O Feitiço

It is without any wonder or whimsy, the animation all looking rather flat to the eye rather than bursting with depth that takes the breath away.

Cute, creative setpieces do wonders to keep the story moving along, as do the wealth of new songs that firmly establish this as a musical with a capital M.

Trust that the eventual explanation is a smart one, with useful lessons to impart about how much kids can (or should even try to) control when faced with drastic family changes.

Spellbound struggles to connect its somber emotional material with its whimsical and formulaic genre approach.

A largely forgettable venture that families will watch during Thanksgiving break before the Netflix algorithm buries it forever.

If only this animated musical could break the spell of mediocrity.

Spellbound, will merely inspire yawns and children to quickly ask if they can rewatch The Mitchells vs the Machines or The Wild Robot instead.

Spellbound largely conforms to the typical beats of a road narrative, albeit sprinkled with some surprising moments. Most striking are the visuals, rendered with vivacity and poignancy.

This animated adventure is a breezy but largely derivative coming-of-age saga, with spirited songs enhancing an empowerment story that comes off as thinly sketched and simplistic.

So while Spellbound's exterior may not always break the mold, its heart is more than happy to break new ground, gifting us a truly special ending.

Sometimes, you end up respecting what a movie's trying to discuss more than you enjoy the film itself. Case in point, Spellbound.

Zegler puts her amazing vocal range to great use in a playbook of quality songs from Alan Menken and Glenn Slater.

Spellbound is not quite as insightful or emotionally resonant as the top-tier animated children's films. But it's a cute, fun adventure that younger audiences will still have a blast with.

Skydance is a puzzlement. They have more money than Daddy Warbucks and a lot of talented people working there. And yet their first film, Luck, was terrible and this one is not a lot better.

Even Wish is more competently made and more worthwhile to watch than this.

In an ambitious and exciting age of animation this isn't good enough. Totally generic

So, too, may viewers of "Spellbound" occasionally sense the enchantment zones of their brains lighting up, more as a reflexive response to dim memories of past animated features than as a genuine reaction to the derivative pastiche onscreen.

Spellbound is more enchantment than curse.

An often lovely animated tale with some wonderful, fun songs that deals with issues normally reserved for some of the best of our live-action family tales like E.T. and Where The Wild Things Are.

It fails to get the magic needed to be convincing.