If you enjoyed Winx Club’s first three seasons, you owe it to yourself to find and see this movie. I went in looking forward to Secret of the Lost Kingdom (SotLK). One of the reasons was that the main story arc of the series, that is lead character Bloom finding her biological parents, had yet to be resolved. SotLK resolves that and delivers much more in the process.
With that said, I still tried to keep my expectations moderated. After all an arc three seasons in the making can easily be disappointing when finally resolved.
When a computer generated character looks into a computer generated mirror, what does she see?
Also, SotLK moved Winx into the world of computer generated imagery (CGI) from traditional animation. When a show is as stylized as Winx Club, the transition from cels to 3D models can be daunting at best, and awful at worst.
No, this is not your high school math book.
Tecna gets uprezzed. Fitting.
Gladly, I can report that SotLK succeeded on all the mentioned fronts. Especially in the tricky area of CGI where they managed to capture the spirit of the art direction in 3D. However they went beyond just capturing, they enhanced it in some places and added whole new elements in others. New locations, new outfits and new vehicles were all on display as SotLK went above and beyond the “necessary”.
Even the credits were artsy.
A good word to describe SotLK is artsy. Dramatic lighting, sparkles and translucent clothing/wings were all realized more easily and more often in this high quality feature. Iginio Straffi kept a close eye on his popular creation and kept it from drifting away from its core.
Like the series the movie was at times serious and others fun. There was even a pleasant musical scene flying through the clouds.
Alfea looked good rendered with CGI. (For some reason, in our "non-magical" dimension pinks and purples have never caught on as building colors.)
One of my interests in Winx Club lore has been the famed Company of Light. We finally get to meet the remaining three members. The old gruff weapon smith Hagen, and Bloom’s parents who have not aged since being trapped when Bloom was a baby. It was interesting seeing them not much older than Bloom and much younger than the remaining un-trapped members.
The dark background in this lake scene highlighted Bloom in Enchantix mode. (Enchantix lasted longer than "Charmix". The latter was a flash in the season 2 pan. I guess girls were more interested in buying whole new dolls than they were in small pocketbook-like accessories.)
Special props go to the costume designers. They did a great job translating the known outfits into 3D as well as designing some elegant-in-their-simplicity jumpsuits.
The famed Company of Light.
The men were treated pretty well this time around. They got some good screen time for supporting characters. Both Hagen and Oritel were treated with respect.
Another supporting character, Faragonda was shown fittingly powerful. Of the other two members of the company of light, Griffen is barely seen and Saladin not at all.
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In order to save water in the magical dimensions they have started to shower with light.
There is a great reveal in the beginning where the girls go enchantix and have a tough battle with a horde of robots. This battle and the others in the film were well planned out and exciting. The fight scenes moved along and the action was quick and snappy.
Bloom & Flora: This library made for a rich scene and the jumpsuits on the girls were a lovely contrast. But are they readers?
If you do not think Flora is cute get back under your bridge, troll.
Of course SotLK is not without its faults. Occasionally the movie was a little slow. Then again one man’s “slow” is another man’s peaceful pacing in a pretty scene. The three bad witches from all three seasons of the series (the Trix) only made the briefest cameo appearance. Additionally the Ancestral Witches who fought against the Company of Light did not get enough comeuppance.
SotLK leaves open the door for more action in the Winx Club universe. With word of a fourth season and the possibility of another movie, we have not seen the last of Bloom, Stella, Flora, Tecna, Musa and Layla (Aisha).
"I'll be waiting for them."
F o r t r e s s T a k e s 
I watched SotLK in both Italian and English. I’m thinking about writing my own review, but here are some of my feelings. I thought I’d hate the 3D animation, but I agree with you that it was well done. The fairies’ Enchantix are utterly gorgeous – I especially love Bloom’s and Flora’s forms. I wish Rainbow had used Layla’s first Enchantix (the blue one), but oh, well. However, the clear wings annoyed me sometimes because they looked unattached to the Winx’s bodies (especially Tecna’s wings).
As for the ending, I was actually disappointed with it. After eighteen years, Bloom finally met her real parents and restored her frozen homeland. Yet, she didn’t seem as happy as I expected (aside from being extremely giggly in the English version, but that’s not enough). She spent more time with Sky at the celebration party than with Ortiel and Miriam. I was also sad about how much she was isolating herself from her adoptive parents (calling them by their first names and things like that).
I was glad Rainbow introduced a new problem (the Ancestral Witches with the Trix) that will probably carry into the fourth season/next movie; they could have just made up a new story just for the sake of having another season.
Overall, I did like it. It still felt like I was watching the series.
Upon reflection, I think I agree with you concerning some elements of the ending. I would have liked to see more of Oritel and Miriam; more of them spending time together with Bloom and poor Daphne. I understood the Sky focus, but it did slightly crowd out other necessary catharsis.
