Quest for Camelot
Encyclopedia
Quest for Camelot is a 1998 animated feature film from Warner Bros. Animation
, based on the novel The King's Damosel
by Vera Chapman
, starring the voices of Jessalyn Gilsig
, Cary Elwes
, Gary Oldman
, Eric Idle
, Don Rickles
, Jane Seymour
, Pierce Brosnan
, Bronson Pinchot
, Jaleel White
, Gabriel Byrne
, John Gielgud
, and Frank Welker
, with the singing voices of Céline Dion
, Bryan White
, and Andrea Corr
.
The film is about a sprited teenage girl named Kayley who wants to be a knight of the Round Table
in Camelot
like her father Sir Lionel
, a blind young man named Garrett who wishes only to be left alone, and their quest to find Excalibur
.
and wishes to accompany him when the knights are called to a special meeting with King Arthur, but he kindly objects that she is too young and promises to take her someday. When the knights arrive at Camelot (United We Stand) one of the knights, Ruber, who has gone mad with power and seeks riches from his position as a knight of the Round Table, attacks Arthur. Mortally wounding Lionel with his club, he is ultimately driven off by the other knights after Arthur strikes him down with Excalibur.
After Lionel dies, Kayley must learn to live without him. Inspired by her father's bravery (On My Father's Wings), she spends ten years tending to her family farm. Now a young woman, Kayley is still much of a dreamer and still wishes to be a knight, much against her mother Julianna's wishes.
Her dream seems to pay off though, when the knights again gather with King Arthur and Merlin to discuss the era of peace among the kingdom when a gryphon
flies in, attacks and wounds Arthur and takes the sword Excalibur. Merlin summons a bird with silver wings called Ayden to face the gryphon. After a furious fight, the gryphon drops the sword into the Dark Forest and loses it. He reports this to Ruber. The call goes out across the land that Excalibur had been stolen, but Kayley's mother forbids her to go out after it. Shortly thereafter, Ruber comes to pay Julianna a visit, planning to use her to gain access to Camelot and introducing a potion that he had gotten that combines his men and a chicken with an assorted array of weapons (Ruber). During the festivities, Kayley manages to free herself and escapes capture by fleeing to the Forbidden Forest (The Prayer), whose enchanted plant and animal life prevent Ruber's army from following her. The chicken, named Bladebeak is then ordered to follow her and report her whereabouts to him.
While lost in the forest, Kayley comes across Garrett, a handsome yet blind
hermit
who wants to be left alone (I Stand Alone). He grudgingly helps Kayley find Excalibur. Guided by Ayden, they manage to find the cover of the sword in the footprints of a giant. As they make their way into dragon
infested mountains, they come across a conjoined two-headed dragon - the sophisticated and intelligent Devon and the boorish, but loyal Cornwall or "Corny" for short. Thanks to the bullying from the rest of the dragons due to their differences, and their inability to fly, they want nothing more than to be apart from one another (If I Didn't have You). Developing a friendship toward Kayley, they join the party. Due to Kayley's insistence, Garrett misses a key warning from Ayden and is injured in an attack. During the escape, Kayley uses the forest's plants to heal Garrett's wounds, and they develop a mutual attraction and feeling toward one another (Looking Through Your Eyes).
Soon they come across the giant who is using the sword as a toothpick and manage to outwit Ruber again, trapping him and his minions with the giant as they slide uncontrollably down the mountainside. Garrett returns to the forest, having grown distant from the world of men and preferring to stay in the forest. Kayley starts toward Camelot, sword in hand, but is captured by Ruber's men. Devon and Cornwall discover their power of flight, which only works when they cooperate or agree on something mutually. They rejoin Garrett, who mounts a rescue mission, but Ruber manages to gain entry to Camelot via disguise and traps himself with King Arthur with Excalibur; now grafted to his arm with his magic potion. Kayley has been bound and gagged in the back of the cart, but is freed by Bladebeak. Kayley and Garrett manage to fight their way with their friends' help to join with Arthur and in a fight, they manage to trick Ruber into inserting the sword back into the stone it had been pulled from. The magical forces conflict and completely disintegrate Ruber, leaving the kingdom free again. The magic that spills on the kingdom separates all of Ruber's men (and Bladebeak) from their weapons and separates Devon and Cornwall, but the pair decide to reunite before the magic dissipates.
Soon after Kayley and Garrett are knighted as members of the round table. As the pair ride off into the sunset, their horse has a flag mounted to its back reading "Just Knighted".
