Sorry, this movie sucks

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Albert Fleischman wrote the book and the Screen play for this movie. He did an excellent job as little was changed in the film version. Indeed, one can read the book and realize the screen adaption is nearly identical. Moreover, the casting of Truan Munro and Nic Knight as Prince Horace was a stroke of luck. Moreover, with Kevin Conway and Vincent Schiavelli providing the comedic humor, it allowed the film to sail unhindered and provided an atmosphere of frivolity for the entire family. It is interesting, the easiest actor to point out, namely George C. Scott was relegated to a bit part. The story as told here concerns a young prince (Nic Knight) who's bored with being the heir apparent and is angry at his father's inattention. Believing he is not wanted and considered a nuisance for all of his pranks, decides to escape the palace. Running away, he takes the court 'Whipping Boy' (Truan Munro) as a companion. Both are soon kidnapped by a couple of inept would-be-thieves who soon learn of the huge reward offered for them, plan to win it. The film proves exceptional, fun family entertainment and worthy of the Disney brand. Easily recommended. ****

I caught a bit of this made-for-TV adaptation of "The Whipping Boy", the children's novel by Sid Fleischman, perhaps when it first aired. Later, while I was still in elementary school, and studying the Middle Ages for a while, I was assigned to read and study the book. Eventually, a day came when we all had to come to school dressed as medieval figures (I dressed as a king), and that day, we were shown this made-for-TV movie, so that was when I got to see the entire thing. Over eleven years later, I've finally seen it again, which I certainly don't regret.Prince Horace is a spoiled, mischievous young prince who loves to cause trouble and pull pranks, and is very unpunctual. Jemmy and Annyrose are two poor, orphaned siblings who catch rats. Not long after a confrontation between the prince and the two siblings, Jemmy is captured one day while his sister is not in sight, and taken to the castle! Being heir to the throne, the prince cannot be spanked, and has a "whipping boy" to take beatings whenever the prince misbehaves! Jemmy has been chosen as Prince Horace's new whipping boy, so, now captive in the castle, he is the one who is punished for the spoiled prince's wrongdoings. Meanwhile, Annyrose has been wrongfully accused of theft, and has been sentenced to prison! One night, Jemmy and Prince Horace, who are both unhappy for different reasons, run away together, and are soon captured by two criminals known as Hold-Your-Nose Billy and Cutwater! This adaptation of the book obviously isn't exactly the same, but from what I remember about the popular children's novel, this 1995 made-for-TV movie follows it quite well, with the mischievous Prince Horace and his "whipping boy", Jemmy, on an adventure where the prince has some valuable lessons to learn. I'm not sure how much I liked this TV version of "The Whipping Boy" the first time, but watching it again after all these years was an intriguing experience for the most part. It's a family adventure film with some rather moving, serious parts, as well as some humour. The story also has a good moral about child neglect, which Prince Horace is a victim of, and as for the "whipping boy" aspect, that was one of the things I learned about while studying the Middle Ages in elementary school all those years ago. Yes, the story is fictional, but misbehaving young princes really did have "whipping boys" to take their punishments for them centuries ago, as absurd as it may sound, which I remember was pointed out in a note on the last page of Fleischman's book! Back when I first saw this movie, I didn't know it was a TV movie, not a theatrical one. I didn't know that until years later, when I looked the film up on IMDb, and that was also when I discovered that it apparently wasn't too widely recognized. After finally seeing it again, I would say it deserves more recognition, and would have worked on the silver screen. Unfortunately, this adaptation of Sid Fleischman's children's novel seems to be pretty rare now, but if you like family-friendly films that take place centuries ago, ones that both seriousness and humour, as well as morals, it could be worth searching for. It may not be the greatest film of its kind, but if you ask me, it certainly isn't strictly for kids, and could probably reach quite a wide audience if only more people heard of it.

One of my daughter's enjoys Sid Fleischman's books and when I picked up this video at my public library and saw that he wrote it, I checked it out and brought it home. It is very well made and both my children (ages 5 and 9) LOVED it. The performances of the children are solid and strong. The veteran character actors who show up (George C. Scott, Kevin Conway and Vincent Schiavelli) really give nice performances instead of just phoning it in, like, oh, I'm in some kiddie flick, who cares? They give it their all as does everyone else - the costumes, the hair, the direction, all top quality and the movie is a delight.If you have kids and have a chance to track this down, do it. If your kids like adventure films, like Treasure Island or Prince and The Pauper, they should love this one!

This adaptation of the popular children's book, The Whipping Boy, succeeds very well!I enjoyed the entire movie from beginning to end - it stays very close to the story, with an extra element or two added in. These do not divert from the original story but simply add to it.The story is well-acted and authentic, the villains and the children are good fun. If you like a light but moving story, this is the movie for you!A special note is that Max Brindle, credited for writing the screenplay, is actually a pseudonym for Sid Fleischman, author of The Whipping Boy. (See The Abracadabra Kid, Sid Fleischman's autobiography.)Enjoy the movie! Although it was made for television, you can find it on video.