Last week I had the one-in-a-lifetime opportunity to screen Strange Magic at Skywalker Ranch with George Lucas, Elijah Kelley, and Gary Rydstrom. The movie is cute, adorable, and will be a hit with kids. It opens in theatres everywhere today!
Here’s my Strange Magic review and why I think you’ll love it, too.
Strange Magic is a fairytale about love and finding love in unexpected places. For me, movies are about the story and the messages, especially when they are for kids. I watch a kids’ movie and say, “Will my kids get something worthwhile out of this? Is there a good message being told?” The answer is yes, they will and there is.
And I’m a sucker for a good musical. It features popular songs from the past 6 decades help tell the tale of a colorful cast of goblins, elves, fairies, and imps, and their crazy misadventures sparked by the battle over a flower to make a powerful love potion. The Fairy Kingdom and Dark Forest have a line that never gets crossed (much like the girls’ and boys’ lunch tables in middle school). But one day, someone crosses the line and sets off a chain reaction of events between the two sides.
The movie features themes, relationships, and personalities that we all see across our lives and can all relate to: sisterly bonds; the boy who can’t get the girl he loves; the jaded ex-lover; the womanizer; miscommunication. The list goes on. Strange Magic has something that every single person can relate to. And if you honestly can’t find something to relate to, you might be an alien. Seriously.
After creating a movie for teen boys (Star Wars), Lucas wanted to make something that was teen girl centric. He also loves music and wanted to see if he could tell a love story using existing popular music, and he has done just that. Strange Magic shares important timeless messages for tweens and teens about inner beauty versus out beauty. The cutest boy in class isn’t usually the one you want to spend the rest of your life with; that’s infatuation, not love. Strange Magic reminds us that we are all deserving and able of love if we are willing to take a chance.
7 Reasons Why You’ll Love Strange Magic
- The music is delightful. The Strange Magic soundtrack features songs and mashups from the past 6 decades and many genres to weave together this unexpected tale of love.
- The characters are charming and inspiring. Sunny will melt your heart, he’s such a good egg. Marianne will make you remember that girls are brave, too. The Bog King will remind you that even the least attractive and meanest person can have a good heart and deserves to be loved.
- The animation is breathtaking. Lucasfilm Animation Singapore and Industrial Light & Magic have brought to life the forest and characters with their with world-class animation and visual effects. These characters looks like creatures that could be living in your backyard.
- The messages are timeless. To use some quotes from our interviews:
“Since being infatuated ultimately is about surface value and surface issues, and being really in love is about interior issues, I wanted to make a movie about that.” – George Lucas
“It’s a story that needs to be told every generation. The little girls growing up, or boys, they don’t know any of this stuff. By the time they reach 12, they’re very confused. Even though we all know it…it needs to continue to be told over and over again. You can’t let kids slip through the cracks and say, ‘Oh yeah, I was in the generation that didn’t get that message.’ The message is so simple, and you know it’s been around for thousands of years. It can always be retold.” – George Lucas
- It’s about fairies and magical creatures. If you have kids, it’s a perfect family movie. (Technically it is rated PG, but as long as you don’t have an overly sensitive little one, it’s fine for little kids, too.)
- The vocals will blow you away! The cast is spectacular. Elijah Kelley, Evan Rachel Wood, Meredith Anne Bull, Alan Cumming, Kristen Chenoweth…just to name a few. As with any great vocals, you always want more, but then your movie would be 6 hours long.
- It was written by a legend—George Lucas. Enough said.
Watch the Strange Magic Trailer
STRANGE MAGIC is a madcap fairy tale musical inspired by “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Popular songs from the past six decades help tell the tale of a colorful cast of goblins, elves, fairies and imps, and their hilarious misadventures sparked by the battle over a powerful potion. Lucasfilm Animation Singapore and Industrial Light & Magic, which created the CGI animation for 2011’s Academy Award®-winning film “Rango,” bring to life the fanciful forest turned upside down with world-class animation and visual effects.
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[…] wait is over! Strange Magic opens in theatres everywhere today! Read my review here. In honor of this fun new movie, here are some fun facts about Strange […]