Realrockerhalloween My favorite version of the legend about a boy destined to be king and meets a man who changes his life forever when he pulls out the sword.It covers his home life as an orphan, his training with Merlin and being crowned. The humor is situation comedy from turning the boy into a fish and nearly getting eaten by sharks or a wild following them keeps getting hurt three stogies style. Archimedes (an owl with a mind of his own) is witty, clever and has courage when it counts for his friends.What makes this a classic is the subtle hints to come with a squirm taking interest in Wart (King Arthur) and he breaks her heart like he will Gweniver someday or when Merlin says Tahiti will be a popular tourist destination in the future.The songs are catchy times that stay in your head for days like this is what makes the world go round and the sword in the stone.The medieval setting seems a little inaccurate since London won't be found for another thousand years or in door plumbing for that matter. The art drawings weren't the best during the crowd scenes and forest scenery like other Disney classics. Its very noticeable at how laughably bad it can get.Still I find the plot, characters and music over comes the flaws.

Anssi Vartiainen The Sword in the Stone is one of the scratchiest Disney movies. At the time they were still experimenting with and getting to know the Xerox system, allowing them to produce animation with a smaller budget, but with a noticeably rougher outlines and simpler character models. And it shows. The Sword in the Stone is one of the worst looking Disney films, there's really no way around it. But, it makes up for that, at least partially, with some catchy tunes from the Sherman Brothers, and with fun, memorable characters.The story is basically that from T. H. Stone's novel of the same name. Merlin is a wizard who ages backwards in time - it's complicated - and he's the one who mentors Arthur Pendragon in his early days as a page in a distant, rural castle in the English countryside. That mentoring mostly consisting of him changing Arthur into various animals and watching as he almost gets eaten. Happy fun times for the whole family.In all seriousness though, Merlin is a great character. Good lines, classic character design, the best song in the whole film and his various hijinks with Arthur's life do keep us entertained throughout the whole film.What keeps this from being a greater Disney film is that the story itself doesn't really contain all that much and that the side characters are not that interesting. In the book we have knights, creatures of the forest, Robin Hood of all things, villagers, castle folk. None of which we see in this film. It's just Merlin, non-speaking animals and Arthur most of the time. It's kind of fun, but the book had potential for so much more. Imagine if they did King Arthur during the 90s, in the middle of Disney Renaissance. That would have been amazing. Just think about it.In the end The Sword in the Stone is a perfectly good children's film with a more relaxed tone than was typical for a Disney film at the time. It's not bad, but it's unfortunately not great either.

AaronCapenBanner Walt Disney produced this animated version of the legend of King Arthur and the wizard Merlin, who in this adaptation teaches a young Arthur(nicknamed Wart!) the ways of the world, and how to read, etc. He is helped by Archimedes the wise old owl, though Arthur's bumbling and idiotic relatives are a hindrance, as is evil Madam Mim, a witch who wants to battle Merlin out of professional jealousy and overall malice. At one point, Arthur finds himself transformed into a squirrel, and must fend off the affections of a lady squirrel(a most sad interlude in the film, and also its highlight). Misfired film is a real disappointment; it looks inexplicably cheap, and the story is dumbed-down and charmless, not to mention tedious. Watch "Excalibur" instead!

Jawbox5 The Sword In The Stone is a personal favourite of all the Disney animated films. It has a number of things that make it feel rather unique including the laid back tone, lack of a true villain and how it mainly teaches lessons about life. It is certainly one of Disney's most interesting and enjoyable films.The plot loosely follows the book of the same name, Arthur (mainly known as Wart)is a boy who aims to be a knight's squire. When out hunting he falls through the roof of Merlin, a brilliant but slightly eccentric wizard and his highly educated owl Archimedes. Merlin knows that Arthur has the potential for brilliance and decides to give him an education so he can achieve anything. Along the way they change into a variety of animals, meet the menacing witch Madam Mim and learn a lot about life. The story does have a very warm and inviting feel to it. It is an intelligent film presented in a fun way which lets you learn as well as be entertained, it doesn't try to tone down smart aspects and that helps it to stand out. The characters are all brilliant which is crucial as it makes the film work. Arthur is a likable, naïve boy who we know will learn from his experiences to become king. However it was distracting how three different people did his voice, which explains why it changes frequently and it can be pretty annoying. Merlin is a wonderful lead for Arthur, his dissatisfaction with the times and frustrations with Arthur are very funny as he's nicely voiced by Karl Swenson. Talking owl Archimedes is brilliant too, his reactions to events and grouchy outbursts are hilarious, and he also offers a good link between Merlin's weirdness and the real world. Mim is great as she offers the closest thing to a villain, making a good impression in her short screen time. The brash Ector and arrogant Kay are great support as Arthur's adoptive family. The animation is stellar as always, the 60s saw some really good looking animation. It is relatively simple, but it does feel very authentic and it fits in perfectly. The views presented of the castle and forests really do bring an authentic as well as nicely atmospheric feel. The film is certainly the most philosophical of all the Disney film which adds to its individuality, it's nice that it focuses on the trials of life rather than jump into all the action which can be a flaw of many Disney films. When the scenes of adventure do come along they are all the more effective. The adventures as fish and squirrels are really enjoyable, filled with excitement and suspense as well as plenty of laughs. The climactic battle between Merlin and Mim is just fantastic, they turn into different animals and duel which leads to some great action and animation. The climax involving Excalibur is also well set up and nicely uplifting. Disney's songs can be a bit boring, but here they are excellent, songs such as "Higitus Figitus" are really catchy and great fun. One of the few complains is the wish for it to have been longer, but given the time it was released it is understandable. One of Disney's stronger and more underrated efforts, it is a brilliantly enjoyable feature.