The Sorcerer's Apprentice is a live-action movie that combines elements of Disney's Fantasia with an epic story of good versus evil beginning in 740 A.D. and climaxing in the present day setting of Manhattan. Starring Nicolas Cage, who is known for his love of comic books and the original Mickey-heavy tale, the story finds us examining the life of Dave Stutler (Jay Baruchel) as what he knows of science intersects with an age-old prophecy of calling and destiny.

Disney's double-dip for you on November 30 allows a triple feature: you can watch Fantasia, Fantasia 2000, and The Sorcerer's Apprentice back-to-back-to-back now that they've broken open the vault. I know some purists will prefer the all-animation versions, but I've got to give credit to the Cage-Baruchel-Jon Turtletaub production which blends all kinds of action and adventure with fantasy, romance, and humor to provide a modern day fairytale of epic proportions! It's not too surprising given that Turtletaub and Cage recently combined for the National Treasure franchise, and this movie harkens back to those two films.

The various combos you can check this out via include special features of the making-of sort, features about how they blended science and magic/fantasy, what the Jerry Bruckheimer-produced feature did in terms of special effects, deleted scenes, and my favorite, a feature on the puppies-to-wolves transformation process. This is DEFINITELY one that I think merits the Blu-ray treatment, and the presentation of the battles, transformations, and so forth are truly spectacular.

The story itself revolves around Dave's transformation from weak-minded nerd to powerful sorcerer, and the ways that prophecies and testaments still require our decision-making and determination to come true. I found myself empathizing with Dave's conundrum: how do you accomplish things that you're "supposed" to do even if you have no prior training and everything sounds completely alien to you? Well, you need to believe in your calling, believe in yourself, and usually, get a good teacher! Moses' story is similar to that, although instead of the voice of a wizard (Cage) speaking the words into life, it's the voice of God calling Moses to be a prophet and speak before the king... from a burning bush.

I'm a fan of the story, and of the power of words to form our lives and shape who we will become. Apprentice has all of that, plus enough doodads and special gimmicks to entertain even if you don't feel particularly like thinking about your destiny. But that doesn't stop the potential of your unlocked promise from waiting for you...