The Sword in the Stone (45th Anniversary Special Edition)
by Wolfgang Reitherman
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DVD details
Actor: Alan Napier, Junius Matthews, Norman Alden, Sebastian Cabot, The Mello MenDirector: Wolfgang Reitherman
Brand: Buena Vista Home Video
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language); French (Dubbed); Spanish (Dubbed)
Format: AC-3, Animated, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 79 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-06-17
Audience Rating: G (General Audience)
Studio: Walt Disney Video
Product features:
- Condition: New
- Format: DVD
- AC-3; Animated; Color; Dolby; Dubbed; DVD; Full Screen; NTSC; Special Edition; Subtitled; Widescreen
DVD Reviews of The Sword in the Stone (45th Anniversary Special Edition)
DVD Review: Merlin helps young Wart prepare to become the great King Arthur
Summary: 4 Stars
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.
Description of The Sword in the Stone (45th Anniversary Special Edition)
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