November 12, 2010 – The Disney Channel Original Movie Avalon High Premieres
“Arthur will return when he is truly needed to bring the world out of the dark and into a new age of enlightenment.”
On November 12, 2010, the Disney Channel Original Movie Avalon High premiered. The movie was based on the book by Meg Cabot, although there are many deviations from the original story, as the main character of Ellie (Allie in the film) was actually the alter ego of the Lady in the Lake, while Will was the alter ego of King Arthur. The film has 3.9 million viewers on its premiere. It was directed by Stuart Gillard, and written by Julie Sherman Wolfe and Amy Talkington. It stars Britt Robertson as Allie, Gregg Sulkin as Will, Joey Pollari as Miles, Devon Graye as Marco, and Steve Valentine as Mr. Moore.
The film begins with an epic battle between two knights, which turns out to be the dream of Allie Pennington. She and her family have just moved, and she is enrolled at a new school called Avalon High, although she seems less than thrilled about it. Her parents are professors of medieval literature, and Allie is frustrated that all they talk about is King Arthur and medieval times. Her parents drop the bombshell that they will be staying in the area for three years, and she is excited that she will be finally able to make friends and try out for the track team, as she has moved around so many times in the past few years. As she goes out for a training run, she runs into a cute guy at the water fountain. When she does, she suddenly sees a strange vision of him in armor, and runs off.
On Allie’s first day of school, she sees a bully being stopped by the quarterback
On her first day of school, she spots a kid being bullied, and watches as the guy she ran into stops the bully. The guy goes after her, calling her “water-fountain girl.” He introduces himself as Will, the quarterback of the football team. She soon meets Will’s girlfriend Jen, and is a bit disappointed that Will is taken. She follows them to medieval history class, and sits next to Miles, who warns her that she shouldn’t talk to him if she wants to be popular. She dismisses his warning, saying she’ll be friends with whomever she wants. In their class, they pick their paper assignments, and Allie gets the topic of the Order of the Bear, which she surprisingly has never heard of before. Miles then has a psychic vision of Allie on the track, and tells her to tie her shoes.
At track tryouts, she gets distracted by another vision, but soon is able to prove that she is the fastest girl on the track, and makes the varsity team. Later that day, Miles shows up at her house to work on their paper. Although they look around in all the books, they can’t find anything about the Order of the Bear. He has another vision that she will need some ice, and as she follows him to the kitchen, she hits her foot and needs ice, just as he saw. Miles finally convinces her to ask her parents about the Order of the Bear, and when she does, they reveal a very special book. The Order was an ancient organization that believes King Arthur will one day be reincarnated to bring the world out of darkness. That night, Allie finds she can’t sleep, and decides to read more about the Order.
After reading more about the Order, it’s revealed that Avalon High School looks just like Camelot
In class, her teacher Mr. Moore asks her if she was able to learn more about the order and the prophecy. Allie doesn’t really believe in the prophecy, and offers to bring in the book for Mr. Moore to see. Allie spies Will’s girlfriend Jen and his best friend Lance secretly together in a stairwell, and the two quickly separate after seeing her observing them. After Allie goes on another training run, she ends up in a strange part of the woods, where she runs across Will. He asks her to stay with him, and the two sit and talk. He admits that people only talk to him about football, and he wants to talk about other things, and admits to her that, while he loves the game, there’s so much pressure now, and he’s losing his love for it. She gives him a speech about victory, and it inspires him. She then invites him over for dinner, just as friends, as she is quick to point out. Will then invites her to a party after the game on Friday, and she accepts.
Allie attends to game with Miles, and they watch as the Knights win the football game. Will sees her in the stands, and the two share a glance. Allie and Miles attend the party at Will’s house, and Will’s stepbrother Marco tries to ruin the party with his friends. Allie and Will talk, and it’s obvious that Will and Allie like each other, although Will still has a girlfriend. As Allie tries to find a bathroom, she finds a crown in a room, much like the crown she saw in the book about the Order. She then sees Lance and Jen sharing a tender moment, and Jen chases after her to talk to her. Jen begs Allie not to tell Will, but Allie isn’t sure she shouldn’t tell Will. Jen tells her that it would be just like Camelot if Jen and Lance tell Will now, and Allie reluctantly agrees to let Lance and Jen tell Will when the time is right. Miles confronts Allie about what just happened, and Allie rushes out, with Will confused as to why Allie left. In school, Will asks Allie why she left early, and keeps Jen and Lance’s secret from him, feigning illness. She brings the book to Mr. Moore to read, and reads the book in class while the class watches a movie.
