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iluvcallalilies
Reviews
Secret of the Wings (2012)
Favorite Tinker Bell movie... Beautiful!
Our family enjoys the Tinker Bell series - I think they are the most beautifully animated movies ever - visually stunning! The plots typically do not grab me that much, but I'll watch them with my girls for the visual "eye candy" of the scenery and setting - the sparkles, the nature, the beautiful animation.
Secret of the Wings may have been the prettiest one yet!
The story held many surprises for us (we had not watched trailers or read about it, so we went in blind other than having watched the previous 3). The story was funny, warm, adventurous and my personal favorite in the collection. Meeting Tinker Bell's sister, Periwinkle, and watching them bond was fantastic. The Keeper was a very lovable "grandpa" sort of character that added to the show and we enjoyed the back story for Queen Clarion.
It is extremely unusual that we enjoy any sequel (x4) as much as the first, but this one surpassed the first by a mile!!! Beautiful!
To be clear - when I rate a child's movie, I am comparing it to other animated movies / rated G - not ALL movies of ALL time. Thus, my score may seem too high to some if they think I'm comparing it to Gone with the Wind, Casablanca, and the like. I am comparing it more to other animated features for children.
Tangled (2010)
Three Princesses LOVE it!
I took my 3 daughters (all Disney Princess fans) to Opening Day of Tangled and all I've heard since is.... let's go again! While we love Princess movies in general in our household, a Princess alone isn't a surefire win (Disney's "Princess" made-for-TV was a flop, Barbie is hit and miss, and the Disney Princess Collections are mostly 3/10 stars)...
We went with friends (this included three little boys) and all of the children left smiling, laughing, and wanting to see it again.
The story is captivating and full of adventure. It was exciting to see a prince with some depth. Many trademark scenes (rowboats and a work song) were included (and as Disney Princess fans, we're glad) - but still Tangled made its own mark.
Rapunzel is a princess with integrity, loyalty, and compassion - along with strength, adventure, and charisma. The sparkling personality was outstanding.
Well done!
The Twelve Days of Christmas Eve (2004)
You don't have to be "original" to be funny!
Yes, this movie is similar to Groundhog Day, Family Man, and A Christmas Carol.... BUT it still carves out it's own place at the table.
If you like Christmas movies, and if you go into this understanding it was made for TV - you'll be VERY pleasantly surprised and pleased with this comedy. It's not Oscar material, it's not deep, it won't make you cry (thank goodness), but it will give you some laughs and it's a fun holiday film.
There are many many similar films..... most are dull or okay (Christmas Do-Over with Jay Mohr is markedly similar in plot to this tale, but not nearly as entertaining).
Molly Shannon as the angel is absolutely fabulous! Steve Webber does a great job tying comedy and humanity together, creating a sympathetic and believable (for a holiday TV movie) character.
While the plot is familiar in its similarities to other films, and consequently extremely predictable - the humor and contemporary setting make this a great "sitcom" style film.
It wouldn't be a Christmas movie without a moral and the lesson here was deeper and more provocative than expected. He wasn't able to buy, give, volunteer, or simply donate his way out of the mess - it was more and I especially appreciated that.
If you want a fun family Christmas movie with some light laughs, check this out!
Bewitched (2005)
So much Right... but the Writing was SO Wrong!
The set for the movie was perfect and adorable for the genre... a modern twist on the vintage style we love in Bewitched. The costuming for the stars was outstanding. The casting was NEAR perfect (not sure Will Ferrell was the best choice, but he wasn't necessarily a bad choice). The topic and original series... a wonderful subject and great potential for so much fun.
And yet... it all went WRONG! The writing was HORRIBLE. The plot is so contrived and illogical (and not in the fun Bewitched illogical way, but in a "no way, no how" illogical way).... why on earth is an actress related to the same characters as the original fictional Samantha? Why on earth is she attracted to Will Ferrell's character when he's the most obnoxious man alive in the film?
I was hoping for a very light, very fun, stroll down memory-lane, light romance movie.... this plot, however, was so poorly written, it was very hard to follow (because boredom kept setting in). I think this is the worst Ephron writing ever.
3 because they had so much right.... but the writing was so wrong!