I see what you are saying about Bloom’s adoptive parents. On the other hand, I am just glad they were included at all in a scene where they could have just as easily (and wrongly) been left out.
There were a lot of ways to blow that 3 season arc concerning Bloom’s biological parents. More ways to do it wrong than the few paths to do it well. I think they found a decent but not perfect path.
I could have used a throwaway battle with the Trix in the beginning of the film. Seeing them with the Ancestral Witches at the end is a fitting but not unexpected lead-in to season 4.
I agree with you that in many ways it felt like the series. If it did not we would complain that the movie lost the spirit of the franchise. On the other hand I think SotLK did add things the series could not in their episodic format and budget.
I enjoy your well informed comments Oblivious Pratter.
It’s you aisha and nex 💕
My personal complaint for this movie was how Sky was the one who saved the day by pulling the sword out when clearly it should be Bloom’s inheritance. Bloom is the heroine of the show, as Mary-Sue as that may seem, and despite Sky’s being the main love interest and truly devoted to her, I think that it should have been up to Bloom herself to save her parents by using her father’s sword. Part of me thought it was a bit sexist, but the larger part of me just went “huh?” when the Ancestral Witches batted her aside and overpowered her. Where’s the strong fairy who defeated the dread wizard Valtor and Darkar? Bloom has grown and progressed so much since the first episode, it felt like a let-down for me.
As for the animation aspect, I was impressed with the final product. Attention was given to detail and consistency, and the timing, synchronization, and effects were well done. (I found it rather similar to the Tinkerbell movie for more reasons than one.) I hope that the rest of the series is up to the challenge of topping the movie.
Good points.
It might have been better if Bloom had fought the ancestral witches to more of a stalemate and Sky tipped the balance with the power of Oritel’s mighty sword. That might have blunted the feeling you have that Sky saved the day. More like he unleashed the power of Bloom’s heritage. Maybe they could have both had their hands on the sword together.
I would not want Bloom herself to defeat the ancestral witches because as you know it took the whole original Company of Light to beat them. Bloom is not THAT strong. Nor is she currently stronger than Oritel and Miriam who have not aged and are still in their prime.
I agree with you about the art direction and execution. It is a high artsy bar to overcome in the future.
I disliked how in the climax the rest of the girls and boys were just kind of left out and Bloom and Sky were the only ones doing anything. I would have prefered it if they helped to temporarily defeat the ancestral witches. Thats why I like the season 2 season finale way better than that of season 3. Other than that, I thought the movie was really well done. The music was totally amazing.
Thanks for stopping by.
You are not the first to question the ending of the movie, especially in light of the season finales. Chalk some of it up to the differences in format. In a TV show you can spend long minutes and even episodes having everyone contribute to the fight. A movie is much more limited.
Additionally the TV season finales were more “global”. The universe was at stake. In the movie it was more about Bloom’s personal quest to free her parents and restore her world. The season 2 finale with Dark Bloom was cool. Season 3 left you hanging a little at the end about Bloom’s parents, but some of the scenes in it were quite good. (Like Faragonda versus Baltor.)
I watched BOTH the original Italian (I’ll call it the ‘Director’s Cut’)version and the English Language version, and wound up kinda impressed—not totally, but kinda. The new villainess, Mandragora, appeared scary (and vulgar–she actually CUSSED Faragonda), but wasn’t truly a major threat (considering whom she was employed by). I’m just glad to finally see The Winx go mano-a-mano with The 3 Ancestral Witches (who revealed that they possessed people just to move around). I also was hoping to get a better glimpse of the younger Faragonda, but the art in the book was so minute, it was impossible. Needless to say, Palladian (a character who 4KidsTV–man, I almost spit up just mentioning that company–portrayed in such a fey manner–read, “gay”)appears to have been a knight back in his day (nice development on a minor character), while one of the Specialists, Nabu, was missing from the film. There was also a whole passage removed from the English version which bugged me when I went back and checked out the Italian version: Riven confronts Master Hagen to air his blues, and Hagen admits to having a little darkness in his soul as well. Which is a huge plot point, meaning that The Company of Light had issues. Of course, there was no time in the movie to flesh that out.
Finally, if only we’ve had a flashback from Daphne as to HOW the Ancestral Witches murdered her.
What I’m attempting to say is, while the movie (both versions) rocked and has its merits, like all movies that are continuations of their previous TV seasons (think the X-FILES film), there are some serious plot holes left to be filled. But, I guess we’ll learn a little more as the show continues through it’s 4th (and soon to be 5th) season. By the way, stumbled across your blog “by accident” as I was doing some research on The Winx Power Show LIVE Shows. Great job in covering Genre TV as a whole.
