The House of Magic (2014)

As a parent, I would not allow my kids to watch this as one of the characters said the word "damn." Seriously, this is supposed to be a kid/family movie.

The film is a mediocre storyline of an abandoned cat that ends up being adopted by a magician. Typical children's story.However, the villain has a propensity to shout "Damn Cat!" anytime he involved with the cat. This was rated G, wasn't it? The animation is good, and seems to play off some sort of 3d effects throughout. Not the same level of animation as Pixar or Dreamworks, but still pretty good quality.Watch it if you are bored and need a cheap film to entertain the kids for an hour and a half.I would give the film the following ratings:Story- 3/5 Characters- 2.5/5 Animation- 4.5/5 Cheesy reference to the film "Big" - 7.5/5

Most European animations intended for the mass market are often very disappointing either in a lame script or bland animation. Usually it is Hollywood that rules the roost here, but The House of Magic was a pleasantly surprising film released (in the UK) in a summer already overcrowded with family fare.Admittedly this film is aimed at a much younger market than say, the Marvel Films but nonetheless it is still doing the rounds where other animation like The Nut Job, How to train your dragon 2 and Planes 2 are also on release. I am a little surprised the distributors put it out during the summer because it obviously won't have the same kind of publicity as those big American productions but nonetheless I am glad to see it has been reasonably well received because it is actually quite watchable and likable. Although I saw the film in 2D I could see the scenes designed for the 3D release and can quite understand those that think its is one of the better 3D releases.The story is not terribly sophisticated, an abandoned little ginger kitten wanders into a spooky house and ends up fighting a greedy real estate agent who is trying to sell it behind his elderly magician uncle's back. After a sub plot involving the Rabbit and a mouse trying to get rid of the kitten the kitten ultimately ends up teaming up with the other inhabitants of the house (Rabbit, mouse, two lovebirds and various sentient inventions) plus two sick children to thwart him. The film does drag in a few places and is quite predictable but is extremely well animated, has fun with it's music cues (watch out for some classic British pop music from the 1980s) and will ultimately leave children and adults with a big grin on their face as the end credits roll. The script could have done with a few more laughs but anybody who has ever owned a cat will recognize how well translated the mannerisms of 'Thunder' the kitten have been done.Ultimately I found this to be an undemanding, very well animated and perfectly serviceable little film that has no offensive elements (although I agree with a previous reviewer who found the callous way the kitten is abandoned by its original owner to be a little bit upsetting). Nonetheless the film moves on quickly from that start and the reasons why he was abandoned are briefly addressed in the story (economic recession).I was going to give this film a 6 but 'Thunder' is such a cute creation and probably the most lovable cat in a film since Puss in Boots from Shrek that I gave it a 7.

What a fun and charming movie to watch! Great for children and adults. Colorful, great characters, a flowing plot, and plenty of smiles and laughs.The voice overs are done to perfection, the goofy gadgets are highly imagined and brought to life, and the evil real estate nephew and evil bunny top off the story.Some may say the kitten, Thunder, is too cute but that's not so. He's young and full of himself and wants a home. Each of the perspective buyers the nephew brings by to see the house is original and funny. Then the two construction workers met their match inside the house - it's hilarious!Fun and sweet for all ages .. you will enjoy!