Arthurian Medievalism in Quest for Camelot

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    Quest for Camelot (1998) is an animated movie about the main character, Kayley going on a quest to find Excalibur after it was stolen from King Arthur by one of his knights of the Round Table, Sir Ruber. Along the way, she meets various characters who will accompany her on her quest to return Excalibur to Camelot. She must find the sword before Sir Ruber, and save the kingdom from being reverted back to the early dark days. 

Oh, Oh, Oh, it's Magic

    There is a lot of magical represented in this movie, from the sword, the potions, and the creatures included in the film. The first representation I'll include is the sword. In the beginning of the movie, Ruber attacks King Arthur during a meeting of the knights of the Round Table and when Ruber's morning star meets Excalibur lightning and purple light shines from the sword and the force throws him across the table. 

    The next example is the potion used by Ruber to create his new army of "Iron Men". In his song he says, "With this potion I bought from some witches..."19:21, using the well at Kayley's home he is able to create his army. When he throws in a person or animal with a weapon they combine into a new being that is both weapon and human. 

    The best example in my opinion are the creatures and plant life throughout the movie. The Forbidden Forest is filled with fantastical plants that are either hostile or docile to the characters. The link to a scene that showcases the plant life is in the section below if you'd like to see that, like using a flower to fly. In a later scene Kayley uses a plant to heal Garrett's wound instantly in a cave that came from the Forbidden Forest. Those are just two examples of magical plants in the movie. 

    There are many fantastical creatures in the movie that either have magical elements or are mythical creatures that were popular during medieval history and were believed by people during that time. Such creatures include talking Griffins and Dragons, and gassy rock Ogres. 

    Merlin is also included in the movie, but like in Malory's work, he acts more as a helper to the story than a main character. He sends Aiden the silver winged falcon to help Garrett in the forbidden forest and is portrayed as more of a confidant to King Arthur. He is unable to use his magic to help Arthur with the impending doom to the kingdom.

Garrett the Hermit

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    Garrett was a stable boy when he lived in Camelot, dreaming of becoming a knight of the Round Table. After an accident that left him blind, he lost hope in said dream. It wasn't until a knight believed in his ability and guided him, telling Garrett, "A knight's strength comes from his heart and his loyalty to the oath of Camelot"(45:41). Hope of his potential knighthood was lost when the knight died. We are not given any more information on Garrett's back story in this movie but we do know that at some point after the knight's death, he chooses the life of a hermit. Thanks to one of my fellow students' previous blog posts on Hermits, I am able to give some similarities to the recorded life of hermits and Garrett's hermit life. According to Abby, hermits lived as outcasts from society predominantly due to religious reasons (2). Garrett left most likely due to his disability and has a whole song about how he "Stands Alone" and prefers it that way. Like in the blog post about hermits, they often rely on nature to sustain them. In Garrett's musical number, you can see him using the forbidden forest's wildlife to move around safely. You can watch it here! Hermits were often sought out for spiritual guidance, shelter, and prayer (2). But in the case of this movie, Kayley relies on him to get her through the forbidden forest to find excalibur, and Devon and Cornwall accompany the two for protection from the dragons in Dragon Valley.  

Kayley and Garrett's relationship

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    Throughout the movie, the relationship between Kayley and Garrett grows from a platonic one to a romantic one. It transforms when Kayley learns that her father was the knight who guided Garrett back to his dream after his accident. He shares his wisdom of the. forbidden forest and shows her how to hold her ground until the last possible moment to attack. In the scene, he goes behind her to show her the proper form, and thanks to a scene from the TV series New Girl, I learned that when a man shows a woman how to do anything from behind it signifies that he wants an excuse to be close to her. Here is the scene! From this moment on they become closer emotionally and when Garrett is struck with an arrow their relationship flourishes into a romantic one. They have a lovely musical number that used to make my younger self swoon and cry,  and they acknowledge their love for one another. 

    I believe their relationship represents the idea of courtly love vs. chivalry or in this movie's case, the good for the kingdom. After Garrett is healed by the magic plant they continue on to try to find Excalibur and they eventually come to a crossroads where they have to choose either their love or saving the kingdom. Garrett decides he can't leave the forest because there is no place for him there anymore. He gives up his chance at fulfilling the quest and getting a chance at knighthood because he feels he doesn't belong there. Kayley chooses to continue on and finish her mission leaving Garrett alone. Their journey together represents a modernized and kid-friendly retelling of this medieval romantic idea of courtly love vs. chivalry. 

Extra bits

I would like to add a list of some of my favorite quotes, facts, and, in my humble opinion, the best scene in the entire movie. 

Some quotes that make the movie that much better are:

• “Impertinent pig” 17:15.
• “You reteched mythological moron.” 32:05.
• “Shut up cricket ball” 35:20.
• “What are you?” “Well, frankly we are the reason cousins shouldn’t marry” 36:09.
• “Dragon-ala-king… It’s such a pleasant relief from chicken” 43:16.

  -  The actor who voices Garrett is ... and he played in the popular book to movie adaptation, The Princess Bride! According to the general trivia feature on Prime Video, after his role in The Princess Bride he was offered many period roles like his other notable work, Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1997).

 -   Another interesting fact is that Devon from the dragon duo Devon and Cornwall is voiced by Eric Idle who is a member of the infamous group Monty Python. This group produced Monty Python and the Holy Grail which is another retelling of the story of the King Arthur.

 -   And for the best part of the movie is the song sung by Devon and Cornwall after the meet Kayley and Garrett in the Dragon Lands. The Song is about how they wish there weren't conjoined and what their life would be like if it was reality. Please enjoy :)

Citations

(1) Quest for Camelot. Directed by Frederick Du Chau, performances by Pierce Brosnan, Celine Dion, and Steve Perry, Warner Brothers, 1998. 

(2) Ordway , Abby. “Hermits, Monks, & Friars.” Blogger, 29 Aug. 2023, https://arthurianworldf23bu.blogspot.com/2023/08/the-medieval-world-hermits-monks-friars.html. Accessed 5 Oct. 2023.

(3) Entertainment Wiki, Contributors to Warner Bros. “Garrett.”Warner Bros. Entertainment Wiki, Fandom, Inc., 2023, warnerbros.fandom.com/wiki/Garrett. 

(4) Wiki, Contributors to Heroes. “Garrett (Quest for Camelot).” Heroes Wiki, Fandom, Inc., 2023, hero.fandom.com/wiki/Garrett_(Quest_for_Camelot). 

(5) "Quest for Camelot - If I Didn't Have You (English)." Youtube, uploaded by PucchiFrance2, 15 September, 2013,  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-nNhGikahU.