Description

From Walt Disney Studios, producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Jon Turteltaub comes THE SORCERER’S APPRENTICE—an innovative and epic adventure about a sorcerer and his hapless apprentice who are swept into the centre of an ancient conflict between good and evil. Balthazar Blake (Nicolas Cage) is a master sorcerer in modern-day Manhattan trying to defend the city from his arch-nemesis, Maxim Horvath (Alfred Molina). Balthazar can’t do it alone, so he recruits Dave Stutler (Jay Baruchel), a seemingly average guy who demonstrates hidden potential, as his reluctant protégé. The sorcerer gives his unwilling accomplice a crash course in the art and science of magic, and together, these unlikely partners pit their powers against those of the fiercest—and most ruthless—practitioners of all time. It’ll take all the courage Dave can muster to survive his training, save the city and get the girl as he becomes “the Sorcerer’s Apprentice.”

THE SORCERER’S APPRENTICE comes to the big screen thanks in part to the “sorcerer” himself and his search for magic. Nicolas Cage, who embarks on his seventh collaboration with producer Jerry Bruckheimer and third with director Jon Turteltaub, says he was ready to try something new. “I wanted to explore a more magical and fantastic realm, where I could play a character who had mystical abilities.” And while the film isn’t a remake of the classic Disney piece from FANTASIA, THE SORCERER’S APPRENTICE pays proper homage to it, a fact that didn’t escape the director. “That piece from FANTASIA is as iconic as any eight minutes of film that has ever been created,” says Turteltaub, “so to be part of that was really exciting.” This new sorcerer and his apprentice are a far cry from Mickey and the blue hat. The live-action film is a contemporary take on the ancient art of sorcery, exploring good versus evil in a city where magic is abound in plain sight. “It’s a story about two quests,” explains Bruckheimer. “Balthazar has been searching the world through the centuries for his apprentice, and Dave then has to discover his true potential as a human being.” Jay Baruchel, seen in projects as diverse as KNOCKED UP, TROPIC THUNDER, MILLION DOLLAR BABY, and most recently SHE’S OUT OF MY LEAGUE and HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON, was intrigued by the character of Dave Stutler. “I dug the arc that Dave goes on; it’s a great hero’s journey.”