The Magic Flute

My wife and I took my five year old daughter to go see this. I don't know much about Mozart or this particular opera but I knew there were fantasy elements and were all huge fantasy nerds. The first twenty minutes set up the main character of Tim and his relationship with his father, who was a famous singer of sorts (to what extent is never explained fully) and he gives his son a magic book. He's sent to attend the same music school as his father, one dedicated to Mozart. But soon we realize he's set to relive his fathers legacy by playing the lead in The Magic Flute. F. Murray Abraham is deviously wonderful as the strict headmaster, although he is drastically under used. Tim soon finds himself using the magic book and a magic portal behind a clock to transport himself to the world of The Magic Flute where he meets Iwan Rheon as Papagenu who absolutely steals the show. The resulting film is filled with fantastic music and visuals, including a giant snake, an evil Queen, and a daring rescue of a kidnapped princess by the unlikely heroes. The scenes at the school seemed to drag from time to time, but toward the end I was happy that they included as much of that storyline as they did because it was heartwarming at the conclusion. My 5 year old and I loved, my wife didn't like it at all unfortunately. But we will definitely be watching this again.