K-12 (film)

Cry Baby wakes up hesitant for her first day at K-12 Sleepaway School. She is bullied by the other students, mainly by Kelly, a popular but mean girl, for having a gap between her teeth. Angelita and Cry Baby are both revealed to have supernatural abilities.

Cry Baby and Angelita arrive late to Ms. Daphne's class and are scolded. During class, Kelly becomes jealous of Cry Baby as she has been flirting with Kelly's boyfriend Brandon, and threatens Cry Baby. During naptime, Cry Baby expresses she doesn't know how to fight, to which Angelita suggests that she uses her abilities. Cry Baby refuses, stating that it would be cheating. At recess, Kelly assaults Cry Baby until she levitates and attempts to strangle Kelly. Ms. Daphne sends them both to the principal's office.

The principal is seen firing Ms. Harper for being transgender. Angered at the misuse of drugs on students, Cry Baby calls him out then poisons the principal, however he is cured. Cry Baby shows up late to show and tell and as punishment, she is turned into a marionette puppet as entertainment, however Angelita manages to save her. During drama class, Cry Baby is forced playing a stereotypical woman who marries rich and is forced to do her husband’s work in the school play despite wishing to play a lead role, however she proceeds to warn the students that they are being brainwashed and frees the students, they then proceed to kill the principal.

In the locker room, Cry Baby, Angelita and Celeste are uncomfortable with wearing revealing outfits, feeling as if they are too exposed. Cry Baby then has a dream in which she is speaking to Lilith, an angelic spirit guide, telling her that she doesn't want to be part of this world. Lilith clarifies that the greatest power Cry Baby will hold is that of endurance.

Cry Baby and Celeste realized Angelita was beginning her menstrual cycle on their way to class. They rush to the bathroom to cover it. During lunchtime, Cry Baby and her friends soon discover that Fleur, a friend of Kelly, has the same abilities as them, and they set up a food fight in an attempt to separate her from the group. Cry Baby follows Fleur to the bathroom, where she realizes that she is bulimic, due to peer pressure. Cry Baby shows compassion and the two become friends. Leo, the principal's son, stops the food fight Kelly tells him that Cry Baby was the one who started the fight, resulting in her being sent to detention.

Ben slips a note into Cry Baby's locker, anonymously confessing his feelings to her. Leo then checks the security footage to see Cry Baby and her friends discussing a plan to take him down and destroy the school. In biology class, the teacher, working with Leo, flirts with Angelita, who is flattered. The teacher then tricks her into ingesting a shrinking potion and then tries to dissect her. Cry Baby manages to stop him and saves Angelita. They both then attack the teacher with a knife. Cry Baby and Angelita head off to practice their abilities but Cry Baby starts daydreaming about her secret admirer, leaving to dance through the school building.

Ben is preparing to ask Cry Baby to the school dance when Leo bumps into him. He watches as Leo claims to be the one who wrote the note and asks Cry Baby to the dance, to which she accepts. At the dance, Cry Baby realizes that she had messed up the plan to escape the school by accepting Leo's offer and runs off to the bathroom. Leo makes an announcement to the students that he knew what Cry Baby had been planning, and forces all of the students to dance all night long. Cry Baby, disguises herself as a woman named Lorelai, seduces Leo and locks him in a closet. She warns the students to leave the school, and all except Kelly and Leo have fled.

As Ben is trying to escape, he sees Cry Baby and follows her. When they meet, he confesses to her about the anonymous note and together, they create a bubble to make the school float away and disappear. They both jump out of the balcony to escape. Lilith appears again with the gate to return home. Cry Baby looks back before the movie abruptly ends.

• Melanie Martinez as Cry Baby
• Emma Harvey as Angelita
• Zión Moreno as Fleur
• Megan Gage as Celeste
• Zinnett Hendrix as Magnolia
• Jesy McKinney as Leo
• Marsalis Wilson as Ben
• Maggie Budzyna as Kelly
• Bence Balogh as Jason
• Vilmos Heim as Brandon
• Alissa Torvinen as Ghost Girl
• Kate O'Donnell as Ms. Harper
• Balázs Csémy as Dean
• Natalia Toth as Lucy
• Joel Francis-Williams as Henry
• Zacky Agama as Thomas
• Olga Kovács as Ms. Penelope
• Kimesha Campbell as Lilith
• Katie Sheridan as Lorelai
• Toby Edington as the principal
• Anne Wittman as Ms. Daphne
• Scott Young as Mr. Cornwell
• Quei Tann
• Laurka Lanczki
• Ágota Dunai
• Genesis Ilada
• Samantha Lepre
• Kendy Cruz

In a 2017 interview with Billboard, Martinez said that her then-untitled second studio album was finished and would be accompanied by a film that she was writing and directing and that it would be "all of the videos together of the next record, all thirteen, with dialogue and whatnot in between connecting all of them together."[3][4] It was filmed in Budapest, Hungary over a span of 31 days.[5]

The film was shown in select theaters on September 5, 2019 and was officially released on September 6, 2019 through VOD.[1] It had previously premiered in Los Angeles on September 3, 2019. Martinez also released the film on her YouTube channel for free.

io9 reviewed the film, stating that "When you listen to Melanie Martinez's K-12, the album's themes about bullying, insecurity, and the importance of learning to embrace one's imperfections are all readily apparent. But when you watch the accompanying K-12 film and visually drink in the story Martinez has created, it becomes a much more powerful fairytale about the lives we lead long after leaving school."[6] Idolator also reviewed the movie, praising it for expanding the Cry Baby universe and for its messages.[7]

K-12 grossed $303,230 domestically and an additional $56,147 from international territories, bringing its total worldwide gross to $359,377.[8]

On September 6, 2019, Martinez confirmed that a sequel is in the works. It is likely that Martinez’ After School EP album will be the soundtrack of the sequel.

• K-12 at IMDb