‘Spellbound’ short on conjuring up charm, laughs
Bearing the lofty moniker of “Spellbound,” you’d expect the latest animated feature from Netflix to be more transfixing than in need of fixing. But despite an impressive pedigree that includes “Shrek” co-director Vicky Jenson and a plethora of voice talent fronted by “West Side Story” breakout star Rachel Zegler, “Spellbound” struggles to enchant.
Blame that on a trio of unimaginative writers in newcomer Julia Miranda and the co-authors of “Mulan,” Lauren Hynek and Elizabeth Martin. Under the guidance of former Pixar boss John Lasseter, they consistently favor the tried and true, resulting in an alleged magical, musical fantasy that incorporates every trope in the world of fairy tales. That includes the old standby, the teenage princess in crisis. And it’s a metaphorical nightmare for this one because the parents of 15-year-old Ellian (Zegler) are literally monsters.
Voiced by Lucy and Desi themselves – Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem – King Solon and Queen Ellsmere are victims of their own “darkness,” meaning their marital strife has caused them to transform into colorful rhino-like beasts wreaking havoc inside the family castle. So far, their plight has been successfully hidden from the subjects of Lumbria. But that’s all about to change, forcing Ellian to seek a remedy before Mom and Dad are exiled into the wilderness and she is declared queen.
Natch, the only way for Ellian to restore order is by embarking on an adventurous journey into the wild in hopes of reversing the curse. Along the way, she’s accompanied by Flink Dee (John Lithgow), a verbose purple rodent; and a batch of generic tunes penned by “Beauty and the Beast” Oscar-winner Alan Menken. The beats of the story – and the songs – are eminently predictable, as Ellian experiences a series of triumphs and defeats on a trek requiring her to follow the light and flee the darkness, represented as a swirling black funnel cloud.
Watching over her from a distance, sort of, are a pair of babbling, bumbling oracles of the Dark Forest: Luno (Nathan Lane) and Sunny (Tituss Burgess). Their tired schtick is more annoying than comical, not to mention a gay stereotype. Charmed, they are not. Call it a “missed-spelling.”
What does work is the eye-popping animation, which is richly detailed, an invigorating burst of motion and color that seldom fails to dazzle. It’s at its best during the swirling song and dance numbers inspired by Busby Berkeley. But Glenn Slater’s (“Tangled”) lyrics are clunky and dull, resulting in wordy exposition that egregiously defies the principle of show don’t tell.
The voice performances barely reach the level of OK, with Kidman and Bardem afforded little to do beyond grunting and squealing. Zegler, who came under attack by MAGA a couple of weeks ago for her contemptuous post on social media, has modulation issues, sounding more like a fast-talking tweaker than a composed princess. That leaves it to Lithgow to come to the rescue with his witty mix of surly defiance and befuddlement as Flink.
As for the film itself – a subtle primer on divorce – it’s neither good nor bad, just derivative and forgettable. It also causes you to wonder what’s happened to Lasseter, who once boasted the likes of “Toy Story,” “Finding Nemo” and “Up.” In his new job as head of Skydance Animation, Lasseter seems to have lost that magic touch. And there’s no better proof of that than this less-than-spellbinding offering that ruefully falters in depicting the joys of hex.
Movie review
Spellbound
Rated: PG
Cast: Voices of Rachel Zegler, John Lithgow, Nicole Kidman, Javier Bardem, Tituss Burgess, Nathan Lane and Jenifer Lewis
Director: Vicky Jenson
Writers: Lauren Hynek, Elizabeth Martin and Julia Miranda
Runtime: 110 minutes
Where: Streaming on Netflix on Nov. 22
Grade: C
