Customer Reviews

Never Let Me Down

5 star:		(106)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I remember "The Sword in the Stone" as a widescreen movie, so I was dismayed to find that Disney had released this animated favorite to DVD in a cropped/pan-and-scan format. However, on further investigation, I discovered that, to my surprise, "The Sword in the Stone" was not a widescreen motion picture... at least not originally. Apparently, like "101 Dalmations" and other films of the late 1950s and early 1960s, "The Sword in the Stone" was made to be projected in one of two formats: either widescreen or full-frame, depending on the theater where it was shown. It seems that the Disney animators designed the film with a bit of 'extra picture' at the top and bottom of each frame; that way this 'extra' could be cut off without ruining the image in theaters playing it in widescreen. In other theaters, and on television, the film could be shown in a standard full-frame (1.33:1) format. So, according to Disney, the current full-frame DVD of "TSITS" is indeed the film in it's "original format'. Admittedly, it may not be the way that most of us remember this great little movie, but it is the way the folks at Disney made it.

Sometime in the medieval ages, there is a legend about this magic stone that contains a sword and according to the legend, who so pulls out the sword from the anvil shall become king of all England. Though many tried to pull it, no miracle and the sword was forgotten for ages in an age of no laws, brutality and darkness in just which magician Merlin has trouble with the days of no kings, he then meets a young squire named "Wart" ( a.k.a. Arthur) whom is a problemic young man with a mean foster father and big foster brother, Merlin then trains Wart through education in order to become more social and on adventures that will lead him to pull the sword out of the stone.

An underrated disney classic that is a delightful story with good animation for it's time, nice songs like "Higitus Figitus" and humor makes this a definite must have for the animation DVD collector everywhere.

The DVD has some great extras like two cartoons, Behind the songs with a deleted song that never made it into the film, still frame galleries, All Abou the Magic 1957 episode or "Walt Disney Presents", Film-facts, sing-alongs and great remastering with good sound quality.

THE SWORD IN THE STONE has always been my favorite Disney animated film. Why? The answer is quite simple really. I saw it when I was a kid on its initial release in the downtown theater, I had a great time and I have very fond memories of the movie and the entire experience of going to see it with my family and friends. Isn't that what Walt Disney had in mind? It wasn't until years later and I had my own child that I began to realize that not many people even remembered THE SWORD IN THE STONE or knew it even existed. I was rather flabbergasted by this not to mention all the bad press this film had received as I started researching it. My most cherished copy of this film has always been on Laserdisc, but now it looks like THE SWORD IN THE STONE is finally getting some well deserved recognition. I love this film and the artwork is very reminiscent of ONE HUNDRED AND ONE DALMATIANS and the relationship between Merlin and Wart and the development of those characters is pure Walt Disney. Savor the best of times. Thanks Walt.

For folks with young children who enjoy things like magic, knights, and dragons, "The Sword In The Stone" is a wonderful way to introduce children to the world of King Arthur. Based on the first book in a series of books by T.H. White on the life of Arthur, Disney's "The Sword In the Stone" shows children how Arthur became the eventual King of all of England. It starts off with a brief fairy tale book intro (don't all of the classics?). After that, we see young Arthur meet Merlin and his very intelligent owl, Archimedes. From there, Merlin begins the training of young Arthur by turning him into a fish, a squirrel, and a bird. The viewer also gets to see Merlin flex his magical muscle against a nasty old witch. The actual sword in the stone and Arthur don't meet up until the end of the film, but it's more than worth the wait.

Although many may not consider this a classic that ranks with other Disney films such as "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," "Cinderella," and modern classics such as "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Lion King," "The Sword in the Stone" is definitely in the upper-echelon of Disney's top films.

This particular DVD offering is very nice. It features a "Sword" scrapbook, interesting film facts, Sing-alongs, and "Music Magic: The Sherman Brothers." It also features a Walt Disney hosted TV special, "All About Magic" and two animated shorts: Goofy in "Knight for a Day" and Mickey in one of my personal favorites, "Brave Little Tailor."

Overall, this is a wonderful Disney film to add to your collection. It has a great story with wonderful animation and some of the best extras of the "Disney Gold" collection.

