Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie

WIZARDS OF WAVERLY PLACE: The Movie

If you’re wondering, yes, I did enjoy the Wizards of Waverly Place movie. It’s not that I thought it would be bad, but it’s a Disney Channel original movie. I’m not exactly the biggest fan these days.

But I enjoyed it.

Why? Well, honestly, I had no idea this movie would delve into the sibling relationship between Justin and Alex so much. I mean, it did get a little cheesy at times, how much they were confessing so much to each other about their insecurities, but it was nice at the same time. The fact that Justin felt the entire time that Alex would win the wizard training–did that seem new to anyone else? That he felt that he wasn’t anyone without powers, despite how smart he was in every other area. There’s always been a competition between him and Alex, but it seemed new that he said as much out loud.

What interested me the most were the flaws in Justin’s magic. His stone bridge looked so precise, yet a pebble made it collapse. He fell in quicksand. He didn’t win the competition in the end. It was refreshing to see him fall from the magical pedestal.

Yet it was Alex who was able to think on her feet and make things happen (even though it was her fault that they were going through all of this). She won the wizard competition–but you know, then what? All that knowledge might not have helped her win the competition, but then what? She had nothing to keep her going. All the family magic was in her hands, but she was useless. Strengths in both strategies, I guess.

But how heartbreaking was it to see Justin’s face when he lost? More so, when Alex crumbled after she discovered that Justin’s married was gone and then he was swept up in the magic tornado.

I’m curious to see who will really win when they have the next competition. Considering how successful this movie was, I can entirely see this being a feature film (though I have no solid backup on that). Will Justin really win, though? Or will Alex win again? What about Max?

Well, somehow I bet it will be a loophole, where the law changes and all three keep their magic. But then again, we’ll have to see.

Other thoughts on the movie:

• Interesting to see that Justin’s dad did everything that Justin did–quicksand, rock bridge–but for some reason the rock bridge worked for him. I wonder why.
• My assumption is that memories were wiped faster the least magic you had. Hence why they went Max then Justin (after he lost all his magic in the competition). If they went in order (like Back to the Future tells us), it’d be Justin, Alex, Max.
• When Max was swept away, gotta give props to the mom. That was an emotional moment because of her.
• The parrot part was a little ridiculous. When she turned back into one and coughed up feathers? Or even when she wore the stone as a necklace? How did she not realize it was missing? The minute she turned back around and didn’t have it, I noticed. It wasn’t like it was in her pocket.
• As much as I enjoyed seeing Steve Valentine back on TV, it did make me sad that he was making his appearance in this movie. Loved him in Crossing Jordan. At least he got a larger role and the street magician bit part wasn’t the whole of it.
• Would they have really walked off together in the end after Giselle betrayed him? Doubt it.
• Baaaaad CGI. Bad, bad CGI!
• The statement “Ready, set, magic” was lame.
• Only Selena Gomez could make the competition outfit look good. I mean, really. Look at David Henrie.

But overall, a fun movie. While I was surprised at the extremes of brattiness Alex went through at the beginning of the movie, I was moved at how she was brought closer to her family, and hey, I even laughed now and then. So there you go: success.