Wonder Park

“Splendiferous” is an exclamation favored by multiple characters in Wonder Park, although it’s doubtful moviegoers will share that enthusiasm.

This animated adventure never captures the same excitement as the theme-park thrill rides at its core, and doesn’t offer much emotional depth in its quieter moments, either.

It centers on June (voiced by Brianna Denski), a precocious young girl with an understandable fascination with amusement parks. In fact, she’s conceived an entire park in her head, known as Wonderland, staffed entirely by anthropomorphic animals.

June bonds with her supportive mother (Jennifer Garner) by building an elaborate model of the park inside their home, to the envy of her friends. But when mom is later diagnosed with a serious illness and goes away for treatment, June becomes withdrawn and depressed, telling her father (Matthew Broderick) that Wonderland is dead forever.

That changes when June later finds herself magically transported to a forest that houses an actual Wonderland, which has become dilapidated and occupied by a brainwashed band of Chimpanzombies. She teams up with the remaining animals — including a narcoleptic blue bear, a bashful porcupine, a sharp-tongued warthog, and two speedy chipmunks — to revive the park and her own downtrodden spirit.

Despite that nonsense, the first half of the story is a well-intentioned look at how preteens cope with tragedy. For much of the final hour, however, it relies on the familiar tactic of filling the screen with as much mayhem as possible in an effort to target viewers with short attention spans.

That might be more appealing without the flat computer animation, which lacks the vibrancy and detail dictated by today’s lofty standards. Plus, the narrative feels aimless, as though several kid-friendly concepts were mashed together without much regard for pacing or convenience.

Small children might be amused by some of the slapstick animal antics. The film also celebrates childhood innocence and the power of imagination, which is what could draw in younger viewers who can identify with the mischievous protagonist.

There’s not much nostalgic value for accompanying adults who might fondly recall when children played outside every day and enjoyed constructing things with their hands. Instead, Wonder Park hardly lives up to its title.

Rated PG, 85 minutes.