The School For Good And Evil

The whole idea derives from a book series by Soman Chainani, though it's obvious where it really comes from: the imagination of J.K. Rowling, who must be ...

Chainani suggests that all the heroes of literature, from Cinderella to Aladdin, studied here, but it’s no place for readers. “Princess-haired” Sophie (stage prodigy Sophia Anne Caruso of “Beetlejuice”) is tired of such mistreatment, so she makes a wish to be whisked away. [Charlize Theron](https://variety.com/t/charlize-theron/) to play the decked-out divas who oversee the enchanted institution’s two sides.

The School for Good and Evil, starring Charlize Theron and Kerry Washington, is out now on Netflix, but is the fantasy adaptation worth a watch?

A movie adaptation of The School for Good and Evil has been in the works since Chainani's first book was published in 2013. There just might not be enough that feels fresh about the movie to bring in newcomers to this world, and the hefty runtime could see many switch off before the inevitable sequel set-up. It's the all-star supporting cast that leaves the biggest impression, with Charlize Theron deliciously tucking into her role as School for Evil head Lady Lesso. All of the familiar elements are there from the fantastical world-building to the plucky 'ordinary' lead characters, but there's also a notable flaw. It's always been Sophie's dream to be a fairytale princess, but her dream turns into a nightmare when she's dropped off at the School for Evil. It's here where the aspiring heroes and villains of our favourite fairytales are trained to protect the balance between Good and Evil.

And it's here that one of the highest billed (and personally, highest anticipated) names dwells as Sophie's evil stepmother: Folks, it's Rachel Bloom. The co- ...

There's Cate Blanchett as the voice of the Storian, recording it all in a giant book, and Mark Heap as the sniveling potions master Professor Manley. In Chainani's narrative, Honora and her best friend, Vanessa, have affections for the same guy, Stefan, who has eyes for Honora. While yes, the film's focus is justifiably on Sophie and Agatha's complicated friendship journey, the cast is as stacked with incredible grown-up stars as a Harry Potter film, with the School of Good run by Professor Dovey (Kerry Washington) while Lady Lesso (Charlize Theron) runs the School of Evil. [Reboot](https://mashable.com/article/reboot-review-hulu), so this was all the time that might have been available. While her friend Agatha (Sofia Wylie) faces abuse and persecution from the community, Sophie deals with it in her own home like the heroine of the European folk tale. "It was supposed to go in the stew!"

As expected of a film centering around the fairy tale world, love blossoms between some of the main characters. Yes, we're talking about a romance between ...

Eventually, Sophie and Agatha discover that the way to get Sophie transferred into the School for Good is for Sophie to win true love’s kiss. When Agatha and Sophie are dropped off at the enchanted school, Sophie is dropped into the School for Evil and Agatha at the School for Good. Sadly, Agatha and Tedros do not end up together. Remember, Sophie wanted to attend the School for Good and Agatha didn’t want to go to the school at all. [The School for Good and Evil ending explained: Do Agatha and Sophie defeat Rafal? It tells the tale of two close friends as they navigate their way through a magical school for fairytale heroes and villains, and find themselves on opposing sides of the epic battle between good and evil.

Charlize Theron, Kerry Washington ham it up in the good-looking but overlong fantasy film.

Even more unfortunate: Great actors such as Theron and Washington and Fishburne ham it up to the point of distraction, while the younger stars are OK, but not particularly screen-commanding. While the talented and versatile director Paul Feig (“Freaks and Geeks,” “Bridesmaids,” “A Simple Favor”) displays an admirably ambitious reach, and there are some impressive visuals, “The School for Good and Evil” never quite finds its footing. (The return of one of those brothers from the prologue brings about a twist that should surprise no one.) A terrifying bird-monster creature snatches both Sophie and Agatha, whisks them away and drops them at the School for Good and Evil, where, legend has it, all fairy tales begin. (When Agatha and Sophie say in unison, “God, I hate this town,” they sound like they’re in a 2022 high school movie.) Netflix presents a film directed by Paul Feig and written by Feig and David Magee, based on the book series by Soman Chainani.

