Quest for Camelot (1998)
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36% of critics liked it
(22 reviews) -
59% of users liked it
(26,366 ratings)
For this feature-length foray into Arthurian animation, screenwriters Kirk DeMicco (A Day in November), William Schifrin (Townies), Jacqueline Feather (Dancing in the Dark), and David Seidler (Tucker, Dancing in the Dark) adapted The King's Damosel (1976) by British novelist Vera Chapman. The… More For this feature-length foray into Arthurian animation, screenwriters Kirk DeMicco (A Day in November), William Schifrin (Townies), Jacqueline Feather (Dancing in the Dark), and David Seidler (Tucker, Dancing in the Dark) adapted The King's Damosel (1976) by British novelist Vera Chapman. The 85-minute tale follows independent, strong-willed Kayley (Jessalyn Gilsig voice, with the singing of Andrea Corr), who hopes to follow the path of her late father, Sir Lionel (Gabriel Byrne), a brave Knight of the Round Table who died defending his king against the evil Ruber (Gary Oldman). Some years later, when Ruber is joined by sidekick Griffin (Bronson Pinchot), the two manage to acquire and then lose Excalibur, the legendary magic sword of King Arthur (Pierce Brosnan with Steve Perry singing). Preparatory to his invasion of Camelot, Ruber first kidnaps Kayley and her widowed mother, Lady Juliana (Jane Seymour, Celine Dion singing). Making an escape, Kayley travels through the haunted Forbidden Forest, where she meets Garrett (Cary Elwes, Bryan White singing), a bitter blind man assisted by his silver-winged, seeing-eye falcon, Ayden. Once King Arthur's stable boy, Garrett dreamed of becoming a knight, but after he was blinded by a fire, he ran away to live in the Forbidden Forest. When Garrett learns Kayley is the daughter of the knight who trained him to fight, he agrees to help Kayley search for Excalibur. Falling in love with Kayley, Garrett soon finds the courage to start anew. With the blessing of Merlin (Sir John Gielgud), the couple sets out to save Camelot. Along the way, they meet the two-headed dragon, Devon (Eric Idle) and Cornwall (Don Rickles), a dragon duo delivering dotty dialogue replete with riotous riffs and cinematic references (to such films as Dirty Harry and Taxi Driver). Yet another supporting character is Bladebeak, a cutting-edge hybrid possibly fashioned to illustrate the axiom, "Don't count your chickens before they're a hatchet." Following the live-action/animation combo of Space Jam, this is the first fully animated feature from the L.A.-based Warner Brothers Feature Animation unit, and the film began production May 26, 1995 in L.A., expanding operations February 11, 1996 with a sister studio in London: a 20,000-square-foot facility in London's Covent Garden district. The new UK unit shared production duties on Quest for Camelot, receiving storyboards from L.A., animating with both computers and traditional techniques, and digitally transmitting completed art back to L.A. for ink and paint. At the London WBFA studio, John McKenna (previously head exec of the London City Ballet and Disney's London studio manager) initially supervised a staff of 73 (including 50 artists from the British animation talent pool) that expanded to 350. The film eventually employed over 600 staffers as it ran through a variety of working titles (The Quest for the Grail, The Quest, The Quest for Camelot). Songs by Grammy-winners David Foster and Carole Bayer Sager include On My Father's Wings, (Kayley), I Stand All Alone (Garrett), The Prayer (Juliana), and If I Didn't Have You (Devon, Cornwall). The director of Quest for Camelot is Frederik Du Chau, who attended film school in his native Belgium, entered the industry via commercials and TV series, worked for Disney France, made his own animated short (The Mystery of the Land), drew Disney projects at Baer Animation, co-directed for Sony Wonder, directed The Land Before Time 3, joined Chuck Jones Productions, and was developing his own animated project for Warner Bros. when he was asked to direct Quest for Camelot. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- Directed By
- Frederik Du Chau, Bronson Pinchot
- Genres
- Animation, Kids & Family, Science Fiction & Fantasy
G,
- In Theaters
- May 15, 1998 Wide
- On DVD
- Oct 20, 1998
- Studio
- Warner Bros. Pictures
Critic Reviews
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Nell Minow, Common Sense Media
Decent full-length animated musical drama.
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Jeffrey Westhoff, Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)
Quest for Camelot" slavishly follows the formula Disney minted with "The Little Mermaid."
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Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
An enjoyable animated feature with three buoyant songs to convey the quest theme.
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Steve Rhodes, Internet Reviews
Although not a bad movie, it is an almost terminally bland one.
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David Luty, Film Journal International
The talents of the actors are pretty much ignored, in favor of warmed-over bits reminiscent of Robin Williams' genie character, sans energy.
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Cast
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Jessalyn Gilsig
as Kayley
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Andrea Corr
as Kayley (singing)
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Cary Elwes
as Garrett
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Bryan White
as Garrett (singing)
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Gary Oldman
as Ruber
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Eric Idle
as Devon
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Don Rickels
as Cornwall
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Jane Seymour
as Juliana
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Celine Dion
as Juliana (singing)
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Pierce Brosnan
as King Arthur
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Steve Perry
as King Arthur (singing)
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Bronson Pinchot
as Griffin
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Jaleel White
as Bladebeak
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Gabriel Byrne
as Lionel
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John Gielgud
as Merlin
- Don Rickles
