Avalon High
Encyclopedia
Avalon High is a young adult novel by Meg Cabot
, published in 2005. It reached number 3 in The New York Times
children's best sellers list in January 2006. A manga
sequel called Coronation, Volume one: The Merlin's Prophecy has been released.
, and Will, the senior class president, quarterback, the student every girl wants and all around good guy. But not everyone at Avalon High is who they appear to be, not even Ellie herself.
from Minnesota
and corresponds to The Lady of the Lake
A. William Wagner: corresponds to King Arthur
in the legend and has a slightly disruptive family relationship at home.
Jennifer Gold: a cheerleader who corresponds to Queen Guinevere
in the legend.
Lance Reynolds: the "jock" who is Will's best friend. He goes behind Will's back to cheat with Jennifer, Lance corresponds to Sir Lancelot
Marco Campbell: Will's delinquent stepbrother who happens to be his half-brother. Marco corresponds to Mordred
Mr. Morton: a member of the "Order of the Bear", who believes that the Arthurian legend repeats every generation. Mr. Morton corresponds to Merlin
.
Admiral Wagner: He is Will's father and he corresponds to Uther Pendragon
in the legend. He seemingly murders his best friend (by sending him into combat where he was killed) and then marries his wife.
Jean Wagner: Jean is Admiral Wagner's wife, who married him 6 months after her husband died in combat. Although originally it was believed that she was merely Will's stepmother, it was later revealed (by Mr. Morton) that she was in actuality Will's birth mother. She corresponds to Igraine
in the legend.
Ellie's Parents: professors on sabbatical. Her mother is writing a book on Elaine, the so-called "lily maid" of Astolat, and her father is writing his on the sword that Ellie takes to the park and hands to Will during his face-off with Marco, thus revealing herself as the Lady of the Lake. Ellie's parents care about her despite being an embarrassment at times.
There is a subtle foreshadowing in the book's first chapter that points to Ellie being the Lady of the Lake, as opposed to the Lady of Shalott. Her home state, Minnesota, is known as "the Land of 10,000 Lakes".
adapted the book as a Disney Channel Original Movie of the same name
in 2010. The movie stars Britt Robertson, Gregg Sulkin
, Joey Pollari
, Devon Graye
and Steve Valentine
. The movie premiered November 12, 2010. The movie was filmed in New Zealand.
s of the actual characters as oppose to merely corresponding to them. "Allie" is an only child; her brother is no longer a character. Will's father is not trying to make him join the navy. Will does not sail and does not have a dog, therefore there are no connections to the names of Arthur's dog and boat. (Will is not Arthur, hence the elimination.) Avalon High's team name is the Knights, not Excalibur. Many scenes were cut out and scene settings were changed to make the movie more appropriate for younger children because the book has violent and some threatening scenes.
Meg Cabot
Meg Cabot is anAmerican author of romantic and paranormal fiction for teens and adults and used to write under several pen names, but now writes exclusively under her real name, Meg Cabot...
, published in 2005. It reached number 3 in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
children's best sellers list in January 2006. A manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
sequel called Coronation, Volume one: The Merlin's Prophecy has been released.
Plot
Elaine "Ellie" Harrison has just moved. Avalon High, seems like a typical high school with the stereotypical students: Lance the jock, Jennifer the cheerleader, Marco, the bad boy/desperadoBad boy (archetype)
The bad boy, cad or bounder is a cultural archetype of a male who behaves badly, especially towards women.Being a promiscuous rogue may be as successful a reproductive strategy as the strategy of being a reliable provider. Evolutionary psychologist Professor Bill von Hippel claims that women are...
, and Will, the senior class president, quarterback, the student every girl wants and all around good guy. But not everyone at Avalon High is who they appear to be, not even Ellie herself.
Characters
Ellie Harrison: the new student at Avalon High—she moved to Annapolis, MarylandAnnapolis, Maryland
Annapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland, as well as the county seat of Anne Arundel County. It had a population of 38,394 at the 2010 census and is situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east of Washington, D.C. Annapolis is...
from Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
and corresponds to The Lady of the Lake
A. William Wagner: corresponds to King Arthur
King Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
in the legend and has a slightly disruptive family relationship at home.
Jennifer Gold: a cheerleader who corresponds to Queen Guinevere
Guinevere
Guinevere was the legendary queen consort of King Arthur. In tales and folklore, she was said to have had a love affair with Arthur's chief knight Sir Lancelot...
in the legend.
Lance Reynolds: the "jock" who is Will's best friend. He goes behind Will's back to cheat with Jennifer, Lance corresponds to Sir Lancelot
Marco Campbell: Will's delinquent stepbrother who happens to be his half-brother. Marco corresponds to Mordred
Mordred
Mordred or Modred is a character in the Arthurian legend, known as a notorious traitor who fought King Arthur at the Battle of Camlann, where he was killed and Arthur fatally wounded. Tradition varies on his relationship to Arthur, but he is best known today as Arthur's illegitimate son by his...
