'Oh, well, would you like a square table?' (The Sword In The Stone (DVD))

Member Name: pmcds

Product:	The Sword In The Stone (DVD)
Date:	20/07/09 (33 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Timeless fun and animation

Disadvantages: None really

Sword in the Stone is a 1963 Disney feature animation, and tells the tale of the legendary King Arthur and how Disney feels he became King, relating it to a mysterious sword that is stuck in stone. All heroes and knights have tried to pull the sword from the stone, as legend decrees that whosoever does so successfully will be crowned the next King of the land.

Naturally, no one has succeeded, but the wizard Merlin, a very jovial chap (takes tongue from cheek...), sees something great in the boy Arthur, and persuades Sir Ector to take him in as a squire to the knight's son, Kay. A big, brutish fellow, Ector believes Kay will be something important one day as opposed to a great big dumb brute. Yeah, dream on, Ector.

And yet, the film hardly features the sword, or Ector, very much, choosing instead to focus on Arthur's antics with Merlin. The sword business is almost a byline, and is only really brought up when Merlin forgets Arthur has been sent to Ector for a reason.

Such fun and frolics with Merlin and Arthur often involve the wizard's main skill - turning himself and others into animals. We get scene after scene as they are first birds, then squirrels, and other such wildlife, with Merlin's pet owl, Archimedes (a very learned owl, don't you know) for company, constantly the voice of reason in their ears, often to funny consequences.

As a result, because it's not really so much of a serious film, the action, characters and entertainment are engrossing, particularly for the kids. My son loved it, and he's 5. If anything, the bits with Sir Ector and Kay and the sword, etc, couldn't really hold his attention as well as the funny bits while they're animals, and this, perhaps, is a big thumbs up for the Disney crew that put these ideas into action 45 years ago or so.

The animation itself is quite good, with the Disney style very typical of the era it was filmed in. I believe it has recently been remastered, and this would naturally make the viewing experience somewhat enhanced, although I, for one, am happy to have Disney's work as it was originally done.

There is not really a lot to fault with this one. Sure, you don't quite get the special effects and clever attention to detail that you may get from Pixar's involvement with Disney in recent years, but you get the innocent and simple magic that made the company so hugely successful in comparison to other animation studios. They have always been one step ahead of the game, and this is pretty much where they are likely to be for a while. Their animations are timeless, and Sword in the Stone has all the magic of a 1940s cartoon such as 'Pinocchio', just as much as a 2000s one such as their latest offering, 'Up'.

One to recommend for its sheer fun and great characters.

Summary: A classic Disney feature animation from 1963