The defence The Sentimental Softie
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
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The Academy of Magic
Family · Animation · Fantasy · 2020
Aura is gifted with magical abilities; she and her friends have many exciting adventures at the academy, but soon Aura learns that the school hatches many dark secrets that she must uncover. Will she be able to unveil the truth?
Movie details
The Academy of Magic
2020 Family · Animation · Fantasy 1h 29m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
7.1 / 10
Community rating
Aura is gifted with magical abilities; she and her friends have many exciting adventures at the academy, but soon Aura learns that the school hatches many dark secrets that she must uncover. Will she be able to unveil the truth?
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over The Academy of Magic?
For the defence
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
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The Loud House Movie
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Barbie: A Fairy Secret
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Barbie realises that fairies secretly surround everybody. She, along with the help of her friends, Taylor and Carrie, sets out to rescue Ken. He is taken to the secret fairy city, Gloss Angeles.
Barbie: Princess Charm School
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Barbie stars as Blair, a waitress in the kingdom of Gardania, who is chosen to go to Princess Charm School, a magical school where students learn to be a princess.
Monster High: Frights, Camera, Action!
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Sofia the First: Once Upon a Princess
Animation · 2012
Set in the storybook world of Enchancia, the music-filled movie follows Sofia, an average girl whose life suddenly changes when her mother marries the king and she is whisked off to live in a castle with her mom, new step-father, King Roland II, and step-siblings, Amber and James. Along the way this ordinary girl learns to navigate the extraordinary life of royalty, and in the process makes everyone around her feel special.
Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams
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Princess Aurora and Princess Jasmine learn valuable life lessons in two short stories.
Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus
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Princess Annika escapes the clutches of the evil wizard, explores the wonders of Cloud Kingdom, and teams up with a magnificent winged horse - who turns out to be her sister, Princess Brietta - to defeat the wizard and break the spells that imprisoned her family.
The Last Unicorn
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A unicorn learns from a riddle-speaking butterfly that she is supposedly the last of her kind, all the others having been herded away by the monstrous Red Bull. The unicorn sets out to discover the truth behind the butterfly's words. She is eventually joined on her quest by Schmendrick, a second-rate magician, and Molly Grue, a middle-aged woman who dreamed all her life of seeing a unicorn. Their journey leads them far from home, all the way to the castle of King Haggard.
Barbie: A Fashion Fairytale
Family · 2010
Barbie, a popular actress on a sabbatical, learns that her fashion designer aunt Millicent has sold her business to a rival. With the help of a few magical beings, Barbie steps in to save the day.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Jørgen Klubien
Laura Megan Stahl
Aura (voice)
Michael Johnston
Shawn (voice)
Ben Diskin
Yodel (voice)
M
Michael Orenstein
Frank (voice)
Grant George
Miller (voice)
Jamieson Price
Lambert (voice)
Philece Sampler
Auntie (voice)
Court is in session
Put The Academy of Magic on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Cool Ironist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.