The Sword in the Stone {1963}

{Animated Disney Film #18 of 53}

This is the first Disney movie on the list in quite a while (since The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, in fact) that I've never seen before. For whatever reason, we just never owned it on VHS and apparently never borrowed it to watch.

So, The Sword in the Stone is about King Arthur. Well...sort of. It's about a boy called Wart (his real name is Arthur) who meets the wizard Merlin. Merlin begins to sort of tutor Wart and teach him some life lessons. By life lessons, I mean he turns Wart into several different kinds of animals to reinforce the idea that brains are better than brawn. Then, at the end, Wart pulls the sword from the stone and is crowned the next king of England. Thus, King Arthur. That's the movie in a nutshell, and I don't think I'm spoiling anything by telling the end because of the movie title. (Actually, the pacing seems a bit weird because the sword is mentioned at the beginning, and then in the last five minutes, and that's about it.)

First of all, let me say that I don't really have any experience with the story of King Arthur in books or films. Except for reading Avalon High as a teenager.

This is a strange little movie. It's a story set in medieval times, similar to Sleeping Beauty. But Merlin has seen the future, so he mentions motion pictures and comes back from a trip to Bermuda wearing shorts and a flowery shirt. The music during the opening credits is very 60s, but the rest of the songs have that typical Disney feel. The animation is similar to that of 101 Dalmatians, and Wart's mannerisms and movements remind me of Mowgli in The Jungle Book. Basically, a lot of the aspects of this movie reminded me of other Disney movies.

After a mostly music-less film (101 Dalmatians), the songs are back here. Honestly, I didn't really find them very memorable. Maybe that's because I didn't grow up with this movie, so the songs aren't ingrained in my memory like those in other Disney films. I'm surprised that I didn't like the music more because it was composed by the Sherman brothers, who did a lot of famous film scores and songs (like the "It's a Small World" theme song, and the music for Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book, Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang, several Winnie the Pooh movies, the 1961 Parent Trap, etc.). I did really love the jazzy number that plays when Merlin sets the kitchen to magically clean itself, though. :) That's a perfect example of how this movie that's set in medieval times can have a 1960s feeling to it.

My favorite scene was probably the Wizards' Duel, or basically any of the scenes with Madam Mim. Because while she doesn't make a very convincing villain, she is wacky and fun to watch. (By the way, she was voiced by a lady named Martha Wentworth who did the voices of three small characters in 101 Dalmatians: Nanny, the cow, and the goose.)

Two other little random things: the voice of the man who is Wart's foster dad sounded so familiar to me. When I looked it up, I realized he was the voice of Bagheera in The Jungle Book and the narrator from the 1977 Winnie the Pooh film. No wonder he sounded familiar. :) Also, The Sword in the Stone was the last animated Disney movie that was released before Walt Disney's death.

Overall, I enjoyed The Sword in the Stone. It was pretty entertaining, though it's definitely not a favorite. It's not one I'll be rushing out to buy on DVD. I depend on a good story and catchy songs in Disney movies (and sometimes a dose of nostalgia :), and I guess that's where this one fell short for me. The story felt weak at times, and I didn't love the songs.

Up next is another childhood favorite: The Jungle Book!

Do you like The Sword in the Stone? What are some of your favorite King Arthur-related books, films, or TV? (I do have the BBC series Merlin in my Netflix queue, but I haven't watched it yet.)