I'm not going to go into insane, intense detail as to why this attempt at trying to be up to par with Disney Pixar classics didn't meet up with the criteria needed in order to be a family-oriented film that will be instilled in children's, as well as adults', minds forever and that kids will impersonate scenes from, and adults will quote.
so, I'll keep it simple. if it wasn't for the fact that this film is strictly directed and enjoyable to children under 7, I would've gave this a one right from the get go. BUT it's the fact that it's ONLY enjoyable to children under 7 that made me give it a solid three. still a pretty shitty number, now I get that Disney movies are directed more to children than adults, but what makes the Disney movies magical (pun completely intended) and named "classics" is the way they perfectly mix children appeal and adult appeal, especially with the humor (minus frozen and possibly some of the newer Disney movies). this Lionsgate animation missed that mark, as well as many others, by a long shot. honestly, the only thing that I enjoyed very slightly is the fact they threw in actors from the kickass, comedic nickelodeon nostalgia Drake & Josh. Drake Bell and Miranda Cosgrove teaming up again was kind of nice, I'll admit. but them as voice actors made me want to watch minions, which is nothing but voice acting madness. drake, who played the clumsy, scatterbrained main character Sebastian (bonus points for name choice, Lionsgate), made the character almost unbearable to me, as he was too obnoxious and exaggerated with E V E R Y THING. Miranda wasn't too shabby with her character Samantha, who was practically Sebastian's counterpart.
but that's just the bottom of the feces-infested barrel. as the other review posted about this movie states, the supposed primary characters are treated as secondary, easily forgettable. none of them have unique personality and are one dimensional, other than a select few. I can't even remember the names of most of them like I can with nearly all of the secondary characters in spongebob. it just makes this film more bland and much more easily forgotten.
the plot doesn't help with instilling this movie in your memory either. it's as bland as the color of hospital walls. the protagonist has to go on a journey to save a kingdom from being taken over by the antagonist, while having the hand of the princess if successful in their task. the only slightly unique thing about the plot is the fact that the protagonist is a wizard rather than a peasant trying to become a knight. but even then, the predictability in the plot outweighs the uniqueness. the protagonist is basically clumsy and wimpy, as he's a mouse, the antagonists are, of course, rats. the rats want to take over the kingdom, because they're rats and rats are the symbol of evil apparently because they're ugly and live in sewers. the mice are innocent because mice are more appealing to look at and have softer features. references to cheese are thrown in everywhere, the princess is named mozzarella for hell's sake. the clumsy character doubts himself at the beginning of his journey, crushes on the princess, grows confidence later on, defeats the antagonist, and cue happy ending. that hits the predictable nail on the head. also, the plot seems to move fairly quickly, which is more so due to tight budgeting I'm assuming.
oh, and the lip-syncing is ATROCIOUS. never seen worse even in my childhood. that's ultimately what ruined the movie for me. textures are very bland, barely any texture at all (once again, budget cuts), which is pretty disappointing for it coming out this year, where textures can be nearly realistic. well, this wasn't very simple at all, but overall, kids under 7 will definitely enjoy. anyone above, it's a waste of an hour and 4 minutes. just put in a Disney classic for you and your kid to enjoy.
