One comparison this inevitably will get is to the Harry Potter movies (NOTE: these books came out in the early 1970s, way before J.K. Rowling began her writing). An early mistake is you do feel as though this was trying to emulate the Potter franchise. However, as the story moves along it does come into its own and possibly a new franchise for Universal.

Jack Black pulls off a great and eccentric job. Cate Blanchett is also featured and she is gold as always. The two are amazing on screen together. They have some of the funniest back and fourths between them and one can only imagine the outtakes that didn’t make the final cut. Owen Vaccaro is only “okay” in this role. An early point in the story he is supposed to cry, but he is only making the sounds of it, not actually doing it. It’s shocking they left that in. Later on he does find the strength to emote, but a stronger young actor could have been found for this important role.

There hasn’t been a good family film offering in quite a while now, and this will certainly qualify. It’s far from perfect. The movie is under two hours, but there are stretches where story elements feel dragged out. In the end, this is a silly, funny outing that everyone can enjoy.

2.5 Swords