Movie Reviews

Spellbound 2024 Movie Reviews: Critics Share Strong First Reactions

Published

1 year ago

November 13, 2024

Spellbound 2024 Movie Reviews: Critics Share Strong First Reactions

Critics got their first look at Netflix’s new 2024 movie, Spellbound, which yielded impressively positive results ahead of its debut.

Marking the first of a trio of upcoming movies for Rachel Zegler, Spellbound is Netflix’s latest animated movie coming in late November.

The story centers on a young girl named Ellian who lives in a world of magic called Lumbria. This is where she has to break a spell that splits her kingdom in two and turns her parents into monsters.

Critics’ First Reviews for Spellbound 2024 Movie

Netflix

Following press screenings for Netflix’s Spellbound, critics offered their first reactions to the upcoming animated movie.

Variety’s Katcy Stephan described the film as “magical,” praising Rachel Zegler for “[nailing] the princess role” and highlighting Alan Menken and Glenn Slater for the film’s music:

“Netflix’s ‘Spellbound’ is magical! Rachel Zegler nails the princess role as the headstrong and optimistic Ellian, while Alan Menken and Glenn Slater deliver the kind of soaring emotional ballad we’ve come to expect from them with standout song ‘The Way It Was Before.’”

Rama’s Screen did not view Spellbound as highly despite describing the film’s central themes as “admirable.” He felt it had a “preachy message” built around a “lackluster adventure:”

“‘Spellbound’ theme of assuring children of divorced parents that life would get better was admirable. But therein also lies the problem. They built the story around the preachy message, so the result was a lackluster adventure with mid songs, mid humor & mid characters”

The Direct’s own Russ Milheim saw Spellbound as a fun film “that boasts a surprisingly mature message” while praising Rachel Zegler for her musical musings:

“‘Spellbound’ is a fun adventure that boasts a surprisingly mature message. Its unique world is vibrant and fully realized, with lots of songs to enjoy as the story plays out. Rachel Zegler’s musical talent shines bright, as one would expect.

“Spellbound on Netflix is a true delight,” exclaimed critic Amanda Taylor, who complimented the way it “captivates with its heartwarming story and stunning animation:”

“‘Spellbound’ on Netflix is a true delight! This magical film captivates with its heartwarming story and stunning animation. Alan Menken’s beautiful score elevates every scene, while Rachel Zegler shines with soulful brilliance. Don’t miss it!”

Freelance journalist Jamie Jirak loved the film, particularly “the pairing of Nathan Lane and Tituss Burgess,” telling fans it is “worth checking out on Netflix:”

“‘Spellbound’ is so sweet! An animated princess musical with songs by Alan Menken… from Skydance?! I’m always happy when Rachel Zegler sings, and I loved the pairing of Nathan Lane & Tituss Burgess. The film has a nice message and is worth checking out on Netflix next week!”

Screen Rant’s Joe Deckelmeier described how the film “weaves heartfelt storytelling with breathtaking animation” and “strikes a perfect chord:”

“‘Spellbound’ on Netflix is fantastic! The way this film weaves heartfelt storytelling with breathtaking animation is just magical. It strikes a perfect chord, exploring family dynamics and connection in such a relatable and profound way. Kudos to the brilliant team behind it, especially Alan Menken and Glenn Slater, for injecting so much soul into the music!

CBR’s Ashley Saunders heaped heavy praise on Spellbound, telling fans that it was “beautifully animated” and “brimming with heart and humor:”

“‘SPELLBOUND’ is beautifully animated, brimming with heart and humor. Alan Menken’s score hits all the right nostalgic notes for this millennial. Pure magic. Rachel Zegler once again wows & John Lithgow is a scene-stealer! Perfect watch for the whole family”

Nerdtropolis founder Sean Tajipour called Spellbound “a beautiful yet powerful story with fantastic visuals,” highlighting the way it “tackles tough themes…through a child’s eyes:”

“Netflix’s ‘Spellbound’ is a beautiful yet powerful story with fantastic visuals that tackles tough themes like parental separation through a child’s eyes. It explores the journey of kids who blame themselves and try to ‘fix’ their parents’ relationship, all wrapped in a magical and adventurous fairy tale filled with song and dance.”

These critic responses appear to indicate that another hit animated Netflix movie may be on the way, even though some noted an occasional flaw or two. The cast seems to have put forth their best efforts, and Alan Menken continues his trend of excellence after projects like The Lion King (which continues to expand in live-action).

Featuring major stars like Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem next to Zegler, Spellbound looks to become the next great animated musical in an era somewhat lacking in that genre at times.

Whether this film leads to more stories from this universe is a mystery, but for now, plenty of hype is building for a fun new film fans can enjoy for the holiday season before the year ends.

Spellbound will debut on Netflix on Friday, November 22.

