Justin and the Knights of Valour (Spanish: Justin y la espada del valor) is a 2013 animated fantasy film whose working title was Goleor: The Scales and the Sword. It tells the story of a boy named Justin, who wants to become a knight like his grandfather Sir Roland. The film was produced, created, developed, and animated by Kandor Graphics, the second of their two animated films (the first was the 2008 film, The Missing Lynx). It was produced by Antonio Banderas, Marcelino Almansa, Kerry Fulton, and Ralph Kamp, and written by Matthew Jacobs and Manuel Sicilia with music by Ilan Eshkeri. It was edited by Claudio Hernández and directed by Manuel Sicilia. Sony Pictures Entertainment distributed it in Spain, and Entertainment One in the United Kingdom.
The film premiered on 13 September 2013. It received negative reviews, criticizing the writing, characters, and pacing, though the voice acting and music received praise. It flopped at the box office, only grossing $19 million off a $30 million budget. Rotten Tomatoes reported a 13% approval rating for the film with an average rating of 3.93/10 based on 15 reviews.
Contents
Plot
Justin lives in the kingdom of Gabylonia and dreams of becoming a Knight of The Valour Kingdom like his grandfather, Sir Roland. However, knights were outlawed and replaced by lawyers after the King's death. Justin's father Reginald, the Queen's Chief Lawyer, grew to hate knights following Roland's death and insisted Justin become a lawyer. Justin notices that Roland's sword is missing and decides to go on a quest to find it. His grandmother Lilly tells him to go to the Tower of Wisdom to receive training. Before departing, Justin visits his crush, Lara, a spoiled nobleman's daughter, hoping to receive a token of luck. Lara is so self-absorbed she barely notices him and gives him a dirty sock which Justin swears to return after completing his quest.