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Spellbound

Play trailer 2:05 Poster for Spellbound PG Released Nov 22, 2024 1h 50m Adventure Fantasy Animation Comedy Kids & Family Play Trailer Watchlist
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48% Tomatometer 42 Reviews 48% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
Spellbound follows the adventures of Ellian, 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.
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Spellbound

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Critics Consensus

Spellbound makes for harmless viewing thanks to its colorful animation and clever moral, but this fairy tale can't quite summon any real charm.

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Critics Reviews

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John Nugent Empire Magazine A solid if fairly derivative attempt to steal Disney’s thunder. There’s enough pep and vigour here to keep kids interested, if not quite enough for the grown-ups.  Rated: 3/5 Dec 10, 2024 Full Review Ben Kenigsberg New York Times So, too, may viewers of "Spellbound" occasionally sense the enchantment zones of their brains lighting up, more as a reflexive response to dim memories of past animated features than as a genuine reaction to the derivative pastiche onscreen. Dec 9, 2024 Full Review Randy Myers San Jose Mercury News Zegler puts her amazing vocal range to great use in a playbook of quality songs from Alan Menken and Glenn Slater. Rated: 3/4 Nov 27, 2024 Full Review Carla Monfort Espinof It manages to recover in time toward its conclusion in the best way possible, but you can't shake the feeling that it could have been much more well-rounded. [Full review in Spanish] Rated: 3/5 Jan 16, 2025 Full Review Mark Meszoros The News-Herald (Willoughby, OH) You just wish the journey were a little more entertaining. The jokes are OK, not hilarious, and the songs are merely fine — certainly below Menkin’s best work. Rated: 2.5/4 Dec 31, 2024 Full Review John Serba Decider Spellbound is more enchantment than curse. Dec 6, 2024 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Rotten P Spellbound offers a visually charming and emotionally earnest exploration of family dynamics through the lens of magical fantasy. While the animation is rich and vibrant and the musical elements add flair, the film shines most in its intent to depict the emotional complexities children face during parental separation. Though it falters with a familiar plot and a resolution that feels overly simplistic, its message about communication, love, and emotional healing resonates. A tender, if uneven, family film that speaks to both children and parents alike. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 06/25/25 Full Review Jay W John Lassester returns again, and this time he has Rachel Zegler with him. Now if that is a duo that turns you away from the film, fair enough, but let's look at it on the merit of the movie itself. The animation looks very by the numbers, enough so that people have accused this of being made with A.I. But no, I don't think that's the case, it is just a lot of old hands in the animation studio that it seems familiar. Speaking of familiar this is a musical with songs composed by Alan Menken, the man behind "Beauty and the Best' and "Aladdin". It’s a shame the songs here are not nearly as memorable. The whole movie is pretty forgettable. It follows all the usual story beats for an adventure like this. With the exception of the ending. I can actively feel my memory fading on the film, but the ending is what will stick with me. It is a theme that you don't see explored often in Family Animated Films, and I respect them for their effort. It is a shame that the rest of the film doesn't deliver as well. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 06/21/25 Full Review Juliana L I find it important for any animated feature to keep both adults and kids entertained, but this movie failed to do that. I'm 19 and watched this movie because I was bored and was very disappointed. I could see this being the favorite flick of anyone below elementary school age, but it did not even mildly engage me until at least halfway through the movie. The settings did not change until halfway through the film and the plot barely started moving until the sound cave, and even after that it still dragged a bit. All of the songs sounded mildly similar, were way too long, and nothing important happened onscreen during the duration of them. As a final blow to what the film could have been, I understand the movie was supposed to have a moral about divorce, but wouldn't it have been better to set a moral as having the parents start over, make up, and realize they can be with each other for their daughter (together) if they really try? Also divorce is not that easy and (usually) ends in making things harder for the child instead of better, and it's not like the child just gets to "go from one castle to the other" to visit their parents whenever they'd want. I watched Disney's "Wish" and enjoyed it more than this. That's how bad "Spellbound" was. To sum it up: while the animation was wonderful and the acting was good, the story was dull, unaccomplished, and vague. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 06/18/25 Full Review Carlos Samuel E Buena película maravillosa con una buena enseñanza Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/13/25 Full Review Hannah K terrible movie, divorce is terrifying and ugly, can be life threatening, making it look "good" is very disturbing, and not all children of divorce end up better off, terrible message, also this movie doesn't have a villain, the "negative emotions storm" is basically the villain, very disturbing, not for children Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 04/28/25 Full Review THE GAMING D This movie isn't so bad, but is not a materpiece. The songs are ok, the plot is a bit banal, and I liked the final, but for the rest is a good movie to watch with the family. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 04/26/25 Full Review Read all reviews
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Movie Info

Synopsis Spellbound follows the adventures of Ellian, 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.
Director
Vicky Jenson
Producer
John Lasseter, David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, Bruce Anderson, Linda Woolverton
Screenwriter
Vicky Jenson, Lauren Hynek, Elizabeth Martin, Lauren Hynek, Elizabeth Martin, Julia Miranda
Distributor
Netflix
Production Co
Skydance Animation
Rating
PG
Genre
Adventure, Fantasy, Animation, Comedy, Kids & Family
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 22, 2024, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 22, 2024
Runtime
1h 50m
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