When it
comes to Disney’s classic animated movies, I love most of them, I could
care-less for a hand-full of them, and there are some select animated classics
that I have downright mixed feelings about. The big one that always stood out
to me in the middle ground is Disney’s animated 1963 classic “The Sword in
the Stone” … as this is the one I feel the most mixed about. This marked
the very last fully animated Disney movie that Walt Disney himself was able to
see completed before his untimely death. While he was very involved in the
following animated picture “The Jungle Book”, he sadly didn’t see it
completed. As such, “The Sword in the Stone” carries a great deal of
sentimental value, and while you don’t see it ranked as high as other
classics, many hard-core Disney fans still look back fondly on this as one of
the absolute best of the collection. I’ve even had best friends label “The
Sword in the Stone” as one of their personal favorite movies, and while I
can’t share the same sentiment … I can at least see an appeal in the picture.
It’s a movie I watched as a kid, but I never called it a favorite of my own.
While it kept me entertained, I never really thought back on it as a magical
experience that demanded repeat viewings. Regardless, it’s a film with a
legacy, and it's an interesting case to examine what works, and what’s “so-so”.
The film is loosely based on the novel of
the same name, which at first was published in 1938 as a single novel. It was then later
republished in 1958 as the first book of author T. H. White’s tetralogy “The
Once and Future King”. At its core, the film is a passable take on the
legend of King Arthur, although it doesn’t explore as much of the characters
story, and takes a different approach … which in turn becomes both a strength
and a weakness. In this version, we see King Arthur as a young boy, who’s
pushed around by a strict foster father, and a selfish, lazy step-brother. A
wizard named Merlin see’s the potential in him to be a better man, so he takes
it upon himself to be Arthur's teacher, and helps him mature in the face of danger. These classes then come in the form of being transformed into various animals, and facing everyday threats. While neither of them realize it, Merlin is actually preparing him to one day be fit to rule as king. That in
a nut-shell is the premise of the whole movie … Merlin teaches the boy lessons,
and it plays out with the same level of excitement as an afternoon
school-special. That’s not to say it isn’t fun to have a wizard as your teacher,
and the film dose have a consistent level of charm. However, the formula gets rather
repetitive after a while, and we don’t learn anything too inspiring … just
basic good virtues.
King Arthur himself is very innocent and
pure, but he never really leaves an impression. Truthfully, while I always saw
a good person in him, I never really saw anything that “kingly” about him
either. In fact, he just gets the sword at the end of the film, and he just
automatically becomes a king … that’s it. The film plays-out like an underdog
story, which is fine, but I just never felt that he proves anything of himself.
He’s just an average good kid, and I always felt like there should’ve been a
lot more to him than that. The voice can also get really annoying, especially
because throughout the film his voice changes pitch, and it’s very clear that
there are different actors doing his voice. I do however like the films
approach to his foster family, as they aren't villains in the same vein of the step-family
in Disney’s “Cinderella”. Their certainly pushy and strict, but there
are some nice little moments where the foster father shows concern for Arthur,
and considers treating him like a better son.
The
best thing about this movie by far are its two big supporting characters, Merlin
and Archimedes, who are both very memorable and appealing.
Merlin especially is
one of my all-time favorite animated Disney characters, and I love how
versatile he can be. Most of the time he’s wise and patient, but he also mixes in
the grouchy side-effects of his age, which leads to a lot of funny and
unpredictable moments. Every time Merlin is on screen, he’s bursting with
energy, highly-animated, and chalk full of charisma. He’s also brought to life brilliantly
by voice actor Karl Swenson. This is a performance where the actor really matches
the energy in the animation, and infuses the character with boundless personality,
wit and it’s one of the few times I feel like a voice actor could have been
nominated for a best supporting role. I also love his surroundings, with lots
of test tubs you’d see in a science lab, and it makes for a great contrast to the
medieval setting. Then there’s Merlin’s little sidekick, an owl named
Archimedes, who’s got a grumpy bedside manner, but a good heart beneath it. He
makes for another really fun presence, and when you have these two pitted
together, you get some terrific comedy, and fun character interactions.
The only thing I always felt was missing
from this movie is a good female character.
That’s not to say every Disney
picture needs a Princess in a pretty dress, but still, it’s commonly expected
for an animated Disney movie in a fantasy setting to feature a female presence
of some sort. Even if it’s just a supporting role like Maid Marian in Disney’s
“Robin Hood” or Princess Eilonwy in Disney’s “The Black Cauldron”,
it just adds that extra special touch to the experience. What’s more, the King
Arthur legend already had an iconic female character in the form of Lady
Guinevere … who would have been idle for an animated Disney makeover. Obviously I'm aware she wasn't in the original "Sword in the Stone" book, but Disney is known to make alterations. Unfortunately, all this film gives us is that cute little female Squirrel,
who’s smitten for Arthur after he gets transformed into a Squirrel himself.
After rescuing him from a hungry wolf, we get one of the most randomly placed
sad-moments I’ve ever seen in a Disney picture. The girl squirrel gets her
heart broken after seeing Arthur transform back into a boy. He then walks off,
leaving her alone to see him fade-away into the distance … and we never see her
again. It’s a legit depressing moment that always bugged me as a kid, and I so
wanted Merlin to transform her into a girl, and maybe we could see the young Arthur educate her in the same way that Merlin was tutoring him. Heck, she
could have then adorned the name Guinevere, and while it would have been a
crazy origin for her character, it would have still been cute, and it would have worked
within the contents of this film alone.
