The Sorcerer's Apprentice/Plot (2025)

MainPlotTranscriptErrors and Goofs

This is the plot of the eponymous 2010 film.

Plot[]

The film opens in Great Britain within Arthurian times (740 A.D.) with a prologue scene setting up the mythology of the movie. Balthazar Blake, Maxim Horvath, and Veronica Gorloisen are the three protégés of Merlin who learned everything about magic from Merlin. Until one day when Merlin’s most deadly arch-enemy, Morgana le Fay invades the castle and kills Merlin due to the betrayal of Horvath. Balthazar and Veronica, who are lovers, arrive too late. It is later revealed that the reason for Horvath’s betrayal is due to his love for Veronica and her act of choosing Balthazar over him. Veronica does the Human Fusion Spell, an enchantment that merges the soul of Morgana into her own in order to save Balthazar. Morgana’s scheme ultimately revolves around the destruction of the entire human race and raising the dead through the most dangerous magic spell known as The Rising, so for the good of the world, Balthazar traps both Horvath and Morgana (now inside Veronica’s body) into a magical nesting doll known as the Grimhold. Merlin, with his dying breath, tells Balthazar that Morgana must be trapped until the day he finds the Prime Merlinean, a chosen successor Merlin, who is the only one that can defeat her. We then see a montage of Balthazar through the ages visiting children giving them a small silver dragon trinket known as the Dragon Ring that Merlin gave him. This object will help identify the Prime Merlinean. Balthazar, a lone Merlineantrained in the ways of Merlin himself, also traps other Morganians, conjurors who learned the ways of Morgana le Fay,within the Grimhold as well.

We then jump to the year 2000 in New York City. Dave Stutler is a 10 year old 4th grader going on a field trip with a crush on a girl named Becky Barnes. He passes her a note to check a box whether she wants to be his friend or girlfriend. She checks one of the boxes and then leaves it on a bench. When Dave tries to pick it up the wind picks it up and flies away. Eventually the paper ends up inside an antique shop called Arcana Cabana Dave goes in looking for it and accidentally bumps into and almost breaks an ancient urn called The Grimlock. Balthazar who shows up behind him catches it. He tells Dave that this urn is incredibly old and whoever opens it will be trapped for ten years. Dave mentions he was looking for a note that just coincidentally ended up here. Balthazar believes this to be fate and hands him the tiny silver dragon. In Dave’s hand, it comes alive and twirls around Dave’s finger. Dave is the Prime Merlinean.

Balthazar tells him to wait there as he goes to look for something in the basement. Meanwhile, Dave moves his finger and notices something bumping into the wall each time he moves his finger. Finally, a nesting doll bursts through the wall and lands in front of him. Not knowing it was the Grimhold, Dave picks it up and accidentally opens it, releasing Horvath. Before Horvath can kill Dave, Balthazar pushes him at the window with his magic and they have an epic wizard fight, with Dave just trying to get out of the way. Dave takes the nesting doll and tries to leave but Horvath will not let him. Balthazar opens the urn from earlier which sucks both him and Horvath into it. Dave runs outside and throws the Grimhold into the street. His teacher and the rest of his class finds him, worried. He is freaking out and talks nonsense about wizards and tries to show the teacher inside while frantically telling her not to go into the shop but there is nothing there. A jar filled with water had broken on his pants and the other kids see this and they all taunt him about peeing his pants.

10 years later, Dave is a physics student at NYU with his own private lab within a private basement. At a Physics 101 class, he runs into Becky for the first time since they were ten. She just barely remembers him. He had switched schools after the incident and has become convinced it was all a hallucination. She works at the college radio station as a DJ. He follows her to the station and a lightning strikes the station antenna, knocking out their electronics. Dave offers to help and gets it all fixed. Becky is incredibly grateful and he says he did it because he noticed how important it was to her.

The Grimlock in which Balthazar and Horvath are trapped in is within the possession of some random new owners, a wealthy Russian couple who bought it from a flea market under the impression that it was some ordinary antique vase. At their apartment, the urn bursts open and Horvath is free again. He asks them if he is the first to arrive. The Russian wife faint. Horvath throws the urn from the apartment and before it smashes on the street Balthazar escapes. Dave comes home to find Horvath waiting for him, asking him where the Grimhold is. Dave does not know since he threw it into the street. Dave runs away and Horvath sends a pack of wolves he magically brought to life out of a wildlife calendar at Dave's Apartment to chase after him. Dave ends up at the railroad station and falls down on the train tracks. Before the wolves attack him, they become transformed into puppies. Balthazar comes flying in on a giant metal eaglethat was a gargoyle brought to life magically by Balthazar. Dave gets on and slows down Horvath and flies away. Horvath just barely dodges a passing train and the wolves Horvath sends out to kill Dave, changes back into pictures.

