Tonight with the Family: 60 years ago, this Disney classic captivated a generation of viewers

At the beginning of the 10th century, the King of England died without leaving an heir, and the entire kingdom was plunged into a long period of obscurantism. Around London, a magical sword appears in a sheath. An inscription on its blade indicates that the crown will return to whoever knows how to destroy it, but despite the large number of people who come to try their luck, the sword remains hopelessly set in the stone.

A few years later, in the middle of the forest, a wizard named Merlin confronts the Middle Ages while trying to draw water to make tea. Returning to his small country house, the owl explains to Archimedes that he is expecting a special visitor: a 12-year-old boy who is due to drop from the ceiling in a few minutes, promising a special future.

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From Kaamelott to the Sacré Grail via Excalibur, there have been many cinematic adaptations of the King Arthur legend. However, even if we sometimes forget it, the Disney studios were the first to take an interest in it and offer the myth to the Sovereign. origin story By choosing to focus on his childhood and his pivotal encounter with Merlin the wizard that leads him to become King of England.

Created by famous studio artists in 1963, Merlin the Enchanter features animation quite similar to its predecessor (101 Dalmatians). If it is sometimes a little forgotten in favor of other works with a more solid reputation, such as Snow White or Cinderella, when we talk about the great classics of the company, and if it shows a less fluid rhythm than some films like Bambi or Pinocchio, Merlin is still endowed with many qualities.

Above all, the feature film relies on its main character: Merlin is undoubtedly the greatest success of his own film. The most memorable sequences of the work are also directly from it, and in particular, the memorable song “Higitus Figitus”.

Truly magical and “enchanting” for an entire generation of viewers, Disney Studios’ 18th animated classic offers the whole family a delightful introduction to the Arthurian legend.

What will you like…

• Successive transformations of Merlin and Mustique first into a fish, then into a squirrel, and finally into a bird (only for Mustique).

• A sorcery duel between Merlin and the dreaded Madame Mime, which also features multiple transformations, each one more fun than the last.

What could be bothering them…

• Madame Mimi, the film’s villain, even if we don’t see her for long. Quite comical and cheeky most of the time, he also knows how to be scary when he tries to make himself look ugly!

(Re)discover our top 5 legends of King Arthur…