The Kid Who Would Be King provides a heartwarming journey full of action and adventure that any kid would love to watch.
“The King Arthur legend meets the modern day in this epic family-friendly adventure. Young Alex is just another bullied kid until he discovers the legendary sword Excalibur, and begins training as a knight with wizard Merlin (Patrick Stewart). Alex must turn schoolyard enemies into allies, and become the leader he never dreamed he could be to defeat the wicked Morgana and save the world.”
There aren’t too many original ideas for kid movies these days. If something isn’t a remake or part of a vast series of books, it’s overlooked and forgotten about. The Kid Who Would Be King takes the legend of King Arthur, a not-so-original story, but does something very unique with it and takes it into an entirely different direction so that kids today can identify with it, exploring the themes of acceptance and standing up for what’s right.
The film also employs several great messages, especially for kids around this age. Tackling bullying, which is ideal for the ‘protect the innocent’ station of knights, the film does what I found to be very refreshing and different take. Not only does Alex protect his friend Bedders from two bullies, Lance and Kaye, but he practices another knight’s code and makes his enemy his ally and recruits them to his quest to rid England of evil. It gives a very humanizing look at bullying, giving kids the courage to stand up to it and also gives a glimpse behind the one doing the bullying. Understanding these perspectives from a children’s viewpoint while also allowing them to see a more real scenario in film makes the message all the more poignant. Though it is hard to work together at first, complete with ups and downs throughout the film, it shows that while working together you can accomplish anything.
As far as kid films go, this was a lot of fun. The humor works not only for kids but adults too, with Merlin providing a lot of the laughs as he fumbles about transforming into an owl, navigating the modern world while dealing with children who have no respect for anything. It had some great fantasy-adventure action, with swords and armor, magic, and kids fighting undead fire-demons, which aren’t too frightening but may be for very young children. While navigating this adventure, Alex is also in search for his father, believing he is the key to everything. Like many of the unsuspecting heroes such as Luke Skywalker or Harry Potter, his father was absent from his life and could be the key to unlocking his destiny. This quest for his father doesn’t go exactly as you’d think and is grounded more in the real world, also teaching children a valuable lesson who may be from single-family homes. Filled with heart and valuable lessons and themes, The Kid Who Would Be King provides a lot of family-friendly entertainment that should be a staple of kid-filmgoing.
Of course, a kid movie wouldn’t be watchable without some capable child-actors filling the roles. Louis Ashbourne Serkis does a pretty good job as Alex. Son of Andy Serkis, he provides a good balance point for the rest of the cast with a decent range of emotion. Although at times he just looks angry or worried with his furrowed brow, he does demonstrate some depth with some very sad scenes. Dean Chaumoo as Bedders provides some great side-kick humour, making Alex a much better person with his innocence and good nature. Tom Taylor and Rhianna Dorris as Lance and Kaye are good as well, having a difficult task of making you like them after being portrayed as bullies at the beginning of the film. My favorite part of the film had to be Angus Imrie as the Young Merlin. Although Patrick Stewart is billed as Merlin, he’s only in his adult form for a few minutes total throughout the film, leaving Angus Imrie to shoulder the responsibility, and he’s fantastic, especially during his introduction to Alex’s school identifying himself on the fly as “Mertin’.
As much as I enjoyed the film, the ending feels a bit tacked on. After they go on this big adventure across country, there is still more to come, seeming to almost be a fourth act. Coming in at 2 hours long, it is fairly long for a kid’s film, and I believe the ending could have been reworked to something a bit neater. Although it is an important moment for Alex to rally his school, having several hundred kids follow him that easily donning armor and swords and believing that an undead army of fiery skeletons will soon attack the school is a bit of a stretch. Overall though, it’s a fun film that doesn’t stand on the back of a series of insanely popular books or try and establish itself as the first in a huge series of films, and that’s rare these days.
Video
The Kid Who Would Be King is presented in 2160p 4k Ultra High Definition Widescreen 2.39:1. The 4k HDR transfer looks exceptional on this film, full of a wide array of brilliant bright colors and deep darks throughout. Detail is crisp and clear and looks great during the CGI portions. No issues with the print were noticed.
The Blu-Ray is presented in 1080p High Definition Widescreen 2.39:1.
Audio
The audio is presented in Dolby Atmos, which sounds great. The track has some very full sounding sequences, with a great balance between the surrounds and center channel, as well as the score which is equally impressive. There are some great atmospheric effects, especially during the battle sequences and when Merlin practices his magic.
Special Features
The extras are really fascinating to watch, especially the short featurette with Patrick Stewart and Angus Imrie speaking about their views on the project and how they prepared to play the same role. These are included on the Blu-Ray disc.
- Deleted Scenes
- Origins of a King
- Young Knights
- Knight School
- The Two Merlins
- Meet Morgana
- Movie Magic
- Hair, Makeup & Costume Tests
- Promotional Material
- Sneak Peek
The Kid Who Would Be King has its flaws, but proves to be a very fun and entertaining film for both children and adults. Rare is it when a film doesn’t try to create an entire universe behind it for future sequels. With that energy being put into making a good film instead of setting up a sequel, you’re in good hands as it provides heart and inspiration for young kids.
