Movie: The Sword In the Stone

 I spent this weekend with my 6-year-old nephew.  I let him pick the movies, which meant we saw Chipwrecked (which I'm never going to speak of again) and The Sword In the Stone, which is not one of my favorites because of how many times my sister (his mother) made me watch it when we were kids.

The movie is a classic, it's fun, it has a lot of great scenes, but it never particularly resonated with me.  Personally, I think it lacks structure.  Arthur/Wart doesn't seem to want anything and the only thing he struggles with is explaining to Merlin how great his current position in life actually is.  Yes, at the end he pulls the sword, but he didn't overcome anything to do it... it was ordained by God.  And at the end of the movie, he's King, but doesn't think he's better off.  Merlin is like the worst stage parent in the history of movies.

But that is not what I want to talk about.  Instead, two things that I can learn from this movie:

1. Your side characters may be there for laughs, but they better have a function as well.  Archimedes is Merlin's wise owl assistant who serves a number of purposes throughout the story.  At one point he saves Wart/Arthur's life (because, as we already covered, Wart/Arthur is insistent on not being a hero).   Later, his wise owl status allows him to give Merlin and Wart/Arthur information as they need it.  I hate characters who are there just for comic relief, and while Archimedes does serve that purpose, he is so much more.  As a character, he is one of my favorites (and not just in this movie).

2. Brains triumphing over Brawn is more satisfying than Bigger Brawn triumphing over Brawn.  The wizard duel is one of my favorite scenes.  It involves Merlin and Mad Madame Mimm changing shape and trying to destroy each other.  In one instance Merlin becomes a walrus and squashes Mimm.  It's funny, but would not have been satisfying as the conclusion of the fight.  In the end, Merlin outsmarts Mimm, which ends up being funny, but also satisfying.  It also means that nobody has to die in a kid's movie.