Elyse Maloway
(voice)
Overview
A new class of pint-sized preschoolers arrives at Pitchfork Pines, and the Super Monsters take their superpowers to the next level - the Purple Room.
Cast
Reviews
6 min readMonsters in the Purple Room: How a 24-Minute Preschool Special Teaches Grown-Ups to Feel Again
I’ll admit it: I wasn’t expecting to cry over a Netflix special about preschool monsters. Not because I’m too cool for kids’ media—far from it—but because the emotional labor of parenting young children often feels like it’s already been outsourced to brightly colored screens. Yet here I was, 18 minutes into Super Monsters: The New Class, wiping my eyes as Rocky the gargoyle turned a deep, mottled purple, his whole body broadcasting the shame of a first-day failure.
It’s the kind of moment that sneaks up on you, the way a well-timed chord in a pop song can make your chest tighten without warning. And that, I think, is the special’s quiet genius: it doesn’t just talk about emotions—it makes you feel them in the way a child does, all at once and without apology.
The premise is simple enough. Four new monster kids—Rocky, Sami, Zoe, and Frankie—arrive at Pitchfork Pines Preschool, a gothic-chic academy where the walls are lined with cobwebs and the teachers include a vampire, a werewolf, and a mummy. (The Purple Room, we’re told, is the next “level” of their education, though the special never bothers to explain what that means.
Maybe it’s just a nicer classroom. Kids don’t care about lore; they care about feelings.) Each of the new students has a distinct superpower—Rocky can turn to stone, Sami can teleport, Zoe can turn invisible, Frankie can stretch her limbs—but the real magic lies in how their powers double as metaphors for the social minefields of early childhood. Rocky’s stone form isn’t just a cool trick; it’s a physical manifestation of the way shame can make you feel heavy and unmovable.
When he freezes mid-meltdown, his body a swirling mass of purple and gray, it’s impossible not to recognize the way a child’s face can crumple when they’re overwhelmed. (Or, let’s be honest, the way an adult’s can too.)
What’s striking about The New Class is how unapologetically it centers emotional literacy. There’s no villain here, no grand adventure—just the quiet, messy work of learning to navigate big feelings in a world that doesn’t always make space for them. The special’s most powerful scene comes when Sami, a tiny werewolf with a mop of blue hair, goes missing on her first night at school.
Buzz & Rumors
Public reportsBehind the Scenes of Super Monsters: The New Class (2020): A Fresh Spin on Netflix’s Monster Universe
Netflix’s Super Monsters franchise has been a hit with young audiences since its 2017 debut, blending spooky fun with early childhood lessons. The 2020 special Super Monsters: The New Class promised a fresh chapter, introducing a new generation of pint-sized monsters navigating school, friendships, and their burgeoning supernatural abilities. But what went into bringing this animated short to life? latestnetflix.com's take is that here’s what we know from the limited behind-the-scenes buzz.
A New Cast, Familiar Voices
The original Super Monsters series (2017–2020) followed a core group of monster kids—Drac, Cleo, Lobo, and others—as they learned to control their powers. The New Class shifts focus to a fresh set of characters, though at least one familiar voice returns. Elyse Maloway, who voiced Cleo Graves in the original series, is part of the cast 
, though her role in The New Class isn’t explicitly detailed in the available evidence. The new lineup includes Erin Mathews and Vincent Tong, suggesting a mix of veteran voice actors and fresh talent [TMDB].
The trailer teases a diverse group of young monsters, each with distinct personalities and powers, hinting at a broader expansion of the Super Monsters universe. Whether this was a one-off special or a backdoor pilot for a new series remains unconfirmed, but the shift in focus suggests Netflix was testing the waters for a potential spin-off.
Steve Ball’s Directorial Touch
Director Steve Ball is best known in the sports world—specifically as a former footballer and manager for Colchester United . His involvement in Super Monsters: The New Class is a curious pivot, as the evidence doesn’t clarify his role in the broader Super Monsters franchise. Was he brought in for this special alone, or did he contribute to the series’ creative direction?
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Given the lack of detail, it’s unclear how Ball’s background influenced the project. Animation directors often collaborate closely with writers and animators, but without further evidence, we can only speculate about his creative input. The trailers suggest a continuation of the franchise’s signature style: bright, playful animation with a focus on teamwork and self-discovery, so any directorial changes may have been subtle.
Trailer Hype and Fan Expectations
Multiple trailers for The New Class dropped in 2020, each offering a glimpse into the new characters and their adventures. The clips emphasize the same themes as the original series—friendship, problem-solving, and embracing differences—while introducing new monsters with powers like teleportation, super strength, and shape-shifting .
The trailers also highlight the franchise’s educational angle, with the young monsters learning to use their abilities responsibly. This aligns with the original series’ goal of blending entertainment with early childhood development, though The New Class appears to lean even harder into action and humor.
One unanswered question: Was this special meant to wrap up loose ends from the original series, or was it a standalone experiment? The evidence doesn’t confirm whether the original Super Monsters cast made cameo appearances, leaving fans to wonder if the new class was truly a fresh start or a continuation.
The Verdict: A Short but Sweet Expansion
With limited behind-the-scenes details available, Super Monsters: The New Class remains a bit of a mystery. The special seems to have served as a low-stakes experiment for Netflix, testing whether audiences were ready for a new generation of monster kids. The trailers suggest a fun, fast-paced adventure, but without further evidence, we can’t confirm whether it delivered on its promise of deeper lore or character development.
For now, the biggest takeaway is the franchise’s willingness to evolve. Whether The New Class was a one-off or the start of something bigger, it proved that the Super Monsters universe still had room to grow—even if the behind-the-scenes story remains untold.
Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as unverified unless a cited source confirms it.