Young Arthur draws the sword in Disney’s THE SWORD IN THE STONE(1963).
© Walt Disney Home Entertainment

Mania Grade: B
DVD: The Sword in the Stone (45th Anniversary Edition)
Rating: G
Starring: Sebastian Cabot, Karl Swenson, Rickie Sorensen
Written By: Bill Peet, T.H. White
Directed By: Wolfgang Reitherman
Distributor: Walt Disney Home Entertainment
Original Year of Release: 1963
Extras: Games, featurettes, interactive scrapbook, song selections
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THE SWORD IN THE STONE (45th Anniversary Edition)

The Sword In the Stone will never be considered one of Disney’s better animated feature films but it holds its own as solid family entertainment. This was Disney’s 18^th animated feature and the last one released while Walt Disney was still alive. The story is based on T.H. White’s Arthurian works, The Once and Future King and is actually quite faithful (for a Disney film anyway). 

The tale focuses on Arthur’s (Known as Wart) life as a child and his education at the hands of the wizard, Merlin. Wart lives with his foster father Sir Ector (Voiced by Sebastian Cabot) and his foster brother, Kay. Sir Ector has plans for Wart to become Kay’s squire but Merlin “convinces” Sir Ector to let him educate the boy. Merlin’s lessons consist of him turning Wart into various animals in order to learn certain lessons about life. He’s transformed into a fish, a squirrel, and a bird. 

While in his bird form, Wart is captured by Madame Mim, a witch and Merlin’s rival. Merlin arrives to rescue the boy and challenges Mim to a magical duel. In the film’s best sequence, the two magic-users change shape into all sorts of creatures and Mim breaks the rules by transforming into a dragon. Merlin counters by changing into a germ, making Mim sick, winning the duel. Later, at a tournament for knights, Wart pulls the magical sword from the stone and is proclaimed the true and rightful King of England.

The one glaring weakness is that you don’t get the memorable songs you’re used to getting in a Disney film. Music and song has always been integral in Disney animated features but none of the songs in The Sword and the Stone stand out. This is somewhat surprising as the songs were written by the Sherman Brothers, who won two Academy Awards for their work on Mary Poppins and they also wrote the songs for Jungle Book. 

While it’s no classic The Sword in the Stone is a lot of fun.

The extras are not as replete as those you get in Disney’s Platinum series but there are a few cool extras. 

“Music Magic” takes a look at the work of the Sherman Brothers including an interview with the pair.

“Merlin’s Magical Academy Game” is an game you can play with your DVD remote

“The Sword in the Stone Scrapbook” is an interactive behind-the-scenes look at the film featuting still frame galleries and trivia.

There’s a vintage Disney featurette as Walt Disney takes the viewer on a tour of the Disney prop vault.

The DVD also comes with two bonus animated shorts: “Brave Little Tailor” starring Mickey Mouse and “Knight for a Day” starring Goofy.