An adaptation of Soman Chainani's hit fantasy series has just landed on Netflix. Sofia Wylie as Agatha, Michelle Yeoh as Professor Anemone and Kerry Washington ...

[subscribe now](http://radiotimes.com/magazine-subscription?utm_term=evergreen-article) and get the next 12 issues for only £1. [Netflix](https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/80218885) now. Who will sit on Camelot’s throne and rule the Endless Woods? With the girls apart, Evil has taken over and the villains of the past have come back to turn the world of Good and Evil upside down. A traitor has seized Camelot’s throne, sentencing Tedros, the true king, to death. For her quest, Dean Sophie seeks to mould Evil in her own image. With full-colour illustrations, the handbook includes character interviews, diary excerpts, brand-new short stories and much, much more. But their storybook is about to be rewritten, and this time, theirs isn't the only one. With her glass slippers and devotion to good deeds, Sophie knows she'll join the ranks of past students like Cinderella, Rapunzel and Snow White at the School for Good. Can Sophie stay good with Tedros on the hunt? "Luckily, we have a brilliant and visionary filmmaker in Paul who knew how to keep the spirit of the book but also make it his own. Every four years, two girls are kidnapped from the village of Gavaldon.

Find out which actors were cast as heroes or villains in the dramatic and dreamy book adaption. school-for-good-and-evil-poster-cropped ...

[Laurence Fishburne](https://collider.com/tag/laurence-fishburne/) as the School Master [Michelle Yeoh](https://collider.com/tag/michelle-yeoh/) as Professor Anemone [Matrix](https://collider.com/tag/the-matrix/) character Morpheus, Laurence Fishburne has been staying quite busy in recent years. [Kit Young](https://collider.com/shadow-and-bone-jesper-kit-young-stunt-training-video/) as Rafal [Earl Cave](https://collider.com/school-for-good-and-evil-cast-earl-cave-netflix/) as Hort [Kerry Washington](https://collider.com/tag/kerry-washington/) as Professor Dovey [multiverse-shattering A24 movie Everything Everywhere All at Once](https://collider.com/tag/everything-everywhere-all-at-once). [Sofia Wylie](https://collider.com/sofia-wylie-interview-high-school-musical-series-disney-plus/) as Agatha [Cate Blanchett](https://collider.com/tag/cate-blanchett/) as the Narrator [Sophia Anne Caruso](https://collider.com/school-for-good-and-evil-clip-charlize-theron-kerry-washington-sophia-anne-caruso-netflix/) as Sophie [presented with a narrating voice](https://collider.com/cate-blanchett-cast-school-for-good-and-evil-paul-feig-netflix/). [Coming to Netflix](https://collider.com/biggest-movies-netflix-is-releasing-this-fall/) this week, this tale of duality and self-discovery is one that fantasy fans and fans of the novel alike can’t wait to be immersed in.

The School for Good and Evil is an adaptation of Soman Chainani's novel series of the same name. The movie tells the story of two best friends Sophie, who ...

With the schools facing a further battle, it may be up to Sophie and Agatha to restore the peace. The School for Good and Evil is an adaptation of Soman Chainani's novel series of the same name. However, one night under the power of the blood red moon, the two are swept up to the School for Good and Evil, where students are trained to become the heroes and villains of fairytales. But when an evil force threatens the school the girls must find their way to a happy ending. One person's whose return may be a mystery is Laurence Fishburne's character of the Schoolmaster. The boys are all living in the School for Evil and the girls in the School for Good.

An adaptation of a YA favourite about two opposing fairytale schools is overlong, bland and utterly devoid of magic.

But the deeper purpose here is the straightforward regurgitation of archetypal Potterisms, from the lakeside training sessions to the handsome dining halls to the belief that everyone’s either a friend, rival or crush. Its determination to be like other things leaves the impression of nothing at all. With time and a daunting number of montages scored by such Gen Z-approved artists as Billie Eilish and Olivia Rodrigo, they’ll come to see through the glaringly phony divide laid out for them, mostly by Sophie learning that you can look good and dress in black.

