The Sword in the Stone is a 1963 American animated musical fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney and released by Buena Vista Distribution. The 18th Disney animated feature film, it was the final Disney animated film to be released before Walt Disney's death. The songs in the film were written and composed by the Sherman Brothers, who later wrote music for other Disney films like Mary Poppins (1964), The Jungle Book (1967), The Aristocats (1970), and Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971).
The film is based on the novel of the same name, which was first published in 1938 as a single novel. It was later republished in 1958 as the first book of T. H. White's tetralogy The Once and Future King. The Sword in the Stone was released to theaters on December 25, 1963 to mixed reviews, though it was a box office success.
Video The Sword in the Stone (film)
Plot
After the King of England, Uther Pendragon, dies, leaving no heir to the throne, a sword magically appears inside an anvil in London. The sword bears an inscription proclaiming that "whoso pulleth out this sword of this stone and anvil is rightwise king born of England". No one can remove the sword, which is eventually forgotten, leaving England in the Dark Ages.
Years later, a 12-year-old orphan named Arthur, commonly called Wart, accidentally scares off a deer his older foster brother Kay was hunting, causing Kay to launch his arrow into the forest. In attempting to retrieve the arrow, Arthur lands in the cottage of Merlin the wizard, who declares himself Arthur's tutor and returns with the boy to his home, a castle run by Sir Ector, Arthur's foster father. Ector's friend, Sir Pellinore, arrives with news that the annual jousting tournament will be held on New Year's Day in London, and the winner will be crowned king. Ector decides to put Kay through serious training for the tournament and appoints Arthur as Kay's squire.
In order to educate Arthur, Merlin transforms the boy and himself into fish. They swim in the castle moat in order to learn about physics. Arthur is attacked by a pike but is saved by Archimedes, Merlin's pet owl. Arthur is sent to the kitchen as punishment for trying to relate his lesson to a disbelieving Ector. Merlin enchants the dishes to wash themselves, then takes Arthur for another lesson, turning them into squirrels to learn about gravity. Arthur is nearly eaten by a wolf, but is saved by a female squirrel who falls in love with him. After they return to human form, Ector accuses Merlin of using black magic on the dishes. Arthur defiantly defends Merlin, but Ector refuses to listen and punishes Arthur by giving Kay another squire, Hobbs.
Resolving to make amends, Merlin plans on educating Arthur full-time. However, Merlin's knowledge of future history causes confusion, prompting Merlin to appoint Archimedes as Arthur's teacher. When Arthur imagines what it would be like to fly, Merlin transforms him into a sparrow and Archimedes teaches Arthur how to fly. However, during their lesson Arthur is attacked by a hawk and falls into the chimney of Madam Mim, an eccentric, evil witch and Merlin's nemesis. Mim's magic uses trickery, as opposed to Merlin's scientific skill. Merlin intervenes before Mim can destroy Arthur, and she challenges him to a Wizards' Duel. Despite Mim's cheating, Merlin outsmarts her by transforming into a fictional germ called "Malignalitaloptereosis" that infects her with a chickenpox-like disease requiring several weeks of bed rest, effectively defeating her and illustrating the importance of knowledge over strength.
On Christmas Eve, Kay is knighted, but when Hobbs comes down with the mumps, Ector is forced to reinstate Arthur as Kay's squire. This causes a falling-out between Arthur and Merlin, who angrily transports himself to Bermuda when Arthur defends his choices. On the day of the tournament, Arthur realizes that he has left Kay's sword at an inn, which is now closed for the tournament. Archimedes sees the legendary "Sword in the Stone", which Arthur removes almost effortlessly, unknowingly fulfilling the prophecy. When Arthur returns with the sword, Ector recognizes it and the tournament is halted. Ector places the sword back in its anvil, demanding Arthur prove that he pulled it. Thinking anyone can pull the sword now, Kay and others try unsuccessfully to retrieve it. Sir Pellinore and another knight, Sir Bart, stand up for Arthur and encourage him to pull the sword again. He does so, revealing that he is England's rightful king, earning Ector's and Kay's respect in the process.
Arthur, crowned king, sits in the throne room with Archimedes, feeling unprepared to take the responsibility of ruling. Overwhelmed by the cheering crowd outside, Arthur calls out to Merlin for help, who arrives from 20th-century Bermuda and is elated to find that Arthur is the king that he saw in the future. Merlin tells Arthur that he will go on to lead the Knights of the Round Table and become one of the most famous figures in literature and motion pictures.
Maps The Sword in the Stone (film)
Cast and characters
- Rickie Sorensen, Richard Reitherman, and Robert Reitherman as Arthur, also known as Wart. He is Disney's adaptation of legendary British leader King Arthur. Arthur was voiced by three actors, leading to noticeable changes in voice between scenes--and sometimes, within the same scene. Also, the three voices have American accents, sharply contrasting with the English setting and the accents spoken by most of other characters in the film.
- Karl Swenson as Merlin, the legendary wizard who aids and educates Arthur. Merlin was animated by several of Disney's Nine Old Men, including Milt Kahl, Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston, and John Lounsbery. Kahl designed the character, refining the storyboard sketches of Bill Peet. Merlin can be recognized by his massive beard, which gets caught in most of his machines, and a pair of glasses he wears. He is the world's most powerful wizard.
- Junius Matthews as Archimedes, Merlin's crotchety, yet highly educated pet owl, who has the ability of speaking and is the comic relief of the film. Archimedes accompanies Arthur during training, and it is he who alerts Merlin after Arthur falls into Madam Mim's cottage and she almost kills him. Archimedes stays with Arthur while Merlin travels to 20th-century Bermuda.
- Sebastian Cabot as Sir Ector, the ruler of the King's castle and the foster father of Arthur. He does not believe in magic until Merlin casts a blizzard before him, thus allowing the wizard to educate Arthur in the castle, even though Ector has forbidden it. Though he loves Arthur, Ector often treats him harshly. Cabot also provides the brief narration at the beginning and end of the film.
- Norman Alden as Sir Kay, the older foster brother of Arthur and son of Ector. Though he is inept at jousting and sword fighting, Ector remains determined to groom him for knighthood and to possibly take the crown. Though he cares for Arthur, he often treats him with contempt.
- Martha Wentworth as Madam Mim, a black magic proficient witch and Merlin's nemesis. She is the only antagonist of the film to be part of the official Disney Villains line-up. She was animated by two of Disney's legendary Nine Old Men, Milt Kahl (who designed the character, refining storyboard sketches from Bill Peet), and Frank Thomas. Kahl animated her initial interaction with Arthur, while Thomas oversaw her part of the Wizards' Duel with Merlin. Wentworth also voiced the Granny Squirrel, a dim-witted, elderly female squirrel that develops an attraction to Merlin.
- Alan Napier as Sir Pellinore, a friend of Sir Ector who announces the tournament where Arthur is revealed as king.
- Thurl Ravenscroft as Sir Bart, also known as the Black Knight, one of the first to recognize the sword pulled by Arthur from the stone.
- James MacDonald as The Wolf, an unnamed, starving wolf that wants to eat Wart.
- Ginny Tyler as The Little Girl Squirrel, a young female squirrel that Wart come across. She immediately develops an attraction to him. After she saves him from the wolf and Wart returns to human form, she breaks down into tears and runs away. She is last seen watching Wart and Merlin leave the forest, heartbroken, and crying as the screen fades to black.
- Barbara Jo Allen as Sir Ector's Scullery Maid.
