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j a n u a r y . f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 5 c g w 2 7 he title of the feature film says it all. Strange Magic, based on an idea by George Lucas of Star Wars fame, is an animated madcap musical love story aimed at tween girls, an unexpected combination. The magic is in the telling. This is the second film for which Lucas has told a story through song choices. For his pre-Star Wars film, the award-winning American Graf- fiti, song choices were crucial to the storytelling – songs not written for the film, but drawn from the culture. So, too, for Strange Magic's soundtrack, which weaves songs from six decades into a story. The title song, Electric Light Orchestra's "Strange Magic," traces back to 1975. Other tunes include those made famous by singers ranging from Elvis Presley to Kelly Clark- son, Beyonce, and Lady Gaga, in genres that include heavy metal, reggae, rock 'n' roll, R&B, and pop. "I made American Graffiti because I wanted to sit in the editing room and have a good time," Lucas says. "I love music, all kinds of music. I wondered if I could tell a love story by stringing love songs together to tell the story. This movie gets me back to that pre-Star Wars period." The Strange Magic story begins with the Fairy Princess Marianne and Prince Charming singing "I Can't Help Falling In Love." But when Marianne learns the prince is not so charming aer all, she rejects love and becomes a warrior princess – just in time to help rescue her naïve sister Dawn from the Bog King who rules the dark forest. Producer Mark Miller describes the film as farcical fairy tale inspired by Shakespeare's "A Mid- summer Night's Dream" in which characters and creatures of all shapes and sizes fall in love with the most unlikely candidates. "It's a fairy tale and love story told in a different way," Miller says. "It's not snarky. It's about finding beauty and love in unex- pected places." The voice actors for the film sing the soundtrack: Alan Cum- ming as the Bog King, Evan Ra- chel Wood is the fairy Marianne, Meredith Anne Bull is Marianne's T Images ©2015 Lucasfilm, Inc. Courtesy Industrial Light & Magic.