World’s Best | Disney+ Original Review
“World’s Best” is the latest Walt Disney Studios live-action film that tells the story of 12-year-old mathematics genius Prem Patel, who discovers his recently deceased father was a famous rapper and immediately sets out to pursue a career for himself as a rap superstar, which upsets his mother and friends along the way. Along the way, through his imaginative hip- hop music-fueled fantasies, which see him performing with his late father, Prem finds out if he has hip-hop in his DNA.
As you might expect from a high school drama film from Disney, we’ve got the usual stereotypical American high school plot devices, including a bully and a talent show, which older viewers are going to find rather dull, but for younger viewers, it’ll work, and ultimately this film is targeted for them, rather than adults.
Throughout his journey, he learns more about his late father, but also becomes closer to his mother in the process, plus he learns the true value of friendship. There isn’t really anything surprising in this film, as it’s all very generic and safe.
The film is packed with rap performances, with the majority of them featuring Utkarsh Ambudkar and Manny Magnus, plus there are other performances by the cast. I’m not a huge fan of rap music, so I didn’t really enjoy the original songs in the film, and the lip-syncing looked off throughout the film, which was a little distracting. But the overall presentation is fine for kids, but it feels more like a Disney Channel Original Film than something from Walt Disney Pictures.
“World’s Best” is a feel-good family film, which younger audiences might enjoy, but honestly, for me, it just felt rather dull and is very much the definition of a straight-to-streaming film.
Rating – 2 Out Of 5
“World’s Best” is coming to Disney+ on Friday, 23rd June 2023.