TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Sammy-Jo Cervantes There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Asad Almond A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

Brenda The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de) "Le royaume des fées" or "Kingdom of the Fairies" is a French 17-minute movie from 1903, so this one is already way over a century old. It is among the more known works by prolific filmmaker Georges Méliès, who once more did not only write and direct, but star in here too. This is a rare example of an early silent film that is in color and this one here is not just a quick joke or a magic shgow, but tells an actual story and it is even based on literature. Sadly, despite the color certainly making it a more interesting work, you never have any idea here what's going on if you haven't read Marie-Catherine le Jumel d'Aulnoy's work. Méliès tries his best, but film in the very early 20th century was simply not yet at a level that does the story justice. And it is not just the absence of sound I am talking about here. If you hear any music while checking this one out, then that was added later of course. This film feels all over the place lacking focus and coherence completely from start to finish. An, most of all, lacking intertitles that could have made it easier to understand at all what was going on in here. Not one of my favorite works by Méliès, even if it does look really beautiful at times for a 1903 movie. All in all, it's probably still only worth seeing for film historians. Pretty much everybody else can skip it.

JoeytheBrit This is another epic on the scale of Melies' earlier Voyage to the Moon but which lacks the iconic images of that film which is perhaps why it is now relatively unknown. Without a doubt it is every bit as interesting and fantastic as Voyage with elaborate sets and costumes and typically exuberant performances from the actors. One thing about Melies' films is that everyone up there on the screen looks like they're having a whale of a time - a fact which adds to the viewers' enjoyment. The story is a typical fairy tale with a noble prince braving all manner of obstacles to save his beloved from the clutches of a wicked witch. The acting is of the 'hands in the air to express surprise/shock/fear' variety, but in this case that just adds to the enjoyment.

Michael_Elliott Kingdom of Fairies, The (1903) *** (out of 4) aka Royaume des fees, LeEpic film from Melies was meant to be in the same league as his A Trip to the Moon but it doesn't reach that level. In the film, a Prince is about to marry a Princess but before the wedding a witch comes and kidnaps the Princess. The Prince must then go on a dangerous journey to get her back. The film uses spoken narration to tell the story, which is certainly needed because without it the movie really doesn't make too much sense. I think the biggest problem with the film is its story, which I found rather weak and it really couldn't get me involved with the film. Even with that said this is a must see because of the beautiful costumes and art design, which are among the best from this era of film-making. The entire film is hand colored, which is another plus because it adds a lot of beauty to the film. The best sequence in the movie is an underwater one where we get to see large lobsters and a man eating whale. Most of the devils are colored either red or blue and this added effect makes for a lot of fun as well. The film runs 16-minutes, which was certainly epic in the day and it never really gets boring and again, this is due to the incredible look more than the story itself.

Cineanalyst "Kingdom of the Fairies" is undoubtedly one of Georges Méliès's best féeries, or fairy films, alongside other such ones as "Blubeard" (1901) and, if you want to consider it as part of the genre, "Le Voyage dans la lune" (1902). It is also one of his best films in general. Its narrative follows the abduction of a princess by a wicked fairy/witch, and her subsequent rescue by the prince (played by Méliès)--an adventure which takes the prince and his men to the depths of the sea, where they meet the kingdom of the fairies, ride inside a whale to shore, and to the eventual rescue of the damsel from a burning castle. This was one of the most elaborate Star Film productions, with 20 some changes of scenery, a requirement of many costumes, and a runtime nearing 20 minutes.Méliès consistently produced the best movie set designs of his era, but the ones in this film especially stand out, including the undersea design and the burning and collapsing castle. Even the miniature model scene of the ship sinking works, because, after all, it's fantasy. The aspect, however, that I particularly appreciate in these fairytale films is their frequent use of the fairy as a narrator, or manipulator of the characters and plot. Another good example of this can be seen in "Bluebeard", as well as in films by others, such as "The Magic Sword" (1901) and "Jack and the Beanstalk" (1902). One scene in "Kingdom of the Fairies" is especially remarkable: it's a vision scene projected by the wicked fairy to the prince and involves the changing of the scenery from the castle room to the vision and back to the castle room.(EDIT: The hand-colored print now available on home video makes this film look even better.)