Strange Magic

Supposedly inspired by Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, George Lucas's animated tale full of fairies, elves, and goblins is grotesquely weird. The happy, colorful Fairy Kingdom is ruled by a King (voiced by Alfred Molina) with two daughters. When the feisty eldest, Marianne (Evan Rachel Wood), catches her betrothed, Roland (Sam Palladio), cheating on her, she vows to never fall in love again. Meanwhile, her flighty younger sister, Dawn (Meredith Anne Bull), remains an incorrigible flirt, oblivious to the fact that her best friend, Sunny (Elijah Kelley)—a tiny, troll-like elf—has a serious crush on her. Presiding over the Dark Forest is the gnarled, bitter Bog King (Alan Cumming), who loathes the whole idea of love because it's chaotic. Primrose flowers that can be used to make powerful love potions separate both of these lands. But the Sugar Plum Fairy (Kristin Chenoweth), who knows how to create the concoctions, has been kidnapped and imprisoned inside the Bog King's dungeon. Merry mischief ensues. Working from a bland script that he co-wrote, director Gary Rydstrom creates eerie woodlands full of garish, photo-realistic imagery, while using pop music covers (a mixtape that quickly becomes an annoying distraction) to help tell the hackneyed story. Optional, at best. [Note: DVD extras include a “Creating the Magic” behind-the-scenes featurette (6 min.), a “Magical Mash Up” with outtakes, tests, and melodies (4 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a decent extras package for a disappointing film.] (S. Granger)