I walked out of Disney’s ‘A Wrinkle in Time’ feeling somewhat disappointed. For all of its gorgeous visuals, the film felt like it was far more flash than substance, and despite promising us a grand magical tour through the universe, we were shown vivid, colorful landscapes, but the ‘magical’ factor was profoundly absent. At times, the writing is convenient and juvenile, and on occasion a bit frustrating to see in what is targeted to be an uplifting film for kids. (Parental abuse and school bullying can both be ascribed to a dark ethereal mass of ‘evil’ infecting people’s minds on earth). The missing parent storyline amounts to very little, and I feel like it almost toes a line in alienating children of single parents or who have had a parent pass away. The three fairy godmother characters feel more abrasive than they do helpful, and Oprah’s deadpan delivery of helpful advice fails to inspire feelings of courage and mentorship. All in all, an “everything’s fixed” attitude to character development makes the uplifting messages that at the core of this theatrical endeavor fall flat.