November 2024 has witnessed the release of yet another captivating animation film, Spellbound, an American musical fairytale directed by Vicky Jenson, produced by Skydance Animation and distributed by Netflix. The film is all about the journey of a teenage princess Ellian from Lumbria to break the spell that turned her parents into monsters. It includes the music of the famous composer Alan Menken from Tangled (2010) with his lyricist Glen Slater.
The film is all about the journey of a teenage princess Ellian from Lumbria to break the spell that turned her parents into monsters.
The screenplay was jointly written by Julia Miranda, Elizabeth Martin and Lauren Hynek. The voice cast includes Rachel Zegler (as Ellian), Nicole Kidman (as queen Ellsmere), Javier Bardem (as king Solon) among others.
The narrative of Spellbound begins with young Ellian coming into a realisation that there is a chance that the situations cannot go back to what it used to be, even though she also partly hopes to restore the situation to whatever they used to be. She comes to such a state of reconcilement after her persistent efforts for a year to break the spell cast over her parents. The monsters don’t identify Ellian or their ministers rather they cause damage and fight for food like any beast.
Theme of parental conflict and abandoned youngsters
The main theme discussed in Spellbound is the issues faced by children when their parents are in continuous conflict with each other. Ellian, though she never took them seriously, thinking all parents do fight, later understands how this starts to affect her as well. Her parents are not ready to forgive each other for the minute errors and does not care for the emotion of the other. It leads them into conflict and makes them prioritise their individual self since it is love and compassion that helps one to adjust in family life. These incidents witnessed by the young ones deeply mark their mental realities leading to feelings of being unloved and uncared for.
In Spellbound, Ellian experiences this very often when she tries to resolve the conflict and break the spell leading to her disturbed state. Ellian living a lonely life in the palace is a central metaphor for the many children all around who do not know how to get out of such stressful situations. The ministers, advisers and servants never try to understand her state of mind and she too does not have even a best friend to share her thoughts.
Thus, she locks herself away in the palace like her parents. Her only solace are the trips with her royal pet animal, a magical being with large wings and her personal pet named as Flint, a tiny squirrel-like rat. But she is bold enough to take the journey defying all the ministers to the forest with her monsters to solve the puzzle.
Structuring of the narrative and the songs in Spellbound
The story of Spellbound begins for the audience when many events already have been covered and Ellian has come into a sort of peace within herself on how to handle the situation. Also, her efforts in saving her parents are only just mentioned and therefore, we learn of the numerous futile and ineffective steps of a teenager to sort out parental conflict. Therefore, the narrative fails to gather the emotions of the audience in the beginning.
Moving further into the story of Spellbound when the audience are acquainted with Ellian, we see her leaving her palace all too soon for the said quest. Of the four tests put before Ellian, none of them stand out or clearly state their reason or purpose. And due to this, these tests only serve for the purpose of moving the narrative further and evidently, do not have a didactic component. In these scenes the scriptwriting consistently fails to bring out the purpose of the narrative.
Of the four tests put before Ellian, none of them stand out or clearly state their reason or purpose. And due to this, these tests only serve for the purpose of moving the narrative further and evidently, do not have a didactic component.
Since Spellbound is a musical fantasy, it incorporates a number of songs. Yet unfortunately, none of them attain the adequate love of the audience, neither stirring their emotions nor conveying the emotions of Ellian. They come and pass, soulless and insignificant. Also the visuals that accompany them are never placed in a captivating manner. The beats and the musical tunes also do not differentiate between one another.
Spellbound as a film was conceived in 2017 under a different title and it underwent changes in the production house and distribution before it was finally released. Therefore, it had ample time of conception where changes are still possible. Yet, it seems the time was not utilised and hence, it could only give the impression of an above average animated film.
The animation techniques used are improved from the previous films, yet, at some points they fail to decode the human emotions and therefore, seem artificial in between. Coming to the core theme of parental conflict and its impact on children, it is handled well. Even the ending of the film is unique in itself where Ellian is experiencing a new life of reconciliation and peace.
Even the ending of the film is unique in itself where Ellian is experiencing a new life of reconciliation and peace.
It could be an example that can be followed by the new fairytales as well where they could give it a modern touch. Also, to some extent the film tried to capture LGBTQ+ elements as well. Overall, the film is a good watch for all who can tolerate the sudden and abrupt beginning of the story and other similar errors.
