every film turns into: zed trying to fix everything → zed messing up (because he’s being put under ridiculous pressure) → addison getting upset → zed scrambling to fix it again
and it’s exhausting.
because it stops feeling like a partnership and starts feeling like zed is in a constant performance review for a relationship he’s already in.
and addison???
girl.
what are you doing.
because the way she acts in the later movies genuinely feels like she just does not care about him in the same way anymore.
she expects so much from him—emotionally, socially, politically—and then when he inevitably fails (because he’s literally juggling EVERYTHING), she gets disappointed or distant or frustrated instead of actually supporting him.
and it’s like… he is TRYING.
constantly.
and she just keeps raising the bar without ever really meeting him halfway.
and don’t even get me started on the way she just… runs off every single movie.
because WHY is this a pattern???
movie 2: suddenly she’s questioning everything about herself because of the werewolves and is ready to drop everything to go figure that out
movie 3: aliens show up and now she’s like “wait maybe i’m one of them??” and is once again ready to leave everything behind
movie 4: vampires enter the chat and now there’s ANOTHER identity crisis tied to some moonstone situation???
like i’m sorry but at some point this stops being “self-discovery” and starts being “girl you are abandoning your entire life every time a new species walks into town”
and the worst part is how casually it’s treated.
she just leaves. or almost leaves. or emotionally checks out. again and again.
and everyone else just has to deal with that???
like zed especially is just expected to sit there and be supportive while she repeatedly questions whether she even belongs with him, with humans, with anything she’s built.
and it’s framed as this deep, meaningful journey but it honestly just comes across as inconsistent and frustrating.
because it completely undermines the message of the FIRST movie.
the whole point back then was: you don’t need to change who you are to belong.
addison’s whole arc was about accepting that she’s different and that’s okay. her white hair wasn’t something to fix or explain or justify—it was just part of her.
and that was actually a really nice message.
but then the sequels turn around and go: actually no, we NEED to explain it. we NEED her to belong to something. we NEED her to fit into a specific category.
and suddenly she’s desperately trying to find a label, a group, a species—ANYTHING that will “make sense” of her.
and it feels like such a regression.
because instead of growing into herself, she keeps trying to become something else.
and every time a new supernatural group shows up, it’s like the story goes “maybe THIS is what you are” and she just latches onto it immediately.
no hesitation. no grounding. just full identity crisis mode.
and meanwhile zed is just… there.
trying to hold everything together.
trying to support her.
trying to prove himself.
trying to not screw up.
and getting very little of that same energy back.
and that’s what makes it so frustrating because they USED to feel balanced.
they used to feel like two people choosing each other despite everything.
now it just feels like zed is chasing someone who keeps drifting further away every movie.
and i hate that because they had something really solid in the beginning.
they could’ve grown TOGETHER.
they could’ve faced these new challenges as a unit.
but instead the writing keeps pulling them apart in the same repetitive way: addison questions who she is → distances herself → zed tries to fix it → conflict → temporary resolution → repeat next movie
and after a while it just stops hitting.
it’s not emotional anymore, it’s just predictable.
and honestly???
it makes addison kind of unlikeable in the later films.
not because she’s complex—but because the writing refuses to let her actually commit to anything.
not to herself, not to zed, not to the life she already has.
she’s always halfway out the door.
and that’s not compelling after the third time, it’s just tiring.
anyway yeah. i’m still mad. their relationship deserved better and i will die on that hill
