The Sword in the Stone and Robin Hood...those little gems

[DC Fan]

It´s funny that these 2 movies (Sword in the Stone and Robin Hood) aren´t at top of what Classics are. I feel, more so by Disney. Correct me if I´m wrong. However, these 2 movies are so great in their on way for 2 main reasons:

1. Simple stories.

2. Charming characters.

The fact is that almost everyone I know of that has watched them agree on how delightful and fun they are. And as such, they have a very special spot in their herarts for these films.

Do you agree with me?

[thelittleursula]

I do like and enjoy Robin Hood but Sword and the Stone nah can't say I'm a huge fan. Robin Hood may have recycled artwork and character designs straight out of the Jungle Book but it does have good characters and story and like Doug Walker mentioned during Disneycember the ending is action packed and filled with suspense which adds to it. Sword and the Stone sadly in my view feels a bit flat and dry and the animation looks like it came out during the Dark Age and not during Disney's prime.

[Disney's Divinity]

My opinion is almost the reverse of thelittleursula. I love TSitS (in my top 10 Disney films), but I have little to no feeling for Robin Hood, although I’ve always found Lady Cluck hilarious. TSitS has some of my favorite Disney characters in Merlin, Archimedes and Mim. It’s just a fun film, but somehow manages to have a bit of heart with the brains over brawn subplot. I know a lot of people hate TSitS because they’d rather see the adult Arthur/Camelot myth, but I love the movie. It’s easily the funniest Disney film, for me personally, and it never gets tired.

I believe I find RH less interesting because it tries to tackle a more serious storyline than TSitS, and mostly falls flat. It’s not a horrible film at all (not to me, at least), but it’s not one I watch often. But I believe DC Fan hit the mark that the films' are successful (to me) because of their characters--RH has Cluck, Sir Hiss, and Prince John.

[Jay]

I enjoy both films. I don't know why The Sword in the Stone is so neglected. It has some of the best characters. Mim is hilarious and she deserves more attention! The film is neglected just like the films of the 70's and 80's but it was released when Walt was alive and seems to be the only one not to get any attention. I don't understand that.

With Robin Hood the film was released at a time that Disney seems to want to forget. With the exception of Marie from The Aristocats every character and film post Jungle Book/pre-Little Mermaid is pretty much forgotten. Which is a shame because there are some good films in that time period. I also love the characters of Lady Cluck, Sir Hiss and Prince John. Hiss and John are so much fun they remind me of Hook and Smee. And the Cluckster is one fierce biatch.

[Tae]

They're actually two of my favorite Disney movies. As a kid, I loved them, but never owned them on VHS. So the odd time when I was at a friend's house and got to watch one of them, well, it was always a really exiting experience. Now that I'm older, I do see the flaws and I think that films such as Pinocchio, Sleeping Beauty, Bambi, etc. are far superior as far as animation and story go, but when I just feel like popping in a Disney movie and having a fun evening? I'll take SitS and Robin Hood over those any day. The animation is definitely flawed, SitS has some voice work issues, and both seem to run out of time rather then have proper endings, but the characters are incredibly charming and the stories and songs are a lot of fun. I'm really happy they're coming out on Blu-Ray soon
Also, I still say Madam Mim ought to be integrated into the Disney villains merchandise. They could do a LOT with all the forms she took on during the wizard duel, and I think it would definitely draw more attention to the film.

[DC Fan]

That´s my point.

They´re just fun.

So, of course they´re more watchable than Bambi, Fantasia or such.

You really enjoy when watching them.

[SWillie!]

So, of course they´re more watchable than Bambi, Fantasia or such.

Maybe Fantasia, but most certainly not Bambi. I'd watch Bambi over these two any day of the week.

[Disney's Divinity]

I do think Bambi is a better film than either of these, but it's really dull. I have to be in the right mood to watch it.

[Semaj]

There's nothing really wrong with The Sword in the Stone. The songs aren't compelling, I can get past the scratchy Xerox style, and it was sort of open-ended. But it probably would've worked better as a featurette.

