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Disney Classic Graphic Novel: The Sword in the Stone
A new graphic novel coming soon from Disney and Papercutz!
For more information visit www.papercutz.com
For more information visit www.papercutz.com
- GenresGraphic Novels
56 pages, Hardcover
Published December 24, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 19, 2025
Ugh. :(
I should give some context. I enjoyed The Sword in the Stone (the Disney film) as a kid back in the day, though it's never ranked highly among the DAC for me. In contrast, the book of the same name (which said film was adapted from) is quite good, IMO - shame it's comparatively unknown.
Reading this, which is an adaptation of the film, made my original estimate of said film go down, and it was never that high to begin with. I won't summarize the events since the film is decades old at this point, but...look, I'll be honest, I don't think this story has a strong plot or theme. As in:
-Merlin gives Arthur various lessons that are cute one-offs, but I'm not sure how they're supposed to make him a good king. At best, you can say they're helping him think laterally, but turning into squirrels and fish (among other things) isn't that applicable to Dark Ages-era politics (or even Middle Ages).
-The story does stress the benefits of education, but this feels out of touch with both the Arthurian legend, and the story as a whole. Arthur at the end of the story feels no more smart or intelligent than he is at the start. Him even drawing the sword out is because of being in the right place at the right time rather than any keen insight (e.g. there's no riddle or "ahah" moment).
So, yeah. Themes are vapid, Arthur is a shallow character, and while the hyjinks in the story are cute, there's not enough "meat" here to satisfy me. Maybe the film can get away with that, as a graphic novel bereft of stuff like music or voice acting, not so much. Maybe there's still fun to be had in the film, but seriously, read the book if you want a 'proper' version of this story.
I should give some context. I enjoyed The Sword in the Stone (the Disney film) as a kid back in the day, though it's never ranked highly among the DAC for me. In contrast, the book of the same name (which said film was adapted from) is quite good, IMO - shame it's comparatively unknown.
Reading this, which is an adaptation of the film, made my original estimate of said film go down, and it was never that high to begin with. I won't summarize the events since the film is decades old at this point, but...look, I'll be honest, I don't think this story has a strong plot or theme. As in:
-Merlin gives Arthur various lessons that are cute one-offs, but I'm not sure how they're supposed to make him a good king. At best, you can say they're helping him think laterally, but turning into squirrels and fish (among other things) isn't that applicable to Dark Ages-era politics (or even Middle Ages).
-The story does stress the benefits of education, but this feels out of touch with both the Arthurian legend, and the story as a whole. Arthur at the end of the story feels no more smart or intelligent than he is at the start. Him even drawing the sword out is because of being in the right place at the right time rather than any keen insight (e.g. there's no riddle or "ahah" moment).
So, yeah. Themes are vapid, Arthur is a shallow character, and while the hyjinks in the story are cute, there's not enough "meat" here to satisfy me. Maybe the film can get away with that, as a graphic novel bereft of stuff like music or voice acting, not so much. Maybe there's still fun to be had in the film, but seriously, read the book if you want a 'proper' version of this story.
September 27, 2024
I have always loved the movie as a child and still rewatch it often, so I was thrilled to discover its graphic novel/comic adaptation. The transformation of this beloved Disney movie into a comic format was a wonderful experience and I was not disappointed. While it was of course in another pace than the movie, since it's hard to turn a movie into a graphic novel while still keeping that wonderful story, I liked it very much. I think they did a good job. The essence of the story remained intact, allowing me to relive the magical journey of Arthur and Merlin (and the owl of course).
I liked the illustrations, they had the same kind of vibe as the movie and captured the same charm of the animation. This made it really nostalgic.
Overall this graphic novel is a must-read for people who also love the movie, just like I do, but also for people who don't know the story yet, because I feel like this graphic novel is very able to transfer the vibes.
I liked the illustrations, they had the same kind of vibe as the movie and captured the same charm of the animation. This made it really nostalgic.
Overall this graphic novel is a must-read for people who also love the movie, just like I do, but also for people who don't know the story yet, because I feel like this graphic novel is very able to transfer the vibes.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews