The Sword in the Stone (December 25, 1963)

This is another of my favorite Disney films (I have many!) and one that is often forgotten and that I believe is highly underrated. I am a big fan of the King Arthur mythos, so this film was right up my alley as a child. It has a runtime of 79 minutes but, to me, it always seemed too short. It tells the legend of Arthur (commonly known as Wart in the film), an orphan who is tutored by Merlin the wizard to eventually become the great king of legend which Merlin believes he will be. It is based on the book of the same name by T. H. White. There are not many characters in this film- the most notable of which are Arthur, Merlin, Arthur’s father and brother, Sir Ector and Sir Kay respectably, Archimedes, Merlin’s talking pet owl, and Madam Mim, a black magic witch and Merlin’s rival. The best part of the film is the relationship between Merlin and Arthur. It is endearing and whimsical, where Merlin decides to teach Arthur lessons through the use of transfiguration. Merlin is kind and patient with the overeager and inquisitive Arthur, while being forceful when needed. He insists Arthur learn math, science, and the like instead of the boorish pursuits that his squire ship insists (very forward thinking of him!) In fact, Merlin often steals focus from Arthur as he has a bolder personality. He has also become the most recognizable character from the movie, having shown up in various different media throughout the years, most notably the Kingdom hearts series. The secondary characters are fine enough but none particularly stand out (besides the wacky Madam Mim). The soundtrack is not notable. It is fine for this movie with a few songs sung by Merlin to Arthur, but nothing memorable. The voice acting and the animation quality, however, are subpar. Arthur was voiced by three young boys, two of which were siblings, so their voices were similar enough, but the third was noticeably different. This might have been fine if they were used to denote the passage of time, but they were, instead, used interchangeably, dispersed throughout the movie leading to a choppy final product. This is on account of the production’s low budget which also negatively impacted the animation. It is still charming and overall works alright, but you can see where corners were cut at times. Overall, The Sword in the Stone, despite its shortcomings due to lack of funding, is a hidden gem. It features a charming pseudo father-son relationship in a wonderful medieval setting. It is a unique take on the classic King Arthur story but remains one of its better adaptations

Final Rating: 7/10