I thought about waiting but am glad I didn’t. It ends where intermission would be in the play so it’s a natural stopping point.
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I watched Spellbound on Netflix last night and found it entertaining with wonderful animation. It would be a good choice to watch with grandchildren, perhaps. The musical is set in a mythical land where a teenage princess has to go on a quest to save her parents and kingdom. Nothing too scary, no big bad villain, no romance involved, excellent cast, colorful, and doesn’t drag. Some of the songs seemed a bit bland to me but the writers have top credentials so maybe just me. It looked great.
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The most precious of cargoes
It starts like a fairy tale: a poor lumberjack and his wife lived deep in a forest. They worked hard and were always hungry and cold.
Every time she was near the railroad, the lumberjack’s wife prayed to the god of the freight train that came through the forest from the city to drop something to eat or to warm them up.
But (as you guessed from the train) it’s not a fairy tale.
Instead, though, the train sent her…
Her husband, who looks like an ogre, can’t stand the creature, from another species that has no heart and causes wars, and it’s not like they have anything to feed “it”…
Although it’s an animated film and the images are beautifully crafted to look like a fairy tale, this wouldn’t be for young children - the goal of the art is to provide both distance and depth into the Holocaust - I’d say adolescent and adults but depending on the children’s social studies units and sensitivity, perhaps 10-11+? Middle school?
The scenes in the death camp, while allusive, are rightfully bleak and haunting even for adults (and more in Munch’s style than Slavic fairy tales).
The authors (one of whom made The artist) spoke about making sure each person got their humanity back since the Nazi wanted to erase it, showing that in dark times people CAN make the right choice, though some don’t. They spent 5 years on the film because they said they had to get everything right.
It’s a masterpiece in my opinion.
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Exactly. The period of history directly after the timeframe of the first movie was literally the year of the 5 emperors. Doesn’t get more action and intrigue than that. But the other than the names of the brother emperors and of the guy who took power after them, there’s nothing even slightly or vaguely historical in the movie. The events the opening scene were based on happened 300 years before the time of the movie when Rome was still a Republic, no already a slowly dying empire.
The movie was visually interesting and the CGI of Rome and the Colosseum were great. The battles were decent too. But the script was terrible, the acting a combination of over-and-under and the characterizations backward. And the movie was trying way too hard, unnecessarily, to be an homage to the first movie, which conributed to why it made no sense.
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I/we saw Wicked yesterday. Great film. Lots of hints laid out in the film, which I enjoyed talking about with my family afterwards.
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Whole family saw Wicked today. We had all seen it on Broadway too (though a very long time ago). It was fantastic. If you hate musicals or musical movies, I don’t think this will win you over. But if you don’t have that bias, it’s hard not to like. It reminded me how strong the play was that they are faithfully basing it on. Excellent story, characters, music, songs, etc. But the movie really went all out with absolutely spectacular sets, props, costumes, etc., only top of excellent performances. Well done all around. That said, musical movies almost never capture the visceral sensation of being in the theater with live music, live singing and an appreciate audience. It was weird getting to the end of songs and having no audience reaction.
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I felt that after the first song or two and then relaxed into the fact that I was at a movie theater.
Regarding the sets, you might find these interesting.
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So interesting! Thanks for sharing.
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D and I saw Wicked yesterday - it’s a spectacle and I think it needs to be seen on the big screen (I don’t often say that). Costumes, props, and set design are out of this world. We enjoyed it. There were a few continuity issues that were distracting to us, but I think most wouldn’t have even noticed. We’re weird like that.
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Oh this is a helpful post.
From seeing the trailers, I was thinking that perhaps it would be over-produced. All the fast cut scenes etc might take away from really listening and appreciating the songs.
I guess comparing it to the stage musical is like apples and oranges.
Don’t compare. Two vastly different things. We love the stage show. And really appreciated the film.
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Loved Wicked! 
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I guess we’re weird, but my husband, son, and I really didn’t enjoy Wicked. It felt hyper and disjointed. I didn’t like Hamilton, either, so I guess it’s just not my style.
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D and I saw Wicked today. Absolutely loved it! She’d seen it on Broadway, I went in with zero knowledge or expectations. Cannot wait for part 2.
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I’m not sure we would have liked Hamilton in the theater. But during Covid, on Disney+ (recording of the theater performance) we enjoyed. Three times actually…. the last time since we had visitors who wanted to see it. But it’s really long, best to take a long break at intermission time.
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Do you like other modern musicals?
D and I saw Wicked today and really enjoyed it. We’ve seen the musical a few times.
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I’m not sure this question is valid. I’m a fan of musical theater, but with few exceptions, the screen adaptations in the 21st century absolutely suck. I’m looking at you Rent. I haven’t seen the Wicked movie yet, but have added to the list based on positive feedback.
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Saw Wicked and Gladiator 2. Liked both for different reasons. The woman who played the green witch has an amazing singing voice. I hadn’t seen the musical before. Don’t care for Ariana Grande, but she was really good in it. Denzel Washington was awesome. He’s one of my favorite actors.
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