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movie review - Spellbound

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-eight years and a million words

I watched this for movie night with The Girl, now aged 12. It's an animated movie about a kingdom whose regents are ensnared in a spell (hence the title) that turns them into big, cuddly, dumb monsters. This thing has a lot going for it, with engaging animation, great voice work, and a plot that in broad strokes keeps things moving. There are some clever scenes and there are likeable characters which is itself saying something these days.

But The Girl had the whole thing -- and I mean the whole thing -- worked out within twenty minutes. I don't know quite how to say this but the movie didn't seem to have the courage of its convictions, veering away from real stakes and real issues and real confrontation at critical moments. Also, it suffers from way too many of the adults in the room acting like imbeciles, giving rise to a feeling like Frozen in which a girl around my daughter's age has to save the day. By the time some of the key adults do act, their actions don't make a whole bunch of sense.

In short, I found myself regretting this selection. I know they can't all be Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, but let them be better than this.

Not recommended.