‘Spellbound’ Review: Rachel Zegler Tames A Beastly Nicole Kidman & Javier Bardem In Instant Classic Menken Animated Musical

[ad_1] With all of the behind-the-scenes makings of an animated basic, Spellbound incorporates a proficient voice solid and a can’t-miss artistic staff for a household film with an entire lot of coronary heart.

Directed by DreamWorks alum Vicky Jenson (Shrek, Shark Story), Spellbound marks John Lasseter and Skydance Animations’ follow-up to Luck (2022), after he was ousted from Disney/Pixar following a powerful filmography that features Toy Story (1995), Monsters, Inc. (2001), Discovering Nemo (2003), Tangled (2010) and plenty of extra. His newest characteristic, now streaming on Netflix, actually lives as much as that tenure.

In Spellbound, teen princess Ellian of Lumbria needs to spend her days flying griffins across the kingdom along with her mates, however for the previous 12 months, she’s needed to cowl for the king (Javier Bardem) and queen (Nicole Kidman) after they had been magically reworked into monsters within the Darkish Forest of Everlasting Darkness. When the dominion learns their secret, Ellian escapes along with her beastly dad and mom to discover a magical treatment earlier than they’re banished to reverse ends of the world and she or he’s compelled to ascend to their throne.

With a voice solid that checks all of the bins, Bardem and Kidman clearly had enjoyable enjoying the king and queen, who must learn to communicate once more all through the movie. Jenifer Lewis and John Lithgow shine as Ministers Nazara and Bolinar, who assist the princess maintain her dad and mom’ secret however are in the end loyal to the dominion. In a enjoyable twist on the princess’ cute pet/sidekick archetype, Lithgow’s type-A Bolinar switches our bodies with Ellian’s Flink, who is barely described as “not a purple rat,” regardless of his look, an ideal vessel for the Shrek alum’s voice. Nathan Lane and Tituss Burgess additionally present some laughs within the type of the Oracles of the Solar and Moon, an eccentric set of roommates who journey round in an enormous frog’s mouth and use a magical fob instead of a wand.

That includes music composed by Alan Menken (The Little Mermaid, Magnificence and the Beast, Aladdin), audiences can anticipate a family-friendly soundtrack that youngsters will doubtless be singing on repeat for some time. ‘Search for the Mild’ is a cute tune by the Oracles, harking back to Lane’s Timon in The Lion King. Lithgow’s purple Flink main an ensemble of blue friends in ‘I Might Get Used to This’ is sufficient to maintain followers anticipating a spin-off. Kidman and Bardem remind audiences of their vocal chops on the observe ‘Remembering’ with Zegler, who additionally reveals off a darker aspect on ‘What About Me’.

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Main her dad and mom by way of the Darkish Forest on a journey of sunshine, Zegler’s Ellian finds herself turning into consumed in the identical darkness that turned the king and queen into monsters. Though she succeeds in serving to them discover her mild, and them in serving to her discover hers, the film hits children with the exhausting reality that poisonous household dynamics typically finish in divorce. However the kingdom can nonetheless stay in concord with the king and queen in their very own castles.

Producers are Lasseter, David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Bruce Anderson.

Manufacturing on Spellbound started through the pandemic in 2020 with a theatrical launch date initially introduced for Paramount. Skydance Animation would ink a multi-year take care of Apple, the place the film first segued to, earlier than the Ellison owned studio moved that complete deal, and Spellbound with it, to Netflix in October 2023.

Title: SpellboundDistributor: NetflixRelease date: November 22, 2024Director: Vicky JensonScreenwriters: Lauren Hynek & Elizabeth Martin and Julia Miranda, story by Jenson and Hynek & MartinCast: Rachel Zegler, John Lithgow, Jenifer Lewis, Tituss Burgess, Nathan Lane, Javier Bardem and Nicole KidmanRating: PGRunning time: 1 hr 46 minutes