Aster and the Accidental Magic (film)

Aster and the Magic is a 2021 2D-animated fantasy adventure comedy film based on the first two books of Aster and the Accidental Magic and Aster and the Mixed-up Magic by Thom Pico and Karensac, which is split into two entirely separated parts. The film was directed by Paul King with a screenplay from Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, and was produced by New Line Cinema and StudioCanal, with international distribution by Warner Bros. Pictures.

The film released on April 30, 2021 to mixed reviews from critics, praising the script, animation, and faithfulness to the books, but criticizing its minor similarities to other adventure films.

Synopsis
"Set sometime around the late 2010s to early 2020s, the film follows Aster, who has to move with her parents to the middle of nowhere, but discovers bizarre mysteries and goes on amazing adventures around. Could this be the beginning of something new, or something bad?"

-Warner Bros. Pictures

Plot
TBA.

Voice cast

 * Haley Tju
 * Jack Dylan Grazer
 * Betty White

Development
After the original release of Aster and the Accidental Magic in 2015, an executive of StudioCanal approached both Thom Pico and Karensac for a feature film based on the book, to which they accepted. The film was announced in January 2016, with David Heyman serving as producer and New Line Cinema being one of the major film studios for the film.

Animation
Animation was done at Rough Draft Studios, with its sister studio Rough Draft Korea also additionally animating the film.

Music
Mark Mothersbaugh composed the film's score. The score album was released in January 2022.

Release
Aster and the Magic released on April 30, 2021 in both theatres and HBO Max. It was originally scheduled to release on January 17, 2020, but was delayed for unknown reasons. It was given a new release date of November 27, 2020, but was removed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In October 2020, the film was given a final release date of April 30, 2021.

Promotional partners
Warner Bros. Pictures spent over $70 million for promotional advertising, with partners including Pepsi, Lay's, Visa, The Home Depot, HSBC, and Yoplait.

Home media
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment released the film on digital on June 8, 2021, and then on DVD and Blu-Ray on July 6, 2021. Both the DVD and Blu-Ray contains behind-the-scenes footage, deleted scenes, and audio commentary.

Box office
In the United States and Canada, the film grossed $20 million on its opening weekend, and continued to gross up to $132 million. In other territories, it grossed $148 million.

Critical reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 59% based on 175 reviews, with an average score of 5.80/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Being an average 2D-animated film, Aster and the Magic makes no difference to other adventure films besides itself." On Metacritic, it weighed an average Metascore of 56 out of 100, indicating "mixed or average reviews", while audiences on CinemaScore gave it a "B+" on an "A+ to F" scale.