Strange Magic
2/4
Starring (voices): Evan Rachel Wood, Alan Cumming, Meredith Ann Bull, Elijah Kelly, Kristen Chenoweth, Sam Palladio
Rated PG for Some Action and Scary Images
"Strange Magic," an animated fantasy loosely inspired by William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream," is overstuffed to the max. There is so much going on (which varies in quality) that I got the sense that the filmmakers threw everything they could into this film without thinking about whether or not it worked. The result isn't a complete disaster, and while I'm fairly certain it won't end up on my Bottom 10 list this year (it's still January), but parents who are looking for a movie they can take their kids to will have to wait a little longer.
Marianne (Wood) is the princess of the fairies. It's her wedding day, and she's going to be married to the handsome and dashing Roland (Palladio)...that is until she spies him locking lips with another girl. Depressed and angry, she refuses to see him or attend any of the dances in the hopes of finding another guy. Roland, who wants control of the fairy army, is determined to win her back, so he sends an elf named Sunny (Kelly) to find the Sugar Plum Fairy (Chenoweth), who can make a love potion. But she's imprisoned by the Bog King (Cumming), who hates the idea of love so much that he's destroyed all of the primroses, which are needed to make the potion. Sunny finds the last leaf to make the potion, and that's when things get really crazy.
A movie like this should feel light and energetic with a dollop of zaniness to really work. Unfortunately, "Strange Magic" feels bland and lifeless. The voice acting, which includes the criminally underrated Evan Rachel Wood and Alan Cumming, is tepid; everyone fades into the background to varying degrees. The exception is Chenoweth, and that's because it's virtually impossible to mute her energy. Even she struggles at times. The script is also weak; characterization is poor and the dialogue feels like it's just explaining the plot. For the first half of the film I was thinking that this was a direct-to-DVD movie that somehow found its way into theaters (in some ways I still do...if you feel like you must see it, that's the place to do it).
The film is badly need of focus. The film contains so many ideas (few of which are original or compelling) that they take away attention from the film's central storyline. Ensemble movies are difficult to get right, and "Strange Magic" is one of many that gets the recipe wrong. Once the film narrows its concentration around the halfway mark, director Gary Rydstrom lets loose some of the stops and things start to get fun. Some of the romances work and there are some clever moments here and there. But there are also scenes that fall flat, too.
In the end, "Strange Magic" is a failed experiment. It's a mess; three screenwriters are credited based on a story by George Lucas, and Rydstrom said listed about five sources of inspiration, ranging from the aforementioned Shakespeare play to "American Graffiti" (no wonder it's so confused!). But it has its moments.
Starring (voices): Evan Rachel Wood, Alan Cumming, Meredith Ann Bull, Elijah Kelly, Kristen Chenoweth, Sam Palladio
Rated PG for Some Action and Scary Images
"Strange Magic," an animated fantasy loosely inspired by William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream," is overstuffed to the max. There is so much going on (which varies in quality) that I got the sense that the filmmakers threw everything they could into this film without thinking about whether or not it worked. The result isn't a complete disaster, and while I'm fairly certain it won't end up on my Bottom 10 list this year (it's still January), but parents who are looking for a movie they can take their kids to will have to wait a little longer.
Marianne (Wood) is the princess of the fairies. It's her wedding day, and she's going to be married to the handsome and dashing Roland (Palladio)...that is until she spies him locking lips with another girl. Depressed and angry, she refuses to see him or attend any of the dances in the hopes of finding another guy. Roland, who wants control of the fairy army, is determined to win her back, so he sends an elf named Sunny (Kelly) to find the Sugar Plum Fairy (Chenoweth), who can make a love potion. But she's imprisoned by the Bog King (Cumming), who hates the idea of love so much that he's destroyed all of the primroses, which are needed to make the potion. Sunny finds the last leaf to make the potion, and that's when things get really crazy.
A movie like this should feel light and energetic with a dollop of zaniness to really work. Unfortunately, "Strange Magic" feels bland and lifeless. The voice acting, which includes the criminally underrated Evan Rachel Wood and Alan Cumming, is tepid; everyone fades into the background to varying degrees. The exception is Chenoweth, and that's because it's virtually impossible to mute her energy. Even she struggles at times. The script is also weak; characterization is poor and the dialogue feels like it's just explaining the plot. For the first half of the film I was thinking that this was a direct-to-DVD movie that somehow found its way into theaters (in some ways I still do...if you feel like you must see it, that's the place to do it).
The film is badly need of focus. The film contains so many ideas (few of which are original or compelling) that they take away attention from the film's central storyline. Ensemble movies are difficult to get right, and "Strange Magic" is one of many that gets the recipe wrong. Once the film narrows its concentration around the halfway mark, director Gary Rydstrom lets loose some of the stops and things start to get fun. Some of the romances work and there are some clever moments here and there. But there are also scenes that fall flat, too.
In the end, "Strange Magic" is a failed experiment. It's a mess; three screenwriters are credited based on a story by George Lucas, and Rydstrom said listed about five sources of inspiration, ranging from the aforementioned Shakespeare play to "American Graffiti" (no wonder it's so confused!). But it has its moments.
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