Merlin is one of the main characters in Walt Disney Animation Studios' 18th animated feature film The Sword in the Stone (1963). After that, also appearing in several Disney media, such as TV shows and – to a greater extent – video games. He is a powerful wizard, based on the mythical figure of the same name from the Arthurian legends. He was originally voiced by Karl Swenson in The Sword in the Stone, with Jeff Bennett being his voice actor for his different media appearances since 2005.

Background

Appearance
Merlin is an old man with a long white beard and glasses. He wears a blue tunic, and a pointed hat of the same color. He also wears long blue shoes. He usually carries a staff with him, which he also uses to perform his spells.

Whenever he transforms into an animal, he always retains the color blue on his body.

When he returns from his vacation in Bermuda in the 20th century, he wears modern clothing such as Bermuda shorts, a short-sleeved shirt, sneakers, a baseball cap, and sunglasses.

Personality
Merlin is a man of great wisdom, and also usually comes across as kind and with the attitude of a gentleman. Although he is also shown to have a short temper, as shown when Archimedes argues with him about raising Wart, or when Wart announces his choice as squire. Despite his wise attitude, he can also can be clueless with some things, as he shows by taking the wrong path to Sir Ector's castle.

According to Wolfgang Reitherman, director of The Sword in the Stone, they wanted Merlin "to be eccentric, but not hokey."

Powers and abilities
As a wizard, Merlin shows a wide variety of powers and is hailed as the most powerful wizard in the world. His magical abilities include being able to visualize the future (if not everything in it), disappear, shapeshifting (throughout The Sword in the Stone he transforms into different animals), or give inanimate objects the ability to move.

Merlin also apparently has laboratory equipment, indicating he is knowledgeable in alchemy for making potions. He also owns models of future vehicles built by himself.

Appearances

The Sword in the Stone (1963)

Set in the medieval period, Merlin is an old wizard who lives in a house in the woods with his owl Archimedes, where he is waiting for a visit from someone, whom he envisions thanks to his powers of prediction. That person turns out to be a boy named Arthur, nicknamed Wart by the others, and to whom Merlin decides to offer his services as a tutor.

After convincing Sir Ector, Wart's adoptive father, to stay in his castle in Wart's care, Merlin uses his powers as a wizard to transform both himself and Wart into animals such as fish or squirrels to teach the boy lessons about life. When he transforms Wart into a sparrow because he wanted to fly, the boy ends up going astray at the house of Madam Mim, a witch who is an old rival of Merlin, and when going to rescue Wart, Merlin confronts her in a magic duel in which both transform into different animals, ending Merlin victorious.

Some time later, Wart proudly announces to Merlin that he has been chosen to be a squire, but the news disappoints Merlin since he hopes for a better future for Wart, and after arguing with the boy about it, Merlin, being too furious, decides to leave leaving his occupation as Wart's tutor. As time passes, Wart, now known as King Arthur after having drawn the sword from the stone that made him king, under too much pressure desperately calls out to Merlin, who appears after taking a vacation in the 20th century. When Arthur and Archimedes explain the situation to him, Merlin understands that Arthur is destined to become a legendary figure, and once again stands by him as his advisor.

Television
Like other Disney animated characters, Merlin (voiced by Hamilton Camp) made recurring cameo appearances in the television series House of Mouse (2001–2003) as a guest in the titular club. His only speaking appearances being in the episodes "Rent Day", where he promises to give Mickey the 50 dollars he needs to pay the rent of the club if he can find a sword for Arthur, and "House of Magic", where he asks the Magic Mirror if Arthur will be a good king.

Merlin makes a guest appearance in some episodes of Sofia the First (2016–2017). He first appears in "Gone with the Wand" (voiced by Jeff Bennett), where Sofia, Cedric and Calista visits him in the tower where he lives, but during the visit, Calista takes Merlin's dragon claw wand out of the tower, allowing Merlin's enemy Morgana to take it, but she ends up being defeated by Merlin, with the help of Cedric and Calista. Later he has minor appearances in "Day of the Sorcerers", "Too Cute to Spook", and "The Great Pretender".

In The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse (2020–2021), Merlin appears in his fish form in the episode "School of Fish" as a teacher in the school for fish. He later makes an appearance in the episode "Disappearing Act" (voiced again by Bennett), where he appears to advise Mickey along with other magical characters.