(FernGully: The Last Rainforest
) was originally going to direct with his wife, Sue, producing, but creative differences forced the husband and wife team to leave the project in February 1997. Kenny Ortega
served as the film's choreographer
. CGI was used for a few scenes, such as to create the rock ogre. According to Kit Percy, head of CGI effects, the software they used was designed for use with live-action.
Chrystal Klabunde, leading animator of Garrett, said in an article in Animation Magazine, "It was top heavy. All the executives were happily running around and playing executive, getting corner offices—but very few of them had any concept about animation at all, about doing an animated film. It never occurred to anybody at the top that they had to start from the bottom and build that up. The problems were really coming at the inexperience of everyone involved. Those were people from Disney that had the idea that you just said, 'Do it,' and it gets done. It never occurred to them that it got done because Disney had an infrastructure in place, working like clockwork. We didn't have that." Effects supervisor, Michel Gagné
also said, "People were giving up. The head of layout was kicked out, the head of background, the executive producer, the producer, the director, the associate producer---all the heads rolled. It's kind of a hard environment to work in." Dalisa Cooper Cohen, producer of the film, said "We made this movie in a year, basically. That was a lot of the problem. We worked around the clock."
Reportedly, "cost overruns and production nightmares" led the studio to "reconsider their commitment to feature animation." Filmmaker Brad Bird
(who helmed The Iron Giant
, Warner Bros. next animated film) thought that micromanaging, which he said had worked well for Disney but not for Warner Bros., had been part of the problem.
and the opening weekend debut of The Horse Whisperer
, and the following week by the hyped release of Godzilla
.
David Kronke of the Los Angeles Times
wrote that the film is "a nearly perfect reflection of troubling trends in animated features," called Kaylee "a standard-issue spunky female heroine," and said that "Garrett's blindness is the one adventurous element to the film, but even it seems calculated; his lack of sight is hardly debilitating, yet still provides kids a lesson in acceptance". Kevin J. Harty, editor of a collection of essays called Cinema Arthuriana, says that the film is “slightly indebted to, rather than, as Warner publicity claims, actually based on” Chapman’s novel.
Nonetheless, the animation of the movie is sometimes positively credited, especially the effects animation supervised by Michel Gagné
.
, and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song
for "The Prayer", and was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song
, also for "The Prayer" (though it lost the latter to "When You Believe
" from DreamWorks
' The Prince of Egypt
).
The soundtrack is quite well known due to the celebrity vocals present on it, such as Celine Dion
and Andrea Bocelli
singing "The Prayer", LeAnn Rimes
singing her single version of the movie's romantic duet, "Looking Through Your Eyes
", The Corrs
singing "On my Father's Wings", "Looking Through Your Eyes" and Steve Perry
singing "I Stand Alone", which is also featured on his "Greatest Hits + 5 Unreleased" album. Gary Oldman
is also on the soundtrack, singing Ruber's theme. "The Prayer" was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song
at the 71st Academy Awards and won the 1999 Golden Globe for Best Original Song - Motion Picture. One of the Celtic Woman
members, Chloë Agnew
covered "The Prayer" in full English. Another member of the same group, Deirdre Shannon
and her brother Matthew, a former Celtic Tenor
covered it for her solo album. Another rendition of "The Prayer" was performed at the Closing Ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics
by Josh Groban
and Charlotte Church
.
.
Warner Bros. Animation
Warner Bros. Animation is the animation division of Warner Bros., a subsidiary of Time Warner. The studio is closely associated with the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies characters, among others. The studio is the successor to Warner Bros...
, based on the novel The King's Damosel
The King's Damosel
The King's Damosel is a fantasy novel based on Arthurian legend by Vera Chapman first published in 1976. It served as the inspiration for the Warner Bros. film Quest for Camelot...
by Vera Chapman
Vera Chapman
Vera Chapman , also known as Vera Ivy May Fogerty, and within the Tolkien Society as Belladonna Took, was an author and founder of the first Tolkien Society, and also wrote a number of pseudo-historical and Arthurian books.-Life:...
, starring the voices of Jessalyn Gilsig
Jessalyn Gilsig
Jessalyn Gilsig is a Canadian actress known for her roles in the television series Boston Public, Nip/Tuck and as Will Schuester's ex-wife Terri Schuester in Glee...
, Cary Elwes
Cary Elwes
Ivan Simon Cary Elwes , known professionally as Cary Elwes, is an English actor. The son of Dominick Elwes and Tessa Georgina Kennedy, Elwes acted in off-Broadway plays during college and moved to the United States in the early 1980s. He is known for his role as Westley in the cult classic The...
, Gary Oldman
Gary Oldman
Gary Leonard Oldman is an English actor, voice actor, filmmaker and musician.A member of the 1980s Brit Pack, Oldman came to prominence via starring roles in British films Meantime , Sid and Nancy and Prick Up Your Ears , with his performance in the latter bringing him his first BAFTA Award...
