Spellbound Review: Full of Magic and Emotion That Explores the Complexities of Family Bonds!
Spellbound Review: Full of Magic and Emotion That Explores the Complexities of Family Bonds! - Filmyhype
Director: Vicky Jenson
Date Created: 2024-11-22 18:59
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Spellbound Review: Spellbound, directed by Vicky Jenson, is a charming, animated adventure available on Netflix that mixes magic, emotion, and deep reflections on family relationships. The protagonist is the young Ellian, daughter of the rulers of Lumbria, who finds herself breaking a spell that has transformed her parents into monsters, putting the entire kingdom in danger. With time running out, Ellian embarks on a dangerous mission to undo the curse but discovers that even success may not bring everything back to the normality she so desires. Featuring the voices of Rachel Zegler (Ellian), Nicole Kidman (Queen Ellsmere), and Javier Bardem (King Solon), the film offers a visually pleasing experience thanks to bright and colorful animation. However, older audiences may feel that the narrative sometimes tends to read like a moral sermon.
Explaining to children how relationships work is difficult, and it is even more difficult to explain to them that these can change over time, deteriorate, and even end. But sometimes a simple cartoon knows how to find the right words, more than a thousand speeches from adults, managing to speak both to the still trauma-free heart of the little ones and to the already damaged one of the children who have now grown up. It took a long time for Spellbound to see the light. The first cries of the project date back to 2017, the year of the birth of Skydance Animation, the department dedicated to the animation of the homonymous studio in Santa Monica, but they were not followed up after the arrival of John Lasseter. The title of the film at the time was Split, which played more with the story and was perhaps more focused, but also a little too revealing. The operation restarted in 2020, but things were further prolonged due to the pandemic and the subsequent change of two production houses alongside Skydance (namely Paramount and Apple), before arriving at Netflix, which guaranteed a continuation of animation work already started. After all, the project was very inviting, not only for the names involved, among which that of Vicky Jenson (director, among others, of Shrek) stood out, but also for the theme.
Spellbound Review: The Story Plot
Spellbound takes us to the kingdom of Lumbria where, on the eve of her fifteenth birthday, the young princess Ellian finds herself facing a great test of courage: a mysterious spell has transformed her parents, Queen Ellesmere and King Solon, into monsters, throwing the kingdom into chaos. Forced to embark on a dangerous adventure to try to undo the spell before it’s too late, Ellian will soon discover that returning to normality may not be as simple as hoped. Between powerful magic, mysterious dark forces, and the responsibility all on her shoulders to save the kingdom, the young princess will learn the value of sacrifice and family love in an enchanted world full of obstacles.
Spellbound begins in an atypical way for a film of its kind, that is, with the “bad deed” already happening. The king and queen of a fantasy kingdom called Lumbria have been transformed into two monsters who have completely lost consciousness of what they were. The one who pays the price is not so much their kingdom, but their teenage daughter, Ellian, who represents the viewer’s point of view on the whole story. The story begins on her birthday and introduces us to a daughter forced to do her parents’ job as administrator, but also to be their tutor since no one must know what the two have become. An incredibly tiring operation, especially if we add that the girl and the small council of the realm do not know where to begin to break the spell. They find hope when they manage to contact the (in name and in fact) pair of oracles of the Sun and the Moon, who inform Ellian that he must undertake a long pilgrimage as a guide for his monstrous parents through the most classic of dark forests to look for a light capable of saving both the goat and the cabbage and making everything return to normal.
Spellbound Review and Analysis
That behind this film there is the same animator of Toy Story, and the same co-director of Shrek is clear from the first minute when we are welcomed into an enchanted world so fascinating that it captures us completely making us forget that, outside of our TV, there exists a less colorful and decidedly rougher reality. The beauty of this cartoon is that it is not an end in itself, it does not only want to entertain or demonstrate that it is the result of a brilliant workgroup but aims to give the public concrete help for real life by giving viewers a well-stocked “toolbox” to face their own demons once the film is over. Spellbound is a survival manual for toxic families, for men and women who break up after years of love, for children who can’t get over their mom and dad’s divorce, and for those who are overwhelmed by negativity. And with its story so distant but so close to real life it manages not only to entertain but above all to be extremely useful.
