2/10

There is no film title in 2015 that will make more sense than that of “Strange Magic”. While the film tends to have trouble with the later part of that title, the movie is by far and away one of the strangest offerings i have ever seen from the Disney name. The film has it’s little charms, mostly in the animation aspect itself by George Lucas’s LucasFilm studio. However, this is the first truly terrible film of 2015, and i can see this one standing the test of time in that aspect. The movie, a chaotic fairy tale musical inspired by “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Two different neighboring worlds tell the story of Fairies, Goblins, and elves as they search for life’s greatest wish; love. I watched this film in complete amazement because i couldn’t believe this warranted a big screen release. Far and away, the movie’s biggest problem is in the form of it’s paper thin plot. It feels like someone wrote a twenty minute outline for a film about ugly creatures with a moral of “Looks aren’t everything”. The moral is great, the execution stretches the moral to ripping shreds. As i mentioned, the film is a musical, and it’s in that genre that this film commits the biggest sins for the reason i despise the genre. If a character says they are in love, you can expect to hear “I can’t Help Falling In Love” five seconds after hearing that declaration. If a character is evil and menacing, you will hear “Trouble”. It’s more examples of how animated films today mostly treat children like idiots, and how everything has to be spelled out for them. The movie seriously has no fewer than 30 performances. I know because i started counting them midway through the film. Musical numbers would be OK if it weren’t for two big problems that it had on the film. 1) The singing is terrible. Kristen Chenoweth stars in the film, and is usually one for on key performances. But there is something about her singing in “Strange Magic” that makes my ears bleed. Even the creatures in the film hilariously grabbed their ears in agony for the only true emotional bond i have with this movie. 2) The overbearing amount of musical numbers serve as a pause button for any character development or storyline progression going on. There were times where i forgot where we were with the characters because the movie couldn’t go five minutes without stopping for some moronic character to howl about their emotions. The musical numbers aren’t original pieces at all, and that’s not really a big problem, but it leaves no memorable note for the audience to carry long after they leave the theater. One of the biggest things that made “Frozen” such a box office success, was the beautifully lyrical original score. Think about it, what is the first thing people remember about that film? THE MUSIC. That is the problem with “Strange Magic” being a karaoke night of awful top 40 love songs. Thank God for Lucas’s animation touch because the film would fall even further if it wasn’t for the stunning design. The characters all have detailed structures to the creatures they convey. The landscape of the forests is a wonderous dream of beautiful backdrops. There were times where the film’s setting reminded me of a “Fern Gully” 2015 reboot. The cast of the movie is alright if they aren’t singing. Any film with “Strange” in the title has to star Alan Cumming, and he is good as The Goblin King. Evan Rachel Wood, Kristen Chenoweth, and Maya Rudolph round out a supporting cast that do good voice work, but nothing to ever take it to the next level. They are all easily recognizable with their signature voices. “Strange Magic” is a film that tells it’s audience that looks don’t matter, and it’s true. Looks don’t matter, but plot, musical quotas, and character development certainly do. The movie should’ve been focused more on these things, but it’s end result will make for a forgettable film in a 2015 that will have more than it’s share of creative and magical animated offerings.