, Eric Idle
Eric Idle
Eric Idle is an English comedian, actor, author, singer, writer, and comedic composer. He was as a member of the British comedy group Monty Python, a member of the The Rutles on Saturday Night Live and author of the play, Spamalot....
, Don Rickles
Don Rickles
Donald Jay "Don" Rickles is an American stand-up comedian and actor. A frequent guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Rickles has acted in comedic and dramatic roles, but is best known as an insult comic....
, Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour (actress)
Jane Seymour, OBE is an English actress best known for her performances in the James Bond film Live and Let Die , East of Eden , Onassis: The Richest Man in the World , and the American television series Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman...
, Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brendan Brosnan, OBE is an Irish actor, film producer and environmentalist. After leaving school at 16, Brosnan began training in commercial illustration, but trained at the Drama Centre in London for three years...
, Bronson Pinchot
Bronson Pinchot
Bronson Alcott Pinchot is an American actor. He has appeared in several feature films, including Risky Business, Beverly Hills Cop , The First Wives Club, True Romance, Courage Under Fire and It's My Party...
, Jaleel White
Jaleel White
Jaleel Ahmad White is an American actor and screenwriter. He is best known for his role as Steve Urkel from Family Matters and voicing the character of Sonic the Hedgehog and other characters for Sonic the Hedgehog media....
, Gabriel Byrne
Gabriel Byrne
Gabriel James Byrne is an Irish actor, film director, film producer, writer, cultural ambassador and audiobook narrator. His acting career began in the Focus Theatre before he joined Londo's Royal Court Theatre in 1979. Byrne's screen debut came in the Irish soap opera The Riordans and the...
, John Gielgud
John Gielgud
Sir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH was an English actor, director, and producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful, emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937...
, and Frank Welker
Frank Welker
Franklin Wendell "Frank" Welker is an American actor who specializes in voice acting and has contributed character voices and other vocal effects to American television and motion pictures.-Acting career:...
, with the singing voices of Céline Dion
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
, Bryan White
Bryan White
Bryan White is an American country music artist. Signed to Asylum Records in 1994 at age 20, White released his self-titled debut album that year. Both it and its follow-up, 1996's Between Now and Forever, were certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, and 1997's The...
, and Andrea Corr
Andrea Corr
Andrea Jane Corr is an Irish musician, songwriter and actress. Corr debuted in 1990 as the lead singer of the Celtic folk rock and pop rock group The Corrs along with her three elder siblings Caroline, Sharon, and Jim...
.
The film is about a sprited teenage girl named Kayley who wants to be a knight of the Round Table
Round Table (Camelot)
The Round Table is King Arthur's famed table in the Arthurian legend, around which he and his Knights congregate. As its name suggests, it has no head, implying that everyone who sits there has equal status. The table was first described in 1155 by Wace, who relied on previous depictions of...
in Camelot
Camelot
Camelot is a castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and eventually came to be described as the fantastic capital of Arthur's realm and a symbol of the Arthurian world...
like her father Sir Lionel
Sir Lionel
Sir Lionel is the younger son of King Bors of Gaunnes and Evaine and brother of Bors the Younger in Arthurian legend. He is a double cousin of Lancelot and cousin of Lancelot's younger half-brother Ector de Maris...
, a blind young man named Garrett who wishes only to be left alone, and their quest to find Excalibur
Excalibur
Excalibur is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Great Britain. Sometimes Excalibur and the Sword in the Stone are said to be the same weapon, but in most versions they are considered separate. The sword was...
.
Plot
A young girl named Kayley desires to become a knight of the Round Table like her father Lionel in the kingdom of CamelotCamelot
Camelot is a castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and eventually came to be described as the fantastic capital of Arthur's realm and a symbol of the Arthurian world...
and wishes to accompany him when the knights are called to a special meeting with King Arthur, but he kindly objects that she is too young and promises to take her someday. When the knights arrive at Camelot (United We Stand) one of the knights, Ruber, who has gone mad with power and seeks riches from his position as a knight of the Round Table, attacks Arthur. Mortally wounding Lionel with his club, he is ultimately driven off by the other knights after Arthur strikes him down with Excalibur.
After Lionel dies, Kayley must learn to live without him. Inspired by her father's bravery (On My Father's Wings), she spends ten years tending to her family farm. Now a young woman, Kayley is still much of a dreamer and still wishes to be a knight, much against her mother Julianna's wishes.
