Likability is pretty subjective, but I think that for the age it’s aiming at it makes sense to have a little more conflict around the main dilemma. Shows for elementary school and younger are often “you don’t want to do something? Just do it!” And that maybe makes sense because the audience may be too young to understand nuance, but as you get older you understand that sometimes people’s initial reactions can change and people can grow. It wasn’t just about her learning a lesson, it was about her friends learning to accept her too. They realized their preconceived notions that they were indoctrinated with may not be correct and their relationship with their friend was able to help them grow. If anything it’s about overcoming those feelings, both against others and yourself and the power of community in the process. I’m not saying it’s a perfectly coherent movie, but I think that level of dilemma matches the age range I’d expect to be most interested in the movie. Sometimes you do something scary and it’s not immediately perfect and that’s ok. It’s something you can work towards and that can be overcome. It doesn’t mean it wasn’t worth it, because what would be worse is never embracing who you really are. I think the movie does a good job of at least getting that point across.
Likability is pretty subjective, but I think that for the age it’s aiming at it makes sense to have a little more conflict around the main dilemma. Shows for elementary school and younger are often “you don’t want to do something? Just do it!” And that maybe makes sense because the audience may be too young to understand nuance, but as you get older you understand that sometimes people’s initial reactions can change and people can grow. It wasn’t just about her learning a lesson, it was about her friends learning to accept her too. They realized their preconceived notions that they were indoctrinated with may not be correct and their relationship with their friend was able to help them grow. If anything it’s about overcoming those feelings, both against others and yourself and the power of community in the process. I’m not saying it’s a perfectly coherent movie, but I think that level of dilemma matches the age range I’d expect to be most interested in the movie. Sometimes you do something scary and it’s not immediately perfect and that’s ok. It’s something you can work towards and that can be overcome. It doesn’t mean it wasn’t worth it, because what would be worse is never embracing who you really are. I think the movie does a good job of at least getting that point across.