Aster and the Accidental Magic (film)

Aster and the Accidental Magic is a 2021 2D-animated fantasy adventure comedy film based on the book Aster and the Accidental Magic by Thom Pico and Karensac. 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 positive reviews from critics, praising the script, animation, and faithfulness to the book, 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
 * Rob Delaney
 * JB Blanc

Development
The idea of the movie came months after the original release of Aster and the Accidental Magic in April 2018, where an executive of New Line Cinema approached both Thom Pico and Karensac for a feature film based on the book, to which they accepted. The film was announced in December 2018, with David Heyman serving as producer and StudioCanal 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 and Mercury Filmworks also additionally animating the film.

Music
Mark Mothersbaugh composed the film's score. The score album was released in June 2021. Weezer performed an original song for the film titled, "New Heights". The song reached number 51 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Release
Aster and the Accidental Magic premiered at the Regency Village Theatre on April 27, 2021 before being released on April 30 in both theatres and HBO Max. It was originally scheduled to release on January 15, 2021, but was removed from the film schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In October 2020, the film was given a release date of May 7, 2021, before moving up a week to April 30, 2021 a week later.

Promotional partners
Warner Bros. Pictures spent over $70 million for promotional advertising, with some partners including Pepsi, Lay's, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_Inc. Visa], The Home Depot, HSBC, Yoplait, and Walmart.

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 Accidental Magic makes no difference to other adventure films besides itself." On Metacritic, it weighed an average Metascore of 56 out of 100 based on 30 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews", while audiences on CinemaScore gave it a "B+" on an "A+ to F" scale. PostTrak surveyed that 83% of the audience gave the film a positive review, with 68% saying they recommend it.

Peter Travers of ABC News gave the film a 3 out of 5 stars, commenting: "This Aster character is a complete clone of one of the most excellent adventurers of them all, but it was good for her to have a movie of her own, because it is atleast entertaining." The Independent gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, saying: "Aster and the Accidental Magic is a one of a kind for a girl who's young. The 2D high-tech animation gives off one of the best feelings of wilderness nostalgia."

Sequel
New Line Cinema has gained the rights to the Aster book series and is currently developing a sequel based on Aster and the Mixed-Up Magic one week prior to the release of this film.