Originally Posted By mawnck Saw it. LOVED it. Bonkers concept, terrible script, wonderful music, trippy visuals. In other words, it's an animated "Xanadu", and has the potential to be a card-carrying cult classic. The trailer is misleading - the lame gags are few and far between (and almost all in the trailer). The music is the star. Go see it. AFTER you've seen The Tale of the Princess Kaguya and Song of the Sea, of course.
Originally Posted By CuriousConstance You can't just come waltzing back in here after all this time and turn our world upside down, mawnck!
Originally Posted By Dabob2 Nice to see you mawnck. I'm slightly tempted now... though I couldn't get into Xanadu as anything other than a "so bad it's good" kind of thing, so maybe I'll wait for Netflix. Before now, I wouldn't have even Netflix'd it though.
Originally Posted By mawnck >>though I couldn't get into Xanadu as anything other than a "so bad it's good" kind of thing Exactly. Same with "Strange Magic".
Originally Posted By FerretAfros >>That wasn't waltzing. I have a limp.<< Sounds like the perfect dance to do with a limp. Step, hobble, hobble; step, hobble, hobble...
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA Having paid for admission in 1980 to see 'Xanadu' in the theater, I'd respectfully say that it is so bad, it's bad. Sure, Olivia Newton-John is cute, but not even movie musical veteran Gene Kelly can save this thing. The ELO songs are not even very good -- and I'm a fan of Jeff Lynne and the band. Michael Beck - the leading man - poor guy is so awkward it's hard to see beyond it. I'll admit, there are a couple good pop songs: 'Suddenly' is classic 80s pop, and 'Whenever You're Away from Me' is a neat throwback to the 40s complete with the Kelly/Newton-John dance number, but come on, it's terrible.
Originally Posted By mawnck Then you better not go see "Strange Magic". This kind of thing is an acquired taste, I suppose. Other than the ELO thing (which I respectfully disagree with), those aren't bugs, they're features. And you left out the Kenny Ortega choreography (his first film IIRC), the cutting-edge (for the time) film effects, the wacky fashions that were dated as hell 6 months before the movie was released but are magnificent in hindsight, the fabulous title song (long version - with the "Drum Dreams" section), Gene Kelly ON ROLLER SKATES, the chance to see The Tubes make fools of themselves, and - ahem - the glorious Don Bluth animated segment. In short, the movie is brilliant and terrible AT THE SAME TIME. A rare trick. Just like "Strange Magic". Jeff Lynne must be wondering how his music keeps getting mixed up in these things …
Originally Posted By leemac <<Bonkers concept, terrible script, wonderful music, trippy visuals.>> Sold! What an incredibly odd feature. Less than $10m in ten days. Ouch.
Originally Posted By danyoung >The trailer is misleading...< I thought the same thing. Since seeing the movie, every ad I see for it looks like it was for another movie than the one I saw. Very bad promotion, IMO.
