Not a bad little movie.

Our four-year-old son received "Quest for Camelot" as a Christmas gift from his grandparents. Liam, in love with the characters from "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" N64 game, was instantly attracted to this animated movie full of knights, dragons, monsters and magic. Although it's not an award-winning classic, it's not a bad little movie either.

"Quest for Camelot" is loosely based on the King Arthur legends. It is set in the time when Camelot was at its peak and King Arthur does make several appearances, but the movie's focus is on a young girl and her quest to save the sword Excalibur from the clutches of the evil Ruber and restore peace and honor to the kingdom she values.

The story begins when Kaylee is a young girl. Her father is a knight of the Round Table and honorably serves King Arthur. He is killed by Ruber, a fellow knight, while defending the king from the evil knight's attack. When Kaylee learns of this, she vows to become a knight of Camelot one day. Years later, Ruber returns with a powerful magic army and steals Excalibur in a bid to become king. The theft is thwarted by a silver-winged hawk, who drops the sword in an enchanted forest. As if it were destiny, it falls to Kaylee to find the sword and save the kingdom. Along the way, she makes friends and allies who help her in her quest to find Excalibur, and in the end, Good triumphs over Evil.

Although the movie doesn't follow consistently with the legends of Camelot, that isn't the point. The movie makes a clear effort to show that anyone with a pure heart and sense of purpose can triumph over obstacles and achieve his or her goals. For example the "good guys" consist of a young girl, a blind hermit who uses a hawk as a guide (and who is also, incidentally, her love interest), siamese-twin dragon brothers, and Bladebeak, a rooster/axe monstrosity who defects from the evil army. Together, they use their strengths to defeat Ruber and his monsters. In addition to this, the movie also includes little stories with morals - learning to trust, forgive, stand up for your beliefs, compromise and get along with others.

For purely entertainment value, the movie does acquire some famous voices and singers. Character voices include Pierce Brosnan, Gary Oldman, Jane Seymour, and Gabriel Byrne, while Steve Perry and Celine Dion step in to lend their singing voices. The animation is better than anything you'd see on Saturday morning cartoons, and the songs and comedy routines are sure to entertain the entire family.

"Quest for Camelot" receives a "thumbs up" from us!