In the eighth episode of “Rick and Morty,” our two heroes stumble upon a trailer for a bizarre film originating from an alternate dimension. Said film, a pastiche of nearly every genre, went by the highly descriptive “Alien Invasion Tomato Monster Mexican Armada Brothers Who Are Just Regular Brothers Running In A Van From An Asteroid And All Sorts Of Things The Movie” and, like much of the series in which it was housed, was clearly played for both satirical laughs as much as a quick ridiculous jab at films that can’t help but cross that imaginary line into the realm of over the top. While it can in no way compare to anything seen in this brief clip, “Spellbound,” the latest CG effort from Skydance Animation head/disgraced former Pixar CCO John Lasseter and Vicky Jenson, one-half of the directorial duo behind “Shrek,” borrows liberally from the vast library of animated fantasy for something that does what it can to stand out but can’t help in its stumble towards the forest of comparison, imitation, even near-plagiarism.
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Looking for the next “Frozen,” “Brave,” “How to Train Your Dragon,” or “Wish?” Well, they’re all here, but these that may come to mind in merely the first few minutes only serve to set up the avalanche of additional titles soon to arrive in a manner that feels as far removed from originality and plays as some perplexing tribute. The curtain has scarcely reached the top of the stage on “Spellbound” when, in the first of many songs materializing every several minutes, we meet Princess Ellian (Rachel Zegler), daughter of King Solon (Javier Barden) and Queen Ellsmere (Nicole Kidman) and resident of Lumbria, a kingdom where magic runs rampant. It’s a result of some such magic that Ellian’s parents were accidentally transformed into oversized wild monsters while exploring a forbidden section of wilderness one year prior, and though Ellian would love nothing more than for a reversal of the spell and resumption of the relationship the three once shared, royal advisors Bolinar (John Lithgow) and Nazara (Jenifer Lewis) believe a better course of action is to coronate Ellian as Lumbria’s new queen, seeing such a spell reversal as almost hopeless. Not to worry; a pair of elvish oracles (Titus Burgess and Nathan Lane) may have a solution, though it’s not without danger, and an accompanying quest to locate that which Ellian needs. Will Ellian learn something about herself in the process? Will she complete her journey, or is the real journey the parents she rediscovers along the way? Will it soon begin to feel like a remake of “Trolls” more often than not?
Skydance Animation may be less than a decade old, and with “Spellbound” its second feature to date, it might be easy to suggest growing pains as the cause of any shortcomings present throughout. However, with the pedigree involved at the helm, it’s difficult to excuse such exceedingly average animation quality from start to finish, to the point where certain effects feel unfinished or as pre-vis those operating the computer failed to completely render on time. The humor doesn’t always miss the target — a first-act petrified bird scene genuinely produces a laugh or two—but the film’s strange reliance on cultural references of the moment yanks it back. An enchanted trinket nicknamed a “fob?” A sound emanating from said trinket strikingly similar to the location beacon of a cell phone? A five-star Uber-esque rating to a massive frog used by the oracles as a means of transport? There’s no shortage, and a second-act mention of a colonoscopy somehow seems to fit right in as well. As a whole, the dialogue tends to dip a toe or two into the waters of exposition. However, much of the heavy lifting in this regard has been deftly handled by Disney legend Alan Menken’s constant soundtrack, as all good musicals must do, but when coupled with the mostly competent jokes, it isn’t anything one would call offensive.
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Further heavy lifting in the area of vocal performance, both speaking and singing, finds itself firmly upon the shoulders of Zegler, who does the best she can with her honestly impressive instrument and voice of Ellian; it’s hardly a thing of which to file a grievance, and to hear the instantly recognizable voice of Lithgow, especially when he breaks into his own pair of solos worthy to stand alongside his own cast recording of “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” is never not a treat. Lithgow, for the record, meets with his own variant of magic as Ellian’s adventure begins, swapping bodies with Ellian’s pet Flink and immediately ticking off another box on the checklist next to the term “animal sidekick.” Unfortunately, Bardem and Kidman fail to receive the opportunity for their own performances until roughly the third act, and to suggest both phoned it in might be accurate. There’s no way to know for sure, but little is heard to suggest otherwise.
Is there a message? When Ellian’s parent monsters aren’t causing any ruckus, they’re bickering to suggest the importance of knowing when to walk away from a fight or for Ellian to… it’s hard to say. At once, the main character, the lead-up to that inevitable roll of credits, places her in the narrative backseat, but not before allowing Zegler to step towards the mic alongside Bardem and Kidman, the latter duo either trying hard or not enough. And yet, the film never feels like a slog, somehow keeping the momentum moving at a steady clip. It isn’t easy to describe.
Despite the start-to-finish homage to its predecessors, a touchy script, and songs that run the gamut from average to passable, “Spellbound” could nonetheless never be seen as completely lacking the goods. Overflowing with the coarse feel of any forgettable early-’00s direct-to-video outing, Netflix may be the perfect landing zone for such a film. Still, there are two entries to date, and it remains difficult to tell if real magic awaits Skydance’s future titles. Until then, resisting that all-important urge to copy is the most crucial step. [C]
