The defence The Sentimental Softie
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
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The Sword in the Stone
Animation · Family · Fantasy · 1963
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.
Movie details
The Sword in the Stone
“Tired of living in a Medieval mess... Merlin uses all his magic powers to change a scrawny little boy into a legendary hero!”
1963 Animation · Family · Fantasy 1h 19m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
7.2 / 10
Community rating
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.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over The Sword in the Stone?
For the defence
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
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The Black Cauldron
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Wolfgang Reitherman
Written by
Bill Peet
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)
Court is in session
Put The Sword in the Stone on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Cool Ironist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.