The School for Good and Evil

The School for Good and Evil

Best friends Sophie and Agatha navigate an enchanted school for young heroes and villains — and find themselves on opposing sides of the battle between good and evil.

  • Released:
  • Runtime: 120 minutes
  • Genre: Action, Comedy, Fantasy
  • Stars: Sophia Anne Caruso, Sofia Wylie, Laurence Fishburne, Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Flatters, Kit Young, Peter Serafinowicz, Kerry Washington, Charlize Theron, Earl Cave, Rachel Bloom, Mark Heap, Patti LuPone, Freya Parks, Demi Isaac Oviawe, Kaitlyn Akinpelumi, Briony Scarlett, Cate Blanchett, Joelle, Ali Khan, Rob Delaney, Liam Woon, Stephanie Siadatan, Adam Ray, Olivia Booth-Ford, Emma Lau, Chinenye Ezeudu, Harvey Scrimshaw, Misha Butler, John Macdonald, Shanti Deen-Ellis, Ben Aycrigg
  • Director: Paul Feig
 Comments
  • lynette-gilbert - 27 March 2024
    Book Adaptation
    Well, I guess this is a book adaptation. Doesn't make me think very highly of the book. Unless this was just a really poor adaptation. What WAS this? I love a good fantasy, but this was SO all over the place. All of these things happened in TWO WEEKS? Give me a break. The production was fine, the CG wasn't even as bad as other reviews said. But the story was absolute garbage. If these schools aren't supposed to interact, why do they share a mess hall? Who are the first-years? And why do supposed first-years know all about the history of these schools? Are Aggie and Sophie the only non-fairy tale children who attend? Ugh. Did NOT enjoy.
  • trinaboice - 21 November 2023
    It does feel fantastical that allows us to escape into a new world.
    IN A NUTSHELL: In the village of Gavaldon, two misfits and best friends, Sophie (Sophia Anne Caruso) and Agatha (Sofia Wylie), share the unlikeliest of bonds. Sophie, a golden-haired seamstress, dreams of escaping her dreary life to become a princess, while Agatha, with her grim aesthetic and offbeat mother, has the makings of a real witch. One night under a blood-red moon, a powerful force sweeps them away to the School for Good and Evil - where the true stories behind every great fairy tale begin. Yet something is amiss from the start: Sophie is dropped into the School for Evil, run by the glamorous and acid-tongued Lady Lesso (Charlize Theron), and Agatha in the School for Good, overseen by the sunny and kind Professor Dovey (Kerry Washington).

    As if navigating classes with the offspring of the Wicked Witch (Freya Parks), Captain Hook (Earl Cave), and King Arthur (Jamie Flatters) wasn't hard enough, according to the Schoolmaster (Laurence Fishburne), only true love's kiss can change the rules and send the girls to their rightful schools and destiny. But when a dark and dangerous figure (Kit Young) with mysterious ties to Sophie reemerges and threatens to destroy the school and the world beyond entirely - the only way to a happy ending is to survive their real-life fairytale first.

    The magical mayhem was directed by Paul. He also wrote the screenplay based on the book by Soman Chainani. Soman has a cameo performance in the movie as one of the teachers in the School of Evil.

    THINGS I LIKED: I absolutely adore Cate Blanchett. I wish we could have seen her in this, but it's still great to hear her voice as The Storian.

    Rachel Bloom is hilarious and so talented. It was fun to see her as Honora and I'd love to see her in even more movies. She was perfect in the TV show "My Crazy Ex-Girlfriend." The two leading ladies are Sophia Anne Caruso and Sofia Wylie, matched by Charlize Theron and Kerry Washington.

    Laurence Fishburne always makes a movie better.

    The costume design is a lot of fun. You can now see some of them on display in a pop-up store in the Grove in Los Angeles, CA.

    Most movies like this show one-dimensional characters that are either good or bad, so I appreciate that this story shows us characters that are a little bit of both.

    It does feel fantastical that allows us to escape into a new world.

    THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE: The movie is WAY too long. It feels like it would be better as a TV series or a limited movie series.

    There are so many side characters that we don't get to know much about, making the entire movie feel overstuffed.

    Despite all of the action and drama, I felt bored at times.

    I was surprised by bad acting moments from award-winning stars who I know can do better. That seems to be happening more and more with Netflix movies.

    There are some plot holes as the rules of the universe seem to change. For example, sometimes we see a character as an ugly witch and then, without explanation, she changes back into her beautiful self.

    Characters come and go quickly. It's sometimes hard to know which ones are the most important ones to focus on.

    TIPS FOR PARENTS: Lots of magical violence Some scary images People die

    !
  • mark.waltz - 16 July 2023
    The colorful lies of phony goodness and evil is just the result of a sleepless night.
    I enjoyed this colorful combination of the "Harry Potter" franchise with a lot of "Wicked" thrown in, this is seen from a female point of view, but one that points out some serious flaws in the presumption of good vs. Evil and what makes someone the way they are. The school of good and bad shows lots of hypocrisy on the good side, especially through "good" teacher Kerry Washington whose character is revealed to be quite a self-centered superficial manipulator. On the other side, "bad" instructor Charlize Theron is one dimensionally bad, no doubt that her bread is buttered on the stale side.

    The story focuses on two best friends (Sophia Anne Caruso and Sofia Wylie) who are brought to the school against their wishes and in their opinion dropped off in the wrong section. They find out individually that they were brought there for a particular reason, to resolve the issues between the brothers who started the school decades before, and the ominous murder of one of them. It's a complex story with a lot going on, and while I was frazzled at first by the lengthy running time which shortly changed as I began to enjoy it in spite of manipulative agendas within the narrative. Cate Blanchett is the narrator whose reading of the story gets heard by the girls and responded to in humorous ways. A gorgeous production, but I certainly hope this is it and there are no continuations.
  • Boristhemoggy - 25 December 2022
    The school was no good
    I mean the film was clearly aimed at pre-teens and teens, and those who loved Harry Potter and want more of the same.

