I’ll admit something here: Jay Baruchel playing the apprentice in a
live-action version of Mickey Mouse’s most famous part of Fantasia
doesn’t sound like a bad thing. Get past the sad bankrupt truth behind
the project and, OK, I figure I could get a few kicks out of Baruchel
swimming with buckets and brooms.
But add the powerhouse creative duo behind the National Treasure movies, Nic Cage and Jon Turtletaub, and limpness happens. Cage is the sorcerer in front of the camera, Turtletaub behind. At that point it doesn’t matter that cute Teresa Palmer has made the tremendous career leap from co-starring in Bedtime Stories to boinking Baruchel while the brooms sweep Fuller’s Earth into the wet spot. Sad that this will remain the most recognizable thing on her CV for a while, even if her role in the Justice League flick does somehow come to pass.