Netflix released a new movie Oct. 19, 2022 called ‘The School for Good and Evil’ rated PG-13. This movie directed by Paul Feig follows a fantasy book written by Soman Chainani that was released in 2013. The book was such a big success that four more were made after and it turned into a series.

The book and movie follow the story of two girls, Sofie, one of the main characters, played by Sophia Anne Caruso, and Agatha, the other main character, played by Sophia Wylie. The character Sophie dreams of being part of a fairytale while Agatha just tries to keep her friend safe in their little town of Gavaldon. They get taken by a shadow then a giant bird to this fantasy world where heroes and villains were trained in schools to find their fairy tale. 

I read this series back in middle school and actually now own the books and have recently re-read them all. When I found out Netflix was making a movie, I was so excited to watch it. This has been one of my favorite book series and I’ve never gotten tired of it.

When I watched the movie, I was not disappointed at all. The movie captured all the important moments like the characters Sophie and Agatha’s fights and also their close friendship. Along with how they reacted to being in the “wrong” schools, and even the silly ones that weren’t needed like Sophie giving villains makeup lessons and beauty routines. The special effects and computer-generated imagery was amazing and looked so realistic, all the fantasy creatures looked so real and the magic was so well edited that you’d never know it was a movie.

I feel that this movie was made perfectly and all came together just like in the books. I never thought I’d have the chance to view the story as a movie until now and I honestly love it. It gives me that feeling of magic and fantasy, and I think the movie overall just turned out amazing and I’m really hoping that Netflix will continue to make more. 

The story and plot line really followed the book well and left an imprint on me. I think Paul Feig and John Schwartzman who was in charge of CGI were really able to bring this book to life with this movie. Everything was almost as I had imagined it while reading the book and I don’t think they could have done anything better. 

Besides magic and fairy tales, this movie did an amazing job at capturing the meaning of love and friendship and what it means to be there for someone despite all the good and bad. I’m really glad Netflix decided to make this movie and I hope they continue to make more to correspond with the other books. I would definitely recommend this movie for anyone interested in fantasy and for kids or pre-teens who enjoy magic but also like learning life lessons.