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Parents' Guide to

Strange Magic

By Sandie Angulo Chen, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 6+

Uneven animated musical is stranger than it is magical.

Movie PG 2015 99 minutes
Strange Magic Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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age 6+

Based on 19 parent reviews

Heidi C.
Heidi C. Adult
April 20, 2017
age 10+

Awkward at first, but better the more you watch it!

I ain't gonna lie, I am a sucker for a good musical! But the first time I watched the movie I felt it was rather choppy and the musical pieces were from so many different years and genres that it was a little hard to follow. But then I watched it again and I liked it, then I watched it again, and I fell in love with it. It is one of those movies you have to watch more than once to appreciate. The story is very short, but the music is very catchy and the characters are funny. I don't think the themes are too heavy for children but there is some things that younger children should not be exposed to. Ex. cheating on someone, kidnapping, some strange flirting at the end of the movie. But it's not bad compared to some other "kids" shows I have watched. Overall I think the artists who sang were very good and the animation is very beautiful. I still think all the music should have came from the same time period to make sure the genres kinda flowed together better, but as I said, the more I watched it the more I understood why they chose the songs they did. I think kids will enjoy this movie, but as an adult you can too!

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
1 person found this helpful.
Leah K.
Leah K. Parent of 5 and 8-year-old
May 23, 2023
age 5+

Cute Family Night Movie

The movie was really sweet. Loved the story line and the animation is wonderful. (Think Epic, Sinbad and Prince of Egypt animation.) We love the songs as well. My 5 and 8 year old enjoyed it as well. They really liked Sonny and the rabbit/mouse looking creature. There was no language or nudity. Just a few kissing scenes. No drinking of alcohol but there is a love potion that gets thrown on fairies and other creatures. Songs are more pop and rock songs. (No language in the songs tho.) I would definitely recommend for a cute family night movie.

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
See all 19 parent reviews

What's the Story?

STRANGE MAGIC opens on a fairy princess' doomed wedding day: Marianne (voiced by Evan Rachel Wood) is supposed to marry her betrothed, Roland (Sam Palladio), but she catches him kissing another fairy and calls off the marriage. Meanwhile, on the border of the Fairy Kingdom is a field of primroses that serves as a border between where the fairies live and the Dark Forest, where the Bog King (Alan Cumming) leads a world of goblins, slugs, and other insect-like creatures. He also holds the Sugar Plum Fairy (Kristin Chenoweth) hostage, so she can't make love potion from the primroses. Roland still hopes to marry Marianne -- hopes to be king and run the army -- so he enlists help from Sunny (Elijah Kelley), an elf in love with Marianne's younger sister, Dawn (Meredith Anne Bull). Roland convinces Sunny to sneak into the Dark Forest with a primrose petal and free Sugar Plum for some love potion. Naturally things don't go as planned, and instead the Bog King ends up taking Dawn hostage -- but not before the love potion causes her to fall in love with him.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (19 ):
Kids say (20 ):

Strange Magic doesn't deliver on any level -- as a romance, as a musical, or as a fairy adventure. Some of the Glee-style mash-ups seem like they'd work (Elvis' "Can't Help Falling in Love" and Beyonce's "Crazy in Love"), but they don't, and others are just head-scratchingly bad ("C'mon Marianne" and "Stronger"). The filmmakers deserve kudos for attempting to expose kids to classic songs they're unfamiliar with in addition to Top 40 fare they've probably heard again and again, but the music feels forced into scenes rather than being seamlessly incorporated.

Despite -- or perhaps because of -- George Lucas' involvement, Strange Magic is just too much, trying too hard but underperforming in the end. Some of the characterizations are cringe-worthy (the Bog King's mom -- played by Maya Rudolph -- feels like Fran Drescher-meets-Mrs. Costanza) and the action unexciting. The admittedly uplifting message (love is more than skin deep) is sweet, but Strange Magic is a bizarre story that's unlikely to find a place in your kids' heart.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the use of popular music in Strange Magic. How do the songs tie into the story? Is it a traditional musical? Are there other movies it resembles? Which ones?

  • If you know the story of A Midsummer Night's Dream, talk about which elements from the movie are like the play and which are original. Is it confusing when a movie is loosely inspired by a play or book but doesn't follow the story closely?

  • What's the movie's message about looks? Were you expecting certain characters to magically transform into more beautiful creatures?

Movie Details

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