Kids of the Round Table

((Kids adventure -- Canadian -- Color))

A Malofilm Communications presentation of a Melenny Prods. production, with the participation of Telefilm Canada. (International sales: Malofilm Intl.) Produced by Richard Goudreau. Directed by Robert Tinnell. Screenplay, David Sherman, based on an original story by Tinnell.

Alex ... Johnny Morina
Merlin ... Malcolm McDowell
Butch ... Michael Ironside
Alex's father ... Peter Aykroyd
Stu ... Rene Simard
Jenny ... Maggie Jane Castle

Pic opens with a backyard battle featuring a bunch of kids wielding plastic swords; 11-year-old Alex (Johnny Morina) eventually takes control of the castle, which is actually a little shed. Hebegins telling his friends a bit of the King Arthur lore, but is interrupted by a neighborhood thug appropriately named Scar. Scar and his bully buddies scare off the kids, but Alex stands up to them, eventually being chased into the woods, where he stumbles upon Excalibur, King Arthur's famed weapon of choice. When Alex pulls the sword from the stone, a rather grungy, arch-looking Merlin (Malcolm McDowell) arrives and whisks Alex back to his underground hideaway deep in the trunk of a tree. He dispenses a few rather goofy words of wisdom, explaining how the sword will give Alex special powers, and tries to convince the kid to use his new magic wisely.

Alex promptly begins abusing his powers, beating the living daylights out of a very surprised Scar.

Pic soon picks up steam with the introduction of subplot involving Scar's dad , Butch (Michael Ironside), who is plotting a bank job with a group of rather improbable crooks. Pic becomesa bit of a comic caper film at this point, as the bad guys take abunch of kids hostage. It's no big surprise that the newly empowered Alex saves the day.

Ironside is quite amusing as the bumbling bank robber and Quebec pop star Rene Simard is even funnier as one of Butch's nerdy henchman. McDowell's role is a relatively small one and he delivers an unusually good-natured performance. Morina, who starred in the acclaimed Canuck miniseries "Boys of St. Vincent," shows he can also handle light fare here.

This is the first feature from L.A.-based helmer Robert Tinnell, who's done a good job of crafting an efficient, fast-moving pic. Script by Montreal scribe David Sherman, also making his bigscreen debut, contains a number of fairly amusing one-liners to spice up this lightweight tale.

All tech credits are fine on the modest-budget pic, which was lensed in Montreal and Los Angeles.

Camera (color), Roxanne Di Santo; editor, Gaetan Huot; music, Normand Corbeil; production design, Michel Marsolais; sound, Julian Ferreira; assistant director, Andre Martin. Reviewed at National Film Board of Canada Theatre, Montreal, May 11, 1995. (In Cannes market.) Running time: 89 min.

With: Jamieson Boulanger, Justin Borntraeger, Geoffrey Graves, Bill Coyle, James Rae, Roc Lafortune, Christopher Olscamp, Melissa Altro. Kids of the Round Table" is a light, fairly entertaining family film that manages to deliver a good dose of breezy comic adventure. Made by Melenny Prods., a new Montreal outfit, this modern-day spin on the King Arthur tale should dowell with young auds in Canada, but is more likely to generate interest from TV and video buyers in other territories.

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