Strange Magic (2015)
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The story
In a magical realm divided between the Fairy Kingdom and the Dark Forest, fairy princess Marianne vows never to fall in love again after discovering her fiancé Roland's infidelity on their wedding day. Meanwhile, the Bog King, ruler of the Dark Forest, shares a similar disdain for love. When Marianne's sister Dawn and her elf friend Sunny are nearly devoured by a giant lizard, Marianne rescues them. Following a series of events, Sunny ventures into the Dark Forest to find a primrose petal to create a love potion, seeking to make Dawn fall in love with him, while Roland seeks a potion to win back Marianne.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After Marianne rescues Dawn and Sunny, Sunny finds a hidden primrose petal and travels to the Bog King's lair. He strikes a deal with the imprisoned Sugar Plum Fairy to create a love potion in exchange for her freedom. Sunny returns to the Spring Ball and attempts to use the potion on Dawn, but the Bog King interrupts, capturing Dawn and demanding the potion by moon-down. Marianne defies her father to rescue her sister, while Roland leads an army to the Bog King's castle. Dawn falls under the potion's influence, and the Bog King imprisons her for his own sanity. Marianne arrives and fights the Bog King, eventually finding common ground as they realize the potion's effects can only be negated by true love. A mutual attraction develops between them. Meanwhile, Sunny recovers the potion from an imp and gives it to Roland. At the castle, Bog suspects Marianne of a setup and leaves her stranded, but she joins the battle. Sunny frees the love-stricken creatures and Sugar Plum. In the climax, Bog holds his den open for everyone's escape. Sunny reveals his feelings to Dawn, breaking the spell as they kiss. Roland arrives and sprays Marianne with the potion, but she punches him, falling into a crevice; it is revealed she was already in love with Bog. Bog and Marianne finally admit their feelings and kiss. In a post-credits scene, Roland falls in love with a female insect.
- First release year
- 2015
- Runtime (minutes)
- 99
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Gary Rydstrom
- Writers
- David Berenbaum · screenplay; Irene Mecchi · screenplay; Gary Rydstrom · screenplay; George Lucas · story
- Cast and characters
- Alan Cumming · the Bog King; Evan Rachel Wood · Marianne; Elijah Kelley · Sunny; Meredith Anne Bull · Dawn; Kristin Chenoweth · Sugar Plum Fairy; Maya Rudolph · Griselda; Sam Palladio · Roland; Alfred Molina · the Fairy King
- Genres
- animated; jukebox musical; fantasy
- Themes
- True love; Finding beauty in unexpected places
- Tone and mood
- Oddball charm; Garish; Idiosyncratic
- Setting
- A magical realm divided between the Fairy Kingdom and the Dark Forest.
- Premise and plot tags
- Beauty and the Beast story; Fairy tale; Jukebox musical
- Source material / true-story basis
- Inspired by William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream
- Reception
- The film received negative reviews from critics and was a box-office bomb, grossing $13.6 million against a $70–100 million budget.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 25 · scale: 100 · review count: 20
- Awards and nominations
- Best Voice Performance · Black Reel Awards · 2016 · nomination
- Production trivia
- George Lucas described the film as 'Star Wars for a female audience'.; The film was in development for 15 years.; The hair design of sisters Marianne and Dawn went through several revisions.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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