This week I watched The Sword in the Stone, which turned out to be Walt Disney's final film before his death in 1966.
Though similar in visual style to that of Sleeping Beauty, the closest Disney film - up to this point - that I could compare Sword in the Stone to would probably be Bambi. Like Bambi, Sword in the Stone is less interested in a strong narrative and instead aims to give its audience a glimpse into young Arthur's life. But unlike its predecessor Sword in the Stone feels unorganized, with certain scenes flowing illogically from one to the next. Such is the case after Arthur and Merlin are returned to human form following a brief (and oddly seductive) stint as squirrels. For that matter, all of the adventures that Arthur and Merlin take as animals feel at odds with the rest of the narrative.
On the topic of narrative, I was surprised at just how little build up there was to Arthur ultimately pulling the sword from the stone. Maybe part of that is connected to the fact that I have only seen The Sword in the Stone a handful of times, most of which were in my childhood and the last being during sophomore year of college when I fell asleep as Merlin transformed Arthur into a fish. So, ultimately knowing where the story was headed might have set me up with skewed expectations. Though to be fair, I watched this movie with a couple of other friends (this was my first group viewing for the blog) and they were equally surprised at the lack of build up to the revelation that Arthur was the rightful king. We could hardly believe that with less than 20 minutes remaining of the film that Madam Mim had yet to make an appearance. And at that it's really not up until about the last ten minutes or so that the movie comes to any sort of climax or falling action.
That being said there are still many things that I like about the film, some of which I immediately connected back to my earliest viewings. One such moment occurs almost at the top of the movie when Merlin makes the sudden decision to tutor Arthur and quickly sets out to pack up his cottage into an unassumingly gigantic bag. It's one of those magical movie moments that stays with you. It reminds me a lot of the scene in which the three fairies preparing for Aurora's birthday in Sleeping Beauty. Similarly, I love when Merlin moves into the decaying tower of the castle and struggles to overcome his leaky roof.
All in all, The Sword in the Stone is not a favorite of mine, because of its unconventional narrative, but that's not to say that it's missing the memorable moments or fantastic visuals that have become a staple of Disney's animated releases.
Next up: The Jungle Book
No comments:
Post a Comment