rorymacveigh I have a strong feeling that this is Germany's way of getting back at America for past discrepancies, of which I will not go too deeply into, but either way, this film is so bad, so utterly putrid, it falls straight off the edge of my bad movie category and into the darkest depths of the oblivion. Let me explain.First, for a story about how Christopher Columbus produced his theory on how the World was round and how new worlds may exist beyond the horizon, it seems to have absolutely nothing to do with that. Instead a bookworm who just magically happens to know everything tells Columbus that the World is round, which sends him to the King and Queen with his theory. Oh and apparently the Queen has a crush on him, but that's another story. In the first few minutes, you'd probably have noticed this film suffers from the same problem as Felix the Cat, it cannot be silent for 1 miserable second. There's always talking, always some noise of some description that is almost the equivalent of some guy yelling at you because he thinks that if he's silent he won't be garnering 100% of your attention.So anyway, Christopher Columbus is given his ship and told to find the New World. Meanwhile, the story takes another divergence into the realms of stupidity as the Bookworm comes across a firefly trapped in a Chandelier, it turns out she is a Princess who possesses a magic light that is wanted by a Swarm Lord. Think we're getting a bit off topic at this point? According to the idiots who wrote this we're retracing the moments of history step by delirious step. Anyway, the Swarm Lord comes out of nowhere and steals her away to his land across the sea, which just so happens to be the USA.The next day they set sail and the bookworm tells Columbus about his predicament, which somehow Columbus believes and decides to change the goal from discovering the New World to an elaborate Rescue Mission of a bug he probably doesn't even know exists, but for some reason he is just so obliviously accepting of all these inconceivable facts. As the voyage continues, and after a ridiculous dream sequence which could only be thought up by someone with an unknown mental illness, the crew lose faith in his judgement and try to hang him. But as timing would have it, the ship strikes on the shores of the New World just as he's being hung out to dry.Wearing nothing but his boxers, Columbus, the bookworm and their new found talking Beaver friend go to a nearby Aztec temple that is controlled by the Swarm Lord and they attempt to break the Princess free. Through what can only be described as a collection of idiotic antics by the protagonists, they manage to destroy the temple and save the Princess, only to be confronted by the natives. The natives were in fact honouring the Swarm Lord themselves and so they are eternally grateful to Columbus for destroying it. And thus the story ends.There you have it folks, the most idiotic representation of the discovery of America. This and a collection of terrible editing, worthless scriptwriting, inconsistent animation and more noise than a concert by Queen, makes this film genuine in the sense that it is so bad.Personally, I think Alvin Seville from Alvin and the Chipmunks had a more believable story that Columbus did in fact cross the Atlantic aboard the Titanic before falling off the edge of the Earth only to find he didn't fall off the edge of the Earth and his soul purpose for finding the New World was to flog T-shirts. You know, I can actually relate to a story like that, because it is told in a way you can actually get your head around, unlike the garbage that was made for film that just takes history and drowns it in its own bathtub.

goldknight69 Columbus is probably the wildest character I can name! The movie for what it's worth can be entertaining, if you don't mind its humble animation (although some of the still paintings are refreshing after being submerged with all the CGI of today), basic story and loose adaptation of history. I mean if anyone gripes about the plot or the voices, just enjoy it for Columbus's character! There are SO many hilarious quotes from that guy (I don't know if such highlights are considered "spoilers" because it's not key to the plot or anything of that nature, but I think I'd rather play it safe) like "So that's what happened to Fishy," and "Who turned out the gold?" I mean he is so wacky, he single-handedly steals the movie from start to end! If you can "go with the flow", I'm sure you'll get a kick out of it, and certainly a few hoots and hollers from Columbus. In fact, it may be the only reason people still observe Columbus Day!