Related Topics:animation First Reactions Netflix Rachel Zegler

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Movie Reviews

Maxime Giroux – ‘In Cold Light’ movie review

Published

41 minutes ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Maxime Giroux – ‘In Cold Light’ movie review

(Credits: Far Out / Elevation Pictures)

Wed 4 March 2026 9:30, UK

Maxime Giroux – ‘In Cold Light’

The action is relentless in the complex thriller In Cold Light, a tense combination of crime and fugitive tale and family drama. It is the third feature and first English language film by Maxime Giroux, best known for a very different kind of film, the critically acclaimed 2014 drama Felix & Meira.

The tension and high energy of In Cold Light almost overwhelm the film, but are relieved, barely, by moments of character development and introspection that keep the audience pulling for the restrained and outwardly cold main character.

Speaking at the film’s Canadian premiere, director Giroux admitted he found creating an action film a challenge. Part of his approach was using very minimal dialogue, especially for the central character, letting the action speak for itself, and allowing silence to intensify suspense. Giroux has said he likes the lack of dialogue and speaks highly of the importance of silence in cinema; he prefers using “physical aspects of communication” in his films.

Young Ava Bly (Maika Monroe) is a competent and businesslike drug dealer, working in partnership with her brother Tom (Jesse Irving) and a small team. As the film begins, Ava has just been released from a brief prison sentence. She is hoping to return to her former position, but her brother’s associates consider her a risk due to her recent incarceration. While she works to re-establish herself, a shocking encounter with a corrupt police officer sends Ava’s life into chaos and forces her to go on the run.

Ava’s fugitive experience introduces a new character, to whom Ava turns for help: her father, Will Bly, played by Troy Kotsur, known for his excellent performance in CODA. Their first interaction is handled in a fascinating way, as Will is deaf and the two communicate through sign language. This, of course, provides another form of the silent interaction the director prefers; he explained that much of the father-daughter interaction was rewritten with the actor in mind. Their conflict is nicely expressed through a scene in which their initial conversation is intermittently cut off by a faulty light which goes out periodically, making communication through sign momentarily impossible, nicely expressing the rift between father and daughter.

As Ava continues to evade danger, her escape becomes complicated by new information, placing her in a painful dilemma. We gradually learn more about Ava, her background, and her character through occasional flashbacks and glimpses of her dreams. The plot becomes more complex and more poignant, and gains features of a mystery as well as an action tale, as she is pressed to choose from among equally unacceptable alternatives.

The climax of her efforts to protect both herself and those close to her comes to a head as she meets with the director of a rival drug gang. Veteran actress Helen Hunt is perfect in the minor but significant role of Claire, the rival drug lord, who plays odd mind games with Ava in an intriguing psychological fencing match. It’s an unusual scene, in which Ava’s personality is made clearer, and Claire’s understated dominance and casual speech do not quite conceal the threat she represents.

The frantic pace and emotional turmoil are enhanced by the camera work, which tends to focus tightly on Ava, and by a harsh, minimal musical score that sets the tone without distracting from the action. Giroux chose to shoot the film in Super 60; he describes digital as “too perfect” for the look he was going for, and since “Ava is rough,” the film portrays her better. The director describes the entire movie as “rough,” in fact, and deliberately chose a dark, washed-out look for much of the footage, occasionally using light and colour, in the form of fireworks, lightning, or a colourful carnival, to both relieve and emphasise the darkness.

The dynamic, intense story holds the attention in spite of the lengthy, sometimes repetitive chase scenes and subdued dialogue. Ava’s predicament, and the difficult decisions she is forced to make, are made surprisingly relatable, from the initial disaster that starts the action to the surprising flash-forward that concludes the film, on as high a note as the situation could allow. Fans of action movies will definitely enjoy this one.

Movie Reviews

Jeremy Schuetze’s ‘ANACORETA’ (2022) – Movie Review – PopHorror

Published

13 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Jeremy Schuetze’s ‘ANACORETA’ (2022) – Movie Review – PopHorror

PopHorror had the chance to check out Anacoreta (2022) ahead of its streaming release! Does this meta-horror flick provide interesting story telling or is it a confusing mess.

Let’s have a look…

Synopsis

A group of friends heads to a secluded woodland cabin for a weekend getaway, planning to film an experimental horror movie. As the shoot progresses, the project begins to fall apart—until a real and terrifying presence emerges from the darkness.

Anacoreta is directed by Jeremy Schuetze. It was written by Jeremy Schuetze and Matt Visser. The film stars Antonia Thomas (Bagman 2024), Jesse Stanley (Raf 2019), Jeremy Schuetze (Jennifer’s Body 2009), and Matt Visser (A Lot Like Christmas 2021)

My Thoughts

Antonia Thomas delivered an outstanding performance as the female lead in Anacoreta. It was remarkable to watch her convey such a wide range of emotions with authenticity and depth. I was continually impressed by her ability to switch seamlessly between different dialects. I absolutely loved her delivery of the dialogue of telling The Scorpion and the Frog fable.

