Saban Films has released the official trailer for The Secret Kingdom. The fantasy adventure film has drawn comparisons to the classic movie The Never-Ending Story, described as this generation's version of that cult classic. While there's no Falcor to be found, riding a high-flying creature is a part of the story and one of the many interesting things to happen to two children who uncover a secret kingdom. The film releases in theaters, as well as on VOD and On Demand, on June 9, and you can watch the new trailer below.
Matt Drummond (My Pet Dinosaur, Dinosaur Island) wrote and directed the film. It stars Sam Everingham (Hardball), Alyla Browne (The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart), Alice Parkinson (Doctor Doctor), Chris Gabardi (The Secret Life of Us), Darius Williams (Home and Away), and Beth Champion (The Legend of the Five).
The official synopsis for The Secret Kingdom is as follows:
Join siblings Peter and Verity on a magical journey to The Secret Kingdom! Hidden beneath their bedroom floor lies a land of enchantment, which must be protected from an ancient enemy - the evil Shroud. As they embark on their quest to unite five mystical treasures and save the Kingdom, Peter and Verity must face epic challenges that will test their bravery to the limit. Don’t miss this thrilling and unforgettable fantasy adventure fit for the whole family!
The Secret Kingdom Takes Us to a Magical World
The comparisons to The Never-Ending Story are not entirely by coincidence, as Drummond has said that it was one of the inspirations for the film. As that movie made such an impact on the filmmaker during his own youth, he couldn't help but draw upon that film along with Labyrinth when putting together The Secret Kingdom.
"With this film, I tried to stay away from being influenced too much by anything, and focus on the story," Drummond explained, via Film Ink. "But I’m a child of the 1980s, and classic family adventures such as Labyrinth and The Never-Ending Story planted seeds deep in my young, impressionable mind that seem to flower in my work. Those films had such a sense of wonder infused throughout their world-building. The Secret Kingdom is a literal landscape of the mind that explores some important psychological concepts.”
The film has also been commended for its visual FX. Drummond attributes that to having spend more than three decades working with VFX, and he brought that experience with him when developing The Secret Kingdom.
"I adopted Unreal Engine as the core of the VFX pipeline," he said of the movie's VFX. "Its real-time architecture allowed me to dispense with the need for the traditional departmentalised approach to VFX. I was able to do look dev, lighting, cinematography and rendering all in real-time. I was the lead Animator and FX artist on the film and I was able to complete the 1,248 VFX shots with only myself and a handful of modelling and layout artists. Of course, nothing good comes without sacrifice, and it did cost me almost three years of very long hours seven days a week.”
The Secret Kingdom will be released in movie theaters, VOD, and On Demand on June 9, 2023, courtesy of Saban Films. The film is rated PG and runs 98 minutes long.