Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Charming’ On Netflix, A Silly Spin On Old Fairytales Featuring Demi Lovato & A Bunch of Other Singers

Damsel in distress. Princess in peril. They can only be saved by one thing: true love’s kiss. And time and time again, the perfect prince steps in, prepared for the task at hand. But what if it was the other way around? That’s exactly what Charming, now streaming on Netflix, imagines. Rather than rushing in to save the day with his own smooch, he must now find someone willing to give him their own true love’s kiss. We’re here to tell you if the flick is as charming as its title suggests. 

CHARMING: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: Prince Phillipe Charming (Wilmer Valderrama) has it all. Literally. The young prince is engaged to be married to Cinderella (Ashley Tisdale), Sleeping Beauty (G.E.M.) and Snow White (Avril Lavigne), all dames he met while saving them in the ways we now know by heart; with a glass slipper, and a kiss or two. All three princesses seem to think they’ve gotten their happily ever after, but that kind of doe-eyed ignorance can only last so long. Phillipe hasn’t quite figured out how he’s going to deal with this mess, and on top of everything else, he’s been cursed with winning the hearts of every woman who dare look him in the eye (so, pretty much every woman in the kingdom). If he doesn’t find true love (and get that sweet, sweet true love’s kiss) before his 21st birthday, all love will disappear. All of it! So when slippery thief Lenore (Demi Lovato) appears and immediately seems to steal his heart (and fails to be bewitched by him), he’s more than a little intrigued.

Lenore, on thin ice with just about everyone for stealing their stuff, sees a way out: if she takes the prince to Fire Mountain (where he must choose one of the three princesses to marry), she’ll be rewarded by the princesses guardians. She poses as a mustachioed man named Lenny and embarks on the journey with Charming, and so begins their adventure, one full of magic, mystery, and mayhem. Will they fall in love? Can Charming save the state of romance in the world forever? Time is short and nothing is quite as it seems in this new take on an old tale.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: Charming definitely wants to be like Tangled (a fun new spin on an old story, and it honestly straight up steals a handful of story beats) or even Shrek (combining multiple fairytale characters and poking fun) but it doesn’t have nearly the heart or finesse to get close.

Performance Worth Watching: It’s not that it’s good, really, but John Cleese putting on a ridiculous high-pitched voice to play the Fairy Godmother is certainly memorable.

Memorable Dialogue: There aren’t many standout lines in Charming, but I’ll admit I appreciated how unsubtle “all he ever wanted was to make every girl feel like a princess” was.

Sex and Skin: This is family friendly fare, so none of that stuff here.

Our Take: Movies like Charming really make you appreciate what Disney puts out. Perhaps it’s because we’ve come to take great fairytale adaptations for granted, but boy, was this one rough. Charming plays like it’s going to be some fresh, feminist twist with its unconventional heroine (who is basically female Flynn Rider, yes), but it has no respect for its female characters whatsoever, playing them all like two-dimensional bimbos with Instagram face. Demi Lovato turns in a truly fun and endearing voice performance, but it’s wasted on a character wholly unworthy of her talents (frankly, all of the actors here deserve better). It’s a shame, because they have some really fun people doing the voices (Avril Lavigne?!?!), and with a little more self awareness or irony, it could have been great – but Charming seems just as naive as its lead characters are.

Charming might have been somewhat salvageable if the animation was great or there was more than one decent Sia song stuck in the middle of it, but unfortunately, it’s all around “meh”. The animation style feels cheap and underdone, and it’s only made worse by the inconsistent tone and storytelling. I was pretty intrigued by the potential of the premise – how fun would it be to see the prince have his big day for once?! – but it’s totally wasted, and rather than having a good time, I found myself checking my watch for when it all might come to an end.

Our Call: SKIP IT. Charming squanders a fun premise with lackluster animation, sloppy storytelling, and weird musical numbers. You’ll live more happily ever after with the classics this flick is based on.

Jade Budowski is a freelance writer with a knack for ruining punchlines and harboring dad-aged celebrity crushes. Follow her on Twitter: @jadebudowski.

Stream Charming on Netflix