Quest for Camelot: A 20th Anniversary Retrospective · 5:37pm May 15th, 2018
Because even though last year was all the rage for "Space Jam's" 20th anniversary, I'm afraid if I don't talk about it, nobody will.
Also called "Quest for the Magic" sword, the film follows Kayley, a daughter of a Knight in King Arthur's Court, as she sets out to find the fabled sword Excalibur after it was stolen by Ruber (voiced by Gary Oldman) via griffon. Along the way she encounters a very handsome hermit named Garrett (voiced by Carey Elwes of films such as "The Princess Bride" and "Robin Hood: Men in Tights"), his silver-winged seeing eye falcon Aydon, and Devon and Cornwall, voiced by Eric Idle and the late Don Rickles, a two-headed dragon who banter constantly since birth ("Well, technically, we're the reason cousins shouldn't marry).
I have a rather fond memory of this film as much as other obscure animated films at the time such as "We're Back! A Dinosaurs Story" and "Anastasia." I remember seeing this in a small theater as a kid, watched it a few times on rental, then saw it several times on HBO before shows like "Spartacus," "Dexter," and "Game of Thrones" took the reigns. But as I look back on this, what do I think of it today?
The animation is very fluid, many of the scenes have well detailed shadows on the characters, and some of the character designs I like. But when it comes to story, that's where it takes a deep plummet; because it had a very troubled production (in fact, this is one of the many examples Brad Bird described regarding troubled animation production alongside "The Pagemaster."), the final story itself suffers from being a complete Disney clone. Some of the character designs also suffer; I actually mistook Kaley for Belle from "Beauty and Beast" because they both look similar. Worse, the characters often run from their enemies most of the time, with only a little bit of plant and payoff from Garrett being the best example of combat (and yes I'm aware of the scene of him fighting Ruber's henchmen).
I do like the songs. Who else wouldn't forget this one are watching the film at least twice in their lives?
Still, it wasn't even close to saving it at the box office, as poor advertisement and merchandising caused it to be overrun by "Mulan" and "Prince of Egypt" (Both also having a twentieth anniversary this year). The tragic result also carried over the clearly superior "The Iron Giant" the year after, and Warner Brothers wouldn't have a good theatrically released animated film until either "Happy Feet" or "The Lego Movie."
But to answer the question: I still like it, but place it on a lower bar when it's otherwise nostalgic as a kid; at least enough I could watch the movie again with my kids. There isn't much fan art of the film on Deviantart, but whatever is there is actually quite good.
Before finishing this retrospective: yes, I am aware Lauren Faust worked on this to some degree. But I honestly suggest following Michel Gagne on Twitter; some examples of his very spectacular effects animation is from this film and does show WIPS of his work on "The My Little Pony Move."
Oh god I loved this movie when I was a child I thought Cornwall and his brother's song was hilarious still do XD.