This is the timeless tale of a little boy named Wart - uh, Arthur - who travels around with his wizard pal Merlin, transforming into many different animals, and ultimately pulling a sword from out of a stone. Today, we were lucky enough to have TWO guest bloggers, Jeff and Debra. Here is what they thought of the film as well.
Jeff
Rating: 8/10
Reaction: The Sword in the Stone is another of my very favorites from childhood (you may remember the last time I made an appearance here, with Peter Pan, perhaps my very favorite). For as long as I can remember, I've had a fantasy about being Arthur, in many of the different interpretations and times of his life, and have always related to him; I owe much of that to this film. Also, the nearly constant "physical comedy" in it mark one of Disney's funniest films, in my opinion. I will say that on this viewing I noticed for the first time how abruptly the ending comes about, but I can't say it really matters to me or changes my opinion of the movie, knowing the rest of the story and how giving us any more to see would be digging into far too much to put into a children's cartoon, much less one of a reasonable length. Mad Madam Mim is definitely one of my favorite villains, the scene with the squirrels is hilarious, and the voice acting is all around just fantastic (aside from the noticeably different actors used in a few different scenes for Wart's character). I love this movie, and will always feel nostalgia for it.
Debra
Rating: 9/10
Reaction: Although this is not a Disney musical, it is one of my all time favorite Disney films! Between the wolf looking for a good meal, the barracuda in the moat and mad Madame Mim, these are my favorite villains EVER! (When it comes to Broadway, I am soooo Madame Mim!) My favorite scene in the movie however, is the sequence with the squirrels. I roared at the antics of the older female and even got a little teary eyed when the young squirrel lost her love.
The only reason this movie didn't get a 10 from me is because of the ending. I understand why they ended it the way they did, but I still would have liked a more cohesive closing.
Eli
Rating: 7/10
Reaction: This isn't one of Disney's musical masterpieces, but it's definitely a charming little film that still makes me smile and laugh to this day. The characters are ridiculous, and anyone who says that Mad Madam Mim isn't one of the best Disney villain in the history of Disney villainhood needs to have their head examined. I mean, she sings a whole ditty about how being evil and doing black magic is her favorite thing in the world. She cheats, lies, and is just all around fun. And that pig face she does frightens me still to this day.
I wasn't a huge fan of the ending because I felt that it ends quite abruptly. It was almost as if Disney was hoping to plan a sequel. However if we found out everything about the King Arthur story, then this movie would be five hours long, and in the words of Sweet Brown, "Ain't nobody got time for dat." I would still recommend this movie to everyone, so go watch it. Huzzah!
Regan
Rating: 8/10
Reaction: Strangely, the part of this movie I remembered the most vividly was the poor wolf who despite his best efforts to have a good meal (boy, squirrel...) never manages to get anything but bruised and beaten. This is a darling movie, although I'm not sure Merlin's lessons are quite as on point as one would hope ("who cares if it's your job to do the washing--they won't know who did it, let's go have fun!"). That was a terrifying barracuda that chased fish!Wart through the moat. The girl squirrel who falls in love with squirrel!Wart was a tragic figure--her heart really got broken. I'm holding out hope that ultimately Merlin changed her into a human and her name was Guinevere.
The best part of the movie is probably Merlin's duel with mad old Mim, which demonstrates some real creativity on both parts. Merlin's victory through becoming a germ is genius--and good punishment for Mim, who now must suffer through wholesome sunlight. I also loved the bit later on when Merlin turned himself into a rocket and jetted off to 20th-century Bermuda.
The ending of the movie was extremely abrupt. This is definitely a prequel movie, but leaving off with an eleven year old boy on the throne of England and just telling us he's going to be awesome is a bit of a stretch.
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