Arthur Pendragon

Arthur, also known as Wart, is a main character from the Disney film, The Sword in the Stone. In the film, Arthur is an orphan boy who becomes King of England. He was voiced by three people, Rickie Sorensen, Richard Reitherman, and Robert Reitherman, which leads to noticeable changes in Arthur's voice throughout the film.

Background
Arthur is a twelve year old orphan who lives as the foster son of the knight Sir Ector. He has blond hair, and considered to be very scrawny and clumsy. Arthur dreams of becoming a knight, but as an orphan, he can only hope to become a squire to his arrogant foster brother Kay. At the time of the film, he is working as a page. Arthur is looked down upon by Sir Ector and Kay as everyone refers to him as Wart rather than his birthname of Arthur and treat him much more strictly. In fact, his real name is rarely mentioned throughout the film, once by Wart himself, and later at the end of the film when he is revealed as the rightful king of England.

As his name suggests, Wart is based on the legendary King Arthur of English mythology.

Role In The Sword in the Stone
Wart first appears at the beginning of the film, accompanying his brother Kay on a hunting trip. After accidentally distracting Kay, Wart goes to retrieve Kay's lost arrow, and ends up in the home of Merlin, the wizard. While enjoying tea with Merlin, Merlin speaks to Wart about the value of an education, and appoints himself as Wart's tutor. Wart, then returns to his home, Sir Ector's castle, and is sent to the kitchen as part of his page duties. When Pellinore, a friend of Sir Ector's comes with news of a tournament, with the English crown as a prize, Sir Ector decides that Kay can be knighted in time to participate. Ector appoints Wart as Kay's future squire for the tournament, which is held in London.

The next day, Wart accompanies Merlin on his first lesson. Merlin turns them both into fish, and at first everything goes smoothly. Wart is soon chased by a large pike, and manages to outsmart the pike at first. Thankfully, Wart is saved by Archimedes, Merlin's owl. The adventure teaches Wart the value of brain over brawn. When Wart is transformed back, he rushes to the kitchen, where Ector gives him 6 demerits, 3 for being late, and 3 after telling the story of his lesson.

Later, Wart is being forced to clean an entire kitchen as a result of his punishment. Merlin enchants the dishes to wash themselves, and sneaks Wart out for another lesson, this time about gravity and male-female relationships. Wart is transformed into a squirrel, and meets up with a female squirrel, who wants him as a mate. As Wart attempts to escape the amorous squirrel, he is put in danger of being eaten by a wolf. Wart is saved thanks to the female squirrel, but he is then transformed back into a boy. Though he tries to explain, the female squirrel is disappointed.

Back at the castle, Sir Ector begins reprimanding Merlin for using what Ector believes to be black magic on the kitchen. Wart tries to defend Merlin, but Sir Ector punishes him by making another ,unseen boy Kay's squire. Merlin sees Arthur's disappointment and apologizes, but notes that Wart could make something of himself through an education.

Merlin then takes time to explain different concepts about how the world works, but Wart becomes so confused that Archimedes takes over Wart's education. After finding out that Wart is illiterate, Archimedes teaches Wart to read and write. During a break, Merlin takes time to demonstrate a model airplane. Though the demonstration doesn't work, Wart is impressed anyway, and relates his dream of flying to Merlin. While Wart is talking, Merlin transforms him into a sparrow. Wart then goes out flying with Archimedes. During the flight, Wart is chased by a hawk, and ends up falling though the chimney of Madam Mim, Merlin's enemy. Though Madam Mim attempts to show Wart that her magic, which is self serving, is better than Merlin's. Wart disagrees, and so Madam Mim transforms into a cat and attempts to eat Wart. Wart is saved by the intervention of Merlin, and Wart later observes the Wizard's duel between the two wizards. As a result, Wart learns the value of knowledge and wisdom, as Merlin won by outsmarting Mim.

At Christmastime, Wart is reinstated as Kay's squire out of necessity, as the other boy had come down with mumps. Though Wart is pleased, as he feels it is his only opportunity to advance, Merlin is angered that Wart still prefers war games over education, and the wizard teleports to Bermuda.

On New Year's Day, Wart accompanies Sir Ector, and a newly knighted Kay to the tournament. Everything is going smoothly when Wart realizes that he forgot Kay's sword at the inn. In an attempt to find a replacement, Wart pulls a sword from an stone that was in an old churchyard. When Wart brings the sword, it is immediately recognized as the legendary Sword in the Stone, which is supposed to only be pulled by the rightful king of England. All the knights at the tournament force Wart to repeat the process, but before he can do so, they attempt to pull it out, under the reasoning that anyone can pull it a second time.

Pellinore and a knight called Sir Bart, stop the other knights, and allow Wart to pull the Sword. He does so succesfully, and everyone bows to him as the new King of England, while Sir Ector begs Wart's forgiveness. They ask Wart's name, and Sir Ector almost calls the boy Wart, before correcting himself and calling the boy Arthur for the first time in the film.

Time passes and Wart, now crowned King Arthur, is unprepared for the responsibility of ruling a country. He attempts to run away, but every exit is blocked by cheering crowds. Merlin then unexpectedly returns from 20th century Bermuda, and is pleased to see that Wart is now King Arthur. The film ends as Merlin relates how famous the boy will become in the future.