Original hand painted production animation cel of Wart as King Arthur from "The Sword In The Stone," 1963, Walt Disney Studios; Set on a lithographic background; Size - Wart (King Arthur): 6 1/4 x 4 1/2", Image 7 x 9"; Unframed.
"I can't be a king, Archimedes. I don't know anything about ruling a country." - Wart/King Arthur
"I told you to leave the thing in the stone, boy." - Archimedes (Owl)
"I'll, I'll run away, that's what I'll do. They'll just have to get somebody else." - Wart/King Arthur
"The Sword in the Stone," 1963 is the 18th full length feature film produced by Walt Disney and it was released on December 25, 1963 by Buena Vista Distribution. The film was based on the novel of the same name, that was first published in 1938. It was later republished in 1958 as the first book of T. H. White's tetralogy "The Once and Future King." It was to be the final Disney animated film released before Walt Disney's death on December 15, 1966. The songs in the film were written and composed by the Sherman Brothers, who would become very famous for their future work on later Disney films including; "Mary Poppins," 1964, "The Jungle Book," 1967, and "Bedknobs and Broomsticks," 1971.
Wart was animated by both Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston; and the voice was provided by three different actors; Rickie Sorensen, Richard Reitherman and his brother Robert Reitherman. This lead to noticeable changes in the character's voice between scenes. Also, the three voices all have Brooklyn-esque accents, which differed with the English setting for the film and with the accents spoken by all other characters.
The cel is from the last scene in the film which occurs after Wart/Arthur has pulled the sword (Excalibur) from the stone and is crowned King of England. As time passes, he feels unprepared for the responsibility of ruling an entire country. After confessing to Merlin's owl Archimedes, he attempts to run away, but every exit door of the castle is blocked by cheering crowds of people. Merlin suddenly returns from Bermuda and is thrilled that Wart is now King Arthur. Merlin tells Arthur that in the future he will be famous, books will be written about him, and perhaps even a motion picture! In this cel Arthur is eyes and mouth open, sitting on the thrown, and grasping the top handle of Excalibur. Cels of Wart as King Arthur (wearing the crown and robe) are extremely rare because he is only in the film as King during the last few minutes of the movie. A great addition to any animation art collection. The dialog for this cel is below:
Wart/King Arthur: "I can't be a king, Archimedes. I don't know anything about ruling a country."
Archimedes (Owl): "I told you to leave the thing in the stone, boy."
Wart/King Arthur: "I'll, I'll run away, that's what I'll do. They'll just have to get somebody else."
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