The King's Beard (2002)

You won't be disappointed!

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Rufus spends all his money to buy a barber shop. He's shocked to find out that nobody cuts their hair just like their King Cuthbert. The King has been cursed by his greedy twin brother Jasper when Cuthbert refused to surrender the throne. The Fairy Wizard can't break the curse to cut the beard. The Wizard's daughter Sophie lost her wand to Jasper's bat minions. Jasper commands the bats to get Sophie as she slowly dies so that her essence can maximize the wand.The story is interesting. The beard idea gives some compelling scenes. I'm not taken with any of main characters. It's trying to be Disney but missing the magic. It's got animal side characters. It just needs more fun in the dialog. The animation is Saturday morning cartoon quality. This is not that bad for little kids.

I honestly love the King's Beard. There was a time when it was played every Christmas but it isn't anymore. Shame really, this is actually really good. My only complaints are that it is too short and I do remember the beginning being a little on the intense side. Everything else though is great, the animation is colourful and nice and the music is lovely. I loved the simplicity of the story and characters, and that both elements were engaging enough for kids and adults. The vocal characterisations are excellent, Jim Broadbent and Colin McFarlane especially do a great job as the Wizard and the villain Jasper. I liked Sophie, she is beautiful and Rufus is very likable. Overall, I like this underrated and almost forgotten treasure. 8/10 Bethany Cox

At the time of this review, it's one of the Kids & Family on-demand movies available through our cable service. My son *LOVES* it. The songs make him giggle, the animation keeps his attention, and even my 80 yr old mother-in-law enjoys it (it has enough "grown up without being 'Mature'" content to be enjoyable by everyone). A cute story with decent animation. And the voicing is very good, too. And hey - Jim Broadbent! How can it be bad? Some of the characterizations aren't too spectacular, and the bats aren't my cup of tea, but that's my opinion. The opening might be considered a bit scary by some, only in that the bat is descending through a very long stairway, a very archetypal image of Returning To The Lair, and he has an evil expression - you know he's a bad guy just from the smarmy/evil-guy face. But overall, we enjoy it at our house, and I'm hoping I can find a copy on DVD either regionless or Region 1, for when it's finished its run through on-demand.

The Kings Beard is a absolutely great film. I watched it the day before Christmas- I'm really glad I did! The animation is top-notch and the story is brill. But I must warn you, the songs can get quite annoying after watching it more than five times, but it's a good film, perfect for a rainy day.I found that, after asking around my own age group, that majority of people loved it, even my mum loves it! It's simple but has a really good feel to it- a lot of heart must of gone into it.Whatever you do, don't judge the clips of it or front cover of the video, you need to see what it's really like by watching it. This is a great film for all ages- even the older generations too. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did... Have Fun!