The Sword in the Stone is a 1963 American
animated musical fantasy comedy film produced by
Walt Disney and released by
Buena Vista Distribution. The
18th Disney animated feature film, it is based on
T. H. White's
novel of the same name, which was published as a standalone novel in 1938 and then revised and republished in 1958 as the first book of White's Arthurian
tetralogy The Once and Future King. Directed by
Wolfgang Reitherman, the film features the voices of
Rickie Sorensen,
Karl Swenson,
Junius Matthews,
Sebastian Cabot,
Norman Alden, and
Martha Wentworth. It was the last animated film from Walt Disney Productions to be released before Walt Disney's death on December 15, 1966.
Disney first acquired the film rights to the novel in 1939, and there were various attempts at developing the film over the next two decades before production on the film officially began.
Bill Peet wrote the story for the film, while the songs were written by the
Sherman Brothers. This was the first animated Disney film to feature songs by the Sherman Brothers; they would go on to contribute music to such Disney films as
Mary Poppins (1964),
The Jungle Book (1967),
The Aristocats (1970), and
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977).
George Bruns composed the film's
score, following his work on the previous two animated Disney films,
Sleeping Beauty (1959) and
One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961). He would also compose the scores of the next three animated Disney films,
The Jungle Book,
The Aristocats, and
Robin Hood (1973).
The film became a box-office success. It was re-released to theaters on March 25, 1983, on a
double bill with the animated cartoon short
Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore. A
live-action remake entered development in 2015 and is set to be directed by
Juan Carlos Fresnadillo and released on
Disney+.