Anacoreta employs a distinctive, meta-horror style of storytelling. The narrative follows a group of friends creating a “scripted reality” horror film, and as the plot unfolds, the boundary between their staged production and their actual lives becomes increasingly blurred. This was interesting, but at the same time frustrating as a viewer.

Check out Anacoreta on Prime Video and let us know your thoughts!

Movie Reviews

‘Hoppers’ review: Pixar’s best original movie in years

Published

1 day ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

‘Hoppers’ review: Pixar’s best original movie in years

“So it’s like Avatar?” one character quips in Disney and Pixar’s “Hoppers,” bluntly translating the film’s high-concept premise for the sugar-fueled kids in the audience. And yes, the comparison is apt. The story follows a nature-obsessed teenage girl who manages to quite literally “hop” her consciousness into the body of a robotic beaver in order to spark an animal rebellion against a greedy mayor determined to bulldoze their forest for a freeway.

It’s a clever hook. The kind of big, elastic idea Pixar used to make look effortless. “Hoppers” does not reach the rarified air of “Up,” “Wall-E,” or “Inside Out,” but after a stretch of uneven originals like “Turning Red” and “Luca,” and outright misfires such as “Elemental” and “Elio,” this feels like a genuine course correction. The environmental messaging is clear without being preachy, the animals are irresistibly anthropomorphized, and the studio’s once-signature emotional sincerity is back in sturdy form.

Pixar can afford to gamble on originals when it has a guaranteed cash cow like this summer’s “Toy Story 5” waiting in the wings, but “Hoppers” earns its place in the catalogue. Director Daniel Chong crafts a warm, heartfelt film that occasionally strains under the weight of its own ambition, yet remains grounded by character and theme. Its meditation on conservation and animal displacement feels timely in a way that never tips into after-school-special territory.

We meet Mabel, voiced with bright conviction by Piper Curda, as a child liberating her classroom pets and returning them to the wild. Her moral compass is shaped by her grandmother, voiced by Karen Huie, who imparts wisdom about nature’s sanctity. True to both Pixar tradition and the broader Disney playbook, this beacon of guidance does not survive past the opening act. Loss, after all, is Pixar’s favorite inciting incident.

Years later, Mabel is still fighting the good fight, squaring off against the smarmy Mayor Jerry, voiced with slick menace by Jon Hamm. He plans to flatten the glade where Mabel and her grandmother once found solace. Mabel’s resistance feels noble but futile. The animals have already mysteriously vanished, the machinery is coming, and her last-ditch plan involves luring a beaver back to the abandoned forest in hopes of jumpstarting the ecosystem.

That’s when the film gleefully pivots into mad-scientist territory. At Beaverton University, Mabel discovers her professor, voiced by Kathy Najimy, has developed a device that can project human consciousness into synthetic animals. The process, dubbed “hopping,” allows Mabel to inhabit a robotic beaver and infiltrate the forest from within. It’s an inspired escalation that keeps the film buoyant even when the plotting grows predictable.

Her new posse includes King George, a lovably beaver voiced by Bobby Moynihan with distinct Bing Bong energy; a sharp-tongued bear voiced by Melissa Villaseñor; a regal bird king voiced by the late Isiah Whitlock Jr.; and a fish queen voiced by Ego Nwodim. As is often the case with Pixar, even in its lesser efforts, the world-building is meticulous. The animal hierarchy, complete with titles like “paw of the king,” is layered with jokes that play for kids while slyly winking at adults.

The plot ultimately follows a familiar template. Scrappy underdog rallies community. Corporate villain twirls metaphorical mustache. Emotional third-act sacrifice looms. At times, you can feel the machinery working a little too cleanly. Pixar, and Disney at large, has grown increasingly reliant on sequels and established IP, and “Hoppers” does not radically reinvent the wheel. In an animated landscape where films like “K-Pop: Demon Hunters,” “Across the Spider-Verse,” and “Goat” are pushing stylistic and narrative boundaries, being safe and sturdy may not always be enough.

And yet, there is something refreshing about a Pixar original that remembers how to tug at the heart without squeezing it dry. “Hoppers” is playful, peppered with cheeky needle drops, and builds to a sweet emotional catharsis that may or may not have left this critic a little misty-eyed. It feels earnest and engaged.

“Hoppers” may not be top-tier Pixar. But it is a welcome return to form, a reminder that the studio still knows how to marry big ideas with a bigger heart.

HOPPERS opens in theaters Friday, March 6th.