Review of The Sword in the Stone (1963) by Joshua B — 10 Dec 2009

THE GOOD.

- A beautiful film at times with more natural pacing than other Disney films.

- Merlin, his owl and Madam Mim are memorable characters with fantastic personalities.

- The fight between Merlin and Mim at the end is really inventive.

- Unlike most Disney films, I liked how there wasn't a prominent villain, but was more of an internal struggle. (If Arthur actually learns anything from this struggle is another story).

- Love the squirrel scene, although the joke runs long after awhile.

- The score is pretty good (the songs, however, are pretty bleh).

- It's different!

THE BAD.

- Disney's version of Arthur is overly scrawny, with a voice that sounds more like he's from the lineage of Beaver Cleaver than royalty.

- Merlin's anachronistic humor gets annoying after awhile. Yes, I know you can see into the 1960s, stop reminding us!

- The whole of the sword in the stone seemed pointless, with a simple one second pay-off. Why did the sword choose Arthur??

- The worst final line in all film: "A motion picture is like television without the commercials!".

- THE ABRUPT ENDING OF DOOM!

THE INTERESTING.

Sword in the Stone is one of the few Disney movies without a sequel. I assume it's because this Arthur ran the country into ruin. Seriously, Disney got an American teenager to voice the future King of England??