Spellbound (2024) Review

Spellbound (2024)
Director: Vicky Jenson
Screenwriters: Lauren Hynek, Elizabeth Martin, Julia Miranda
Starring: Rachel Zegler, Nicole Kidman, Javier Bardem, John Lithgow, Susan Fitzer, Olga Merediz, Tituss Burgess, Nathan Lane

Every good animated film should offer visuals that couldn’t possibly be replicated in live-action and are the work of artistic geniuses with seemingly limitless imaginations. 2024’s Spellbound, made by Skydance Animation and distributed by Netflix, is one such example. Steered by a former Pixar executive, handled by a former Shrek director, and composed for by an icon of Disney Animation’s famed Renaissance, this 2nd feature film from new kids on the block Skydance is about as Disney as it gets in 2024. Even more so than current era Disney…

Princess Ellian (Rachel Zegler) has a problem; her parents are monsters. To reverse the curse that made them that way and get her parents back, Ellian seeks the help of two oracles (Nathan Lane and Tituss Burgess) and ultimately sets out on an adventure to save her idealistic family life… and herself. Along the way, she comes face to face with her own dark side and reconciles some feelings that she had previously held deep within. Spellbound is an allegory for growing up in a troubled home and isn’t subtle about it, but it will strike a chord with understanding adults and is funny, inventive, and short enough to be recommended for children.

An opening act that is almost too reminiscent of 2023’s underwhelming Disney Animation movie Wish sets the scene for a somewhat paint by numbers animated feature for Netflix. There’s a generic glassy-eyed 3D character presentation style reminiscent of Disney’s 3D work, Pixar’s work, or even Illumination’s work on The Super Mario Bros Movie. Princess Ellian could fit into any recent Disney Animation movie, the sidekicks are reliably wide-eyed and cute or misshapen and with harsh features. The monsters are reminiscent of Turning Red or How To Train Your Dragon. It has all been done before. Yet, no more than 15 minutes in, things begin to turn. And they turn quickly. The creativity ramps up, the first musical number hits like gangbusters. Soon enough it becomes apparent that this is the real deal. From there, it’s about sitting back, widening your gaze, and embracing the creativity laid out before you.

The plot is hardly complex, but that’s to the film’s credit. Unlike so many recent death-by-executive studio films that feature more story beats and expository lines of dialogue than crew members, Spellbound is a fairly simple story with a fairly important message. Its simplicity ensures that the message is easy to interpret, and makes for a more natural progression towards its ultimate intention. You won’t be left wondering what’s happening in this film, or where a character has come from; everything is clear and concise. This clarity opens the door to infinite creative possibilities, because the focus is on the “how” rather than the “what” – “how do we make a chase interesting” rather than “what is happening in this chase”. There are moments of literal magic in this film that feel magic, and isn’t that such a nice thing after all the drab nonsense that Disney have force fed us over the past half decade?

A lot of this good faith is born of the music, which is composed by legendary The Little Mermaid and The Beauty and the Beast composer Alan Menken. Lead voice actor Rachel Zegler, known for Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, is a reliably fantastic vocalist, but it’s the journey each number takes you on that deserves the most praise, and the quality of the composition that will earn the most respect. Menken is a genius, plain and simple, and Spellbound is a benefactor of his immense skill.

Vicky Jenson, Spellbound’s director, is less well-known but also influential, her work as co-director on Dreamworks Animation’s Shrek and Shark Tale ensuring a reputation of fun animated films. Spellbound isn’t as good as Shrek, but it’s certainly better than Shark Tale, and Jenson’s experienced guiding hand must be at least somewhat credited with its success given the newcomer status of her studio.

The final member of the creative trifecta is former Pixar executive John Lasseter, who acts as Skydance’s Head of Animation and is credited as a producer on this film. Lasseter is well-known for overseeing Toy Story, A Bug’s Life, Toy Story 2 and Cars at Pixar, and for essentially changing animation forever as one of the faces of 3D animation in the 1990s. His experienced hand is no doubt influential on the creative direction of this project given the nature of animation studios, which may be enough to put some potential viewers off embracing this otherwise woman-fronted feature film. In 2017, Lasseter was fired from Disney amid sexual misconduct allegations and never returned. Skydance made him the head of their new animation division, had him oversee Spellbound, and then plastered references to him all over their promotional material (“from the person behind…”). On Skydance’s website, Lasseter is described as “responsible for setting the overall strategy and creative direction for the studio,” and is therefore locked together with every film Skydance Animation makes. It is a black mark against Spellbound that is difficult to reconcile, and one that shall follow Skydance throughout every subsequent animated release.

The rest of the creative team from the page to the screen is diverse and appropriately referential. Lauren Hynek and Elizabeth Martin have story and screenplay credits, bringing experience from Disney’s live-action Mulan (2020), but it’s the cast that demands the most attention. Beyond the A-list presences of Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem, Spellbound has voices reminiscent of many a childhood, some of which are guaranteed to bring a smile to your face. John Lithgow, the voice of Lord Farquaad in Shrek, is a leading supporting player, while the voice of Timone in The Lion King, Nathan Lane, is once again a lovable sidekick. John Ratzenberger, the voice actor behind Hamm in Toy Story and long-time Pixar good luck charm (his voice featuring in almost every Pixar film), is present too. With further support from Netflix’s ‘Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’ standout Tituss Burgess, there are plenty of warm and welcoming voices that increase the audiovisual spectacle.

There’s a lot to consider in choosing any film on Netflix given the vast library of “content” that bombards your “for you” page. Due to the Lasseter factor, there is even more to consider regarding Spellbound than most others. But, if you’re looking for something that feels like a better era of Disney Animation than the one we’re currently in, and is equally as conceptually creative as some of the best animated films of the 2020s so far, then Spellbound is certainly worth its 1 hour and 49 minutes. Whether parent or child, old or young, there’s a lot to enjoy from this breakout Skydance Animation movie, a reminder of how imagination can make great memories.

Score: 18/24