Sword in the Stone (Disney)
 

Anyone else fond of this Disney entry? I just watched this (the 45th anniversary edition) last night. Hadn't seen it since I was a kid maybe 30 years ago I'd guess. Most of the reviews I read on Amazon weren't very kind, ranking it near the bottom of the early to mid Disney animated releases. But, to my surprise, I found myself utterly enjoying this one from start to finish!

In particular, I liked the fish sequence quite a bit -- very entertaining and well done. The pike was effectively menacing. And the wizard's duel between Merlin and Mad Madame Mim is pure gold and a highlight sequence for me of any Disney release.

I also have to confess feeling genuinely sad for the female squirrel who fell in love with Arthur (in squirrel form). A touching little moment, and one that caught me completely off guard as I had not been expecting it.

Granted, the songs are not among the best but they are acceptable. Same with the animation. But for me, the basic charm of the film makes up for this and in the end I can see myself probably returning to this one for repeated viewings more often than many of the others. An under-rated entry, in my opinion.

Re: Sword in the Stone (Disney)
 

It was one of my favorites as a child. I watched it again a couple of years ago and still enjoyed it very much. I don't understand why people are down on it either.

Re: Sword in the Stone (Disney)
 

I've upgraded my DVD of it, yet have never seen the movie.

Re: Sword in the Stone (Disney)
 

great flick and one of my favorites when i was a kid

Re: Sword in the Stone (Disney)
 

Also a childhood favorite for me. I don't think it ever got the praise as other bigger releases but I always had fond memories of it. There's a certain charm to those older animated flicks. Nowadays, it's all pop culture humor.

Re: Sword in the Stone (Disney)
 

I was about ten when it came out and I took my little sister to see it. It was playing with a western called THE RAIDERS about Buffalo Bill, Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane and I liked the western better. I remember sitting there and noticing short cuts in SWORD's animation and thinking it wasn't anywhere near as good as classics like SNOW WHITE and PINOCCHIO.

I saw SWORD IN THE STONE again a few years ago and I noticed that Merlin's character indulges in a few anachronisms (e.g. surfing in at the end in a Hawaiian shirt), thus looking forward to the genie in ALADDIN voiced by Robin Williams, who was all anachronisms all the time (which annoyed me no end).

Re: Sword in the Stone (Disney)
 

Childhood favorite and a favorite today. This and Jungle Book are my favorite Disneys. The songs made sense (a type of whisle while you work) inseat of bullshit prancing around musical. Merlin was perfect and I too felt for the squirrel... but loved the whole sequence. The fish scenes were the best.

Re: Sword in the Stone (Disney)
 

I saw this recently for the first time as well.

My only disappointment is the ending which comes sort of abruptly. I wish they had made some of the other books to wrap up the story a little more appropriately.

Re: Sword in the Stone (Disney)
 

I also like this one quite a bit. Moreso than some of the highly touted classics.

Re: Sword in the Stone (Disney)
 

It's funny because I loved "The Sword in the Stone"as a kid, but hate it as an adult. And I'm sorry, but just don't like this era of Disney animation. That, "The Jungle Book" (which is a cute film, but not a fan of the animation), "The Aristocats" and "Robin Hood". Even "The Rescuers" although I liked that more than the others mentioned. Things really picked back up for me with "The Little Mermaid" and forward. But my favorite Disney animation era is the 50's.

Re: Sword in the Stone (Disney)
 

I remember liking this one a lot, too, but it has it's issues, most notably in how the film comes together (or doesn't, rather) as a cohesive story. Yes, events happen chronologically and yes, there's a definitive beginning and ending, but the middle is muddled. Every scene is its own story that fades in from black, does its thing, and then fades out. They're all interchangeable. One or more could be taken out and not be missed in terms of developing the characters. And this all makes the film feel quite disjointed and, I think, leads to the rather abrupt ending.