Warriors don’t always look the way you’d expect. In Disney’s newest theater release, A Wrinkle in Time, Middle-schooler Meg Murry (Storm Reid) and her six-year-old brother Charles Wallace (Deric McCabe) prove this when they embark on a rescue mission across the galaxy to find their father, accompanied by their new friend, Calvin (Levi Miller).
When their scientist father, Dr. Alex Murry (Chris Pine), discovers that humans have the ability to tesser (wrinkle time), he walks out of their home one day and explores other planets. He eventually gets stuck on Camazotz, a planet controlled by an evil force known only as The It.
He’s been missing for four years when the children receive a visit from three dazzling, unusual, and powerful women, Mrs. Whatsit (Reese Witherspoon), Mrs. Who (Mindy Kaling), and Mrs. Which (Oprah Winfrey), who help lead the children to Dr. Murry.
Mrs. Whatsit questions if the stubborn, insecure, and fearful Meg is up for the task, especially knowing the danger the children must face along the way. But in fact, Meg’s strong emotions, paired with her ability to think for herself, become crucial for the children’s survival. In the words of Mrs. Which, “some of our best warriors come from Earth,” and in the end, little Meg Murry stands among them.
Fans of Madeleine L’Engle’s 1962 classic book on which the movie is based will see parallels to many of the emotions that Meg, Charles, Calvin, and the Murry parents feel in the original story. Though beautiful and imaginative, many scenes and characters in the film appear much different than described in the book, and some major details of the children’s journey are omitted. (Particularly, my son and I missed the presence of Aunt Beast from the movie—a kind, furry creature with no eyes, that nurses Meg back to health after she becomes weak from tessering.) Overall, though, the diverse, multicultural cast, spectacular costumes, makeup, and landscapes bring a world of possibilities to the big screen that I believe would make the author proud.
See A Wrinkle In Time in theaters starting March 9.