Another thing that could have added more to
the experience is the consistent presence of a main villain. While we do get a
last-minute addition in the form of a crazy old witch named Madam Mim, she’s
only present for one sequence, and doesn’t really count as a main character.
She is thankfully a lot of fun to watch, and had all the potential to be an
iconic Disney villain in her own right. Madam Mim is arguably one of the
wildest villains ever, with a hyper personality, and a wide display of magic
powers. She does everything from changing her size, altering her appearance,
and morphing into animals. All the characters visual flare, mixed with her
hipper, and childish personality make’s her a real joy to watch, and it makes
me wish she had a bigger role in the film. She also gets her own musical
number, the “Mad Madam Mim” song, which is
nothing memorable, but lends itself to a fun sequence of her showing off more
of her powers.
On
that … “note” … the musical numbers in this movie are very hit and miss. Whenever
Merlin has a class with Arthur, and sings either “That’s
what makes the World go Round” or “A
Most Befuddling Thing”, I find the tunes boring and not very
memorable. One of my favorite songs … oddly enough … is the opening title song
of “The Sword in the Stone”. It
doesn’t play over the opening credits in the vein of other Disney movies, and instead
is part of the opening narration of the story. It just has this simple, yet beautiful
melody, and the vocalist puts a good deal of passion into the song … to the
point where it actually leaves me with chills every time I hear it. The best
song by far is Merlin’s “Higitus Figitus”
number. In fact, I’d call it one of the best underrated Disney songs ever.
Merlin starts packing-up to live in Arthur's castle, but instead of using your
hands … why not pack in style, and have an enchanted song pack everything for
you? I love how lively everything gets, and the animated visuals mix with the
musical notes perfectly. The musical score composed by George Burns is
outstanding, and makes for one of the most delightfully upbeat tracks of any
Disney picture. In fact, this score was nominated for the Academy Award for
best original music, but lost to the music from Jack Lemmon’s 1963 romantic
comedy “Irma the Sweet”.
Let’s
talk animation, because even though the visual layout of the film is perfectly serviceable
… I can’t help but feel that it’s lacking in quality when compared to other early
animated Disney offerings of its time. Just look at the backgrounds in this
movie when compared to something like “Sleeping Beauty”, with its
detailed artistry, lush canvases, and it came out only five years prior to “The Sword in the Stone”.
Now wait a minute … I did say there were highlights spread throughout. While there aren't any sword fights or grand
adventures in this medieval setting, the film has other ways to keep kids
entertained.
The best scenes are when Merlin transforms Arthur into various
animals like a squirrel, a fish and a bird. Arthur in turn spends time in the
lives of these creatures, learning how they live, survive, and battle’s their
predators. As such we get some exciting chases with a wolf, a hawk, and the
most intense of all is an underwater chase with a Pike fish. I think this scene
was an influence on the opening shark-attack sequence from “The Little
Mermaid”, right down to this one move in which our hero draws the beast toured
him, only for it to get caught in the links of a chain. The best scene of all
is when Merlin gets into a wizard’s duel with Madam Mim, which is a sequence I used
to re-watch all the time as a kid. They change into various animals that battle
one another in a colorful, slapstick, Loony Toon style action scene. There’s
a lot of creativity in what animals they morph into, the timing is great, and
they cover a fun gambit of different animals. Having the villain transform into
a dragon is just the icing on the cake … granted, it’s not as epic as the
previous witch transforming into a dragon sequence from “Sleeping Beauty”
… but I’ll still take this one for what it is.
At last, we come to my biggest
reservation with this whole movie … it’s underwhelming third act. Despite being
the center piece of the films title, the sword is barely scene or utilized in
the film, and when we finally get to the big scene with Arthur pulling it out …
the movie just stops without reaching any kind of real finality. There’s no big
climax, and it makes the film feel like chapter-one of a larger story, but
nothing else followed after this. As such, the whole film just feels like one
big character set-up, without any proper continuation. Seriously, even when I was
a kid and had fun watching this film, this ending always left me scratching my
head … like, why did I watch this again when it ends with so little pay-off. I get
that the message is about individuals who might have their own destiny, and
no-one should ever sell themselves short. A good statement, but for me, the experience
wasn’t fulfilling enough to tie the message around. Again, it’s consistently
delightful to watch, but with such an abrupt ending, I just don’t think about
it afterword’s, and it makes the experience kind of a basic one.
Having said that, the characters are still
very memorable, with both Merlin and Archimedes standing as two of my most
favorite. The music is mostly memorable, and there are still those select
highlights that bring me back, but not as often as with other animated Disney
offerings. Still, it’s a classic from Walt Disney’s era, and over time, many
have tried preserving its legacy. In 2008, the American Film Institute
nominated “The Sword in the Stone” for it’s Top 10 Animated pictures of
all time, and like I said in my introduction … they’re those who would still
call this one of their favorites. While I can’t bring myself to call it a
favorite movie … let alone one of my favorite Disney movies … there’s
unmistakably a charm and appeal to the picture that continues to survive
through the years. Certainly not one of the greatest animated Disney offerings,
but for its likable characters, catchy songs, and one or two noteworthy scenes …
it’s well worth revisiting now and then.
Thanks for
reading my review of the animated classic “The Sword in the Stone” … and continue to enjoy the movies you love!
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