A lot of people, myself included, were excited at the prospect of Walt Disney Animation Studios having a straightforward villain again (especially given this movie was advertised as having one.) Instead, we got King Magnifico. For the first half of the movie, Magnifico falls squarely into the category of "not evil, just misguided" and for the second half, he's controlled by a magic book that forces him to do evil (like Scarlet Witch in Dr. Strange 2). I suppose I could damn him for using the book in the first place (as I would damn Scarlet Witch) but even so that's hardly a return to form. Disney wanted to have their cake and eat it too. They wanted the misguided antagonists of their modern movies and the theatrical villains of yesteryear but you can't have them both at the same time.
Beyond that, the songs are forgettable (a better Conflicted Villain song than "This is the Thanks I Get?!" would be "How Bad Can I Be?" from The Lorax or "Where is the Fun?" from The Fairly OddParents.) Asha is a generic character though I honestly don't have a problem with her being quirky.
I like the message of seeking to realize your wishes into reality through your own efforts but it's unfortunately undermined by Asha becoming a Fairy Godmother at the end of the movie. I like the Easter Eggs to older Disney movies but they're a double-edged sword as they serve as a reminder of far better movies.
Is this movie truly bad? No. There are far worse movies out there and at least this movie avoids preaching a political message to its audience (like the implicit pro-Lockdown message of Lightyear which, in retrospect, I overrated). I know that some people regard this movie as having an anti-religious message but I disagree with that assessment.
This movie is neither great nor terrible. It's average. (As a side note, The Fairly OddParents School's Out The Musical actually managed to be good while being a movie with an extremely similar premise to this one.)
Beyond that, the songs are forgettable (a better Conflicted Villain song than "This is the Thanks I Get?!" would be "How Bad Can I Be?" from The Lorax or "Where is the Fun?" from The Fairly OddParents.) Asha is a generic character though I honestly don't have a problem with her being quirky.
I like the message of seeking to realize your wishes into reality through your own efforts but it's unfortunately undermined by Asha becoming a Fairy Godmother at the end of the movie. I like the Easter Eggs to older Disney movies but they're a double-edged sword as they serve as a reminder of far better movies.
Is this movie truly bad? No. There are far worse movies out there and at least this movie avoids preaching a political message to its audience (like the implicit pro-Lockdown message of Lightyear which, in retrospect, I overrated). I know that some people regard this movie as having an anti-religious message but I disagree with that assessment.
This movie is neither great nor terrible. It's average. (As a side note, The Fairly OddParents School's Out The Musical actually managed to be good while being a movie with an extremely similar premise to this one.)