Her dream seems to pay off though, when the knights again gather with King Arthur and Merlin to discuss the era of peace among the kingdom when a gryphon
Gryphon
-Businesses:* Gryphon Airlines, an American-owned airline based in Vienna, Virginia* Gryphon Audio Designs, a Danish maker of audio components* Golden Gryphon Press, an American independent publishing company...
flies in, attacks and wounds Arthur and takes the sword Excalibur. Merlin summons a bird with silver wings called Ayden to face the gryphon. After a furious fight, the gryphon drops the sword into the Dark Forest and loses it. He reports this to Ruber. The call goes out across the land that Excalibur had been stolen, but Kayley's mother forbids her to go out after it. Shortly thereafter, Ruber comes to pay Julianna a visit, planning to use her to gain access to Camelot and introducing a potion that he had gotten that combines his men and a chicken with an assorted array of weapons (Ruber). During the festivities, Kayley manages to free herself and escapes capture by fleeing to the Forbidden Forest (The Prayer), whose enchanted plant and animal life prevent Ruber's army from following her. The chicken, named Bladebeak is then ordered to follow her and report her whereabouts to him.
While lost in the forest, Kayley comes across Garrett, a handsome yet blind
Blind
Blind may refer to:* The state of blindness, being unable to see* A window blind, a covering for a windowBlind may also refer to:-Electronics, engineering, and science:...
hermit
Hermit
A hermit is a person who lives, to some degree, in seclusion from society.In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Christian who lives the eremitic life out of a religious conviction, namely the Desert Theology of the Old Testament .In the...
who wants to be left alone (I Stand Alone). He grudgingly helps Kayley find Excalibur. Guided by Ayden, they manage to find the cover of the sword in the footprints of a giant. As they make their way into dragon
Dragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
infested mountains, they come across a conjoined two-headed dragon - the sophisticated and intelligent Devon and the boorish, but loyal Cornwall or "Corny" for short. Thanks to the bullying from the rest of the dragons due to their differences, and their inability to fly, they want nothing more than to be apart from one another (If I Didn't have You). Developing a friendship toward Kayley, they join the party. Due to Kayley's insistence, Garrett misses a key warning from Ayden and is injured in an attack. During the escape, Kayley uses the forest's plants to heal Garrett's wounds, and they develop a mutual attraction and feeling toward one another (Looking Through Your Eyes).
Soon they come across the giant who is using the sword as a toothpick and manage to outwit Ruber again, trapping him and his minions with the giant as they slide uncontrollably down the mountainside. Garrett returns to the forest, having grown distant from the world of men and preferring to stay in the forest. Kayley starts toward Camelot, sword in hand, but is captured by Ruber's men. Devon and Cornwall discover their power of flight, which only works when they cooperate or agree on something mutually. They rejoin Garrett, who mounts a rescue mission, but Ruber manages to gain entry to Camelot via disguise and traps himself with King Arthur with Excalibur; now grafted to his arm with his magic potion. Kayley has been bound and gagged in the back of the cart, but is freed by Bladebeak. Kayley and Garrett manage to fight their way with their friends' help to join with Arthur and in a fight, they manage to trick Ruber into inserting the sword back into the stone it had been pulled from. The magical forces conflict and completely disintegrate Ruber, leaving the kingdom free again. The magic that spills on the kingdom separates all of Ruber's men (and Bladebeak) from their weapons and separates Devon and Cornwall, but the pair decide to reunite before the magic dissipates.
Soon after Kayley and Garrett are knighted as members of the round table. As the pair ride off into the sunset, their horse has a flag mounted to its back reading "Just Knighted".
Cast
- Jessalyn GilsigJessalyn GilsigJessalyn Gilsig is a Canadian actress known for her roles in the television series Boston Public, Nip/Tuck and as Will Schuester's ex-wife Terri Schuester in Glee...
(Andrea CorrAndrea CorrAndrea Jane Corr is an Irish musician, songwriter and actress. Corr debuted in 1990 as the lead singer of the Celtic folk rock and pop rock group The Corrs along with her three elder siblings Caroline, Sharon, and Jim...
, singing; Sarah Freeman, young; Athanassios VakalisNassos VakalisNassos Vakalis is an Emmy -award winning animation director and animator.-Early life:Nassos Vakalis was born and raised in Athens, Greece. Since childhood, he demonstrated an interest in art, submitting his early work in various contests and winning numerous prizes and...
