‘Spellbound’ review: Rachel Ziegler and Nicole Kidman in an animated Netflix fantasy that magically inspires déjà vu.

The accusations of the Beast’s parents take on a literal meaning in an animated fantasy musical somewhat familiar from the Sky Dance animation. When protagonist Elian (Rachel Ziegler) describes her parents as monsters, she’s not echoing accusations made by teenagers everywhere. She is dead serious. About a year ago, while wandering in the forest, his parents were transformed into untamed behemoths.

Few people in her kingdom of Lumbria are aware of this transformation, as, with the help of royal advisors Bolinar (John Lithgow) and Nazara (Jennifer Lewis), the princess manages to keep her parentage a secret for the better part of a year. In a charming opening sequence, Elaine cites the all-too-common teenage desire to spend more time with mom and dad — not less — as the reason she can’t hang out with her friends. But the pretense isn’t sustainable, and on her 15th birthday, Elaine makes a breakthrough in an attempt to break the curse.

With the help of co-director Vicki Jensen, it follows Elaine as she travels across the country to rescue her parents. The film features vivid animation and some pretty poignant moments, captured with close-ups and unexpected angles—but like Skydance Animation’s first venture, inspires a sense of déjà vu. It focuses on the relationship between a teenager and a parent who has transitioned from human to animal, recalling Pixar’s and Studio Ghibli’s plots.

Initially tries to isolate himself. The screenplay by Lauren Hynek, Elizabeth Martin and Julia Miranda keeps the reason for the parents’ change until near the end – a smart choice that throws the audience into the action from the first song, which Ziegler delivers with typical panache. tied together The Number (music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Glenn Slater) quickly establishes the fact that King Solon (Javier Bardem) and Queen Elsmere (Nicole Kidman) are monsters, and explains how Alien is the country’s de facto leader. Takes over.

It also gets to the emotional core of the narrative—the loneliness Elaine feels as a teenager forced to care for her parents and maintain hope in the face of despair. (That no one in Lumbria questions the sudden alienating nature of their kings requires suspension of belief.)

In the first act of the shenanigans ensue. Alien meets the Oracles (humorously voiced by Nathan Lane and Titus Burgess), who initially appear to be the solution to the monster problem. Unfortunately, they don’t prove to be much help, and when the citizens finally learn the truth about their Imperial leaders, panic ensues. Forced to come up with a plan, Bolinar and Nazar decide to make Elaine ruler. Monster kings and queens elsewhere.

Meanwhile, Elaine, driven by a renewed desperation to protect her misunderstood family, again seeks the oracles for advice. The plot zigs and zags like this for a while, sometimes confusingly, before heading in a more straightforward direction.

Once Elian, his monster parents and his pet rat leave court, largely follows the typical beats of a street narrative, albeit sprinkled with a few surprising moments. Most impressive are the visuals, which are rendered with gusto. There are wide shots that help us appreciate the lush and herbaceous landscape of the kingdom and prove that these monsters have an inner life.

Memorable scenes include when Elaine and her parents are in a cave, where their echoes become luminous orbs. The two monsters hilariously mimicked their daughter, whose sweet voice echoed through the dark corridor. It’s the first time we hear Kidman and Bardem’s voices, and the moment carries an emotional weight as Elaine realizes her parents, after a year of grunts and incoherent voices, can understand her. The track is full of such moments, in which Elaine finally reconnects with her mother and father, after being deprived of their material and psychological support for so long. Kidman and Bardem also get to sing, mostly in a moving tune about memory and their past lives as humans.

The closer Elaine and her parents get to their solution, however, the further they edge into forgettable territory. When the film widens its scope, shifting its focus away from parents, it departs from familiarity. The challenges posed by the forest, its creatures, and the landscape begin to feel like things we’ve seen before. Even the songs, while assured, seem more tentative.

But revelations about the lives of Alien and her parents before they turned into monsters raise the stakes of the film. The third act, which I won’t spoil here, is about children, their parents, and the abyss of misunderstanding that widens with every conflict. Really offers something different in terms of lessons. The closer the message sticks, the more it packs an emotional punch.