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| A Kid In King Arthur's Court - 1995 |
Coming up next is 1995's "A Kid In King Arthur's Court", a retelling of the classic story by Mark Twain that we covered yesterday. In this version, a young man from the 1990s travels back in time to King Arthur's Camelot, where he helps the old king regain his hold on the throne.
The film's cast includes Thomas Ian Nicholas, Joss Ackland, Art Malik, Paloma Baeza, Kate Winslet, Daniel Craig, and Ron Moody.
In Camelot, the sword Excalibur sits unused and gathering dust on a shelf. The kingdom is in dire straits, and the sorcerer Merlin appears from beyond the grave to summon a great knight from across time to help the kingdom in its time of need.
Enter Calvin Fuller of Reseda (the "Bowling Capital of the World"). He comes to Camelot by way of an earthquake which splits the ground in two. He falls through the large chasm and lands right in the kingdom of Arthurian legend.
Needless to say, he's not very happy when he realizes that he's been transplanted from the twentieth century into ancient times.
He almost immediately makes an enemy of King Arthur's closest advisor, Lord Belasco. Belasco wants Calvin gone and fears his meddling in matters which don't concern him.
Calvin impresses King Arthur and his two daughters enough that he's invited to dine with them, though he's not exactly thrilled with the food on offer.
His influence is quickly felt in Camelot. He introduces roller blades to Arthur's youngest daughter, Princess Katey, on whom he develops a crush.
He also shows Camelot his version of the Big Mac, though Princess Katey is quite concerned with his use of "poisonous love apples" (tomatoes).
He has a bicycle constructed, the first Camelot has ever seen, and spends some more quality time with Katey.
Another of his introductions is bubble gum. King Arthur struggles with the concept of this particular "food".
During his time in Camelot, Calvin is able to see what is really going on outside the castle walls. Arthur is hated by his subjects, because Lord Belasco has been cheating and stealing from them for years. Belasco has also kidnapped Katey in an effort to get what he really wants: Arthur's eldest daughter Sarah and to be Arthur's successor.
While traveling incognito to rescue Katey, Arthur makes a bit of a blunder. Calvin has to step in and make sure their cover is not blown. "Look, Your
Majesty. I don't want to insult you or
anything, but are you nuts? This isn't the castle, where everyone kisses
your butt. This is the real, in-your-face, car-jacking,
drive-by-shooting,
kill-you-for-your-Reeboks street life!"
Arthur looks at him quizzically and asks, "What language art thou speaking, boy?"
Eventually, they rescue Katey. On their way back to Camelot, Arthur decides to reward Calvin for all that he has shown him and taught him. "Let all who witness
this know: it does not take a sword and a stone to make a hero," he says as he knights him with the sword Excalibur.
As a side note, one of the ways that Belasco tries to take over the kingdom is his wooing of Princess Sarah. Alone in the garden one day, he goes to her and says, "You are the most exquisite flower in this garden, Princess." She quickly replies, "There is one major
difference between the garden flowers and myself, Lord
Belasco. A rose will prick you, but I
will do far worse." Her continual dismissal of his offers of marriage get under his skin, and they prompt his kidnapping of Katey.
Sarah has her own man in mind, Master Kane, who trains great knights. Through some crafty maneuvering, Sarah is rewarded with the right to choose her husband by her father.
With his mission accomplished and Camelot saved in the end, Calvin bids farewell to Arthur and Katey and is returned home to Reseda by Merlin.
However, upon arrival, he is pleasantly surprised to find out that he did not return to Reseda alone.
Cast rundown:
Thomas Ian Nicholas.............................Calvin Fuller
Joss Ackland.........................................King Arthur
Art Malik..............................................Lord Belasco
Paloma Baeza.......................................Princess Katey
Kate Winslet.........................................Princess Sarah
Daniel Craig..........................................Master Kane
Ron Moody...........................................Merlin
And that's it for A Kid In King Arthur's Court. The movie was panned by critics when it was released, but the subsequent major stardom of Kate Winslet and Daniel Craig brought it more attention. The film was successful enough for Disney to launch a sequel direct to video. In it, Calvin Fuller is brought back in time to help Ali Baba save Aladdin's kingdom from an evil prince.
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