, animation) as Kayley, the protagonist. She is a 20-year old farm girl with dreams of becoming a knight like her father. Kayley is based on the character Lynette from The King's Damosel, who was an expanded version of LynetteLynette and LyonesseIn the Arthurian Legend, Lynette is a woman who travels to King Arthur's court to seek help for her beautiful sister Lyonesse , whose lands are under siege by the Red Knight of the Red Lands.Since Lynette refuses to reveal her name for reasons which are not...
of Arthurian legend. - Cary ElwesCary ElwesIvan Simon Cary Elwes , known professionally as Cary Elwes, is an English actor. The son of Dominick Elwes and Tessa Georgina Kennedy, Elwes acted in off-Broadway plays during college and moved to the United States in the early 1980s. He is known for his role as Westley in the cult classic The...
(Bryan WhiteBryan WhiteBryan White is an American country music artist. Signed to Asylum Records in 1994 at age 20, White released his self-titled debut album that year. Both it and its follow-up, 1996's Between Now and Forever, were certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, and 1997's The...
, singing; Chrystal Klabunde, animation) as Garrett, the deuteragonist. He is a 22-year old blind hermit who once dreamed of becoming a knight. He is also Kayley's love-interest in the film. Garrett is a combination of two characters from The King's Damosel: The knight-in-disguise GarethGarethSir Gareth was a Knight of the Round Table in Arthurian Legend. He was the youngest son of Lot and of Morgause, King Arthur's half-sister, thus making him Arthur's nephew, as well as brother to Gawain, Agravain, Gaheris, and half brother of Mordred...
(from Arthurian legend) and the blind cave-dweller Lucius (an original character in the novel). Lynn ManningLynn Manning-Biography:Lynn Manning's life was turned upside down when he was blinded in a Hollywood bar in 1978 at age 23. He has since gone on to make a name for himself as a playwright and actor....
served as an advisor on blindness and martial arts. - Gary OldmanGary OldmanGary Leonard Oldman is an English actor, voice actor, filmmaker and musician.A member of the 1980s Brit Pack, Oldman came to prominence via starring roles in British films Meantime , Sid and Nancy and Prick Up Your Ears , with his performance in the latter bringing him his first BAFTA Award...
(Alexander Williams, animation) as Ruber, the main antagonist. He is an insane former knight who wishes to conquer Camelot. He is based on the Red KnightRed KnightRed Knight is a title borne by several characters in Arthurian legend. The first is likely the Red Knight of the Forest of Quinqeroi in Chrétien de Troyes' Perceval, the Story of the Grail; he steals a cup from King Arthur and is killed by the protagonist Perceval, who wears his armor and comes to...
. - Eric IdleEric IdleEric Idle is an English comedian, actor, author, singer, writer, and comedic composer. He was as a member of the British comedy group Monty Python, a member of the The Rutles on Saturday Night Live and author of the play, Spamalot....
and Don RicklesDon RicklesDonald Jay "Don" Rickles is an American stand-up comedian and actor. A frequent guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Rickles has acted in comedic and dramatic roles, but is best known as an insult comic....
(Dan Wagner, animation) as Devon and Cornwall, a dim-witted two-headed dragon and the tritagonists. The two heads dislike each other and have difficulties flying and breathing fire (unlike most dragons). - Jane SeymourJane Seymour (actress)Jane Seymour, OBE is an English actress best known for her performances in the James Bond film Live and Let Die , East of Eden , Onassis: The Richest Man in the World , and the American television series Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman...
(Céline DionCeline DionCéline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
, singing; Cynthia Overman, animation) as Juliana, Kayley's mother and Sir Lionel's widow. - Pierce BrosnanPierce BrosnanPierce Brendan Brosnan, OBE is an Irish actor, film producer and environmentalist. After leaving school at 16, Brosnan began training in commercial illustration, but trained at the Drama Centre in London for three years...
(Steve PerrySteve Perry (musician)Stephen Ray "Steve" Perry is an American singer and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Journey from 1977–1987 and 1995–1998. Perry had a successful solo career throughout the late 1980s and early '90s.Perry's voice has garnered acclaim from musical peers and music...
, singing) as King ArthurKing ArthurKing Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
, the king of legend. - Bronson PinchotBronson PinchotBronson Alcott Pinchot is an American actor. He has appeared in several feature films, including Risky Business, Beverly Hills Cop , The First Wives Club, True Romance, Courage Under Fire and It's My Party...
(Stephen Franck, animation) as the Griffin, Ruber's main henchmanHenchmanHenchman referred originally to one who attended on a horse for his employer, that is, a horse groom. Hence, like constable and marshal, also originally stable staff, henchman became the title of a subordinate official in a royal court or noble household...
and the secondary antagonist. - Jaleel WhiteJaleel WhiteJaleel Ahmad White is an American actor and screenwriter. He is best known for his role as Steve Urkel from Family Matters and voicing the character of Sonic the Hedgehog and other characters for Sonic the Hedgehog media....
