''The Mystical Adventures of Billy Owens'' is a 2008 Canadian

fantasy film Fantasy films are films that belong to the fantasy genre with fantastic themes, usually magic, supernatural events, mythology, folklore, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered a form of speculative fiction alongside science fiction f ...

, which takes place in

Spirit River, Alberta Spirit River is a town in northern Alberta, Canada. It is approximately north of Grande Prairie at the junction of Highway 49 and Highway 731. Demographics In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Spiri ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, about a boy who discovers on his 11th birthday that he is capable of using magic and must save his town from destruction. This film was presented in two parts under a "To Be Continued" format, with a sequel, ''

Billy Owens and the Secret of the Runes ''Billy Owens and the Secret of the Runes'' is a 2010 fantasy film, a sequel to ''The Mystical Adventures of Billy Owens''. The low-budget film was produced as a mockbuster, capitalizing on the success of Harry Potter (film series), ''Harry Potter' ...

'', which followed in 2010. The film has been referred to as a

knock-off Counterfeit consumer goods (or counterfeit and fraudulent, suspect items - CFSI) are goods, often of inferior quality, made or sold under another's brand name without the brand owner's authorization. Sellers of such goods may infringe on eith ...

to the ''Harry Potter'' franchise.

Plot

Narrated by Mandy (

Ciara O'Hanlon Ciara Princess Wilson ( ; Harris; born October 25, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, model and entrepreneur. She released her debut studio album, '' Goodies'' in 2004, which spawned four singles: " Goodies" (featuring Petey Pab ...

), as she tells the story of her friend Billy Owens, ( Dalton Mugridge) an average boy who has just turned 11. She notes the strangeness of him being born at the stroke of 11 on November 11, which is later discovered to be a number of great power. Billy, along with know-it-all Mandy and their cowardly but loyal best friend Devon ( Christopher Fazio) discover that Billy's family has magical origins, and upon a chance encounter with a mysterious shop keeper (

Roddy Piper Roderick George Toombs (April 17, 1954 – July 31, 2015), better known as "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, was a Canadian professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and actor. In professional wrestling, Piper was best known to international audiences for hi ...

) who Billy buys a wand from for $11, they also find out that he can use the wand to cast magic spells, and together they embark on a journey to save their town of Spirit River from a foretold prophecy and prevent the resurrection of a dragon under the influence of the ancient

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

trickster God

Loki Loki is a god in Norse mythology. According to some sources, Loki is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mentioned as a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi or Na ...

Cast

* Dalton Mugridge - Billy Owens * Ciara O'Hanlon - Mandy Finch * Christopher Fazio - Devon Turner * Jennifer Pearson - Katherine Owens * Jenny Elliott - Principal Gwendolyn Cups * Jordan Goulet - Kurt Nemees *

- William Thurgood * Paul Germs - Victor Mould * Bob Mugridge - William Owens

Critical reception

The film was panned by several critics. DVD Verdict said about the movie "Nothing about this film is the least bit coherent. Nothing. Zero. Zip. Nada. Zilch," and went on to compare the movie's plot line to that of the ''

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...

'' franchise. Common Sense Media gave it one out of five stars, saying "At the end of the day, this is a poorly filmed, poorly executed attempt to get on board the ''Harry Potter'' train".Common Sense Media Review of The Mystical Adventures of Billy Owens. http://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/mystical-adventures-billy-owens The film was panned by both critics for both its poor quality and rushed nature.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mystical Adventures Of Billy Owens 2008 films Canadian children's fantasy films English-language Canadian films 2008 fantasy films 2000s English-language films 2000s Canadian films