Justin and the Knights of Valour (2013)

A young boy becomes a man as he embarks on a quest to become a knight.

Director:

Manuel Sicilia

Writers:

Manuel Sicilia, Matthew Jacobs

Stars:

Freddie Highmore, Antonio Banderas, James Cosmo

2 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Freddie Highmore	...	Justin (voice)
Antonio Banderas	...	Sir Clorex (voice)
James Cosmo	...	Blucher (voice)
Charles Dance	...	Legantir (voice)
Tamsin Egerton	...	Lara (voice)
Rupert Everett	...	Sota (voice)
Barry Humphries	...	Braulio (voice)
Alfred Molina	...	Reginald (voice)
Mark Strong	...	Heraclio (voice)
David Walliams	...	Melquiades (voice)
Julie Walters	...	Gran (voice)
Olivia Williams	...	Queen (voice)
Saoirse Ronan	...	Talia (voice)
Michael Culkin	...	Sebastian (voice)
Richard O'Brien	...	Innkeeper / Baker (voice)

Storyline

Justin lives in a kingdom where bureaucrats rule and knights have been ousted. His dream is to be become one of the Knights of Valour, like his grandfather was, but his father Reginald, the chief counsel to the Queen, wants his son to follow in his footsteps and become a lawyer. After an inspiring visit to his beloved Grandmother and bidding farewell to his supposed lady-love Lara, Justin leaves home and embarks on a quest to become a knight. Along the way he meets the beautiful, feisty Talia, a quirky wizard called Melquiades, and the handsome Sir Clorex and is mentored by three monks; Blucher, Legantir and Braulio, who teach and test him in the ancient ways of the Knights of Valour. Whilst an unlikely candidate for knighthood, Justin must rise to the challenge quickly when banished former knight Sir Heraclio and his army, lead by Sota, return and threaten to destroy the Kingdom.

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Plot Keywords:

knight | quest | kingdom | army | wizard | 

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Family

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild action and some rude humor.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

Spain

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 September 2013 (Spain)

Also Known As:

Justin e a Espada da Coragem

Box Office

Budget:

$24,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

€591,010 (Spain), 20 September 2013, Limited Release

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$19,417,953, 31 December 2013

Company Credits

Production Co:

Aliwood Mediterráneo Producciones, Kandor Graphics, Out Of The Box Features

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The character "Sota" is inspired by one card of the Spanish deck, equivalent to the Jack in the international deck, from which Sota is given a very similar look. Also, the name of the villain, Heraclio, matches the best known publisher of card decks in Spain, Heraclio Fournier.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Justin: [voiceover] Welcome to the kingdom of Gabilonia, once home to the bravest knights of all - but not anymore. Ever since knights were forced to leave the kingdom and justice officers took their place, we get a new law every day.

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Connections

Featured in Projector: Justin and the Knights of Valour (2013)

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Soundtracks

It's a Party
Written by Billy Lunn (as Billy Morgan), Josh Morgan (as Joshua Morgan) and Charlotte Cooper
Published 2012 by EMI Music Publishing Ltd
Performed by The Subways

User Reviews

What a voice cast! The rest - not so much

Justin, a young man in a world where knights have been outlawed, has his heart set on following his late grandfather into knighthood against the express wishes of his father.

This Spanish CGI movie has an extraordinary voice cast of top notch actors. It's a shame that the voice/lip movements mismatch so much.

The film looks like a videogame rather than an animated feature. It's not unattractive, but it's not what we've come to expect from a cinematic feature. And Justin himself is copied from Aardman's Arthur Christmas from 2 years earlier.

The story and presentation are mostly OK - lots of colour, action and humour. But the film has an air of being assembled by people who aren't 100% sure about how films are put together: the timing of gags is frequently off, for instance.