The Sword in the Stone

Audience Reviews

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Apr 19, 2019 "I'm going to teach you by turning you into a fish". What's the point of this movie?

Harry Feb 16, 2019 While inconsistent with plot and pacing at times, it's kind of in a good way due to many of the scenes in the film being entertaining to watch. Once again, Bill Peet did all of the storyboarding. While not as strong as his work in Dalmatians, Peet never fails to impress me. While Wart himself is not the most interesting of main characters, you still feel the struggle he goes through while living at the castle. Even though the feeling is not as strong as the sympathy for Cinderella and her struggles, the character does have a few moments where he does get frustrated and disappointed. I think Wart is a likeable enough main character. Of all the animated Disney films surrounded by human characters, The Sword in the Stone may be the one to have the humans animated the best. A lot of the characterization comes primarily from the animation on them, and the two most notable animators on the film include Milt Kahl and John Lounsbery, who both manage to bring a lot of life into them. A character like Sir Kay is not the most interesting, you could also argue he's an unlikeable guy, yet the animation by Milt really adds personality to him to the point where if you had the voice actor play the part in live action, it wouldn't be nearly as effective. Speaking of which, the voice actors do bring life into them as well. Most notably, the voice actor of Merlin gives him plenty of exuberance. What's amusing is that Wart himself was in need of more than one voice actor, hence why his voices changes through the film. Honestly, I kind of like that because it gives the depiction that the character himself is actually going through puberty. Why should a 12 year old's voice sound the same if that's the age he begins to develop? That makes him more of a realistic, relatable character. The use of squash and stretch on the characters is used plentiful here. Archimedes, for example, has some funny gestures whether he reacts in an angry manner or when he is seen laughing and about to die from it. I always admired the way the animation is done on characters like Merlin's mustache, the way they stretch their mouths open in contrast to the mustache is something I never forgot. This can be seen with other characters like Sir Pelinore or Sir Ector. The wolf was animated by John Lounsbery, it seems to have a Warner Bros vibe to it that I find interesting. The three best characters of the film are Merlin, Archimedes, and Madam Mim, who is easily the most entertaining. The most entertaining sequence in the film is the classic wizards' duel where the two transform into animals to try and kill each other. This is where the animation is at its best, possibly some of the most fun animation of the 60s. Turning into a chicken, an elephant, and even deleted drawings by Milt Kahl of Merlin as a dog and as a frog, it's truly the most magical moment in the film. The other notable sequences in the film are a lot of fun as well. Wart finds himself turned into a fish, a squirrel, and a bird. The squirrel scene is also quite charming and humorous to watch, where the old lady squirrel began annoying and setting the moves on Merlin is one of the more funny scenes in the movie. The most heartbreaking scene is also found in the squirrel scene as well, and the film manages to pass out some good morals that may not be no longer needed for adults, but are very good morals for kids. Where the film falls flat is, literally, through the animation. While praising the character animation, the backgrounds look a little too flat to where it looks like cardboard used on the camera except with some paint splattered on it. Like I said, the story is a bit inconsistent and maybe even uninspired, but it's excusable since many of the scenes are entertaining. The film seems to end completely out of nowhere as well, there could have been more substance(and more time) put into the end. Maybe Merlin could have persuaded Wart to stay and await his great future, then Merlin could have left to go do something and the film could have zoomed out from Wart and to the opening book to which it closes with narrator Sebastian Cabot concluding the story. There is a nice fourth wall joke at the end, however, and it is kind of funny. While certainly one of the weaker Disney films through the backgrounds, pacing, and plot organization, there's still a lot of substance in the characters through the animation and interactions in some very entertaining scenes and songs(like Higitus Figitus) to be a great part of my childhood. And it's a Disney film that shouldn't be overlooked by others. 3/4 See more

Dec 30, 2018 By far my favorite Disney Fairy Tale. To me Arthur pulling the sword from the stone and becoming king was far more rewarding to watch than Simba roaring at the end of The Lion King. See more

Dec 21, 2018 One of the unsung Disney masterpieces! Takes the story of King Aurthur and put a decidedly Mickey Mouse twist on it. A classic that stand the tedt of time. See more

Hermione W Aug 11, 2018 As usual with any Disney classic, the colors are beautiful and the artwork fantastic. The animation is wonderful. Very fluid and nice on the eyes. The humor is pretty good. The boys expressions are pretty funny. Great musical soundtrack. I love the color schemes in this movie. Whenever they use contrasting colors its beautiful. Like Purple and orange or purple and green. God dang, when that barracuda showed up, that was menacing. I like the lessons that Merlin is teaching the boy. There's a good moral in this story. Not always is muscle brutish tactics going to win. You got to use your head and knowledge at times to win. I like how Merlin the Wizard is kind of like mentoring the boy as if he was his uncle or grandfather. The female squirrel was thirsty as fuck. That one witch Mim, is bat shit crazy. I feel like the story lacks substance and the moment we all want to watch is when Arthur pulls the sword which we all know happens already. Though not as memorable as say Robin Hood or 101 Dalmatians, it's still a visually beautifully crafted animation movie with a great message. See more

Kylo R Aug 3, 2018 My favourite scene is the cleaning up and packing up scene

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The Sword in the Stone

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