It's adorable. The entire cast is a delight to watch, and they all seem like they're having a blast doing what they're doing. I laughed a fair amount, and honestly I cried even more. Screw subtly -- I'm thrilled that we got to see a 50-foot-tall Goku-styled Oprah scream about self-empowerment. The directness of children's media isn't something I take any issue with, and that's probably why the story here worked for me better than it did for most people. I loved watching this girl go on a journey of personal discovery and acceptance on the way to finding her father. I loved seeing these overly-eccentric maternal figures guide her and show her support. Everything about this is just so wholesome, and I was such a fan of it all.

The critical consensus for this feels harsh, but I do admit that this movie is far from perfect. The introduction of the fantasy elements is pretty jarring, and I still don't understand how that little boy was connected to all this. I'm fine with the science not making sense, but I never even had a basic understanding of how tessering was supposed to work. The Misses are strangely established (and styled), too, but I enjoyed them once they had all been brought in. Beyond that, most of the issues I have with this are ones I have with nearly all Disney studio films. A little too linear and simple for the stakes to feel particularly high, despite a genuinely tense climax. Not the best script in a lot of ways, but DuVernay clearly did her best to make it work. For the most part, I'd say she succeeded.