Strange Magic

This topic contains:

• overall comments and recommendations
• details of classification and consumer advice lines for Strange Magic
• a review of Strange Magic completed by the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) on 26 July 2023.

Overall comments and recommendations

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Australian Government Classification Board and the associated consumer advice lines. Other classification advice (OC) is provided where the Australian film classification is not available.

ACCM review

This review of the movie contains the following information:

• a synopsis of the story
• themes
• use of violence
• material that may scare or disturb children
• product placement
• sexual references
• nudity and sexual activity
• use of substances
• coarse language
• the movie’s message

A synopsis of the story

The beautiful fairy kingdom borders the dark forest where the Bog King (voice of Alan Cumming) and his army of goblins and creepy creatures dwell. Primroses, used to make love potions, form the divide between the two communities who have nothing to do with one another. When the fairy princess Marianne (voice of Evan Rachel Wood) catches her fiancé Roland (voice of Sam Palladio) kissing another fairy, on what is supposed to be their wedding day, she calls off the wedding and swears off love and men. Roland, more upset about not getting his army than he is about losing his bride, convinces Sunny (voice of Elijah Kelley), a midget elf in love with Marianne’s sister Dawn (voice of Meredith Anne Bull), to go into the dark forest to find primroses and to get the Sugar Plum Fairy (voice of Kristin Chenowith), who is being held prisoner by the Bog King, to make a potion for him to use on Marianne. When things don’t quite go according to plan, the goblins kidnap Dawn and the potion is accidentally used on her, causing her to fall in love with the Bog King, much to the delight of his mother Griselda (voice of Maya Rudolph). Can Marianne save her sister, and will she ever be able to get past her own heartache to discover true love for herself?

Vanity; Personal insecurities; Cheating; Judging others by how they look instead of who they are.

There is some violence in this movie, including:

• A fairy is nearly eaten by a massive lizard.
• Goblin creatures try to grab a fairy.
• The Bog King tells his goblins that they are to destroy the primroses, or he will destroy them.
• A lizard tries to kill Sunny and Dawn.
• Marianne throws acorns at a lizard and smashes it in the face with a branch.
• Marianne shoves Roland out of a door and slams it in his face.
• The Bog King kicks goblins out of the way and throws and kicks them aside.
• Sunny is freaking out as he believes that a sinister-looking creature is about to kill him, and he begs that it be done quickly.
• The Bog King tells his goblins, “If you see him [Sunny], kill him”.
• Goblins attack the Sugar Plum Fairy and Sunny. Sunny escapes but the fairy is captured.
• A rat-like creature is pushed off a ledge and he falls backwards through the clouds.
• Roland tosses people aside as he dances.
• Fairies are thrown, grabbed from behind and kicked away as goblins take over a dance.
• Marianne sword fights the goblins as they attempt to restrain her.
• Dawn is kidnapped by the goblins.
• Marianne punches a character in the face as he is about to strike her with her sword.
• A character says that he gets to rip Dawn’s wings off.
• Marianne attacks a goblin with her sword.
• Dawn is told that if she doesn’t keep her mouth shut, she will have her wings ripped off.
• A lizard eats a rat-like creature.
• Marianne smashes through the Bog King’s window and attacks him with her sword. They fight each other and he tells her that she can kill him if she wants but that she will never get her sister.
• The Bog King kicks Marianne into some spiderwebs.
• The Bog King and Roland punch each other and fight with swords.
• Roland holds Dawn hostage at knifepoint.
• The Bog King’s cave collapses as his prisoners are freed and his mother is nearly crushed by falling stones.
• Roland kidnaps Marianne.
• Marianne holds Roland at sword point and kicks him away.
• The Bog King saves Marianne and Dawn and appears to be crushed in giant jaws as everything collapses around him.
• Marianne punches Roland in the face.

Material that may scare or disturb children

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children under the age of five, including the following:

• The Bog King and his kingdom of goblins and insect creatures look very creepy and sinister. They live in a dark kingdom and the Bog King is often angry, violent and demanding of his subjects. Their evil appearance and the intensity of the King’s threatening anger, coupled with the menacing shadows he occasionally projects on the walls, may be distressing for younger viewers.
• Sunny is nearly grabbed by a sinister and creepy hand that inches towards him in a darkened cave. He leaves the cave just in time.

• Nothing further noted.

Product placement

• None noted.

Sexual references

There are some sexual references in this movie, including:

• Griselda puts her leg up in a suggestive manner and the camera angle catches it from behind.
• Griselda parades countless female creatures for her son to inspect as she is hoping that he will marry one of them. They try to appear desirable or seductive but are disregarded and dismissed.
• Griselda reminds the Bog King that she carried him for 23 months in her womb.

Nudity and sexual activity

There is some nudity and sexual activity in this movie, including:

• Marianne sees Roland kissing another fairy on what was supposed to be their wedding day.
• Roland asks Marianne to try to understand why he cheated on her.
• One character says: “Kiss me quick”.
• Another character says: “No smooching”.
• Two random characters kiss each other.
• Roland accidentally kisses a male character.
• Marianne and the Bog King share a passionate kiss.
• One character says: “That was the ugliest creature I have ever seen, and it was naked”.

Use of substances

There is some use of substances in this movie, including:

• There is a love potion that has the effect of making people believe they have fallen in love with whomever they first set their eyes upon.
• There is reference to numerous characters being ‘love dusted’. They have love potion released near them and they fall under its influence.

Coarse language

There is some coarse language in this movie, including:

• Pig
• Crazy
• Son of a … (the phrase is not completed).

In a nutshell

Strange Magic is an animated musical that features some classic songs and a plot slightly similar to that of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. At first glance it appears to be a film that families can enjoy together but, due to the content, the film is better suited to older children and tweens.

The main messages from this movie are that looks can be deceiving and that everyone deserves to be loved.

Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include:

• Courage
• Love
• Tolerance
• Forgiveness
• Understanding.

This movie could also give parents the opportunity to discuss with their children attitudes and behaviours, and their real-life consequences, such as:

• Judging people by how they look instead of who they are.
• Cheating on someone you are supposed to love.
• Refusing to listen to reason and making assumptions about how other people feel based on what you think but not on what actually happened.
• Hurting others to get what you want.