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The Sword in the Stone: 45th Anniversary Special Edition
 
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The Sword in the Stone: 45th Anniversary Special Edition

Starring: Norman Alden, Sebastian Cabot Director: Wolfgang Reitherman
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
List Price: CDN$ 35.99
Price: CDN$ 25.99 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over CDN$ 39. Details
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The Sword in the Stone: 45th Anniversary Special Edition + Robin Hood: Most Wanted Edition + The Jungle Book
Total List Price: CDN$ 109.97
Price For All Three: CDN$ 82.97

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  • This item: The Sword in the Stone: 45th Anniversary Special Edition DVD ~ Wolfgang Reitherman

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What do customers ultimately buy after viewing this item?

The Sword in the Stone: 45th Anniversary Special Edition
77% buy the item featured on this page:
The Sword in the Stone: 45th Anniversary Special Edition 4.3 out of 5 stars (44)
CDN$ 25.99
Robin Hood: Most Wanted Edition
7% buy
Robin Hood: Most Wanted Edition 4.6 out of 5 stars (72)
CDN$ 29.99
Pinocchio : 70th Anniversary Platinum Edition
6% buy
Pinocchio : 70th Anniversary Platinum Edition 4.3 out of 5 stars (110)
CDN$ 25.99
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
6% buy
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 4.7 out of 5 stars (208)
CDN$ 22.99
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Product Details

Product Description

From Amazon.com

Based upon T.H. White's beloved novel, this Disney-fied version chronicles the tutoring of the Once and Future King, Arthur, as handled by the magician Merlin. Sword was a portent of things to come, with slapstick upbraiding storytelling, and cultural in-jokes substituting for wonder. But there's much to enjoy here as Merlin shows Newt, the young Arthur, things that will help him become the ruler of the Britons. The transformation sequences, where the boy is turned into a fish, a bird, and a squirrel are vintage Disney. The oft-repeated scene of Merlin battling it out with the mean old Madame Mim still is worth a few chuckles, but it belies the problem with most of the film--the scenes are only there for the chuckles. References by Merlin to television and other items of modern life also mar the generally innocuous landscape. Children will like it, but they won't cherish it. --Keith Simanton


Review

The Sword in the Stone is the first solo directorial effort of famed Disney animator Wolfgang Reithermann. The lackluster animation and unimpressive musical numbers disappointed audiences upon the film's initial opening, but its tale of a stout-hearted child destined for greatness proved timeless as it lured scores of Disney fans to theaters upon its several re-releases. Based on the first book of T.H. White's tome The Once and Future King, the film blurs Arthur's story, but makes the legend accessible to very young children. If the movie's animation is not up to par, the remarkable and eccentric characters well make up for it. The skinny, bowlegged Wart (Rickie Sorenson) is as much a hero as his predecessors, the wooden Pinocchio and the big-eared Dumbo. Moreover, Merlin's (Karl Swenson) skeptical sidekick, the scholarly owl Archimedes (Junius Matthews), as well as his wacky nemesis, the sorceress Mad Madam Mim (Martha Wentworth), make the film as colorful as any of its state-of-the-art cartoon counterparts. ~ Aubry Anne D'Arminio, All Movie Guide
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Customer Reviews

44 Reviews
5 star:
 (27)
4 star:
 (8)
3 star:
 (5)
2 star:
 (3)
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Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (44 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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5.0 out of 5 stars Much better than I once thought, Jul 12 2008
By Robert Morris (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

As other reviewers have duly noted, this film (first released in 1963) is based on the first of four parts of T.H. White's The Once and Future King (1958), focusing on Arthur's birth, childhood, and youth before he became king of England. The film has been reissued as a 45th anniversary edition. It features the well-selected voices of Sebastian Cabot (Sir Ector/Narrator), Karl Swenson (Merlin), Rickie Sorensen (Arthur/"Wart"), Junius Matthews (Archimedes), and Alan Napier (Sir Pelinore). Frankly, I was underwhelmed when I first saw it many years ago and had little patience with the antics. While seeing it again recently, I found the film much more entertaining and frequently charming.

In our family, a film's "acid test" for grandchildren is for them to want to see it again, immediately. After I watched it with several of the younger ones, they requested that but agreed, instead, to check out "Merlin's New Magical Academy Game," passing on the other bonus features. I would not rank The Sword in the Stone among the "classic" animated features produced by Disney (e.g. Bambi, Beauty and the Beast, Dumbo, Pinocchio, and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) and Pixar (e.g. Finding Nemo, Ratatouille, Toy Story, Toy Story 2, and WALL-E) as well as DreamWorks' Antz and Shrek. However, how many animation features do?

Perhaps there are other grandparents and parents who also saw The Sword in the Stone years ago, as did I, and are not inclined to have a copy available for children to see. I urge them to reconsider because it possesses a unique "magic" of its own. I think they will also enjoy the bonus features. Hopefully this reissued version will attract the interest and gain the appreciation the film clearly deserves.
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4.0 out of 5 stars THE STORY OF ARTHUR BEFORE HE BECAME KING..., Jun 22 2008
By Lawyeraau (Balmoral Castle) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)   
This 1963 adaptation of the children's classic book of the same name, which was written by Terence H. White and first published in 1938, tells the story of a young King Arthur. The plot of the book provides the underpinnings for this animated film. In the film, Arthur is a twelve year old squire to the numbskull son of his guardian. Naive and genuinely nice, he is known by the nickname "Wart". Merlin, the wizard of all wizards, takes him under his wing, seeking to educate young Arthur before he enters into legend. Wart has no clue what fate holds in store for him, when he goes to London to perform his duties as a squire. Little does he know about the sword in the stone and the legend that surrounds it. Is he in for a surprise!

