Godmothered - Disney+ Movie Review

Godmothered, the Disney+ live-action movie focuses on the role of the fairy godmother, has the foundations of movie magic working in its favor. The first would be timing: just in time for the holiday season, the film is directed by Sharon Maguire (best known for Bridget Jones’s Diary).

An "Enchanting" Jillian Bell

Plot of Godmothered

Godmothered focuses on a young and unskilled fairy godmother who ventures out on her own to prove her worth by tracking down a girl whose request for help was denied. This film is pleasant enough, a fun and nostalgic Christmas-themed family comedy with ambitions to be this generation's Enchanted.

Enchanted was the 2007 musical rom-com starring Amy Adams as a cartoon Disney princess who gets stuck in New York City after a witch transforms her into a flesh-and-blood humanoid. Godmothered has a few slow parts but a meaningful message.

Jillian Bell in Godmothered

While Enchanted focused on bringing fairy-tale magic to everyday life, Godmothered finds its originality in doing the opposite: by the end, it’s about how fairy tales could learn a thing or two from real life. Remembering what brings happiness in the day-to-day is more important than fixating on a nebulous happily ever after.

The delivery isn’t that smooth; the conflict of fairy godmothers going out of style takes a backseat for most of the movie before getting revved up at the end for an 11th-hour showdown.

Kid friendly movies - what Disney does best

The film, however, leaps with Jillian Bell’s (the young fairy godmother) weird line delivery. Encountering Siri for the first time, she cowers, whispering, "Who said that? Is there a genie in there? (Don't answer that.)"

Every time her character bursts into song, Bell ends up croaking out foul, off-key melodies unbefitting the typical Disney heroine, which might not ultimately matter much. Kids are likely to enjoy this movie either way, as it retains enough of the Disney formula: a happy ending, the triumph of love, endearing enough CGI wildlife, and a climactic and heroic musical number.

For the most part, Godmothered is a mixed bag of clever comedy and silly kid-movie clichés, but the writers craft an ending that is so emotionally and intellectually satisfying that it is easy to forgive the film’s less magical attributes. Give the film a watch and let us know what you think!