Joe Sugg and Caspar Lee on 'Wonder Park' and surviving tough times

Colourful new animation Wonder Park is in cinemas now, and reporter Jake sat down to talk to actors & vloggers Joe Sugg and Caspar Lee - who voice a pair of beavers in the film - about working together and how they get through tough times.

Wonder Park is a charming and colourful story about June, an optimistic and imaginative young girl who discovers that the theme park she once created in her imagination has become a reality, hidden away in the nearby woods. The park, now in disarray, has been taken over by 'Chimpanzombies', and only June can fix things and bring the wonder back to the park.

Watch the interview below and check out more great interviews over on our YouTube channel.

Wonder Park: Imagination and Invention

To celebrate the release of Wonder Park, we've created a brand-new resource to get students aged 7-11 engaged in science, design & technology, maths, and more. 

Over four lessons, our Wonder Park: Imagination and Invention resource will explore the engineering feats that go into building a theme park, introducing concepts such as push and pull, gravity, friction, and size of forces. Developed with support from the Royal Academy of Engineering, the resource will take one of the most exciting things for a young person theme parks and use that excitement to enhance their knowledge and skills across STEM and other curriculum areas. 

Download this great resource below and bring the magic of Wonder Park to your film club or classroom!

Jake reviews Wonder Park 

Wonder Park is a charming animated film directed by David Feiss and tells the story of a theme park within the psyche of young girl June that begins to deteriorate and malfunction as she becomes depressed. 

The film advocates a somewhat positive message; that it is okay for ‘the darkness' to reside within us because it reminds us ‘to look to the light'. However, the film does not encourage an individual with anxiety or depression, or any mental issues, to reach for help, and rather suggests one to fix it themselves - which is not a good message for younger audiences. This is unlike Inside Out which handles the underlying psychology appropriately.

In addition, the film felt extremely nostalgic for me because it called upon other motifs found in films I watched as a child. Yet, this also means that the film was not creative in its story. It was too dependent on stylistic and narrative elements practised in The Incredibles and Moana. It seems that the film is ‘cashing in' on old tropes rather than forging new paths. This is not an important factor, however, for younger audiences. 

Because of this, the film is a must watch for those who want a ‘feel good' film of immediate pleasure and will certainly spark a conversation with younger audiences. Parents and kids alike should definitely watch this!