Video games
Merlin has common appearances as a guide for the players in Disney games in which he appears typically along with characters from other Disney productions. He is voiced by Jeff Bennett in all of his video game appearances.

Kingdom Hearts series
Merlin appears as a recurring character in the Kingdom Hearts series as an ally of the protagonists. He is typically present in the hub world of the games in which he appears.

He first appears in Kingdom Hearts (2002) residing in a hidden underground house in Traverse Town, where he helps Sora train in his magical abilities. Merlin also possesses the Hundred Acre Wood book, which Sora uses to transport himself to that world.

In Kingdom Hearts II (2005), Merlin moved to Hollow Bastion and lived in the headquarters of the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee, being a member of the group restoring the world. He still has the Hundred Acre Wood book with him, and also gave Sora the Baseball Charm to summon Chicken Little. He is also called to the Disney Castle to help stop Maleficent's spell on the world, so Merlin offers a door with which Sora, Donald and Goofy can transport themselves to the past (Timeless River) to discover the origin of this danger and try to stop her. Later, like the other characters present in Hollow Bastion, he ends up remembering that long ago that world was known as Radiant Garden.

In the prequel Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep (2010), a decade before the events of the first Kingdom Hearts, he resides in Radiant Garden, where he gave Terra, Ventus, and Aqua permission to view the Hundred Acre Wood book, granting them access to the Hundred Acre Wood Command Board.

In Kingdom Hearts III (2019), he had sent Kairi and Lea to a realm where time is stilled, allowing them to train at their own pace. Sora, Donald, and Goofy meet Merlin in Twilight Town, where the wizard reveals to have the Hundred Acre Wood storybook with him.

In the original Japanese version of the games, Merlin is voiced by Minoru Uchida in Kingdom Hearts II, Hiroshi Arikawa in Birth by Sleep, and Atsushi Goto in Kingdom Hearts III.

Other video games
Merlin was the host of the interactive game Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom (2012) present at Magic Kingdom, until it was shut down in 2021.

In Disney Infinity 3.0 (2015), Merlin appears in the Toy Box Takeover expansion game, where when Syndrome gets hold of Merlin's magic wand, the player has to stop him. Merlin appears as a guide for the player explaining the missions.

Merlin appears as a non-playable character in Disney Magic Kingdoms (2016), being the guide for the player in the progress of game's storyline. He is also the owner of Merlin's Shop, where he sell items or cast help spells in his cauldron.

He appears as a playable character in Disney Heroes: Battle Mode (2019).

Merlin is a playable character in Disney Sorcerer's Arena (2020), where he is available in his normal outfit and can be changed into his Bermuda outfit.

Merlin is one of the villagers that appear in Disney Dreamlight Valley (2023), where he guides the player since the beginning of the game, and has a recurring role in quests in which he is involved.

Other appearances

In addition to comic book adaptations of The Sword in the Stone, Merlin has had appearances in some Disney comics set in a shared universe with other Disney animated characters.

Merlin appears as a meet-and-greet character at Disney Parks, although his appearances are very rarely, and is present in some live shows and parades.

Merlin (voiced by Alan Young) plays the Ghost of Christmas Past in the Disneyland Records album An Adaptation of Dickens' Christmas Carol (1974), which was issued with a supplementary illustrated storybook.

A live-action appearance of Merlin (portrayed by Hamilton Camp) is present in the Disney Sing-Along Songs installment Happy Haunting - Party at Disneyland! (1998).

Marlin has a cameo appearance among the audience in the House of Mouse direct-to-video film Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse (2001).

At the beginning of the episode "The Dark Swan" (2015) from the television series Once Upon a Time, Merlin can be seen on the cinema screen where The Sword in the Stone is being shown.

A younger Merlin (portrayed by Jeremy Swift) will appear in the live-action film Descendants: The Rise of Red, the fourth installment of the Descendants film series, where he appears in the time in which he was the principal of Merlin Academy.

Parodies
Merlin (voiced by Dan Fogler) has an appearance in the Robot Chicken episode "Ext. Forest - Day" (2018), where Arthur proposes to him to transform the squirrel girl into a human to have a relationship with her.

Notes

References

Fictional wizards
Walt Disney Animation Studios characters
Film characters introduced in 1963
Male characters in animated films
Fictional English people
Fictional schoolteachers
Fictional characters who can turn invisible
Fictional characters who can teleport
Time travelers
Works based on Merlin