Balthazar and Dave land on a roof of The Chrysler Building and the metal eagle transforms back into a gargoyle. Dave is freaking out but Balthazar calms him down and explains the situation to him, leaving out the part about him being the Prime Merlinean. Dave says he does not want any part of it. Balthazar summons Dave’s dresser and pulls out the Dragon Ring and asks him why he kept it. Dave says he was going to sell it on E-Bay but Balthazar tells him that he is a terrible liar which is a good thing. Dave promises he will help him up until they find the Grimhold and then he can go back to his life. Balthazar summons aan enchantment called the Biometric Pressure Spellto help him find it. Storm clouds hover over the downtown area indicating that that is where they must go. Horvath goes back to the former antique shop and is able to sense psychicallywhat happened to the doll. He sees that a Chinese woman has picked it up. He knows that he must go to Chinatown. Balthazar goes to the car impound lot and retrieves his car to stay inconspicuous. On the drive to the nesting doll, Balthazar teaches Dave a basic fire technique. They reach Chinatown where a big celebration is happening. Dave waits outside while Balthazar goes inside. Upstairs he meets the old Chinese woman and he speaks Cantoneseto her. She says he speaks wonderful Mandarin. It turns out to beHorvath in disguise. He has already unleashed one of the Morganians, Sun Lok, from the Grimhold. They fight and Sun-Lok ends up on the streets, where Balthazar tells Dave to run. Sun-Lok transforms one of the fake dragon floats into an actual dragon which chases Dave. Horvath and Balthazar fight and Balthazar gets the upper hand, taking the nesting doll away from him. Dave runs up a fire escape as the dragon chases after him, having trouble conjuring up the fire spell. He shoots it just in time defeating Sun-Lok.

In the car, Balthazar asks for the ring back per their agreement. Dave decides not to now that he’s had a taste of magic and wants to learn more. They need a place to practice and they decide to use Dave’s lab. Balthazar gives Dave the book that holds the entire history of sorcery including the things they just did today. Dave agrees to take on the responsibility and they begin training. Meanwhile, Horvath goes to visit the current living Morganian, a Criss Angel type magician celebrity named Drake Stone. He is pampered and uneducated in the dark arts. Horvath intends to teach him as well as utilize him to set up his plan to raise the dead and destroy humanity. He decides to do this in Battery Park within the Financial District of New York using the satellite dishes.

On a break, Balthazar and Dave have dinner sitting on a bench outside Becky’s radio station. Balthazar is very negative on the relationship and tells him that love is a distractionand sorcery requires focus. Dave says that she is the one for him and that he loves her. Dave gets up and follows her as she leaves the station. They go down into the subway station and a mugger robs them at a knifepoint, stealing her grandmother’s bracelet. Dave chases after him and clumsily uses his magic to knock him out. He comes back with her stuff back, impressing her and she notices something different about him. He offers to help tutor her on the physics at his lab. She agrees as she boards the next train.

At his lab, Becky arrives and introduces Balthazar as his uncle who leaves despite his best efforts to stop Dave from pursuing this. Dave shows off his Tesla coils and science projects and shows off a cool musical element to his coils. The next day he walks her to yoga class and they make a date for the next day. In the bathroom, Drake confronts Dave and pushes him around. Horvath arrives and tells him that Balthazar is keeping something from him. He demands to know where the nesting doll is. Balthazar arrives just in time and traps Horvath inside the bathroom mirror and knocks out Drake. Back at the lab, Dave demands to know everything and Balthazar tells him, including what happened to his great love Veronica and the fact that the prime Merlinean will be so powerful that he will nowneed the ring to do magic.

Dave tries to get ready for his date and clean up the lab but he gets frustrated with the mess so he uses his magic to get the brooms to come to life with the Cleaning Spell. When he comes back from his shower, the entire lab is a bigger mess with the entire floor flooded and everything inanimate coming to life and causing a giant mess. Becky knocks on the door and he rushes to the door and has to tell her to leave. As he tries to deal with the ever escalating mess, his electric lab equipment almost electrocutes him until the timely arrival of Balthazar, who with a wave of his hand cleans the mess via the Disperse Spell. He chastises and scoldshim for taking shortcuts and abusing the sacred art of magic. They get into a big fight with Dave storming out. Horvath obtains the school records of Dave using a “Jedi mind trick” with his magic cane on the officeregistrar at the New York University's main lobby. He finds out where his private lab space is.