Production
In 1939, Walt Disney first obtained the film rights to T. H. White's The Sword in the Stone, and the initial storyboards were produced in 1949. When work on One Hundred and One Dalmatians was completed in 1960, two projects were in development, which were Chanticleer and The Sword in the Stone. The former was developed by Ken Anderson and Marc Davis who aimed to produce a feature animated film in a more contemporary setting. Both of them had visited the Disney archives, and decided to adapt the satirical tale into production upon glancing at earlier conceptions dating back to the 1940s. Anderson, Davis, Milt Kahl, and director Wolfgang Reitherman spent months preparing elaborate storyboards for Chanticleer, and following a silent response following a story reel presentation, a voice from the back of the room said, "You can't make a personality out of a chicken!" The voice belonged to Bill Peet. When the time came to approve one of the two projects, Walt remarked that the problem with making a rooster a protagonist was that "[you] don't feel like picking up a rooster up and petting it." Meanwhile, work on The Sword in the Stone were solely done by veteran story artist Bill Peet. After Disney had seen the 1960 Broadway production of Camelot, he approved the project to enter production. Ollie Johnston stated, "[Kahl] got furious with Bill for not pushing Chanticleer after all the work he had put in on it. He said, 'I can draw a damn fine rooster, you know.' Bill said, 'So can I.'" Peet recalled "how humiliated they were to accept defeat and give in to The Sword in the Stone...He allowed to have their own way, and they let him down. They never understood that I wasn't trying to compete with them, just trying to do what I wanted to work. I was the midst of all this competition, and with Walt to please, too."
Writing in his autobiography, Peet decided to write a screenplay before producing storyboards, though he found the narrative "complicated, with the Arthurian legend woven into a mixture of other legends and myths" and finding a direct storyline required "sifting and sorting". After Walt received the first screenplay draft, he told Peet that it should have more substance. On his second draft, Peet lengthened it by enlarging on the more dramatic aspects of the story, in which Walt approved of through a call from Palm Springs, Florida.
Casting
For the voice of Merlin, director Wolfgang Reitherman estimated that seventy actors read for the part, but "none evidenced that note of eccentricity that we were seeking. We wanted Merlin to be eccentric but not hokey." At the same time, Karl Swenson was initially cast for Archimedes, but the filmmakers decided to cast him instead as Merlin. Rickie Sorensen, who had voiced young Arthur, entered puberty during production, which forced the older Reitherman to cast his sons, Richard and Robert, to replace him.
Reception
Box office
The Sword in the Stone was a financial success at the box office and became the sixth highest-grossing film of 1963, earning estimated theatrical rentals of $4.75 million. The film was re-released on March 25, 1983 and grossed $12 million. The film received a lifetime gross of $22,182,353 in North America.
Critical reaction
The film received mixed reviews from critics, who thought it had too much humor and a "thin narrative". Variety wrote that the film "demonstrates anew the magic of the Disney animators and imagination in character creation. But one might wish for a script which stayed more with the basic story line rather than taking so many twists and turns which have little bearing on the tale about King Arthur as a lad." Bosley Crowther of The New York Times praised the film claiming it is "an eye-filling package of rollicking fun and thoughtful common sense. The humor sparkles with real, knowing sophistication -- meaning for all ages -- and some of the characters on the fifth-century landscape of Old England are Disney pips."
Rotten Tomatoes reported that 71% of critics gave the film positive reviews based on 24 reviews with an average score of 6/10. Its consensus states that "A decent take on the legend of King Arthur, The Sword in the Stone suffers from relatively indifferent animation, but its characters are still memorable and appealing." Nell Minow of Common Sense Media gave the film four out of five stars, writing, "Delightful classic brings Arthur legend to life". In his book The Best of Disney, Neil Sinyard states that, despite not being well known, the film has excellent animation, a complex structure, and is actually more philosophical than other Disney features. Sinyard suggests that Walt Disney may have seen something of himself in Merlin, and that Mim, who "hates wholesome sunshine", may have represented critics.
Accolades
The film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Score--Adaptation or Treatment in 1963, but lost against Irma La Douce.
In 2008, the American Film Institute nominated The Sword in the Stone for its Top 10 Animated Films list.
Soundtrack
All tracks written by Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman.
- Deleted songs
- "The Magic Key"
- "The Sand of Time"
- "Blue Oak Tree"
Home media
The Sword in the Stone was released on North American VHS in early 1986 as a part of the Walt Disney Classics collection as well as another VHS release on July 12, 1991. It was first released on VHS in the UK in 1988 followed by a re-issue the following year. It was re-released on VHS on October 28, 1994 as a part of the Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection. It was released on DVD on March 20, 2001 in a Walt Disney Gold Classic Collection line-up. It includes two classic short films, A Knight for a Day and Brave Little Tailor, as well as the film facts. The DVD of the film was re-released as a 45th anniversary special edition on June 17, 2008. For its 50th anniversary, it was released on Blu-ray on August 6, 2013.
