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Acting
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Directing
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Story
Starring: Karen Miyama, Kana Asumi, Yoshino Kimura
Director: Hiroshi Miyamoto
Running Time: 71 mins
Pretty Cure Dream Stars! is a Japanese film about a group of magical girls who have to help a mysterious girl from another dimension after she was expelled from her world when being pursued by an evil demon.
In all truth, I’m by no means the target audience for this type of film, which is clearly intended for young girls between the ages of 4 and 8. So, it was clear from the very first moment that I wasn’t going to love this film, but just being a kids’ movie doesn’t quite get this completely off the hook. Although it has some great animation throughout, Pretty Cure Dream Stars is still more of a garish toy commercial than anything else, with little engaging story to grab any viewers outside of the very young target audience.
But before we get into why this film really isn’t all that great a watch, let’s look at the couple of small positives that make it enjoyable at times. Above all, the animation throughout is pretty good, and although I have to say that its vibrant colour palette does border on the garish side, it is bright and energetic enough to grab your attention, and give the impression of an entertaining and pleasant family film.
Also, it’s a film that should probably work very well for its target audience. With those bright colours, combined with a very easy story complete with simple characters, as well as a short running time and a series of moments for the toys that young viewers have bought to shine, it’s all very well-geared towards those kids, who I’m sure would have a good time watching this film.
With all that said, however, there’s really nothing about Pretty Cure Dream Stars that would engage anybody over the age of 10, especially if you have no idea what the series that the film is based off is about. So, I realise that I’m not the best-suited person to review this film, but if you do have to watch it with young kids, then prepare for just over an hour of very little to focus on.
It’s not a particularly boring nor irritating film, but it’s so lacking in depth or intelligence that you feel very empty watching it throughout. There’s pretty much nothing to gain from sitting through the movie, and that just isn’t the sort of cinematic experience that’s worth putting yourself through.
Again, I can’t say that I had an awful or unpleasant time watching this film, but the fact remains that it’s just a glorified, elongated toy commercial solely directed at its young audience, meaning that for the rest of us, there’s nothing to take any notice of, and nothing to really care about or enjoy, which is why I’m giving Pretty Cure Dream Stars a 4.0.
