Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.5

The Kid Who Would Be King 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman April 18, 2019

The Sword in the Stone is frequently cited as one of the less artful (Art[hur]-ful?) animated entries from the sixties’ canon of Walt Disney Studios, this despite the fact that it was the last feature length “cartoon” the venerable production house released before the death of its founder. As such, it’s kind of interesting to compare that film with just the opening couple of minutes of The Kid Who Would Be King, since it, too, features an animated recounting of the life of the legendary boy whom T.H. White famously dubbed “the once and future king”. The opening animation gets through at least some of the “greatest hits” of the Arthurian legend, introducing such iconic characters as Merlin and Morgana, before segueing into “live action” with a quick shot of a book about the Knights of the Round Table (so to speak), in what is obviously meant to suggest the animated overview was being culled from that book. The book of course re-enters the story somewhat later, after young British schoolboy Alex Elliot (Louis Ashbourne Serkis, looking for all the world like a “mini-me” version of his famous motion capture icon father, Andy), stumbles across a, well, sword in a stone in what appears to be an abandoned construction site. Like any kid confronted with such an anachronism, Alex tugs on the blade, and it of course dislodges from the boulder. And thus a “new, improved” once and future king is born — and that’s when the real trouble begins.

While it never really caught on, and may not even be on the radar of many fans who saw The Kid Who Would be King, BBC’s Class: Season One, a spinoff of Doctor Who, essayed some of the same sorts of material as this film, positing a bunch of British schoolkids trying to come to terms with all sorts of supernatural phenomena. What is so instantly appealing about writer-director Joe Cornish’s approach, though, is his unforced way of detailing quite nicely developed character “arcs” (as hated as that term may be), while also achieving nicely redolent echoes of the original Arthurian legends. What's also noticeable about the film is that, while it's certainly elegiac and has moments of outright intensity, it's amazingly cheerful a lot of the time, even as Alex moves through a city littered with newspapers more or less decrying the End of the World.

There are a few arguable missteps made along the way. While Alex almost instantly (and playfully) “knights” his best friend a fellow “bully-ee” Bedders (Dean Chaumoo), after an unexpected appearance from a comedy relief Merlin (Angus Imrie most of the time, with a little cameo from Patrick Stewart as the old, meaning young, version), he also enlists the aid of two “bully-ers”, Lance (Tom Taylor) and Kaye (Rhianna Dorris). That in turn leads to some perhaps needless melodrama as one of those characters’ motivations may not be entirely pure. But the main conflict, as evil enchantress Morgana (Rebecca Ferguson), who has been consigned to a Persephone-esque prison underground, attempts to break free to wreak havoc is really well handled and develops to a surprisingly tense climax.

There’s also a rather wonderful balance offered here between two admitted clichés that serve as foundational elements for all sorts of films: discovering your “true self”, and becoming part of a team. Alex has to get past a somewhat roiling home life, with an absent father and understandably concerned mother (Denise Gough), but he’s also responsible for the “knights” he has recruited to defeat Morgana’s forces, which seek to give her dominion over all of England. Cornish nicely fulfills both “missions” of his screenplay without ever really tipping over into anything mawkish or even that rote, especially considering how hoary both of the underlying tenets of the film are. Visual effects are also nicely rendered, but one of the film’s most charming touches is completely practical: Merlin’s “spells” are fantastical combinations of weird arm motions and snapping fingers. Sometimes you just don’t need CGI to make magic.

The Kid Who Would Be King 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Screenshots are sourced from the 1080p Blu-ray.

The Kid Who Would Be King is presented on 4K UHD courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with a 2160p transfer in 2.38:1. This is another winning looking UHD disc from Fox, one which provides substantial upticks in detail, and especially fine detail, levels, while also providing noticeably more vivid saturation and highlights courtesy of HDR. The fine detail uptick is apparent right from the get go with regard to the kind of textured backgrounds of the animated sequence, which are virtually palpable in this presentation. All sorts of improved fine detail levels accrue throughout the film, often with regard to fabrics on costumes and props, but also quite commendably with regard to some of the CGI, which looks considerably sharper and more convincing in this iteration (the "veining" of Morgana's "roots" is one notable example of this phenomenon). Shadow detail is at least marginally improved in some of the darker moments, though there is still occasional murkiness that can tend to obscure some fine detail. Some of the most significant changes are in the palette. There are some almost "Maxfield Parrish" tones in some of the skies now, especially in a couple of shots supposedly at Stonehenge, and other elements like the blue school uniforms the kids wear really pop with new energy in this presentation. Alex's red parka also is really noticeably better saturated in this version. A few of the interior scenes, notably some in Alex's home environment, have a burnished buttery yellow look to them now. One kind of interesting thing I noticed — there's a longish, dark sequence in a kind of misty environment that begins at around the one hour mark, and there's a somewhat grittier look to the background in this version, especially once some orange and black clouds are backlit with the sun's glow.

The Kid Who Would Be King 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Kid Who Would Be King on 4K UHD also benefits from a nice upgrade to a Dolby Atmos track, one which clearly elevates (both literally and figuratively) the listening experience. There are all sorts of great uses of the Atmos channels, including some of the pulsing effects of the rather interesting score, but probably most effectively (and perhaps noticeably) in some of the really cool "echoing" effects of Morgana and her demonic acolytes. It's actually kind of ironic, since these scenes are "down below", but you can clearly hear the chants of Morgana and her followers waft up through the air in one of the nicer examples of new verticality on this track. The same excellently consistent engagement of the surround channels that I mentioned with regard to the 1080p Blu-ray's DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track are of course mirrored here, but this is one of the better Atmos upgrades I've personally experienced, and one which provides some great comparison listening with regard to a "standard" 7.1 surround track.

The Kid Who Would Be King 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There are no supplements on the 4K UHD disc. The 1080p Blu-ray included with this release of course contains all of the supplements listed in our The Kid Who Would Be King Blu-ray review.

The Kid Who Would Be King 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Kind of hilariously, one of the first press releases I received months ago when this film was first having its less than spectacular theatrical exhibition (from a box office standpoint, that is), Fox inadvertently titled the film The King Who Would be King in the press materials. I guess that "once and future" part may have played into that mistake (and, yes, that's a joke). It is in fact the title of this film that I think may have put some folks off — while it certainly evokes the Arthurian angle, it just doesn't adequately convey this film's spirit or indeed its heart. There are a lot of parents lamenting the lack of what is almost pejoratively called "family entertainment" these days, and to any/all of them, I can simply say, look no further than this highly enjoyable film. Technical merits are first rate, with substantial improvements in both video and audio on this 4K UHD disc. It will perhaps be disappointing for some that the enjoyable supplemental package isn't on the 4K UHD disc, but at least it's available on the also included 1080p Blu-ray. The Kid Who Would Be King 4K comes Highly recommended.