Dave sees Becky with her friends and sees how he does notbelong and leaves. Becky sees him and follows him to the roof of the Chrysler Building where Balthazar had taken him to at the beginning. He’s about to throw the ring away until Becky stops him. She tells him that nothing is ruined with them and she really cares for him. At his lab, Dave returns and Balthazar says therewasno need to apologize but Dave pushes him into a grating and traps him. It wasDrake Stonein disguise. Horvath arrives as well and they search for the nesting doll and find it. Balthazar frees himself and tries to fight them but almost loses until Dave arrives and saves his life. Drake and Horvathescaped with what they were after and Dave and Balthazar give chase. What follows is an exciting car chase with magically changing vehicleswhich ends with Horvath and Drake getting away.

Back at Drake Stone’s penthouse, Drake wonders how they open it. Horvath uses theParasite Spell to steal Drake’s power and life force and uses that to free the next Morganian,the legendarywitch from the Salem Witch Trials known as Abigail Williams. This Morganian sorceressgoes to Becky’s radio station and kidnaps her. Dave and Balthazar arrive at Drake’s apartment, searching for Horvath who earlier killedAbigail to steal her power in order to free Morgana by breaking the Grimhold's final shell with a couple more catalysts (magic items such as Drake Stone's skull ring and Abigail WIlliams' necklace) placed on his staff and enoughmagical energy gained. They split up. Balthazar gets trapped in aPersian Quickrug sand trap. Dave finds the doll almost too easily. Just as he goes back to the front door, he finds Horvath with his cane to Becky’s throat. Horvath demands both his ring and theGrimhold or Becky dies. Dave relents and gives him both. Horvath fires an energy bolt at the two, which they dodge, and flees just as Balthazar has freed himself and arrives. Dave apologizes but Balthazar says he would have done the same thing. Balthazar goes to the balcony and flies away on his giant metal eagle, to Becky’s shock. Dave offers to help but Balthazar says he can’t since he’s powerless without the ring. Dave tries to drop Becky off but she will nothave any of it. She isinvolved now. Dave comes up with a plan using his Tesla coils strapped to Balthazar’s car. He also finds a note with a necklace telling Dave to give it to Veronica when this is all over.

Balthazar arrivesat Battery Park in downtown Manhattento find Morgana standing in the middle of the circle of a water fountain afterHorvath used enoughenergy to breakher free from the Grimhold itself.Morgana was now more then ready to cast the magic of the sinister ceremony, The Rising, to raise a legion of undead sorcerers to doom the Earth and it's inhabitants. Dave and Becky, in the car, already saw the spell taking hold in the sky (with Dave alone because of his magical power).Dave stops the car and tells Becky to climb the building to move the satellite in order to disrupt the spell. Before she goes, Dave asks her what box she checked off at the beginning of the film in case he dies. She will tell him when he does notdie.

Horvath finds Balthazar and fights him off. He raises to lifea bronze bull statuenearby and it chases after Balthazar. Horvath is about to be victorious when Dave drives in and uses the Tesla coils attached to the car to give a great shock to Horvath’s cane, defeating him and his bull with Balthazar's magic attackknocking outHorvath unconsciouslyand Balthazar's eagle snatching the bull away. Becky successfully disrupts the satellite dish wrecking the spell. Balthazar absorbs Morgana’s spirit from Veronica’s body, freeing her. Balthazar tries to get Dave to trap him in theGrimhold but he and Veronica refused. Morgana leaves Balthazar’s body and frees herself. Morgana blasts at the group but Dave blocks it without the help of the ring. He really is the Prime Merlinian. Theyengage into a huge battle where Morgana blasts Plasma Boltsat Veronica and Balthazar. Dave is able to summon up enough energy with all his mightto defeat her completely.

He sees Veronica over Balthazar’s body. He wasdead. Dave will notaccept this and uses his magic to resuscitate him. He lives and Balthazar and Veronica kiss, finally reunited. Becky arrives and she and Dave kiss. She tells him that she checked girlfriend. Dave asks her if she wants to go to Paris, France,and the giant metal eagle lands next to them. They fly away to Paris happy and victorious.

After the end credits, Horvath takes his hat from Balthazar's shop.

The Sorcerer's Apprentice/Plot (2025)

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