Playmobil

Movie, 2019, G

Premise - After the loss of their parents in an accident, teenage Marla gives up her dreams to take on the role of overprotective guardian to her younger brother Charlie. When Charlie tries to run away from his once-adventure-seeking-turned-stickler sister, she finds him in a toy exhibition of Playmobil, their favorite toys growing up. Suddenly they are trapped in the world of Playmobil toys, and Marla has to find and rescue her younger brother while finally having some adventures of her own.

Review - I am fully aware of the fact that this review is going to be heavily biased. I never would have watched the film if it didn't have Daniel Radcliffe in it, and I have no idea what my impressions would have been towards it if I had. With full honesty though, I enjoyed this film. I'm just acknowledging the fact that my enjoyment comes from my bias towards loving Daniel Radcliffe.

The film has the reputation of being a Lego Movie knockoff, naturally, as it takes place within a world of toys. Due to this unfavorable reputation, the release date in the U.S. has been pushed back considerably, and the advertising has been nonexistent. Surely they will lose a lot of money. The only reason that I have been able to see the film is that it was already released in Europe, and I flew on a European airline recently so I got to watch it on the plane. The airline's movie selections were kind of terrible, but that was a godsend. If it didn't have terrible movies, it might not have included Playmobil, and then I still wouldn't have had the chance to see it.

I understand where a lot of the negativity comes from. The setup for the film is incredibly weak and unsupported. The ideas are good, and the character motivations make sense, but there just isn't enough foundation to justify the rest of the film. There needed to be clearer, richer exposition of the characters before they entered the world - not just a quick and forced "Oh, your parents died in an accident" in a five-second scene. The audience really needed to see that the kids loved Playmobil, and what it meant to them, and how they set up their toys and the different worlds, in order for the rest of the film to have meaning. There's a quick throwaway line before they get sucked into the world that says, "Look, the toys are set up just like the way we used to have them!" But we never saw that. There was never a clear connection between them playing with Playmobil and their desire for adventure. And what's so frustrating is that all of the potential for a good story was THERE, and they just rushed the exposition so much. And we never get an explanation for why they get sucked into Playmobil either... Again missing some setup on the importance of Playmobil to THEIR lives and why the Playmobil world would have chosen THEM. It makes me wonder if a good chunk was cut out from the original script.

However, once the kids are in the world of Playmobil, I thought the film was thoroughly entertaining. The jokes really landed with me. The plot of Charlie getting lost and having to be found by Marla was very well executed. The different Playmobil characters (DanRad included) were very fun to watch. I just wish there was a connection to the wild, adventurous life of Playmobil and how being a secret agent or a pirate would have been appealing to them. Instead, the focus is on places that Marla wants to go, with a central motif of her passport. If they wanted to hone in on that more, they could have shown us the different environments set up by their Playmobil (jungle, or castle, etc.). I just wanted the beginning and end to connect better to the middle, because I really did enjoy that whole middle part. (71/100)

Quote - "REX DASHER!!"

What to watch for - Daniel Radcliffe as a secret agent. I want that toy of him.

If you liked this movie, the obvious recommendation is The Lego Movie due to the animation of toys, but honestly, I think it's more similar story-wise to something like Jumanji where ordinary people are thrust into a new world!

Directed by Lino DiSalvo
Distributed by STX Entertainment