Rating: C-
Wonder Park is the animated story about a young girl, June, who builds an imaginary theme park with her Mom. Together they create a magical world led by talking animals with crazy fun rides. June is disheartened when her Mom gets sick and must leave, and it is during this time that June discovers her park may not be imagined after all.
I really wanted to like this movie! It starts out strong. Sweet. The relationship with her Mother as magical as the world they create. June is a really likeable character full of life and passion, smart as a whip. It's when her Mom becomes sick and leaves that the movie takes a dark turn. When Pixar gets sad there's a song and montage that hints while not weighing the movie down. Children go through heart ache. Life isn't easy. But the tone in the middle section of Wonder Park is heavy, jarring. The magic gone.
June visits her world, discovering it's real, but what we see is this darkness taking over. There's no spark. No life. The amusement park overrun by monkey zombie stuffed animals, which I found annoying. We see the wonders of this land, but in a twisted way. We don't experience the joy, though we get a hint of it in the beginning of the film.
This movie breaks my heart! It's filled with so many good intentions. June's resilience. Her encouraged imagination. Family supporting each other during difficult times. That Pi (3.14) song is cute. Who wouldn't love seeing their created amusement park brought to life? But some of the jokes fell flat. I found myself mentally checking out at times. And I wish the tone of the film was better handled.
Honestly, I can't say whether you'd like the film or not. These are just my opinions. But I do know this isn't a movie I'd rush to show my nieces and nephew.
MPAA: Rated PG for some mild thematic elements and action.
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