2023 Movie
Dir. Brent Bouchard & Thom Mckenna · Canada, United States · English
Fast-paced kids' entertainment that doesn't offer anything deeper except merchandise advertising
More an extended episode of the Polly Pocket TV series that started in 2018 than a self-contained movie, Sparkle Cove Adventure really only exists to showcase various adventure sequences and magical powers possessed by Polly and the other characters. It’s all harmless fun, with a last-minute message about working together that could’ve been much more subversive in a better written story. Unfortunately, there really isn’t much else in this crudely structured, one-hour film to recommend, as lots of on-screen hustle and bustle threatens to blur into white noise. It doesn’t help that the animation hasn’t been upgraded in any way; after 60 minutes, the Flash-animated 2D style only begins to look flatter.
Polly explores an enchanting secret island filled with mysterious wonders, including the pockite crystal that allows her to magically change size.
Polly Pocket travels to a magical island where she joins a contest of champions to be named Sparkle Cove's protector.
If they had cut a few of these action scenes out of the movie and really focused on expounding on the moral lesson that it tries to deliver by the end, Sparkle Cove Adventure might have had a better shot to graduate to the level of consummate family entertainment. There's something vaguely clever here about challenging established orders and spreading power among many instead of concentrating it all in one authority figure. But it's clear that they can't really talk about this stuff—not because this is a children's movie, but because Mattel really needs to sell some toys.
Emil Hofileña is a curator at A Good Movie to Watch. He also writes as a theater critic, with work published in Rogue and Out of Print, among others. He’s probably crying over a movie or an episode as we speak.
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