I only saw Robin Hood in its entirety once just to see if it was as bad as everyone says it is. While it's hardly among Disney's worst films, there's absolutely nothing special about it. The recycled animation could be overlooked if there wasn't so much of it throughout the film. It was a snapshot of what Disney animators were resigned to during the 1970's.

[Walter]

Strangely enough, for most of my childhood, whenever I hear the name "Robin Hood", I immediately think of him as the fox, with the bear as his sidekick.

I thought "Robin Hood" was the more entertaining film of the 2, though I thought got it off to a dull start, once the opening song ended. And I can't help but think of this film recycling some characters from "The Jungle Book", standing in for Little John and Sir Hiss. But the film does get good once to the archery scene, and Prince John is just hilarious with his thumb-sucking while trying to act evil.

The only thing memorable about "The Sword in the Stone" was the showdown between Merlin and Madam Mim. Anything before and after that, was kind of boring.

[Jules]

The animation is definitely flawed

I have to disagree with that. Both The Sword in the Stone and Robin Hood have some lovely and fluid animation. Don't let the recycled animation in Robin Hood put you off. The rest of the animation (i.e. original and not recycled) is good. I believe Wolfgang Reitherman alone is the reason that film made such egregious use of earlier animation. He's certainly one of the less popular Nine Old Men.

By the way, even Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston feel that some of their best animation is scattered throughout The Sword in the Stone.

[thelittleursula]

The only thing memorable about "The Sword in the Stone" was the showdown between Merlin and Madam Mim. Anything before and after that, was kind of boring.

I gotta agree with you on this Walter.

[Disney's Divinity]

While that is doubtless the best scene in the movie, I find the beginning in Merlin's cottage with Arthur (with the scene of the wolf chasing them after) and the dish scene hugely entertaining myself. I also find the end of the underwater segment entertaining, and I even enjoy the ending when Merlin blows himself to Bermuda.

[SwordInTheStone777]

I love The Sword In The Stone, if you couldn't already tell by name. The whole movie is memorable, some scenes do stand out more than others like Higitus Figitus and it's reprise in the kitchen and of course The Wizard's Duel between Merlin and Mim. But, there's a lot other scenes that people tend miss like when Archimedes teaches Wart/Arthur how to fly when he's a sparrow and the climax of the film when Wart/Arthur pulls the sword from the stone.

[SwordInTheStone777]

Ingnore this reply, when I hit sumbit it made an extra so I deleted it and put this in it's place.

[DC Fan]

I like a lot de water/fish scene in SWORD.

Can you imagine if (as hinted in first Kingdom Hearts) Merlin gor married with the Fairy Godmother (Cinderella) and had a child?

[Disney Guru]

I have never understood why these 2 films aren't more popular as well, honestly they've always been 2 of my favorite Animated Classics. Great Scores, story-lines and adorable characters. Glad to see they're being restored and reissued on Blu-Ray to attract a new audience. Brilliant films that every child should see at least once growing up.

[DC Fan]

I remember that one time I let my friend´s child and his best friend (that were about 14 at the time; not kids precisely) watch TSITS and they were hooked to the TV and really enjoyed it.

[disneyftw1]

In terms of seriousness... as silly as it sounds, "Disney's Robin Hood". But I love its grand silliness in "Sword in the Stone". Sword did had many great moments. Even Sword had some very good animation despite its limitations at the time. You can see the amount of effort, creativity, and imagination the animators had to make it happen. For Robin Hood... it was the 70's. Couldn't be fully helped that it had to resort to using some of the earlier animation from past films as references.

[Semaj]

I believe Wolfgang Reitherman alone is the reason that film made such egregious use of earlier animation. He's certainly one of the less popular Nine Old Men.

It's hard for me to picture Reitherman, as a director, without thinking about the Xeroxography, TONS of recycled footage, and awkward moments associated with his name.