The Sword in the Stone
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38 free The Sword in the Stone trivia questions with answers — entertainment quiz, new questions added Sep 2026.
The Sword in the Stone was the last animated feature Walt Disney saw released in his lifetime, and it almost lost out to a film about a rooster. Bill Peet adapted T. H. White's 1938 novel single-handedly, the Sherman Brothers wrote their first songs for a Disney cartoon, and Wolfgang Reitherman became the first solo director of a Disney animated feature, a job complicated when his young Arthur's voice broke mid-production. These 38 questions cover the film from Wart's fish, squirrel and sparrow lessons to Madam Mim's duel, the voice cast behind Merlin and Sir Ector, the Chanticleer rivalry, the Xerox animation method, the 1983 re-release and the remaster controversy, plus a handful on White's original novel and its later revisions. Every answer is sourced from the film's and the book's Wikipedia coverage, so you can check anything that surprises you. Play in sets of 10 and see how much Merlin actually taught you.
30 of 38 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01What is Wart trying to retrieve when he first meets Merlin?
An arrow
An arrow from the spoiled hunt leads Wart to Merlin, who promptly declares himself the boy's tutor.
Q 02The Sword in the Stone's songwriters also wrote which theme park anthem?
It's a Small World
It's a Small World was written for the UNICEF pavilion at the 1964 New York World's Fair.
Q 03Which creature does Madam Mim become during the wizards' duel, breaking her own rules?
A purple dragon
A purple dragon: Mim had banned 'pink dragons and stuff', so she argued a purple one didn't count.
Q 04Which animal keeps trying to catch Wart in the forest, only to fail every time?
A wolf
A wolf nearly eats Wart during the squirrel lesson, but a girl squirrel saves him before discovering he is a boy.
Q 05What does Merlin enchant to do Wart's punishment chores in The Sword in the Stone?
The dishes
The dishes wash themselves so Merlin can take Wart off for another lesson, and Sir Ector later blames black magic.
Q 06What does Merlin conjure indoors to prove his magic to Sir Ector?
A blizzard
A blizzard proves the magic to Sir Ector, who still turns Merlin away until the wizard vanishes and Ector changes his mind.
Q 07What is the name of Wart's older foster brother?
Kay
Kay is the brother whose sword Wart forgets at the inn, which sends Wart to the sword in the stone.
Q 08Into which creature does Merlin first transform Wart for a lesson?
A fish
As fish, Merlin and Wart swim the castle moat until an angry pike attacks them.
Q 09What lesson are the squirrel transformations meant to teach Wart?
Gravity
Gravity is the plan, but the squirrel lesson ends with Merlin calling love the greatest force on Earth.
Q 10Which bird does Merlin turn Wart into for his flying lesson?
A sparrow
As a sparrow, Wart learns to fly with Archimedes, and the lesson ends with him meeting the witch Madam Mim.
Q 11In Disney comics, Madam Mim often teams up with which other sorceress?
Magica De Spell
Magica De Spell often took Mim on as a sidekick in 1960s and 1970s comics, hounding Scrooge McDuck.
Q 12How does Merlin finally defeat Madam Mim in their wizards' duel?
He becomes a germ that infects her
He becomes a germ that infects her, leaving Mim sick and confined to bed.
Q 13Where does Merlin angrily transport himself after arguing with Wart?
20th-century Bermuda
From 20th-century Bermuda he returns at the end to help Wart, now king, become the great ruler he foresaw.
Q 21Why was Arthur voiced by three different actors in The Sword in the Stone?
The original actor hit puberty
The original actor hit puberty: Rickie Sorensen's voice broke mid-production, so Arthur's voice shifts between scenes.
Q 22In T. H. White's novels, why does the wizard Merlyn already know what will happen?
He lives backwards in time
He lives backwards in time, so knowing Wart's destiny, he readies the boy to rule by turning him into animals.
Q 23Who wrote both the story and screenplay for The Sword in the Stone?
Bill Peet
Q 14What does Wart find when he rushes back to the inn for the sword he forgot?
The inn is locked
The inn is locked for the tournament, so Wart pulls the sword from the stone instead, unknowingly proving he is king.
Q 15What is the sword embedded in, atop the stone?
An anvil
An anvil atop the stone holds the sword, which appears after the king dies without an heir.
Q 16Which king's death leaves England without an heir at the start of The Sword in the Stone?
Uther Pendragon
Uther Pendragon's death leaves the sword forgotten for years, plunging England into the Dark Ages.
Q 17On what day is the tournament to crown England's next king held in The Sword in the Stone?
New Year's Day
New Year's Day is set for the tournament, so Sir Ector enters his son and appoints Wart as that son's squire.
Q 18Which actor voiced Merlin in The Sword in the Stone?
Karl Swenson
Karl Swenson later played Lars Hanson on Little House on the Prairie and died about a week before his character's death episode aired.
Q 19Who voiced Sir Ector and narrated The Sword in the Stone?
Sebastian Cabot
Sebastian Cabot was away from Family Affair for a while, so John Williams stood in as Mr. French's brother Nigel.
Q 20Who voiced Madam Mim?
Martha Wentworth
Martha Wentworth voiced Mim, who challenges Merlin to a wizards' duel and cheats her way through it.
Bill Peet developed the story single-handedly, then left Disney in 1964 after clashing with Walt over a later film.
Q 24Which rival project lost out to The Sword in the Stone for Walt Disney's approval?
Chanticleer
Chanticleer's rooster hero was judged too odd to work, and Walt said nobody feels like picking up a rooster to pet it.
Q 25Seeing which Broadway musical prompted Walt Disney to greenlight The Sword in the Stone?
Camelot
Camelot also led Walt to Julie Andrews: he saw her play Guinevere and offered her the role of Mary Poppins.
Q 26Who wrote the songs for The Sword in the Stone?
The Sherman Brothers
The Sherman Brothers joined Disney as staff songwriters after their hit Tall Paul for Mouseketeer Annette Funicello.
Q 27Who composed the score for The Sword in the Stone?
George Bruns
George Bruns kept playing jazz while at Disney, including with the studio's in-house Dixieland band, the Firehouse Five Plus Two.
Q 28The Sword in the Stone's only Oscar nomination was in which category?
Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment
It lost to Irma la Douce.
Q 29Which animation technique carried over from 101 Dalmatians to The Sword in the Stone?
Xerox photocopying of drawings onto cels
Xerox photocopying of drawings onto cels continued, joined by a new touch-up step that let assistants draw directly on animators' sketches.
Q 30In which city did The Sword in the Stone hold its premiere on December 12, 1963?
London
London premiered the film, which went on to inspire a Sword in the Stone ceremony at Disney's theme parks.