Wonder Park

An explosion of colors! This is the impression that remains after watching "Wonder Park", a long animated film that has been shot in theaters. The script of the duo Josh Applebaum and André Nemec tells the story of June (or Jujuba in the Brazilian version). She is an optimistic and creative little girl who with her mother invents an amusement park with her imagination. Of course the park does not exist until June sees with its own eyes.

The park in shambles and at war with himself coincides with June's departure from his optimism and imagination. June realizes that only she can rebuild the park. The story is lightly predictable but captivating nonetheless. She is the backdrop to this onslaught from Nicklodeon Movies and Paramount Pictures.

Visually speaking is a spectacle of colors. It gives the impression that we immerse ourselves in a rainbow in the form of animation. The charismatic characters of the park give an important counterpoint. But most of all I think that "Wonder Park" comes to meet an audience that does not always find productions for itself.

I'm talking about children between the ages of 3 and 6 who live this transition between the world of imagination and the world of reality. I watched the film in the movies, surrounded by these children and I was able to follow their emotion. After all, they have not yet seen "Toy Story", maybe they have not seen "Sherek" yet. "Wonder Park" falls like a glove for this audience who longs to discover the cinema, the big screen and its colors.

The plot works great with them. They all end the movie by screaming out the park slogan. Everything is "Very cool!" It's not Pixar, it's not Disney, it's not Dreamworks or Sony. I'm happy to see other players in the market venturing into full-length animations. This is a "most spectacular" point, as well as seeing excited children who, in this case, draw more attention than the film itself.

It's has been an entertaining experience for myself, every time I take my children to see a kids movie. I too laugh and am entertained by kids movies, I'm a child at heart. In this case, I fell asleep 3 or 4 times. This is not a movie for big kids like myself, but my children seemed to enjoy it. I rated it a five, for myself but my 5 yr old rated it 100. This movie is not for us big kids.

Wonder Park, written by Josh Applebaum and Andre Nemec, is a touching film and a magical adventure. It is filled with action, humor and heartfelt moments that make it enjoyable. The movie is all about the power of love and imagination. It is a wild ride of fun.

The movie tells the story of a young girl, June Bailey, (Sofia Mali and Brianna Denski). She is very imaginative and adventurous, which shows throughout the movie. She and her mom (Jennifer Garner) have a very close relationship. Together they invent a theme park called Wonderland, based on figments from June's imagination. It is a whimsical place filled with exciting rides and attractions, such as a flying fish carousel and crazy roller coasters. The park has great characters like Boomer, the narcoleptic bear and Steve, a gentle porcupine. There is also Greta, a feisty hog and a beaver Cooper played by the hilarious Ken Jeong. My favorite character is the monkey Peanut (Norbert Leo Butz), the leader of the park. He is such an endearing character. When June's love for the park is tested, the magic of what she and her mom created begins to disappear. It's up to June to save the park and herself.

The plot is creative. I like the animation and the magical looking effects. I love the vision of the park and the details that capture the theme of a child's mind. All of the areas of the park are vibrant and unique. I love the bendy straw slide and the balloon cove. The scenes match the mood of what occurs in the storyline. One of my favorite parts is when June first comes to Wonderland and sees that her creations are real.

The movie has some emotional moments between June and her mother. We see how June goes from being a happy-go-lucky kid to a sad little girl. We watch her love for the park fade away. However, we see her get her shine back. It is a great story about relationships and the importance of imagination and always believing.

I rate this film 4 out 5 stars and recommend it for ages 3 to 13, as well as the entire family.

Reviewed by Jordan M., KIDS FIRST! Film Critics. For more reviews by youth, visit kidsfirst.org

Wonder Park is a movie that has a pretty cool premise and potential but doesn't quite reach greatness. One issue is the pacing of the films tone, during the first arc it's back and forth between whimsical, cutesy, funny and then dramatic until we get the park. The humor isn't laugh out loud either but their are some laughs to be had. One of the films strong points are the action sequences like the introduction the park at the very start and when June and the mascots are dodging the oncoming destruction of the park set foot by the zombie sock monkey toys (I can guarantee you this is the only movie to that zombie Sock monkeys).

The characters are typical but likable but the relationship with June and her mom is one of the films strong points they get along real well and they time their on screen together is just so precocious and Junes arc of dealing with uncertainties of weather her mom can return to her is when the film has it's best moments. Though the pacing is better in the middle of the film it still isn't smooth as butter I don't wanna spoil too much but there's a scene in which the mascots believe June betrays them and it's shown as a big deal, but the next day after helping with the one of the rides, she regains all their trust instantly.

I'm pretty sure the films issues have to do with the directing, there was some drama where the director was called out for harassment charges and had to leave production, so the studio had to carry on with either a new person in charge who has not been credited as of yet or they pressed forward with what they had done so far, and it's pretty sad cause this movie could have had it's issues ironed out and given likely would have dodged a lot of the criticism thrown it's way.

The movie isn't a broken mess it's just their was a lot more that could have been done with it, as it stands now it's a fun movie even if it feels unfocused and has some mood-swings with the tone from scene to scene. It's also a pretty short movie too.

I should also note that much like Jimmy Neutron Boy genius and Big Hero 6, Wonder park is getting TV series that will air on Nickelodeon in the not too distant future and hopefully Wonder Park gets more justice done their.

Honestly, I do not understand how they get such a low score. The film had a beautiful story, with an interesting morality and very important for the life of anyone in the world, this in a fun way. In addition, the film had fabulous characters, beautiful scenes, good actors, beautiful animation and great intelligent humor. Highly recommend.