Common Sense Media Review
By Sandie Angulo Chen
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Uneven animated musical is stranger than it is magical.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 6+?
Any Positive Content?
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Strange Magic
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 21 parent reviews
Parents say the film offers a colorful adventure with a catchy soundtrack, making it enjoyable for younger audiences, though some find its themes of cheating and romance inappropriate for kids. While many appreciate the positive messages and strong female characters, others criticize the awkward plot and disjointed musical choices as off-putting, leading to mixed reactions from parents and children alike.
- colorful adventure
- strong messages
- mixed reactions
- inappropriate themes
- catchy soundtrack
Summarized with AI
Summarized with AI
Based on 19 kid reviews
Kids say this movie is a mixed bag, with some absolutely loving its quirky charm, catchy songs, and strong female lead, while others find it bewilderingly cluttered, poorly plotted, and overly reliant on pop music. Many praise the animation and unique characters, but there are criticisms of clichés, rushed pacing, and a lack of narrative depth that mar the overall experience.
- catchy songs
- strong female lead
- unique characters
- mixed reviews
- poor plot
Summarized with AI
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?
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
- In theaters : January 23, 2015
- On DVD or streaming : May 19, 2015
- Cast : Evan Rachel Wood , Alan Cumming , Kristin Chenoweth
- Director : Gary Rydstrom
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s) , Bisexual Movie Actor(s)
- Studios : Touchstone Pictures , Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
- Genre : Family and Kids
- Topics : Fantasy ( Magic ) , Arts ( Music and Sing-Along )
- Run time : 99 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : some action and scary images
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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