Agatha Christine: Next Door Spy

MOVIE TITLE: Agatha Christine: Next Door Spy

RATING: G

LENGTH: 1 hour, 17 minutes

Movie Review Mom GRADE: C+

NOW AVAILABLE ON STREAMING

IN A NUTSHELL:

This family-friendly movie was created in the beautiful city of Copenhagen, a city I had the great pleasure of visiting a few years ago. A ten-year-old girl moves with her family to a new city. She sets up her bedroom and small detective agency in their basement. This animated children’s film is written and directed by Karla von Bengtson. Next time, I’d love her to ask me to help her write a better script.

It appears that the movie was released in 2017 in Danish and has taken this long to hit the English-speaking market. Tri-Coast Entertainment invited me to a press screening and I wish I could give a more positive review. It had potential but there are several elements that make it less appealing for an American market.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Talk to your kids about who the real Agatha Christie was. The protagonist’s character’s name is Agatha Christine.
Some profanity, which was really surprising because the target audience for this movie is kids.
Talk to your kids about shoplifting and dishonesty.
Pets

THEMES:

“Everyone needs friends…or at least good friends.” – Mom
Self-doubt
Honesty
Reputation
Friendship

THINGS I LIKED:

It’s cute that the main Danish family is blonde. Of course, not all Danes are blonde, but I did see some really tall, beautiful blondes while I was there!
It’s easy for kids to see when Agatha Christine (A.C.) is daydreaming about her spy life and using her imagination because everything is in black and white.
Agatha Christine is a likable character and you want her to succeed.
Fans of Nancy Drew Books 1-10 Box Set The Nancy Drew Mystery Stories Collection might get a kick out of the story.
The animation is very simple. American audiences have been really spoiled with excellent animation from the likes of Pixar. Still, it’s charming and not too distracting.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

Maybe it’s better in Danish. The dialogue and voice acting in English aren’t very good.
There’s a talking lizard whose voice is terrible. It’s never explained why he can talk or where he came from. When he was just an egg, Agatha showed it a lot of love and care, but when it actually hatched into a creature, she was totally annoyed by it. In turn, the lizard trash-talks and threatens her. In the end, there was absolutely no resolution and the lizard, which grew to look like a big Komodo dragon, just disappeared from the plot. Bizarre.
There’s no explanation about where Agatha’s dad is or what happened to him.
The mom says, “I have dreamed for this day for a long time: my daughter has a boyfriend!” It seems odd that a parent would encourage a pre-pubescent romantic relationship for her daughter.
Maybe it was just poorly translated, but the title isn’t accurate. The boy that the mystery is about lives across the street, not next door.
There isn’t much humor.

FUNNY LINES: