A CHRISTIAN MOVIE REVIEW OF

DISNEY’S A WRINKLE IN TIME FOR PARENTS

“And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness comprehend it not.” John 1:5 – Taken from Madeleine L’Engel’s A Wrinkle in Time: Chapter 5 The Tesseract

I received tickets from Disney to see this movie. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

A WRINKLE IN TIME The Book Versus the Movie

Disney’s A Wrinkle in Time is loosely based on the book by the same name written by Madeleine L’Engle. I had never read the book before two days ago, and I finished it in less than 24 hours. I did a small review of the book – Madeleine L’Engel’s A Wrinkle In Time Book Review – if you would like to learn more about the book. As a Christian I review books and movies with that standard. 

MADELEINE L’ENGLE’S A WRINKLE IN TIME

The book was written in 1962. This was before Star Wars, Star Trek, Back to the Future, etc. We knew very little of black holes, quasars, and quarks. But a brave soul set out to write a fiction work that was far outside of what was known. And when she wrote, she included all the things that were important in her life – the central theme was that of “there is something bigger than ourselves.” And for Madeleine that was her faith in Jesus Christ. As a Christian I think there is something profoundly beautiful about the intersect of science and religion. Madeleine’s fiction blended the two of those and made the reader feel that the acknowledgement of God will lead to a higher understanding of the universe. And the light that the world does see, the goodness that is there, comes from something bigger than ourselves.

DISNEY’S A WRINKLE IN TIME – THE GOOD

Disney is the best in their field. Their ability to create such stunningly beautiful movies sets them apart from everyone else. The sets, the costumes, their interpretation of a book or concept is always so amazingly inspiring. Visually, A Wrinkle in Time does impact the viewer in a positive way. At one point in the movie, I could imagine a Disney ride where I am on the back of the great flying creature soaring above the planet below. It would be an awesome ride with the ability to smell and feel like I am actually there.

For the most part, the casting was great. Meg (Storm Reid) does a fantastic job. And I loved Chris Pine as Dr. Alex Murry. I felt that we did not see enough Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Dr. Kate Murry (the mother). And Disney’s interpretation of the angels, Oprah (Mrs Which) , Mrs Whatsit (Reese Witherspoon), and Mrs Who (Mindy Kaling), was beautiful. Calvin O’Keefe (Levi Miller) plays the next door neighbor, and he is a great addition to the film. But I felt that Charles Wallace (Deric McCabe) was so underdeveloped, and off from the character in the book. Disney portrays him as an adopted child, but clearly in the book one of the things that was unique about Charles was his genetics; he was a product of genius parents. 

DISNEY’S A WRINKLE IN TIME – POSITIVE ELEMENTS THAT YOU CAN HIGHLIGHT WITH YOUR CHILDREN

There are many positive elements throughout this film. Meg learns important lessons about why people may act mean and hateful (fear, self-loathing, jealousy, etc). The Murry’s are a strong family. Mrs. and Mr. Murry had a wonderful relationship before he disappears, and in his absence, Mrs. Murry holds the family together. She is outwardly hopeful of his eventual return. This is a family that cares for one another.

There is an overarching message that light can battle darkness – good overcomes evil. Important messages for teens to hear are that even our weaknesses can be strengths, and the power of love is strong enough to eventually reunite the family. 

DEVIATIONS FROM THE BOOK

My biggest problem with the movie comes from the complete deviation of the essence of the book, and the avoidance of men. Mr. Murry is reduced to a time traveler with his wife being the true genius. There are universal truths that are essential to the story. Disney has managed to remove all references to Christianity, all Bible verses, and all references to anyone remotely associated with Christianity.

There is a line in the book where Meg is quoting from the Declaration of Independence – “all men are created equal,” and IT says, “But that’s exactly what we have on Camazotz. Complete equality. Everybody exactly alike.” and Meg says, “Like and equal are not the same thing at all.” This is a fantastic line in the book, and sums up Camazotz, everyone is alike, but that does not mean equality.   

ELEMENTS THAT MAY BOTHER SOME CHRISTIANS

L’Engle’s book has received criticism from both the Christian community and the secular world. Many of the elements that may bother Christians are in both the book and movie such as the Happy Medium. In the movie version, a crystal ball is left out, and The Medium has the children and angels standing in yoga poses to learn where Mr. Murry is located in the universe.

While the film tries to be all inclusive in religious beliefs, it does come off New Agey at times. And it leaves out all of L’Engle’s references to the Bible and Jesus Christ. 

Early in the movie, Meg undergoes bullying and ignores it, but when her brother becomes the subject, she retorts by throwing a basketball in a girl’s face.

 

MY RECOMMENDATIONS

SHOULD YOU SEE THIS MOVIE?

The true Disney fan in me says Yes. But I do so with the following recommendations:

1. If you have not read the book, wait until after you see the movie. I believe that had I waited to read the book, I would have enjoyed the movie so much more.
2. If you have read the book, put aside any thoughts or feelings you have about the book. See the movie with the thoughts of it being a loosely-based portrayal. As you watch the movie, enjoy the scenery, the acting, and the interpretation of good and evil. Do not expect it to deliver the book version of A Wrinkle in Time in movie form.

AGE RECOMMENDATIONS – IS IT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN

This movie is all about good versus evil. There are scenes which may frighten small children. My recommendations are made based on seeing the movie in the theater with the sights and sounds on the big screen. These scenes may be significantly different on a television in your own home. In addition, in your home your child has the ability to leave the room for bothersome scenes.

With that understanding, my recommendation is ages 8-10 and up. The evil IT is huge and all-encompassing. At one point, Charles Wallace is controlled by IT and undergoes a transformation. These scenes may be confusing and scary to children. There is a scene with what looks like a dust storm that is intense. Charles Wallace goes missing in this scene, and Meg and Calvin are frantically running from the huge storm which turns into a massive tornado hurling trees, rocks and debris. In another scene The Man with the Red Eyes, takes off his glasses and his eyes may frighten some children.

FOOTNOTE (My final thoughts):

“And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness comprehend it not.” John 1:5. Disney with all their money and big names behind this film will not truly understand why this film is under-performing at the box office. With this movie, I believe Disney has forgotten something so important to movie making. The concept must be understood by movie makers – If you are taking original source material and naming the movie by the same name, you have a responsibility to your audience to deliver the essence of that source material. Disney may have delivered a beautiful movie, but they did not deliver A Wrinkle in Time.