The School for Good and Evil
Released: 2022.
Production: Netflix
Directed By: Paul Feig.
Written By: Paul Feig & David Magee (Screenplay), Soman Chainani (Wrote the book)
Where to Watch: Netflix
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: PG-13
In a world ruled by fairytales it's important to remember not everyone gets their perfect happily ever after handed to them. Some people have to fight for it.
Now, the official trailer. Hold on to your tiaras and glass slippers, y'all.
When our story begins Sophie and Agatha are leading pretty normal lives. Well, normal for them. Darling blonde little Sophie is a seamstress who spends all her day dreaming of an epic love story in which she is a princess. Her best friend Agatha on the other hand is quite the opposite. Working with her woefully-unskilled apothecary mother, the rustically beautiful and wild Agatha is firmly planted in her reality. One day, the unlikely friends hear about a school that is beyond their wildest imagination. The School for Good and Evil, where all of the princesses, princes, and evil villains are trained to fulfill their fairytale destinies. When the chance to go to the school arises it seems that everything is looking up----that is until it happens. The dreadful event that must have been a mistake because there is no way that golden-haired Sophie was bound to go to the School of Evil while the witchy Agatha gets plopped down into a frilly dress at the School for Good. Separated for the first time in years, the pair must figure out what their roles in these new schools are and what is going on beneath the fairy tale surface.
Via Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soman_Chainani) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Feig) Created by: Soman Chainani is a Harvard educated writer of Indian descent (Soman Chainani, Wikipedia). His entire series about the School for Good and Evil has done well on book charts, including the NYT best seller list. It appears that all of his written work is in the fantasy YA genre. Paul Feig, the director of the film, is a well-known Hollywood creator famous for the old tv series Freaks and Geeks as well as mid 2010 comedy gold Bridesmaids.
If you have not seen Bridesmaids seriously go watch that right now it's so hilarious.
Analysis: This is an ambitious film. Not only is it a film based on a book, which is famously one of the most upsetting thing you can do to both book and movie fans somehow, but it's a magical fantasy book complete with monsters, fighting, princesses, and weird fantasy settings like castles. Bringing something like this to life is not an easy task, and most modern movies would have relied heavily on green screen, post production computer generated effects. There is nothing wrong with that, of course. The popular movie Avatar and its' sequels all heavily rely on those elements and they are renown. Also, they are incredibly, incredibly expensive. I was really impressed by how practically this creative team brought this world of magic and wonder to life. In big fight scenes you can see actors flying through the air, in scenes with magical landscapes you can see actors interacting with the world around them. Using practical effects instead of CGI authenticates and breathes life into the movie world in a really refreshing way. I am a bit too cynical for the happy-go-lucky fairytale story but I really enjoyed the general vibe of this movie and will absolutely rewatch for the aesthetics.
Check out some of this behind the scenes footage for a glimpse into the epic fantasy world of The School for Good and Evil:
The other standout element in The School for Good and Evil is the excellent portrayal of strong female characters and friendships. Okay, there is a fair share of bullying that happens but at the core this movie is about the unstoppable power of kindness and loyalty. I think it's important for young adults to see how important friendships are, and how devastating betrayal can be--even through a fantasy story.
Potential Issues: This is a Netflix movie and I have thought a lot about how a library could present movie that are on subscription sites. I wonder if a library could have a couple of accounts that people could get the password for a checkout period. The patron could then have access to the entire Netflix subscription for a period of time. Alternatively, this movie could be shown at a screening of some sort.
In the Library: It's time to throw a ball. A Good and Evil ball, that is. Participants would be invited to create a prince/princess/royalty or villain character to dress up as to watch the movie and enjoy light refreshments.
Reason for Inclusion: I've picked a lot of materials that cover tough topics, and I wanted to include something super fun and light to compliment those materials. It's so important for young people to nurture their creativity and imaginations and I think that fantasy materials are a great way to encourage that. In my day, the Harry Potter movies provided this iconic aestetic that still inspires me to this day. I throw on the Harry Potter soundtrack often when I need to study to get my creativity flowing. I can't predict what that movie will be for the next generation but I wouldn't be surprised if it is this film for some folks!
Sources:
Netflix. (2022, September 13). The school for good and evil | Official trailer. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aftysDQ4hpI
Saman Chainani. (n.d). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soman_Chainani
The School for Good and Evil. (2022). IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2935622/?ref_=tt_mv_close
TheThings. (2022, November 3). Behind the magic of The School for Good & Evil. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcH1qNHH_zM
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