Spellbound tells many facets of human emotions and reminds us that darkness must be faced, accepted, and overcome without ever losing sight of our inner light. This film is a hymn to light, to the spark, to that flash that allows us to find a bit of color even when we see everything black around us. Unlike recent animated films that have also been much more publicized and acclaimed, such as Inside Out 2, this Netflix cartoon does not get lost in its egocentrism and in the need to necessarily address the hot topics of the moment but manages to win everyone over with a less glossy and much more genuine and universal story than the Pixar film.
As with educational literature, cartoons also aim to teach the little ones an important value of life and to do so with stories that hide a great depth behind the flights of fantasy. And just as the Harry Potter saga managed to teach an entire generation the value of loss between powers, schools of magic, and great enemies to defeat, Spellbound manages to teach the value of acceptance with colorful animals, journeys to enchanted worlds, and a kingdom to save. Do yourself a favor, whether you are an adult, a child, or a teenager, whether you have a united family or are the children of separated parents, whether you are happy or in a dark moment in your life, watch Spellbound find yourself, understand your parents’ choices and don’t forget that there is always a light to follow, even in the darkness.
Once upon a time, there was a sweet girl in a castle waiting for her Prince Charming… Stop everyone. Stop. Forget about sweet defenseless Princesses and all the rest because Spellbound completely overturns the classic fairy tale genre. Ellian is a Princess but far from defenseless like Sleeping Beauty. She doesn’t have the pale skin of Snow White nor the long blonde hair of Rapunzel, but above all the last thing on her mind is waiting for the arrival of a handsome blue-eyed Prince riding a white horse. Ellian can at most be defined as an explosive mix between Merida and Ariel for her determination, her courage, as well as her stubbornness, and her gift of singing.
There is something else that makes Ellian different from other famous female figures in fairy tales. In Spellbound, it is the young future Queen who has to act like the adult in the situation and not her parents, who are currently “too busy being out of control monsters”. Ellian’s duties are not the typical ones of a common Princess imposed by her social status, such as learning perfect etiquette and participating in court life to meet her future husband. Ellian must literally act as a nanny for her parents while also trying to run a kingdom essentially on her own, being the legitimate heir to the throne and the only member of the family with a normal appearance.
But that’s not all. Precisely because Ellian has not become a monster like her parents, in addition to having to take care of them, she must also repair the damage caused by the sovereigns themselves. Something has certainly happened to King Solon and Queen Ellsmere to transform them into terrifying creatures, with the result that their daughter must carry all the weight on her shoulders alone. A great metaphor for the relationship between parents and children that in all honesty is not much of a metaphor, considering how this concept in the film Spellbound is literally served on a silver platter within everyone’s reach. In modern times, it is increasingly common to see steady couples or separated spouses who, being too caught up in their personal problems, neglect their children or project them into a reality different from the one they should live in, implicitly forcing them to grow up too quickly and, sometimes, to play the role of their parents.
In Spellbound, King Solon and Queen Ellsmere are aesthetically represented as monsters, but the underlying concept to which the film refers is clearly to be read between the lines. In reality, parents who lose sight of their role become “monsters” in a figurative sense, simply because they have a change that makes them almost unrecognizable in the eyes of their children. When this is added to the reversal of their respective roles, the monstrosity in being is given by becoming almost enemies towards their children, who find themselves having lost their main points of reference. Ellian’s behavior, who tries everything to change things, is an invitation to dialogue and to force the hand, if necessary, by addressing the problem first. Especially in the case in which the parents do not really realize what they have generated with their way of doing things, it is the children who must take the first step to “break that evil spell”.
