One of the best family adventure films to arrive in decades has landed on DVD, Blu-Ray and digital downloads. The Kid Who Would Be King is one of those rare movies (that used to be the norm in the 80s) that everyone in the family can enjoy, from five to 85.
For those of us who are still enamored by the story of King Arthur and the mythology of Excalibur and the Knights of the Round Table, even though Hollywood has beaten that horse to death, what filmmakers have done with that fable and brought it into fresh waters is nothing short of a movie miracle.
Alex (Louis Ashbourne Serkis, Andy’s kid!) believes that he is just another kid, living his life day to day until something special happens. Well, that day will be arriving sooner than later and require much of Alex in ways he could never have imagined. He gets bullied at school. His teachers don’t seem to care about his success or failure, just seeking him to tow the line. He comes across the most amazing thing anyone could discover. The iconic sword in the stone, yup… Excalibur. With the help of a Merlin (Patrick Stewart) and his friends (who he must convince that this quest is the real deal), they just might be able to stop the embodiment of pure evil.
Their goal is to defeat the evil enchantress Morgana (Mission Impossible breakout star Rebecca Ferguson, who has a blast!). She tackles the material like a force of nature, giving layers of truth to a character that could easily have been a caricature. Morgana is a villain worthy of such innocent joy that faces her down in a battle that could not be purer good versus evil.
It’s a fascinating take on an over-visited legend as school yard enemies must become friends because the fate of the world hangs in the balance. What parent could not want to support that kind of premise and message that has the potential to not only entertain the kiddos but enlightening them immensely as well. The Kid Who Would Be King.
Directed by Joe Cornish, a name whose moniker alone should get you interested in a film. He wrote and directed Attack the Block and before that penned the script for such rich material as Ant-Man and The Adventures of Tintin. What he’s done with the Arthurian legend and the entity that is the fading from memory family film is a gift to all of us. Not only does he have a priceless ability to connect with child actors, but as writer-director of this film he has such firm command over the material that he is able to focus his directorial energies on the minute specifics that escape some helmers. It truly is a splendid piece of work.
When it comes to bonus features there are the usual suspects—deleted scenes—but thankfully not too many (only about four minutes worth and they’re each worthy of landing on the cutting room floor). The rest of the featurettes are utterly fascinating and do something that few big screen to home video efforts achieve, they share the tone and tenor of the film itself and since that was a winning combination in the narrative portion of The Kid Who Would Be King, it is a movie marvel in the extras’ department as well.
Origins of a King offers some great behind-the-scenes footage, along with insight from the cast that frames this film experience in such a way that fully enhances the entire endeavor. Meanwhile, Young Knights is a bit like the previous featurette in its message and tone, but by focusing on the young cast it gets a fresh perspective and provides a priceless view on the art of moviemaking from the eyes of a younger actor.
We have all seen those making-of featurette where they dive deeper into the action scenes and how they were achieved. You’ve never seen one like Knight School. There was a lot that the kids of The Kid Who Would Be King had to master in the action department and witnessing them come to grips with that, embrace it and excel at it is pure bliss.
Having an “old” and “young” Merlin could have created problems, but with a veteran in Stewart tackling the latter part and Angus Imrie embodying the former, the audience gets two actors that play off each other perfectly and clearly worked together in their capturing of a single character. How they achieved that tough task is presented brilliantly in The Two Merlins.
Earlier, I wrote how Ferguson reveled in the villainous role of our antagonist and Meet Morgana takes us behind-the-scenes and illustrates how some of the more challenging effects were achieved that surround the character as well as putting the spotlight on the actress who has played the hero many times and now can add vivacious villain to her repertoire.
The five-part Movie Magic delves deeply into the various elements of making the film and each is more fascinating than the last. Definitely don’t miss Hair, Makeup and Costume Tests, Merlin’s Magic: Duplication, Merlin’s Magic: Mind Control, Merlin’s Magic: Portals and Merlin’s Magic: Popcorn.
At the end of the day, I hope that movie studios look at the success, both critically and commercially of The Kid Who Would Be King and unleash the creative potential of those who could tell more stories like this. It’s time for a renaissance in family entertainment and if this film is the trend-setter, that would make a whole lot of people happy—most notably parents beyond eager to expose their children to the same kind of movie magic that inspired them decades prior.
Film Grade: A
Bonus Features: A-