The Sword in the Stone vs. The Once and Future King
The 1963 Disney film, the Sword in the Stone (2) was the first Disney film to give sole directorial credit to anyone involved in the film process (3). In the case of this movie that credit went to Wolfgang Reitherman. The movie was adapted from T. H. White's Once and Future King, (1) and was understandably a very large undertaking, necessitating the use of a sole director. The change of medium used to depict this story resulted in the changing of parts of the story. The restrictions and conventions of movie making, namely, time span, and target audience, had the largest part in shaping the direction the movie took with the adaptation of White's classic. The work of the writer and director of the film in the changing of the medium will be examined in the first few scenes of the movie, where Wart meets Merlin for the first time. This will be compared against the depiction of the tale in White's book, and the shaping forces of movie convention pointed out.In Disney's Sword and the Stone, Wart meets Merlin in the following way: Wart and Kay are spending part of their afternoon hunting deer in a clear, sunny field. Wart poises and steadies himself on the branch of an old dead tree, waiting quietly for Kay to release an
This results in a very oversimplified Disney version. All of these were interjected into the film to better suit the people most likely to watch. Because this movie only deals with the childhood of Arthur, it is easily understood why his death/retirement is not depicted. Number one, an animated movie is limited by a time frame of approximately one to two hours. All was not lost, however, because Wart heard the "clank" of the bucket and chain Merlin was using to draw water from a well. In the film, Merlin is the cornerstone of Wart's childhood. Merlin then asked him if his name was Wart, and later, "after all the formalities", asked him if he liked peaches and invited him into his cottage for breakfast. It is these restrictions and conventions of movie making that take the largest role (possibly all of it) in shaping Disney's depiction of White's story. Wart wonders, however, if they should fly their goshawk when it is so "deep in the moult". In the woods, Wart spots the arrow stuck in a tree and climes up to reach and recover it. Merlin, of course, is already aware that Wart is on his way to "drop in", and busies himself drawing water from a well with a chain and bucket, and preparing a table for his quest. While at breakfast, Wart asked Merlin how he had known his name. The movie is magical and delightful, as well, for both kids and parents. Number three, movies have a target audience.
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Acceptance Essays
