Blog Post #10: Quest for Camelot

I thought I would write about an animation that growing up I thought was really interesting: Quest for Camelot (1998). This story has a very strong female lead—Kayley—the daughter of a knight of the round table (Lionel). Kayley always wanted to follow in her father’s footsteps and become a knight like her father. A dark-hearted knight named Ruber is unsatisfied with his share of the land’s divisions and attacks Arthur to usurp him. The knights repel Ruber’s attack but Lionel is killed before Arthur defeats Ruber with his sword Excalibur. Kayley grows up into a young woman and dreams of a chance to prove herself and become a knight like her father, much to her mother’s chagrin who thinks it is too dangerous. Ten years later a Griffin breaks into Camelot and steals Arthur’s sword, shortly after he is being attacked by Merlin’s silver-winged falcon named Ayden, the sword is lost in the Forbidden Forest as he escapes. Ruber kidnaps Julianna (Kayley’s mother) and Kayley, planning to use them to get into the castle and overthrow Arthur with the help of a magic potion. Kayley escapes and travels on her quest to find Excalibur and save her mother and her home.

What I really love about this story is that it is funny, whimsical, and shows that a girl can do anything she sets her mind to. Many times in the film Kayley’s abilities are doubted by Ruber due to her gender, but she proves her skills and defeats him with the help of her friends Garrett and conjoined twin dragon Cornwall and Devon. She and Garrett are knighted and married toward the end. The romance in this story is slower and much more realistic as well. When Kayley first meets Garrett he just wants to return to his life the way it was before he met her and live in isolation. They do not get along in the beginning and often clash heads with their different ideas and emotions about the world. Their relationship was not supposed to go on as long as it did—it was a relationship of circumstance—he was only supposed to help her through the Forbidden Forest (where he lives) and point her in the direction of the castle to return Excalibur. While being together they learn things about themselves that they never knew and grow as individuals—this makes their romance more legitimate in my opinion because they can see the good aspects of each other. Garrett teaches Kayley how to fight and Kayley teaches Garrett to trust in other again and to open his heart. I also really love the colors in this movie. It makes this movie all the more magical and whimsical I think.