Review: My Freaky Family is a pleasant dollar store Encanto

I want to give a little shout-out to distributor Viva Pictures. Their name is apt -- most of the movies they distribute are aimed very clearly at a younger demographic. The stories are usually simple. The animation often lacks polish. And some of the dubs are rough (I wish it were easier to see some of their movies in their original languages). But I really enjoy watching their stuff. I find it comforting to turn my brain off for 90 minutes and just watch something that wasn't made for me, but that goes down easy. And hey, this year, they've brought some solid stuff over to the States, like mythological mouse adventure Epic Tales, much-improved sequel 200% Wolf, and the delightful Aussie import Scarygirl, which I saw last year and was delighted to see is playing at one of my local AMCs this weekend.

Another of their 2024 releases is lurking in the vast expanse of Tubi. My Freaky Family is a charmer, and very much cut from the same cloth of a lot of Viva Pictures' output. It's a simple comedic adventure with some fun jokes, underwhelming animation, and a pleasant story. Not a bad way to spend a lazy Saturday morning.

This one follows 13 year-old Betty Flood (Evanna Lynch), the only member of her family that doesn't have magical powers (think of this as a sort of dollar store Encanto), ostensibly because she was born "the old-fashioned way." Her siblings, meanwhile, were all created through magic means, which means they're a colorful bunch: talking dog Staniel (Neil Delamere), creepy prophetic twins Morbid and Silent (Sarah Aubrey voices both), and swoony skull-faced necromancer Winchflat (Ed Byrne). 

When I say swoony, I mean swoony. I'm tempted to make one of those tweets about enjoying this movie for the plot, and then saying the plot is just this hot, hot skeleton man:

But I digress. Or do I? Maybe I should just thirst for the rest of this post.

No, okay, focus.

While the proceedings are pretty straightforward-- obviously, Betty wants to learn magic, but instead she and her family are hiding in the human world for reasons unknown to her. As she learns more about her parents' history, and why they're hiding, the plot gets a bit richer. There's a solid backstory about magic and music being at war with each other, and Betty, naturally, is the prophesied person who can bring the two back into harmony. Makes sense, as her mom is a magic-user and her dad a musician. Thus, Betty is the offspring of a mystical Romeo and Juliet-type pairing. And with great parents come great responsibility.

While the animation here isn't much to write home about, there are some nice character designs (have I mentioned Winchflat?), and everything looks colorful, fine. Weirdly, I think the opening scene looks the worst of anything in the movie. It made me kind of dread what was to come, but everything else was pretty pleasant.

The voice cast fares well, likely because this one isn't a dub. Miranda Otto is the biggest name on the call sheet as Betty's mom, and the supporting cast is full of good work.

My Freaky Family obviously isn't a must-see by any stretch of the imagination, but it's a perfectly enjoyable flick, especially if you have some kids who want to watch something new. I'd be happy to watch another if a sequel is in the cards.