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Sword In The Stone
List Price: Unknown [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
Reviewing DVDs in the past few years has gotten me to watching several films that I probably wouldn't have been interested in otherwise, and that includes several of Disney's older features that I'd never seen before or that I hadn't seen in years. Although many of these films retain their entertainment value years later, "The Sword In The Stone" generally is in the middle ground in terms of Disney offerings - not the worst, but a film that is rather slow and dull at times.
The film revolves around Merlin the Magician and his little owl companion Archimedes who meet young Arthur (or, as he's called by those who know him, Wart). Merlin tries to help Wart learn about the world so that he can be King - this involves turning the poor boy into a fish, a squirrel and other various woodland creatures. Although many of these sequences really don't seem to go anywhere and propel the story, some are mildly enjoyable on their own.
There's also the occasional song as well, although the songs aren't some of the best efforts included in animated features. The actors that provide the voices do a fairly good job, but the story itself still comes up as rather bland and predictable. I suppose that the youngest members of the audience might enjoy this film, but older children and adults will likely be bored with this Disney feature.
The DVD
VIDEO: "Sword In The Stone" is presented in the film's original 1.33:1 aspect ratio, and for a film that's nearly 40 years old, the picture looks suprisingly good. Although it's not without some minor flaws, the majority of the presentation looks fresh and clean. Sharpness and detail are generally good, although some of the animated sequences look slightly on the soft side, possibly by intent.
As with a presentation of this age, the general worry is usually wear, although that's not a consistent problem here. Although the picture is not without a minor mark or two, these flaws were very, very infrequent. No pixelation or other problems appeared during the film, either.
Colors were also remarkable - looking fairly well-saturated and lively, with no scenes looking pale or faded. Overall, Disney has really done a fine job here and the picture looks great.
SOUND: Although it may dissapoint some that the film's original mono soundtrack is not included, the new Dolby Digital 5.1 presentation of the movie still is fairly enjoyable for the film's age. Although the sound quality certainly isn't up to modern standards, the audio still remains comfortable to listen to, only rarely displaying some minor flaws and a somewhat "thin" sound.
And, although it is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1, the audio activity remains pretty subtle, with the music being really the only element that the surrounds offer when they are occasionally put to use. Dialogue sounds somewhat sharp at times, but still remains easily heard and understood.
MENUS:: The main menu is nicely animated with - you guessed it - a sword in the stone in the background. Although sub-menus aren't animated, they put images from the film to good use as backgrounds.
EXTRAS:
All About Magic: An original black and white Walt Disney television show, this lengthy feature offers an early discussion of the magic of animation. Much of it is old-fashioned fun with magic tricks and goofy one-liners, but there is the occasional information about animation. Some children may find this lightweight documentary to be fun to watch, but adults may find some of the early sequences bit much to have to sit through to get to more valuable elements.
Animated Shorts:: 2 animated shorts are included - one is a Goofy feature called "Knight For A Day" and the other stars Mickey in "Brave Little Tailor".
Sword In The Stone Scrapbook: 16 pages worth of concept art for the film are included in this section.
Film Facts: 8 pages of production notes about the film.
Sherman Brothers: This is an interview with the Sherman Brothers, who wrote the songs for the film. It's a fun interview, as the two talk about things like making up words for the songs and chat about what it was like to write for their first animated feature - "Sword In The Stone". The two are sitting at a piano for the interview and even break into song at one point. Worth a look.
Sing-A-Long: For the kids, there's a sing-a-long section for two of the film's songs - "Higitus Figitus" and "That's What Makes the World Go 'Round".
Sneak Peeks: An additional menu provides trailers for "Emperor's New Groove" ("Pull the lever. Wrong lever!"), "Snow White", "102 Dalmations" and "Hunchback of Notre Dame 2".
Final Thoughts: I've never been that much of a fan of "Sword and the Stone" - it's not unwatchable, but it's not one of Disney's better efforts. Children will likely find it enjoyable, but that's about it. Still, one has to appreciate Disney's effort in preparing a very nice DVD, with respectable audio/video quality and a group of fun extras.