Empty and endless, and too often leaves you wondering what's going on and why we should bother.

And the production design on both sides is enjoyably over-the-top in its contrasting extremes: the School for Good essentially looks like a wedding cake you could live inside, while the School for Evil is like a goth version of Hogwarts. Here, fellow students are whittled down to a single trait, and—as in the Disney “Descendants” movies—most are the offspring of famous cultural figures, like Prince Charming, King Arthur, and the Sheriff of Nottingham. Deauville [Cate Blanchett ](/cast-and-crew/cate-blanchett)as Narrator (voice) But when the bird drops Sophie on the evil side and Agatha on the good side, they figure it must have been a mistake and struggle to switch places. [Soman Chainani](/cast-and-crew/soman-chainani), “The School for Good and Evil” focuses on two extremely different teenage best friends looking out for each other in a harsh, fairy-tale land. The much taller, wild-haired Agatha ( [Sofia Wylie](/cast-and-crew/sofia-wylie)) lives with her mom in a cottage in the forest, where they concoct potions together; she has a hairless cat named Reaper and dresses in all black, so she must be a witch.

Charlize Theron, Kerry Washington, Michelle Yeoh, Sofia Wylie, and Sophia Anne Caruso lead Paul Feig's adaptation of Soman Chainani's boarding-school ...

Watching both of them evolve into the “good” and “evil” labels they resisted is satisfying, and watching their relationship grow and change is even more compelling. It’s a fairy tale where the witchy outcast girl can be a hero, and the girl who wants to be a princess falls in love with her inner dark side. Agatha is prickly, rude, and defiant, but she’s also one of the few students in the good school who actually cares about other people. But because the lead characters are so multifaceted and their relationship is so compelling, those tropes don’t weigh down the movie. Sophie, meanwhile, is so determined to make something of herself and prove she matters to the world that her ambition clouds her judgment. Fairy tales do tend to boil down to black-and-white thinking, and the main characters — who live in a more nuanced world, but are expected to take on fantasy roles — recognize that there’s something off about that. But much to their dismay, Sophie is tossed into the evil program, while Agatha ends up among the spoiled, glittery princesses of the good one. Designed to fit, then subvert and smash, archetypes, the two leads of The School for Good and Evil and their strong friendship turn the movie from fantastical fun to memorable delight. For instance, while the good-program princesses take lessons in smiling (which Agatha miserably fails), the bad school has an “uglification” class — because of course ugly is “evil,” in fairy-tale logic. But while Netflix’s new movie The School for Good and Evil does indulge all those beloved ideas in ways that might seem familiar, Director Paul Feig (Bridesmaids) treats the conventions with love and care, turning the movie into a compelling fantasy adventure. Sophie dreams of a life beyond their tiny hometown, but Agatha just wants to keep her mother and Sophie safe. Everyone calls Agatha a witch, because she’s sullen, she wears ragged, dark clothing, and her mother makes herbal remedies on the side.

Paul Feig waves a very attractive wand at Soman Chainani's book for his take on the fairy tale world.

There’s great balance to the whole piece, but the real heart is firmly focused on the friendship between Sophie and Agatha which is what really pushes this through as a memorable and fun watch. Cate Blanchett is also given a purposeful narrator role that is vital to the story and plays into the fairy tale tweaks that work well overall. There’s also no shortage of big sequences and scenarios thrown at us, from magic trials to two balls in each house so The School for Good and Evil never gets boring. In fact, the strongest moments throughout the movie are the smaller ones between Agatha and Sophie, as well as Evers misfit Gregor (Ally Cubb) and the initially haughty but empathetic Tedros. Clarissa Dovey (Kerry Washington) of the Evers – and the whims of their flighty Schoolmaster (Laurence Fishburne). [Harry Potter ](/movies/franchise/harry-potter)series and the musical book by Winnie Holzman for [Wicked](/movies/wicked), The School for Good and Evil explores the black-and-white notions of good and evil under the roof of a magical school that teaches the next generation of both.