The Sword in the Stone (1963 film)

Did You Know?

• Sebastian Cabot voiced Sir Ector and also served as the film's narrator.
• Madam Mim was in love with Captain Hook in several comic stories.

Plot

No one succeeds, and the sword is forgotten, leaving England in the Dark Ages. Years later, 12-year-old orphan Arthur, called Wart, accidentally disrupts his foster brother Kay's hunt. While retrieving Kay's arrow, Wart meets the wizard Merlin, who lives with his talking owl Archimedes. Merlin declares himself Wart's tutor and returns with him to the castle of Sir Ector, Wart's foster father.

Sir Pelinore announces that the winner of the New Year's Day tournament in London will be crowned king; Ector decides Kay will compete and makes Wart his squire. Merlin educates Wart by transforming them into fish to learn physics, then into squirrels to learn about gravity. Merlin appoints Archimedes as Wart's teacher, transforming Wart into a sparrow to learn flying. Wart encounters Madam Mim, an evil witch and Merlin's nemesis; Merlin duels her by becoming a germ that infects her, showing knowledge's value over strength.

On Christmas Eve, Kay is knighted, and Wart is reinstated as squire. Merlin, believing Wart is abandoning education, angrily transports himself to 20th-century Bermuda.

Production

Walt Disney purchased the film rights to T. H. White's novel in early 1939. The project remained in development through the late 1940s and early 1950s. In June 1960, Disney told the Los Angeles Times that two animated projects were in development: Chanticleer and The Sword in the Stone. Around that time, Roy O. Disney tried to persuade his brother to discontinue feature animation, but Walt refused, though he approved only one animated film every four years due to plans for another theme park. Chanticleer was developed by Ken Anderson and Marc Davis, who spent months on storyboards with Milt Kahl and director Wolfgang Reitherman. After a silent response to a pitch, a voice said, 'You can't make a personality out of a chicken! Disney later remarked that a rooster protagonist was unappealing because 'you don't feel like picking a rooster up and petting it.'

Reception

During its initial release, The Sword in the Stone earned an estimated $4.75 million in box office rentals in the United States and Canada. It garnered $2.5 million in rentals during its 1972 re-release and $12 million during its 1983 re-release, for a lifetime domestic gross of $22.2 million. Critics gave mixed reviews, with some finding the humor unable to balance a 'thin narrative.' Gene Arneel of Variety praised the animation and character creation but wished the script stayed closer to the basic story.

Bosley Crowther of The New York Times called it 'an eye-filling package of rollicking fun and thoughtful common sense.' Philip K. Scheuer of the Los Angeles Times described it as more intimate than usual with a smaller cast, and noted it might not be exactly what T. H. White had in mind but was livelier than the stage Camelot. William Thomas of Empire Magazine gave it 3 out of 5 stars, citing flat, creaky animation but a story that still resonates for children.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating based on reviews, with a critical consensus calling it a decent take on the legend with memorable characters despite indifferent animation. Nell Minow of Common Sense Media gave it four out of five stars, calling it a delightful classic. Neil Sinyard, in his book The Best of Disney, praised its excellent animation and complex structure, suggesting Walt Disney may have seen himself in Merlin.

Legacy

Several characters from The Sword in the Stone appeared in the House of Mouse television series. Merlin, voiced by Hamilton Camp, appears in the episode 'Rent Day'; Wart appears in crowd shots and in the episode 'Mickey vs. Shelby.' Sir Kay is seen in the episode 'Ask Von Drake' trying to pull the sword from the stone with Arthur, Merlin, and Madam Mim. Madam Mim appears as a villain in the spin-off film Mickey's House of Villains.

Merlin has appeared occasionally at Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort for meet-and-greets, and in the opening unit of Walt Disney's Parade of Dreams at Disneyland Park. He also hosts the Sword in the Stone ceremony at the King Arthur Carrousel in Fantasyland. In 2014 and 2015, UK health directive Change4Life used 'Higitus Figitus' in adverts for a Disney-sponsored summer program. In Disney comics, Madam Mim was adopted into the Donald Duck universe, sometimes teaming with Magica De Spell, Witch Hazel, or the Beagle Boys, and in the Mickey Mouse universe with Black Pete or the Phantom Blot.

In Danish or Dutch comics, she lost her evil streak and appears eccentric and withdrawn. Mim appeared in numerous US comics by Studio Program in the 1960s and 1970s, often as Magica's sidekick, with stories published in Europe and South America.