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For almost 30 years, readers and moviegoers of all ages have found their way to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to learn about magic and fight evil with Harry Potter and his friends. And the animated adventure The Academy of Magic attempts to follow in the franchise’s footsteps with another story about a magical orphan.
The Academy of Magic begins as a mysterious little girl is dropped off at a cottage in a place called Apple Valley with nothing but a mechanical toy. Aura (voiced by Laura Megan Stahl) is raised on an orchard—but when she turns 16, she discovers a magical power that she never knew she had. Her robotic companion wakes and takes her off to a place called Montrose Academy, where she will be trained to harness her powers as an enchanter. But not everything at the academy is as it seems.
As Aura settles in at Montrose Academy with a handful of other students, everything here feels strangely familiar—from the jovial old headmaster and the disapproving instructor to the uniforms and magic lessons and even some of the other students. That’s not necessarily a bad thing—because there’s plenty of room in the entertainment world for more kid-friendly films about gifted underdogs attending magical schools. But in order to be worth watching, it would have had to be done well. Instead, The Academy of Magic feels like a dollar store animated version of the Harry Potter movies.
Not only is this film a blatant copy of the hit franchise, but it was just poorly made. While the story takes a few turns from the Harry Potter stories, they’re generally unsurprising and unoriginal. The animation is basic, with strange proportions and characters who all look like they were animated in different styles by a bunch of different people who never actually met. All of the movements seem out of sync. And so much about the story and the characters is entirely absurd. This film isn’t supposed to be a comedy—but my 12-year-old daughter and I spent a surprising amount of time laughing while watching it.
The Academy of Magic clearly set out to capitalize on the popularity of the Harry Potter franchise with another story about a magical young character at a remarkable school. But it’s such a poorly-made copy of a familiar story that it’s entirely laughable. It may be entertaining for young viewers who aren’t yet daring enough for the real Harry Potter movies—but unless you’re just looking for a laugh, it’s probably best to skip this one.
You can join Aura and her classmates on their magical adventure when The Academy of Magic arrives on demand on March 25, 2025.
Listen to the review on Reel Discovery:
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