Growing up, I loved playing Candy Land. A sugary, fantastical land filled with colorful and exciting characters- what more could a kid ask for in a board game? Not much. However, as I’ve grown older, I see the potential for Candy Land to be the next blockbuster to hit the scene.
You might remember from days of yore, “The Legend of the Lost Candy Castle.” Inside Candy Land boxes contains a tale, describing the mission the players will embark upon. Essentially, it explains that King Kandy disappeared, causing great distress and disruption to the inhabitants of Candy Land. However, all hope is not lost in this mythical world. Princess Lolly of the Lollipop Woods knows a bright young pair, a brother and sister known as the “Candy Land Kids”, who she believes can find her father. The players work under the guise of the Gingerbread Men from the Cookie Patrol and accompany the Candy Land Kids in finding the King, as well as the Lost Castle.
You may ask yourself, ‘how on earth could this dusty old board game become a blockbuster movie?’ I sincerely think that Candy Land could become a fun movie to watch, that could also produce profit because it maintains the elements of an enjoyable film. Nowadays, films are filled with computer-generated imagery (CGI), eliminating any trace of authenticity. Depending on how the film is executed, my ideal Candy Land movie would draw inspiration from Jim Henson’s Dark Crystal (1982) and Labyrinth (1986). In both of these films, Henson utilized artistic puppets, which are crafted with meticulous attention to detail and result in emotive expressions that contribute to the film’s overall mood and visual aesthetics.
One aspect I love about retro fantasy films is the use of hand painted scenes to show a landscape or an intricate lair, for example. The scenes typically have a sort of grit that adds to the ambience and spirit. A Candy Land film would live up to its potential when using this technique, due to the complex and whimsical atmosphere.
In a similar vein, Candy Land has considerable potential regarding the plot. The story added in each box sets the scene and supplies the characters, but there is much more that lies beyond the surface. The story could begin with the two young kids tasked with saving King Kandy, ultimately restoring Candy Land to its former glory. Perhaps these children are born into Candy Land, which could display what a Candy Land school looks like, or maybe the daring pair are sucked into the board game Jumanji-style. While the driving force of the game would translate into the film, the potential lies in the lore and characterization of the people the Candy Land Kids meet. The film would follow the kids on their quest to save King Kandy and restore order in Candy Land, but what if the characters were much more sinister than we are led to believe?
The obvious antagonist, Lord Licorice, has numerous possibilities for his character. Firstly, he lives in Licorice Castle. When I play Candy Land, I imagine a dark, terrifying, nightmarish terrain where the Bitter Chocolate Bats flutter endlessly. Whether you actively notice it or not, colors play an important role in characterization. Candy Land is known to be a light-hearted children’s game, which can inspire the usage of iridescence, pastels, and ethereal palettes, which is seen with Princess Lolly. Contrastly, the use of shades of red including burgundy, maroon, along with sharp grays and blacks could promote Lord Licorice’s menacing persona.
By adding depth and ominous energy to the characters, the audience will be curious and want to know more about why the characters seem off. If I were writing the screenplay, I would consider how trustworthy the characters should be. When you’re a kid playing the board game, it’s very black and white: Lord Licorice is bad, but the other characters are good. From a creative writing perspective, the story would be infinitely more interesting if the Candy Land Kids realize they are in danger, and that not everyone or everything is what they seem. The benevolent Queen Frostine may be plotting her climb to power. After all, she is a queen and King Kandy is missing. With everything gone awry in Candy Land, this could be her chance to seize control. Similarly, Gloppy could be a trap so travelers are stuck in molasses; Gramma Nutt could resemble the grandmother from Hansel and Gretel, Jolly the Official Gumdrop Mountain Greeter, Mr. Mint, the Gingerbread Men, and Plumpy could each work against the kids as they race to save the king.
However, if that is not the desired direction for the creator, then crafting an eccentric world that revives childhood nostalgia would sell just as well and would be equally entertaining, in my opinion. As someone who did play Candy Land often as a kid, seeing the game come to life and watching the kids traverse across the dessert terrain would be amusing. If this was the chosen course of action, the plot would remain simple: the Candy Land Kids must find King Kandy, and as they travel they visit each character along the way they must be cautious not to fall off the path or get stuck. In the game, if you pull a certain card and land on a square with a dot on it, you cannot move again until you pull another card with the same color you are currently on; which I would enjoy seeing translated into a movie. Likewise, I have many questions I would like answered in the movie, like why exactly do the kids have to save the king and why does the king’s absence cause things to fall apart?
Another point I would like to make is, Candy Land does not only have the potential to be a film, but a musical. Imagine if Lord Licorice had his own solo, it would reach number one on Spotify, guaranteed. Jokes aside, the musical score for a film like Candy Land could be dreamy, epic, and adventurous. Look at how catchy the theme for NeverEnding Story is!
Every film needs a cast, and my dream cast for a Candy Land film would include: Johnny Depp as Lord Licorice, Margo Martindale as Gramma Nutt, Josh Gad as Jolly, Cate Blanchett as Queen Frostine, Danny Devito as Plumpy, Alexandra Shipp as Princess Lolly, Kurt Russell as King Kandy, Michael Cera as Mr. Mint, and John Goodman as Gloppy.
In the end, successful stories feature a theme; something for the audience to adhere to and remember. If the Candy Land Kids come to learn throughout the film that what they perceive to be a heavenly utopia is really an illusion, it can teach people to examine if things or people are truly what they seem. Or, if this beloved game returns as a nostalgic revival movie, it can teach us to remember the sweet things in life.
