The Sword in the Stone: Are We Getting Old?

This episode Aly & Sarrah discuss Disney's The Sword in the Stone.

Aly follows the source material from medieval literature to T.H. White's classic novel. Sarrah talks about some drama happening between Bill Peet and the rest of the Disney animators.

Our recap has us commenting on magic, aging, consent (grabby hands are back!), and a lot of book to movie comparisons.

So grab on to your hats, let's say the magic words, and get to it!
Higgitus Figgitus!

Podcast Music by: http://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music

And we're back to Disney! Not going to lie, after our excursion to Purr-ee, we're happy to return to our tried and true friends.

This week we discuss Disney's 1963 film, The Sword in the Stone.

This was a hefty one for Aly, since Sword in the Stone is based on the first book in T.H. White's The Once and Future King series (the first book being The Sword in the Stone), and these are not short stories! She's been reading the hardcopy and listening to an audiobook version for the past month in between all the other research we've had going on. But once again, she highly recommends this read, especially if you're into Arthurian Legends or mythology!

Needless to say, Aly takes us on a trip discussing another rather mournful authors life as we talk about T.H. White and his adventures with Arthur, including his inspiration Le Morte D'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory. We also learn about a real life sword in the stone, and some modern authors who claim to be inspired by White (spoilers: it's pretty much everyone).

Sarrah discusses the messy origin of this movie at Disney, where we once again meet up with storyman Bill Peet and learn how he wrote yet another Disney screenplay all by himself. We also learn about how his story may have created a bit of a Mean Girls situation over in the animation department. Drama!

Our recap touches on book vs movie changes (yes, Aly is that person this week), how we know we're aging, some questionable accents and Monty Python quotes.

Higitus Figitus! Let's get moving!

SOURCE MATERIAL:

Podcast Music By: http://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music

Imdb page for The Sword in the Stone
Wikipedia Article for The Sword in the Stone (film)
Wikipedia Article for The Once And Future King (book)
Wikipedia Article for Le Morte D'Arthur
Wikipedia Article for T.H. White
 

Biography.com page for T.H. White
Atlas Obscura page for the Montesiepi Sword in the Stone
Hollywood Reporter article about the live action movie

The Once and Future King (Unabridged Audio Book). T.H. White. Read by Neville Jason. Naxos Audiobooks

Masters of Animation. John Grant
Mouse Under Glass: Secrets of Disney Animation and Theme Parks. David Koenig
Disney Dossiers: Files of Characters from the Walt Disney Studios. Jeff Kurtti
Animation Magic. Don Hahn
The Illusion of Life, Disney Animation.Frank Thomas & Ollie Johnston
Of Mice and Magic, A History of American Animated Cartoons. Leonard Maltin

OTHER FUN STUFF:

Sword in the Stone at Disneyland. Starred to protect the less than innocent.