April 2019

Posted 13 April 2019

Shortly after this movie’s release, I went to this nifty theater and saw the Nickelodeon and Paramount Picture movie “Wonder Park.” This theater had a captivating screen with mesmerizing picture quality, a sensational sound system, and served delicious real food (I can’t say what theater this was or this would be an advertisement). If only the quality of the movie I watched impressed me that much. I could have chosen a better movie to watch at such an upscale theater for my first visit.

Here’s why…

The only reason I decided to see this movie was because of the “Nickelodeon” name. When I think of the Nickelodeon name, which may give away my age, I think about the quality products they released in the ‘90s. This movie isn’t based on anything like a tv show, video game, or app but I’ve read an animated series is in the works. Is it really necessary? Another Nickelodeon movie that took this route (movie first, then show) was “Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius” and that actually worked. The Jimmy Neutron movie paved the way for more adventures for a series. As for Wonder Park, what is there to build up? What other stories can you have for a conceptual amusement park that can carry on for, say, 3 seasons, 52 eps?

Have you seen the movie poster? Those characters looked creepy. Despite that, I don’t judge a movie by its poster.

Story Needs Polishing

It seems that this movie cut a lot of corners in terms of character development and storytelling. Why did Mom go far away to get better from her illness? Was Dad worried to see June home from camp early? June’s fantasy park was called “Wonder Land” and not “Wonder Park” as the title implied. The ending wasn’t I expected either. “Wonder Land” never became a real theme park where people could visit. Even I felt the park had so much potential to become a reality in the future when June became older.

Could Have Been Better

I wasn’t expecting too much from this movie other than the average quality of CGI movies released these days. I’d say “Wonder Park” is NOT worthy of the Nickelodeon name. Even Nick’s wares of today are at least 1 iota of higher quality than this. This movie gets 2 stars. I’m generously giving an extra star for the exceptional quality of the meal I had at the theater while watching the movie. Despite the enthralling quality of the theater’s screen, this movie was nothing more than eye candy. “Wonder Park” should fall into obscurity along with the idea of an animated series.