Compare And Contrast The Sword in the Stone And The Kid Who Would Be King

In the films The Sword in the Stone and The Kid Who Would Be King, there are differences and similarities when perceiving the Arthurian legend based on its characters. Merlin is a character that plays a very important role in both films, as he is attributed with different physical characteristics and a great variety of powers. Some of these powers are time travel, animation, shapeshifting.

Time travel is one of the powers attributed to Merlin in both films. In the film The Sword in the Stone, Merlin is featured as an old but charismatic character. From the beginning of the film, Merlin's ability to see the future is seen when Merlin talks about the steam locomotive toy, about Bermuda, and mostly when he told Wart (Arthur) that he has been to the future. Throughout the scenes, Merlin mentions that he is a soothsayer, a forecaster. In order words, he can see the future centuries into the future. On the other hand, in the film The Kid Who Would Be King, Merlin is depicted as a young and comical teenager. In this film, Merlin's time-travel power varies from the cartoon version. It is not highly denoted that Merlin is a forecaster as in the previous film. Nonetheless, Merlin's power of time travel stands out the most when Merlin presents Elliot with the future of the world if he does not face Morgan. However, although Merlin as a magician may be able to control time, his ability to shift shapes is surprising.

Merlin has the power to animate inert things differently in each film. In the live-action movie, Merlin demonstrates that he is capable of animating physical objects present around him. This can be seen when on his journey with Alexander Elliot, Lance, Kay, and Bedivere to face Morgana, Merlin animates four trees to teach the kids fighting tactics. On the other hand, in the cartoon movie, Merlin's animation power is notably greater. Merlin is capable of animating all kinds of objects at his will. Merlin's ability is noticed when he packs all of his belongings into his bag. Moreover, when Merlin helps Wart in his duties by enchanting the dishes to do the work. This power is quite remarkable within the two films. However, one of Merlin's most important powers is also shapeshifting.

Last but not least, Merlin is capable of shapeshifting, both himself and to other people. In The Kid Who would be a King film, it can be seen that Merlin can transform only into a bird especially when he has to flee, or he finds himself in situations where his life is compromised. However, besides becoming a bird, he can also change his young form into his older version. Nonetheless, Merlin is not capable to shapeshift another person. Contrarily, in the film The Sword in the Stone, Merlin's version is more powerful to change shape. Merlin can turn himself into whatever he wants, a fish, a rocket, a goat, and changing the shape of objects and people. An example of this is when Merlin turned Wart into a fish and taught him to swim. Besides, when Merlin had his fight with Miss Madi, and he managed to change his form into any kind of animal. Merlin's powers and abilities have no limits, and the development of this character enriches the plot of the two films.