This film is not as well known as other Disney animated films and has never had the acclaim of some of the others. Yet, it provides solid entertainment. The animation, as it is with all Disney animated films, is excellent, despite lacking the elegance of some other Disney animated classics. My favorite scene is that involving the evil sorceress, Mad Madam Mim, a scene that I simply loved. It is a scene that is totally funny, whimsical, and action packed. Having never seen this film before, I was pleasantly surprised by it. The seventy nine minutes that the film lasted passed all too quickly. Moreover, it is a film that the whole family may enjoy.

The 45th Anniversary edition comes loaded with many bonus features. My favorite feature was the inclusion of two classic cartoons. Both cartoons selected for inclusion follow the medieval theme of the film. The first cartoon, "Knight for a Day" dates back to 1946 and features "Goofy" as a medieval squire. With his master out of commission due to a mishap, Goofy takes his master's place at a joust that is to decide who will win the hand of the Princess. The second classic cartoon "Brave Little Tailor", dates back to 1938 and features "Mickey Mouse", who is deemed by his King to be the official giant killer, when Mickey overstates his fighting ability. Asides from a bucketful of money, if Mickey is successful in routing the giant, he will win the hand of Princess Minnie. I totally loved these two cartoons. To me, they turned this DVD into a must buy DVD.
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4.0 out of 5 stars Merlin helps prepare young Wart to become the great King Arthur, Jun 21 2008
By Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(TOP 10 REVIEWER)   
Released in 1963, "The Sword in the Stone" was based on the novel of the same name by T.E. White, and tells how the great wizard Merlin took under his wing the future King Arthur, at this point a young lad nicknamed Wart. Feeling no need to wait five more years for a round-number, watching this 45th Anniversary Edition DVD of "The Sword in the Stone" really strikes me as being a third tier Disney animated feature film. It occurs to me that whereas with some of the best children's films, animated or otherwise, you can claim that it is too good for kids (mainly because some of the best bits are way over the heads of the little folk), that is not the case with this one. With the lessons on perspective taking Merlin puts Wart through there is certainly something for kid's to take away from watching the movie. But adults? Not so much, which would explain why watching the film again many decades later did not match up with fond memories of originally seeing it in the theater. This time around I was rather put off by many of the comic twists with Merlin, and found the final joke of the film with the character in Bermuda shorts to be the lamest of all Disney endings. The last Disney animated feature released when Walt Disney was still alive, it is part of what is called the "English Cycle" of Disney animated films that includes "Alice in Wonderland," "Peter Pan," "The Jungle Book," and "Robin Hood," all of which are superior, to greater or lesser degrees, than this one. This would tend to reaffirm the notion that this is a lower tier animated Disney movie, but the key word there is "Disney," which means the bottom of their barrel is still located up there in the penthouse.

The fact that there is but a single DVD this time around is another clear indication that this is not a top tier Disney film, because it lacks the sheer quantity of stuff from "Vault Disney" that we find on the recognized classics. The high points of the special features are the bonus shorts, which start with Goofy's "A Knight for a Day"(1946), directed by Jack Hannah, where Cedric (Goofy) replaces his master, Sir Loinsteak, in the joust against Sir Cumference (best pun on the whole DVD). But then we get the classic Mickey Mouse cartoon "Brave Little Tailor" (1938), directed by Bill Roberts, that was nominated for the 1938 Academy Award for Best Short Subject (It lost to Disney's "Ferdinand the Bull"). When animators voted on the top 50 cartoons (shorts) of all-time, this one ended up #26 on the list ("What's Opera Doc?" is #1, Disney's "The Band Concert" is #3, and "Bambi Meets Gozilla " made it to #38, so its a nice eclectic list). The Games and Activities section has viewers solving problems to collect "relics" (shields); my ability to answer history questions far outstrips by swimming ability.

In the "Magic Music: The Sherman Brothers" featurette in the Music and More section they look at the songs that were dropped from the movie, and given the main lesson of the film it is a shame the song "Magic Key" was dropped, because it is really on point regarding the importance of learning. There are also captioned versions of all of the songs in the film, so that you can sing along. In the Backstage Disney section, Walt Disney shows up for an excerpt from "All About Magic," which is not exactly on point for "Sword in Stone" but does cover basic movie magic. The Scrapbook section has concept art, behind the scenes looks, publicity shots, and the Merlin Show attraction at Disneypark Paris, where you can click on pictures to enlarge them. The Film Facts section is rather sparse, consisting of just eight frames of text, again indicating that we are not dealing with one of the shining moments in the history of Disney. Still, the extras are enough to round up on this one, and those trying to put together a complete Disney library will be happy to find that the company puts out above average DVDs of even their average animated films.
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5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best Disney movies ever!!
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What's the problem...with some people?!

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