This article discusses the ending of the Netflix film Too Old for Fairytales and will contain spoilers.
The film begins with Waldek and his friends competing in an online gaming competition, and losing. All Waldi wants in life is to win and become a professional gamer. Now this isn’t going to happen when his mother is incredibly ill and his crazy great aunt comes to live and look after him. Why? Because now he has to grow up. The messages throughout this film were confusing at times.
Basically this film is about a young, overweight gamer kid who is forced to put down the controller and breathe the fresh air. He’s taught how to cook, clean, play outside activities, all whilst he wants to take part in one serious online competition. I think this film is trying to show children and adults that there is so much more to life than being consumed by an online virtual world. A hint at parents not to raise their children to be inadequate humans who can’t look after themselves if something should happen to them. Then a hint to children that there’s more to life than video games.
Whilst online gaming and other social media forms can be very lucrative and fulfilling careers, one must be able to also live and function in the real world. That’s one message I took from this.
The storyline of his mother being ill, and having chemo for cancer, fades in and out and at times doesn’t feel like it serves a purpose until the end. It is a sad story line, but it doesn’t help Waldi in growing up, if anything he seems more spoiled and immature. There is this underlying attack on the mother as if she is a smother — a controlling mother who won’t let Waldi grow up, and it takes the aunt coming in and shaking things up for them to realise this.
The aunt is a freeing character, who resembles the likes of Mary Poppins and Nanny McPhee, and clearly finds herself in a predicament where she wants to be free as a bird but has to help her family. This is why when Waldi threw his application letter for the competition away, I had a sneaky feeling it wasn’t going to stay in the trash.
Netflix film Too Old for Fairytales ending explained
Towards the end of the film, the mother gets some good results, and she says that everything’s going to be okay. You can tell she’s hiding the truth to protect the people she loves — but this really only hurts them in the end. Waldi has baked a cake (irony) for his family, and whilst eating he is surprised with the news that his gamer team “The Three Kings” has been accepted into a tournament (surprise!) The last ten minutes circle back to the kids taking part in the competition, but this time winning and celebrating, holding up a giant cup, and Waldi reflecting on his life.
There are two final comparison shots, one of the crazy aunt skydiving, being the free bird she’s always wanted to be and Waldi and his friends boarding a plane for the first time by themselves. Also showing how he’s going to soar through the air and be free.
Life is full of tests, full of dreams, old and new, and there are always going to be ups and downs. Waldi says that his life has recently been a time of fear and anxiety, which isn’t the setting for a fairy-tale, but he got through it because he wasn’t alone. I think this film is ultimately trying to say that no matter how bad things seem, everything can and will be okay, and that’s a nice message to take away.
What did you think of the Netflix film Too Old for Fairytales, and the ending? Comment below.