The story of the Netflix animated film Spellbound does not limit itself to pointing the spotlight in a certain direction, but also subtly inserts other current issues hidden behind ironic sketches. The elderly court assistant/jack of all trades Orsola symbolizes the classic pensioner who finds herself having to work despite her advanced age. While Minister Nazara, despite speaking 17 languages, deals with how to dispose of the excrement of the monster sovereigns, reflecting the reality of those who, despite a certain level of education, end up having to accept jobs that do not correspond to their qualifications. The figure of Ellian herself can be defined as a middle ground between similar situations since she is involved against her will in an unusual context for her age, also taking on problems that should be taken care of by others. Spellbound also aims for inclusiveness in all its forms. The kingdom of Lumbria is populated by different creatures, in addition to humans, where everyone coexist peacefully together.
Ellian’s best friend is a bizarre little being of the species Flink, a lively companion of adventures always at the side of the Princess at every moment, whether positive or negative. For this reason, even though King Solon and Queen Ellsmere have the appearance of two monsters, they still remain Ellian’s parents, and she therefore continues to treat them the same regardless of their appearance. Throughout the story of Spellbound, the driving force that drives everything is not given by the appearance, the species, the social status, or the age of each one. But it depends on the bonds built that continue and are strengthened with comparison and continuous sharing, regardless of everything else. The only difficult thing sometimes is to keep those same bonds together, especially when they start to take different directions. Through a story lightened by irony, the film Spellbound shows how difficult it is to always stay on the same track and make those rails coincide with the path of those around us. Everyone has a dark side that most of the time they are not even aware of, but that appears in certain situations perhaps when things do not go as hoped.
Even a girl like Ellian, sunny, cheerful, optimistic, and full of life, at a certain point ends up losing patience and, consequently, hope. Especially because Ellian feels obliged to resolve what happened to her parents and essentially tries to put everything back as it was before, naively ignoring two important truths. First of all, the two sovereigns themselves have to solve their problems by trying to understand what has transformed them into two monsters. That is, what caused this metamorphosis because of which their only daughter no longer feels like one. Secondly, you have to know how to accept the fact that things don’t always go as hoped. What you can do instead is learn from past mistakes to improve your present. Ultimately, Spellbound tells of common everyday realities through life lessons that seem obvious, while in truth they are underestimated and for this reason, they are often ignored believing that it is pure rhetoric. Sometimes it is not only parents who have to understand their children, children also have to understand their parents’ choices by seeing them beyond the parental role but considering them people like everyone else, with strengths and weaknesses.
Because if it is true that you cannot choose your family, you can choose who to love. And when there is love, there is family. Spellbound stands out for its extraordinarily vivid and colorful animation, which literally seems to explode with magic from every frame. The sets, characters, and sequences are all made with attention to detail that immediately captures the eye, making the film visually satisfying and a design that releases a fairy-tale atmosphere. However, its visual style, while charming, may be more suitable for a younger audience, with bright colors and stylized figures that are reflected in a fantastical world designed to stimulate the imagination of children. The film still manages to offer a pleasant viewing experience even for adult audiences, thanks to its plot rich in symbolism and food for thought. However, some adults may feel that the narration sometimes tends to seem like a moral sermon, too didactic in transmitting its lessons on family relationships.
Spellbound Review: The Last Words
The animated film Spellbound brings to the stage a colorful and intense adventure suitable for the whole family that overwhelms the viewer between musical notes and enchanted landscapes. But scratching beneath the surface of comic sketches and caricatured characters, the Netflix film leads to reflection on familiar and social themes that are too often mistakenly taken for granted, implicitly continuing to feed new “monsters” in the collective imagination. Spellbound is an animated adventure full of magic and emotion that explores the complexities of family bonds. Young Ellian faces a mission that not only threatens her kingdom but forces her to confront her fears and the difficulty of growing up. With beautiful animation and a top-notch voice cast, the film strikes a chord with both young and old, even if it risks falling into a bit of a moral sermon.
Cast: Rachel Zegler, John Lithgow, Jenifer Lewis, Tituss Burgess, Nathan Lane, Javier Bardem, Nicole Kidman
Director: Vicky Jenson
Streaming Platform: Netflix
Filmyhype.com Ratings: 4/5 (four stars)
