A Kid in King Arthur’s Court (1995)
Since Mark Twain’s novel A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court is one of my favorite books of all time, I always watch a film adaptation when I can get my hands on it. Unlike imperfect adaptations of The Great Gatsby, which I can’t stand to watch, I love watching any version of Mark Twain’s comedy, even if it’s hardly relevant to the original text.
In this Disney version, the brilliant Connecticut Yankee is transformed into a teenaged baseball player from California. He travels back in time and has to help King Arthur, sort out some royal affairs, evade Merlin’s evil magic, and show people of the 1500s exciting modern gadgets of 1995, like a Walkman, roller skates, and breakdancing. While it would have been cute if he’d live in Connecticut and belonged to the Yankees baseball team, rather than the Knights, Disney probably wanted to warn people from the get-go that their version was going to be a loose adaptation. I’ve never found a perfect version, but the concept is such an endearing one that the details sometimes don’t matter. If you want to see Ron Moody as Merlin, Kate Winslet as one of the princesses, Joss Ackland as King Arthur, and a pre-Bond Daniel Craig all getting amused by and ultimately learning from Thomas Ian Nicholas, you can try this very harmless Disney version.
Be sure to check out Hot Toasty Rag's review of Mark Twain's novel A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court here!
Be sure to check out Hot Toasty Rag's review of 1949's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court here!
More Kate Winslet movies here!
In this Disney version, the brilliant Connecticut Yankee is transformed into a teenaged baseball player from California. He travels back in time and has to help King Arthur, sort out some royal affairs, evade Merlin’s evil magic, and show people of the 1500s exciting modern gadgets of 1995, like a Walkman, roller skates, and breakdancing. While it would have been cute if he’d live in Connecticut and belonged to the Yankees baseball team, rather than the Knights, Disney probably wanted to warn people from the get-go that their version was going to be a loose adaptation. I’ve never found a perfect version, but the concept is such an endearing one that the details sometimes don’t matter. If you want to see Ron Moody as Merlin, Kate Winslet as one of the princesses, Joss Ackland as King Arthur, and a pre-Bond Daniel Craig all getting amused by and ultimately learning from Thomas Ian Nicholas, you can try this very harmless Disney version.
Be sure to check out Hot Toasty Rag's review of Mark Twain's novel A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court here!
Be sure to check out Hot Toasty Rag's review of 1949's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court here!
More Kate Winslet movies here!