"Everything is not what it seems"...or so sings Selena Gomez (Only Murderers in the Building) in the theme song for Wizards of Waverly Place and the new reboot, Wizards Beyond Waverly Place. That's right! The Russo family is back!!!! Well, at least Justin Russo (David Henrie; Reagan) is back full-time and is living on Staten Island. He leads a very normal, suburban life with a wife and two kids but, of course, nothing is ever normal with the Russo Family, especially when Alex Russo arrives on the scene to visit her brother and ask him for a favor.
Justin, his wife, Giada (Mimi Gianopulos; What To Expect When You're Expecting), and their two sons, Roman (Alkali Thiele; I'll Be There) and Milo (Max Manteko; Platonic) have a nice home in New York. Justin is a middle school Assistant Principal after being fired from being the Headmaster of Wiz Tech and no longer practices witchcraft. In fact, his family doesn't know what he and Alex really are. When Alex shows up at the house unexpectedly one day, Justin isn't sure what to think. However, once he meets Billie (Janice LeAnn Brown; Euphoria), Alex explains that she needs Justin to train Billie. Initially reluctant, Justin eventually agrees and Billie becomes his magical student. The ensuing "magical mishaps" are funny and campy while Billie innocently challenges Justin at every turn.
Henrie is the same goofy, dorky, lovable older brother we remember from the original series. Of course, Justin is now older and wiser and Henrie fits into the parental role as if he was born to play a father, but then he always had that "big brother" role for Alex and Max. Gianopulos does well with the comedic one-liners but her acting skills leave a little to be desired. Thiele and Manteko have a natural brotherly banter that is a classic trademark of the Wizard's franchise. Brown is solid as a witch in training, but her dialogue and mannerisms are very reminiscent of Alex.
The production value wavers between cheesy and hi-tech as the monster Billie conjures up in the first episode looks like a Jim Henson muppet from the 1960s, while the phantom "mist" lurking around Staten Island in a later episode was clearly CGI-generated. The effects used to create the rippling mirrors used as wizarding doorways are well done, but the pumpkin monster is as low-tech as they come, with shiny streamers utilized as pumpkin guts. Younger viewers won't find them scary, but older ones will roll their eyes as they groan at the effects. In a society programmed to the latest in CGI showing on a movie screen, Wizards' budget and audience demands a toned-down version, which the production team clearly caters to.
Wizards Beyond Waverly Place offers the same unauthentic, moral lessons as the original show, as well as many other pre-teen geared fare on television, but does it with a similar look and feel as the original. Turning Justin into a wizard teacher was a smart move, but promoting the show as both Justin and Alex is misleading, as Gomez will be only an occasional guest of the show, as possibly will the other Russos, should they decide they even want to be. A real treat would be to see Alex's best friend, Harper (Jennifer Stone; The In-Between) pop by for an episode as well.
This reboot looks and feels almost the same as the original and, as the saying goes, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Well, Disney definitely took those words to heart, and fans of the original will be happy with Wizards Beyond Waverly Place.
Grade: B