Review of Strange Magic (2015) by Chelsea T — 13 Oct 2016

This movie started off great for me, it has a lot of good ideas, nuanced character design, and beautiful animation. I didn't even mind the jukebox musical aspect that much. I liked the message of recognizing the difference between infatuation and real love based on respect. It's also got some really nice humor that isn't rude or slapstick, which is refreshing.

However it does feel like it was shelved halfway through. It felt like the creators wanted to do so much more with it but either ran out of money, inspiration, or support from Disney (no surprise there). A few of the plot choices and dialog towards the end felt very much as though a producer rewrote it because they didn't like the non-traditional way it was going.

But it has some amazing Beauty and the Beast themes that I love, with a dash of Midsummer Night's Dream that keeps it somewhat familiar despite the crazy characters and setting. All in all it was a movie I wasn't sure I liked the first time I watched, but then... I watched it again... Same night. And I think I've watched it about 20 times since then and showed it to all my friends. So take that for what you will.