Movie Review: A Kid in King Arthur's Court

Stars: 4 out of 5
Pros: Fun and entertaining story

Cons: A bit dated

The Bottom Line:

Twain's classic twisted

In a way that kids will love

Adults will enjoy

Calvin of Reseda Takes on History

Some stories lend themselves to endless interpretations. Such is the case with the King Arthur legend in general and Mark Twain's Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court specifically. A Kid in King Arthur's Court is a 1995 feature film from Disney that took the idea behind Twain's book and tweaked it, sending a modern kid to Camelot. The result is fun if not completely original.

Calvin Fuller (Thomas Ian Nichols) has just lost the big baseball game for his little league team, the Reseda Knights. The worse part is, he didn't even try but just stood there as he struck out. Just as he's returning to the dug out, an earthquake hits, and Calvin is swallowed by the giant hole that opens in the ground.

To his surprise, Calvin lands in 6th century England. Because his appearance foiled the Black Knight, Calvin is hailed as a hero by the aging King Arthur (Joss Ackland).

However, all is not rosy in Camelot. Lord Belasco (Art Malik) has turned the people against Arthur and plans to get his hands on the crown by whatever means he can. In fact, this is the very reason that Merlin (Ron Moody) has summoned Calvin. But Calvin is a kid who can't even muster the courage to swing a bat. Can he find the courage to defeat the evil Belasco?

I watched this movie originally when it was in the theater and loved it. I decided to rewatch it recently and found it not quite as enjoyable as I remembered it.

Now that isn't to say it wasn't still fun. There are plenty of laughs as Calvin tries to explain his weird speech to those around him. And he uses the few modern tools he has to great effect. I especially liked the scenes where he tried to show Princess Katey (Paloma Baeza) inline skates and bicycles.

The story doesn't really follow Mark Twain's book that closely. In fact, it would be better to say the movie is inspired by the classic. Still, the book is fairly easy to predict. There were a couple twists I didn't see coming the first time, but I did remember them for this go around. But that's not to say that the movie is boring. There are enough plot developments to keep you entertained, even if you already know what the big picture is. And the theme is wonderfully stated if not original.

Unfortunately, the movie hasn't aged well. Yes, we are talking about a movie that is only 12 years old, but it already shows. One area is the special effects. There are a couple scenes, like Calvin falling down the hole at the beginning, that are cringe worthy bad. Most of the items that Calvin has with him are fine, but one item that he uses a couple times is a personal CD player. Today, he'd have an iPod. Heck, do they even make mini CD players any more?

The biggest surprise for me was two actors in the cast. Kate Winslet and Daniel Craig have supporting roles here. They, along with the rest of the cast, do a great job here. They take the movie just seriously enough to make us believe in the story. But it is obvious they are having some fun as well.

A Kid in King Arthur's Court isn't the forgotten gem I thought it was. But it is still entertaining. Kids will love it, and parents will find it amusing.