John McCann says ‘Wonder Park’ will be enjoyed by younger viewers for its adventurous spirit and humour…

This week’s film of the week at Tralee Omniplex is ‘Wonder Park’, another family feature and a film that has hit our screens with less of the hype of its recent rivals yet one that was highly anticipated within the cinematic posse of mini critics that accompanied me to its screening.

From Paramount Studios, ‘Wonder Park’ tells the story of a magical amusement park where the imagination of a wildly creative girl named June comes alive.

One day, June is running through the woods to find her way home where she discovers an old rollercoaster car and climbs inside.

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She suddenly finds herself in Wonderland, an amusement park she had created in her mind. All of her rides and characters are brought to life but are failing miserably without her.

Now, with the help of her fun and lovable park characters, June will have to put the wonder back in Wonderland before it is lost forever.

With the usual incredible animated action sequences and set pieces on show (that we now take for granted such is the high quality of effects seen in modern day family films) and a scope for wildly imaginative scenarios and storylines, ‘Wonder Park’ will tick a lot of boxes for the younger viewers in the audience, with my cinematic companions aged from 4 to 8, all raving about it’s entertainment value and level of fun!

The running time of 90 mins plus also seemed to fly by, such was the draw of the subject matter and its relentless sense of chaos and amusement.

There are some drawbacks however, there is a central theme running through the film of childhood fear and grief that begins strongly enough but fades somewhat into the background as the film progresses and doesn’t handle what are complex issues for a family film quite as well as  movies like “Inside Out” has done in the past and in the process may lose some of the older viewers investment in the film.

That said, the younger viewers will thoroughly enjoy this film and its adventurous spirit, humour and merriment and for that it must be applauded!

3.5/5

• For more of John McCann’s movie reviews, check out his Facebook page here and website here