    As a Harry Potter replacement it is not even a close second, or even a close fiftieth for that matter. It's more like a Disney Dark.

    I struggled through the opening perhaps 4 timers before finally watching more than an hour, but at 2 hours and 25 minutes I just couldn't bear to finish it.

    The acting was decidedly mediocre as was the dialogue. There was no real passion or even enthusiasm from the actors and the only scenes I really enjoyed were those with Charlize Theron. Although god alone knows why she chose to appear in this blancmange offering.

    I think some kids in the 10-14 age range might like it but probably no-one else.
  • peterfbrand-89486 - 11 December 2022
    Thoroughly entertained
    I don't believe this deserves the low ratings it's been given. Loved the references to other fairytales. Thought the twists were clever and worked well. Acting was what you'd expect from a 12 rated movie of this genre. CGI was well executed and wasn't over the top. That was a very entertaining 2 hours.

    Storyline works well in its job to deliver a meaningful message without being obvious. Really refreshing to get two strong Female leads without making stupid caricatures of the Male parts. Even the obvious gender stereotypes breakdown though the movie adding to the message of gender equality in a clever, "not in your face" fashion.

    The world in which the story is set is rich and has so much more potential to explore and finally, I very much hope they make a sequel.
  • maroonfea - 27 November 2022
    Unbearable cringe. I would give minus 10 if i can
    After watching this i thought netflix at the end of the bussiness.

    The film was cringe on every scene. Like every damn second.

    The CGI was not helping. The wolves should be scary, but it looks like furry enthusiast on comicon.

    B rated actresses make everything worst.

    I kinda try to understand when they go with black actress, butchering the vivid image of white pale skinned agatha. But then, 2022, all movie did this. But then, for god sake, at least go fetch someone who can act. Highschool drama club could do better acting than her.

    The one who played sophie wasnt any better, she doesnt slay and savage like she should be. Instead she slay her acting career.

    This is horrible and unberable to watch.

    And then theres tedros, the prince right, wait is there any prince at all? The kid was looks like random NPC, so far from how he sould be potrayed in the novel.
  • gracezhangart - 20 November 2022
    What went wrong???
    Before I begin, I would like add context:

    I have read the books. All of them. I was a huge fan.

    READ THE BOOKS.

    Please, do yourself a favor and just get it at Goodreads. Because this movie is just...such a insult.

    Instead of nuanced writing, we get cringy fan fiction.

    The school is played off as a mediocre parody to a high school cafeteria. Half of the side characters don't even get a single line, even though their interactions helped define the world. The Evers, like Chaddick, Beatrix, Reena and Kiko are so so memorable...but we don't even get a glimpse of their personality or attitude. SAME goes for Hester, ANADIL and Dot. This trio was personally one of my favorite characters throughout the entire series. I honestly don't know what happened to them. We don't get any backstory and they end up being regulated to Sophie's sidekicks

    This happens with the rest of the characters as well. Almost all of them are castrated, devoid of the personality they had in the books. Castor and Pollux, Beezlebub, Sadar and it goes on.

    And then...there are the main three. The big three. Sigh, let's get on with it:

    I'll start with our golden boy, Teddy. In the books, Tedros initially starts off as a spoiled and narcissistic jock with daddy issues. He's rude and mean. He makes fun of Agatha in class and says some pretty demeaning things to Sophie. However, Soman writes him with a nuanced view of growing up as a privileged prince with serious family issues. Tedros feels betrayed by his mother leaving his father, and being pressured to live up to the expectations of his peers and himself. There is literally a scene where he "flaunts" his body for the Evergirls and feels so disgusted with himself for doing it. This is what made him such a compelling character. That he's aware of the way he's acting...but still can't help himself.

    In the film, Tedros can be summed up in three words: Netflix love interest. He's arrogant, rude and has no redeeming qualities whatsoever. His relationship with Agatha is even worse. The fact he's even remotely nice to her in the beginning of her interactions doesn't make any sense whatsoever. The whole point is he develops and matures when he meets her. But all we get is poorly written flirting and "normal girl" nicknames. Which doesn't make any sense whatsoever, Agatha was supposed to be seen as "abnormal" by all the Evers, Tedros especially.

    This brings me to Agatha. Out of all the film versions, her character was the most intolerable. In the books, Agatha is "ugly" and a "outsider" who revels in her loneliness. However, it's pretty quick to realize that's just her defense mechanism and she's genuinely hurt by the way she's treated.

    The film dumbs her down into "not like other girls" Agatha. Which is just so poorly done because the whole point in the books was she develops self confidence and friendships outside of Sophie. We don't get any of that growth whatsoever, and how in the world is Agatha "ugly?" In this version? The books describe her as "freaky" and "bug eyed". Sofia Wylie is beautiful and doesn't fit this description at all. Honestly, I thought some of the Nevers could have played the character. The whole point was that her character defies the stereotypical ideals of beauty and it's her strength and kindness that makes her who she is. It's almost like the film just skipped over half of the scenes she should have had.

    And then...there's our favorite villain: Sophie. Listen, I love Beetlejuice and Sophia's Lydia Deetz. I can understand why she was cast ad Sophie. Gothy teen girl with daddy issues. One of her defining attributes in the books was her strained relationship with her father. For some reason, the film doesn't focus on this aspect at ALL.