Il castello magico

Most European animations intended for the mass market are often very disappointing either in a lame script or bland animation. Usually it is Hollywood that rules the roost here, but The House of Magic was a pleasantly surprising film released (in the UK) in a summer already overcrowded with family fare.

Admittedly this film is aimed at a much younger market than say, the Marvel Films but nonetheless it is still doing the rounds where other animation like The Nut Job, How to train your dragon 2 and Planes 2 are also on release. I am a little surprised the distributors put it out during the summer because it obviously won't have the same kind of publicity as those big American productions but nonetheless I am glad to see it has been reasonably well received because it is actually quite watchable and likable. Although I saw the film in 2D I could see the scenes designed for the 3D release and can quite understand those that think its is one of the better 3D releases.

The story is not terribly sophisticated, an abandoned little ginger kitten wanders into a spooky house and ends up fighting a greedy real estate agent who is trying to sell it behind his elderly magician uncle's back. After a sub plot involving the Rabbit and a mouse trying to get rid of the kitten the kitten ultimately ends up teaming up with the other inhabitants of the house (Rabbit, mouse, two lovebirds and various sentient inventions) plus two sick children to thwart him. The film does drag in a few places and is quite predictable but is extremely well animated, has fun with it's music cues (watch out for some classic British pop music from the 1980s) and will ultimately leave children and adults with a big grin on their face as the end credits roll. The script could have done with a few more laughs but anybody who has ever owned a cat will recognize how well translated the mannerisms of 'Thunder' the kitten have been done.

Ultimately I found this to be an undemanding, very well animated and perfectly serviceable little film that has no offensive elements (although I agree with a previous reviewer who found the callous way the kitten is abandoned by its original owner to be a little bit upsetting). Nonetheless the film moves on quickly from that start and the reasons why he was abandoned are briefly addressed in the story (economic recession).

I was going to give this film a 6 but 'Thunder' is such a cute creation and probably the most lovable cat in a film since Puss in Boots from Shrek that I gave it a 7.

What a fun and charming movie to watch! Great for children and adults. Colorful, great characters, a flowing plot, and plenty of smiles and laughs.

The voice overs are done to perfection, the goofy gadgets are highly imagined and brought to life, and the evil real estate nephew and evil bunny top off the story.

Some may say the kitten, Thunder, is too cute but that's not so. He's young and full of himself and wants a home. Each of the perspective buyers the nephew brings by to see the house is original and funny. Then the two construction workers met their match inside the house - it's hilarious!

Fun and sweet for all ages .. you will enjoy!

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

When a small kitten is thrown away by its owners in the middle of the street, it sets right away to find shelter and if possible, a new home. It ends up in an apparently creepy house, full of magical creatures which entertain an old man. It gets accepted right away by him but some old pets of his plan to get rid of the intruder. We witness the adventures of this cat which must fight to remain in the house and at the same time, help the old man keep his property from a greedy and self-centered nephew.

Although it might seem interesting, it soon proves to be too childish, boring and not very well made. Although it looks gorgeous with some well-designed models, the animation is choppy and not polished enough. The same can be said about the voice acting which could definitely use some more work. Unfortunately, the plot isn't able to raise the quality, even by a small amount, letting you down with almost every occasion it had to bring something new, something that might up the interest of the viewer. Instead, it falls miserably into ordinary and predictable, even exaggerating way too much some aspects which should have been left alone. It's supposed to be a movie for children, but the movie apparently isn't aware of this aspect. It describes an extraordinary hatred coming from multiple sides which affects more or less the final outcome. I don't want to give spoilers but I really don't understand the decisions taken when it comes to the negative characters, fact which is often reflected in their attitude. The movie's finale is unfortunately on the same note with the rest of the movie, being very predictable and unsatisfying. Don't get me wrong, it's not a very bad movie, but it is below average in every single aspect and doesn't do anything to stand out from the crowd. You can easily live without seeing this one.

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.