Upside Down Magic (2020)

Upside Down Magic (2020) Full Recap

While staring out the window of her room, a girl named Nory sees the kids in her neighborhood doing different things that they’re good at. She looks disappointed because she's yet to discover her own thing, and she also thinks about her late mom. As she keeps looking around the neighborhood, she sees a cat outside her house and seems drawn to it. The cat also stares at her, and as she looks at it closely, she starts developing whiskers.

This leaves her confused, but before she realizes what's happening, she starts turning into a cat, and her dad, Augustus, sees this just as he enters her room with a box. Augustus drops the box immediately, and as he looks confused, he sees Nory turn into a cat with wings. Years later, Nory gets accepted into a magical school called Sage Academy, and she looks quite excited as she records a video with her friend, Reina, who also has magical powers. Nory says her friend will be a superstar at Sage Academy, but Reina has doubts about this.

Nory then cheers Reina up and tells her friend to show her viewers what she can do already, even without proper training. Reina asks if Nory has any particular requests, and she says she wants to see the Sparkle fireball. Just then, Reina creates a fireball with her hands, and Nory looks excited. She also mentions that she knows Reina will be a top student at Sage Academy.

Reina believes they'll both be great, and she tells Nory to show her powers too. Just then, Nory turns into a kitten that looks like a kangaroo and a beaver. Nory looks disappointed because she only wanted to transform into a kitten, and she talks about how she has no control over what she turns into. As she says that whenever she thinks of a cat, she turns into a terrifying abomination, Reina tells her not to worry about it because that's why they're going to Sage.

She adds that Sage will teach Nory to be the best abomination she could possibly be. The next day, Augustus takes Nory to the drop-off spot for the kids going to Sage. After waiting for a while without seeing a bus, Nory looks quite restless, and Augustus notices that she’s nervous. He then tells her that it's natural to feel nervous, and even her late mom used to talk about how she felt that way when she was about to go to Sage.

This makes Nory feel better, and Augustus says he's sure she'll do well at Sage. Just then, a man named Budd appears through the woods and tells all the parents to leave their kids, who will have to come with him. After this, Budd leads the kids back into the woods, and he even tries to scare them by saying that the forest is filled with several mysterious creatures. On the way, Nory and Reina see a boy named Andres, who is wearing a hoodie and walking alone.

Reina suggests talking to him, and Nory says it's a good idea. As she moves close to him to introduce herself, Andres just walks faster, and Nory realizes that he's probably a loner. Shortly after, Budd and the kids reach a point in the woods where they see a mysterious hole. Budd then tells the kids to come with him, but as he walks into the hole, Reina looks scared and doesn't think she can do it.

However, Nory encourages her and walks into the hole with her. Interestingly, the hole happens to be a portal leading to Sage, and the kids look amazed when they get to the school. Reina also sees some kids who can do tricks with fire, and she starts doubting herself again. Nory then makes Reina feel better by saying that her friend has the best trick, and she's also a flame-throwing rockstar.

Shortly after, all the kids enter the school building and meet the headmaster, Ms Knightslinger, who mentions that they've all been accepted because they've displayed a measure of magical talent. She adds that they'll now learn to develop their powers correctly in the Sage way. After this, she takes the kids to a hall, where she talks about the five distinct schools at Sage. The schools include: Fuzzies, who can communicate with the animal kingdom; Flickers, who can make an object come to them with the flick of a hand; Flares, who can harness the power of fire; Flyers, who can fly; and Fluxers, who have the power to transform into any animal at will.

Nory looks excited when she hears this, and she calls herself a Fluxer. Knightslinger doesn't like being interrupted, but she tells all the kids that even though they all have magical powers, they'll still be required to take a placement test to see if they qualify for the Honors level classes. Nory and Reina look surprised, but Knightslinger just chuckles loudly. After a while, Knightslinger enters the assessment room and sits with the other professors at Sage.

Just then, the Flares are called in first, and they're given a simple task of lighting a candle. This happens to be quite easy for many of the students, but a boy named Elliot eventually messes up by producing smoke from his hand instead of fire. As the judges get uncomfortable with the smoke, Knightslinger calls Elliot the first lost cause of the day. After this, Reina is called in next, and she easily lights the candle.

The judges look impressed, and they give her a card just like they've given everyone else. Next up, the Fuzzies are told to ask a dog a series of questions, which the judges already know the answers to. All the Fuzzy kids do quite well, and the Flickers are called up next. They're told to move a vase toward themselves from six feet away.

This happens to be quite easy, but a girl named Pepper only manages to push the vase toward the judges. Knightslinger doesn't look impressed, and after Pepper leaves, the Fliers are called in next to fly off the ground. Andres happens to be in this category, and as he takes off his bag containing some rocks, he flies higher than the required mark. Knightslinger doesn't like this, and as she tells him to come back down, she realizes that he can't.

She then calls Budd to bring in a ladder, and after this, Andres puts his bag back on and leaves. For the Fluxers, they're told to turn into a grey kitten. Nory ends up being the only student who fails to do it correctly, and she turns into a flying kitten. Shortly after, Knightslinger comes outside with all the professors, and she tells the students to look at the cards in their hands to figure out which honors class they'll be joining.

As Reina opens her card, she sees that she's now in the Flare class, but Nory sees the letters UDM written on hers. She assumes that it's an error, but before she can ask Knightslinger about this, the headmaster tells all the kids to head to their respective classes. Just then, Knightslinger sees Nory walking with Reina, and the headmaster quickly calls her back and shows her where the UDM class is. Nory sees that it's in the woods, and as she looks confused, Reina asks if she'll be fine.

Nory says she will, and after Reina walks away, she follows the directions to the UDM class, which happens to be in a secret bunker in the woods. When she gets to the entrance, she sees Budd, who tells her to come in. As Nory enters the bunker, Budd gives her the UDM uniform, but she looks confused because she thought she was going to get cool jackets and hoodies like the other kids. Budd says she can wear her own cool jacket and hoodie, but Nory still wonders if they don't have a special color.

Budd says they don't, and that she needs to sit down already. He also introduces himself and says that he's in charge of the UDM. Nory still looks confused, but Elliot asks if she also failed the placement exam like him, Pepper, and Andres. Nory says she blew their minds in the hall, and Budd mentions that he's sure she failed just like others.

He adds that they all have weird, defective magic, and that no one knows why it happens. He then mentions that they're now in the School of Upside-Down Magic, or UDM. Nory says she believes she shouldn't be there, but Budd mentions that she's right where she belongs. Pepper then asks if they'll still get to do magic, but Budd says they'll only learn normal schoolwork.

Elliot sounds disappointed, but Budd says that his job is to keep the students productive, and to be the groundskeeper and handle general maintenance issues. Nory then asks why they can't do magic in the UDM class, but before Budd responds, Knightslinger interrupts him and says that their magic is wrong. Nory believes they should be able to change that in the UDM class, but Knightslinger says they're never going to learn how to do it right. She adds that upside-down magic will never be right, and in Sage's eyes, they're simply unteachable.

Elliot asks what will happen to them, and Knightslinger says they have to stay in the UDM class and wait for their magic to disappear. The kids look shocked, but Knightslinger says that magic is like a muscle, and if they don't use it, it will wither away. She adds that when they lose their magical powers, they'll be sent back into the world where they can get normal jobs and live a normal life. Nory doesn't understand why Sage is doing that to them, and Knightslinger says it's to protect humanity.

As she seems pissed, she explains that UDMs were previously treated like normal students until 1939. That year, Sage accepted a boy named Reginald to join the Flares even though he could only shoot fire through his butt. Nory and the other kids find this funny, but Knightslinger says that Reginald's failure to use his powers correctly made him the perfect host for shadow magic. Knightslinger explains that shadow magic is the dark side of normal magic, and it only exists to cause chaos and anarchy.

She eventually mentions that Sage was able to overcome the beast Reginald had become, but it wasn't easy at all. She then mentions that shadow magic cannot work without a human host. She adds that UDMs are its sole target because the crack in their powers is what makes it easy for shadow magic to seep in. As she refers to the kids as cracked fruits, they look disappointed, but she insists that they’ll stay in the UDM class until their powers disappear.

After she leaves the class, Budd tells the kids to take down some notes on how to deal with the pain of having their dreams crushed. While the others jot down Budd's points, Nory writes that she'll do everything she can to make her magic turn right-side up so she can become a real fluxer. Elsewhere, Reina attends a class taught by the professor of the Flares, Argon. Reina seems quite nervous in class, but she continues paying attention to Argon, who mentions that anyone who fails to live up to their potential will be demoted.

She adds that in a few weeks, Sage will be celebrating its annual founder's day, and as part of the festivities, there will be a student presentation. According to Argon, each school will have to select its top two first-year students to compete in a head-to-head battle, which is called a Sage Match. The winner from each school will then get to perform for the alumni and all of Sage in the Founder's Day presentation. After this, Argon talks about flaring, and she calls Reina out to come and do something in front of the class.

Reina looks shocked, but Argon tells her to make some popcorn. She adds that lighting a candle is pretty easy, but making popcorn requires real skill. Following this, Reina decides to try it, and even though she starts doing well, she suddenly gets distracted when she sees a boy named Phillip looking at her like she's doing it wrong. Reina eventually burns the popcorn, and Argon scolds her for this.

Reina says it's probably first-day jitters, but Argon doesn't like this excuse because she believes everyone only gets one chance at making their first day wonderful. Reina looks disappointed as she heads to her seat, and a girl named Chandra, who is standing outside the class, smiles when she sees this. The next day, Budd takes the kids out of the UDM bunker, and Pepper asks if they aren't supposed to be learning something. Budd jokes that it's better to be outside, and that he has a big surprise for them.

The kids seem curious to know what he's talking about, and he shows them some brooms inside a small shed. Nory looks excited because she thinks it's a flying broom, and she quickly grabs one to try it. Just as she falls down, Budd tells her that it's not a flying broom. He adds that the brooms are meant for the kids to sweep the school premises and keep it clean.

They look disappointed by this, and Pepper wonders how that's a big surprise. Shortly after, while Nory is sweeping, she gets close to the Fluxer class and hears their professor, Han, talking about how they need to study an animal and take a mental picture of it before trying to transform into it. As she tells each student to take a close look at a cat, Nory believes doing that might also help her. She then moves close to them, but Han says she's not allowed to join the class.

Nory says she was only sweeping, but before Han says anything else, she grabs the cat and looks at it closely. She then turns into a colorful bird that looks like an elephant, and as Han and the students look shocked, Budd sees this and quickly tries to calm her down. Shortly after, they return to the bunker, and Budd stops Nory from going to the cafeteria for lunch. Nory doesn't get this, but Budd says she has to understand that she can't do what she just did again.

Nory says she wants to prove that she can be better, but Budd mentions that Sage is only protecting her by stopping her from using her powers. Following this, Nory agrees not to do it again, and Budd says she can go to the cafeteria. When she gets there, she sits with her UDM classmates, and Andres says he really liked what she did earlier. Nory and the others look shocked because that's the first time he has talked to them.

Nory then mentions that she's trying to become a real Fluxer. Her classmates don't think she'll be allowed to do that, but Nory says she's already taking her time to study a kitten for her next transformation. As she shows them a drawing of the parts of a kitten in her book, they look impressed, and Andres says he didn't know she could draw. Nory says she can, and Andres and Elliot tell her to draw something that might also help them get better at using their powers.

Pepper doesn't seem interested in this, and Andres sees Reina walking toward their table to meet Nory. Before she gets there, Argon tells her to go back, but she mentions that Nory is her best friend. Argon doesn't seem to care, and she says that going close to Nory is the best opportunity for Reina to lose focus and fall further behind in her studies. Reina looks disappointed, and as she returns to her seat, Nory finds this weird.

As Nory then continues talking to her classmates, she says she wants to participate in the Founder's Day presentation so she can prove to everyone that UDMs can be taught to do magic right. Andres says he believes in her, and Nory looks happy about this. Meanwhile, Chandra sees Reina sitting alone and looking lonely, and this makes her smile. Days later, Nory continues trying to perfectly draw the parts of a kitten, and Reina practices making popcorn several times.

However, the two girls start missing each other because it has been a while since they saw or spoke. The next day, in the Flares class, Phillip makes a perfect bowl of popcorn, and Argon commends him. She then calls Reina to compete against Phillip to see if she can get a better result. As Reina does this, Argon says it's not perfect, and that she's second-best.

Reina looks disappointed, and after the class ends, she bumps into Chandra, who says she did well in class. Reina says she's still second-best, but Chandra mentions that Argon lacks vision. She adds that she's sure Reina has more power in her little finger than Phillip has in his whole body. Reina looks pleased, and Chandra introduces herself.

She also says that if Reina ever wants to learn how to harness all the power she has, there's something that can help. Reina doesn't know what this means, but Chandra just walks away. Shortly after, while Reina is reading a book outside, Nory comes over to meet her. They both look happy to see each other, and Reina asks why Nory is with a broom.

Nory doesn't want her friend to know what the UDMs really do, so she mentions that it's part of a top-secret training program. Reina then mentions that it seems Nory has already made some new friends. Nory says she has, and she asks if Reina is also making friends and acing her classes. Reina doesn't feel ready to open up about her struggles, and she says that things have been really amazing.

The girls eventually run out of things to talk about, and they head separate ways. Later that night, after Reina finishes reading a book in the library, she takes it back to the shelf. However, as she drops the book, another one from the same section suddenly pops out. Reina looks shocked by this, and as she keeps moving her book, the other one also continues popping out until it eventually falls on the ground.

After Reina picks it up, she sees the words Shadow magic on the cover page. As she opens it, the lights in the library go off, and Reina closes it back and returns it to the shelf. She then goes to grab her things, but she sees the strange book on her table again. Reina doesn't understand what's happening, and she quickly leaves the library.

Meanwhile, Chandra watches her from behind a shelf, and she says it won't be long before she gets Reina to take the book. Elsewhere, Nory transforms into a kitten and gets her classmates to watch a timer to see if she can maintain her single animal form for at least six seconds. Unfortunately, Nory is unable to do this, and her classmates start wondering if they'll ever be able to do proper magic. Nory says she believes they will, and that she'll crash the sage match tomorrow to show everyone that they can be taught.

The next day, Reina sees Nory walking and laughing with her classmates, and she looks disappointed to see that her friend is doing very fine without her. As she goes to sit on her bed, she suddenly notices that the strange book from the library is there again. Reina looks confused and wonders how it got in, but the book just opens up to a page about helping her manifest her powers. As Reina thinks about the sage match later today, she carries the book to look at what's written on the page.

Suddenly, the letters in the book fly out and start circling Reina until her body absorbs a dark substance. Reina doesn't understand what happened, and she just stares at her hands. Later that day, all the students, except the UDMs, head into the hall for the Sage match. The Flares are called up first, and Reina goes up against Phillip.

As the countdown begins for them to make popcorn, Phillip quickly gets a head start, but before he does much, Reina just places her hand over the bowl and gets it done in an instant. Phillip looks shocked by this, and even Reina cannot believe what she has just done. After this, Argon commends Reina for doing well, and Knightslinger announces that she'll represent the Flares in the Founder's Day presentation. Elsewhere, Budd notices that Nory isn't in the bunker, and as he asks the others about her, Pepper says she went to crash the sage match.

Budd looks pissed by this, and he quickly heads there. Almost immediately, Nory interrupts the Sage match and tells Knightslinger and the other professors that she wants to show them what UDMs are capable of. Unfortunately, things don't turn out quite well, and she transforms into a flying kitten that scatters the hall. Reina tries to create a sparking fireball to help her friend calm down, but as she struggles to control her powers, she shoots it at Nory.

Reina then quickly checks up on Nory, who says she's fine. However, Knightslinger seems pissed, and she scolds Budd for not having control over his students. She also threatens to fire him if something like that happens again. As she adds that the UDMs are banned from the Founder's Day ceremony, Nory's classmates look disappointed.

When they all return to the bunker, they lament about how Nory gave them hope that things would be better. Nory apologizes for this, but her classmates don't seem interested in listening to her. As she then talks about how she's always optimistic, Budd feels sorry for her, and he tells the kids to follow him outside. When they get there, he says that he shouldn't have allowed Nory to apologize because she didn't do anything wrong.

He adds that year after year, he has seen kids get sent to the UDM class to have their dreams crushed, but he's now tired of letting that happen because Nory has made him a believer. The kids look confused by this, but he tells them that even though Sage thinks their powers are defective, they shouldn't believe that. As he mentions that he'll teach them how to harness their powers, the kids don't really think he's good enough. He then shows them that he's an upside-down Fuzzy, who can communicate with animals through singing.

Nory asks why his magic didn't fade away, and he tells the kids the story of how he got into Sage as an orphan, and when he failed his test, they kept him there as a groundskeeper. He adds that he has been using his powers secretly over the years so that he won't lose them. The kids look impressed, and Budd says they'll start their training tomorrow. As they head back to the bunker, Nory tells Andres that she felt Reina's powers were a little too intense when she used them earlier.

Before Andres can say anything, Nory says she'll speak to Reina about it. Elsewhere, Reina returns to her room and sees Chandra inside. She looks shocked, but Chandra says she only came to congratulate Reina on winning the sage match. Reina doesn't look happy because she could've killed Nory, but Chandra doesn't seem to care.

She adds that Reina can't just expect to get something from the book without some side effects. Reina seems pissed, and she sends Chandra away and tells her to take the book as well. As Chandra leaves with the book, it magically reappears on a table inside the room, and Reina looks shocked. Someone then knocks on the door, and Reina assumes that it's Chandra again.

As she angrily opens the door, she sees that it's Nory, and she quickly hugs her friend. Nory then asks if she can come in, but as Reina sees the shadow magic book in her room, she refuses to let her friend come in. Nory looks surprised, but Reina just tells her to go. The next day, Budd starts teaching the UDMs how to use their powers well.

After days of practice, Andres manages to control his lift off, Elliot gets to do different things with his smoke, and Pepper improves at moving things around. Nory also learns how to make different animal combinations, and her classmates look happy for her. Elsewhere, Chandra approaches Reina again and tries to get her to fully embrace shadow magic. Reina refuses to do this, and she shouts at Chandra to leave her alone.

Reina's classmates look confused, and Chandra tells Reina that no other person can see her. Reina feels embarrassed, and she decides to return to her room. As she enters the building, Chandra appears again and says that she wants Reina to become the best version of herself. She adds that Reina has been feeling insecure just like her old friend, Reginald, but that she's more powerful and perfect than him.

Reina looks impressed by this, and Chandra tells her to embrace the shadow magic. Coincidentally, Nory arrives at the building to see her friend, but she sees the lights inside flickering. As she wonders what's happening, she enters the building and sees Reina with darker eyes. An evil entity also communicates through Reina, and Nory realizes that her friend has been possessed by shadow magic.

Upside Down Magic (2020) Ending Explained

As she looks confused because she thought shadow magic only targeted UDMs, Reina says there's no one who can't be possessed. She adds that she'll soon prey on everyone, but she'll start with Nory first. Nory then says she'll come back to save her friend, and she runs away before evil Reina attacks her. Following this, she heads back to tell Budd and her classmates what happened.

Nory then suggests going to tell Knightslinger that the evil entity wants to crash the Founder's Day celebration tomorrow and destroy everyone. Budd doesn't think Knightslinger will believe them, and he tells his students to get ready for whatever might happen tomorrow. The next day, before the UDMs leave the bunker, Nory inspires her classmates with a great speech, and Budd looks impressed. Elsewhere, the Founder's Day ceremony begins, and Reina looks happy to be there.

After a while, Knightslinger calls her on stage for her presentation. As she gets on stage, she creates a large fireball and threatens to kill everyone. Knightslinger and all the guests quickly run to take cover, and Reina fully becomes the evil shadow entity. Knightslinger and Argon look shocked because Reina isn't a UDM, and they try to get all the schools to attack the monster.

Unfortunately, nothing works on it, and as Knightslinger loses hope, Budd shows up with the UDMs and says that there's one school left. Knightslinger still doesn't believe they're good enough, but Budd instructs his students to work together to attack the monster. Nory also turns into a combination of a kitten and a dragon, and after getting the monster to stay on the ground, Knightslinger suggests finishing it off. However, before Argon and the other professors can attack the monster, Nory stops them.

Knightslinger doesn't get this, but Budd says that the monster is Nory’s friend, and she can't let them kill it. Following this, Nory turns back to her normal self and tells Reina to fight the monster from within. Just before the monster attacks her, Reina creates a fireball to destroy it. She then falls to the ground, but luckily, nothing happens to her, and Nory hugs her friend while everyone rejoices.

Much later, the UDM class gets discontinued, and Nory and her classmates join their normal honors class while Budd becomes a Fuzzy professor. Back in the library, the shadow magic book suddenly pops out of the shelf again and falls to the ground, and it turns out that the evil entity is trying to find a way to come alive again. After Nory and three other kids are sent to an isolated class because of their defective magic, they refuse to give up on improving and becoming honors students. Even though Budd initially didn’t mind seeing them lose their powers, he eventually teaches them to embrace their weird magic, which saves the school when normal magic fails.

In this story, we learn that the things people see as your flaws can turn out to be your greatest strengths.