A Forgotten Nicolas Cage Movie Just Hit Disney Plus

Marvel, Star Wars, everything in the Disney vault…it’s all great, but we know what you really want to see on Disney Plus – more Nicolas Cage movies! To date, the actor has only been represented on the Mouse House’s streaming service by the two National Treasure films, but as of yesterday, October 30th, his other effort for Disney was made available on D+. Namely, 2010’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. 

While the National Treasure flicks were huge successes back in the 2000s and are still fondly remembered today, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice hasn’t really had the same kind of shelf life. But now that it’s on Disney Plus, it might be time to refamiliarize yourself with it or else give it a go and see what you missed.

Fair warning, though, it’s not exactly what you’d call critically acclaimed, with just a 40% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Still, it’s a perfectly enjoyable fantasy adventure movie and definitely worth a watch. Especially if you’re a fan of National Treasure. 

Loosely inspired by the iconic “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” segment from Fantasia (one sequence features an homage to the animation), the pic stars Cage as Balthazar Blake, an ancient wizard who finally discovers the chosen one destined to defeat the evil Morgan Le Fay (Star Trek‘s Alice Krige) and save the world – Jay Baruchel’s David Stutler, a nebbish college student who becomes his eponymous apprentice. Together, the unlikely pairing will have to stop Le Fay and her ally, evil sorcerer Maxim Horvath (Alfred Molina, Spider-Man 2).

With a solid cast – Teresa Palmer, Monica Bellucci and Ian McShane also feature – and National Treasure director Jon Turteltaub behind the camera, Disney must’ve thought they had a smash on their hands. A ballooning budget of $150 million, however, didn’t bode well for the project and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice only took in $215.3 million worldwide, so it wouldn’t have turned much of a profit. It did well on home video at the time, though, so maybe it’ll similarly find some new love on Disney Plus. And again, if you’re a fan of Cage, it’s well worth giving a chance.