Line up all the Disney animated films, stack them up, compare them to one another, and The Sword In The Stone is certainly one of the lesser offerings. The film was a success and would be the last fully animated film Walt Disney himself would see released (The Jungle Book was developed under his tutelage, but he died a year before its release).
The Sword In The Stone concerns a young Arthur, nicknamed Wart, who is under the protection and supervision of Sir Ector and his foster brother Kay. Merlin gets in the mix and becomes Arth… I mean Wart’s tutor. The lessons ensue and eventually the two meet up with Madam Mim, because there needs to be a protagonist. Of course eventually the young lad pulls the sword from the stone much to the disbelief of everybody and becomes king.
The Merlin of this story is an old time travelling near bumbling man that is characterized chiefly for his comic effect. This is much of what makes the film not work as well as it should. Yes, there’s plenty of charm and it is an interesting take on the Arthurian legend, but it is one of the lesser ones.
The invention of Madam Mim and the wizard’s duel has nothing to do with the King Arthur myth, but is also one of the better scenes in the film. It’s a shame, in a way, that this character, an invention by Disney animators, is out of place in the story, but provides one of the better moments. She would prove to be popular and versatile, showing up in several other stories in different media, but she never quite broke out into any sort of popularity because nobody knows quite what to do with her.
The Sherman brothers contributed songs, and while they are decent, detract from the story. Like Madam Mim, these pieces by themselves are good, but don’t work to serve the overall story. This is just the epitome of The Sword In the Stone – the parts just don’t always coalesce.
I want to stress, however, that while I am not necessarily being particularly nice, I do enjoy the film. It’s not one of my favorites by a long shot, but still worth watching. My kids enjoy it enough and as a fan of the King Arthur legend, it’s nice to see a different take on it.
On Blu-ray we get the film in a package that offers up a DVD as well. The new transfer makes the film look (and sound) a heck of a lot better than I ever remember it being. This, however, is relative. It’s as if Disney knowing there is a smaller audience for this film as opposed to the “main classics” didn’t take the time to truly convert the film and restore it in full high definition.
As for the special features, there’s not a lot here, all carried over from the previous DVD edition. There’s a short look at the music with the Sherman brothers, an alternate opening, a couple of shorts, you get the idea. Somebody should do an audio commentary for this because this is an important film in Disney history in that it was the last animated feature Walt himself saw released.
If you know what you’re in for you’ll enjoy The Sword In the Stone.