Sorcerer's Apprentice

Sorcerer’s Apprentice

Directed by Jon Turteltaub

Walt Disney Pictures, 2010. 109 minutes. Fantasy film.

ISBN: None

Reading/Interest Level: PG

Curriculum ties: N/A

Booktalk Ideas: You have magic. Now what?: Tell the start of the story as though you’re Dave, talking to his therapist.

Challenge Issues: Magic

Challenge Response: First Defense File

Reader’s Annotation:

The great sorcerer, Merlin, was mortally wounded by Morgana la Fey and the only one that will be able to defeat her is the Prime Merlinian that will one day appear. Over a thousand years later, Dave is in therapy because of his childhood experience with magic; is he really the Prime Merlinian?

Plot Summary:

When David accidently loses something in an antique shop, he meets Balthazar, a sorcerer trained by Merlin himself. Balthazar recognizes David as the Prime Merlinian and is prepared to start training him, but when David accidently releases another dark sorcerer a battle ensues and the only way to stop it is for Balthazar to trap himself and the other sorcerer in a jar for ten years.

Fast forward, David has been emotionally scarred by the experience from when he was ten, but through extensive therapy he’s convinced himself that the experience was just his imagination. When the sorcerers reappear, David doesn’t want anything to do with them. However, as he starts seeing the magic around him, he decides to let Balthazar train him.

Meanwhile the dark sorcerers, the Morganians, are gathering. Their goal is to release Morgana la Fey back into the world, who will then enslave mankind. David, as the Prime Merlinian, is the only one that will have enough power to stop her, so the Morganians try to destroy David before his power increases.

Because Balthazar keeps protecting David, the Morganians decide to lure David away by kidnapping Becky, the girl David has a crush on. Will David be able to save Becky and stop Morgana? The fate of the world rests upon his ability to become the powerful Prime Merlinian that was foretold.

Critical Evaluation:

This movie goes back and forth between serious and lighthearted so quickly I felt like I had whiplash. Nicholas Cage does an excellent job of appearing serious, while also throwing out hilarious one liners.  For example, when Becky visits David in his hideout for the first time, Balthazar, in his irritation with David, tells them that it’s fine for them to stay at the hideout, he’ll head out and leave them alone because he has to “go into town to pick up David’s anti-itch cream.” The humor may not be the most mature, but it’s still funny in context and is something teenagers would find hilarious.

A pleasant surprise is that the film embraces pop culture and references things that teens would be familiar with, little surprise references that they’ll enjoy such as when Horvath tries to get David’s school records and is asked for his teacher ID, he tells the secretary that he doesn’t need to see his ID. The action and lines themselves were quite reminiscent of a scene in Star Wars, but just in case the audience didn’t get it, Horvath’s lackey then laughs and gives the line from the movie, “these are not the droids you’re looking for.”

This movie, while not an award winner and certainly not anything that is life changing, is a fun, entertaining watch that teens would enjoy.

About the Author:

Jonathan Charles "Jon" Turteltaub (born August 8, 1963) is an American film director and producer. He is a graduate of Wesleyan University and the USC School of Cinematic Arts. He is the son of television comedy writer Saul Turteltaub.

He has directed several successful mainstream films for the Walt Disney Studios, including; 3 Ninjas (1992), Cool Runnings (1993), While You Were Sleeping (1995), Phenomenon (1996), Instinct (1999), Disney's The Kid (2000), National Treasure (2004), as well as its 2007 sequel National Treasure: Book of Secrets, and The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010).

Turteltaub produced the CBS television series, Jericho, and also directed the first three episodes, "Pilot", "Fallout", and "Four Horsemen".

Turteltaub is married to Amy Eldon, the sister of photojournalist Dan Eldon.

-from Wikipedia.com director page-

Justification of Selection:

This is a fun and funny movie full of humor that teens will understand and appreciate. It’s modern and the main character faces similar issues to what teens now are facing. They will be able to relate while enjoying an escape from reality.