The Kid Who Would Be King [Includes Digital Copy] [Blu-ray/DVD]

Director: Joe Cornish Joe Cornish

Overview

Writer-director Joe Cornish's family-friendly fantasy film puts a contemporary spin on the legend of King Arthur. An unexceptional English boy (Louis Ashbourne Serkis) pulls Excalibur from a rock and is informed by Merlin (Angus Imrie and Patrick Stewart) that he is destined to lead the charge against evil medieval enchantress Morgana le Fay's attempt to conquer the world.

Product Details

Release Date:	04/16/2019
UPC:	0024543469735
Original Release:	2019
Rating:	PG
Source:	20Th Century Fox
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	2:00:00
Sales rank:	27,605

Special Features

Closed Caption; Deleted scenes; Origins of a King; Young Knights; Knight School; The two Merlins; And more

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Louis Ashbourne Serkis	Actor
Rebecca Ferguson	Actor
Patrick Stewart	Actor,Actor
Dean Chaumoo	Actor
Tom Taylor	Actor
Rhianna Dorris	Actor
Angus Imrie	Actor
Denise Gough	Actor
Skye Sammarchi	Actor
Nathan Stewart-Jarrett	Actor
Connor Wolf	Actor
Amir Wilson	Actor
Jag Patel	Actor
Nick Mohammed	Actor
Louis Martin	Actor
Colin Matthews	Actor
Adam Leese	Actor
John Kinory	Actor
Keyaan Hameed	Actor
Zak Holland	Actor
Mikael Frimpong	Actor
Eileen Davies	Actor
Sean Coleman	Actor
Joey Ansah	Actor
Archie Caswell	Actor
Archie Caswell-Chappell	Student Fighter
Genevieve O'Reilly	Actor
Noma Dumezweni	Actor
Adam Buxton	Actor
Ruth Horrocks	Actor
Connie Jenkins	Actor
Connie Jenkins-Greig	Student Fight Commander
Ria Lopez	Actor
Chloe Stannage	Actor
Aimee Dowe	Actor
Jacob Percival	Actor
Jake Blight	Actor
Nick Davison	Actor
Karma Sood	Actor
Annelle Olaleye	Actor
Charlie Gorbutt	Actor
Dylan Mitchell	Actor
Mark Bonnar	Mr. Jeffreys
Alexandra Roach	Miss Foster
Myra McFadyen	Punto Patty
Claudie Blakley	Riding Instructor
Jake Greenlee	Blaxton

Technical Credits

Joe Cornish

Joe Cornish	Director,Screenwriter
Eric Fellner	Producer
Nira Park	Producer
Tim Bevan	Producer
Rachael Prior	Executive Producer
James Biddle	Executive Producer
Jeremy Price	Sound/Sound Designer
Jessica Ronane	Casting
Nina Gold	Casting
Stewart Probert	Production Manager
Peter White	Stunts
Steven Warner	Special Effects Supervisor

Editorial Reviews

Once a decade, an epic fantasy movie comes along that defines a new generation of special effects, master screenwriting, meticulous direction, and acting that a new breed of players will study so they can better their craft. The Kid Who Would Be King is not that movie, although it brings a special kind of magic to all those elements throughout it's possibly overly long 119 minutes, while staying true to it's YA format. Writer/Director Joe Cornish (Ant Man) kicked off his feature-directing career with the grittier, campier, horror-comedy Attack the Block, where a group of teenagers fend off aliens to defend Earth. This go-around, Cornish sets up a group of tweens to fend off magical beings that are threatening Earth. Despite the comic elements, the two similar films couldn't be more different. The Kid Who Would Be King is not exactly a reboot of King Arthur - though the main character does pull a sword from a stone, build a round table, and turn his school yard bullies Lance, and Kaye into warriors willing to fight with him. There are two magical, timeless characters: Merlin, and Morgana, that suggest that the Arthurian legends did exist, and that a hero is needed now to save the day from evil. Louis Ashbourne Serkis (Alice Through the Looking Glass, Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle) plays Alex, the kid who manages to pull the sword Excalibur from a block of stone. His sweet demeanor, and childhood innocence lend credibility to his seemingly being a nobody at first - though he manages a good transition into the confident hero he needs to be by the final showdown. Newcomer Dean Chaumoo plays Alex's comic relief sidekick, Bedders. He is constantly bullied by the older school kids Kaye, played by Rhianna Dorris (Secret Life of Boys, Stage School) and Lance, played by Tom Taylor (The Dark Tower, The Last Kingdom). When the action is set in motion, Merlin enters their world through Stonehenge. He can swoop in to help save the day, explain the magic, or let the young sword-bearer know which quest comes next. His many incarnations include: a CG owl, Patrick Stewart (Star Trek, X-Men) or physical comedian Angus Imrie (Pond Life, Kingdom). Meanwhile, Rebecca Ferguson (Mission: Impossible - Fallout, Life) plays the enchantress Morgana. She, and her minions are hell-bent on the destruction of the good things in the world, because you can't have a movie filled with only heroes. She's gunning for Alex, even if that means staging a massive battle at his school. The Kid Who Would Be King is not so much of a hodge-podge mess as it is a fast-paced rollicking good time. An homage to the good old adventure kid films of the 80's, the PG rating lends a much-needed sweet touch missing from the multitude of recent additions to this genre. There is plenty of comedy to keep kids, and adults from nitpicking any plot failings, as well as some professional campy effects to show us how scary the bad guys can be without inducing nightmares.