The Sword in the Stone (45th Anniversary Edition) 1963 Buena Vista Home Entertainment   Buy It Now

When wandering up main street Disneyland, one’s eyes are drawn immediately to the 77-foot spectacle of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle at the far end.  Beyond its lowered drawbridge and into the courtyard within is Fantasyland, where all manner of Disney-told tales have been brought to life with their very own theme park rides.  Your favorite moments from Peter Pan, Pinocchio, Snow White, Dumbo, and even The Wind in the Willows are all recreated in grand style by flying through the air in pirate ships, traveling through the mine of the seven dwarves or racing across London and the English countryside in a very wild ride with Mr. Toad.  And while the kiddies (myself included of course) are squealing with delight over these sensory overloads, there is another equally as deserving Disney classic represented in demure fashion: The Sword in the Stone.

This small parcel of land holding a stone firmly struck through an anvil and boulder is marked only by a bronze plaque featuring a slight nod to the film.  Nothing more than a photo op to so many, and totally looked over by so many more, this area comes alive when those in the know come by for the sporadic showy presentation.  With the arrival of Merlin, a crowd soon forms; their attention pulled from all the flashier and better known attractions surrounding this meager tribute.  Soon, all are enthralled with the spectacle of a young child being selected to pull the sword from the stone, while the previously selected, larger adults who gave it not a budge (a role I’ve been picked for twice before!) look on.  Thunderous applause and ravinsg conclude the simple show and make everyone standing in line to witness the other “bigger and better” attractions promise to catch Merlin the next time he appears.

In many ways, The Sword in the Stone has had the same long life as its Disneyland counterpart.  While the masses flock to the ever-popular princess movies, the Jungle Book, the Winnie the Pooh series, or even the older classics like Bambi and Robin Hood; The Sword in the Stone sits patiently on the shelves of your DVD collection or at the local big box store, just waiting to be discovered again.  And once this film has caught your attention and latched onto you with its simple charms, you remember all over again why quite often bigger is not always better.  So if you are ready to adjust your “Top Ten Favorite Disney Films” list, by all means, now is the time to pick up The Sword in the Stone: 45^th Anniversary Edition.

As the 18^th animated feature from Walt Disney’s studio, The Sword in the Stone would be the last film Mr. Disney would see released to audiences before his death in 1966 just prior to The Jungle Book’s theatrical debut.  The film was widely appreciated by movie-goers, but critics were not quite as receptive.  In fact, the response from entertainment media was enough to have Walt looking with a more critical eye toward his writing staff, leading eventually to the lead writer of The Jungle Book (which was soon to begin development) relinquishing his role.  But fans enjoyed Sword immensely, bringing box office success to the film and notoriety to the film’s director, Wolfgang Reitherman.  This was the first time a Disney animated feature would be helmed by a single man and the attempt was so successful, Reitherman wound up directing the next seven animated features to be released by the studio; including The Jungle Book, The AristoCats, Robin Hood and The Rescuers.

Based on the book of the same name from the four-part King Arthur story by T.H. White, The Sword in the Stone is set early in The Middle Ages, and tells of young serving boy Wart meeting Merlin the magician and his eventual attempt at drawing the sword in the stone.  The sword had been in London Town many long years, along with the prophecy that the one who could draw it forth would be the next King of England; but with no one able to fulfill the prophecy, the kingdom had fallen into a lawless state without a noble ruler.  When Wart crosses Merlin’s path, the old wizard takes an immediate shine to the orphaned young man and decides to educate him in the arts of reading, writing and other scholastic skills as well as developing the boy’s proficiency with basic magic.  While this tomfoolery with spells being cast by a befuddled old man and an unskilled brash youngster brings much of the films laughs, the movie’s real success is due to the characters themselves. 

Merlin (voiced by television actor Karl Swenson) is the real momentum for the duration of this film.  His incessant, stammering sterness, hilarious botched attempts at magic and teaching, and frequent battles of will with his ornery owl companion Archimedes combine to form both a lovable mentor for Wart and a slapstick comedy release for the audience.  In a very striking way, it is easy to see Merlin as the impetus for Aladdin’s beloved Genie many years later!  Of course, no great magician would be worth his salt if he didn’t have a nemesis, and in this case, it is hard to choose who to root for!  Madam Mim is such a pitiable creature while remaining steadfastly boisterous and obnoxious throughout that watching her crazed antics borders on gut busting hilarious.  That border is surpassed when she and Merlin go head to head in a battle of not only magic, but of sheer creativity…a sequence which not only entertains, but also showcases the immense talent of Disney’s animating team.

Of course, Wart (soon to become Arthur!) himself plays the major role, but just as in the aforementioned Aladdin, the main character can’t hold a candle to his companions for sheer comedic quality and in capturing the viewer’s attention.  What the character of Wart does do for this picture is ground it in humanity…giving the whole project that “Disney magic” of triumphing beyond class and station, and most importantly against all odds.  In a male version of the Cinderella story, Wart climbs from servant to ruler; not using a cut-throat sense of self-preservation or a ruthless ambition, but through strength of character and honest innocence.

It is hard for many to recollect the songs from The Sword in the Stone as readily or easily as those from say, Snow White, The Little Mermaid or The Jungle Book.  It would be hard to say that this is due to anything other than the songs being slightly under par for what we have come to expect from the studios song-writers, but I would be willing to suggest that it is also due to the fact that what is happening on screen during the musical numbers is quite frankly so much more memorable!  The songs in Sword are used more as vehicles for hilarious animation sequences than they are to move the story along.  Because of this, lyrical content and catchy memorable pacing is not nearly important as simply the songs driving accompaniment of the antics on-screen.

Speaking of on-screen, the animation looks terrific after all these years, and beyond being made in the styles of another era, the quality is still nothing short of amazing.  It has been said that The Sword in the Stone features some of the best human forms in Disney’s history; however I would expand this to say that it also features some of the best anthropomorphic forms in animation.  The ability to consistently transform the characters into different animal shapes and species, yet still manage to capture not only their features, but mannerisms as well, is a mastery of the art form.  For this skill there is hardly a better display.

I could have hoped for something more in the art of supplying extra features however!  The Sword in the Stone stands as the only animated Disney film of the 1960s that has not had a Platinum release.  Because of this, there are no previously released features to steal and port over; meaning that something should have been put together for this anniversary edition.  Beyond a measly smattering of information on the songs, there are a few bonus shorts and the only new feature is Merlin’s Magical Academy game.  We all know how much we play the DVD games, no don’t we!  I would loved to have seen something on the legends of Arthur and how they were translated here, or perhaps a look into the rash of English-themed films Disney released around this time (Alice in Wonderland, Robin Hood, 101-Dalmations, Peter Pan, etc).  Even a look at the amount of recycled animation used for The Sword in the Stone or used later from parts of this film could have been entertaining and easy.  Oh well, let’s cross our fingers they are holding back for an amazing Blu-ray release!

In the realm of Disney films, The Sword in the Stone is the sleeper hit; the unassuming little-guy that manages to show up the big talent again and again.  When it comes right down to it, Sword is a “fan-favorite” in the TRUE meaning of the term; a favorite of fans regardless of its revenue stature or critical success.  It is nice to see this film getting a boost back into the public eye…it surely deserves it.

-aaron-