Magic divides a generation. Whereas my generation grew up with Gandalf, nowadays it’s all about Harry Potter. So what path would Disney’s new film take? We sent our intrepid team of viewers to find out.

Immediately there was a comic feel to the film, which is about the relationship between two brothers. The elder brother, Barley, is voiced by Chris Pratt, aka StarLord from Guardians of the Galaxy, and is almost a carbon copy of the Marvel legend, with his love of fast vehicles and cassette tapes. The younger brother, Ian, is voiced by Tom Holland, aka Spirderman, who coincidently, or not, spends most of the film wearing red and blue.

As usual with Disney/Pixar, there is a slightly sad undertone to the film, which sees the brothers engage on a epic quest (for those of a particular generation, think Knightmare) to bring back their dead father for 24 hours. As the brothers encounter various mythical creatures including centaurs, manticores (often underused in the fantasy genre) and dragons (definitely not underused), the story focuses on their relationship, as much as the possibility of seeing their father again.

There are some epic moments, including when the brothers see the quest map, which is almost a spitting image of the map of Middle Earth (go team Gandalf), the manticore suffering an identity crisis and when Barley sacrifices his Queen to some truly inspired music. A bit like Ready Player One, a lot of the most geekish detail is very subtle, especially the stitching on Barley’s jacket, but even people who haven’t been avid Dungeons and Dragons fans will get most of the jokes.

In summary this is a good family film, which is a must for anyone who grew up enjoying 80’s D&D. The only downside, commented on a lot during the film by the youngest member of our judging panel, is the lack of a particularly strong female part (perhaps ironic given that it is International Woman’s Day) but that doesn’t really detract from another Disney success.