When I originally heard that Disney was planning on making a feature length film based on the segment from the 1940s film Fantasia I was a little skeptical.  Well, actually I was flooded with images of dancing hippos and potty training (don’t ask), but that’s neither here nor there.  Like I was saying, I was skeptical; not Pirates of the Caribbean skeptical, but you get my point.  And just like back in 2003 I am more than pleasantly surprised with the outcome.

Thinking past a mouse finding a roundabout way to do his chores, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice introduces a backstory spanning way back to the final days of the sorcerer Merlin as he fights to stop Morgana in the battle between good and evil.  When the final spell has been cast Merlin lies dead, Morgana is entombed in a magical nesting doll, and Merlin’s apprentice Balthazar must now begin the long journey to find Merlin’s successor, the Prime Merlinian (feel free to take all the time you need to laugh that one off).  After a long, long time of searching Balthazar finally comes across a young boy named Dave who just might be who he has been looking for all this time, and the best chance the forces of good have against stopping Morgana from ever being a threat again. [Read more...]