After avoiding Will most of the day, Allie and Will reconnect in the forest
Allie continues to avoid Will, and is confronted by Marco, who knows that Jen and Lance are sneaking around behind Will’s back. He then threatens her to not tell Will, and she says she isn’t going to say anything. As she goes for a training run, she comes across Will again, and she struggles to talk to him, but goes for a run with him. The two start laughing and acting like friends again, and he gives her a flower. The two end up in the woods again, and Will remarks that he feels like the two were friends before they even met. The two discuss future plans, with Allie wanting to go into law, and Will wanting to become President of the United States. At the next game, Lance is distracted by Jen, and fails to guard for Will. The Knights lose the game, and Will is furious. After everyone leaves, Allie approaches Will, who is still upset, thinking Lance missed the block on purpose. Before Allie admits what she knows, Marco interrupts them, and Allie decides not to say anything.
Miles arrives at Allie’s house that night, saying that she needs help. Allie then questions why he knows things before they happen, and he refuses to tell her. She reassures him that they are friends, but he doesn’t want another thing that makes him different. Allie convinces him that it’ll be okay, and he explains that his premonitions are getting stronger and stronger, and that there is a secret page in the book of the Order. The secret page reveals the prophecy of when the King will return when an eclipse and a meteor shower occurs on the same day. Miles looks up the information, which says that that day will occur that Friday, the day of the big game. Allie is excited that King Arthur will return, but Miles reveals that Mordred, Arthur’s half-brother, will be waiting to kill the King before he even knows he is King Arthur. Allie’s parents reveal the Mordred’s plan would be to destroy Arthur’s perfect world, and Allie reveals that Will is the reincarnation of King Arthur.
Allie is convinced that she should tell Will he is Arthur, but Miles is against it
While Allie’s parents go off to do more research, Allie and Miles discuss telling Will now to prepare himself. Suddenly, Miles has a vision of Excalibur, and Allie thinks that Miles is the reincarnation of Merlin. In medieval history class, Will is caught cheating by Mr. Moore, but Will protests that the cheat sheet he found was not his. Mr. Moore gives him the benefit of the doubt, and Allie accuses Marco of planting the cheat sheet. Allie keeps an eye on Will during practice, and many of his teammates think that he did cheat, and lose respect for him. After practice, Allie finds him feeling down, and tries to cheer him up, but he chases after Jen, promising to talk to her later that day. She runs into Mr. Moore, who correctly guesses about her crush on Will. She confesses to Mr. Moore about the secret of the Order of the Bear and her suspicions that Will is Arthur; he confesses that he already knows, and will help protect Will from Mordred/Marco. Miles has a vision in science class that Will’s beaker has been tampered with, and it turns out to be Allie’s beaker.
Allie is certain that she should tell Will so he can be prepared, but Miles is convinced that this is a bad idea. That night, Allie finds Will before the game, but before she can, he sees Jen kissing Lance in his car and drives away. Allie chases after him while the rest of the team prepares for the game. She finds him in their spot in the woods, as does Marco. Marco pushes Allie down a hill, but when she gets up, she tells Will that he is King Arthur. Will takes her message as a metaphor rather than truth, and gives her a kiss on the cheek before he leaves for the game. Miles and Allie then head for the game to keep an eye on Will, and watch the skies. Suddenly, the lights go out, and the lunar eclipse and meteor shower occur at the same time. Back in the locker room, Lance tries to apologize for what happened. Will accepts, seeing that they are happy together, and then reunites the team, using Allie’s first inspirational speech to inspire them. As the team heads to the field, Will returns to the locker room to get his helmet, but doesn’t come back. Allie and Miles go look for him, with Miles using his power to find him in the school theater, with Marco. When they arrive, they find Marco injured outside.
Mr. Moore reveals to the group that he is Mordred, rather than Marco
Inside the theater, Mr. Moore reveals himself to be Mordred instead of Marco. Marco protects them by pushing Mordred down a trapdoor, revealing himself to be a member of the Order of the Bear, and was only a bully to protect Will and keep danger away. Mordred reveals himself fully, and attacks Marco before attacking the rest of the group. When Miles and Allie start to throw props at Mordred, Allie pulls out a plastic sword to protect Will. However, when Mordred tries to attack Allie, the sword becomes Excalibur, revealing that Allie is King Arthur. The group is taken to an alternate dimension to fight, mirroring the dream from the beginning. Allie and Mordred fight one-on-one, and Allie is first thrown off her horse. She soon recovers, and the two battle. Miles, as Merlin, reclaims his staff from Mordred, leaving Mordred with nothing but a sword. Allie soon overpowers him, and a security guard shows up. Mr. Moore tries to get Allie arrested, but ends up getting arrested himself. Although Allie wonders if this is all a dream, Miles reveals that it’s all true. They hurry back to the game, and watch as the Knights win the game. As the school celebrates, Will runs over and kisses Allie. At school the next day, everyone is dressed as their respective members of King Arthur and his Round Table, and they place their swords in the center of the round table.
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