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UNIVERSAL

MOVIE INFO

Director:
Lino DiSalvo
Cast:
Anya Taylor-Joy, Daniel Radcliffe, Jim Gaffigan
Writer:
Blaise Hemingway, Greg Erb, Jason Oremland

Synopsis:
When her younger brother disappears into the colourful and animated world of Playmobil, Marla is forced to abandon her structured life to rescue him.

MPAA:
Rated PG.

DISC DETAILS
Presentation:
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1/16X9
Audio:
English Dolby 5.1
English Descriptive Video
Subtitles:
English
Spanish
Closed-captioned
Supplements Subtitles:
None

Runtime: 100 min.
Price: $22.98
Release Date: 3/3/2020

Bonus:
• None


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RELATED REVIEWS


Playmobil: The Movie (2019)

Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (March 22, 2020)

After the success of various Lego films, did a feature based on a similar toy line become inevitable? Apparently, as that feels like the best explanation for the existence of 2019’s Playmobil: The Movie.

College-aged Marla (Anya Taylor-Joy) and her younger brother Charlie (Gabriel Bateman) suddenly find themselves orphaned when their parents die in a car accident. Rather than take a “gap year” to backpack around Europe, Marla suddenly finds herself as the head of the household.

Four years later, Marla struggles to keep the home together, but Charlie rebels against her rules and her strict personality. He runs away and finds himself at a massive Playmobil toy exhibition.

Marla finds him there, and while the siblings fight, something magical happens that transports them into a fantasy world in which they take they shape of Playmobil figures. Marla needs to figure out how to get the two of them back to the real world, all while they experience a slew of adventures.

With a worldwide take of $468 million, 2014’s Lego Movie became a major hit. However, its successors fared less well.

2017’s Lego Batman brought in $311 million, but that same year’s Lego Ninjago Movie sputtered to a mere $123 million.

2019’s Lego Movie 2 rebounded from the lows of Ninjago, but not by nearly as much as expected. With a worldwide gross of $192 million, it may signify the end of Lego films as theatrical properties.

All of those grosses look Endgame-like compared to the business done by Playmobil. This film took in a shockingly poor $16 million worldwide, with only $1 million of that in the US. Even with a low $40 million budget, the movie clearly lost buckets of money.

Did the film deserve such failure? No, as it seems like painless entertainment, not some career-crushing atrocity.

Still, I can’t claim Playmobil merits a mass audience. At its best, it goes down as innocuous kiddie fare, but it never becomes anything more than vaguely mediocre.

Expect Playmobil to borrow liberally from the first Lego flick, especially in the way it joins live action and animation. Both blur the lines between fantasy and reality, though Lego Movie does so in a somewhat more convincing and logical manner.

One could argue the Lego series at least partially existed to sell toys, but that feels even more true with Playmobil. While the Lego flicks featured a slew of characters and settings, it came with enough self-awareness to allow them to fit together in a goofy manner.

Here, however, the wide variety of locations and genres feels nearly random. Rather than integrate in a clever, delightful way, the shifts from Vikings to cowboys to spies, etc., just seem like an attempt to spotlight all the toys on the market.

This means we get a nearly random storyline. Sure, Marla’s attempt to rescue Charlie and return home acts as the overall narrative, but virtually no internal logic ensues, as Marla simply wanders through various places and meets different characters in a manner that seems borderline nonsensical.

Again, I could envision a less entertaining version of Playmobil, and it boasts a decent cast. In addition to Taylor-Joy, we find Daniel Radcliffe, Jim Gaffigan, Kenan Thompson and others.

All offer competent performances, though don’t expect as much of Radcliffe’s “Rex Danger” as the ads imply. The DVD’s cover and various promotional materials imply Rex acts as the lead role, but instead, he doesn’t even pop up until 40 minutes into the movie, and after that, he still plays a fairly small part.

Despite a few minor positives, Playmobil: The Movie largely lacks charm. Essentially 100 minutes of product placement, the flick becomes modest entertainment at most.


The DVD Grades: Picture B+/ Audio B/ Bonus F

Playmobil: The Movie appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.39:1 on this single-sided, double-layered DVD; the image has been enhanced for 16X9 televisions. For SD-DVD, this was a solid image.

For the most part, sharpness looked good. At times, wider shots tended to be a little soft, but those examples weren’t terribly intrusive. Much of the film appeared pretty accurate and concise.

No concerns with jagged edges or shimmering occurred, and edge enhancement remained minor. Source flaws also failed to create problems.

In terms of colors, Playmobil veered toward a pretty peppy palette to reflect the various environments. This meant we got a fairly broad range of hues that tended to appear lively.

Blacks were deep and firm, while shadows showed good delineation. Overall, this was a pleasing presentation.

Similar thoughts greeted the good Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack of Playmobil. I felt the soundscape delivered an involving experience in which the various fantasy scenes offered a nice sense of impact. Overall, the mix filled out the room in a satisfying manner, especially when it involved magic.

Audio quality was positive. Speech came across as natural and concise, without edginess or other issues.

Music showed good range, and effects offered a good sense of impact with reasonable punch and clarity. This was a positive soundtrack.

No extras appear here – not even previews!

If you hope for Lego Movie quality from Playmobil: The Movie, you’ll encounter disappointment. While not a dreadful flick, it lacks much charm or creativity. The DVD presents good picture and audio but it comes with zero bonus materials. Undemanding children will like Playmobil but others seem less likely to enjoy it.

Viewer Film Ratings: 2 Stars Number of Votes: 1
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