The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
Directed by Jon Turteltaub
Starring Jay Baruchel, Nicolas Cage, Alfred Molina, Teresa Palmer, Toby Kebbell
Release date: July 14, 2010

I’ll save you the suspense. Despite the fact that I don’t find it a particularly good movie, I liked The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. Don’t mistake that for indecision. I think people’s ability to compartmentalize their taste in movies has a direct impact on their enjoyment of movies as entertainment. Saying a movie is bad isn’t the same as saying you didn’t like it. For as evolved as a lot of our taste in movies have become, there are still those inexplicable few that slip through that we like despite every inclination not to. I grew up watching some terrible movies and liked quite a lot of them. Some I still do. I know they are bad, but there is more that goes into liking a movie than knowing it was well made. Nostalgia, perspective, fandom, all of these things can also shape our experience outside of the quality of the film itself. We just like what we like and sometimes there is just no explanation for having a good time watching a movie. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is that experience for me.

The Walt Disney Company held multiple movie panels yesterday at WonderCon 2010 in San Francisco, CA, one of which was for The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. The film is directed by John Turteltaub, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, and stars Nicolas Cage, Jay Baruchel, Monica Belucci, and Alfred Molina.

Many were pulling double-duty as Bruckheimer was there for both Persia and Apprentice (both of which also star Molina), and Cage, who was there for this and the big draw of the convention, Kick-Ass.

Much like Disney’s other panel, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, this panel showed off a couple of new scenes before jumping into a Q&A session with Baruchel, Cage, Bruckeheimer, and actress Teresa Palmer. See below for our description of the footage.

One thing I personally had absolutely zero clue about, was that this movie is actually based (very loosely) on the segment from the classic (and trippy) Disney animated film, Fantasia. With Fantasia being based on the 1797 poem, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, it all makes sense. The circle of cinematic life.

Walt Disney Pictures has been busy today, releasing a poster and image from Tron: Legacy, and also unveiling this brand new trailer for The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. Not too much was known about the project aside from the fact that it was directed by Jon Turteltaub and starred Nicolas Cage and Jay Baruchel as a Sorcerer and his confused and reluctant apprentice.

Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, you can see the effects shining in this trailer. Actually, if you had to compare this with Bruckheimer’s other recent blockbuster trailer for Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, it would be hard not to say that The Sorcerer’s Apprentice looks like it has a lot more promise and some really fun special effects. Cage does a lot of questionable movies these days, but every once in a while, he’s in one that ends up being a pretty good time. Some would say National Treasure was one, we know Kick-Ass will be one, and this now has a chance to become one.

Click on over to the other side to read a synopsis and to watch the entertaining trailer for The Sorcerer’s Apprentice! Head over to Apple for the HD version.