Disney+’s World’s Best is a charming, cute, and fun movie that offers inspiration for everyone to be who they are, no matter what others think.
Something Disney+ has always been good about is offering films that both kids and parents can enjoy, and that is exactly what you get with World’s Best. Brainchild of Utkarsh Ambudkar, Jamie King, and Timothy Visentin, this movie follows middle schooler Prem (Manny Magnus) as he tries to discover what makes him who he is for a math assignment.
His father Suresh (Utkarsh Ambudkar) has recently passed away. In an effort to learn more about him, he asks his mother Priya (Punam Patel) about him. This is how he learns his father was an MC, which encourages Prem to try his hand at rapping as well.
Even though Prem has always been known for his math skills, he decides to branch out and learn more about himself, and his father, through rhyme. He dives headfirst into his imagination, where he delivers massive hip-hop performances with his late father.
These are easily the best part of the film as each one is sure to tell a part of the story, while also giving viewers bars that will be stuck in their brains and dance moves they will be trying to learn. Kids will be hooked, and likely will be able to memorize the lyrics and dances, while parents just sit on the couch bopping their heads along to the beat.
Both Manny and Utkarsh are phenomenal in these sequences. It is clear they spent a lot of time rehearsing and learning to get in sync with one another. It is easy to believe they really are father and son, having a blast performing together.
All of that being said, the rapping is only a part of World’s Best. Prem’s new passion flips his world upside down. Struggling with grief and anger about his father’s passing, he uses this as a way to feel closer to him. However it ultimately pulls him apart from others including new and old friends, as well as his mother.
Even with predictable plot points weaved into a fairly generic story, there are some heavy emotional beats that might cause a few tears in some viewers — especially the parents or those who have lost someone close to them. It is easy to fall in love with Prem, and root for him with all of your being, even when he treats others poorly.
As a parent, I can appreciate when his father tells him that he has gone too far. Knowing his dad is in fact no longer with him, this means that Prem had the smarts to know he was going down the wrong path, and uses his dad’s words to pull him back to the right one.
Overall, World’s Best is extremely entertaining thanks to some earworm tracks, killer dance performances, and a decent story with important life lessons. It takes a long time to know who you truly are — if you ever truly figure it out. At the same time, we never stop growing, and should never be afraid of trying new things.
World’s Best is charming, exciting, and a whole lot of fun. Oh, and be sure to stay through the credits.
Rating: 3 out of 5
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About World’s Best
In the midst of navigating the tumultuous hardships of adolescence, 12-year-old mathematics genius Prem Patel discovers his recently deceased father was a famous rapper and immediately sets out to pursue a career for himself as a rap superstar.
While his recent actions may appear reckless and the quickest way for him to lose everything, Prem, empowered by imaginative hip- hop music-fueled fantasies where he performs with his father, is determined to find out if hip-hop truly is in his DNA. As his father always used to say, “the world’s best never rest.”
World’s Best is streaming on Disney+ now.
Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. On Camera personality and TV / Film Critic with 10+ years of experience in video editing, writing, editing, moderating, and hosting.