Is Spellbound Scary? The Verdict and the Whole Plot
No, 1 out of 10. It's an animated family fantasy, and the monsters are the princess's parents.
🐱THE SCARE SIGNAL
SCARE SCORE
1 /10
🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱
DREAD LEVEL
Low
It is gone when the credits roll.
DOG
Dog: fine
fine, no dog dies.
Ruling: It is a mild family fantasy, and the monsters are somebody's parents.
Spellbound is an animated fantasy that runs 111 minutes. A princess has to look after parents who have been turned into feral monsters and kept in cages in the castle. The royal advisors would still like her to take over the throne.
The premise, briefly
When a spell turns her parents into giant monsters, a teenage princess takes them on a journey to two oracles to try to reverse the curse.
How much do you want to know?
🐱
The verdict above is spoiler-free. Everything below, including the ending, stays hidden until you pick a depth.
🐱CUT TO THE CHASE
How it ends
The parents turn back into humans once they and Ellian make peace with their decision to separate. A year later they are divorced, live in separate castles and still rule the kingdom and raise Ellian together.
The scene you're dreading
Near the end, a vortex of dark magic engulfs Ellian after she gets upset about her parents' plan to separate. They use the light of the lake to save her before she turns into a monster, and then they hug.
The dog
No dog dies in Spellbound.
It is a gentle animated story about a family changing shape, and the monsters are the least threatening part of it.
THE SHORT VERSION IS HIDDEN
How it ends, the scene you're dreading, what happens to the dog, and the bottom line. About twenty seconds to read.
What actually happens
A castle with two monsters in cages
In the kingdom of Lumbria, Princess Ellian's parents, King Solon and Queen Ellsmere, were turned into feral monsters a year ago after a trip through the Dark Forest. Ellian and the royal advisors, Bolinar and Nazara Prone, hide them from the public, but nothing has turned them back, so the advisors think Ellian should become queen on her 15th birthday. As a last try, Ellian arranges a visit from the Oracles of the Sun and Moon, Sunny and Luno. The monster king and queen scare them off, and the oracles leave behind a gadget they call the Fob, which pools their magic. Ellian then lets the monsters out of their cages by accident, and they cause chaos in the kingdom. She uses the Fob to escape with her parents and see the oracles herself, and a second use of the Fob makes Bolinar swap bodies with Ellian's pet rodent, Flink.
At the oracles' cottage in the Dark Forest, Sunny and Luno explain that the only people who can undo the spell are her parents, and they have to travel to the Lake of Light to do it. They also warn her about a darkness that is drawn to negative feelings. On the way, Ellian's distress attracts a vortex of dark magic, and the family avoids it. After that the king and queen can talk again, but they do not remember who they were. Bolinar tries to steer the guards toward them, and Ellian helps her parents get away through a desert full of quicksand. She pulls a baby gryphon out of the quicksand and takes it back to its parents, and that reminds Solon and Ellsmere what it is to be a parent. They finally recognize Ellian as their daughter. Bolinar, meanwhile, begins to enjoy his new body after he befriends other creatures of Flink's species.
A lake that settles an argument
The group reaches the Lake of Light, which shows that all the arguing between Solon and Ellsmere is what changed them, because it lured the dark vortex without their knowing. They realize they are an unhappy couple and tell Ellian they cannot stay together. The scariest moment comes near the end: the vortex returns and engulfs Ellian while she scolds her parents about the split, and Cardona and the guards capture the king and queen, who they still think are dangerous beasts. Bolinar gathers Flink's fellow creatures to break them free, and the parents use the light of the lake to save Ellian before she turns into a monster. Ellian accepts their decision, and they hug. The spell lifts, the parents become humans again, and Flink and Bolinar get their own bodies back.
The ending, explained
A year later, Solon and Ellsmere have divorced and moved into separate castles, but they get along well enough to run the kingdom and bring up Ellian between them. On her 16th birthday Ellian throws a large party for her family and friends. She is happy about the good changes in her life and the bad ones. Bolinar and Flink are back in their own bodies.
The post-credits ruling
Nobody has confirmed whether there is a scene after the credits in Spellbound.
✓ Spoiled safelyDog status: fine, no dog dies.
Questions people ask at 1am
Is Spellbound scary?
Spellbound is a 1 out of 10, and the dread is minimal. It is an animated family fantasy, and the monsters are the princess's parents under a spell.
How does Spellbound end?
Solon and Ellsmere turn back into humans after they and Ellian accept that the king and queen will separate. A year later they are divorced, live in separate castles and raise Ellian together.
Does the dog die in Spellbound?
No, no dog dies in Spellbound.
Is there a post-credits scene in Spellbound?
Nobody has confirmed whether there is a scene after the credits in Spellbound.
Why were the parents turned into monsters in Spellbound?
Solon and Ellsmere's constant arguing lured a vortex of dark magic, which changed them after a journey through the Dark Forest. The Lake of Light shows them this near the end.
BLURRED FOR YOUR PROTECTION
The whole plot of Spellbound is hidden, ending included. It stays that way until you ask.
You don't need to sit through 111 minutes of Spellbound to know it ends well for the royal family. Install Scaredy Cat and it will blur horror before you see it.