Mr. Morton: a member of the "Order of the Bear", who believes that the Arthurian legend repeats every generation. Mr. Morton corresponds to Merlin
Merlin
Merlin is a legendary figure best known as the wizard featured in the Arthurian legend. The standard depiction of the character first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, written c. 1136, and is based on an amalgamation of previous historical and legendary figures...
.
Admiral Wagner: He is Will's father and he corresponds to Uther Pendragon
Uther Pendragon
Uther Pendragon is a legendary king of sub-Roman Britain and the father of King Arthur.A few minor references to Uther appear in Old Welsh poems, but his biography was first written down by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his Historia Regum Britanniae , and Geoffrey's account of the character was used in...
in the legend. He seemingly murders his best friend (by sending him into combat where he was killed) and then marries his wife.
Jean Wagner: Jean is Admiral Wagner's wife, who married him 6 months after her husband died in combat. Although originally it was believed that she was merely Will's stepmother, it was later revealed (by Mr. Morton) that she was in actuality Will's birth mother. She corresponds to Igraine
Igraine
Igraine , in Arthurian legend, is the mother of King Arthur. She is also known in Latin as Igerna, in Welsh as Eigyr, in French as Igerne, in Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur as Ygrayne— often modernized as Igraine—and in Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival as Arnive...
in the legend.
Ellie's Parents: professors on sabbatical. Her mother is writing a book on Elaine, the so-called "lily maid" of Astolat, and her father is writing his on the sword that Ellie takes to the park and hands to Will during his face-off with Marco, thus revealing herself as the Lady of the Lake. Ellie's parents care about her despite being an embarrassment at times.
Miscellaneous
The book has twenty nine chapters and each chapter starts with a quote, which relatively relates to the content of the chapter, from Alfred Lord Tennyson's famous poem about Elaine the Lady of Shalott.There is a subtle foreshadowing in the book's first chapter that points to Ellie being the Lady of the Lake, as opposed to the Lady of Shalott. Her home state, Minnesota, is known as "the Land of 10,000 Lakes".
Adaptation
Disney ChannelDisney Channel
Disney Channel is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in...
adapted the book as a Disney Channel Original Movie of the same name
Avalon High (film)
Avalon High is a 2010 Disney Channel Original Movie starring Britt Robertson, Gregg Sulkin, Joey Pollari and Devon Graye. The movie is based on the book of the same name by Meg Cabot...
in 2010. The movie stars Britt Robertson, Gregg Sulkin
Gregg Sulkin
Gregg Sulkin is an English actor. He made his film debut in the 2006 British release Sixty Six, and subsequently became known for appearing in the Disney comedy series As the Bell Rings and Wizards of Waverly Place. In 2010, he starred in the television movie Avalon High.-Life and career:Sulkin...
, Joey Pollari
Joey Pollari
Joey Pollari is an actor best known for his role as Tyler in the Disney XD first original movie, Skyrunners, which premiered on November 27, 2009.-Biography:...
, Devon Graye
Devon Graye
Devon Graye is an American actor.-Biography:He is best known for his role as Teenage Dexter in the American television drama series Dexter airing on Showtime and the lead role Scott in After Dark Original's Husk.and as the role of Marco in the movie adaption of Meg Cabot's Avalon...
and Steve Valentine
Steve Valentine
Steven John Valentine is a Scottish actor, singer and magician who has performed on stage and screen, but is best known for his role as the eccentric Nigel Townsend on NBC's crime drama Crossing Jordan...
. The movie premiered November 12, 2010. The movie was filmed in New Zealand.
Plot Alteration
In the movie, Ellie (Allie in the film) rather than Will is King Arthur. Rather than Marco, Mr. Morton (Mr. Moore in the film) is Mordred, whereas Miles is Merlin as opposed to Mr. Morton. Marco is a member of the Order of the Bear determined to protect Will, though in the beginning of the movie Allie believes him to be Mordred. In the film Mr. Moore reveals that he suspected that Allie was the Lady of the Lake and is shocked when she turns out to be Arthur himself (herself). The climax battle scene occurs in the ravine in the book, but occurs in the school theater (which magically becomes a beach) in the movie. Presumably, this is to make the film more unpredictable. Also the students are the reincarnationReincarnation
Reincarnation best describes the concept where the soul or spirit, after the death of the body, is believed to return to live in a new human body, or, in some traditions, either as a human being, animal or plant...
s of the actual characters as oppose to merely corresponding to them. "Allie" is an only child; her brother is no longer a character. Will's father is not trying to make him join the navy. Will does not sail and does not have a dog, therefore there are no connections to the names of Arthur's dog and boat. (Will is not Arthur, hence the elimination.) Avalon High's team name is the Knights, not Excalibur. Many scenes were cut out and scene settings were changed to make the movie more appropriate for younger children because the book has violent and some threatening scenes.
External links
- Avalon High at the Disney ChannelDisney ChannelDisney Channel is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in...