Netflix Movie ‘Spellbound’ Slammed By Parents For “Damaging” Message To Children After 1 Day Streaming

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Netflix’s new animated film Spellbound has immediately claimed a place at the top of the streamer’s global movie chart, but has taken a big hit in its review scores after sparking controversy over its depictions of divorce. The family movie has become the subject of many complaints from angry parents who are not happy with the films message that divorce is okay.

Although the film has received accolades for its lively animation and its all-star voice cast, which includes John Lithgow, Nicole Kidman, Javier Bardem, and Rachel Zegler, many reviews on Rotten Tomatoes have attacked the film for what they consider to be offensive themes for young children.

In the film Spellbound, Rachel Zegler plays Ellian, a young princess who sets out on a magical quest to rescue her kingdom of Lumbria. As these films require, Ellian must deal with her own personal development while discovering the truth about the curse that turns her parents into monsters. With lyrics by Glenn Slater and music by renowned composer Alan Menken, Spellbound promised to be a callback to several Disney movies of the past.

Movie Review

Princess Ellian (Rachel Zegler) of Lumbria ventures into a dark forest to break her parents’ (Javier Bardem, Nicole Kingdom) monstrous curse.

However, there are several reviewers who have slammed the movie for normalizing the subject of divorce, which they believe is not something that should be promoted as being alright for young children.

One review by Kelley G said, What looks like a cute animated movie about a young girl trying to save her parents who’ve been turned into monsters is just a moronic ploy to help normalize divorce to children. Don’t normalize divorce. It’s not normal.

Another review from Krzysztof M urged parents to watch the movie first before allowing their children to see it.

I STRONGLY not recommend watching the movie with kids. SERIOUSLY, as a parent, watch the movie first before showing it to your child and decide if your child should hear about divorces at their age from a movie for children! OR, prepare yourself for questions like, “mommy/daddy, will you leave mother too?!”. THIS MOVIE NORMALISES A SEPARATION/DIVORCE.

Shrek director Vicky Jenson shares her thoughts on the reactions to Spellbound’s positive messaging about divorce.

However, there were others who appreciated the message of the movie, and pointed to the unavoidable truth of the world. Soccer C wrote with their five-star review:

In the real world, roughly 50% of marriages end in divorce, and even in those that dont, parents will still argue sometimes. This movie provides a *VITAL* message to kids that THEIR PARENTS LOVE THEM, NO MATTER WHAT. If parents bicker, argue, or yes, even get divorced NOTHING will change their love for their child, and the disagreements are between the parents alone, and are NOT the childs fault and yes, it will be hard at first but we can get through this and adapt to the new normal.

Despite the backlash, the movie has earned praise in some other areas. Critics have highlighted the quality of the animation, and the performances of its very capable voice cast, but the film is let down by its inability to match the many Disney offerings it attempts to be like. Some say it is a “hard slog” to get through the first hour, while others have noted that the film is very easily forgotten. Like many recent movies made for children, there will always be some parents who want to protect their young ones from the world, while others believe that doing so is just causing issues later when it becomes apparent to them that the world is not full of light and roses.

It could be argued that there have been movies tackling difficult subjects for years, and this is just something that seemed to be lost for a decade when filmmakers were afraid to push boundaries in the way others had in the past. Don Bluths 1980s movies like All Dogs Go to Heaven, which focused on death, and An American Tail (a story that had a message about immigration behind its incredible animation and songs), are a good example of how movies have been handling difficult subjects for a long time.

Telling stories for children has never been easy, but in a world that is a lot darker than many kids shows and movies make out, it is sometimes worth allowing them to be introduced to some of its more mature issues through a bright-colored animated adventure than not being aware of it at all.

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