Spellbound: Review
By Sioph W. Leal
Spellbound follows the adventures of Ellian (Rachael Zegler), the tenacious young daughter of the rulers of Lumbria who must go on a daring quest to save her family and kingdom after a mysterious spell transforms her parents into monsters. A year has passed since Queen Ellsmere (Nicole Kidman) and King Solon (Javier Bardem) ventured into a dangerous forest and transformed into a teenager’s nightmare – monsters! Ellian has had to grow up fast and with the help of Minister Bolinar (John Lithgow) and Minister Nazara (Jenifer Lewis), they have been keeping this monstrous disaster a secret!
By now, most people should know that Zegler has a beautiful voice, but fans of hers will be in for a treat with her performance in Spellbound. While her singing voice suits the stylings of EGOT-winning composer Alan Menken with charming lyrics by Glenn Slater, Zegler’s voiceover work is almost flawless, almost Disney-esque and provides Ellian with a youthful, yet strong voice throughout the film. Much like anything else she has worked on, Spellbound highlights voice acting as another of her many skills and hopefully just the start of her voiceover work.
From the moment Spellbound begins, it’s clear that, like many other teenagers, Ellian is forced to be the parent. She is too young for this task and yearns for things to return to normal, for her parents to be the way they were before the curse, and for herself to have normal teenage parenting issues. It’s a heavy topic and one that is beautifully shown throughout Spellbound, especially when Ellian craves the life and memories she once had through the song “The Way it Was Before." Many adults and older teenagers will resonate with this song, some even knowing what it was like to retreat into the safe place of cherished memories.
Spellbound is intended for a younger audience, but with themes that can sometimes be a little heavy handed and the pacing that can be a little off, Spellbound may struggle to hold the attention of their target audience. With that being said, releasing it just before the holiday season seems like an odd choice. Spellbound might have been better suited for a summer release, but that doesn’t take away from the brilliant vocal performances from all of the cast.
As with any animation, it needs to be visually appealing to the viewer, and Spellbound certainly is that. With creative ways of magic (the magic fob is brilliantly fun) and the use of neon-like lights throughout the movie, Spellbound is stunning to look at. Between that and the gorgeous costume and world design, Spellbound delivers a treat for all the senses. While the topics can be too heavy-handed, Lithgow’s performance in “I Could Get Used to This” is the levity that Spellbound needed but will have viewers of all ages entertained!
Spellbound may not fit a winter release date, that doesn’t mean that it should be overlooked. It’s intended for an older audience to truly appreciate the message of the movie. The vocals from Zegler and the luminous animations just show that Spellbound is a pleasure to watch.