|
|
Disney's The Sword in the Stone
Click
picture above, to order this film on DVD
The Film :
As a man who was once a young boy, I feel it important to note how few classic Disney films have a
male character who's the main star. Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping
Beauty, and even the Lady who ran off with her Tramp, were all
unforgettable, yet all female lead characters. This made it rare for a
young boy to enjoy a film, as much as girls could, and dream of themselves
as the title character. Among such rare boy-lead films is, of course, Peter
Pan...and a more under-appreciated Disney classic, The Sword in the
Stone.
The story involves the days of King Arthur.
As an orphan adopted by a nobleman who uses him for chores, the young
"Wart" doesn't seem to be a future king to anyone other than
Merlin. Having found Wart/Arthur, Merlin proceeds to move into the caste
he stays in, and help him on his way to learn lessons that will soon help
him be a better king. Of course, most of these lessons include magic, and
involve Wart learning the importance of proper judgment (through the eyes
of a squirrel), and brain over brawn (as a fish, trying to protect himself
from an even bigger fish). The most classic moment, however, would have to
be the "Wizard's duel" between Merlin and the nefarious (though
actually quite comical) Madam Mim. Seeing them try to one-up each other,
as a menagerie of animals (a crab, a snake, an elephant, a tiger, and even
a dragon) makes for one of the most memorable moments of the film.
The bottom line though, is that this is yet
another classic in the days of Walt Disney. The film's ending is obvious
to anyone who knows the tale of The Sword in the Stone, yet with
Disney doing the magic, it's never looked better. Also, while "Higitus
Figitus" and "That's What Makes the World Go Round"
might not be on your top ten list of favorite classic Disney tunes, you'll
be surprised how much you'll be humming them yourself, long after the film
is over.
The DVD :
Disney is getting quite adept at making DVDs, in very little time. While
earlier DVD releases, like The Little Mermaid, were disappointingly sparce
of anything except the film, this DVD is filled to the brim with extras
that, in some ways, are worth the price of the DVD, all by themselves!
Even the menus are getting artistic, with pages that "poof" in
and out to the sound of the music score from the film.
The biggest addition would have to be
"All About Magic," a Black & White excerpt of Walt Disney's
classic TV show, from 1957! This apparently was first aired sometime
during Halloween, and is completely uncut (from what I can tell), which
without ads amounts to nearly 40 minutes. Walt Disney himself introduces a
salute to magic and our fascinations with it, as the Snow White
"magic mirror" narrates the rest of the show, talking about
magic as used in Disney productions. This includes, as Disney Hours
usually did, three animated shorts, starting with Mickey mouse in a
haunted house, and later with Donald and his nephews dealing with a few
mischievous ghosts and a witch. The best part is the conclusion of the
show, with no less than 8 minutes, uncut, of the Fairy Godmother scene
from Cinderella! While only in black & white (to enhance the feeling
as though you're watching it in 1957), this is a salute to the classic
days of Disney, when Walt was unafraid to show a full 8 minutes of his
latest masterpiece, on network TV, as long as it made the kids happy.
Other bonus features on the DVD include
animated shorts, which go with the overall theme of knights and swords and
so forth. Goofy stars in "Knight for a Day," while Mickey
Mouse's classic, "The Brave Little Tailor," is also
included. I know a lot of people who'd buy any DVD, as long as it meant
finally getting Tailor permanently on disc. Putting the classic
animated short on Sword in the Stone's DVD just sweetens the deal.
Songs are also saluted. Kids will like the
sing-along versions of two songs from the film, complete with lyrics on
the bottom screen. Adults will like the short, nearly-8 minute featurette,
"Music Magic: The Sherman Brothers," which includes deleted
songs never used in the final film! "Blue Oak Tree" was
intended to be a playful look at knight's blind loyalties, as they sang of
fighting for a coat of arms with a "Blue Oak Tree" on it, which
really meant nothing yet, as loyal knights, they fought for the symbol
anyway. "The Magic Key" was supposed to show Merlin's
most important lesson to Wart, that knowledge and wisdom was the key to
everything he ever wanted. As silly as the song is, personally, I prefer
the "Higitus Figitus" song that was put in instead.
Technical-savvy DVD enthusiasts might feel
reluctant to buy this DVD, because while the version of Sword in the Stone
offered is fully restored and re-mastered, it is full screen (1.33:1), and
I'm almost certain the original would have been widescreen. Either way,
there's enough to please the techno-savvy, including a still-frame gallery
of behind-the-scenes artwork related to the film, and "Film
Facts," which gives 8 screens of trivia on how the film was made.
There's also that awesome, well-preserved Walt Disney show from 1957 to
drool over. This would seem to make this disc a must-have for any Disney
film fan, which appears to be the case; this disc was sold out in 2 of my
city's largest local stores! Now, it's forunately in my collection, and I
couldn't recommend it more.
Click
picture of box cover (left), to order this DVD
| All text, Title
graphics, and pix not of reviewed product, are created by Techtite,
copyright 2001; all rights reserved. For further "legalese"
& disclaimers, click here... |
|
Burnout
Near
Miss
Small
Crater
Large
Crater
Deep
Impact