Other media
Several characters from the film made frequent appearances in the Disney's House of Mouse television series. Merlin was voiced by Hamilton Camp. One notable appearance in the series was in the episode: "Rent Day", in which he tells Mickey Mouse that he will give him the 50 ups only if he gives Arthur a sword. Madam Mim appears as a villain in the spin-off film Mickey's House of Villains. Merlin frequents the Disney Parks, the only character from the film appearing for meet-and-greets at Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort. He appears in the opening unit of Walt Disney's Parade of Dreams at Disneyland Park. He also hosts the Sword in the Stone ceremony in the King Arthur Carrousel attraction in Fantasyland at Disneyland. In 2014 and 2015, UK health directive Change4Life incorporated "Higitus Figitus" as the soundtrack to adverts promoting their Disney-sponsored "10 minute shake up" summer program.
Comics
Madam Mim was adopted into the Duck universe where she sometimes teams with Magica De Spell and/or the Beagle Boys. She also appeared in the Mickey Mouse universe where she teamed with Black Pete on occasion and with the Phantom Blot at one point. She was in love with Captain Hook in several stories; in others, with Phantom Blot. In many European Disney comics, she lost her truly evil streak, and appears morbid yet relatively polite.
Mim has appeared in numerous comics produced in the United States by Studio Program in the 1960s and 1970s, often as a sidekick of Magica. Most of the stories were published in Europe and South America. Among the artists are Jim Fletcher, Tony Strobl, Wolfgang Schäfer, and Katja Schäfer. Several new characters were introduced in these stories, including Samson Hex, an apprentice of Mim and Magica.
Video games
Madam Mim appears in the video game World of Illusion as the fourth boss of that game.
Merlin is a supporting character in the Kingdom Hearts series, now voiced by Jeff Bennett in Kingdom Hearts II. In Kingdom Hearts, Merlin lives in an abandoned shack in Traverse Town with Cinderella's Fairy Godmother, sent by King Mickey to aid Sora, Donald, and Goofy in the art of magic. He owns an old book which features the world of The Hundred Acre Wood, home of Winnie the Pooh. The book's pages, however, have been torn out and scattered across the universe, and Merlin asks Sora to retrieve them for him. He reprises the same role in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, as a figment of Sora's memories. In Kingdom Hearts II, Merlin moved to Hollow Bastion to aid Leon's group as part of the town Restoration Committee, though he is at odds with Cid who prefers his own computer expertise rather than Merlin's magic. Merlin again instructs Sora, Donald and Goofy in the art of magic, and again requests that they retrieve the stolen parts of the Pooh storybook. At one point in the game, he is summoned to Disney Castle by Queen Minnie to counter the threat of Maleficent, and he constructs a door leading to Disney Castle's past (Timeless River) for the trio to explore and stop Maleficent and Pete's plans. In the prequel, Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, Merlin encounters Terra, Aqua and Ventus, and grants them each access to the Hundred Acre Wood. The prequel also reveals that it was Terra who gave him the book in the first place after finding it in Radiant Garden. According to series creator Tetsuya Nomura, a world based on the film was initially to appear in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, but the idea was scrapped.
Live-action film adaptation
According to The Hollywood Reporter in 2015, Disney began developing a live-action film version of The Sword in the Stone with Bryan Cogman writing and Brigham Taylor producing. Juan Carlos Fresnadillo will direct the film with Bryan Cogman, writer and producer for the Game of Thrones television series, will write the script.
See also
- List of films based on Arthurian legend
- List of American films of 1963
References
External links
- Official website
- The Sword in the Stone at AllMovie
- The Sword in the Stone at The Big Cartoon DataBase
- The Sword in the Stone on IMDb
- The Sword in the Stone at the TCM Movie Database
- The Sword in the Stone at Rotten Tomatoes
- The Sword in the Stone at Box Office Mojo
Source of article : Wikipedia
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