Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

Spellbound

Play trailer 2:05 Poster for Spellbound PG 2024 1h 50m Adventure Fantasy Animation Comedy Kids & Family Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
48% Tomatometer 42 Reviews 47% 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.
Watch on Netflix Stream Now

Where to Watch

Spellbound

Spellbound

What to Know

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.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View More
John Nugent Empire Magazine 12/10/2024
3/5
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.  Go to Full Review
Ben Kenigsberg New York Times 12/09/2024
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. Go to Full Review
Randy Myers San Jose Mercury News 11/27/2024
3/4
Zegler puts her amazing vocal range to great use in a playbook of quality songs from Alan Menken and Glenn Slater. Go to Full Review
Carla Monfort Espinof Jan 16
3/5
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] Go to Full Review
Mark Meszoros The News-Herald (Willoughby, OH) Dec 31
2.5/4
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. Go to Full Review
John Serba Decider 12/06/2024
Spellbound is more enchantment than curse. Go to Full Review
Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More
Sarah M Nov 25 Beautiful message and view of divorce through a child’s eyes. She Ellian hugs her little self at the end it is very emotional. For any kids who are having to deal with complicated life the message of embracing change and moving forward is beautiful. Supporting characters were not great but for families who have experienced divorce I think this is really a beautiful film and a true fairy tale for how it could be done right. See more Emy L Oct 10 I was going to put 4/5 because I enjoyed it enough but my 9yo shrieked that it was an AWESOME movie and should get 5/5. The graphics are great, theme, characters and their development, jokes, rythm, memorable moments, teachings and values, I have no criticism. Maybe the songs are not memorable enough for my taste, but my kid LOVED it! See more Gareth D Jul 24 Somehow feels like a rehash of a bunch of previous pixar/disney movies with very moralistic overtones and a 'divorced' parents agenda. There are glimpses of greatness, but overall it lacks depth, the music isn't that great and the whole thing feels extremely derivative. The first 30 minutes or so is really very boring. See more Rotten P Jun 25 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. See more Jay W Jun 21 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. See more Juliana L Jun 18 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. See more Read all reviews
Spellbound

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW
Onward 88% 95% Onward Watchlist TRAILER for Onward How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World 90% 87% How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World Watchlist TRAILER for How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World Sonic the Hedgehog 3 86% 95% Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Watchlist TRAILER for Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Toy Story 4 96% 94% Toy Story 4 Watchlist TRAILER for Toy Story 4 The Sea Beast 94% 83% The Sea Beast Watchlist TRAILER for The Sea Beast Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

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
Most Popular at Home Now