Netflix’s latest musical fantasy animated feature, Spellbound, carries the lineage of Dreamworks and Pixar classics in its narrative treatment, tone, mesmerizing visuals, and characterization—and carries the tradition of allegorizing important real-life issues with the metaphors and imageries of a fantasy scape. Directed by Vicky Jenson, whose previous works include iconic titles like Shrek, the core of Spellbound is firmly strengthened by the mature handling of the theme of parental connection and lack of it, making it a delightful watch for not only the younger audience but for their parents as well. It is the second major animated feature by Skydance Animation, the studio that previously animated the Apple TV+ series WondLa, Luck, and despite their visual style being occasionally similar to the aforementioned animation movie giants, there is ingenuity in their craft, which is noticeable as well. With an original fairytale setting, the world design is simple yet vivid and appealing, which adds to the overall charm of the movie.Â
What Was Ellian’s Plan To Help Her Parents?
Ellian, princess of the magical kingdom of Lumbria, has found herself in a tight spot for over a year. Her parents, King Solon and Queen Ellsmere, have quite literally turned into speechless, funky monsters by an unknown curse, and the princess, who has just turned 15 years old, has to shoulder the burden of their responsibilities all on her own. In fear of repercussions, Ellian has kept the news of her parents a secret from everyone else, except two of her loyal counsels, Minister Nazara and Minister Bolinar, who help Ellian to balance her royal duties and to handle her monstrous parents. Ellian misses the good old days of growing up, when she had spent some of the best times of her life with her parents, and is desperate to bring them back to normalcy, but so far nothing has worked. Nazara and Bolinar consider the king and queen to be lost causes and want Ellian to officially take up her mantle as the Queen of Lumbria.
Ellian decides to seek guidance from the architects of the known cosmos—oracle of Sun and Moon, Luno and Sunny—who arrive at the royal palace to share their advice but get scared off by Ellian’s monstrous parents. Ellian, already exasperated by responsibilities that she shouldn’t have to take up at her age and concerned about her parents, becomes a bit disgruntled and forgets to lock up the cages of her parents. The next day, the entire kingdom becomes aware of her parents’ condition, and General Cardona plans to capture and send them away to exile. Aside from Ellian, no one seems to care about the fact that the monsters were people once and can be reverted to their original form.
Ellian finds a magic fob that was mistakenly left by the oracles, using which she escapes with her monster parents along with him and ventures to the Dark Forest of Eternal Darkness, to their residence. It should be mentioned that she mistakenly swaps the consciousness of Bolinar with her pet hamster-like creature known as Flink. As Flink, Ellian, and her parents reach the oracles, they learn that they need to break the curse by themselves. Ellian gets discouraged a bit, as she deems it impossible for her parents in their present state to go through whatever ordeal they need to go through on their own, but the oracle duo assures her and suggests another way to bring them back to their human selves. The oracles share that Solon and Ellsmere had lost their inner radiance of light; as a result, a surge of darkness had engulfed them and turned into such monstrous creatures. In order to restore their light and bring their humanity back, Ellian needs to take her parents to the Lake of Light. However, the oracles warn her of the darkness, which will try to get a hold of them, but Ellian shrugs off their concerns as she professes to have no dark feelings.
Why Did Ellian’s Parents Turn Into Monsters?
With Bolinar as Flink by her side, Ellian takes her parents through an arduous journey, going through treacherous acoustic tunnels where peaceful sound turns into calming, beautiful constructs, whereas sounds of harsh, negative origin turn into weaponized, hurtful constructs. In their monstrous state, Ellian’s parents argue with each other, which nearly jeopardizes Ellian’s life, and from that point onwards, it becomes pretty clear what might have turned them into monsters in the first place. As revealed later during their visit to the Lake of Light, Ellian’s parents had hit a rough patch in their relationship and used to constantly bicker with each other. The loss of the love they had for each other had resulted in them turning a blind eye to the plight of their beloved daughter, and they lost their inner radiance. Darkness entrapped them and turned them into monsters, which is a direct metaphor of parents turning into altogether different persons while being too occupied in the turmoil of their relationships and becoming totally unmindful about what their children might feel about it.
During the journey, Solon and Ellsmere gradually find their voice and their memories as they begin to discover the love they shared for their daughter. Bolinar, who was quite skeptical regarding whether the king and queen were even there within the monsters, acknowledges his mistake after realizing that they were there all along. Additionally, Bolinar finds a sense of respect for the Flinks after following their lifestyle for a change. Whenever Solon and Ellsmere quarreled with each other, the darkness followed them, which is indicative of the negativity brought by parental bickering. But as they learn to work together by putting their differences aside, the road to the Lake of Light gets clearer. In the meantime, General Cardona leads a troop of Lumbrian soldiers to rescue Ellian and take her monster parents captive.
Was Ellian Able to Turn Her Parents to Humans Again?
As Ellian and her parents finally reach the Lake of Light, the princess appears ecstatic, finally having the chance to restore the light of her parents and turn them into regular human beings. However, Solon and Ellsmere aren’t able to enter the lake, as they are faced with the harsh reality of their past, which makes them feel ashamed, and they don’t want to return to being those people ever again. It’s a metaphorical way of conveying that Ellian’s parents want separation, something that doesn’t sit well with the princess. She has been taking care of royal affairs, sacrificing her adolescent years for a long time now, hoping for things to revert to the way they used to be, wishing to return to the happy family along with her parents. Realizing that won’t be possible any longer, Ellian finally lashes out, and her inability to accept the truth of changed times turns out to be the darkness plaguing her. As Ellian gets engulfed by this darkness, her parents are tracked down and captured by General Cardona and her soldiers. However, a Flink Bolinar manages to summon a Flink army, and with the help of her body-swapped Bolinar Flink self, manages to free Solon and Ellsmere. The king and queen proclaim their identity, prompting Cardona to recognize their true selves, and in order to rescue Ellian before she turns into a monster as well, they pour the radiant light of the lake on the darkness to dispel it.
Solon and Ellsmere recognize their mistake of being unmindful about Ellian’s situation while being too busy with their personal disagreements and share a heartfelt apology for neglecting their daughter while conveying their love for her. Ellian too manages to accept reality the way it is and consoles the little child in her who still wants her parents to be together forever. This allows a radiant light to shine upon the three of them, which turns Solon and Ellsmere into humans once again. Bolinar’s consciousness returns to his original body as well later, at some point.
A year passes since the incident, and the king and queen throw an extravagant birthday party for their daughter. Ellian’s parents are living happily in their separate palaces, and Ellian has managed to make peace with it. Ellian knows that, like herself, her parents have their own lives and choices as well, and at the end of the day, the fact that their love for her has remained the same is the most significant aspect.
