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![](../stills/keepersofthe5kingdoms-poster.jpg)
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Tired of being banished to a tower in a magical land and eager to rule
all five kingdoms, Kuang (Bai Ling) sends out her bumbling henchmen Frank
(Dante Basco) and Hank (Dave Sheridan) to retrieve the key that will free
her and that has found its way to modern day earth. The two actually get
their hands onto the key, but lose it on their way back and it falls into
the hands of clever but nosy teen Patsy (Michelle Mao), who immediately
tries to solve the riddle of the key - and soon gets herself, her antique
dealer granddad Chuck (James Hong), her best friend, clumsy Squirrel (Anna
Harr), and her eventual love interest Hopper (Matthew Sato) all sucked
into magic land where they only gradually learn about the importance of
the key and of keeping it out of Kuang's reach while they have all sorts
of adventures crossing paths with treacherous lizard-like trader Joe (Zac
Albright, voiced by Gedde Watanabe), wise tortoise Ao (voiced by George
Takei) and flesh eating beauty Allura (Saxon Sharbino), to name just a few
... As this is a film conceived for the whole family, of course
it's somewhat restrained when it comes to the darker side of things, and
of course the ending is rather wholesome and with a positive message - but
within this confines the film hardly sets a foot wrong, ranging from its
overboarding fantasy world that mixes Eastern and Western folklore and
features some cool practical effects work including an array of quite
amazing creatures, and while the budget was rather low by Hollywood
standards, director Zack Ward really gets the most out of what he has at
hand to create a pretty loveable piece of fantasy cinema.
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