The House of Magic

Not perfect and could have been better, but it's a good, colourful and fun film and one of nWaves' better efforts.

Story-wise, The House of Magic is somewhat standard fare and a few parts feel over-familiar and well-worn. It also slightly runs out of gas towards the end, becoming a little over the top and not as crisp pacing-wise as the rest of the film. Some people may also be disappointed by the lack of emotional resonance and depth.

The animation however is wonderful (in 2D and 3D), the colours are vibrant and rich, there is so much detail and inventiveness in the backgrounds and the characters are well-modelled, cute but not overly-so. The magic scenes are very imaginatively animated too and the gizmos are cool. The House of Magic also boasts a catchy and whimsical soundtrack that compliments the film's mood ideally, and the pacing mostly is very lively in a film that can hardly be classed as 'boring'. The polished script is very high in zany wit, fun and charm, with some occasional dark weirdness that doesn't get in the way of the overall tone of the film and a whimsical quaint charm.

While the story may not be exceptional, it is a long way from a disaster either, livened by some set pieces that are both fun and scary and some eye-popping spectacle for the magic and gizmos. The message is well-intended and sweet, and delivered in a way that doesn't preach. The characters are all cute and engaging, their likable personalities and the charming and entertaining interaction between them more than compensating for the lack of depth. The voice acting is strong.

All in all, has some imperfections in the story but is mostly a very entertaining bag of tricks with a lot of great merits. 7/10 Bethany Cox

25 August 2014 Film of Choice at The Plaza Dorchester on this rainy bank holiday afternoon - House of Magic. Adults were definitely in the minority in the cinema this afternoon to see this lovely animated tale of an abandoned kitten doing everything he can to save his new home. Originally released in France on Christmas Day last year, it has eventually hit our screens amid some fierce competition for the school holidays. This film has some very cute characters and is engaging from the opening scene when Thunder the cat is abandoned by his family. In true animation fashion the story leads us through good times and bad times but always ends with a happy ending. Not one for the DVD collection but a rainy afternoon viewing on the TV would be a must.

In too many ways, the Hollywood animation industry has ruined the market for everyone else. Disney and Pixar are leading a pack – DreamWorks, Fox, Sony – that have considerable resources at their disposal: they can easily afford to hire the best talents and bombard the entire world with adorable tie-in merchandise, even if the films they're producing aren't particularly good. It's a real shame, because it means that smaller, semi-independent efforts like The House Of Magic – an utterly charming French co-production – might too easily fall by the wayside.

Abandoned by his owners, a cat sneaks into a mysterious mansion that the neighbourhood pets are convinced is haunted. In short order, our feline protagonist gains a new name (Thunder) and a new master – the genial, elderly Lawrence, a magician who lives happily in a magical world with his toys and mechanical gizmos. However, Thunder also gains a few enemies: Jack Rabbit and Maggie Mouse have no intention of allowing him to become part of Lawrence's act, even as Lawrence's nefarious nephew Danny plots to sell the house away.

Plot-wise, there isn't anything particularly special about The House Of Magic. The story marches along in largely predictable fashion – the schemes cooked up by Thunder and his buddies aren't enormously innovative and the ending of the film is never in doubt. It's also the kind of movie in which moral complexities are easier to ignore than include, so don't expect many shades of grey in the characters of Thunder, Lawrence or Danny. Even Jack Rabbit, who proves a worthy, grouchy secondary antagonist to Thunder, is quickly forgotten in the film's action-packed ending.

But it's all woven together to charming, sweet effect in the film, which benefits enormously from its excellent character design. It's easy to forgive the straightforward narrative when it's hurried along so effectively by the bouncy, adorable Thunder and his desire to be part of a family again. Lawrence's toys are also wonderfully realised: Edison, the most expressive walking lightbulb you'll ever see, is a standout, but the other supporting characters are lovingly developed too. Much of the joy in the film comes from watching them come together to thwart Danny's efforts.

Taken all together, The House Of Magic has the feel of a well-worn bedtime story: it may occasionally feel like something you've seen a thousand times before, but it's also powered by a comfortable, familiar spark of magic – the kind that makes you feel right at home, wherever you might be.

The story of the abandoned cat whose cruel owner dumps him when they move house.

Alone and unprotected the lovely cat faces a difficult challenge for survival and as he wanders the streets manages to enter a house that had already other animals in it as well as various gadgets. The owner embraces him instantly but some of the other guests are reluctant to accept him and so he has to earn their trust.

The opportunity to do so will come as a wicked nephew wants to sell the house.

An appealing story combined with high quality visuals, giving us an angle of the world from the point of view of a small animal. Various themes are involved such as abandonment, new beginnings, fitting in and proving oneself.

When it comes to protecting our home, one better not underestimate the determination of even the smallest of opponents.

It will surely delight children without leaving the adults unimpressed either.

Every time that I sit down to watch an animated movie nowadays, I inevitably end up surprised by the visual quality of the animations, and this film was no exception. The visuals are stunning (I watched the motion picture in 2D, as i am no fan of 3D for the time being). You could see many of the effects are intended for 3D, but even as 2D they are uniformly excellent and very exciting to watch. The story itself is rather simplistic and intended mostly for children, as are the dialogs.

I watched it together with my wife and 8 year old daughter who found the movie to be excellent. My wife on the other hand thought it to be extremely boring. Myself, I am probably somewhere in-between the two extremes. I found this to be a very decent, professionally made animated movie mainly aimed at a younger audience, and in that it fulfills its purpose totally. Recommended.