Aimed at pleasing tiny tots while putting adults in ‘slumberland’, ‘Wonder Park’ boasts of vibrant visuals, amusement park rides and talking animals.
The story unfurls around a plucky 12-year-old, June Bailey, who has an obsession with the ‘Wonderland’ concept from childhood. Her parents and relatives encourage this aspect by helping her to build a mini amusement park structure in her home. What is really captivating about this childhood wonderland is that June and her mother create it out of leftovers scraps and paper. However, tragedy hits the family when June’s mother is taken ill and has to depart to a far away place to seek medical treatment. Shattered by her absence June develops a phobia, imagining that something will happen to her father if she is not there to take care of him. Things get out of hand with her refusing to even join her friends during playtime. Soon her father puts his foot down by cajoling her to go camping with her peers. However while on the run she stumbles upon an abandoned amusement park which she is stunning to realize seems to have come alive from her imagination.
June’s rollercoaster odyssey to bring the amusement park back to life with the help of some talking animals is at the heart of ‘Wonder Park’. However the characters are so blandly designed and lack personality that any real sense of wonderment is missing from the flick. Another reason for this to have happened might be because Dylan Brown, the original director of the project had been fired due to sexual misconduct allegations. Therefore the film does not have a director’s name to its credit.
The main feature which seems to work against ‘Wonder Park’ is probably the endless and meaningless chatter the characters seem to engage in. This stretches our patience to an almost breaking point so that you cannot help wishing that the movie will end soon. Do not be surprised if you spy even your child picking up a crayon and getting to work amid the film for it really is a bore.
The only point which seems to work in favour of the film is it’s voice cast. From Jennifer Garner to Mila Kunis and John Oliver. Even newcomer Brianna Denski does ok in voicing the protagonist.
Though the message of the sadness and fear of losing your loved ones is embodied in ‘Wonder Park’, it gets lost in the chaos that follows. This is a rather unremarkable story made into an insignificant animation.