(Stephen Franck, animation) as Bladebeak; a chicken who is mystically merged with an axe. - Gabriel ByrneGabriel ByrneGabriel James Byrne is an Irish actor, film director, film producer, writer, cultural ambassador and audiobook narrator. His acting career began in the Focus Theatre before he joined Londo's Royal Court Theatre in 1979. Byrne's screen debut came in the Irish soap opera The Riordans and the...
as Sir LionelSir LionelSir Lionel is the younger son of King Bors of Gaunnes and Evaine and brother of Bors the Younger in Arthurian legend. He is a double cousin of Lancelot and cousin of Lancelot's younger half-brother Ector de Maris...
, Kayley's knighted father; is killed by Ruber early in the movie. - John GielgudJohn GielgudSir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH was an English actor, director, and producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful, emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937...
as MerlinMerlinMerlin is a legendary figure best known as the wizard featured in the Arthurian legend. The standard depiction of the character first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, written c. 1136, and is based on an amalgamation of previous historical and legendary figures...
, Arthur's legendary wizard friend and Ayden's master. - Frank WelkerFrank WelkerFranklin Wendell "Frank" Welker is an American actor who specializes in voice acting and has contributed character voices and other vocal effects to American television and motion pictures.-Acting career:...
(Mike NguyenMike NguyenMike Nguyen is a Vietnamese-American artist who worked as a Supervising Animator on Warner Bros.' The Iron Giant but is most famous for his own animated feature My Little World.- Biography :...
, animation) as Ayden, the silver-winged FalconFalconA falcon is any species of raptor in the genus Falco. The genus contains 37 species, widely distributed throughout Europe, Asia, and North America....
owned by Merlin who aids Garrett.
Musical Numbers
- "United We Stand" - King Arthur & Knights
- "On My Father's Wings" - Kayley
- "Ruber" - Ruber
- "The Prayer" - Juliana
- "I Stand Alone" - Garrett
- "If I Didn't Have You" - Devon & Cornwall
- "Looking Through Your Eyes" - Garrett & Kayley
- "I Stand Alone (Reprise)"- Garrett
Production
In May 1995, The Quest for the Grail was Warner Bros. Feature Animation's first announced project, and the studio put the film into production before the story was finalized. Animators spent considerable downtime waiting for management to make up their minds. Bill KroyerBill Kroyer
William "Bill" Kroyer is an award-winning director of animation and computer graphics commercials, short films, movie titles and theatrical films. He and Jerry Rees were the main animators for the CGI sequences in Tron...
(FernGully: The Last Rainforest
FernGully: The Last Rainforest
FernGully: The Last Rainforest is a 1992 Australian-American animated film directed by Bill Kroyer, produced by Peter Faiman and Wayne Young, and written by Jim Cox based on a book of the same name by Diana Young. It is a film with a strong environmental theme...
) was originally going to direct with his wife, Sue, producing, but creative differences forced the husband and wife team to leave the project in February 1997. Kenny Ortega
Kenny Ortega
Kenneth John "Kenny" Ortega is an American producer, director, and choreographer. He is known for directing the High School Musical trilogy and Michael Jackson's This Is It concert tour.-Life and career:...
served as the film's choreographer
Choreography
Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements in which motion, form, or both are specified. Choreography may also refer to the design itself, which is sometimes expressed by means of dance notation. The word choreography literally means "dance-writing" from the Greek words "χορεία" ...
. CGI was used for a few scenes, such as to create the rock ogre. According to Kit Percy, head of CGI effects, the software they used was designed for use with live-action.
Chrystal Klabunde, leading animator of Garrett, said in an article in Animation Magazine, "It was top heavy. All the executives were happily running around and playing executive, getting corner offices—but very few of them had any concept about animation at all, about doing an animated film. It never occurred to anybody at the top that they had to start from the bottom and build that up. The problems were really coming at the inexperience of everyone involved. Those were people from Disney that had the idea that you just said, 'Do it,' and it gets done. It never occurred to them that it got done because Disney had an infrastructure in place, working like clockwork. We didn't have that." Effects supervisor, Michel Gagné
Michel Gagné
Michel Gagné is a Canadian cartoonist.-Film:Gagné studied Classical Animation at Sheridan College and worked for Sullivan Bluth Studios for six years, working on such films as An American Tail, The Land Before Time, All Dogs Go to Heaven, Rock-A-Doodle, and A Troll in Central Park...
also said, "People were giving up. The head of layout was kicked out, the head of background, the executive producer, the producer, the director, the associate producer---all the heads rolled. It's kind of a hard environment to work in." Dalisa Cooper Cohen, producer of the film, said "We made this movie in a year, basically. That was a lot of the problem. We worked around the clock."
