I’m breaking my self-imposed rule of posting every other day and bringing forward what would have gone into the ‘unblogged April’ post at the end of the month. I’ve taken our ten-year-old to see a couple of films this month, and as they’re both still showing at the cinema, here’s my reviews of the Super Mario Galaxy Movie, and The Magic Faraway Tree. Besides, the last time I reviewed two films together, Wish and Wonka, it was one of my most popular blog posts for a while.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie
I mentioned that we’d probably go and see this on Good Friday, and indeed we did. We went to the Everyman Cinema in Leeds (top of my highly subjective ranking) which also permitted a bit of shopping on the side.
My review is probably broadly in line with what I wrote about A Minecraft Movie: it’s basically fine. I think Peter Bradshaw’s 1* review in the Guardian was a little harsh; it’s not terrible, nor was it aiming to be a cinematic masterpiece. As someone who doesn’t really play console games, a bit more explanation of who people are may have come in useful. For example, Fox McCloud appears in the second half of the film, with barely any introduction and I had no idea who he was or why he was important. I don’t mind fan service – it’s expected in films like this – but non-fans need a way in too.
The Magic Faraway Tree
We saw this today (yes, I’m posting about something I did the same day for once), albeit at our local Vue Cinema in Halifax as we had limited time. It’s been out in the UK for the duration of the Easter holidays, however, it has only just secured a distributor in the US and so won’t be out there until August. Knowing this, it’s therefore not surprising that it’s not a big Hollywood blockbuster; I don’t know what the budget was, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was on the comparatively low side.
There are, of course, special effects – it would be hard to make a film about a magic tree without them – but I suspect much of the film uses good old-fashioned sets rather than lots of green screens. The screenplay is by Simon Farnaby, who also wrote the script for Wonka, and he has a cameo role in the film.
The film is based on The Enchanted Wood, the first of Enid Blyton’s four books in the series, but set in modern times. Indeed, I’m sure that Enid Blyton would probably be turning in her grave, but considering that she was a big old racist, that’s no bad thing. Like all good family films, this adaptation has some jokes for grown-ups as well as kids. The evil character Dame Snap pops up, with a cheeky reference to her being called Dame Slap in the first editions.
Which to choose
If you can only see one of these two films, pick The Magic Faraway Tree. It’s a great, relatively gentle family film. I can see it being a big hit on TV at Christmas time.
Like I said, the Super Mario Galaxy Movie isn’t bad, but it helps if you’re a player of the games.
Reposts