Review of Strange Magic (2015) by Agent314 — 24 Jan 2015

Strange Magic..what an oddball film. It's clear this movie is aimed squarely at tween girls, but with such amazing visuals I really had to give it a chance. The first act is a sappy setup for the rest of the film, and it wasn't long before I was wondering why I bothered. But then something "strange" happened. I stopped wondering why all the kids in the theater were giggling and laughing and just gave in to the musical. And then it hit me. Duh! It's a _musical_!

Musical tastes aside, the songs are fun and superbly voiced. I guess some might wonder why tweens today would care for classic rock and 60s oldies, but I doubt they'll care. Just don't tell them about ELO, Heart, or Burt Bacharach and they'll sing all the way home with you.

As for the story, sure, it's not original in its kernel, but it is a beautiful re-telling of A Midsummer Night's Dream. From the "ghastly" reviews I'm seeing I'd say there's considerable prejudice at play, which curiously enough isn't that far from a central theme of the story.

The bar is pretty high these days for animated features. Held to amazing stories like Big Hero 6 or Despicable Me, Strange Magic definitely comes up a bit short. The animation is curiously inconsistent with some pretty lackluster characters contrasted with truly stunning and realistic work. In the balance, that's clearly the biggest issue and not George Lucas made movie that a grown man won't like.