Reportedly, "cost overruns and production nightmares" led the studio to "reconsider their commitment to feature animation." Filmmaker Brad Bird
Brad Bird
Phillip Bradley "Brad" Bird is an Academy Award-winning American director, voice actor, animator and screenwriter. He is best known for writing and directing Disney/Pixar's The Incredibles and Ratatouille . He also adapted and directed the critically acclaimed 2D animated 1999 Warner Brothers...
(who helmed The Iron Giant
The Iron Giant
The Iron Giant is a 1999 animated film produced by Warner Bros. Animation, based on the 1968 novel The Iron Man by Ted Hughes. Brad Bird directed the film, which stars a voice cast of Jennifer Aniston, Harry Connick, Jr., Vin Diesel, Eli Marienthal, Christopher McDonald and John Mahoney...
, Warner Bros. next animated film) thought that micromanaging, which he said had worked well for Disney but not for Warner Bros., had been part of the problem.
Reception
The film received mixed to negative reviews; it made $6,041,602 on its opening weekend and $22,717,758 during its theatrical run in North America, and the studio lost about $40 million on the film. The film was largely overshadowed by Deep ImpactDeep Impact (film)
Deep Impact is a 1998 science-fiction disaster-drama film released by Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks in the United States on May 8, 1998. The film was directed by Mimi Leder and stars Robert Duvall, Elijah Wood, Téa Leoni, and Morgan Freeman...
and the opening weekend debut of The Horse Whisperer
The Horse Whisperer
The Horse Whisperer is a 1998 American drama film directed by and starring Robert Redford, based on the 1995 novel of the same name by Nicholas Evans...
, and the following week by the hyped release of Godzilla
Godzilla (1998 film)
Godzilla is a 1998 science fiction monster disaster film film co-written and directed by Roland Emmerich. It is a loose remake of the 1954 giant monster classic Godzilla. The storyline was conceived from a screenplay written by Emmerich and Dean Devlin. The film relates a tale of a nuclear incident...
.
David Kronke of the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
wrote that the film is "a nearly perfect reflection of troubling trends in animated features," called Kaylee "a standard-issue spunky female heroine," and said that "Garrett's blindness is the one adventurous element to the film, but even it seems calculated; his lack of sight is hardly debilitating, yet still provides kids a lesson in acceptance". Kevin J. Harty, editor of a collection of essays called Cinema Arthuriana, says that the film is “slightly indebted to, rather than, as Warner publicity claims, actually based on” Chapman’s novel.
Nonetheless, the animation of the movie is sometimes positively credited, especially the effects animation supervised by Michel Gagné
Michel Gagné
Michel Gagné is a Canadian cartoonist.-Film:Gagné studied Classical Animation at Sheridan College and worked for Sullivan Bluth Studios for six years, working on such films as An American Tail, The Land Before Time, All Dogs Go to Heaven, Rock-A-Doodle, and A Troll in Central Park...
.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack was released May 5, 1998, ten days before the film's release. Although the film was not a critical or commercial success, the soundtrack did receive a certain level of praise. The album peaked at #117 on the Billboard 200Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
, and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song
Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song
Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song was awarded for the first time in 1962 and has been awarded annually since 1965 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.-1960s:...
for "The Prayer", and was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song
Academy Award for Best Original Song
The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
, also for "The Prayer" (though it lost the latter to "When You Believe
When You Believe
"When You Believe" is an Academy Award-winning song by American recording artists Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston. The song was written and composed by Stephen Schwartz for the 1998 DreamWorks animated feature The Prince of Egypt. A version of "When You Believe" was produced as a single with...
" from DreamWorks
DreamWorks
DreamWorks Pictures, also known as DreamWorks, LLC, DreamWorks SKG, DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC, DreamWorks Studios or DW Studios, LLC, is an American film studio which develops, produces, and distributes films, video games and television programming...
' The Prince of Egypt
The Prince of Egypt
The Prince of Egypt is a 1998 American animated musical drama film and the first traditionally animated film produced and released by DreamWorks Animation. The film is an adaptation of the Book of Exodus and follows the life of Moses from being a prince of Egypt to his ultimate destiny to lead the...
).
