A musical film that ‘Spellbound’ me

By Danielle Cherry

Ellian is a princess in a whimsical kingdom, where her life is perfect… almost. The only problem is her parents are monsters. “Spellbound” follows the journey Ellian takes to bring her parents back, traversing uncertainties and a darkness that tries to overtake her. 

From the get-go I was drawn in by the animation, almost realistic in style, yet maintaining a sketchy artistic vibe. It teeters on the edge between high-tech animation and a classic flip book. This style maintained a fantastical feel throughout the whole film. I was surprised to find I preferred this nostalgic animation style to that of recent hyperrealism in new releases. 

Soaring through the air on a cat-eagle hybrid, Ellian (Rachel Zegler) performs a show-stopping number “My parents are monsters” to welcome the viewer into her world by breaking the fourth wall and describing her familial situation to the viewer. I loved the fourth wall break, it was so unique and singing her story to the audience grounded it. 

I found myself cooing at the screen as adorably fluffy baby cat-eagle hybrids chirped and played in the grass, while a towering antelope-deer-horse hybrid galloped in search of the monsters. The monsters were colorful and cute in design, not at all intending to look terrifying. While looking at the creatures I kept wondering where I could find a stuffed animal version. 

The music is the heartbeat behind this movie. It takes after classic musical styles seen on Broadway, where dialog overlaps singing. Rachel Zegler’s voice is sing-songy in a princessy way, and yet commanding and powerful in her solos. She takes over the whole musical ensemble leading even the orchestra in a beautiful number: “My parents are monsters” that is still left playing in my head. 

The range of singing and performances is breathtaking. The way that the characters moved reminded me of a dance taking place on screen, every movement precise and structured almost as if they were real people being told to strike a certain move for the camera. 

Due to the childlike humor throughout the movie, I found myself laughing out loud (a rare occurrence for me). As the discovery of words is fleshed out by the monster king and queen, and they learn how to string sentences, the nuances of language captivate them, leading to some very hilarious interactions with Ellian. 

I was spellbound by this movie, moved by the musical number and the story behind it. Ellian feels she has lost her parents to a darkness that has caused them to become monsters. In her song “The Way It Was Before” tears welled up in my eyes as I felt the loss she felt of not being with her parents. They were so close to her and yet so far away, and that hit me. In our world now we can be so close to people, through Facetime or texting, and yet physical distance separates us. This song describes this feeling in such a profound way.

It is no coincidence that the portrayal of the king and queen as monsters takes on an allegorical message, speaking to the fact that power corrupts and causes rulers to become like monsters. The darkness that consumes them is their disagreements, and this is all too true to history. 

Theming within this movie was impactful, grappling with hard topics like selfishness, love and darkness. The animation pounded home these themes, depicting darkness as a pronounced penciled-in tornado that stood out from the rest of the animation style. In contrast, love was portrayed as liquid light, warding away the darkness. Loving and positive words pictured as blue orbs scared away the piercing red words of negativity and hate. 

Overall the movie was innocent and wonderful for young children up until the climax. At first, I was disappointed as it seemed the movie was ending without any major resolution. Instead, there was a climax, but its resolution left me with a bad taste. 

We are all used to happy endings, where the girl is reunited with her love, or the monsters are defeated. “Spellbound” had a ‘happy ending’ but not in the way I had hoped. Throughout the movie, it is revealed that the reason her parents became monsters is because of constant arguments between them. At the end of the movie, instead of Ellian returning to the way that her life used to be, she happily recounts that her parents are separated and no longer live together. She has come to terms with the fact that her life will not be how it was, which was the desire of her heart as sung throughout the whole movie. 

I was left feeling upset that a good story would be distorted by the parents getting a divorce. It is so subtle that a child would miss it, maybe looking up to their parents’ faces with a confused look, but otherwise would go over their head. But as a teenager, the notion of Ellian being gleeful that her parents were separated irked me in the wrong way. 

In a way, it felt like the ending to this movie celebrated divorce as being a good thing. For families that have gone through a divorce, this story does a good job pointing towards dwelling on good things rather than focusing on the darkness in one’s life. Families that have been through a separation will know that divorce is not as simple or resolute as “Spellbound” presented it to be. 

Overall “Spellbound” was a wonderful adventure, making me forget the many exams I should be studying for. I just wish I wasn’t left wondering how this movie would impact children, making them believe that separation is better for the world than striving to stay together in a marriage. 

“Spellbound” is currently streaming on Netflix

Danielle Cherry is a freshman Communications major and writer for Cedars A&E and Sports. She is a Missionary Kid from Germany and loves a good cup of coffee.

Images courtesy of Netflix