Saw it just now, and it's typical Disney fodder, with bright colours, captivating visuals, endearing characters and maybe too much sentimentality and schmaltziness, but I thought it was OK just the same. I wouldn't really want to see it again, however, once is enough.
But does it really deserve the bashing its been getting?
What a lot of people dislike is that it comes thisclose to the book in some places, but then falls short in the most crucial ones. The book itself is excellent. This is the second time a film adaptation of it has failed, because filmmakers thought they could "improve" on a classic. Too much CGI didn't help, either. It would have benefitted from a "less is more" approach.
shareIf they'd cut the budget by about 80%, it might have been a much better movie. As it is, about 50% of the movie's running time is wasted on special effects and wardrobe and makeup changes for the "Mrs." actresses, and if there had been less of a budget they wouldn't have been able to spend any time on that.
And with no budget, maybe the filmmakers would have put their time and energy into creating suspense, writing clever lines, coming up with character moments that cost next to nothing... that sort of thing.