A poor boy named Arthur learns the power of love, kindness, knowledge and bravery with the help of a wizard called Merlin in the path to become one of the most beloved kings in English history.
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Arthur (aka Wart) is a young boy who aspires to be a knight's squire. On a hunting trip he falls in on Merlin, a powerful but amnesiac wizard who has plans for Wart beyond mere squiredom. He starts by trying to give Wart an education (whatever that is), believing that once one has an education, one can go anywhere. Needless to say, it doesn't quite work out that way.Written by
Tim Pickett <quetzal@yoyo.cc.monash.edu.au>
The only animated Disney movie from the 1960s not to have a Platinum DVD, a sequel, a TV show, or a live-action remake. See more »
Goofs
Throughout the entire film Wart's voice keeps on changing from being child like to adult like. One of the easiest spots to notice this is in the throne room towards the end when Wart is trying to get somebody else to take his place. He says "Oh! Archimedes I wish Merlin were here" in his adult voice, then the camera goes to a distant view and he calls "Merlin, Merlin" in his child voice. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Minstrel:
[singing]
A legend is sung, / Of when England was young, / And knights were brave and bold. / The good king had died, / And no one could decide / Who was rightful heir to the throne. / It seemed that the land / Would be torn by war, / Or saved by a miracle alone. / And that miracle appeared in London town: / The Sword in the Stone.
See more »
Alternate Versions
The UK DVD version omits part of Madam Mim's first line "Sounds like someone's sick. How lovely. I do hope it's serious. Something dreadful." She now says "Sounds like someone's sick. How lovely." See more »
I only had very vague recollections of this movie until I watched it again just recently and I've decided this is kind of an underrated film.
I'm not all that familiar with the original story of the Sword in the Stone aside from the obvious more famous bits but I imagine the story guys on this movie took a lot of liberties. When it comes right down to it the plot is little more than a lot of fluff to fill running time until Arthur AKA Wart gets to the sword. Fluff or not though the film's entertaining enough and allows for the great animation that I found to be the stand out quality here.
I'm an animator myself so maybe this means more to me than the average audience, but the character animation on Merlin and Madam Mim can easily go head to head with Disney's more highly regarded classics and the use of effects is remarkable (in classical animation, effects refer to any animation that's not a character i.e. water, smoke, fire, dust etc.) Everything from rain storms to pixy dust is masterly handled and adds a whole layer of wonder to the whole thing. The highlight for me was a showdown between Merlin and Mim in which they morph into a variety of creatures to battle one another and no morph looks the same twice.
This is just light hearted entertainment. It's definitely geared more for kids but if you're an animation fan it's worth watching for that alone.
5 of 7 people found this review helpful.
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I only had very vague recollections of this movie until I watched it again just recently and I've decided this is kind of an underrated film.
I'm not all that familiar with the original story of the Sword in the Stone aside from the obvious more famous bits but I imagine the story guys on this movie took a lot of liberties. When it comes right down to it the plot is little more than a lot of fluff to fill running time until Arthur AKA Wart gets to the sword. Fluff or not though the film's entertaining enough and allows for the great animation that I found to be the stand out quality here.
I'm an animator myself so maybe this means more to me than the average audience, but the character animation on Merlin and Madam Mim can easily go head to head with Disney's more highly regarded classics and the use of effects is remarkable (in classical animation, effects refer to any animation that's not a character i.e. water, smoke, fire, dust etc.) Everything from rain storms to pixy dust is masterly handled and adds a whole layer of wonder to the whole thing. The highlight for me was a showdown between Merlin and Mim in which they morph into a variety of creatures to battle one another and no morph looks the same twice.
This is just light hearted entertainment. It's definitely geared more for kids but if you're an animation fan it's worth watching for that alone.