Voices of Evan Rachel Wood, Alan Cumming, Kristin Chenowith, and Meredith Anne Bull
Directed by Gary Rydstrom
Music and Lyrics by various
George Lucas long wanted to make a movie about fairies and princesses for his three young daughters. He came up with the idea in the early 2000's, even working on it alongside the Star Wars prequels, but didn't really pick up production until just before Disney bought Lucasfilm in 2012. It was one of the final films released by Disney's distribution arm Touchstone, and Lucas' last crack at an animated film before returning to the Star Wars universe. Is this literal fairy tale just as good of a fantasy as Lucas' major franchise, or does it deserve to be dropped in the dark forest? Let's start with fairy princess Marianne (Wood) on her wedding day and find out...
The Story: Marianne is devastated when she catches her intended Roland (Sam Palladio) in the arms of another. She trains as a warrior and vows never to love again. The Bog King (Cumming) in the dark forest made a similar vow, to the point where he's locked up the Sugar Plum Fairy (Chenowith) to keep her from making love potions.
The Elf Sunny (Elijah Kelley) badly wants Marianne's little sister Dawn (Bull) to see him as something more than a friend. Angry that Marianne spurned him again at the Spring Ball, Roland tricks Sunny into retrieving a love potion to use it on Dawn. The love potion is so potent, the victim will fall in love with the first person they see after being hit with it. That brings the Bog King and his monstrous creatures into the Light Forest. They kidnap Dawn before she can see anyone...and when the first person she sees is the Bog King, she refuses to leave. Marianne goes after her and falls for the Bog King herself when they realize how much they have in common, including needing to let go of how badly they've been hurt.
The Animation: Lucasfilm worked hard to make this as different from every other fantasy film out there. I'm not sure how well they succeeded. The characters move fluidly, especially in the air, the backdrops in both sides of the forest are gorgeous and well-rendered and appropriately colorful and shadowy, and there's some jaw-dropping special effects with the magic and the Sugar Plum Fairy. The fairies themselves have nifty butterfly wings, but can otherwise come off as almost creepy-looking. with their big eyes and narrow faces. The Elves are even creepier, and frankly almost as ugly as the Bog King and his monsters.
The Song and Dance: The music and some good animated effects are the only remote saving graces here. There's more than 40 songs from between the 60's and the early 2000's, and most of the cast really knows how to put them across. Among those with even the slightest idea of how to handle the material are Chenowith as the Sugar Plum Fairy, Cummings as the Bog King whose ugliness hides a gentler heart than the fairies want to believe, and Maya Randolph as his sensible and tough mother Griselda, who just wants to see her son happy. And I do give Lucasfilm some credit for trying something a little different, instead of going into Disney fantasy adaptations.
Favorite Number: We open with "Can't Help Falling In Love" as Marianne prepares for her wedding day and dreams of adventure, at least before Roland reveals his true colors. "I'll Never Fall In Love Again" is her big training montage, showing how she trades her white gown for a darker warrior's costume. Roland sings "C'mon Marianne" at the ball with his lackeys to win her over, but this time, she has too much sense to buy his sleazy flattery. Marianne declares "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" when she goes after her sister in the dark woods.
The Sugar Plum Fairy and Griselda remind Sunny that "Love Is Strange" when he comes for the potion. Dawn keeps singing "Can't Help Myself" every time she sees the Bog King in his dungeon, to his annoyance! He and Marianne fall in love to the tune of the title song, but Griselda and Dawn have to encourage her to "Tell Him" in the finale. Lucasfilm goes psychedelic with kaleidoscopic effects as Marianne and the Bog King end with a romantic version of "Wild Thing."
What I Don't Like: Pretty much everything else. The characters are often either silly, selfish, obnoxious, or just plain unlikable. Roland's toxic masculinity would be apparent to anyone paying the remotest attention, well before Marianne figures it out, and Sunny comes off as more of a jerk than a concerned friend. There's plot holes the size of both forests put together, and what's there often doesn't make a lot of sense.
The Big Finale: This jukebox fantasy may be the definitive "love it or hate it" cult flop. There's people who think it's as grossly mistreated as the Bog King and find it innocent and charming, and others who are put off by the overuse of music and the annoying characters and story. Take a look for yourself and see which side of the forest divide you fall on.
Home Media: Easily found on DVD and streaming; it's free on Disney Plus with a subscription.
I've never even heard of this film!
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't have either if I hadn't first run into it at the Haddon Township Library on DVD a few years ago, then on Disney Plus.
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