Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made is the latest Disney+ Original movie and is based on the popular children’s book. It tells the story of a quirky boy called Timmy Failure, who, operates Total Failure Inc., a Portland detective agency with his imaginary polar bear called “Total”.

Timmy is a strange oddball of a character, who is struggling at school, doesn’t have any friends and generally is in his own little world. Throughout the movie, we get to know Timmy and what he is thinking, due to a constantly monologue that keeps the viewer in his world.

As a child, I had my own imaginary detective agency and used to ride around town on my bike, making notes on people, so I completely related to Timmy and his way of thinking. I understood why he wanted to be left alone, didn’t want friends and preferred his own little world.

And his world is interesting, however this film went a little too far into making him an outsider, making me feel that Timmy just isn’t a great role model for children. He was completely caught up in his own world and this resulted in him often coming across as a unlikeable character. He used his school friends (and I use the word friends lightly) and he had no respect for his elders such as his teachers and mother.  This really showed in the scenes in the damn and at the bank, which showed him in a terrible light.  Though he did have a bit of some redemption by the end of the film, it felt a little forced, when it all comes together with a speech to his school friends and family.

The use of “Total” the Polar Bear was a great help, it provided plenty of humor to the scenes it was in.  The CGI within the movie worked well and must have taken up most of the budget.  There was only a single scene with Timmy falling over a waterfall that looked a bit ropey.

This is an odd movie, which I think kids may enjoy, but it’s not something I imagine older viewers are not going to enjoy. While I thought it was ok, my wife who watched it with me, thought the film was terrible and didn’t like Timmy at all.  And this might be one of the issues for this movie to overcome.

Timmy Failure isn’t your usual Disney kids movie, it’s not super fluffy or sugary sweet, it’s odd and different.   And that’s not a bad thing, Disney+ subscribers should certainly make their own minds up by watching it. It’s a solid and enjoyable kids movie but it’s not going to be for everyone.

Rating – 3 Stars

Roger Palmer

Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom. Email: Roger@WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com Twitter: Twitter.com/RogPalmerUK Facebook: Facebook.com/rogpalmeruk

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