Le Parc Des Merveilles

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.

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

Cute movie that both my young boys loved. That's all that mattered really

Fan of Roller coaster Tycoon, or Simulation coasters? Were you one of those people who had an imagination that could take you to anywhere you wanted to think of? Have you wanted to go to a place of wonder where girls didn't blow up to blueberries? Well tonight's movie attempts to bring all of this to you in a package that looks to people overwhelmingly cute. Robbie K back with his thought on yet another movie to hit the silver screen in hopes of not getting lost to the reruns of the theater. Let's get started!

Movie: Wonder Park (2019)

Writers: Josh Appelbaum (screenplay by), André Nemec(screenplay by) Stars: Sofia Mali, Jennifer Garner, Ken Hudson Campbell

LIKES:

Cute Voice Work Special Effects Animation Energy Jokes Imagination Message

Summary: Disney movies make it difficult to try to bring animated features out because of the not so big budget or army of animators/ideas. Nickelodeon is able to still work some charming magic into this piece though, managing once more to bring the cute factor into their film and get the feelings going. It's got some surprising emotional work, with voice acting and story coming together to sell the feelings lying deep in the fun, cute charm that the trailers show. Much like the opening scene of Up, Wonder Park has some surprisingly deep messages that will hopefully motivate the young and refresh the older generations on the importance of imagination and wonder. Sap fest aside though, the movie accomplishes the goal of still being fun, managing to inject the wonder of imagination in terms of visuals and adventures. Nickelodeon's team injects a lot of kid friendly energy into the mix, making an infectious, thrill seeking ride that is perfect for the intended audience. The smooth animation, with high paced speed keeps in time with the nature of the animals and imaginative girl, while the design manages to bring in the magic that theme parks and kids movies have. All the unlimited potential of a child's imagination is unleashed in this film and it is certain to bring you back into the world of pure imagination.

DISLIKES:

Predictable Too Simple Lacking Intense Suspense Short

Summary: As we have talked about, animation movies require a story to be very dynamic, fun, and have a sense of adventure that takes us out of our world. While Wonder Park does semi-accomplish this, it doesn't quite do it as well as some of the other bigger studios have done. For one thing the movie is predictable, all the symbolism, mystery, and potential twists are easily discernible and lacking the finesse and mind-blowing moments that the sister studio is famous for. In addition, despite all the fun that Wonder Park did in helping you relive your childhood, it was a little too simplistic in the adventure department, not quite having the drive or dive that Pixar and DreamWorks is able to concoct. This means for me that there was not too many suspenseful parts in the mix, most of the chases reduced to quick bouts of falling, or lost in another joke. All the dark challenges and impasses are very diluted avenues, that act as symbolic psyche components of humans rather than true antagonists. Yet the main thing that is semi disappointing, is how short the movie is. Clocking in at just around 80 minutes, this film certainly moves fast, but not so much in the good way as the content feels a little lacking to be honest. Oh well, it got me out a little early, but the length may not be the most bang for your buck in terms of the expensive movie ticket price.

The VERDICT:

Wonder park is certainly an important illustration about the important components of life, including the importance of maintaining your imagination and wonder. It makes great use of the kid friendly energy, yet has a few things for adults to latch onto, especially those touching, pull at your heart string moments. Yet despite all the fun I had in this movie, the film still feels like a Nickelodeon tv special that could have been left to the network. It needed some more adventure, it needed more suspense for me, and more importantly it needed more of that magic they talked about. Wonder Park certainly has the makings for a fun merchandising series, it just needs a little more finesse to finish the deal. Worth a trip to the theater? Hmmm kind of, but this one is probably waiting for streaming for most.

My scores are:

Animation/Adventure/Comedy: 7.5 Movie Overall: 6.5

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.