Darby and the Ghosts Movie Review | Geeks and Com’

Announced for the first time in October 2021, the film Darby and the Ghosts will be available on December 2 on Hulu in the United States and in particular on Disney+ elsewhere in the world. The feature film starring Auli’i Cravalho (voice of Moana) and Riele Downs is a new supernatural comedy for teens. Always with the aim of expanding its target audience, is Disney succeeding with this film in reaching the community it wants? The answer in this full Darby and the Ghosts review.

TECHNICAL SHEET

Release date : December 2, 2022
Director: Silas Howard
Script : Becca Greene
Main actors : Riele Downs, Auli’i Cravalho, Chosen Jacobs, Asher Angel and Wayne Knight
Gender : Comedy
Duration : 105 minutes

advise the dead

The film Darby and the Ghosts tells the story of Darby Harper who gains the ability to see ghosts following a terrible accident at a young age. Becoming increasingly introverted, she quietly detaches herself from her classmates and prefers to spend her time advising lonely spirits who have unfinished business on earth. It allows them to be able to leave the world of serene living. Darby’s life is turned upside down again when Capri dies unexpectedly in a hair straightening accident which results in the cancellation of the party scheduled for her 17th.^e anniversary. Of course, now caught in the spirit world, Capri’s character begs Darby to step in and convince her friends to go ahead with the party as planned. This new quest will lead the main character to learn in order to be happy again in the world of the living.

Overall, the storyline of Darby and the Ghosts is fairly standard just like other teen movies that can be found on the market. Although it is mainly a comedy, there are several readings related to the presence of social networks, how to manage the death of a loved one or even popularity in the school environment. Subjects which have the merit of being treated in a coherent manner. I nevertheless felt some lengths and it would perhaps have been more interesting to cut certain portions which do not bring much.

Break the 4th wall

The concept of breaking the 4th wall is now well known to the public. As a reminder, this is a concept in which the character in the story speaks directly to the viewers. If at first I thought that the Darby and the Ghosts trailer was just a way of getting people interested in this feature film, I was surprised to find that throughout the film the characters speak to us directly. There are a few very well done moments that use the concept cleverly, but most of the time it’s kind of disturbing. If this type of concept does not please you, clearly you will be disappointed to be cut in moments a little more serious.

A rather unequal distribution

In terms of cast, Darby and the Ghosts features talented young actors and actresses. This is particularly the case for the main roles starring Riele Downs, Auli’i Cravalho, Chosen Jacobs or Asher Angel. Special mention to the first two who perfectly embody their role and allow the spectators to create a link. If the characters are particularly stereotyped, those of Riele and Auli’i offer a few gray areas. Unfortunately, this is not enough, because the interactions with the slightly more secondary characters are not at all of the same quality. It’s a shame to have an uneven distribution, but nothing surprising for this type of production. The target audience is different and teenagers probably won’t place much importance on this level.

Verdict of Darby and the Ghosts

Darby and the Ghosts offers good entertainment aimed at teenagers and which should undoubtedly reach its audience as soon as it is released. The feature film also offers some interesting sub-readings, despite a fairly classic and not always original scenario. If the main actors fulfill their role perfectly, this is not always the case for the slightly more secondary characters. The film is also a bit long at times and should have been shortened further. Overall, Darby and the Ghosts does not reinvent anything, but remains good entertainment.