Traveling to the exotic kingdom of Siam, English schoolteacher Anna Leonowens soon discovers that her most difficult challenge is the stubborn, imperious King himself.
“The King and I” has been a favorite for theater audiences for many years. The well-loved Rodgers and Hammerstein musical is famous for the celebration of songs such as “I Have Dreamed,” “Shall We Dance,” and “Whistling A HappyTune,” as well as the infamous prospect of romance for the King’s son as well as for himself.
As the film opens, schoolteacher Anna Leonowens (Miranda Richardson) is preparing to travel to the Kingdom of Siam in order to instruct the Royal children. She has been promised her own home outside of the palace, and although she isn’t used to the royal protocol, she definitely feels that she can handle any challenge put before her, especially the challenge of dealing with a king (Yul Brynner) who is used having the last say on everything. What she doesn’t realize is there is an evil sorcerer who, along with his sidekick, has had his eye on the throne for a long time and is already making plans to derail her before she ever gets to town.
When Anna arrives in Siam, she is instantly given the royal treatment, with her bags being handled immediately by the servants and with the sorcerer playing the role of the consummate host while reminding her of the king’s stubbornness and her need to comply with his every wish. Anna, unfortunately, isn’t having any of it and is ready to turn around and leave if the king does not follow up on his promise. When Anna gets a chance to meet the royal children, her heart immediately melts and she decides, temporarily, to make the adjustment to the king’s inability to look at anyone’s side other than his own. When she begins to make changes to royal tradition by letting the children outside of the palace and allowing them to see how other people live, the king is furious and can’t understand why she doesn’t get it. In the meantime, the king’s son, who has fallen in love with a servant, is trying desperately to find a way to break royal tradition himself by figuring out a way to have the woman he loves be accepted, once the king finds out he is courting her. The sorcerer, who is making a fulltime job of trying to destroy everyone in his path to the throne, gets a taste of his own medicine when all his attempts to get rid of the competition begin to backfire.
Anna, who refuses to back down on her initial request to get her own place, is finally seeing things turn around as the king begins to warm up to some of her ideas and to her. As she gradually finds her place in the royal climate, she also encourages the king’s son to not let the woman of his dreams get away due to some ancient beliefs. In the end, the hotheaded king and the evil sorcerer both find that they are no match for Anna and her cheerful countenance nor the kingdom’s royal children. The sorcerer gets just what he deserves and Anna gets her home outside the palace as well as a place in the king’s heart.
Director Richard Rich did an excellent job of combining the favorite aspects of a beloved and revered theatrical piece while adding new characters and elements of surprise to make up a fresh work of art that audiences of all ages can enjoy for an hour and thirty minutes worth of stress-free entertainment with colorful animation.
Available on Blu-ray October 6th from Mill Creek Entertainment
