12 Best King Arthur Movies Ranked: Worst To Best

Walt Disney had owned the rights to T.H. White's book since 1939, but the film was not greenlit until after the success of the Broadway musical Camelot in 1960. Oddly enough, Camelot was also based on White's work, specifically the latter portions of The Once and Future King. The film would also be the first to feature songs by the Sherman Brothers, who would go on to write music for Mary Poppins and The Jungle Book. This film would be the last animated feature released during Disney's lifetime.

The Sword in the Stone is a gorgeous looking film with lots of whimsical sequences and an undercurrent of sadness. Young "Wart" is a happy, if put-upon, child. His adventures with Merlin (where he is transformed into a fish, a squirrel, and a sparrow) offer an escape from his chores.

Wart is voiced by three different actors, since the first went into puberty during production. This actually works to the film's advantage as he genuinely sounds like an awkward child becoming a slightly less awkward teenager. The triumphant ending, where the eponymous sword is pulled from the stone, is only marred if you know what becomes of the boy who would be king.