Review: "Magicampers" Has the Colors and Whimsy of a Pre-School Hit, But More Entertaining Aspects Get Lost Along the Way

There were two series that were promised for Disney Jr. and Disney+ around the same time, one of which has already debuted when Beddy Byes arrived earlier this month. Now, the second of those shows, Magicampers, has arrived on Disney+ after debuting on March 23 on Disney Jr.

The show, aimed at preschoolers, promises to follow the adventures of best friends Darly and Loomis at a day camp for magical creatures on a fantastical island. Each of the child animals are magical mashups - Darly is a half-pig and half-Pegasus (so yes, this pig can fly), and Loomis is a half-donkey and half-unicorn. They are surrounded by friends that are also mythical mashups.

"Friends." That's kind of a fun word, right? Usually in preschool shows everyone seems to be a "friend" unless they are a clear villain - like those found in the Marvel branded preschool shows. Oddly, Magicampers has a friend group but seems to focus on solely Darly and Loomis as the heart of the show. Which is fine, until you introduce another character - Dracoon - who is their "friend" but also adversarial. He learns to work with them in his appearances in the series, but before those moments, his presence is full of one-upmanship and what some might even consider to be bullying. Which, frankly, caused an immediate double check of the target age range for the show.

Their other friends are a group of regulars that seem to come and go throughout the episodes, and the audience is expected not only to know who they are but also what their magical abilities are too. The same can be said of the very first episode with Darly and Loomis themselves. I literally double-checked on the Disney+ platform to make sure I didn't miss an episode. Alas, I did not.

Perhaps other shows have spoiled me, where a character might say "Oh hey Timmy, you know how to turn water into magical beans, can you help us?" and boom, I have everything I need to move on not knowing who that character was. Instead, we have our leads "Let's go find our friend. Hey Tim!" and then he's there.

The theme song sets up the idea of magical mythical mash-up creatures in this fantastical locale, but doesn't do any kind of intro to the characters either. I understand that it's a preschool show and needs to standalone on its own, episode to episode, but even with just two episodes (of six currently available on the platform), I found myself questioning "who is that?", or "what is their power?" The target audience might not have those questions, but the elder end of the demo might.

Music is not featured in each episode either, and each tale rounds out with Circle Time, where the Magicampers all gather around Treeny (voiced by Uzo Aduba) and recap the lesson of the day as each of the animals tries to be added to the Book of Legends. There seems to be the idea of trying to be a legend doesn't make you a legend, and accepting oneself for who they are. However, they are added to the Book of Legends anyway, so that lesson might come off as unclear.

The animation is catchy with bright colors and the unique look of each of the characters, and will surely be able to to grasp the attention of the younger eyeballs. The actual content of the show might leave them (and their parents) wanting more. I give Magicampers 2.5 out of 5 pages in the Book of Legends.

Magicampers is now on Disney+ and Disney Jr.