The Time Puzzle

Since the disappearance of her father (Chris Pine), a famous physicist, a dark shadow lies over the life of Meg (Storm Reid). Not only her above-average intelligence, but also the truthful theses that her father had presented to the public shortly before his mysterious disappearance, make the girl an outsider at her school. But then the supernatural beings Mrs. So-and-So (Reese Witherspoon), Mrs. Which (Oprah Winfrey) and Mrs. Who (Mindy Kaling) suddenly appear at Meg and her family, claiming to be able to help find Meg's father again. To do so, the girl, her little brother Charles Wallace (Deric McCabe) and Meg's classmate Calvin (Levi Miller) must embark on an adventurous journey through time and space - to fantastic worlds that not only defy imagination, but also hold unexpected dangers.

The Disney brand actually stands for always entertaining, often spectacular family entertainment. Here the film adaptation of the bestseller The Time Fold by Madeleine L`Engle seems to be in exactly the right hands. Especially since Jennifer Lee, who wrote one of the biggest hits ever for the studio with The Ice Queen, could be won for the screenplay. Ava DuVernay, who convinced audiences and critics with the drama Selma, was hired to direct. The best prerequisites, then. Which makes it all the more surprising that The Time Puzzle has become arguably the biggest piece of nonsense to hit theaters in years under the Disney brand.

You seriously have to wonder if ANYONE here has read the script, looked at production and costume designs, or sifted through the wacky footage, because everything really seems to have gone wrong here. The script is total jumble of ideas that just can't be put together into a coherent whole because of the many logic holes and connection errors. DuVernay's direction seems almost amateurish given the many unnecessary close-ups and editing mistakes, and the costumes look like Harald Glööckler himself threw up on the screen.

You also have to seriously ask yourself who the film is made for. For very small children it is quite nice to look at, but dramaturgically it is a bit too complex and in some scenes very scary. For older viewers it is also nothing, because they can't overlook the many weak points of the production as benevolently as children. So that leaves children between the ages of 8 and 15. Well, they might actually like this fantasy cucumber, on the other hand, the offer for this target group is large enough that there is guaranteed to be something better among them.

I'm personally a big fantasy fan, and I love many of the adventures Disney brings to the screen. But The Time Puzzle has very few brief moments to offer that I could in good conscience say even come close to the quality that one has actually come to expect from this studio giant. And that's why there is only one: Very, very conditionally worth seeing!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp