History Film / UpsideDownMagic

* MixAndMatchCritters: Nory can shapeshift into these.

* BullyingADragon: Or rather, Dragon Kitten. When Nory is mocked by some Flares asking about Reina, she checks them with the fact that she's in a bad mood so maybe it's not a good idea to antagonize someone who can turn into chimeric beasts. They quickly direct her to Reina after that.

* ShoutOut: The. avatar of Shadow Magic is [[TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering a fire magic user named Chandra.]]

** Don’t focus on what you can’t do, focus on you can do and do it well.

* BlessedWithSuck / CursedWithAwesome: The former is how most of Sage sees the [=UDM=]s, the latter is how they eventually come see themselves.

* BlessedWithSuck/CursedWithAwesome: The former is how most of Sage sees the [=UDM=]s, the latter is how they eventually come see themselves.

* AMinorKidroduction: The movie starts with Nory as a 7-year old discovering her Fluxing abilities.

* PlayingWithFire: The Flares can manipulate fire. This is Reina's power, which lands her in the Honors track. Knightslinger also has this power, as does Elliot, who only makes ''smoke'' instead.

* AnthropomorphicPersonification: Chandra could be considered one of Shadow Magic, since she's explicitly targets Reina long before she finds said book of shadow magic.

* ShoutOut: It can't be a coincidence that the avatar of Shadow Magic is [[TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering a fire magic user named Chandra.]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/abbce3d5_2ebf_4c61_a440_daba018700c1.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[{{Tagline}} Find your magic.]]]]

* AnimationBump: The flashback of Reginald is done in stop-motion animation.

* AgeLift: The main characters are ten-year-old 5th graders in the books, in their early teens in the movie.

* AnAesop: You can do whatever you set your mind to, don't let anyone change that.
** Don't lie to your friends about how how you feel or how you're really doing. Friends are there to help you but they can't do that if you're lying to them.

** Shadow Magic

* BigGood: Bud Skriff. [[spoiler:It turns out he's also a [=UDM=], and is the one who encourages Nory and the other [=UDMs=] to embrace their magic the way they want.]]

* BroughtDownToNormal: If a magic user goes long enough without using their powers they'll fade entirely. This is enforced on [=UDM=]s, after which they're turned out for mundane jobs.
* BullyingADragon: Or rather, Dragon Kitten. When Nory is mocked by some flares asking after Reina she checks them with the fact that she's in a bad mood so maybe it's not a good idea to antagonize someone who can turn into chimeric beasts. They quickly direct her to Reina after that.

* ClingyMacguffin: The book of shadow magic. Once Reina takes it off the shelf, it keeps appearing for her to find no matter how many times she tries to get rid of it.
* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: The students at Sage Academy have a different colored uniform based on what class they're in and the magic they study: Red for Flares, orange for Flickers, yellow for Fuzzies, blue for Flyers, and purple for Fluxers.

* TheDarkSide: Shadow Magic; it magnifies magical power, targets the emotionally vulnerable, and has a malevolent will of its own that personifies itself to those it chooses as a person only they can see. Once it convinces them to embrace it they're possessed and eventually transform into a nigh unstoppable monster of shadows driven to destroy humanity.
* DemonicPossession: [[spoiler:Reina becomes corrupted with the Shadow Magic in the last third of the film.]]
* EqualOpportunityEvil: Contrary to what the heads of Sage believe, shadow magic doesn't only prey on [=UDMs=], in fact Chandra scoffs at the idea.
* FantasticRacism: [=UDMs=] are shunned, segregated and forbidden from practicing magic at Sage Academy under the belief that wonky magic is more vulnerable to possession by shadow magic. This turns out to not be true and the discrimination seems to be more motivated by the fact that upside down magic is so unconventional.
* FartsOnFire: The previous [=UDM=] to fall prey to shadow magic was a young Flare whose power manifested this way.

* MagicAIsMagicA: The curriculum at Sage Academy is incredibly rigid as are the categories themselves. Flares and Fluxers seem to have the widest skillsets, respectively manipulating fire and heat and having [[{{Animorphism}} animal shape shifting]]. The rest are entirely singular superpowers like communicating with animals, {{Flight}}, and MindOverMatter but ''only'' pulling things towards you, even only being able to push is considered "upside down".

* MyWayOrTheHighway: The Sage Way

* PlayingWithFire: The Flares can manipulate fire. This is Reina's power, which lands her in the Honors. Knightslinger also has this power. As does Elliot, but he makes ''smoke'' instead.
* RandomlyGifted: How people end up with magic powers seems entirely random. One day they just start exhibiting them.

* TomeOfEldritchLore: Shadow Magic seems to come entirely from a single, persistently clingy book. It's entirely black with black lettering embossed on black pages but reading it is no problem as the information will fly off the pages and empower whoever chooses to read it.

* WaxOnWaxOff: Once [[spoiler: Bud Skriff]] agrees to actually teach the [=UDMs=], Nory is assigned the job of clipping topiary MixAndMatchCritters, which better familiarizes her with their shapes. Pepper has to rake leaves for a bit, then is encouraged to move them without a rake.

* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: The farting Flare boy from 1939 was destroyed by the school's staff when he became possessed by Shadow Magic. [[spoiler: They were ready to do the same with Reina but thankfully Nory stopped them.]]
* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: [[spoiler:The final scene has Nory narrating what happened after the [=UDMs=] saved Reina from the Shadow Magic: the [=UDM=] class is shut down, and the students are all placed in their own individual classes so they can study freely, and "the Sage way" has been broken so the students can all congregate together.]]

* WhatIsTheMeasureOfANonHuman: The farting Flare boy from 1939 was destroyed by the staff when he became possessed by Shadow Magic. [[spoiler: They were ready to do the same with Reina but thankfully Nory stopped them.]]

* AnthropormorphicPersonification: Chandra could be considered one of Shadow Magic, since she's explicitly targets Reina long before she finds said book of shadow magic.