‘Spellbound’ Review: Alan Menken Brings Vintage Disney Vibes to Skydance’s Second Animated Feature

variety.com:

Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic The kid’s gonna be fine. It’s the parents who are not all right in “Spellbound,” a straight-to-Netflix computer-animated fairy tale with a smart concept (what’s a girl to do when her home life is shattered?) and its heart in the right place.

If only the movie were transparent about its premise from the outset, as opposed to burying the explanation — as a real-world relevant twist — till nearly the end.

The film takes place in the fantasy kingdom of Lumbria, where the royal couple have been cursed. Once a reasonable ruler, King Solon (Javier Bardem) is now a speechless blue beast — albeit the cartoon-cute version of a rhinoceros-size creature, sporting an endearing underbite and an easily distractable, dog-like personality.

His wife, Queen Ellsmere (Nicole Kidman), suffers from an equivalent affliction. Gone is the fair-featured matriarch, replaced by a puffy green dragon with flamingo-pink feathers, gold horns and ridiculously small wings. “Spellbound” confronts the couple’s transformation from the perspective of their capable teenage daughter, Princess Ellian (Rachel Zegler), who sings “My Parents Are Monsters” right from the outset.