My kids and I read the book, and were very excited to watch the movie. No movie can ever be truly faithful to the book, but it was very disappointing. I don't think anything much other than character names and the basic premise of Luigi Lemoncello having a contest within a library remained the same. The movie on its own wasn't awful, but why even give it the same title as the book if it was going to completely disregard most of the source material from the book. Dracula, Frankenstein, pterodactyls, geese with ninja stars, and vengeful Hansel and Gretel with bows and arrows abound in this movie.
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Snootz16 October 2021This show will appeal to young children and perhaps the young at heart. Most adults will tolerate it. Note that parts of this may be a bit frightening for younger children, so parents may wish to watch along and reassure them the monsters aren't real.
This is a Willy Wonka type story but done with all the skill of a Saturday afternoon special. The acting is uh, acting. The story is juvenile (go figure; it's a kid's show). Adults will either enjoy this or yawn. When one decides to watch a kid's show, it shouldn't be criticized for being a kid's show.
That said, it's one of those barely tolerable things. It does well enough for what it is, but it's more of an action/adventure tale that really doesn't have much of a moral or lesson to teach. However, children will probably wish to watch it repeatedly, which is the audience they're shooting for.
I give it 5 star mediocre even as a children's show. There have been far better such... and far worse. It will do to keep kids occupied for an hour. -
juscsmith4 June 2021I dont know anything about the books but it's clear this was slapped together garbage on a green screen. But my 6 year old likes it. So I'll sit through it. Guess that's the audience.
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mamalbg10 November 2019This is an ok adaptation, but it skins over SO MUCH of the important parts. As an adult who has read the book and now watched this , I'd give it a three star rating. My kids liked it a lot so we met in the middle on this review.
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jspica624 July 2020There are a lot of weaknesses to be expected when you take a fantastic novel and attempt to put it on screen. However, this has to be the worst one I've ever experienced. Nothing other than the title and character names have really been transferred over from book to screen. Turning an adventure story and turning it into pure fantasy took the joy out of the storyline. What seemed so real and exciting in the novel, was diminished by ridiculousness and bizarre storylines within the movie. I cannot express how truly horrible this movie is. Don't even bother!
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Jeremy-11810 July 2021My daughter and I LOVED the books... and this adaptation is truly horrific. Character names and a couple of plot aspects remain, the rest is just garbage. I don't get it; the book was good enough for someone to want to turn it into a movie... only to mess everything up constantly. What a waste of a great book...
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moviefan111713 October 2021This is based on a beautifully written book and they rewrote characters and all kinds of stuff. It's so bad and not the book at all. My kids were so disappointed.
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It appears this movie borrows heavily from other books and movies, however it is fun and clean and the kids get into it.
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sofiecat-3736915 February 2021This movie is nothing like the book it gets rid of all the best parts
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finn-3439529 April 2022Why does this exist? This movie was a waste of time. It made no sense. It was hilariously bad. Please don't watch it. Why? If only I had a time machine so I could go back in time to prevent myself from watching this movie.