The Sword in the Stone

Name: The Sword in the Stone
Director: Wolfgang Reitherman
Released: 1963

Wolfgang Reitherman

1963

5.00

Synopsis

Wart is a young boy who aspires to be a knight's squire. On a hunting trip he falls in on Merlin, a powerful but amnesiac wizard who has plans for him beyond mere squiredom. He starts by trying to give him an education, believing that once one has an education, one can go anywhere. Needless to say, it doesn't quite work out that way.

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Cast

Sebastian CabotThe Narrator/Sir Ector (voice)
Karl SwensonMerlin (voice)
Junius MatthewsArchimedes the Owl (voice)
Martha WentworthMadam Mim / Old Lady Squirrel (voice)
Norman AldenKay (voice)
Rickie SorensenWart (voice)
Ginny TylerLittle Girl Squirrel (voice)
Alan NapierSir Pellinore (voice)
Richard ReithermanWart (voice)
Robert ReithermanWart (voice)

Recommendations

90
The New York Times
The picture makes an eye-filling package of rollicking fun and thoughtful common sense. The humor sparkles with real, knowing sophistication.
75
IndieWire
At first glance, you might have expected the film to be a grand epic with some comedy. Instead, it’s largely a comedy with some serious moments.
70
Variety
It emerges as a tasty confection.
60
Empire
Disney’s adaptation of the first book in T. W. White’s colourful Arthurian trilogy The Once And Future King (which also served as the source for the musical Camelot) is formulaic matinee fare, competent and sprightly but undistinguished.
50
TV Guide Magazine
The high point of the picture is the antics of Merlin; at one point he's hilariously funny in his absentmindedness, and the next he shows his cunning.
50
Chicago Reader
There is still some life in the characterizations, though the animation is turning stiff and flat.
50
San Francisco Chronicle
Maybe the film works best as nostalgia for Baby Boomers who recall the picture from their childhood.

The Sword in the Stone

Synopsis

Your Movie Library

Cast

Recommendations

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