The Kid Who Would Be King
Director: Joe Cornish
Starring: Louis Ashbourne Serkis, Denise Gough, Dena Chaumoo
Duration: 120 minutes
Class: PG
KRS Releasing Ltd

Film not reviewed

Based on one of the most famous myths of all time, The Kid Who Would Be King approaches the legend of King Arthur and his knights in a completely new way, bringing it into the modern world and making it relevant for contemporary audiences.

The seed for the film had been growing in the mind of writer-director Joe Cornish since he was a child, beginning in 1982 when he saw John Boorman’s Excalibur and Steven Spielberg’s E.T. Both films had a big impact on the young Cornish, inspiring the beginnings of his idea for a film about an ordinary boy who discovers the legendary Sword in the Stone.

Cornish recalls: “All through my teenage years I drew a little cartoon on my school books of the sword Excalibur coming out of a bathtub – the juxtaposition of the domestic and the modern with the ancient myth. Then I put the idea aside, but it’s slowly been gestating ever since.” 

Cornish went on to co-write, di­rect and star in a number of TV and film projects, building a name for himself before eventually re­turning to his ever-alluring modern-day Sword in the Stone story.

Researching the script, Cornish and producer Nira Park visited schools and asked pupils how familiar they were with King Arthur and the legend of Excali­bur. They found that children were familiar with the image and idea of Excalibur – that whoever was able to pull the sword from the stone became king – but they were confused about how that fitted in with today’s British royal family. Cornish adds: “They knew of the sword but not its repercussions, and I thought that was a cool and interesting place to build from.”

“The idea behind this movie is that myths and legends like the story of King Arthur don’t have a huge amount of basis in historical fact,” he continues. “They’re written and rewritten to suit the needs of the time, and in fact, it’s important that different generations rewrite legends anew for themselves. So when I wrote this script, that was at the forefront of my mind, that I could take what I wanted from existing mythology and use it in the way that I wanted – because that’s what Mallory did, that’s what French poets did, that’s what everybody who followed has done with the Arthurian legend – it’s there for all of us to interpret in our own way.”

The heart of the film is based on the chivalric code that the wizard Merlin teaches young Arthur in the legend. This is the set of laws that King Arthur’s knights abided by, which dictated earnest moral behaviour – honouring the people you love, persevering, refraining from offence and telling the truth. In the film, Cornish takes that moral code and applies it to modern kids, to see what its value is in today’s world. 

He explains: “The kids in this movie go on a journey from being a little bit rough-and-tumble, rude and angry with each other, to a place where they understand the value of that basic moral code and apply it to their modern world.

“I hope that as well as being an epic action adventure movie full of fun, comedy and emotion, that there’s also a message for kids that explains the value of these ancient ideals, that they might have some relevance to the way we live today.”

The Kid Who Would be King stars Louis Ashbourne Serkis as Alex Elliot; Tom Taylor as Lance; Dean Chaumoo as Bedders; Rhianna Dorris as Kaye; and Angus Imrie as Merlin; with Rebecca Ferguson as Morgana; and Patrick Stewart as older Merlin.

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