Reviewing DVDs in the past few years has gotten me to watching several films that I probably wouldn't have been interested in otherwise, and that includes several of Disney's older features that I'd never seen before or that I hadn't seen in years. Although many of these films retain their entertainment value years later, "The Sword In The Stone" generally is in the middle ground in terms of Disney offerings - not the worst, but a film that is rather slow and dull at times.
The film revolves around Merlin the Magician and his little owl companion Archimedes who meet young Arthur (or, as he's called by those who know him, Wart). Merlin tries to help Wart learn about the world so that he can be King - this involves turning the poor boy into a fish, a squirrel and other various woodland creatures. Although many of these sequences really don't seem to go anywhere and propel the story, some are mildly enjoyable on their own.
There's also the occasional song as well, although the songs aren't some of the best efforts included in animated features. The actors that provide the voices do a fairly good job, but the story itself still comes up as rather bland and predictable. I suppose that the youngest members of the audience might enjoy this film, but older children and adults will likely be bored with this Disney feature.
The DVD
VIDEO: "Sword In The Stone" is presented in the film's original 1.33:1 aspect ratio, and for a film that's nearly 40 years old, the picture looks suprisingly good. Although it's not without some minor flaws, the majority of the presentation looks fresh and clean. Sharpness and detail are generally good, although some of the animated sequences look slightly on the soft side, possibly by intent.
As with a presentation of this age, the general worry is usually wear, although that's not a consistent problem here. Although the picture is not without a minor mark or two, these flaws were very, very infrequent. No pixelation or other problems appeared during the film, either.
Colors were also remarkable - looking fairly well-saturated and lively, with no scenes looking pale or faded. Overall, Disney has really done a fine job here and the picture looks great.
SOUND: Although it may dissapoint some that the film's original mono soundtrack is not included, the new Dolby Digital 5.1 presentation of the movie still is fairly enjoyable for the film's age. Although the sound quality certainly isn't up to modern standards, the audio still remains comfortable to listen to, only rarely displaying some minor flaws and a somewhat "thin" sound.
And, although it is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1, the audio activity remains pretty subtle, with the music being really the only element that the surrounds offer when they are occasionally put to use. Dialogue sounds somewhat sharp at times, but still remains easily heard and understood.
MENUS:: The main menu is nicely animated with - you guessed it - a sword in the stone in the background. Although sub-menus aren't animated, they put images from the film to good use as backgrounds.
EXTRAS:
All About Magic: An original black and white Walt Disney television show, this lengthy feature offers an early discussion of the magic of animation. Much of it is old-fashioned fun with magic tricks and goofy one-liners, but there is the occasional information about animation. Some children may find this lightweight documentary to be fun to watch, but adults may find some of the early sequences bit much to have to sit through to get to more valuable elements.
Animated Shorts:: 2 animated shorts are included - one is a Goofy feature called "Knight For A Day" and the other stars Mickey in "Brave Little Tailor".
Sword In The Stone Scrapbook: 16 pages worth of concept art for the film are included in this section.
Film Facts: 8 pages of production notes about the film.
Sherman Brothers: This is an interview with the Sherman Brothers, who wrote the songs for the film. It's a fun interview, as the two talk about things like making up words for the songs and chat about what it was like to write for their first animated feature - "Sword In The Stone". The two are sitting at a piano for the interview and even break into song at one point. Worth a look.
Sing-A-Long: For the kids, there's a sing-a-long section for two of the film's songs - "Higitus Figitus" and "That's What Makes the World Go 'Round".
Sneak Peeks: An additional menu provides trailers for "Emperor's New Groove" ("Pull the lever. Wrong lever!"), "Snow White", "102 Dalmations" and "Hunchback of Notre Dame 2".
Final Thoughts: I've never been that much of a fan of "Sword and the Stone" - it's not unwatchable, but it's not one of Disney's better efforts. Children will likely find it enjoyable, but that's about it. Still, one has to appreciate Disney's effort in preparing a very nice DVD, with respectable audio/video quality and a group of fun extras.
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