billgh4 I have given this film five stars because it is worthy of both a one and a ten.It deserves one star because it is one of the lowest, most ill-conceived, pathetic films I have ever seen. But it deserves ten stars as well. Because in being one of the sloppiest and most absurd films ever made, it is certainly one of the most comical.I had remembered this film from my childhood, but after viewing it at the age of seventeen, I gained an entirely new perspective of this film. I purchased it with the interest that it might bring back memories. But it is now a gem in my collection, one of the most entertaining motion pictures I have ever witnessed or ever will witness.It would be a misconception to clump this film with other films labeled 'so-bad-it's-good.' Rather, what makes this film enjoyable is its utter preposterousness; it crosses the boundaries of a typical children's film into the bizarre and surreal. One user hit the nail on the head when commenting on this film, saying that the viewer is led to ask the question: 'Why?' The dialogue is clumsily splattered all over the place. Every other line is something that could easily be thrown out, some of which touch into some realm of absurdity never to be revisited throughout the film. At other times, entire segments of dialogue seem completely unnecessary. It seems as if the voice actors were not only poorly improvising the script, but were also clueless as to what the story involved.The characters are completely senseless. Columbus, in particular, is hardly a character at all. Though they initially portray him as an ambitious explorer, the character gradually goes downhill as the film progresses, until the end of the film, at which point he has transformed into a raving madman running around in his underwear. 'Gold! Gold!!' he shouts gluttonously, his eyeballs shifting into all sorts of phantasmagorical shapes. One moment, he is clambering through the forest in search of gold, and the next moment he is paralyzed with fear, offering the other characters meaningless quips and puns. Meanwhile, he scrambles through the forest screeching maniacally, adding nothing to the plot save for absolute chaos.Generally, the film seems to dismantle as it goes on. The events within the plot grow more useless with every scene. By the fiery climax of the movie, it has all been reduced to pitiful bedlam. All that can be heard are the angry bellows from the evil 'Swarm Lord,' and the incessant wailing of Columbus. While the film seems to draw toward the dramatic demise of the evil 'Swarm Lord,' it is all ended when Columbus plummets down and inadvertently squashes the great swarm of bugs with his 'gold.' A squishing noise is heard; 'Hey! You squished the Swarm Lord!' says 'Bob the Beaver' in his Eeyore-like voice, since this abrupt turn of events would be completely undecipherable without such an explanation. The conflict has ended suddenly and unexpectedly.Without a doubt, it is a ridiculously poorly-made film, but those who are fond of absurdity are sure to love it. Moments of senselessness amount to great moments of comedy. Therefore, I recommend this film to anyone who is not a small child, and who feels ready for some laughs. If you begin to watch this film, and it does not seem promising at first, all you have to do is wait; watch as a seemingly innocent children's movie turns into a boiling pot of mayhem.

LAsh100000 Recently for my birthday, I bought the DVD for "The Magic Voyage", which I recalled being one of my favorite movies during my childhood. Whenever we had lessons on Columbus in elementary school, my classmates & I would often watch this. Being the easily-impressed girl that I was, I loved every minute of "The Magic Voyage", & even now, at the age of 19, I am not ashamed to say that I still greatly enjoy watching it.Of course, I know that the Columbus story as portrayed in the film is quite different from what we've been taught in history class, but of course, the "artistic licenses" are what keep this movie--any movie, for that matter--fun & entertaining, not to mention interesting. It makes me wonder sometimes why people complain so, so much about the "technical inaccuracies" in "Pocahontas", "Anastasia", "The Prince Of Egypt", & other animated movies based (at least somewhat) on true stories...these are the *movie* versions, you guys. Just watch & enjoy! Additionally, in my humble opinion, while the animation in "The Magic Voyage" is not the best that the world has to offer (putting it nicely), this flaw is redeemed by the entertaining screenplay, the nicely-written songs, the well-done casting, & the enjoyable characters (Christopher, Pico, & Marilyn are my particular favorite members of the cast).Overall, not a bad movie in the slightest. Good to watch on a rainy day or with your kids.