Rhemalogy

“It’s never too late to do what is right.”

Synopsis: Hansel and Gretel of fairy-tale fame — now acting as secret agents — must use magic, clever thinking, and teamwork on a mission to find a missing king.

While scrolling through our Netflix menu I ran across this animated twist on the original Brother Grimms’ Hansel and Gretel. The movie begins in a magic kingdom somewhere in the imaginative minds of Wizart Animation, The king is asked to come into the banquet room where he must sample food for his oncoming festivities. But as he begins the taste testing all the food comes to life by some form of enchantment and the king is kidnapped by a spaghetti cowboy. I must admit– I did not see that coming.

The Secret Magic Control Agency (S.M.C.A.) protects the kingdom, which regulates all of the magic activities within the realm. The prime minister decides to have the SMCA investigate the king’s abduction while keeping it under wraps as to not cause a panic amongst the people.

The head of this agency, Agent Step-Mother, first selects Gretel as her top agent for the job and decides they need her estranged brother Hansel on the case because of some of his less desirable skills that may prove beneficial to the investigation. These two are like water and oil. Gretel has never forgiven Hansel for taking the easy and criminal way out.

Their first lead takes them to a pastry shop with a pantry with some strange enchanted characters. In this pantry, Gretel finds all kinds of potions—the first clue is a beaker of enchanted vanilla extract (This reminded me of Shrek in the Potions Factory). A battle ensues when the pastry shop explodes, leaving Hansel and Gretel as little kids. Now no one at the agency believes they are who they say they are so they decide to take matters into their own hands. The first order of business is to take a trip to Baba Yaga, a witch rumored to eat children in hopes she can turn them back to adults and learn where the enchanted vanilla extract came from. Baba tells them the enchanted vanilla came from the swampland. They barely escaped with their lives then head for the swampland…

Will Hansel and Gretel find the king? Will they mend their relationship? Will they have to grow up all over again? You will just have to watch the movie to see for yourself.

Originally released in 2021 The Secret Magic Control Agency is 1hr 43 min and rated TV-Y7. Can be seen on Netflix and YouTube.

Director: Aleksey Tsitsilin.
Writers; Analisa LaBianco, Vladimir Nikolaev, and Jeffery Spencer.
Stars: Nicholas Corda(voice), Sylvana Joyce(voice), and Alyson Leigh Rosenfeld(voice).

We give The Secret Magic Control Agency

Although a cartoon enthusiast, I found The Secret Magic Control Agency delightful and engaging—A new twist on an old enduring fairytale. This movie is a fun, fantasy family adventure. The animation is excellent and the characters are well-detailed, hilarious and some are even warm and endearing. Children will be mesmerized by the visuals and the sprinkles of humor. The breadcrumbs left behind such as forgiveness, teamwork, the importance of family and always doing what’s right are good character lessons for adults and children alike.

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