Awesome comment. It touched upon a topic near and dear to our heart, the Company of Light. We are gratified to hear we are not the only ones interested in this legendary group.
We enjoyed seeing three of them fight together against Baltor in season 3. We agree that Saladin has received short shrift in his treatment. He seems to be the only dedicated wizard of the Company. Hagen and Oritel may have used magic, but were hybrid warrior types. So, Straffi, give us more Saldin and Comapny of light. How about a flashback adventure with them?
Yes, we freeze framed and examined the picture of the Company of Light from its heyday. We want to see what young Faragonda was all about (and Griffin and Saladin too). Was young Faragonda holding twin blades? Was not her 1 on 1 fight against Baltor in season 3 one of the best Winx battles ever?
We did not watch the movie in English, not caring for edits it seems to have been the right choice. We do not think Hagen was implying that he was evil. More like he was saying we all wrestle with temptation to do wrong. Even those in the famed Company of Light. Power can corrupt.
We felt the original Company was gypped a little as they slapped the new Company of Light label on Bloom and her friends. They are tough girls to be sure, but they are no Company of Light. Like you, we would like to see a real showdown with the ancestral witches, but honestly we think the Winx Club girls would be out of their league. How about a reuniting of the original Company of Light teaming up with the Winx girls? Not THAT would be awesome.
That is like when a former Power Rangers team reunites briefly and joins the current team for a super team-up slug fest against combined big baddies. Strangely fun.
Good point about Daphne too. She seems such a tragic character. What did they do to her? Is there no relief for her?
Thanks for reading and keep coming back with comments of this caliber.
Excellent review. I loved the witty captions.
While I’ve yet to see the film, I do agree that the art direction was great. The wings and even Tecna’s hair looked very realistic. Riven’s hair bothered me, but not nearly as much as Helia’s hair has in season 4.
I have watched the opening battle, mainly for Layla’s attacks, and I was impressed. Definitely one of the best fights in Winx history.
I do wish we could have gotten some more Daphne scenes and an explanation for her death or, at least, how a fairy could have a nymph for a sister. One of the reasons I’m hesitant to watch the film is the lack of Nabu, who is one of my favorite characters, and the other being copyright reasons. I’ll be able to wait until I get the German DVD or the Singaporean DVD.
Thanks gamercatgirl. Good point about Daphne. Her disembodied status really needs to be clarified. It is kind of sad to see her “spirit” form there in the movie while Bloom gets the physical reunion hugs.
We are glad that Nabu brings some much needed magical power to the specialist’s side of things. As for the movie, we think you will enjoy it. It has some pretty scenes, and the action is well done. Besides, we waited three seasons for a resolution to the Oritel & Miriam plot.
I know for sure it’s not my high-school math book. It’s my middle-school math book. My high school one will be much worse.
Tecna loves math, but that does look more like hieroglyphics. 😉
Ummm, yeah, how CAN they read that? I think it says:
If you can read this, you’re about to go on a dangerous mission. If you can’t, you’re not. TEE HEE!
Ha. It could have said, “Turn back! Danger! And if you cannot read this, …goodbye.” I doubt much of anything would have deterred them. You know what that group is like when they get it in their heads to do something. ‘Danger schmanger’. “As long as we look good doin’ it!” 😉
i love the winx club and i can’t wait until season 4 is posted onto the website ” 4kidstv.com” cause i want to watch the real episodes of the winx club so bad!!!!!!!!!!!!! any way i love the winx club i may be the #1 fan of winx club well maybe not #1 but and least the best fan
i love love love love lovelove the winx i also cant wait when when the post it on 4kidstv.com hey do u have an account
We do not know what 4Kidstv is going to do regarding Winx season 4. We need translation or subtitles in order to do our takes. The take on the second half of season 4 is waiting. Many fans out there are probably waiting for more season 4 viewing options.
Hi. Where can I get the movie secret of the lost kingdom in english for my 9 year old daughter.
Thanks
Here is the info regarding the DVD release that we found online:
“It was released on DVD in Italy in March 2008, with Italian audio. The German release contains dual audio, both German and English.”
i love you dafni and bloom
I’m rather curious myself to, the only thing we saw ( or saw again ) was a ” drawed ” version of the battle Daphne and the Ancestral witches did.
Spirits usually remain attached to this ” dimension ? ” due to they still have a goal to complete.
I very much hope so that will be a plot point in the next movie/season.
Oh and yes, Faragonda kicks ass ^^
Hi I am the voice actress of Bloom in the movie
Hello from the Fortress. Is not the person you are referring to Letizia Ciampa?
Is that you? If so, there is plenty for you to enjoy here. However, you will forgive our skepticism. Anyone can say they are anybody on your Earth interwebs.