Wrinkle in Time DVD: Review By JIm Mourgos

It's been so many years since I've read the book that I thought I'd at least check out the 2004 film, which I found was originally a "television" film by Disney.

First Impressions:

The film was overly saccharine and though the ideas of honor, love and not giving up are valid and true values for living, the movie really hit it over your head with a brick! Believe this or else we will tell you over, and over, and over, and etc. Gosh!

Plot (Mild Spoilers):

The movie starts out with a missing dad and a grieving family that has a fading hope that Jack will return to them. Meg though feels betrayed and deserted. She has very low self-esteem and feels like she is a freak. And her six year old brother Charles Wallace is so beat-up by those around him that he will speak to no one except family.

OK, so how does this dysfunctional, depressing family actually be chosen as a vanguard to save the Universe from the Darkness?? Well, let me tell ya!

The story moves forward to some magical beings who are imaginably old and wise, yet don't know the basic concepts of courage and confront. This seems very unrealistic to me - and they even squabble amongst themselves if this is the right course of action - of the billions on Earth, why choose three kids?

They feel Charles Wallace is some kind of chosen one. Unfortunately he gets entangled with the bad guys on another planet. But this is all eventually fixed and Meg, spouting words of Love, somehow chases the Darkness away!

Bottom Line:

Some methods of disbelieve must be employed when watching a fantasy film but even here the film was way too saccharine sweet for my taste, with the message of the film being too overpowering to be effective - and the beings Whatsit, Whosit and Which, despite being immensely old, would really be this ineffective? And Charles Wallace, all played up during most of the movie, would actually not be all that effective?

According to Wiki, even the author of the original novel didn't like it!

Even so, recommended only for the very young who may enjoy the film's special effects and colorful story.