Moviegoers are becoming more and more selective on where they spend their money. And since there is so much money on the table to be had, studios are doing all that they can to try and secure the biggest piece of the golden pie that they can. One movie that will be bringing quite a large plate to the dinner table is Disney’s A Wrinkle in Time. If all goes according to their plans, this adaptation of the Madeleine L’Engle novel will get a large piece of the box office pie.
Meg (Storm Reid) has a very challenging past few years ever since her dad (Chris Pine), a brilliant scientist, went missing. Ever since his mysterious disappearance, things have been pretty somber for the Murry household. Along with Meg’s mom (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) and younger brother, the family tries to function normally with the painful void at the head of their table. In these dark times comes some very unexpected hope in the form of three very peculiar individuals (Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling, and Oprah Winfrey). These celestial beings, for lack of a better term, attempt to guide Meg and the others across the universe to unimaginable places all in the hopes of making this family whole again.
A Wrinkle in Time is typical Disney movie that is geared towards a younger audience while hoping to capture the imagination of its more mature viewers. The visuals are grand, colorful, and quite impressive. And this is about it for high praise. There is a strong presence of A-list actors throughout this 109 minute feature. The issue is that under Ava DuVernay’s direction, there is no real continuity or chemistry that makes this stand out. The plot itself is quite dizzying at times, leaving audiences feeling like maybe they’ve missed something (or nodded off).
Disney gets it right far more frequently than they get it wrong. Most of us have put movies such as The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (2010), The Lone Ranger (2013), and Tomorrowland (2015) well out of our minds. At the very least, these aren’t titles that come to mind when we think “Disney movies”. These movies were promoted like crazy, but audiences and critics saw through all the smoke and mirrors, deeming movies like these to be duds.
A Wrinkle in Time needed to iron a few things out before bringing this adaptation to theaters. This will be another of those “tweener” type movies that will struggle to find a demographic. The selection of actors was a good choice but the overall body of work left much to be desired. While beautiful to look at with all of its colorful landscapes and backdrops, actually watching the family adventure becomes a laborious undertaking. This is not the fun-filled family outing that the previews lead you to believe it is. Ava DuVernay misses her mark in an attempt to make this an immersive magical experience for the entire family to enjoy. There just isn’t much enjoyment to be had.