Highly recommended.

"The Sword in the Stone" is one of my top 5 favorite Disney films of all time. A young orphan boy who is bossed around too much by his family, meets Merlin, a marvelous wizard who befriends the boy and teaches him many great lessons. Soon Merlin, Wart, and Merlin's educated pet owl, Archimedes, are all having fun and spending a lot of valuable time together. These lessons and the magic wonders of Merlin could help the boy succeed instead of fail like his whole family is pretty much doing. Also, there's another great mystery. Whoever removes a mysterious sword from the stone will become King of England.

Everything about "The Sword in the Stone" is great. I've seen just about all the Disney films and I definitely have to say that "The Sword in the Stone" is the funniest one of all the ones I've seen. Archimedes the owl with his grouchy personality and the squirrel chases are especially hilarious. Also, Merlin will change himself and Wart to a fish, squirrel, and later change Wart into a bird, and those are some of the most memorable parts of the movie. The wizard duel close to the end of the movie is the most memorable and it's also exciting. "The Sword in the Stone" also has good music, especially the song that Merlin and Wart sing while they're transformed into fish, "Two and fro, stop and go, that's what makes the world go round."

I've been watching "The Sword in the Stone" all my life. Now I'm 20 and I still like watching it every now and then. It's not just a movie for kids, it's for anybody no matter how old you are. "The Sword in the Stone" is entertaining, funny, and it never gets old. I recommend anybody to get this movie, it's a timeless classic.

I remember the first time I saw this movie. I've always loved Arthurian legends, and in its usual style, Disney puts aside many historical facts in favor of a more entertaining movie, fun for the whole family. Sword in the Stone ranks up in the top 3 of my favorite Disney movies of all time. The characters are well done, Merlin is hilarious, and the artwork and colors are beautiful, making this movie great scenery for the younger kids, and great, enriching fun for the older ones.

I didn't realize this movie was so old. I thought it was made in the 80's. Maybe because the way Merlin looks at the end when he returns from Bermuda. It looks pretty 80's to me. Regardless, it's one of my favorite Disney movies. Yes, it is underrated. My favorite scene is when the Archmedes the Owl is laughing after Merlin's plane gets tangled in his beard and falls into the water. I also love the scene with Kay getting mopped up in the "black magic" dish washing scene. I can go on and on. I'm almost 30 years old now and I cherish it just as much as when I was a kid. Buy it for yourself or for your children! You won't regret it!

Surprised from the reading of somewhat negative reviews of thismovie, I add my two cents of support. I believe that this movie isone of the best, if not the best of all Disney movies. The tale of the quest and education of the young Arthur deals with many of the angles and metamorphoses of the spiritual journey, most than any other cartoon movie we have seen. My family "cherishes" this movie as one of the best movies, and not just considering animated ones. Unfortunately, critics and viewers are enjoying movies just for the kicks and tricks -- literally, fight scenes and the like -- and forget how little we give to kids regarding the larger spiritual fights that create real heroes. Hope someone watches it based on our experience.

This fully restored and remastered dvd is worth. And that is the whole key to 'old' Disney movies on dvd - whether they've been remastered. This has and it's wonderful to look at. A stone wall has the original pinks and blues as clear and crisp as day. It ruly is like a new film.
And I'd take note of the other reviewer who informed us about the screen format actually being okay - and actually we're getting more of the picture we never saw before at the top and bottom.
I would recommend waiting for the 'old' Disney films to be remastered like this one before you get the dvd's.
Plus included in the extras:
an insightful (and candid) interview with the composers;
a lot of artwork and what seems to be all the posters ever produced;
As I say, it's so worth it for this restored version of a relaxing, olde-England, very Sixties, rather mellow Disney film - and the character design being pre-1977 is 'real' Disney!

This is one of my favorite momies (I'm 20 years old), and also my dad's absolute favorite (he just turned 57). The situations Wart finds himself in are absolutely hilarious, not to mention the poor wolf that's thrown in every now and then. Disney should take a hint from movies like this (and the more recent "Lilo and Stitch") and stop putting out so many [perhaps inferior] sequels to movies that are 60 years old.