The True Inspiration Behind Little Monsters

Little Monsters is directed by Abe Forsythe and is an R-rated, zombie-comedy about a kindergarten teacher (Lupita Nyong’o) who must protect her class of students on a field trip after a zombie apocalypse breaks out. This is an extremely violent and bloody movie set in a petting zoo with very young children as the focal point. And it works. Not only is Little Monsters and utterly entertaining and hilarious movie with great performances from Nyong’o, Alexander England, and the wildest Josh Gad performance you will ever see, Forsythe also manages to expertly direct not one but eleven small children to excellent performances. However, at its core, Little Monsters is a love letter to teachers. 

You know teachers, those people who oversee us several hours a day for several years of our adolescent lives. The people you either love to hate or actually just love because they, whether we like it or not, definitely shaped our lives in some way. After our showing of Little Monsters at the Sundance Film Festival back in January where this film premiered, Forsythe did a Q&A and talked about the filming process. During this talk, he mentioned making this movie really for his young son who suffers from a lot of food allergies (similar to the character of Felix in the movie). He came up with the idea after his son entered kindergarten and for the first time ever, Forsythe had to leave his child in the care of someone else. Luckily, he said his son’s teacher was amazing and was the inspiration for Lupita’s Miss Caroline character. The job of a teacher goes way beyond teaching, but also to ensure the safety of the children. That gets forgotten as one grows old and is able to do things for themselves, but at a young age, kids need someone. This is probably even more difficult for someone like Forsythe whose child suffers from a health issue. There are thousands of kids who suffer from disabilities like autism or Down Syndrome who need extra help and guidance and that can be scary for parents to let them go. 

Essentially what a parent is doing is saying here is my child, I trust you, a stranger, to protect them with your life and make sure nothing happens to them for the time they are at school. Unfortunately, in today’s world that can range from minor things like getting hurt at recess too much scarier situations, but never count out a zombie apocalypse. Forsythe’s idea behind setting the film in the midst of a zombie outbreak came after going on a field trip with his son, teacher, and classmates to a petting zoo (the same one they shot the movie at) when he thought, what if this were to happen? Not only would the teacher have to protect the kids but also in some way stop them from being utterly traumatized by the notion of a zombie outbreak. That was the metaphor behind the zombies. It is done in a very comedic way in this story, but never does it take away from the fact that “zombies” can be replaced by any sort of horror. Especially at such a young age, kid’s minds are full of imagination and wonder and usually believe anything you tell them.

Little Monsters is a love letter to teachers and the huge responsibility they hold. It is a shame knowing how little they get paid (salaries are a bit better in Australia than the US) when they literally hold the lives of our children in their hands. This movie succeeds in portraying that tenfold while not living in the same genre as other teacher-centric films like Dead Poets Society, Good Will Hunting, or Stand and Deliver, but is more than good enough to be mentioned alongside them. Forsythe never intended to make a “zombie movie” but rather tell a story based around the lessons his son taught him, and eventually, when he is much older, he will be able to see it himself.