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.
Sebastian Cabot
The Narrator/Sir Ector (voice)
Karl Swenson
Merlin (voice)
Junius Matthews
Archimedes the Owl (voice)
Martha Wentworth
Madam Mim / Old Lady Squirrel (voice)
Norman Alden
Kay (voice)
Rickie Sorensen
Wart (voice)
Ginny Tyler
Little Girl Squirrel (voice)
Alan Napier
Sir Pellinore (voice)
Richard Reitherman
Wart (voice)
Robert Reitherman
Wart (voice)
Barbara Jo Allen
Scullery Maid (voice) (uncredited)
James MacDonald
The Wolf / Pike / Tiger Mim (voice) (uncredited)
Tudor Owen
Knight in Crowd (voice) (uncredited)
Thurl Ravenscroft
Black Bart (voice) (uncredited)
Jack Albertson
Knight in Crowd #1(uncredited)
Fred Darian
The Minstrel in opening sequence (voice) (uncredited)
Director
Wolfgang Reitherman
Novel
T.H. White
Screenplay, Story
Bill Peet
July 11, 2020
5
Decent watch, probably won't watch again, and can't recommend.
Now it's been a while since I've seen this one, and now I remember why. There just isn't anything in the well in which to return. Sure all the magic is amusing, and the animal adventures are cute, as well as a nice reminder of how good we have it as humans, but I really feel like we ruined that squirrel's life, and I'm sad about it.
The actual story of the sword in the stone is very short, because it's not interesting: it's all the adventures that Arthur has growing the kingdom, establishing rule over (what would be) England, and his adventures as an adult king (most of which were his knights') to include warring with neighbors.
While the jocks versus nerds analogy through the movie is interesting, it feels polarizing, and the message of education / knowledge is mixed throughout the movie. Future references to the (1963) present just dates the movie and aren't all that funny, and it tells the audience that just because you have knowledge, doesn't mean you can use it. Then in the 3rd act, we start a controversy over having knowledge / skills can be used to better or worsen things, and other than inspiring Star Wars, I don't know what the point of it was.
My favorite part was when Archimedes got to laugh: he seemed like he really needed it.
Status:
Released
Original Language:
English
Budget:
$3,000,000.00
Revenue:
$22,200,000.00