The soundtrack is quite well known due to the celebrity vocals present on it, such as Celine Dion
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
and Andrea Bocelli
Andrea Bocelli
Andrea Bocelli, is an Italian tenor, multi-instrumentalist and classical crossover artist. Born with poor eyesight, he became blind at the age of twelve following a soccer accident....
singing "The Prayer", LeAnn Rimes
LeAnn Rimes
LeAnn Rimes is an American country/pop singer. She is known for her rich vocals and her rise to fame as an eight-year-old champion on the original Ed McMahon version of Star Search, followed by the release of the Patsy Cline-intended single "Blue" when Rimes was only age 13, resulting in her...
singing her single version of the movie's romantic duet, "Looking Through Your Eyes
Looking Through Your Eyes
"Looking Through Your Eyes" is the second single from LeAnn Rimes' album Sittin' on Top of the World. The song placed at #4 on the Adult Contemporary charts, #18 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and #38 in the UK. The song was also featured on The Quest for Camelot soundtrack...
", The Corrs
The Corrs
The Corrs are an Irish band which combine pop rock with traditional Celtic folk music. The brother and sisters are from Dundalk, Ireland. The group consists of the Corr siblings: Andrea ; Sharon ; Caroline ; and Jim .The Corrs came to international prominence with their performance at the...
singing "On my Father's Wings", "Looking Through Your Eyes" and Steve Perry
Steve Perry (musician)
Stephen Ray "Steve" Perry is an American singer and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Journey from 1977–1987 and 1995–1998. Perry had a successful solo career throughout the late 1980s and early '90s.Perry's voice has garnered acclaim from musical peers and music...
singing "I Stand Alone", which is also featured on his "Greatest Hits + 5 Unreleased" album. Gary Oldman
Gary Oldman
Gary Leonard Oldman is an English actor, voice actor, filmmaker and musician.A member of the 1980s Brit Pack, Oldman came to prominence via starring roles in British films Meantime , Sid and Nancy and Prick Up Your Ears , with his performance in the latter bringing him his first BAFTA Award...
is also on the soundtrack, singing Ruber's theme. "The Prayer" was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song
Academy Award for Best Original Song
The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
at the 71st Academy Awards and won the 1999 Golden Globe for Best Original Song - Motion Picture. One of the Celtic Woman
Celtic Woman
Celtic Woman is an all-female musical ensemble conceived and assembled by Sharon Browne and David Downes, a former musical director of the Irish stage show Riverdance...
members, Chloë Agnew
Chloë Agnew
Chloë Alexandra Adele Emily Agnew is an Irish singer who is one of the current members of the Celtic music group Celtic Woman as the youngest member. She comes from Knocklyon, County Dublin where she lived with her mother Adele "Twink" King and younger sister Naomi...
covered "The Prayer" in full English. Another member of the same group, Deirdre Shannon
Deirdre Shannon
Deirdre Gilsenan is an Irish singer who has toured with a variety of Celtic music groups, such as Anúna, the Celtic Tenors and Celtic Woman...
and her brother Matthew, a former Celtic Tenor
Celtic Tenors
The Celtic Tenors began life as the Three Irish Tenors on RTE's Theatre Nights on October 1995. The group at that time consisted of James Nelson, Niall Morris and Paul Hennessey....
covered it for her solo album. Another rendition of "The Prayer" was performed at the Closing Ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics
2002 Winter Olympics
The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event that was celebrated in February 2002 in and around Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Approximately 2,400 athletes from 77 nations participated in 78 events in fifteen disciplines, held throughout...
by Josh Groban
Josh Groban
Joshua Winslow "Josh" Groban is an American singer-songwriter, musician, actor, and record producer. His four solo albums have been certified at least multi-platinum, and in 2007, he was charted as the number-one best selling artist in the United States with over 21 million records in that country...
and Charlotte Church
Charlotte Church
Charlotte Maria Church is a Welsh singer-songwriter, actress and television presenter. She rose to fame in childhood as a classical singer before branching into pop music in 2005. By 2007, she had sold more than 10 million records worldwide including over 5 million in the United States...
.
Video game
The video game was released in 1998 for Game Boy ColorGame Boy Color
The is Nintendo's successor to the 8-bit Game Boy handheld game console, and was released on October 21, 1998 in Japan, November 19, 1998 in North America, November 23, 1998 in Europe and November 27, 1998 in the United Kingdom. It features a color screen and is slightly thicker and taller than...
.
See also
- List of films based on Arthurian legend
- Racing StripesRacing StripesRacing Stripes is a 2005 comedy film directed by Frederik Du Chau, the director of Quest for Camelot. Although set in Kentucky, the movie was filmed in Pietermaritzburg and Nottingham Road, South Africa.-Plot:...
- UnderdogUnderdog (film)Underdog is a 2007 American live-action comedy film based on the cartoon series of the same name. The film was directed by Frederik Du Chau and stars Peter Dinklage as Dr. Simon Bar Sinister, Patrick Warburton as Cad Lackley, and Jason Lee as the voice of Underdog. The film also stars Jim Belushi,...