Saturday Evening Cartoons: The Sword in the Stone (1963)

     The Sword in the Stone was released on December 25th, 1963. Directed by Wolfgang Reitherman (The Jungle Book) it is an adaptation of the novel by T. H. White. In it a young boy named Arthur, or W'art for short, learns the value of wisdom and intellect from an old wizard named Merlin, preparing him to become the great king of English legend.

     Bill Peet, a veteran story artist for Walt Disney, was largely responsible for bringing White's novel to the screen. Disney had purchased the rights to the novel in 1939, but, like many other projects the company was working on at the time, production was put on hold during the second world war. When the project was revived in the early sixties, Walt Disney had decided to restrict the studios animated output to one film every four years. Alongside the The Sword in the Stone a film adaptation of Edmond Rostand's play Chanticleer was also in the works. Ken Anderson, Marc Davis, Milt Kahl and Wolfgang Reitherman had all been developing Chanticleer, a project that never got off the ground, while Peet was working, mostly on his own, on The Sword in the Stone.

     Peet changed the story quite a bit, removing various subplots and focusing more on Arthur's relationship with Merlin. The results are mixed. On the one hand, The Sword in the Stone is more or less what you'd expect from a Disney adaptation of White's book. The worldbuilding is greatly simplified and the quirkiness of the characters exaggerated. This bodes well for Merlin and his pet owl Archimedes, less so for Arthur's guardian, Sir Ector, and his son Kay, who, in the novel, are both more complex and less harsh in their treatment of Arthur. Arthur himself is a bit a of blank slate. He's kind and eager to learn but his more heroic qualities have been diminished. The end result is that the film presents the humorous aspects of the book quite well but falls short on the more dramatic elements.

     The film imparts a good lesson about valuing wisdom and knowledge over physical strength which is well conveyed, even if it is a little pat. Merlin constantly tries to instill this lesson in Arthur, a lesson that goes against what he's been taught by Sir Ector. Arthur's joy at being chosen to be Kay's page in the films denouement of course frustrates the wizard but, no matter, it's all in the hands of destiny as the groups trip to London for the tournament inadvertently leads to Arthur pulling the titular sword from the stone and becoming the rightful king.

     As for the animation, it's really pretty subpar in the opening act, with some odd looking movement and perspective errors and crude, unfinished looking backgrounds. Fortunately, it gets better thereafter. The slapstick, much of it supplied by the dogged wolf that stalks Wart through much of the film, is particularly well done here. The duel between Merlin and Madame Mim from the books is wonderfully realized, and it also serves as the best illustration of the wizard's convictions. The art style is up to the studio's usual standards. It has a quirkiness but also an antiquarian quality that captures White's world quite well.

     The Sherman Brothers (Mary Poppins) supply the songs here and, sadly, it's not their best work. Averaging just over a minute "A Most Befuddling Thing", "Higitus Figitus" and the opening "The Sword in the Stone" though clever enough songs, are barely around long enough to make an impression. The longer "Mad Madam Mim" is more of a loose recitation then a proper song while "That's What Makes the World Go Round" quickly becomes tedious with it's repetitive, simplistic lyrics.

     The film is (mostly) well cast. Karl Swenson, originally slated to voice Archimedes, is excellent as the eccentric Merlin while Junius Matthews taking on the aforementioned role, has great chemistry with Swenson as his droll, irritable pet. Sebastian Cabot and Norman Alden do the best they can with limited material as Sir Ector and Kay. Martha Wentworth is delightfully off-the-wall as Madam Mim. The one misfire is, unfortunately, Arthur himself. Voiced by three different actors, Rickie Sorensen, Richard Reitherman, and Robert Reitherman (none of whom make a distinct impression) the already underwritten character is left without a consistent voice.

     In the end, despite it's flaws, The Sword in the Stone is a pleasant enough Disney feature, though it remains, perhaps, there weakest effort of the sixties.

Score: 8/10