Lisa Johnson Mandell’s Wonderwell review says that Carrie Fisher fans and younger audiences will enjoy this flowery fairytale. 

Wonderwell is a coming-of-age fairytale set between picturesque modern-day Italy and a lush, imaginary realm just beyond our known world.

It marks the final film role of Star Wars icon Carrie Fisher, who passed away almost seven years ago—and Wonderwell has been in postproduction purgatory until now.

Wonderwell is an adaptation of a short story by William Brookfield (who also wrote the screenplay) and leans heavily into children’s fantasy classics that plunge ordinary kids into bizarre, weird worlds (ala Alice in Wonderland, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, and MirrorMask).

What Wonderwell is all about

As the story unfolds, we journey with twelve-year-old American girl Violet (Keira Milward) to Italy, where her glamorous elder sister Savannah (Nell Tiger Free) is on her first modeling job.

The girls’ parents, Adam (Lloyd Owen) and Chloe (Megan Dodds), are there to chaperone and watch Savanna, which makes Violet feel left out, second best, and all but forgotten.

One day while Savannah is modeling on the steps of a historic building and Adam and Chloe watch from the sidelines, Violet wanders off to explore. Before long, she finds a well that is a portal to another world—one that is bright, colorful, flowery, and friendly.

The first friend she makes is a beautiful and benevolent witch, Hazel (Fisher), who takes the girl under her wing and teaches her the ways of the indigenous flora and fauna.

Fisher is fabulous as ever, and Milward is a likable young lady, but the rest of the cast is fairly forgettable—with the exception of Brit pop star Rita Ora, who has a small role as a fierce fashion designer Yana, a former model turned entrepreneur who hires Savannah to model her latest line.

The visuals are fairy tale fun, with flowers and vines transformed into sentient beings thanks to CGI, and painterly animation transforms Hazel’s deck of tarot cards into a living, breathing tableau of divination.

As Violet begins to discover her own burgeoning, possibly witchy powers there’s a parallel to a young woman literally “coming of age” as her own flowers bloom, so to speak. There are some pretty heavy-handed parables in some of the visuals, and there’s even a closeup of Violet biting into a shiny red apple.

At other times, there is no veneer; for instance, Hazel tells Violet that flowers are “sexual organs” or in another scene, Savanna is shamelessly hit on by predatory fashion folks. There’s also a bit of an undeveloped love triangle between the sisters and Yana’s teenage stepson, Daniele (Sebastian Croft).

Despite its lack of originality, Wonderwell is perfectly on-target for its teen girl audience and boasts many charming moments between Hazel and Violet. It’s a well-made, thought-provoking fantasy spectacle that is sure to score points among Fisher fans, who will not only enjoy her feisty, straight-talking character but will be reminded of her intrinsic beauty and talent.

Rated PG-13
1 hour, 36 minutes

If this Wonderwell review makes you want to dive into its alternate world, get times and tickets at Fandango.com.

Lisa Johnson Mandell’s Wonderwell review says that Carrie Fisher fans and younger audiences will enjoy this flowery fairytale.