Kids of the Round Table 1995

A boy named Johnny Morina Cole and his friends spend afternoons staging pretend medieval battles around a shed that doubles as their makeshift castle. After a playful clash, the kids circle a round table and the storyteller recounts the legend of King Arthur to the group, trading legends for laughter and a sense of brave mischief. The mood shifts when a group of older bullies arrives, and the air grows tense with the first real stir of danger in their makeshift world.

A group of bullies led by Justin Borntraeger Scar rolls in to lay down the law, intimidating the others and shoving away any sense of fun. The boy fires back with a water balloon for Scar, sparking a chase through the woods. The pursuers vanish, and in a sun-dappled clearing he discovers a sword lodged in a stone. He pulls it free, and in a sudden burst of magic the wizened figure of Malcolm McDowell appears, transporting him to a treehouse-like dwelling where the wizard begins teaching him how to harness the power of Excalibur.

Back at school life continues, and the boy forms a new bond with a fresh face, Jamieson Boulanger Luke, whom he invites to visit the castle. When Luke arrives with curiosity and open-hearted energy, Scar and his gang resume their intimidation of the friends. The legend becomes a living test as the boy calls upon Excalibur’s power and easily defeats Scar in a blunt, decisive fistfight, sending the bullies scurrying away. To honor Luke’s help, the boy welcomes him as one of the knights, cementing a new alliance within their circle.

The wizard’s counsel grows heavier as lessons deepen. He cautions that Excalibur is a gift with responsibility, and misusing its power would come at a steep price. Jealousy flares when Jenny, the girl the boy has a crush on, shows interest in Luke, triggering a moment of rash emotion in which the boy strikes Luke. Luke overpowers him briefly, but the weapon’s legend lends the boy a dangerous surge of strength, and he lands a punch that leaves Luke shaken. Jenny lays it bare, telling him that she now hates him and that he’s worse than Scar. Abandoned by his peers, the boy seeks out the tree, only to find Merlin absent and Excalibur missing. A hollow voice of the wizard echoes through the woods, reminding him that power misused leaves nothing but regret, and that the path to wisdom lies in learning from his mistake.

The personal turmoil spills over into real danger as the town buzzes with news of a bank robbery. The boy speaks with his father, who encourages him to own up and repair the hurt he caused. Meanwhile, Michael Ironside as Butch, together with Billy Coyle as Gil and a partner, plans a speedy getaway to flee the town. Jenny, at home now, senses trouble stirring and a party atmosphere hides the danger just outside, while Sheriff Ferguson — James Rae — races against time to respond to the escalating crime spree.

The bank raid culminates in a tense, high-stakes sequence. Butch captures Jenny, her mother, and the party guests, waiting for the moment to slip past police roadblocks with a stolen escape. Alex arrives in time to sabotage the crooks’ plan, flattening the getaway car’s tires and drawing Gil and Stu into a nearby barn where he outsmarts and traps them. He then calls the police, guiding them to the scene. Butch drags Alex to the getaway car, abandoning his accomplices, and drives off even as the car sticks in a muddy ditch. When the vehicle stalls, the crowd closes in, pelting Butch with apples until he is overwhelmed and finally stopped by law enforcement. The boy, shaken and bruised, musters the courage to apologize to Jenny and Luke for the earlier eruption.

In a quiet moment with the woods as witness, the boy encounters Scar again; this time the two sides reach a fragile truce, acknowledging the growth that has happened. He returns to the sacred tree, where Merlin reappears and reveals that Excalibur was never truly lost. The sword symbolizes the good inside him rather than a magical possession—the power to be Arthur lies in how he chooses to live his life. “You can be Arthur if you want to be,” the mentor intones, though not in reincarnation but in aspiration, and then Merlin vanishes, leaving the boy to decide his path.

The film closes with a final, dreamlike beat that shifts to a distant scene in Los Angeles, where another child discovers a sword in a stone—echoing the legend and leaving a note of possibility for every kid who picks up a tale of courage and responsibility.