Continuity mistake: When Merlin is thrown in to the armor under the water as a fish, his glasses are thrown off and they land on the nose of the armor. The next time they show him, the glasses are down beside him. And still again, when Merlin is changed back into a human, he has the armor on his head and when he pulls it off, his glasses are on underneath the armor.
Rob Halliday
8th Mar 2005
The Sword in the Stone (1963)
17th Apr 2005
The Sword in the Stone (1963)
Corrected entry: The legend of King Arthur is set (loosely) around the early 6th century. Merlin wears glasses, but these weren't invented until around the late 1280s.
Correction: Merlin has incredible wisdom and knowledge, so maybe he independently invented glasses. Plus, it is made very clear in this movie that Merlin is capable of time travel, and has visited the twentieth century, acquiring modern scientific knowledge which he can use to great effect in the time of King Arthur. Even during the movie he declares that he is going to Bermuda, at which point he disappears from the film. In the final five minutes Merlin re-appears in a twentieth century surfer's costume and talks about life in the twentieth century. So he could quite easily have gone to an opticians, had an eye test and acquired spectacles during one of his travels to the future. Plus, one of the leading characters of The Sword In The Stone is a talking owl, who can hold conversations with humans. I don't think there were any talking owls during the Middle Ages, so maybe this film should not be regarded as accurate history.
Correction: He states that he is also a time traveller.
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Suggested correction: Notice the dialogue just before Merlin turns himself and Arthur/Wart into fishes: Arthur: You mean you can turn yourself into a fish? Merlin: After all, I happen to be a wizard. If Merlin has the magical powers to turn himself into a fish, perhaps a by-product of his magic is that his glasses are magic, so he retains his glasses when he undergoes the transformation into a fish, even if his glasses fall off, they magically return to him, and his glasses magically reappear when he turns back into a human.
Rob Halliday
What's more likely - the director intended Merlin's lore to include magically retaining his glasses, or the team of animators made a couple continuity errors?