DVD review (region 1)
Directed by Wolfgang Reitherman
Starring the voices of Rickie Sorensen, Karl Swenson, Sebastian Cabot
Release date Out now

Disney’s take on the classic T.E. White story The Once and Future King sees a young boy guided towards his destiny by the amiable wizard Merlin…

It is unlikely that many people would put The Sword in the Stone in their top 10 Disney movies. It might even struggle to make the top 20. Not that there is anything particularly wrong with it; it’s an amiable enough story and the animation is beautiful and vivid, especially as it has been so effectively remastered and restored. But the lack of memorable songs and the absence of any truly cutesy characters perhaps underlines why the film has become a footnote rather than a cherished classic in the studio’s history.

This 45th anniversary edition (and who really commemorates a 45th anniversary? Couldn’t they have waited five years?) is not as lavish as it could have been. A pointless game takes up space where a documentary could have provided insight into the production of the film, and a documentary on the Sherman Brothers (whose music here is surprisingly below par) feels insubstantial. After some great special editions - The Jungle Book and 101 Dalmatians are good examples of how it should be done – this is something of a letdown. Jonathan Wilkins

VERDICT: 6/10
Worth rediscovering, if not quite spellbinding.