The Magic Voyage (1993)

For its first animated feature, Bavaria Film turned its back on centuries of German folklore for a story linked to the hoopla surrounding the 500th anniversary of Columbus's first visit to the Americas. The Magic Voyage is a clumsy copy of Disney's Ben and Me, with Christopher Columbus and Pico the woodworm taking the places of Benjamin Franklin and Amos the mouse. (Although he's supposed to be a worm, Pico sports arms and legs--but the designs are the least of the film's problems.) Pico gnaws Columbus's cube of the world into a globe, giving him the first of many ideas. While Columbus obtains financing for his voyage from hotheaded Ferdinand, flirtatious Isabella, and their weasely friar-counselor, Pico falls in love with Marilyn, the firefly princess. Marilyn is the prisoner of an evil but unexplained swarm of bugs, which take her west. Pico and Columbus follow them to the New World, where they steal a golden pseudo-Aztec idol and "make squishy" with the swarm. Although some talented artists worked on Voyage, the animation is crude, and the songs utterly forgettable. It's no wonder this maladroit film never received an American theatrical release. --Charles Solomon Amazon.com

The worst animated film I have ever seen

Although I usually watch films from my childhood that I watched on a frequent basis or films that are of interest to me, I'm going to review a film from my childhood that my sister and I barely watched. This film is The Magic Voyage, a film written by Ute Koll (possible pseudonym for Uwe Boll?). I decided to take it off my dusty shelf and watch it. After all, it can't be that bad.

I made a terrible mistake. This film is so badly made, that any good value of the film is ruined. Not even an all star cast could save it.

Okay, here's the plot: Columbus (Dom DeLuise) has an idea: he thinks the world is square. That is, he thinks the world is square until Pico (Corey Feldman) chews Columbus's square cube to make it more circular, giving Columbus the idea that the world is round. He goes to King Ferdinand (Dan Haggerty) to fund his voyage, but Ferdinand refuses until Queen Isabella (Samantha Eggar) falls in love with Columbus and forces Ferdinand to fund him. Before the voyage, however, Pico falls in love with Marilyn, the Firefly (Irene Cara), who is kidnapped by the Swarm Lord (also Dan Haggerty). So, in addition to finding the New World, Columbus and Pico have to save Marilyn as well.

Before I say anything else, I just want to say one thing: The songs are AWFUL. I could write better songs. Corey Feldman may be a good actor, but he can't sing to save his life. Like another reviewer said, the only good song is the one in the end credits. Moving on...

Bad songs aside, the animation is what ruins the film. It's terrible. Honestly, the "cartoon camera" as you may call it, is terrible, taking extreme close-ups unnecessarily. Characters say things that don't match the lip movements, or at times even match the facial expressions of the character. The timing is bad, at one point Christopher Columbus notices Pico before he even looks down. At times it seems like they're ad-libbing, or even making up the dialogue instead of dubbing it. Frankly, the animation for this film makes Titanic: The Animated Movie look like the animation of Miyazaki films.

The only good thing about this film is the song at the end credits. It's pretty good for a pop song in the 90's. Oh, yeah, and there are some cute jokes, but they really aren't good enough to even try to raise the rating.

It's a very sad thing when you highly anticipate watching a movie but when you watch it you find out it sucks. The Magic Voyage is a fine example. Like I said, other than a few fun jokes and the song in the end credits, this film has no redeeming value. I only recommend it to you if you are a masochist or someone who becomes so curious by reading a negative review for something that they have to see it to believe it. May 18, 2007

I LOVEEEE THIS MOVIE! Greatest movie of all time!

I TOTALLY AGREE WITH HSI CHAN. THIS MOVIE ROCKS MY SOCKS! I LOVE THE WOODWORM, THE FAIRY, AND CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS! THE BEST MOVIE IN THE WORLD! I FREAKEN LOVE IT!!! October 7, 2006

The best movie in the world!

This is the best movie in the world. If you don't like this movie.. you suck! October 7, 2006

The world may be round but this picture is flat.

This is one of those films where you just don't have any idea why it was even made. Why in the world would Germans feel drawn to a story featuring Christopher Columbus, a wood worm, a firefly princess and some sort of horribly, horribly animated swarm something-or-other? I just keep asking myself over and over again, "Why?"

The overall animation doesn't even come close to looking like anything out of the 1990's. It is very simplistic, drab and amateur-looking. Supposedly stationary objects jiggle back and forth and the mouths of characters don't match the words being spoken way too many times.

Forget about all of the important ingredients necessary to make a decent animated film. Dom DeLuise and Corey Feldman as your main voice talent? Ugh. Sheesh...and the songs in the film! You will thank me for the following advice: Do not keep any sharp objects lying around while watching this film! If you happen to find a pencil before you find the "Mute" button on the remote, well, you will probably be tempted to use it to puncture your eardrums. The sole good song is the one by Al Jarreau over the closing credits.

I don't even know where to begin as far as the story goes. Something about a wood worm who walks and talks and wears clothes. He has a carrot for a nose and tells Christopher Columbus that the world is actually round and not flat or square. The wood worm, named Pico, snags a girlfriend but she is later kidnapped by a swarm creature. Columbus convinces the Queen to give him three ships so he can sail to Asia and Pico tags along to try and find his girlfriend. They end up landing on a tropical island and find a fortune in gold. Is any of this sounding interesting to you?

This is one of those many films where you just know that the story behind the development of it is infinitely more interesting than the film itself. I don't know why the Germans didn't make something that they could relate to better. They tried to emulate an American animated film but completely and utterly failed. Even early episodes of "The Smurfs" are filled with more complex storytelling and cutting edge animation than this disaster. Bon Voyage! September 14, 2004

Enchanting animated feature for the entire family

While most of Europe thought that the world was FLAT, Christoper Columbus had a novel idea. He thought the world was SQUARE, and thus begins this fictional and humorous adventure to discover the new world. Seen through the eyes of some funny animals and insect friends of Mr. Columbus, this story accurately portrays the important historical facts of the Columbus mission, while infusing enough music and comedy to hold the attention of kids steadfastly and repeatedly. Featuring a top cast of voice talent, and a stunning orchestral music score, this animated feature from acclaimed filmmakers
Michael Schoemann and Phil Nibbelink has every bit of charm as seen in other films of theirs (i.e., "We're Back", "An American Tale: Fievel Goes West", "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?"). I would strongly recommend this for any family with a Dreamworks or Disney animated video collection. August 9, 2004

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