GODMOTHERED (DISNEY+) (2020)

SYNOPSIS: Set at Christmas time, “Godmothered” is a comedy about Eleanor, a young, inexperienced fairy godmother-in-training (Jillian Bell) who upon hearing that her chosen profession is facing extinction, decides to show the world that people still need fairy godmothers. Finding a mislaid letter from a 10-year-old girl in distress, Eleanor tracks her down and discovers that the girl, Mackenzie, is now a 40-year-old single mom (Isla Fisher) working at a news station in Boston. Having lost her husband several years earlier, Mackenzie has all but given up on the idea of “Happily Ever After,” but Eleanor is bound and determined to give Mackenzie a happiness makeover, whether she likes it or not. 

MOVIE REVIEW:

Do you have a penchant for sweet, fairy tale offerings liked Enchanted or Cinderella? Well, Disney has you covered this Christmas with Godmothered!

In order to save her beloved magical craft, a trainee fairy godmother, Eleanor (Julian Bell) decides to come to earth in search of a certain MacKenzie Walsh who has written a letter seeking for help decades ago. The present MacKenzie Walsh (Isla Fisher) is no longer a ten year old but is now a 40 year old disillusioned TV executive and single mother to two young girls, Jane and Mia.

Hoping to use her magic to find MacKenzie her true love or “happily ever after”, Eleanor gets herself into all sorts of embarrassing predicaments instead. Will MacKenzie finally find her true love in the form of Hugh Prince (Santiago Cabrera), her colleague who has a crush on her? And will Eleanor make it in time to return to Motherland before the portal closes?

Godmothered is yet another unpretentious cutesy flick from the world of Disney. In keeping up with the times, the screenplay by Kari Granlund and Melissa Stack provided some inspiring, female empowerment messages into the story. Who needs a man to save the day so long we have some woodland creatures around for some household chores. Having a pig to roam around the house would be nice too. How about a racoon named Gary? Even better.

Sharon Maguire who is behind Bridget Jones’s Diary and Baby sure knows how to concoct some “magic” behind-the-scenes to make things work perfectly despite the less than generous budget. It’s all very sweet-natured and there’s nothing like a song from the evergreen classic, The Song of Music to liven things up when things are getting a little moody! I’m sure you wouldn’t be even bother about the campy CGI and cheesy Christmas lights.

While her hubby once again shake Hollywood with his not so conventional Borat sequel, his wife Isla Fisher plays it safe generating much loveable chemistry opposite the bubbly Julian Bell. Bell deserved much praise as the childlike, fish-out-of-water fairy although instead of the leads doing the bulk of the singing, the task went to MacKenzie’s daughter, Jane played by Jillian Shea Spaeder.

Although Godmothered feels awfully similar to many other Disney productions, there are actually more than sufficient supply of laughs, charm and joy to share among the entire family. For ladies who grew up on stories of fairy godmothers, this will be a delight as well. Come on, it’s just a holiday flick. Just enjoy the product before Disney comes out with a movie on tooth fairy. Wait, isn’t there a movie of the same name starring Dwayne Johnson already?  

MOVIE RATING:

Review by Linus Tee