Editorial Review:

Amazon.co.uk ReviewAs far as Disney is concerned, The Sword in the Stone was a portent of things to come, with slapstick upstaging storytelling, and cultural in-jokes substituting for wonder. Based on TH White's beloved novel The Once and Future King, this Disney version chronicles King Arthur's boyish adventures. There's much to enjoy here as coach Merlin the magician shows the young Arthur, nicknamed Wart, the skills that will help him become the future ruler of the Britons. The transformation sequences, where the boy is turned into a fish, a bird and a squirrel are vintage Disney. The oft-repeated scene of Merlin battling it out with mean old Madame Mim still is worth a few chuckles, but it underlines the problem with most of the film--most of its scenes are only played for laughs. References by Merlin to television and other items of modern life also mar the generally innocuous landscape. Younger children will like it, while older kids will find it slower compared with recent Disney films. --Keith Simanton

See more information on The Sword In The Stone (45th Anniversary Edition) [1963] at Amazon UK


Rating: - amazing
i lv this film i used to sit down infront on the tv watchin this amazin aminated film when i was 3 years old i hv enjoyed the anticts and journey through the film its truely fastastic!!!! i am nw 19 n still lv it !!!

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Rating: - A Disney classic, with its own charm
This was one of my favourite disney films when I was little and when I saw it on DVD fully restored with pristine picture quality I had to buy it. This may not be on the same terms as Lion King, Bambi, Little Mermaid and other disney classics we all know, in terms of popularity but this film has its own charm to it and is just as good as the others, with its sense of imagination, humour and positive messaging. This is a great film in its own right and for any disney fan or someone looking for a ... Read More

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Rating: - Much better than I once thought

As other reviewers have duly noted, this film (first released in 1963) is based on the first of four parts of T.H. White's The Once and Future King (1958), focusing on Arthur's birth, childhood, and youth before he became king of England. The film has been reissued as a 45th anniversary edition. It features the well-selected voices of Sebastian Cabot (Sir Ector/Narrator), Karl Swenson (Merlin), Rickie Sorensen (Arthur/"Wart"), Junius Matthews (Archimedes), and Alan Napier (Sir Pelinore). Frankly, ... Read More

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Rating: - Merlin helps prepare young Wart to become the great King Arthur
Released in 1963, "The Sword in the Stone" was based on the novel of the same name by T.E. White, and tells how the great wizard Merlin took under his wing the future King Arthur, at this point a young lad nicknamed Wart. Feeling no need to wait five more years for a round-number, watching this 45th Anniversary Edition DVD of "The Sword in the Stone" really strikes me as being a third tier Disney animated feature film. It occurs to me that whereas with some of the best children's films, animated or otherwise, ... Read More

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